Determine the available capacity per cell partition

Abstract

According to some embodiments, a method for determining available capacity performed by a network node comprises determining available capacity of one or more partitions of a radio cell, and transmitting a resource status information message to another network node. The resource status information message comprises at least one of the determined available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Certain embodiments relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to determining available capacity per cell partition. Background Art

[0002] Generally, all terms used herein will be interpreted according to their common meaning in the relevant technical field, unless different meanings are clearly given and / or implied from the context in which they are used. Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to element, equipment, assembly, parts, steps, etc. will be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of the element, equipment, assembly, parts, steps, etc. The steps of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless the steps are clearly described as after or before another step and / or when it is implied that the steps must be after or before another step. In any suitable place, any feature of any one of the embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any one of the embodiments can be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. By the following description, other purposes, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will become clear.

[0003] In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) wireless network, a radio cell may transmit multiple synchronization signals (SS) and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) blocks (SSBs) for cell search and synchronization. The SSBs consist of a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) each occupying 1 symbol and 127 subcarriers, and a PBCH signal spanning 3 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols and 240 subcarriers, with one symbol having an unused portion in the middle of the SSS.

[0004] The subcarrier spacing determines the possible time locations of the SSB within a half-frame. The network configures the periodicity of the half-frames in which the SSBs are transmitted. During a half-frame, the network may transmit different SSBs in different spatial directions (e.g., using different spatial beams across the coverage area of ​​the cell).

[0005] Multiple SSBs can be transmitted within the frequency span of a carrier. The physical cell identifier (PCI) of SSBs transmitted in different frequency positions is not necessarily unique, but different SSBs in the frequency domain can have different PCIs. However, when the SSB is associated with the remaining minimum system information (RMSI), the SSB corresponds to a single cell with a unique NR cell global identifier (NCGI). Such an SSB is called a cell-defined SSB (CD-SSB). A PCell is always associated with one and only one CD-SSB located on the synchronization raster.

[0006] Because the network can transmit SSB beams to cover different parts of the coverage area of ​​the cell, and from the perspective of the user equipment (UE), the measurement reports are based on the detection of such SSBs, it is possible to partition the cell in the SSB coverage area and determine parameters (such as load, composite capacity and resource status information) for each partition of the cell. With this approach, the SSB measurement reports from the UE enable the network to assess in which part of the cell the UE is located and the resource status information for that partition of the NR cell. This provides significantly finer granularity than in Long Term Evolution (LTE), where resource status information is available on a per-cell level. Figure 1 An example is shown in .

[0007] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing resource utilization for multiple cells. As shown, gNB1 controls a serving cell with multiple UEs and gNB2 controls two cells (cell-A and cell-B). Each ellipse represents a specific beam. The load distribution shown is unbalanced between SSBs within the NR cell and can benefit from mobility load balancing (MLB) to coverage areas with low-load SSBs.

[0008] Using resource status information per SSB beam in NR can be beneficial for enhancing MLB. The NR serving cell (gNB1) shown is highly loaded in at least some local area defined, for example, by the coverage areas of different SSB beams. Target UEs in the loaded area can report measurements (possibly including beam measurements) of a neighboring cell-A detected in good radio conditions, and also report another cell further away (e.g., cell-B).

[0009] Using the LTE MLB solution as a baseline for NR, the serving node may request resource status information from the target node. The resource status information may indicate a high load in Cell-A. The high load may be at least the same traffic and the same number of UEs that the serving node is experiencing. If only cell-specific resource status information is available, the loaded serving node may be led to believe that the target node is also overloaded. However, in the case where SSB beam-specific resource status information is available, the serving cell may determine that Cell-A has sufficient available capacity to accept the UE in the beam coverage area in which the UE is moving.

[0010] LTE defines a cell composite available capacity to indicate the overall available resource level in a cell in the downlink or uplink. Composite Available Capacity (CAC) is defined as (see TS 32.522): Composite Available Capacity = Cell Capacity Class Value * Capacity Value. Cell Capacity Class Value (CCCV) indicates a value for ranking cell capacity with respect to other cells. The Cell Capacity Class Value Information Element (IE) indicates only the resources configured for service purposes, and it is expressed as an integer ranging from 1 (which indicates the minimum cell capacity) to 100 (which indicates the maximum cell capacity), following the linear relationship between the cell capacity and the cell capacity class value as described in TS 36.331.

[0011] In TS 36.423, the cell capacity level value is an optional parameter in the case of intra-LTE load balancing. If the cell capacity level value is not present, TS 36.423 assumes that bandwidth should be used instead of evaluating capacity. The capacity value (CV) indicates the amount of resources available relative to the total Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) resources. The capacity value should be measured and reported so as to preserve the minimum E-UTRAN resource usage for existing services depending on the implementation. The range of the capacity value IE is between 0 (which indicates no available capacity) and 100 (which indicates the maximum available capacity). The capacity value should be measured on a linear scale.

[0012] There are currently certain challenges. For example, cell-specific CAC as defined in LTE has at least two disadvantages. For multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission capabilities, cell-specific CAC may not correctly represent the cell available capacity. In addition, the cell-specific CAC value does not provide any information about the distribution of cell load or available capacity in the spatial domain. The latter aspect is important for optimizing network operation in the case of advanced antenna systems capable of MIMO transmission with narrow beams (such as in 3GPP NR systems or LTE systems with massive MIMO antenna arrays). Figure 2A and 2B An example is shown.

[0013] Figure 2A and 2B The cell resource availability for a MIMO capable cell is shown. The example shown includes an LTE cell specific CAC characterizing the available capacity in a radio cell capable of spatially multiplexing users via MIMO transmissions and assuming CCCV=100 and 4 SSSB beams. Figure 2A It shows how resources are used to serve UEs under the coverage area of ​​each SSB beam. Figure 2B It shows how resources are utilized from a cell perspective.

[0014] Figure 2AThe light traffic scheduled under the coverage area of ​​all SSB beams is shown. Specifically, the cell: (a) schedules users in the coverage area of ​​SSB1 with only 40% of the resources; (b) schedules users in the coverage area of ​​SSB2 with only 20% of the resources; (c) schedules users in the coverage area of ​​SSB3 with only 20% of the resources; and (d) schedules users in the coverage area of ​​SSB4 with only 40% of the resources.

[0015] With MIMO transmission capability, the available capacity under the coverage area of ​​each SSB beam can be in the range between 60% and 80%. Therefore, the cell as a whole appears to be lightly loaded and can accept more users / traffic under the coverage area of ​​all SSB beams.

[0016] However, using cell-specific CAC as defined in LTE systems, only 30% of the capacity appears available (i.e., CAC=3000 out of CAC_max=10000). In other words, the cell is considered to be highly loaded. Similar conclusions can be drawn if the available capacity is defined for a traffic slice. Summary of the invention

[0017] As described above, there are certain challenges in currently determining the composite available capacity (CAC) of a cell. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0018] For example, certain embodiments determine available capacity in different areas of a coverage area of ​​a radio cell, and overall cell capacity as a function of the capacity available in different areas of the cell's coverage area.

[0019] Particular embodiments include a method performed by a first network node. The method includes: calculating an available capacity associated with one or more partitions of a radio cell; calculating an available capacity associated with the radio cell based on the available capacity associated with the one or more partitions of the radio cell; and transmitting a resource status information message to a second network node, the resource status information message including the available capacity associated with the one or more partitions of the radio cell and / or the available capacity associated with the radio cell.

[0020] In a particular embodiment, the partitioning of the radio cell is represented by any of: (a) the coverage of a reference signal beam (e.g., an SSB beam); (b) a network slice; and / or (c) the coverage area of ​​a network slice and a reference signal beam.

[0021] In some embodiments, a method performed by a first network node includes: calculating an available capacity associated with a coverage area of ​​one or more reference signal spatial beams transmitted within a radio cell; calculating an available capacity associated with the radio cell based on the available capacity associated with the coverage area of ​​the reference signal spatial beams transmitted in the radio cell; and transmitting a resource status information message to a second network node, the resource status information message including the available capacity associated with the coverage area of ​​the one or more spatial beams transmitted within the radio cell and / or the available capacity associated with the radio cell.

[0022] According to some embodiments, a method for determining available capacity performed by a network node comprises determining available capacity of one or more partitions of a radio cell, and transmitting a resource status information message to another network node. The resource status information message comprises at least one of the determined available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell.

[0023] In a particular embodiment, the method further comprises determining an available cell capacity of the radio cell based on the determined available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell.The resource status information comprises the available cell capacity of the radio cell.

[0024] In a particular embodiment, determining the available capacity of one or more sectors of the radio cell is based on all cell resources being available to each of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

[0025] For example, the available capacity of the partition of the radio cell can be a composite available capacity including a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is equal to the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

[0026] In a particular embodiment, determining the available capacity of one or more sectors of the radio cell is based on a portion of cell resources being available to each of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

[0027] For example, the available capacity of a partition of the radio cell may be a composite available capacity comprising a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is less than the cell capacity level value, and the sum of the partition capacity level values ​​of all partitions is equal to the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

[0028] As another example, the available capacity of a partition of the radio cell may be a composite available capacity including a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is less than a cell capacity level value, and the sum of the partition capacity level values ​​of all partitions exceeds the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

[0029] In a particular embodiment, determining the available cell capacity of the radio cell comprises averaging each of the available capacities of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

[0030] In a particular embodiment, the one or more sectors of the radio cell include coverage areas of one or more reference signal beams. The one or more reference signal beams may include one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) beams. The one or more sectors of the radio cell may include one or more network slices, or the one or more sectors of the radio cell include one or more network slices and coverage areas of one or more reference signal beams.

[0031] According to some embodiments, a network node comprises processing circuitry operable to perform any of the network node methods described above.

[0032] Also disclosed is a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable program code, the computer readable program code being operable when executed by a processing circuit to perform any of the methods performed by the above network node.

[0033] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, certain embodiments facilitate determining estimates of available capacity in different areas of a coverage area of ​​a radio cell capable of MIMO transmission. This can enable more efficient mobility-related decisions in the system and more efficient load balancing and load sharing among radio cells, resulting in overall better spectral efficiency and system performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0035] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating resource utilization of multiple cells;

[0036] Figure 2A and 2B shows the cell resource availability of a cell with MIMO capability;

[0037] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating available capacity associated with a coverage area of ​​four SSB reference signals of a 3GPP NR system with cell-specific available capacity as defined by a 3GPP LTE system and with cell-specific available capacity according to a particular embodiment;

[0038] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless network; and

[0039] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method in a network node according to certain embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] As described above, there are certain challenges in currently determining the composite available capacity (CAC) of a cell. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0041] Specific embodiments are more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0042] Particular embodiments include a capacity associated with a coverage area of ​​a downlink reference signal beam. A partition of a radio cell may be represented by a coverage area associated with a downlink reference signal transmitted in an area of ​​the coverage area of ​​the cell. In one example, the downlink reference signal is a synchronization signal (SS) and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) transmitted in a predefined spatial direction using, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) beamforming techniques. For ease of reference, this will be referred to as the coverage area of ​​an SSB beam, or more generally, the coverage area of ​​a downlink reference signal beam.

[0043] In a particular embodiment, the available capacity associated with the coverage area of ​​the downlink reference signal beam is determined as beam composite available capacity = beam capacity level value * beam capacity value. The beam capacity level value (BCCV) indicates the total resources configured within the cell for service purposes in the coverage area of ​​the reference signal beam. The beam capacity value (BCV) indicates the amount of resources available within the coverage area of ​​the downlink reference signal beam relative to the total resources BCCV. The following simplified notation

[0044] CAC b =BCCV b ·BCV b b=1,...,N beams

[0045] It means that b=1,…,Nbeams Indexed, with N beams The available capacity associated with the coverage area of ​​the downlink reference signal beam.

[0046] BCCV b The value of BCCV can be determined as a function of the cell capacity class value (CCCV), which depends on how the cell resources are allocated among different downlink reference signal beams. In one example, in the case where the cell resources are fully reused in the coverage area of ​​each reference signal beam, BCCV is 1 for all reference signal beams. b =CCCV. In another example, BCCV b can be part of CCCV so that when the resources of a cell are orthogonally divided among the coverage areas of different reference signal beams,

[0047] In another example, when the resources of a cell are partially reused in the coverage areas of different SSB beams, BCCV b can be part of CCCV such that For example, a cell may allow full reuse within the coverage area of ​​each SSB, but in practice at the boundary between the coverage areas of two SSBs, it is possible that the scheduler will use different resources, so the RCCV b ≤CCCV but

[0048] In some embodiments, the available capacity associated with the radio cell is based on the available capacity associated with the coverage area of ​​the one or more reference signal beams. In one embodiment, the available capacity associated with the radio cell is calculated as

[0049]

[0050] Available capacity CAC associated with the coverage area of ​​multiple reference signal beams b The sum of is scaled proportionally to the cell capacity level value normalized by the sum of the beam capacity level values. Normalization is useful in cases where cell resources are fully or only partially reused between coverage areas of different reference signals.

[0051] In another embodiment, the available capacity associated with a radio cell is calculated as

[0052]

[0053] The cell available capacity is represented by the average available capacity associated with the coverage areas of the multiple reference signal beams.

[0054] Figure 3is a diagram illustrating available capacity associated with the coverage area of ​​four SSB reference signals of a 3GPP NR system with cell-specific available capacity and cell-specific available capacity as defined by a 3GPP LTE system according to certain embodiments. Figure 3 It is shown how certain embodiments can be used to characterize the available capacity in different areas of a radio cell (e.g., the available capacity associated with the coverage areas of different SSB beams) and to derive a cell-specific available cell capacity as a function of the available capacity in different areas of the radio cell. Figure 3 A comparison with the cell specific available capacity that can be derived if the cell specific available capacity is an LTE cell is also shown. Based on the example shown, the state of the art is not able to capture how the radio resources are used / available in the spatial domain, nor can it correctly infer the cell available capacity when the radio resources can be reused spatially through MIMO beamforming techniques.

[0055] Particular embodiments include capacity associated with a network slice. Partitions of a radio cell are represented as network slices. The available capacity associated with a network slice may be determined as: Slice composite available capacity = Slice capacity level value * Slice capacity value. The Slice Capacity Level Value (SCCV) indicates the total resources configured within the cell for service purposes in the coverage area of ​​a reference signal beam. The Slice Capacity Value (SCV) indicates the amount of resources available for a network slice relative to the total resources SCCV. Simplified Notation

[0056] CAC s =SCCV s ·SCV s s=1,...,N slices

[0057] Represented by s=1,...,N slices Indexed, with N slices The available capacity associated with a network slice.

[0058] SCCV s The value of can be determined as a function of the cell capacity class value (CCCV), which depends on how the cell resources are distributed among different network slices. In one example, if the cell resources can be fully reused by all network slices, then for all network slices, SCCV s =CCCV. In another example, SCCV s can be part of CCCV so that when the resources of a cell are orthogonally divided among network slices,

[0059] In another example, when the resources of a cell are partially reused in different network slices, SCCVs can be part of CCCV such that For example, a network slice can be configured with a minimum guaranteed amount of resources such that But if the traffic of other network slices is low, the network slice may be allowed to pull resources from other network slices until the maximum amount of resources. In this case, the value SCCV s can be expressed as being associated with a network slice s so that its range is in the interval [SCCV s，min , SCCV s，max ]middle.

[0060] In some embodiments, the available capacity associated with the radio cell is determined based on the available capacity associated with one or more network slices. In one embodiment, the available capacity associated with the radio cell is calculated as

[0061]

[0062] Available capacity (CAC) associated with multiple network slices s The sum of is scaled proportionally to the cell capacity level value normalized by the sum of the slice capacity level values. Normalization is useful in cases where cell resources are fully or only partially reused between network slices.

[0063] In some embodiments, the available capacity associated with a radio cell is calculated as

[0064]

[0065] The cell available capacity is represented by the average available capacity associated with all network slices.

[0066] Particular embodiments include available capacity associated with network slices and downlink reference signal beams. The partitioning of the radio cell is represented by the resource utilization associated with the network slices within the coverage area of ​​the reference signal beam. The available capacity associated with the network slice s within the coverage area of ​​the reference signal beam b can be determined as

[0067] CAC s，b =SCCV s，b ·SCV s，b s=1,...,N slices b=1,...,N beams

[0068] SCCV s，b indicates the total resources allocated for service purposes for slice s within the coverage area of ​​beam b, while SCV s，b Indicates SCCV relative to total resources s，bThe amount of resources available for network slices within the coverage area of ​​the reference signal beam.

[0069] SCCV s The value of may be determined as a function of the cell capacity class value (CCCV), which depends on how the cell resources are allocated among the coverage areas of different network slices and downlink reference signal beams. In one example, for all network slices under the coverage areas of all reference signal beams, SCCV s，b =CCCV, that is, cell resources are fully reusable in all network slices and in the coverage area of ​​all reference signal beams.

[0070] In another example, each network slice is associated with a slice capacity level value SCCV representing a portion of the cell CCCV. s is associated so that for all coverage areas of the reference signal beam, (i.e., dividing the resources of the cell orthogonally among the network slices) and SCCV s，b =SCCV s In other words, the resources dedicated to the network slice are fully reusable across the coverage areas of different reference signal beams.

[0071] In another example, each network slice is associated with a slice capacity level value SCCV representing a portion of the cell CCCV. s associated, and for all coverage areas of the reference signal beam, SCCV s，b =SCCV s In other words, a portion of the network resources of the cell is allocated to each network slice, which may partially overlap with the resources allocated to another network slice, and the resources dedicated to the network slice are fully reusable within the coverage areas of different reference signal beams.

[0072] In some embodiments, the available capacity associated with the radio cell is determined based on the available capacity associated with one or more network slices within the coverage area of ​​the one or more reference signal beams. In one embodiment, the available capacity associated with the radio cell is calculated as

[0073]

[0074] In other embodiments, when a network slice can fully reuse the value SCCV in the coverage area of ​​multiple reference signal beams s The available capacity associated with the radio cell is calculated as

[0075]

[0076] The cell available capacity is represented by the average available capacity associated with all network slices.

[0077]

[0078] In some embodiments, the partitions of the radio cell are represented by bandwidth portions of an uplink or downlink carrier frequency band. Thus, the radio network node calculates the available capacity associated with one or more bandwidth portions of the downlink or uplink carrier. The network node may also calculate the available capacity associated with the radio cell based on the available capacity associated with at least one bandwidth portion.

[0079] Figure 4 An example wireless network according to certain embodiments is shown. The wireless network may include any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular and / or radio network or other similar type of system and / or be connected by an interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular and / or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to a specific standard or other type of predefined rules or processes. Therefore, a specific embodiment of the wireless network may implement a communication standard such as a global system for mobile communications (GSM), a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), a long term evolution (LTE), a new air interface (NR), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G standards; a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard such as an IEEE 802.11 standard; and / or any other suitable wireless communication standard such as a global microwave access interoperability (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and / or ZigBee standard.

[0080] The network 106 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks that enable communications between devices.

[0081] The network node 160 and the WD 110 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and / or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connectivity in a wireless network. In various embodiments, a wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via wired or wireless connections).

[0082] As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to implement and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device and / or perform other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network.

[0083] Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power levels) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations.

[0084] The base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. The network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), which is sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio device. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet another further example of a network node includes a multi-standard radio (MSR) device (such as an MSR BS), a network controller (such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC)), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a core network node (e.g., MSC, MME), an O&M node, an OSS node, a SON node, a positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC) and / or an MDT.

[0085] As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node, as described in more detail below. However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to enable and / or provide access to a wireless network for a wireless device or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed a wireless network.

[0086] exist Figure 4 In FIG. 1 , the network node 160 includes a processing circuit 170, a device readable medium 180, an interface 190, an auxiliary device 184, a power supply 186, a power supply circuit 187, and an antenna 162. Figure 4 The network node 160 illustrated in the example wireless network of FIG. 1 may represent an apparatus including the illustrated combination of hardware components, but other embodiments may include network nodes having different combinations of components.

[0087] It is to be understood that the network node includes any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. In addition, although the components of the network node 160 are depicted as a single box nested within multiple boxes or within a larger box, in reality, the network node may include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., the device readable medium 180 may include multiple separate hard drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0088] Similarly, the network node 160 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where the network node 160 includes multiple individual components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more of the individual components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such scenarios, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single individual network node in some instances.

[0089] In some embodiments, the network node 160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). The network node 160 may also include multiple sets of various illustrated components for different wireless technologies (such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into the network node 160. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 160.

[0090] The processing circuit 170 is configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by the network node. These operations performed by the processing circuit 170 may include processing information obtained by the processing circuit 170 by, for example, converting the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making determinations as a result of the processing.

[0091] The processing circuit 170 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide network node 160 functionality alone or in conjunction with other network node 160 components (such as device readable medium 180).

[0092] For example, processing circuit 170 may execute instructions stored in device-readable medium 180 or in a memory within processing circuit 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuit 170 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

[0093] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (such as a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0094] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as provided by a network node, base station, eNB, gNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 170 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 180 or memory within processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 170 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform the described functionality, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to only processing circuitry 170 or other components of network node 160, but are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole and / or by end users and wireless networks generally.

[0095] Device-readable medium 180 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including without limitation: permanent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 170. Device-readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.) and / or other instructions that are executable by processing circuit 170 and utilized by network node 160. Device-readable medium 180 may be used to store any computations performed by processing circuit 170 and / or any data received via interface 190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 and device readable medium 180 may be considered integrated.

[0096] Interface 190 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 160, network 106, and / or WD 110. As shown, interface 190 includes port(s) / terminal(s) 194 for sending data to and receiving data from network 106 via a wired connection, for example. Interface 190 also includes radio front end circuitry 192, which may be coupled to antenna 162 or, in some embodiments, be part of antenna 162.

[0097] The radio front end circuit 192 includes a filter 198 and an amplifier 196. The radio front end circuit 192 can be connected to the antenna 162 and the processing circuit 170. The radio front end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 162 and the processing circuit 170. The radio front end circuit 192 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front end circuit 192 can use a combination of a filter 198 and / or an amplifier 196 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be transmitted via the antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 162 can collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the radio front end circuit 192. The digital data can be passed to the processing circuit 170. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0098] In some alternative embodiments, the network node 160 may not include a separate radio front end circuit 192, but rather the processing circuit 170 may include the radio front end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 162 without a separate radio front end circuit 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 172 may be considered part of the interface 190. In still other embodiments, the interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, the radio front end circuit 192, and the RF transceiver circuit 172 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the interface 190 may communicate with the baseband processing circuit 174, which is part of the digital unit (not shown).

[0099] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuit 192 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may include one or more omnidirectional, sector or flat panel antennas operable to transmit / receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas may be used to transmit / receive radio signals in any direction, sector antennas may be used to transmit / receive radio signals from a device within a specific area, and flat panel antennas may be line of sight antennas for transmitting / receiving radio signals on a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may be separated from network node 160 and may be connected to network node 160 via an interface or port.

[0100] Antenna 162, interface 190 and / or processing circuit 170 can be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be received from a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190 and / or processing circuit 170 can be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0101] The power circuit 187 may include or be coupled to a power management circuit and is configured to supply power to the components of the network node 160 for performing the functionality described herein. The power circuit 187 may receive power from the power supply 186. The power supply 186 and / or the power circuit 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of the network node 160 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). The power supply 186 may be included in the power circuit 187 and / or the network node 160 or external to the power circuit 181 and / or the network node 160.

[0102] For example, the network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as a cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit 187. As a further example, the power source 186 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated in the power circuit 187. If the external power source fails, the battery may provide backup power. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as photovoltaic devices.

[0103] Alternative embodiments of network node 160 may include Figure 4 160, which may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 160 may include a user interface device to allow information to be entered into the network node 160 and to allow information to be output from the network node 160. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on the network node 160.

[0104] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise indicated, the term WD may be used interchangeably with a user equipment (UE) herein. Wireless communication may involve the use of electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through the air to transmit and / or receive wireless signals.

[0105] In some embodiments, WD can be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, WD can be designed to transmit information to the network according to a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network.

[0106] Examples of WD include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptops, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicle mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and in this case may be referred to as a D2D communication device.

[0107] As another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or a network node. The WD in this case may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As an example, a WD may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (such as power meters), industrial machinery, or household or personal devices (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).

[0108] In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other device that can monitor and / or report its operating state or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. In addition, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or mobile terminal.

[0109] As shown, wireless device 110 includes antenna 111, interface 114, processing circuit 120, device-readable medium 130, user interface device 132, auxiliary device 134, power supply 136, and power supply circuit 137. WD 110 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 110 (such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name a few). These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets as other components within WD 110.

[0110] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 114. In some alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separated from WD 110 and may be connected to WD 110 via an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114 and / or processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operation described herein as being performed by WD. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front-end circuitry and / or antenna 111 may be considered as an interface.

[0111] As shown, the interface 114 includes a radio front end circuit 112 and an antenna 111. The radio front end circuit 112 includes one or more filters 118 and an amplifier 116. The radio front end circuit 112 is connected to the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120, and is configured to condition the signals passed between the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120. The radio front end circuit 112 may be coupled to the antenna 111 or be part of the antenna 111. In some embodiments, the WD 110 may not include a separate radio front end circuit 112; instead, the processing circuit 120 may include the radio front end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 122 may be considered part of the interface 114.

[0112] The radio front end circuit 112 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front end circuit 112 can use a combination of filters 118 and / or amplifiers 116 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 111 can collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the radio front end circuit 112. The digital data can be passed to the processing circuit 120. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0113] The processing circuit 120 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or a combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide WD 110 functionality alone or in conjunction with other WD 110 components (such as device readable medium 130). Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, the processing circuit 120 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 130 or in a memory within the processing circuit 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0114] As shown, the processing circuit 120 includes one or more of the RF transceiver circuit 122, the baseband processing circuit 124, and the application processing circuit 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuit may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 120 of the WD 110 may include a SOC. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit 122, the baseband processing circuit 124, and the application processing circuit 126 may be on a separate chip or chipset.

[0115] In alternative embodiments, part or all of the baseband processing circuitry 124 and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined into one chip or chipset, and the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In still other alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122 and the baseband processing circuitry 124 may be on the same chip or chipset, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In still other alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined in the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be part of the interface 114. The RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition RF signals for the processing circuitry 120.

[0116] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by processing circuitry 120 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 130, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner.

[0117] In any of those embodiments, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium, processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to only processing circuit 120 or other components of WD 110, but are enjoyed by WD 110 and / or by end users and wireless networks generally.

[0118] Processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by WD. Such operations as performed by processing circuit 120 may include processing information obtained by processing circuit 120 by, for example, converting the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information to information stored by WD 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making determinations as a result of the processing.

[0119] Device-readable medium 130 may be operable to store computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.), and / or other instructions that can be executed by processing circuit 120. Device-readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 120. In some embodiments, processing circuit 120 and device-readable medium 130 may be integrated.

[0120] The user interface device 132 may provide components that allow a human user to interact with the WD 110. Such interactions may have many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface device 132 may be operable to generate output to the user and allow the user to provide input to the WD 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 132 installed in the WD 110. For example, if the WD 110 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if the WD 110 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alarm (e.g., if smoke is detected).

[0121] The user interface device 132 may include an input interface, a device and a circuit, and an output interface, a device and a circuit. The user interface device 132 is configured to allow information to be input into the WD 110, and is connected to the processing circuit 120 to allow the processing circuit 120 to process the input information. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensors, a key / button, a touch display, one or more photographing devices, a USB port or other input circuits. The user interface device 132 is also configured to allow information to be output from the WD 110, and allows the processing circuit 120 to output information from the WD 110. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone jack or other output circuits. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices and circuits of the user interface device 132, the WD 110 may communicate with an end user and / or a wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0122] Auxiliary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functionality that may not generally be performed by a WD. This may include specialized sensors for taking measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communications (such as wired communications), etc. The contents and types of components of auxiliary device 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0123] Power supply 136 may take the form of a battery or battery pack in some embodiments. Other types of power supplies may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power battery. WD 110 may further include a power supply circuit 137 for delivering power from power supply 136 to various parts of WD 110 that require power from power supply 136 to perform any functionality described or indicated herein. Power supply circuit 137 may include a power management circuit in some embodiments.

[0124] The power circuit 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case the WD 110 may be connectable to an external power source (such as an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface (such as a power cable). The power circuit 137 may also be operable in certain embodiments to deliver power from the external power source to the power source 136. This may be used, for example, for charging the power source 136. The power circuit 137 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification of the power from the power source 136 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the WD 110 to which the power is supplied.

[0125] Although the subject matter described herein can be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are directed to wireless networks such as Figure 4For simplicity, Figure 4 The wireless network of FIG. 1 depicts only the network 106, the network nodes 160 and 160b, and the WDs 110, 110b, and 110c. In practice, the wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (such as a landline, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). In the illustrated components, the network node 160 and the wireless device (WD) 110 are depicted with additional details. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate wireless devices to access and / or use services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0126] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method in a network node according to certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, Figure 5 One or more steps may be performed by Figure 4 The described network node 160 is performed. The network node is operable to determine available capacity.

[0127] The method begins at step 512, where a network node (e.g., network node 160) determines available capacity for one or more partitions of a radio cell. For example, a partition may include a coverage area of ​​one or more reference signal beams, such as one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) beams. In some embodiments, one or more partitions of a radio cell may include one or more network slices, or one or more partitions of a radio cell may include one or more network slices and a coverage area of ​​one or more reference signal beams.

[0128] In a particular embodiment, determining the available capacity of the one or more sectors of the radio cell is based on all cell resources being available to each of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

[0129] For example, the available capacity of a partition of a radio cell may be a composite available capacity comprising a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is equal to the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

[0130] In a particular embodiment, determining the available capacity of the one or more sectors of the radio cell is based on a portion of cell resources being available to each of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

[0131] For example, the available capacity of a partition of a radio cell may be a composite available capacity including a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is less than the cell capacity level value, and the sum of the partition capacity level values ​​of all partitions is equal to the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

[0132] As another example, the available capacity of a partition of a radio cell may be a composite available capacity including a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is less than the cell capacity level value and the sum of the partition capacity level values ​​of all partitions exceeds the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

[0133] In some embodiments, the available capacity of a partition of a radio cell is determined according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0134] In step 514, the network node may determine the available cell capacity of the radio cell based on the determined available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell. For example, the network node may average each of the available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell. In some embodiments, the network node determines the available cell capacity according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0135] The network node transmits a resource status information message to the other network node at step 516. The resource status information message comprises at least one of the determined available capacities of one or more partitions of the radio cell and may also comprise the determined available cell capacity.

[0136] Can Figure 5 Method 500 is modified, added or omitted. In addition, Figure 5 One or more steps in the method may be performed in parallel or in any suitable order.

[0137] Without departing from the scope of the present invention, modifications, additions or omissions may be made to the systems and devices disclosed herein. The components of the systems and devices may be integrated or separated. In addition, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed by more, less or other components. In addition, any suitable logic including software, hardware and / or other logic may be used to perform the operations of the systems and devices. As used in this document, "each" refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

[0138] Without departing from the scope of the present invention, modifications, additions or omissions may be made to the methods disclosed herein. The methods may include more, fewer or other steps. In addition, the steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0139] The foregoing description sets forth numerous specific details. However, it is understood that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques are not shown in detail in order to avoid obscuring the understanding of the description. With the included description, one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

[0140] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is claimed that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0141] Although the present disclosure has been described according to certain embodiments, the changes and substitutions of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above description of the embodiments does not limit the present disclosure. Other changes, substitutions and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for determining available capacity performed by a network node, the method comprising: determining (612) available capacity of one or more sectors of the radio cell; as well as transmitting (616) a resource status information message to another network node, the resource status information message comprising at least one of the determined available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell, wherein the one or more partitions of the radio cell comprise one or more network slices, and wherein the available capacity associated with a respective network slice of the one or more network slices is based on total resources configured within the radio cell for service purposes in a coverage area of ​​a reference signal beam and an amount of resources available for the respective network slice relative to the total resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining (614) an available cell capacity of the radio cell based on the determined available capacities of the one or more sectors of the radio cell; as well as Therein, the resource status information includes the available cell capacity of the radio cell.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the available capacity of one or more sectors of the radio cell is based on all cell resources being available to each of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The available capacity of a zone of the radio cell is a composite available capacity comprising a zone capacity level value and a zone capacity value, wherein the zone capacity level value is equal to the cell capacity level value, and the zone capacity value is the amount of resources available within the zone relative to the zone capacity level value.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the available capacity of one or more sectors of the radio cell is based on a portion of cell resources being available to each of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The available capacity of the partition of the radio cell is a composite available capacity including a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is less than the cell capacity level value, and the sum of the partition capacity level values ​​of all partitions is equal to the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The available capacity of the partition of the radio cell is a composite available capacity including a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is less than the cell capacity level value, and the sum of the partition capacity level values ​​of all partitions exceeds the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

8. The method according to claim 2, wherein: Determining the available cell capacity of the radio cell comprises averaging each of the available capacities of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The one or more sectors of the radio cell further comprise coverage areas of one or more reference signal beams.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The one or more reference signal beams include one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) beams.

11. A network node (160) operable to determine available capacity, the network node comprising processing circuitry (170), the processing circuitry (170) operable to: determining available capacity of one or more sectors of a radio cell; and transmitting a resource status information message to another network node, the resource status information message comprising at least one of the determined available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell, in, The one or more partitions of the radio cell include one or more network slices, and wherein the available capacity associated with a corresponding network slice of the one or more network slices is based on total resources configured within the radio cell for service purposes in a coverage area of ​​the reference signal beam and an amount of resources available for the corresponding network slice relative to the total resources.

12. The network node of claim 11, the processing circuit further operable to: determining an available cell capacity of the radio cell based on the determined available capacities of the one or more sectors of the radio cell; and in, The resource status information comprises the available cell capacity of the radio cell.

13. The network node according to claim 11, wherein: The processing circuitry is operable to determine an available capacity of one or more partitions of the radio cell based on all cell resources being available to each of the one or more partitions of the radio cell.

14. The network node according to claim 11, wherein: The available capacity of a zone of the radio cell is a composite available capacity comprising a zone capacity level value and a zone capacity value, wherein the zone capacity level value is equal to the cell capacity level value, and the zone capacity value is the amount of resources available within the zone relative to the zone capacity level value.

15. The network node according to claim 11, wherein: The processing circuitry is operable to determine an available capacity of one or more partitions of the radio cell based on a portion of cell resources being available to each of the one or more partitions of the radio cell.

16. The network node according to claim 11, wherein: The available capacity of the partition of the radio cell is a composite available capacity including a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is less than the cell capacity level value, and the sum of the partition capacity level values ​​of all partitions is equal to the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

17. The network node according to claim 11, wherein: The available capacity of the partition of the radio cell is a composite available capacity including a partition capacity level value and a partition capacity value, wherein the partition capacity level value is less than the cell capacity level value, and the sum of the partition capacity level values ​​of all partitions exceeds the cell capacity level value, and the partition capacity value is the amount of resources available within the partition relative to the partition capacity level value.

18. The network node according to claim 12, wherein: Determining the available cell capacity of the radio cell comprises averaging each of the available capacities of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

19. The network node according to any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein: The one or more sectors of the radio cell further comprise coverage areas of one or more reference signal beams.

20. The network node according to claim 19, wherein: The one or more reference signal beams include one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) beams.

21. A method for determining available capacity performed by a network node, the method comprising: determining (612) available capacity of one or more sectors of the radio cell; determining (614) an available cell capacity of the radio cell based on the determined available capacities of the one or more sectors of the radio cell; as well as transmitting (616) a resource status information message to another network node, the resource status information message comprising at least one of the determined available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell and the determined available cell capacity of the radio cell, wherein the one or more partitions of the radio cell comprise one or more network slices, and wherein the available capacity associated with a respective network slice of the one or more network slices is based on total resources configured within the radio cell for service purposes in a coverage area of ​​a reference signal beam and an amount of resources available for the respective network slice relative to the total resources.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein: Determining the available capacity of one or more sectors of the radio cell is based on all cell resources being available to each of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein: Determining the available capacity of one or more sectors of the radio cell is based on a portion of cell resources being available to each of the one or more sectors of the radio cell.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein: The one or more sectors of the radio cell further comprise coverage areas of one or more reference signal beams.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein: The one or more reference signal beams include one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) beams.

26. A network node (160) operable to determine available capacity, the network node comprising processing circuitry (170), the processing circuitry (170) operable to: determining available capacity of one or more sectors of a radio cell; determining an available cell capacity of the radio cell based on the determined available capacities of the one or more sectors of the radio cell; as well as transmitting a resource status information message to another network node, the resource status information message comprising at least one of the determined available capacities of the one or more partitions of the radio cell and the determined available cell capacity of the radio cell, wherein the one or more partitions of the radio cell comprise one or more network slices, and wherein the available capacity associated with a respective network slice of the one or more network slices is based on total resources configured within the radio cell for service purposes in a coverage area of ​​a reference signal beam and an amount of resources available for the respective network slice relative to the total resources.

27. The network node according to claim 26, wherein: The processing circuitry is operable to determine an available capacity of one or more partitions of the radio cell based on all cell resources being available to each of the one or more partitions of the radio cell.

28. The network node according to claim 26, wherein: The processing circuitry is operable to determine an available capacity of one or more partitions of the radio cell based on a portion of cell resources being available to each of the one or more partitions of the radio cell.

29. The network node according to any one of claims 26 to 28, wherein: The one or more sectors of the radio cell further comprise coverage areas of one or more reference signal beams.

30. The network node according to claim 29, wherein: The one or more reference signal beams include one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) beams.

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