Method and device for requesting target information block

Abstract

A method is provided for requesting a target system information block (SIB) associated with a target service. The method includes initiating a dedicated SIB request procedure to send a request for the target SIB to a serving cell. The dedicated SIB request procedure is initiated when the UE has stored at least one SIB segment of a plurality of SIB segments associated with the target SIB and before successfully assembling the target SIB based on the plurality of SIB segments. The method includes sending the request for the target SIB to the serving cell. The method includes starting a timer when sending the request to the serving cell, wherein initiation of a second dedicated SIB request procedure is not permitted while the timer is running.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 049,577, filed on July 8, 2020, entitled SYSTEM INFORMATION REQUEST PROCEDURE FOR USER EQUIPMENT, and having Agent Docket No. US81950 (hereinafter referred to as the "US81950 application"), the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to requesting a target information block (SIB) associated with a target device via a dedicated SIB request in next generation wireless networks. Background Art

[0004] With the tremendous growth in the number of connected devices and the rapid increase in the number of users / network services, various efforts have been made to improve different aspects of wireless communications in next-generation wireless communication systems such as the fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) by increasing data rates, latency, reliability, and mobility. The 5G NR system is designed to provide flexibility and configurability to optimize network services and types to accommodate various use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC).

[0005] According to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) NR, system information (SI) or SIB can relay a large amount of control information to the UE. For example, an emergency-related message (such as an earthquake message) that can be sent to several UEs may include a lot of different information that must be sent to the UE. Due to the large amount of information, a cell (e.g., associated with a base station) may divide or split the data of the SIB into different groups or segments, which are called SIB segments. As an example, for NR / Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) vehicle-to-everything (V2X) sidelink communication services, NR / E-UTRA sidelink services, and NR / E-UTRA PC5 services, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs) in the NR radio access network (NR-RAN) may divide the system information (SI) (or system information block (SIB)) associated with the NR V2X service (and / or LTE V2X service and / or NR sidelink service) into several smaller SIB segments. For example, the SIB12 of the V2X service may be divided into two or more SIB12 segments (e.g., by one or more serving cells). The UE interested in the NR sidelink communication service can then store all different SIB segments received from the UE's serving cell. Once all segments of the target SIB (e.g., SIB12) are successfully received and stored, the UE can attempt to assemble the complete / target SIB.

[0006] In addition, the serving cell may also broadcast other data associated with each segment of the SIB, such as other parameters. The data associated with each SIB segment, such as the segment number (e.g., an integer in the range of 0 to 63), the segment type (e.g., an enumerator, used to further indicate whether the corresponding SIB segment is the last SIB segment), etc., may identify the corresponding (SIB) segment. Based on the identification data received (or configured) in this way, the UE may be able to assemble the target SIB. Taking the NR sidelink communication service as an example, the UE may implement the access stratum configuration of the PC5 and Uu interfaces based on the received complete / target V2X-SIB. However, in order to assemble the target SIB based on the received SIB segment, the UE does not check the validity of the SIB segment when receiving and storing the segment. In order to improve the efficiency of SIB segment management, it is desirable to check the validity of each segment of the target SIB before the SIB assembly process can be triggered for the target SIB. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure relates to requesting a target SIB associated with a target service via a dedicated SIB request.

[0008] In a first aspect of the present application, a method for requesting a target SIB associated with a target service is provided. The method includes initiating a dedicated SIB request procedure to send a request for the target SIB to a serving cell. The dedicated SIB request procedure is initiated when the UE has stored at least one SIB segment of a plurality of SIB segments associated with the target SIB and before successfully assembling the target SIB based on the plurality of SIB segments. The method includes sending the request for the target SIB to the serving cell. The method includes starting a timer when sending the request to the serving cell, wherein a second dedicated SIB request procedure is not initiated while the timer is running.

[0009] In a second aspect, a UE is provided, comprising one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, the computer-executable instructions for requesting a target system information block (SIB) associated with a target service; and at least one processor coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the at least one processor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: initiate a dedicated SIB request procedure to send a request for the target SIB to a serving cell. When the UE has stored at least one SIB segment of a plurality of SIB segments associated with the target SIB, the dedicated SIB request procedure is initiated before the target SIB is successfully assembled based on the plurality of SIB segments; send the request for the target SIB to the serving cell; and start a timer when sending the request to the serving cell, wherein a second dedicated SIB request procedure is not initiated while the timer is running. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Various aspects of the present exemplary disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings. For clarity of discussion, various features are not drawn to scale and the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced.

[0011] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a UE state machine and UE state transition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

[0012] Figures 2A-2B is a diagram illustrating transmission of different value tags and system information block (SIB) segments associated with a target SIB from a base station to a UE according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

[0013] Figure 3Ais a flowchart illustrating a method (or process) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application, which is performed by a UE to assemble a target SIB for a target service after successfully receiving different SIB segments of the target SIB from one or more serving cells.

[0014] Figure 3B is a flowchart illustrating a method (or process) performed by a UE to assemble a target SIB for a target service after cell (re)selection according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Figures 4A-4B are two diagrams illustrating communications between a UE and a network (NW) for requesting and receiving one or more system information blocks (SIBs) according to exemplary embodiments of the present application.

[0016] Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a time-frequency grid of a serving cell (eg, component carrier) configured with multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method (or process) performed by a UE for requesting a target SIB associated with a target service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 7 A block diagram of a node for wireless communication according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The abbreviations in this application are defined as follows. Unless otherwise specified, the abbreviations have the following meanings:

[0020] Full abbreviation

[0021] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0022] 5GC 5G core ACK confirmation

[0023] AMF Access and Mobility Management Function ARQ Automatic Repeat Request AS Access Stratum

[0024] BCCH Broadcast Control Channel BCH Broadcast Channel BFR Beam Failure Recovery BS Base Station

[0025] BSR Buffer Status Report BWP Bandwidth Part CA Carrier Aggregation CBRA Contention-Based Random Access CFRA Contention-Free Random Access CG Configuration Grant CM Connection Management CN Core Network C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier CS-RNTI Configuration Scheduling Radio Network Temporary Identifier CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal DCI Downlink Control Information DL Downlink

[0026] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0027] DRX Discontinuous Reception

[0028] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0029] IE Information Element

[0030] LCH Logical Channel

[0031] LCG Logical Channel Group

[0032] LCP Logical Channel Priority

[0033] MAC Media Access Control

[0034] MIB Master Information Block

[0035] MSG message

[0036] NAS Non-Access Stratum

[0037] NG-RAN Next Generation Radio Access Network

[0038] NR New Radio

[0039] NW Network

[0040] PCell Primary Cell

[0041] PCCH paging control channel

[0042] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0043] PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0044] PDU Protocol Data Unit

[0045] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0046] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0047] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Control Channel

[0048] PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

[0049] QoS Quality of Service

[0050] RA Random Access

[0051] RACH Random Access Channel

[0052] RAN Radio Access Network

[0053] RB Radio Bearer

[0054] Rel Release

[0055] RLC Radio Link Control RNA RNA-based Notification Area RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier RRC Radio Resource Control RSRP Reference Signal Received Power SCell Secondary Cell

[0056] SCG Secondary Cell Group SCS Subcarrier Spacing SDT Small Data Transmission SDU Service Data Unit SFN System Frame Number SI System Information

[0057] SIB System Information Block SINR Signal-to-Noise and Interference Ratio SLIV Start and Length Indicator SNPN Standalone Non-Public Network SR Scheduling Request SRB Signalling Radio Bearer SSB Synchronisation Signal Block S-TMSI SAE - Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity SUL Supplementary Uplink TA Timing Advance or Time Alignment TAG Timing Advance Group TS Technical Specification UE User Equipment UL Uplink UPF User Plane Function

[0058] The following description contains specific information related to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The drawings and accompanying detailed descriptions in this disclosure are merely exemplary embodiments. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these exemplary embodiments. Other variations and embodiments of the present disclosure will occur to those skilled in the art. Unless otherwise indicated, identical or corresponding elements in the drawings may be represented by identical or corresponding reference numerals. In addition, the drawings and illustrations in this disclosure are generally not drawn to scale and are not intended to correspond to actual relative dimensions.

[0059] For the purpose of consistency and ease of understanding, the same features are indicated by the same reference numerals in the exemplary drawings (although not so indicated in some examples). However, features in different embodiments may differ in other aspects and should not be narrowly limited to the features shown in the drawings.

[0060] Descriptions using the phrase "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. The term "coupled" is defined as connected directly or indirectly through intermediate elements, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The term "comprising" when used means "including, but not necessarily limited to"; it specifically indicates open inclusion or membership of the described combinations, groups, series, and equivalents. The phrase "at least one of A, B, and C" or "at least one of: A, B, and C" means "only A, or only B, or only C, or any combination of A, B, and C."

[0061] Furthermore, for purposes of explanation and non-limiting purpose, specific details such as functional entities, technologies, protocols, standards and equivalents are set forth to provide an understanding of the described technology. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known methods, technologies, systems, architectures and equivalents are omitted to avoid obscuring the description with unnecessary details.

[0062] Those skilled in the art will immediately recognize that any (one or more) network functions or (one or more) algorithms described in this disclosure may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The functions described may correspond to modules, which may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Software implementations may include computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium such as a memory or other type of storage device. For example, one or more microprocessors or general-purpose computers with communication processing capabilities may be programmed with corresponding executable instructions and perform the described (one or more) network functions or (one or more) algorithms. The microprocessor or general-purpose computer may be composed of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic array, and / or using one or more digital signal processors (DSPs). Although several exemplary embodiments described in this specification are for software installed and executed on computer hardware, alternative exemplary embodiments implemented as firmware or hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, are also within the scope of this disclosure.

[0063] Computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage devices, or any other equivalent medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions.

[0064] A wireless communication network architecture (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, an LTE-Advanced Pro system, or a 5G NR radio access network (RAN)) typically includes at least one base station, at least one user equipment (UE), and one or more optional network elements that provide connectivity to the network. The UE communicates with a network (e.g., a core network (CN), an evolved packet core (EPC) network, an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (e-UTRAN), a 5G core (5GC), or the Internet) through the RAN, which is established by one or more base stations.

[0065] It should be noted that, in this application, UE may include, but is not limited to, a mobile base station, a mobile terminal or device, or a user communication radio terminal. For example, a UE may be a portable radio device, including, but not limited to, a mobile phone, tablet computer, wearable device, sensor, vehicle, or personal digital assistant (PDA) with wireless communication capabilities. A UE may be configured to receive and transmit signals to one or more cells in a radio access network over an air interface.

[0066] The base station is configured to provide communication services according to at least one of the following radio access technologies (RATs): Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM, commonly referred to as 2G), Enhanced Datarates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS, commonly referred to as 3G) based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), LTE, LTE-A, Evolved Long-Term Evolution (eLTE, e.g., LTE connected to 5GC), NR (commonly referred to as 5G), and / or LTE-A Pro. However, the scope of the present application should not be limited to the above protocols.

[0067] A base station may include, but is not limited to, a Node B (NB) in UMTS, an evolved Node B (eNB) in LTE or LTE-A, a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in UMTS, a Base Station Controller (BSC) in a GSM / GSM Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN), a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) BS connected to a 5GC, a next-generation Node B (gNB) in a 5G Access Network (5G-AN), and any other device capable of controlling radio communications and managing radio resources within a cell. A BS may serve one or more UEs through a radio interface to the network.

[0068] A base station may be operable to provide radio coverage to a specific geographical area using a plurality of cells included in a RAN. A BS may support the operation of cells. Each cell may be operable to provide services to at least one UE within its radio coverage. Specifically, each cell (often referred to as a serving cell) may provide services to serve one or more UEs within its radio coverage (e.g., each cell schedules downlink (DL) resources and uplink (UL) (uplink is optional) resources to at least one UE within its radio coverage for DL ​​and UL (UL is optional) packet transmission). A BS may communicate with one or more UEs in a radio communication system through a plurality of cells.

[0069] The cell can allocate side link (SL) resources to support proximity services (ProSe) or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) services. Each cell may have a coverage area that overlaps with other cells. In the case of multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC), the master cell of the master cell group (MCG) or the secondary cell group (SCG) may be referred to as a special cell (SpCell). The primary cell (PCell) may refer to the SpCell of the MCG. The primary SCG cell (PSCell) may refer to the SpCell of the SCG. MCG may refer to a group of service cells associated with a master node (MN), including SpCell and one or more secondary cells (SCell) (secondary cells are optional). SCG may refer to a group of service cells associated with a secondary node (SN), including SpCell and one or more SCell (secondary cells are optional).

[0070] As mentioned above, the frame structure of NR supports flexible configuration to adapt to various next-generation (e.g., 5G) communication requirements, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC), while meeting high reliability, high data rate, and low latency requirements. As agreed in 3GPP, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology can be used as the baseline for the NR waveform. Scalable OFDM parameter sets such as adaptive subcarrier spacing, channel bandwidth, and cyclic prefix (CP) can also be used. In addition, two coding schemes for NR are considered: (1) low-density parity-check (LDPC) and (2) polar code. The coding scheme adaptability can be configured based on channel conditions and / or service applications.

[0071] In addition, it is also considered that the transmission time interval TX of a single NR frame should include at least downlink (DL) transmission data, guard time segment and uplink (UL) transmission data, among which the various parts of DL transmission data, guard time segment and UL transmission data should also be configurable, for example: based on NR network dynamics. In addition, sidelink resources can also be provided in NR frames to support ProSe services, (E-UTRA / NR) sidelink services or (E-UTRA / NR) V2X services.

[0072] Additionally, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" is used herein solely to describe an association between related objects and indicates that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" could indicate: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the former and the latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0073] As mentioned above, the next generation (e.g., 5G NR) wireless networks are envisioned to support more capacity, data, and services. A UE configured with multi-connectivity can be connected to a master node (MN) as a master node and one or more secondary nodes (SN) for data transmission. Each of these nodes may be formed by a cell group comprising one or more cells. For example, a master cell group (MCG) may be formed by an MN, and a secondary cell group (SCG) may be formed by an SN. In other words, for a UE configured with dual connectivity (DC), an MCG is a set of one or more serving cells, including a PCell and zero or more secondary cells. In contrast, an SCG is a set of one or more serving cells, including a PSCell and zero or more secondary cells.

[0074] As mentioned above, the primary cell (PCell) can be an MCG cell operating on the primary frequency, where the UE performs the initial connection establishment process or initiates the connection re-establishment process. In MR-DC mode, the PCell can belong to the MN. The primary SCG cell (PSCell) can be an SCG cell where the UE performs random access (for example, when reconfiguration is performed using a synchronization process). In MR-DC, the PSCell can belong to the SN. The special cell (SpCell) can be called the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG, depending on whether the Medium Access Control (MAC) entity is associated with the MCG or the SCG. Otherwise, the term special cell can refer to the PCell. The special cell can support physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission and contention-based random access, and can be activated at all times. In addition, for a UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state without CA / DC configured, it can communicate with only one serving cell (SCell), which can be the primary cell. Conversely, for a UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state with CA / DC configured, a group of serving cells including (one or more) special cells and all secondary cells can communicate with the UE.

[0075] As described above, since the amount of data associated with a system information block (SIB) such as SIB12, SIB13, SIB14, etc. may not fit into one system information message (e.g., transmitted via one or more control signaling during one system information window time segment), one or more serving cells (e.g., associated with one or more base stations) may divide the SIB data into different segments and send these segments to one or more UEs via system information transmission. The (one or more) serving cells may also broadcast other information associated with the SIB segment (e.g., parameters) to the UE via SIB segment transmission that identifies the corresponding segment, such as the segment number, segment type (e.g., an indicator such as the LastSegment or NotLastSegment parameters). Based on this information, the UE can assemble a complete target SIB. However, the UE may need to check the validity of each received segment before storing it (e.g., and before assembling the target SIB from the stored segments).

[0076] Therefore, some embodiments of the present invention provide a SIB segment management mechanism for the UE to determine whether to discard, maintain and / or update each received SIB segment before the UE assembles the corresponding target SIB (e.g., V2X-SIB) based on the stored SIB segments. In some embodiments, the UE may perform a SIB segment validity check procedure before the UE successfully assembles the complete target SIB. In some embodiments, the UE may perform the SIB segment validity check procedure using information (e.g., parameters) associated with the SIB segment and broadcast by the serving cell. In some embodiments, after successfully assembling the corresponding target service from the stored associated SIB segments, the UE may use the target service (e.g., V2X service, NR multicast broadcast service, positioning service, etc.).

[0077] It should be noted that although the mechanisms for managing SIB segmentation described above and below are primarily described for NR, the described mechanisms are also applicable to other radio access technologies (RATs), such as LTE, Narrow Band Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), and New Radio Non-Terrestrial-Network (NR NTN).

[0078] In some embodiments of the present invention, SIB signaling may include the same data sent by more than one cell in the RAN. Therefore, in some embodiments, the cell may further indicate that the SIB signaling (e.g., V2X-SIB) may be area-specific. The cell may make such an indication by configuring specific parameters associated with the SIB, such as an area scope parameter (e.g., areaScope) (e.g., setting parameter areaScope = true). In addition, a system information area ID parameter (e.g., systeminformationAreaID) may be configured to be associated with the SIB (e.g., for the UE). As a result, the UE is able to determine whether the stored SIB is still valid (e.g., for the serving cell) by checking these parameters (e.g., valuetag, areaScope, and systeminformationAreaID) received from (one or more) serving cells after (or during) the cell (re)selection process.

[0079] The requirements for cell (re)selection operations described herein are applicable to UEs in LTE / NR RRC_INACTIVE, RRC_IDLE, and / or RRC_CONNECTED states. Therefore, these different states are first described below.

[0080] Figure 1 1 is an RRC state transition diagram according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application, which illustrates various RRC states and RRC transition processes that a UE may experience within a next generation radio access network. The RRC state transition diagram 100 may include an RRC_CONNECTED state 110, an RRC_INACTIVE state 120, and an RRC_IDLE state 130. In some embodiments, the RRC connected state, the RRC inactive state, and the RRC idle state may be three independent RRC states. Figure 1 As shown, the UE can transition between three RRC states. The proposed mechanism can be applied to the UE during the target SIB reception process independently of the UE's RRC state (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED state, RRC_INACTIVE state, and RRC_IDLE state). In addition, the proposed mechanism can also be applied to the UE without being affected by the state transition between RRC states.

[0081] For example, the UE may transition from the RRC_CONNECTED state 110 to the RRC_INACTIVE state 120, or may transition from the RRC_INACTIVE state 120 to either the RRC_CONNECTED state 110 or the RRC_IDLE state 130. However, as shown in the RRC state transition diagram 100, in some embodiments, the UE may not transition directly from the RRC IDLE state 130 to the RRC INACTIVE state 120. That is, in some such embodiments, the UE may transition from the RRC IDLE state 130 to the RRC INACTIVE state 120 via the RRC CONNECTED state 110. In some aspects of the present embodiment, the UE may also transition from the RRC CONNECTED state 110 to the RRC INACTIVE state 120 using an RRC SUSPENSION (or RRC RELEASE with SUSPENSION (CONFIGURATION)) procedure. Conversely, the UE may transition from the RRC INACTIVE state 120 to the RRC CONNECTED state 110 using an RRC (CONNECTION) RESUME procedure. In addition, the UE may use an RRC release procedure to transition from the RRC connected state 110 to the RRC inactive state 120 or the RRC idle state 130 , and use an RRC setup procedure to transition from the RRC idle state 130 to the RRC connected state 110 .

[0082] In some embodiments, in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE may remain in Connection Management (CM)-CONNECTED (e.g., when the UE has a signaling connection with the AMF) and may move within the area configured by the NG-RAN (e.g., RNA) without notifying the NG-RAN. In the RRC_INACTIVE state, the last serving cell (e.g., associated with the gNB) and the UE itself may maintain the UE context (e.g., the UE's (inactive) access stratum (AS) context) and the UE-associated NG connection with the serving AMF and UPF.

[0083] In some embodiments, the RRC_INACTIVE state may support various functions and / or features, such as small data transmission (SDT), PLMN selection, SNPN selection, system information broadcast, cell reselection mobility, paging initiated by the NG-RAN (RAN paging), RAN-based notification area (RNA) managed by the NG-RAN, DRX configured by the NG-RAN for RAN paging, 5GC-NG-RAN connection established for the UE (e.g., both control plane / user plane (C / U), NG-RAN determining the RNA to which the UE belongs, etc. In some embodiments, for NR connected to the 5GC network, the UE identity (e.g., I-RNTI) may be used to identify the UE context in the RRC_INACTIVE state. The I-RNTI may provide a reference to the UE context corresponding to the old NG-RAN node to the new NG-RAN node.

[0084] How the new NG-RAN node is able to resolve the old NG-RAN ID from the I-RNTI is a matter of correct configuration in both the old and new NG-RAN nodes. Some typical partitioning of the 40-bit I-RNTI may include, but is not limited to, a UE-specific reference, an NG-RAN node address index, PLMN-specific information, and SNPN-specific information. The UE-specific reference may include a reference to a UE context within a logical NG-RAN node. The NG-RAN node address index may include information identifying the NG-RAN node that allocates the UE-specific portion. Network-specific information (e.g., PLMN-specific information or SNPN-specific information) may include information supporting network sharing deployments and provide an index to the PLMN ID portion of the global NG-RAN node identifier. SNPNs may include small networks configured by an operator. Each SNPN may be identified by a unique SNPN identification (ID) (e.g., the identifier of a SNPN may be a combination of the PLMN ID and the NID). Configured authorization configuration may be associated with the SNPN ID.

[0085] In some embodiments, the AS context of a UE in RRC_INACTIVE state may be stored when the connection is suspended (e.g., when the UE is in RRC_INACTIVE state) and may be restored / retrieved when the connection is resumed (e.g., when the UE transitions from RRC_INACTIVE state to RRC_CONNECTED state). Suspension of the RRC connection may be initiated by the network. When the RRC connection is suspended, the UE may store the UE inactive AS context (and any related configuration received from the network) and may transition to the RRC_INACTIVE state. If the UE is configured with an SCG, the UE may release / suspend (all or part of) the SCG configuration when initiating the RRC connection resumption procedure. The RRC messages used to suspend the RRC connection may be integrity protected and encrypted. When the UE needs to transition from the RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state, resumption of the suspended RRC connection may be initiated by upper layers, by the RRC layer to perform an RNA update, or by a RAN paging, for example, from the NG-RAN. When the RRC connection is restored, the network may configure the UE according to the RRC connection restoration procedure and based on the stored UE inactive AS context (and any relevant RRC configuration received from the network). The RRC connection restoration procedure may reactivate AS security and reestablish (one or more) SRBs and (one or more) DRBs.

[0086] In some embodiments, in response to a request to resume an RRC connection, the network may perform any of the following procedures. In some embodiments, in response to such a request, the network may resume the suspended RRC connection and send the UE to the RRC_CONNECTED state, or may reject the request and send the UE to the RRC_INACTIVE state (e.g., using a wait timer). In some other embodiments, the network (RAN or CN) may directly re-suspend the RRC connection and send the UE to the RRC_INACTIVE state in response to the request, or may directly release the (RRC) connection and send the UE to RRC_IDLE mode. In yet other embodiments, in response to the request to resume the RRC connection, the network may instruct the UE to initiate NAS-level recovery (e.g., by sending an RRC setup message to the UE).

[0087] In addition, in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the upper layer (or RRC layer) can configure a specific DRX mechanism for the UE. The controlled mobility of the UE can be based on the network configuration in the RRC_INACTIVE state, and the UE can store the UE inactive AS context. In addition, when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the RRC layer can configure a RAN-based notification area. In addition, when in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE can perform other functions, such as monitoring short messages (e.g., short messages sent via DCI with P-RNTI); monitoring the paging channel for CN paging (e.g., using 5G-S-TMSI) and RAN paging (e.g., using full I-RNTI); performing neighbor cell measurements and cell (re)selection; performing RAN-based notification area updates periodically and / or when moving outside the configured RAN-based notification area; and obtaining system information and sending SI (e.g., if configured).

[0088] In some aspects of the present invention, when a UE (e.g., in an RRC_Connected state) attempts to communicate on a non-serving frequency (e.g., to perform LTE / NR (V2X) sidelink communication or sidelink discovery advertisement), the UE may perform measurements on that frequency for cell selection and / or intra-frequency reselection (e.g., in accordance with 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.133 or 38.304 v16.5.0). For example, when the UE is interested in performing V2X sidelink communication on a non-serving frequency, the UE may perform measurements on that frequency or on a frequency for which an inter-carrier V2X sidelink configuration (e.g., for cell selection and / or intra-frequency reselection) is provided. If the UE detects at least one cell on a desired frequency for which the UE is configured to perform sidelink operation (e.g., when the S criteria in accordance with TS 36.304 v16.0.0 (or TS 38.304 v16.0.0) are met), the UE may consider itself within coverage for sidelink operation on that frequency. Conversely, when the UE does not detect any cell on a desired frequency (e.g., meeting the S criterion), the UE may consider itself out of coverage for sidelink operation on that frequency. In this case, when the UE is considered out of coverage on a non-serving frequency carrier, the UE may implement sidelink operation based on a stored sidelink pre-configuration on the non-serving frequency carrier (e.g., which may be pre-installed in a memory module of the UE).

[0089] In some embodiments, when the UE selects a cell on a non-serving frequency for sidelink communication (or V2X sidelink communication or sidelink discovery notification), the UE may perform (one or more) additional intra-frequency cell reselection procedures to select a better cell for sidelink operation on that frequency (e.g., in accordance with TS 36.304 v16.0.0 (or TS 38.304 v16.0.0)).

[0090] In some embodiments, the UE may consider a carrier pre-configured for sidelink communication (or V2X sidelink communication), or a frequency pre-configured for providing inter-carrier V2X sidelink configuration to have the highest cell reselection priority (e.g., according to TS 36.304 v16.0.0 (or TS 38.304 v16.0.0)).

[0091] In some implementations, when the frequency at which the UE is configured to perform sidelink communications is a serving frequency, the UE may use a serving cell on that frequency for sidelink operations.

[0092] As described above, the UE is able to determine whether the stored target SIB (e.g., for the serving cell) is still valid by checking one or more parameters (e.g., valueTag, areaScope, and systeminformationAreaID, etc.) received from the serving cell after (or during) the cell (re)selection process. In some embodiments of the present invention, two or more cells within the same configuration area (e.g., providing the same V2X-SIB and / or providing the same systeminformationAreaID associated with the V2X-SIB) can also be similarly segmented. That is, the target SIB can be segmented into the same fragments, and then the same SIB segments can be sent / broadcast by cells within the same configuration area. For example, in some such embodiments, SIB segments that are (i) broadcast by cells within the same configuration area and (ii) have the same segmentNumber can contain the same information.

[0093] In some embodiments, each cell (e.g., between cells in the same configuration area) can transmit SIB segments in a different manner. For example, one or more cells (e.g., in the same system information area) can broadcast SIB segments (e.g., continuously), while one or more other cells can broadcast SIB segments after receiving a SIB request message from one or more UEs (e.g., via a 2-step random access procedure or a 4-step random access procedure). However, one or more other cells can send SIB segments to the UE, for example, via dedicated control signaling specific to the UE (e.g., via an RRCReconfiguration message).

[0094] During the initiation phase (e.g., when the UE receives SIB1), in some embodiments, if the SIB segment and current values ​​of specific parameters of the target SIB (e.g., valueTag, areascope, and / or systemInformationareaID, which can be received by the UE via SIB1 from a serving cell on a serving frequency carrier or from a selected non-serving cell on a non-serving frequency carrier) are not stored on the UE side, the UE can store (one or more) SIB segments and received values ​​(or parameters / enumerators) of the currently received downlink control signaling (e.g., systeminformationblockType1, SIB1, etc.) from the serving cell or the camped cell. In other words, if neither the SIB segment nor any of these parameters are stored during the initiation phase, the UE can store at least one of the value tag parameter, the area scope parameter, and the system information area ID parameter. In some embodiments, valueTag can be an integer within a (predefined) range, for example, between 0 and 31. In some embodiments, the areaScope indicator may be an enumerator (e.g., false, true), or alternatively, the received signaling may not send areaScope in SIB1. In some embodiments, the systemInformationAreaID may be a bit string (e.g., having up to 24 bits), or alternatively, the systemInformationAreaID may not be present (e.g., in the received signaling).

[0095] In some other embodiments, the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) may also be considered as supporting information in SIB segment management. Therefore, during the initiation phase, when the UE begins to store SIB segments received from the serving cell (e.g., when the serving cell is a non-public network (NPN) cell), the UE may also store the first PLMN-Identity in the PLMN-IdentityInfoList. In some embodiments, when the UE begins to store SIB segments received from the serving cell, the UE may store the first NPN-Identity in the NPN-IdentityInfoList.

[0096] In some other embodiments, a cell that can only be used for normal service to subscribers of an NPN may be referred to as an NPN-only cell. A UE with NPN capability may determine that a cell is an NPN-only cell by determining that the cellReservedForOtherUse IE is set to true (e.g., when the npn-IdentityInfoList IE is present in the CellAccessRelatedInfo). A non-NPN-only cell may include a cell that is not an NPN-only cell. In some embodiments, the first NPN identifier may include a PLMN identifier and / or a network identifier (NID), which may be referred to as a standalone NPN (SNPN). The first NPN identifier may include a PLMN identifier and / or a cell access group (CAG) identifier, which may be referred to as a PNI-Public Network Integrated (PNI-NPN).

[0097] In some aspects of this embodiment, in some cases, the UE may need to check the validity of stored SIB segments. For example, each time the UE receives a SIB segment (e.g., before the SIB segment can be assembled into a complete target SIB), the UE may perform a SIB segment validity check procedure. Checking the validity of the SIB segment may occur while the UE remains in the same coverage area (e.g., provided by the same cell), or may occur when the UE moves from one coverage area (e.g., a first cell) to another (e.g., a second cell).

[0098] I. In the same coverage area of ​​the serving cell

[0099] In some embodiments, when collecting the SIB segments of the target SIB, the UE can remain in the same coverage area of ​​the same serving cell (e.g., on a selected frequency carrier). In other words, the stored SIB segments and the stored information associated with the stored SIB segments can also be associated with the identity of the serving cell (e.g., the cellidentity parameter of the serving cell). The UE can obtain the parameter cellidentity from the serving cell by reading the broadcast system information (e.g., received via SIB1). In some embodiments, the UE (e.g., the RRC entity of the UE) can forward the cellidentity parameter to the upper layer of the UE (e.g., forwarded to the non-access stratum (NAS) layer).

[0100] In some embodiments, the UE may discard a stored SIB segment if one or more of the following conditions are met. For example, if the value of the received valueTag parameter associated with the SIB segment is different from the currently stored (or configured) value of the valueTag parameter of the corresponding SIB (e.g., V2X-SIB), the UE may discard (e.g., remove / release from memory) the stored SIB segment (e.g., the SIB segment with the initial valueTag value). In some other embodiments, instead of or in combination with the value tag, if the value of the areascope parameter (e.g., whether it exists) and / or the value of the systemInformationAreaID parameter (e.g., whether it exists) from the latest DL control signaling (e.g., SIB1) is different from the currently stored values ​​of the areaScope and / or systemInformationAreaID parameters of the associated SIB (e.g., V2X-SIB), the UE may discard the currently stored SIB segment.

[0101] For example, the UE may initially store a valueTag associated with one or more received SIB segments. Subsequently, the UE may receive a different valueTag associated with the same target SIB from the UE's serving cell. The value tag of the same target SIB may change for different reasons. For example, the value tag may change when the serving cell modifies the target SIB before the UE is able to assemble the complete target SIB based on the stored SIB segments (e.g., when the UE receives SIB segments and valueTags from the same serving cell). In some embodiments, the received valueTag may be greater than the stored valueTag or may be less than the stored valueTag. However, when the received value tags are different, the UE may discard (e.g., remove or release from memory) all previously stored SIB segments and then store the latest SIB segments received from its serving cell (e.g., all SIB segments are associated with the newly received value tags). It should be noted that even if other parameters (such as areaScope and / or systemInformationAreaID) may be updated when the value tag is updated, the UE may discard the stored SIB segment regardless of the changes to these parameters (e.g., the UE may not check to determine whether the values ​​of these additional parameters have also changed).

[0102] Figures 2A-2B is a diagram showing the transmission of different value tags and SIB segments associated with a target SIB from a base station to a UE according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. More specifically, Figures 2A-2BIt shows how, in five different operating stages 201-205, a base station 210 (or a cell 205 associated with the base station 210) can send two value tags (e.g., value tag (y) and value tag (z)) and three different segments associated with SIBx (e.g., SIB12) to a UE 220, and how the UE 220 can perform a SIB segment validity check procedure to determine the validity of the received SIB segments.

[0103] At stage 201, UE 220 may receive (or be configured with) a first value tag (e.g., value tag (y), VT (y)) via base station 210. The first value tag (y) may be associated with a target SIBx. The UE may receive the value tag / areaScope / systemInformationAreaID from the base station via DL control signaling (e.g., via RRC signaling, such as an RRCReconfiguration message with an information element "dedicatedSIB1-Delivery" configured to send SIB1 to the UE via UE-specific RRC signaling). Note also that this sub-segment has the same value as the corresponding configuration in the broadcast (SIB1) or has the same value as the SI broadcast (e.g., SIB1).

[0104] At stage 202, base station 210 (or cell 205) may transmit (e.g., broadcast) a first SIB segment of SIBx (e.g., SIBx, SEG1). UE 220 may determine that, since there is no stored SIB segment for the target SIB and since the value tag of the segment is still valid (e.g., VT(y)), the first SIB segment (e.g., SEG1) is valid and may therefore store the SIB segment (e.g., in the UE's memory). Next, at stage 203, base station 210 may transmit a second SIB segment of SIBx (e.g., SIBx, SEG2). UE 220 may determine that, since the value tag of the second SIB segment is the same as the value tag associated with the stored SIB segment (e.g., it is still VT(y)), the second SIB segment (e.g., SEG2) is also valid and may therefore also store the second SIB segment in the UE's memory.

[0105] exist Figure 2BIn stage 204, UE 220 may receive (or be configured with) a second value tag (e.g., value tag (z), VT(z)) via base station 210. The second value tag (z) may also be associated with the target SIBx (e.g., the value tag may change because the SIB version may have been updated). UE 220 may receive the new value tag from the base station via DL control signaling (e.g., via RRC signaling) or via SI broadcast (e.g., SIB1).

[0106] Next, at stage 205, the base station 210 may transmit a third SIB segment of SIBx (e.g., SIBx, SEG3). However, at this stage, the UE 220 of some embodiments may determine that the value tag associated with the third SIB segment (e.g., VT(z)) is different from the value tag associated with the currently stored SIB segment (e.g., VT(y)). Therefore, in some embodiments, the UE 220 may discard the stored SIB segments (e.g., SEG1 and SEG2) by removing them from its memory, and instead may store the received third SIB segment (e.g., SEG3) (e.g., and any subsequently received SIB segments associated with the same value tag (e.g., VT(z))) in the UE's memory.

[0107] In some embodiments, the UE may also store the parameters {areaScope=true} and {systemInformationAreaID} associated with the stored SIB segment. Thereafter, the UE may receive a different {systemInformationAreaID} from the serving cell. In this case, the UE may discard all stored SIB segments and store the latest SIB segment received from its serving cell. It should be noted that in this case, the UE may (or may not) update the {valueTag} associated with the obtained (or new) SIB segment based on the latest DL control signaling.

[0108] In some embodiments, the UE may store the parameters {areaScope=true} and {systemInformationArealID} associated with the stored SIB segment. However, the UE may not receive {areaScope=true} from the serving cell later (e.g., areaScope may not be present in the signaling received from the serving cell). In this case, the UE may discard all stored SIB segments and may store the latest SIB segment received from its serving cell. It should be noted that in this case, the UE may (or may not) update the {valueTag} associated with the obtained (or new) SIB segment based on the latest DL control signaling.

[0109] In some embodiments, when the parameter {areaScope} is not present, this means that the stored SIB segments received from the original serving cell are not area-specific, and therefore, the UE may not store any {systemInformationAreaID} parameters associated with the stored SIB segments. Although the parameter {areaScope} may not be present, the UE may still receive the parameter {areaScope=true} with {systemInformationAreaID}, for example, from the latest DL control signaling. If this happens, the UE may discard all stored SIB segments and may store the latest SIB segment(s) received from its serving cell. It should be noted that in this case, the UE may (or may not) update the parameter {valueTag} associated with the obtained (or newly received) SIB segment based on the latest DL control signaling.

[0110] In some embodiments, the UE may (re)select a serving cell on a target frequency associated with a specific service (e.g., V2X service) (e.g., such that the cellidentity parameter received from the new serving cell may be different from the stored cellidentity parameter associated with the stored SIB segment), and the parameter {areaScope} may not be present in the stored SIB segment. In this case, the UE may discard all stored SIB segments with their corresponding stored {PLMN-Identity or NPN-Identity}, {valueTag}, {areaScope} (if present), and {systemInformationAreaID} (if present) associated with the stored SIB segment. The UE may then attempt to retrieve / store the SIB (or SIB segment) associated with the target service (e.g., V2X-SIB) received from the new serving cell.

[0111] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the serving cell for the target service may not be the primary cell or primary secondary cell or secondary cell of the UE. In addition, the serving cell may not be a cell that the UE can maintain and / or a cell through which the UE can initiate an RRC connection in the serving RAN.

[0112] In some embodiments, after successfully collecting and storing all SIB segments associated with the target SIB, the UE may begin assembling the complete target SIB. After assembling the target SIB, in some embodiments of the present invention, the UE may also remap the stored parameters, such as {valueTag}, {areaScope} (if present), {systemInformationAreaID} (if present), cellidentity and / or {PLMN-Identity or NPN-Identity}, to be associated with the assembled target SIB.

[0113] In some embodiments, the UE may not consider the stored SIB segments to be a valid version associated with the target SIB before the UE assembles the complete target SIB based on the stored SIB segments. In this way, before the UE assembles the complete target SIB, the UE may still be allowed to request the target SIB through, for example, a random access procedure (a 2-step and / or 4-step random access procedure). In addition, for RRC-connected UEs, the UE may be allowed to request the target SIB through UE-specific control signaling (e.g., based on a configuration received from a serving cell).

[0114] II. In the coverage area of ​​multiple cells

[0115] Some aspects of embodiments of the present invention may further include UE and / or RAN behavior during (or after) a cell reselection process and when stored SIB segments are associated with a specific systemInformationArealID. In such a case, in some embodiments, if the same SIB (e.g., and the same SIB segmentation method) is used within a cell (e.g., a cell that provides the same systemInformationArealID in the DL control signaling for the target SIB), the UE may store and assemble SIB segments received from different cells.

[0116] In some embodiments, the UE may retain the stored SIB segments after triggering a cell (re)selection procedure for a target service (e.g., V2X service) (or when triggering an intra-frequency / inter-frequency / inter-RAT / inter-system cell (re)selection procedure). In some such embodiments, the UE may check the validity of the SIB segments after the cell (re)selection procedure (or after receiving SIB1 / SIB segments from a (intra-frequency / inter-frequency / inter-RAT / inter-system) neighbor / target cell).

[0117] In some embodiments, upon receiving a new SIB segment, the UE may determine that the stored SIB segment is still valid if the associated {areaScope} of the stored segment is stored and the ({valueTag}, {systemInformationAreaID}) of the stored SIB segment is the same as the ({valueTag}, {systemInformationAreaID}) of the received SIB segment. The UE may receive system information from the serving (or target / neighboring or newly selected) cell (e.g., by reading si-SchedulingInfo of SIB1 broadcast by the serving (or target / neighboring or newly selected) cell).

[0118] In addition, the UE may attempt to receive other SIB segments by monitoring the broadcast system information from the newly selected serving cell. In this case, the UE may assemble a complete target SIB by combining SIB segments received from two or more selected (serving) cells.

[0119] Conversely, if the UE determines that the stored SIB segment is invalid for the current serving cell, the UE may discard the stored SIB segment (and the stored information associated with the stored SIB segment). For example, if ({valueTag}, {areascope}, {systemInformationAreaID}) of the stored SIB segment is different from ({valueTag}, {areascope}, {systemInformationAreaID}) of the received system information, the UE may discard the stored SIB segment and subsequently store the SIB segment received from the newly selected serving cell (and the information associated with the stored SIB segment).

[0120] In some embodiments, the PLMN may also be included as part of the information of the region-specific SIB segment. In some such embodiments, the UE may also record the SIB segment associated with the parameter PLMN-Identity, which may also be provided by the same serving cell that broadcasts the SIB segment.

[0121] During the SIB segment validity check procedure, if the serving cell is a non-NPN-only cell and the first PLMN-identity included in the PLMN-IdentityInfoList is the same as the PLMN-identity associated with the stored SIB segment, and the {valueTag} and {systemInformationAreaID} provided by the serving cell are also the same as the {valueTag} and {systemInformationAreaID} associated with the stored SIB segment, the UE can determine that the stored SIB segment is still valid (e.g., for the serving cell).

[0122] In addition, if the serving cell is an NPN-only cell and the first NPN-Identity included in the NPN-IdentityInfoList is the same as the NPN-Identity associated with the stored SIB segment, and the {valueTag}, {areascope} (e.g., present / not present) and {systemInformationAreaID} provided by the serving cell are also the same as the {valueTag}, {areascope} (e.g., present / not present) and {systemInformationAreaID} associated with the stored SIB segment, the UE can determine that the stored SIB segment is valid for the cell.

[0123] Therefore, in these cases, the UE can assemble a complete target SIB by combining SIB segments received from more than one selected serving cell and stored in the UE. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the stored SIB segment is invalid (e.g., for the serving cell), the UE can discard the stored SIB segment (and the stored information associated with the stored SIB segment). When the UE determines that the SIB segment stored at the UE is invalid, the UE can retrieve / store the SIB segment received from the newly selected serving cell (and the information associated with the stored SIB segment).

[0124] Figure 3A is a flowchart illustrating a method (or process) 300A according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application, which is performed by a UE to assemble a target SIB for a target service after successfully receiving different SIB segments of the target SIB from one or more serving cells and storing these SIB segments.

[0125] Process 300A may begin at 310 by receiving a plurality of SIB segments of a target SIB, eg, from a first cell on a first frequency carrier. As described above, in some embodiments, each of the plurality of SIB segments may be associated with a corresponding value tag (previously) configured for a UE.

[0126] The process 300A may then determine at 320 whether there are any additional SIB segments (e.g., among multiple SIB segments) to process. For the first execution of the process, since there is at least one segment (e.g., the first SIB segment) left to process, the process may determine that (at least) segments are left and may proceed to act 330. In act 330, the process 300A may determine whether the corresponding value tag of the currently processed SIB segment is the same as the corresponding value tag of the first SIB segment. Again, when the process is performed for the first time, the value tag of the currently processed segment (e.g., the first segment) is the same as the value tag corresponding to the first SIB segment. Thus, the process may store the currently processed one or more SIB segments, e.g., in a memory of the UE, at 340. The process 300A may then return to act 320 to determine whether there are any additional SIB segments left to process.

[0127] If all processed segments have the same value tag as the first SIB segment, and the last SIB segment has also been successfully processed, process 300A can proceed to act 350 to assemble the target SIB using the stored multiple SIB segments. However, if, for any processed segment before reaching the end of the multiple segments, process 300A determines at 330 that the value tag associated with the currently processed SIB segment is different from the value tag associated with the first SIB segment, the process can discard the currently stored segment at 360. For example, the process can remove all stored SIB segments from memory and begin storing any new SIB segments associated with new value tags. The process can then end.

[0128] In some embodiments, if the UE moves from the current serving cell to a second cell (e.g., by (re)selecting the second cell) during the SIB segment validity check procedure (e.g., when the UE stores SIB segments for the target SIB), the UE may discard all stored SIB segments when selecting the second cell, regardless of whether the second cell is on the same frequency carrier as the first cell. In some embodiments, the first frequency carrier of the first cell may include a serving frequency carrier for the UE, and the first cell and the second selected cell may include serving cells for the UE. In some other embodiments, the first frequency carrier may include a non-serving frequency carrier for the UE, and the first cell and the second cell may not be serving cells for the UE.

[0129] In some embodiments, when the corresponding value tag of the currently processed SIB segment is different from the corresponding value tag of the first SIB segment, process 300A can store the currently processed SIB segment in the memory of the UE, and can remove the first SIB segment and all previously stored SIB segments from the memory, the previously stored SIB segments having the same value tag as the first SIB segment.

[0130] In some embodiments, after successfully assembling the target SIB, if the target SIB is associated with a first areascope information element (IE) (e.g., when both the first areascope IE and the first area ID are broadcast by the first cell), process 300A may configure the validity area of ​​the target SIB using the first area identifier (ID). Process 300A may then select a second cell on the first frequency carrier, the second cell broadcasting a second areascope IE and a second area ID associated with a second SIB, the second SIB configured by the second cell to support the same target service. If the second area ID is the same as the first area ID associated with the target SIB, the process may determine during selection of the second cell that the stored target SIB is still valid. In some such embodiments, process 300A may select a third cell on the first frequency carrier, the third cell broadcasting a third area ID (different from the first area ID associated with the target SIB), and may determine during selection of the third cell that the target SIB is invalid.

[0131] In some embodiments, process 300A may select a third cell on the first frequency carrier, where the third cell does not broadcast any SIB-related information supporting the same target service, or the third cell broadcasts data associated with a third SIB that supports the same target service but does not have an associated areascope IE. The process may then determine during selection of the third cell that the stored target SIB is not valid.

[0132] In some embodiments, after successfully assembling the target SIB, if the target SIB is not associated with any areascope information element (IE) sent by the first cell, process 300A may configure the validity area associated with the target SIB on the UE.

[0133] In some embodiments, the target service may include a New Radio (NR) sidelink communication service, and the target SIB may include an NR sidelink radio configuration. In some such embodiments, after reselecting another cell on the first frequency carrier, if it is determined that the stored target SIB is valid on the reselected cell, process 300A may implement the NR sidelink communication service based on the NR sidelink radio configuration in the stored target SIB.

[0134] Figure 3B 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method (or process) 300B performed by a UE to assemble a target SIB for a target service after cell (re)selection according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

[0135] Process 300B may check the validity of the stored SIB segments (if any) by first determining in act 370 whether the UE triggered a cell selection or cell reselection process when the UE previously stored one or more SIB segments. Such a determination may be made before the UE successfully assembles the target SIB. Then, after act 310, if process 300B determines that a cell selection / cell reselection process has been triggered, for example, during a SIB segment reception process, and the UE has stored at least one SIB segment of the first plurality of SIB segments from the target SIB, then at 395, the process may discard the stored SIB segment. Instead, the UE may keep monitoring the value tag associated with the target SIB / SIB segment (e.g., by receiving SIB1 from the serving cell). For example: in action 380, when the UE stays in the same serving cell during the SIB segment reception process or the UE has just started to receive (one or more) SIB segments of the target SIB (for example: when the UE has not yet stored any SIB segments of the target SIB), process 300B can receive a value tag associated with the target SIB or the target SIB segment.

[0136] In action 390, process 300B may determine whether the corresponding value tag of the target SIB / SIB segment (e.g., transmitted via the currently received SIB1 of the serving cell) is the same as the corresponding value tag of the stored SIB segment. Again, when process 300B is performed for the first time, the UE may store the value tag of the target SIB / (one or more) SIB segments (e.g., received by the UE via the currently received SIB1) in, for example, a memory of the UE as the value tag of the (one or more) SIB segments. If process 300B determines that the value tag of the currently received target SIB information (in the currently received SIB1) is the same as the value tag corresponding to the (one or more) stored SIB segments, and additional SIB segments are left to be received, process 300B may perform process 300A to receive the new SIB segments. During the execution of process 300A, the UE may attempt to decode and obtain the additional SIB segments during the system information (SI) window time segment configured by the serving / non-serving cell (e.g., the SI window configuration may also have been sent in SIB1). As described above with reference to process 300A, for the first implementation of the process, the UE may receive the first SIB segment and store it in the storage module of the UE. The UE may then check whether all SIB segments of the target SIB have been received by the UE and whether the value tag changes during the SIB segment reception and before all segments are successfully received. Figure 3A The following describes the possible actions that the UE may take next. It should be noted that in some embodiments, if the UE has checked the value tag associated with the target SIB / SIB segment and the value tag associated with the stored (first) SIB segment (for example, the UE implements actions 380 and 390 in the process 300B and then triggers the process 300A after action 390), then the UE can skip actions 330 and 360 in the process 300A. It should also be noted that in this case, if there is at least one target SIB segment left in the process 300A, then in action 320 of the process 300A, the UE can directly store the received SIB segment.

[0137] On the other hand, if process 300B determines that the received value tag is different from the UE's currently stored (or configured) value tag, the process may proceed to action 395 to discard all currently stored SIB segments of the target SIB. The process may then end. In some embodiments, the UE may obtain scheduling information of the target SIB (e.g., the SI window period of the target SIB / SIB segment) via SIB1.

[0138] In some embodiments, if during the SIB segment validity check procedure (e.g., when the UE stores any SIB segments of the target SIB), the UE moves from the current serving cell to a second cell (e.g., by (re)selecting the second cell) in the same frequency carrier or a different frequency carrier (e.g., intra-frequency cell (re)selection or inter-frequency cell (re)selection), then regardless of whether the frequency carrier is a serving frequency carrier or a non-serving frequency carrier to the UE, the UE may discard all stored SIB segments when selecting the second cell. In some embodiments, the first frequency carrier of the first cell may include a serving frequency carrier for the UE, and the first cell and the second selected cell may include a serving cell of the UE (e.g., a primary cell, a primary secondary cell, or a secondary cell). In some other embodiments, the first frequency carrier may include a non-serving frequency carrier for the UE, and the first cell and the second cell may not be a serving cell of the UE.

[0139] In some embodiments, as described above, after successfully assembling the target SIB, if the target SIB is not associated with any areascope information element (IE) sent by the first cell, the UE can configure the downlink coverage area of ​​the first cell (the serving cell when the UE successfully assembles the target SIB) as the valid area associated with the target SIB on the UE.

[0140] In some embodiments, as described above, the target service may include a New Radio (NR) sidelink communication service, and the target SIB may include an NR sidelink radio configuration. In some such embodiments, after reselecting another cell on the first frequency carrier, if it is determined that the stored target SIB is valid on the reselected cell, the UE may implement the NR sidelink communication service based on the NR sidelink radio configuration in the stored target SIB.

[0141] In some embodiments, when a cell changes or modifies the segmentation associated with a SIB (e.g., even if the complete SIB remains the same), the cell may change the valueTag associated with the SIB. In some embodiments, the cell may also need to initiate a system information modification procedure to change the SIB segmentation procedure (e.g., even if the complete SIB remains the same). In some such embodiments, when the UE receives an indication(s) of an SI modification procedure due to a change in the SIB segmentation procedure, the UE may discard all stored SIB segments. In addition, if the UE receives an indication(s) of an SI modification procedure due to a change in the SIB segmentation procedure, the UE may also discard stored SIB segments associated with the SIB to be modified.

[0142] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned SI change indication may be sent by the cell in a paging message (e.g., via a short message that may be broadcast by the serving cell in (at least) one physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) within a modification period (e.g., for system information changes) and may not be applied to SIB segmentation changes. In other words, in some embodiments, when the SIB segmentation method changes, the base station may not set the SI change indication in the paging message to true (or set to equal to 1), but the content of the SIB remains the same.

[0143] In some implementations, the cell may not need to initiate a system information modification procedure to change the SIB segmentation method. Instead, the cell can directly change its valueTag and then use a different SIB segmentation method to transmit the SIB (e.g., V2X-SIB). In this case, the UE may be responsible for checking the latest valueTag before successfully assembling the complete SIB from the stored SIB fragments.

[0144] In some embodiments, when a cell changes the segmentation method associated with a target SIB (e.g., even if the complete SIB remains the same), the cell may not change its valueTag associated with the SIB. In some embodiments, when a cell changes the segmentation method associated with a target SIB (e.g., even if the complete SIB remains the same), the cell may change the valueTag associated with the target SIB. In some embodiments, the cell may change the SIB delivery method before the UE successfully assembles the complete target SIB (e.g., V2X-SIB). For example, before the UE successfully assembles the complete target SIB, the cell may change its si-BroadcastStatus associated with the target SIB from {broadcasting} to {non-broadcasting}. In this case, the UE may still maintain the stored SIB fragments and may then initiate a (2-step or 4-step) random access procedure to request the target SIB again. Alternatively, the UE (e.g., in RRC_CONNECTED state) may still maintain the stored SIB segments and then send an RRC message (e.g., dedicatedSIBRequest message) to the serving cell to request the target SIB. When transmitting the RRC message (e.g., dedicatedSIBRequest message) to the serving cell, the UE may start a timer (e.g., parameter T350 in the NR protocol, such as that described in 3GPP TS 38.331 v16.0.0).

[0145] In some embodiments, the UE may move from the RRC idle / inactive state to the RRC connected state before the UE successfully assembles the complete target SIB. In addition, the UE may be allowed to request the target SIB via dedicated control signaling (e.g., even when the UE has already stored the SIB segments of the target SIB). In this way, the serving cell may send the complete target SIB to the UE via UE-specific dedicated control signaling (e.g., via an RRC (Connection) Reconfiguration message). In this case, the UE may be allowed to send a target SIB request message to the serving cell. In addition, after the UE receives the complete target SIB from the serving cell (e.g., upon successful receipt of the RRC (Connection) Reconfiguration message), the UE may discard the stored SIB segments of the target SIB.

[0146] In some embodiments, after the UE moves from the RRC inactive / idle state to the RRC connected state, the UE may still maintain the stored SIB segments. In addition, when the UE requests a target SIB, the UE may not request the complete target SIB (e.g., SIB12). Instead, the UE may only request the SIB segments required for the UE to assemble the complete target SIB. For example, if the serving cell broadcasts the following SIB segments: {SIB segment #0, SIB segment #1, SIB segment #2, SIB segment #3, SIB segment #4, SIB segment #5}, once the UE moves to the RRC connected state with the stored {SIB segment #0, SIB segment #2, SIB segment #3, SIB segment #5}, then when the UE requests the target SIB from the serving cell, the UE may need to further indicate to the serving cell that the (multiple) SIB segments required by the UE are segment 1 and segment 4 by sending an additional information element (IE): {requested SIB segment number = 1, 4}. After receiving such additional IE, the serving cell may simply transmit the requested SIB segment (eg, {SIB segment #1, SIB segment #4}) to the UE (eg, via an RRC (Connection) Reconfiguration message).

[0147] In some embodiments, the serving cell may further indicate an additional IE to enable / disable the SIB segmentation request (e.g., SIB segmentRequest = {enable or disable}), which may be sent to the UE via dedicated control signaling or broadcast system information. The UE may then request a specific SIB segment from the serving cell. Therefore, if the SIBsegmentRequest message is enabled, when the UE requests the target SIB from the serving cell (e.g., dedicatedSIBRequest message), the UE may further indicate the SegmentNumber(s) of the SIB segment that the UE needs for target SIB assembly. Conversely, if the SIB segmentRequest message is disabled, the UE may not be able to further indicate the SegmentNumber(s) of the SIB segment that the UE needs.

[0148] It should be noted that the SIB segmentRequest can be sent by the UE to the serving cell through a 2-step random access procedure (e.g., the UE can send the SIB segmentRequest message in the PUSCH of MSGA) or through a 4-step random access procedure (e.g., the UE can send the SIB segmentRequest message in MSG3 or MSG5). For UEs in the RRC connected state, the UE can send the SIB segmentRequest message to the serving cell through UEAssistInformation or UEsidelinkAssistanceInformation. In some additional embodiments, a bitmap can be sent in the SIB segmentRequest message, with each bit associated with a SIB segment. The UE can then set the bit = 1 to indicate that the UE requests the corresponding SIB segment. Otherwise, the UE can set the bit = 0 to indicate that the UE does not request the corresponding SIB segment. In addition, the rightmost bit can be associated with the SIB segment with SegmentNumber = 0, and the leftmost bit can be associated with the SIB segment with segmentType = last SIB segment.

[0149] In some embodiments, one or more errors may occur during the SIB assembly process. When an error occurs, the UE may reply to the serving cell with a "SIB segment assembly error event" message. In some embodiments, the UE may send the "SIB segment assembly error event" message to the serving cell via a 2-step RA procedure (e.g., transmitted via MSGA) or a 4-step RA procedure (e.g., transmitted via MSG3 or MSG5). In some other embodiments, the UE (e.g., a UE in an RRC connected state) may send the "SIB segment assembly error event" message to the serving cell via UE-specific dedicated control signaling.

[0150] In some embodiments, a prohibit timer (e.g., the T_sib-assembly-error parameter) may be provided to the UE to restrict the UE from triggering a "SIB segment assembly error event" only after the timer expires. Therefore, when a SIB segment assembly error event occurs, the UE may trigger a timer (e.g., the prohibit timer) and then count down the running timer from an initial value to zero. While the timer is still running or counting, the UE may not be prompted to send a "SIB segment assembly error event" message to the serving cell. Furthermore, while the prohibit timer is still counting, the UE may still attempt to receive and assemble the target SIB. After the prohibit timer expires (or after the prohibit timer counts to zero), the UE may initiate a SIB segment assembly error event reporting procedure and report the error to the serving cell. Furthermore, the UE may discard all stored SIB segments after the timer expires. Furthermore, the initial value of the T_sib-assembly-error parameter may be sent to the UE via broadcast system information or via UE-specific dedicated control signaling. Furthermore, after the UE obtains the complete target SIB, the UE may stop (or release) counting of T_sib-assembly-error. In addition, after the UE discards all stored SIB segments, the UE may stop (or release) counting T_sib-assembly-error. If the UE receives a new configuration (new T_sib-assembly-error parameter) from the serving cell, the UE may reset T_sib-assembly-error.

[0151] Table 1 below includes an example of a SIB and / or SIB segment validity check procedure performed by a UE.

[0152] Table 1

[0153]

[0154]

[0155]

[0156] III. Requesting Target SIB from Serving Cell(s)

[0157] In some embodiments of the present invention, system information (SI) may include a MIB and multiple SIBs divided into minimum SI and other SI. The minimum SI may include basic information required for initial access and information for obtaining any other SI. In some embodiments, the minimum SI may include a MIB and SIB1. The MIB may contain cell barring status information and other basic physical layer information of the cell required to receive further system information (e.g., in a CORESET#0 configuration). The MIB may be broadcast periodically on a broadcast channel (BCH), such as a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). SIB1 may define the scheduling of other system information blocks and may contain information required for initial access to the cell. SIB1 may also be referred to as remaining minimum SI (RMSI) and may be broadcast periodically on a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) or may be sent in a dedicated manner on the DL-SCH to a UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0158] In some embodiments, the other SI may include all SIBs not broadcast in the minimum SI. Such SIBs may be broadcast periodically on the DL-SCH, broadcast on demand on the DL-SCH (e.g., upon request from a UE in RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, or RRC_CONNECTED state), or may be sent in a dedicated manner, such as on the DL-SCH, to a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state (e.g., upon request from a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state or when the UE has an active (DL) BWP that has not been configured with a common search space).

[0159] Other SI may include SIB2 to SIB14. SIB2 may contain cell reselection information primarily related to the serving cell. SIB3 may contain information about the serving frequency and intra-frequency of neighboring cells related to cell reselection (e.g., including cell reselection parameters that are common to the frequency, and cell-specific reselection parameters). SIB4 may include information about other NR frequencies and inter-frequency of neighboring cells related to cell reselection (e.g., including cell reselection parameters that are common to the frequency, and cell-specific reselection parameters). SIB5 may contain information about E-UTRA frequencies and E-UTRA neighboring cells related to cell reselection (e.g., including cell reselection parameters that are common to the frequency, and cell-specific reselection parameters). SIB6 may contain Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) primary notifications, while SIB7 may include ETWS secondary notifications. SIB8 may contain Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) warning notifications, and SIB9 may contain information related to Global Positioning Service (GPS) time and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

[0160] For sidelink communication, another SI may also include SIB12, SIB13 and SIB14, SIB12 may contain information related to NR sidelink communication; SIB13 may include information related to SystemInformationBlockType21 of V2X sidelink communication (for example: as specified in TS 36.331v16.0.0 Section 5.2.2.28), and SIB14 may include information related to SystemInformationBlockType26 of V2X sidelink communication (for example: as specified in TS 36.331v16.0.0 Section 5.2.2.23).

[0161] Additionally, private networks (e.g., non-public networks (NPNs)) can support vertical services and local area network (LAN) services. Private networks can be divided into single non-public networks (SNPNs) and public network integrated non-public networks (PNI-NPNs). Some embodiments may focus on PNI-NPN solutions that can be applied to a wide range of use cases, such as Small Office Home Office (SOHO) and residential use cases, private network coverage deployment, etc. 5G systems may be enhanced to support NPNs. Two network identifiers can be introduced for NPNs: non-public network IDs (NIDs) and closed access group (CAG) IDs. 5G RANs can also implement NPNs by enhancing features such as non-public network identification, discovery, selection / reselection, access control, and mobility restrictions.

[0162] In some embodiments, when a non-public network is introduced, the UE may be classified as a "UE in SNPN access mode" or a "UE in non-SNPN access mode" (e.g., a UE not in SNPN access mode). In addition, a cell may be classified as a "SNPN cell," a "CAG cell," a "PLMN cell," a "cell supporting at least SNPN deployment," a "cell supporting at least PNI-NPN deployment," a "cell supporting at least PLMN deployment," a "cell supporting at least SNPN and PNI-NPN deployment," a "cell supporting at least SNPN and PLMN deployment," a "cell supporting at least PNI-NPN and PLMN deployment," a "cell supporting at least SNPN, PNI-NPN, and PLMN deployment," and the like.

[0163] A UE with NPN capability may (re)select a CAG cell based on an automatic CAG selection mode, a manual CAG selection mode, or a network-controlled manual CAG selection. Network-controlled manual CAG selection (e.g., PLMN-controlled manual CAG selection) may be applied based on the following requirements: for example, a 5G system that supports a mechanism for PLMN to control whether a user of the UE can manually select a non-public network hosted by the PLMN, without authorizing the UE to automatically select the non-public network. Some embodiments may provide a network-controlled manual CAG selection mechanism that may include (i) one or more indicators to be broadcast by the RAN (e.g., a CAG cell) to indicate that the PLMN may allow the user to manually select a CAG ID supported by the CAG cell, (ii) the behavior of the UE upon receiving one or more indicators (e.g., in SIB1, in SIB10, etc.), and (iii) the definition of a suitable cell.

[0164] In some embodiments, a UE in SNPN access mode may perform SNPN selection. The NAS entity of the UE may then notify the AS entity of the UE of the selected SNPN and the registered SNPN. A UE in RRC_IDLE / RRC_INACTIVE state may receive an indication in SIB1 from a cell and then determine whether it is prohibited from entering the cell based on the indication. In some embodiments, the UE may consider whether a cell is prohibited based on an indication associated with the selected SNPN. For example, if IAB support is not provided for the selected PLMN, registered PLMN, or PLMN of the equivalent PLMN list, the UE may consider the cell to be prohibited for IAB-MT (e.g., according to TS 38.304).

[0165] In some embodiments, an RRC-connected UE (i.e., a UE in an RRC-connected state) may be enabled (e.g., by a serving RAN) to request system information (e.g., other SI, such as SIB12, SIB13, or SIB14) from its serving cell (e.g., via UE-specific dedicated control signaling) to implement a particular service (e.g., LTE V2X (communication) service, NR sidelink (communication) service, etc.).

[0166] Figures 4A-4B are two diagrams illustrating communications between a UE and a network (NW) for requesting and receiving one or more system information blocks (SIBs) according to exemplary embodiments of the present application.

[0167] Figure 4A4 is a diagram 401 including a UE 405 and a network network (NW) 410 communicating with each other. As shown in the figure, in action 422, the UE 405 may first receive a configuration (e.g., an OnDemandSIB request configuration) from a serving network (e.g., NW 410). In some embodiments, the NW 410 may include one or more base stations serving at least one UE, such as the UE 405. The UE 405 may have an RRC connection associated with one (or more) serving cells, which are logical entities created by a base station based on a specific radio access technology (RAT) (e.g., New Radio, UTRA, E-UTRA). In addition, each cell can be implemented based on different configurations in the physical layer (or Layer 1) (e.g., physical layer parameters, such as operating frequency carrier, bandwidth, subcarrier spacing (SCS), parameter set, cyclic prefix length), medium access control (MAC) layer (or Layer 2) (e.g., MAC parameters), radio link control (RLC) layer (e.g., RLC parameters), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer (e.g., PDCP parameters), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer (e.g., SDAP parameters), etc.

[0168] In addition, NW 410 may include a radio access network (RAN), which itself may include one or more base stations of one or more radio access technologies (RATs). For example, in some embodiments, a RAN may include one or more NR next-generation node Bs (gNBs) and / or one or more E-UTRA enhanced node Bs (eNBs). In addition, a serving RAN (for a UE) may be a subset of the RAN and may include NR gNBs (e.g., when the UE is connected to the network by maintaining an RRC connection with a (standalone) NR gNB) or an E-UTRA eNB. In some embodiments, an MR-DC configuration (e.g., an E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity (New Radio Dual Connectivity, EN-DC) configuration, a next-generation E-UTRA and new radio dual connectivity (NGEN-DC) configuration, or a new radio dual connectivity (NR-DC) configuration) may be configured / provided to the UE to configure the UE's serving RAN. In this way, the UE can be configured with a primary node (e.g., an NR gNB or an E-UTRA eNB) and (at least) one secondary node (e.g., an NR gNB or an E-UTRA eNB) to utilize radio resources received from two or more base stations and / or for data exchange. In some embodiments, in a dual connectivity scenario, the UE (e.g., UE 405) can receive an OnDemandSIB request configuration (e.g., in action 422) from the primary node (e.g., via signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1) or signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2) associated with the primary node) or the secondary node (e.g., via signaling radio bearer 3 (SRB3) associated with the secondary node). Each of the aforementioned primary node or secondary node can be part of NW 410.

[0169] After receiving the configuration, the UE 405 may send a dedicated SIB request message (e.g., a DedicatedSIBRequest message) to the network 410 (e.g., to the primary node and / or the secondary node) to request one or more SIBs in action 424. After sending the dedicated SIB request message, in action 426, the UE 405 may receive all (or a subset (or SIB segment)) of the requested SIBs from the primary node and / or the secondary node, for example, by broadcasting the NW 410 (e.g., via a physical broadcast channel) the requested SIB(s).

[0170] Figure 4B The UE 405 and NW 410 are shown in FIG402 as if they were communicating with each other. Figure 4AAs shown in the figure, the UE can receive the configuration of the SIB request and can be similar to the reference Figure 4A Send a dedicated SIB request message to the NW as described in Figure 4B As shown, in action 428, the UE 405 may receive all (or a subset (or SIB segment)) of the requested SIBs from the master node and / or the secondary node via dedicated (or UE-specific) control signaling (eg, UE-specific RRC signaling).

[0171] In some embodiments, different UEs may be associated with different topologies of the serving RAN. Additionally, the serving RAN may be connected to a 5G core network (5GC) and / or an evolved packet core network (EPC) as a core network connection supporting one or more UEs.

[0172] In some embodiments, the UE may send an on-demand dedicated SIB request (eg, using an OnDemandSIB request configuration) to one or more serving cells, as shown in Table 2 below.

[0173] Table 2

[0174]

[0175]

[0176] In Table 2 above, the information element 'onDemandSIB request={true}' is used to enable the UE to control the UE through UE-specific control signaling (e.g. Figure 1Otherwise, if the UE does not receive the OnDemandSIB request configuration (e.g., by 'onDemandSIB request = {true}') or the OnDemandSIB request configuration is set to release from the serving cell or 'onDemandSIB request is set to {false}', the UE may be prevented from sending the DedicatedSIBRequest message. In some embodiments, the NW may further indicate that the UE is enabled to request (which or which) SIBs from the serving NW by sending an IE 'OnDemandSIB Enable' in the OnDemandSIB request (e.g., a list of SIBs that the UE is allowed / enabled to request by sending a request message to the serving cell). In addition, if the SIB is not included in the received 'OnDemandSIB Enable', the UE may not be allowed to request the SIB by sending a DedicateSIBRequest message to the serving cell. The UE may decide which SIB to request based on the UE's preferences (e.g., based on specific services that the UE may be interested in, such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) services, NR sidelink services, multicast broadcast services, etc.), or through a request from an upper layer (e.g., non-access stratum (or entity) or application layer).

[0177] In some embodiments, if the UE receives the information element 'onDemandSIB request = {true}', the UE may store the information element, which may then enable the UE to request system information in the uplink direction via UE-specific dedicated control signaling (e.g., a DedicatedSIBRequest message). The UE-specific dedicated control signaling may be scrambled by a UE-specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) (e.g., a C-RNTI), which may be pre-configured by, for example, the serving RAN to perform a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) procedure. In addition, the UE-specific signaling / data packets may also be encrypted by a UE-specific access stratum security key, which may be known only to the UE and the serving RAN.

[0178] In some embodiments, once the UE sends dedicated control signaling for requesting system information, the UE may remove / release the information element 'onDemandSIB Request = {true}', or may retain the stored information element 'onDemandSIB Request = {true}'. For example, in the 3GPP technical specification, the onDemandSIB request (configuration) may also be configured as "Need N" (No Action (Unmaintained Single Configuration)), which means that the IE 'onDemandSIB Request = {true}' is used for (configuration) word segments that are not stored and whose presence may only result in a one-time action by the UE (e.g., it may trigger the UE to send a DedicatedSIBRequest message to the serving cell). Then, when sending the DedicatedSIBRequest message to the serving cell, the UE may release the IE 'onDemandSIB Request'. In some embodiments, the OnDemandSIB Request configuration may be configured as 'Need N' in the 3GPP technical specification. In this way, when sending the DedicatedSIBRequest message to the serving cell, the UE may release the 'OnDemandSIB Request Configuration'. In some embodiments, when a counter (e.g., counts T350, such as Figures 4A-4B When the (single) "onDemandSIB Request" or "OnDemandSIB Request Configuration" expires (e.g., when T350 is still counting, the (single) "onDemandSIB Request" or "OnDemandSIB Request Configuration" may be released / removed. In this case, the UE may still be able to send another DedicatedSIBRequest message (e.g., based on the stored configuration) before the counter (e.g., count T350) expires.

[0179] Once the UE receives the requested system information, the UE may remove / release the information element 'onDemandSIB Request = {true}' in some embodiments, or may retain the stored information element 'onDemandSIB Request = {true}' in some other embodiments. In still other embodiments, the UE may remove / release the IE 'onDemandSIB Request = {true}' only when the UE successfully receives all requested SIBs.

[0180] In some embodiments, as will be discussed in more detail, when the UE successfully receives a subset of the requested (or target) SIBs (e.g., one or more segments) from the serving RAN, the UE may remove / release the IE 'onDemandSIBRequest={true}'. As will be discussed in more detail, for example, when the UE switches from one active (DL) BWP to another (DL) BWP (e.g., which does not include a search space for receiving SIBs), the UE may release the IE 'onDemandSIBRequest={true}' and send a new SIB request.

[0181] In some additional embodiments, if there is any pending SIB request message (e.g., DedicatedSIBRequest message) in the UE's buffer, the UE may remove / release the IE 'onDemandSIB Request'. In some additional embodiments, if there is any pending SIB request message (e.g., DedicatedSIBRequest message) in the UE's buffer, the UE may not remove / release the IE 'onDemandSIB Request'. In some embodiments, the serving RAN may instruct the UE to remove / release the IE "onDemandSIB Request" through an explicit instruction (e.g., UE-specific RRC signaling in the downlink direction). In some other embodiments, the serving RAN may reconfigure 'onDemandSIB Request = {false}' to the UE by sending another UE-specific control signaling (e.g., UE-specific RRC signaling). In addition, when the DedicatedSIBRequest message is deleted / released or set to 'false', the pending SIB request messages (if any) may also be deleted accordingly. In some embodiments, if there is any pending SIB request message in the UE's buffer, the UE may not remove / release the IE 'onDemandSIB request'.

[0182] In some embodiments, the serving RAN may instruct the UE to remove / release the 'OnDemandSIB Request Configuration' by sending UE-specific control signaling (e.g., RRC signaling) to the UE. Thereafter, upon receiving the instruction, the UE may remove / release the stored 'OnDemandSIB Request Configuration'. In addition, the pending SIB-request message (if any) may also be removed accordingly. In some additional embodiments, the UE may not remove / release the IE 'onDemandSIB Request Configuration' when there are any pending SIB request messages in the UE's buffer. For example, when the pending SIB request message in the UE's buffer is successfully transmitted to the serving RAN, the UE may remove / release the IE 'onDemandSIB Request Configuration'. Once the UE receives another information element 'onDemandSIB Request = {false}' (or 'onDemandSIB Request = {empty}'), the UE may release / remove the information element 'onDemandSIB Request = {true}'.

[0183] In some embodiments, after receiving the 'OnDemand SIB Enabled' list from the serving cell, the UE may only be allowed to request the system information blocks indicated by the 'OnDemand SIB Enabled' list from the NW by sending a DedicatedSIBRequest message to the serving cell. In some embodiments, the OnDemand SIB Enabled list may be pre-configured in the technical specification rather than configured in the OnDemand SIB Request configuration. In some other embodiments, the OnDemand SIB Enabled list may be broadcast in system information (e.g., in SIB1 or other system information blocks).

[0184] In some embodiments, after receiving the OnDemandSIB configuration request (eg, after operation 422, such as Figures 4A-4B As shown in FIG, 1 ), the UE may be triggered to send a DedicatedSIBRequest message to request one or more SIBs from the NW (e.g., from the serving cell). For example, if the UE is in RRC connected state, its active (DL) BWP is not configured with any search space (e.g., any common search space), for example, with the sub-segment searchSpaceOtherSystemInformation (e.g., in the BWP configuration associated with the active BWP), and the UE does not store a valid version of one or more required / target SIBs (e.g., or does not store a valid SIB according to a request from an upper layer), the UE may be triggered to request the SIBs.

[0185] For example, the UE may be receiving SIB segments of a target SIB via one or more search spaces of an active BWP, the active (DL) BWP being associated with the UE's serving cell. However, during the reception of the SIB segments and before the target SIB is successfully assembled based on the received SIB segments, the UE may switch (or move) from one active (DL) BWP to another active (DL) BWP. In this case, if the second BWP does not have a common search space, then, for example, when the UE switches (or moves) to another active BWP that includes (one or more) search spaces required for receiving the SIB segments, the UE may release the received (and stored) SIB segments and initiate another dedicated SIB request, and may receive new SIB segments.

[0186] As described above, a base station (e.g., a gNB) can configure one or more search spaces for a UE (e.g., via RRC signaling). The UE can monitor the configured search spaces to receive (and decode) physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates included in the search space(s). By monitoring the PDCCH candidates, the UE can obtain control information (such as downlink control information (DCI)) and SIBs from the PDCCH candidates. In current New Radio (NR) specifications, a component carrier can include up to four bandwidth parts (BWPs), and for each BWP, up to ten search spaces (with different search space identifiers (IDs)) can be configured for the UE.

[0187] In some embodiments, the base station may configure the search space information for the UE through RRC signaling. In some other embodiments, the UE may obtain the search space configuration implicitly. That is, the UE may decode the synchronization signal block (SSB) and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) in the SSB to obtain the search space configuration. The search space configuration obtained by the UE from the PBCH decoding is regarded as a search space configuration with a search space ID to be set to 0 by default. Each search space may contain different configurations for the UE to decode PDCCH candidates. For example, the search space configuration may include, but is not limited to: searchSpaceType, such as slot format indicator (SFI)-PDCCH reception, downlink preemption indication reception, UE-specific DCI reception, system information, etc.; ControlResourceSetID, where each ControlResourceSetID corresponds to a control resource set (CORESET) configuration (which may also be provided through control signaling such as dedicated control signaling or broadcast messages); and control resource set (Control Resource Set), which may further include frequency domain resource location, start symbol in the time domain, duration of the control resource set (continuous duration of the CORESET expressed in the number of symbols), pdcch-DMRS-ScramblingID, etc. Other parameters such as {monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset, monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot, nrofCandidates#1} may also be included in the search space configuration.

[0188] Figure 5 1 is a diagram illustrating a time-frequency grid of a serving cell (eg, component carrier) configured with multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. Specifically, Figure 5 Component carrier 500 is shown including two (DL) BWPs 510 and 520 (e.g., BWP #1 and BWP #2, respectively). BWP 510 may include a search space 530, while BWP 520 may not include (or may not be configured with) any search space (e.g., a common search space). Although component carrier 500 in the illustrated example includes only two BWPs, and only one BWP includes only one search space, as described above, in the current NR specification, each cell may be configured with up to four BWPs, and each BWP may be configured with up to ten search space sets (e.g., component carrier 500 may be configured with BWPs 1-BWP 4, BWP 110 may be configured with search spaces 1A-1J, and BWP 120 may be configured with search spaces 2A-2J (not shown)).

[0189] Each BWP may have a different set of parameters (such as subcarrier spacing) or even a different frequency. In the illustrated example, the UE may monitor the search space 530 in the active BWP 510 to receive the SIB segment of the requested (or target) SIB, and when the BWP 520 becomes active, the UE may switch to monitoring the search space (if any) in the active BWP 520 to receive the SIB segment. However, as Figure 5 As shown, BWP 520 does not have a search space configured for it. Therefore, in some embodiments, the UE may release all previously received and stored SIB segments associated with BWP 510 and may send a new request for a target SIB to the network (e.g., via the serving cell). The UE may then receive the requested target SIB, for example, when it switches to another active BWP configured with a search space.

[0190] In some cases, even though a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs, the UE may only have one active BWP (in the time domain) per cell. However, the UE can switch between configured BWPs and maintain PDCCH reception based on all configured search spaces, which can be pre-configured in the RRC signaling in the active BWP. To support carrier aggregation (CA) and dual connectivity (DC), in NR, each UE can support up to 16 downlink carriers without DC and 32 downlink carriers with DC. In addition, for further releases, it is envisaged that a component carrier can have more than one active BWP, and with the possible introduction of multiple connectivity in future releases, each UE can be configured with more than one component carrier.

[0191] In some embodiments, in order to prevent the UE from transmitting frequent DedicatedSIBRequest messages, an additional timer (e.g., T350) may be configured for the UE. In some embodiments, after the UE sends a DedicatedSIBRequest message with an onDemandSIB-RequestList to the serving cell, the UE may start the T350 timer (e.g., by setting the value of T350 = onDemandSIB-RequestProhibitTimer, which may also be configured by the serving cell in the OnDemandSIB request configuration, as shown in Table 2 above). The UE may further indicate (one or more) requested SIBs in the onDemandSIB-RequestList, which may be included in the DedicatedSIBRequest message. In the onDemandSIB-RequestList, the UE may request one or more SIBs from the serving cell.

[0192] In some embodiments, the onDemandSIB-RequestList may be a sequence, such as onDemandSIB-RequestList={'SIB11', 'SIB12', 'SIB13', 'SIB14'}. In some other embodiments, for example, the onDemandSIB-RequestList may be a bitmap, wherein each bit in the bitmap is associated with a specific SIB in the 'OnDemandSIB Enabled' list (e.g., each bit has a one-to-one relationship with a SIB) (e.g., the length of the bitmap may be equal to the number of SIBs in the 'OnDemandSIB Enabled' list). In addition, the sequence or bitmap (e.g., from the leftmost bit to the rightmost bit) may be associated with the SIBs in the 'OnDemandSIB Enabled' list in ascending (or descending) order.

[0193] In some such embodiments, in the sent onDemandSIB-RequestList, the UE may indicate a bit as '1' (or 'true') when the UE requests the associated SIB. Conversely, if the UE does not request the associated SIB in the DedicatedSIBRequest message, the UE may indicate a bit as '0' (or false). After the UE sends the DedicatedSIBRequest message, the UE may receive the requested SIBs (all or a subset), for example, through UE-specific dedicated control signaling (e.g., RRCReconfiguration message to the UE) or through broadcast system information. The UE may not be allowed to send a DedicatedSIBRequest message while the T350 timer is still counting / running (which may also mean that the T350 timer is still active).

[0194] In some implementations, the UE may stop counting T350 under the following circumstances, as shown in Table 3 below.

[0195] Table 3

[0196]

[0197]

[0198] Referring to Table 3 above, there are still some additional conditions that may affect the start / stop conditions of timer T350. In addition, since timer T350 may affect UE behavior with respect to certain specific services (e.g., LTE V2X (sidelink communication) service, NR sidelink (communication) service, multicast broadcast service (MBS) etc.), additional embodiments that discuss timer T350 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0199] In some embodiments, if the UE requires one or more new SIBs from the serving cell (e.g., for a specific service), the UE may reset / restart timer T350. For example, a UE in the RRC connected state may be configured to implement LTE V2X services or NR sidelink services for which the UE has not previously sent any request to the serving cell. At the same time, when a new service request is initiated (e.g., by an upper layer of the UE, such as the V2X layer or the NAS layer), an active timer T350 may still be counting / running.

[0200] In such a scenario, the UE may stop the active timer T350 and then send a new SIB request message (e.g., DedicatedSIBRequest message) to the serving cell. The message may include onDemandSIB-RequestList to indicate (one or more) requested SIBs (e.g., V2X-SIBs, such as SIB12 and / or SIB13 and / or SIB14). After sending the new DedicatedSIBRequest message, the UE may restart T350 (e.g., by resetting T350 = onDemandSIB-RequestProhibitTimer).

[0201] In some embodiments, timer T350 may be stopped only when the UE is triggered to request one or more predefined SIBs (e.g., predefined in a technical specification or predefined in an OnDemandSIB request configuration). Conversely, when the SIB requested by the UE does not belong to the predefined SIBs configured for the UE, timer T350 may not be stopped (and the UE may not be allowed to send a new DedicatedSIBRequest message).

[0202] In some embodiments, the UE may be allowed to send another DedicatedSIBRequest message with different content (e.g., different onDemandSIB-RequestList) while timer T350 is counting / running. In some other embodiments, the UE may be allowed to send another DedicatedSIBRequest message with different content (e.g., different onDemandSIB-RequestList) while T350 is counting / running only when the UE is triggered to request one or more predefined SIBs.

[0203] In some embodiments, another SI request message (e.g., a V2X-SIB request message) may be present for the UE to request, for example, V2X-related SIBs. In some embodiments, the UE may not be allowed to send a V2X-SIB request message while T350 is counting / running. In some embodiments, the UE may be allowed to send a V2X-SIB request message regardless of whether T350 is counting. In some embodiments, for example, when the UE sends a V2X-SIB request message, a timer such as V2X-T350 may be configured to count / run while the UE transmits a system information request message for a V2X-SIB (e.g., SIB12 / SIB13 / SIB14) to the serving RAN. In some embodiments, the UE may be allowed to send another V2X-SIB request message only when V2X-T350 is not running or is stopped.

[0204] Furthermore, in some embodiments, a V2X-SIB request message may be transmitted independently of a SIB request (e.g., a DedicatedSIBRequest), which may be sent by a UE to request system information other than the V2X-SIB. In some embodiments, when the UE transmits a V2X-SIB request message (e.g., to a lower layer, such as the physical (PHY) layer) for transmission, the UE may configure V2X-T350 = onDemandSIB-RequestProhibitTimer. In some other embodiments, another information element (IE) (e.g., onDemandSIB-RequestProhibitTimer_V2X IE) may also be configured in the OnDemandSIB request configuration for the UE. Accordingly, when the UE transmits a V2X-SIB request message (e.g., to a lower layer for transmission in the airlink), the UE may configure a timer, V2X-T350 = onDemandSIB-RequestProhibitTimer_V2X, which then begins counting down to zero. Thereafter, while the V2X-T 350 is still counting, the UE may not be allowed to send the V2X-SIB request message again.

[0205] Other UE behaviors corresponding to the start / stop / expiration conditions of the timer V2X-T350 may follow the UE behaviors shown in Table 3 above. In some other embodiments, when the UE is triggered to release (or stop / remove) the ongoing NR sidelink service (or LTE / NR V2X service), the pending V2X-SIB request message (or pending V2X-SIB request procedure) may be released. In other words, if the UE is not interested in implementing the NR sidelink service or LTE / NR V2X service, the pending V2X-SIB request procedure may not be continued. In addition, in some embodiments, the count V2X-T350 may also be released in such a case.

[0206] In some embodiments, for a regular DedicatedSIBRequest message with a count of T350, if the UE no longer requires the requested SIB (e.g., when an active SIB on-demand procedure is ongoing, the UE is triggered by upper layers to stop the service that requires the requested SIB (e.g., MBS)), the UE may also stop the ongoing DedicatedSIBRequest message transmission (or may stop the counting (countdown) of timer T350).

[0207] A. Special Cases of Transmitting V2X-SIB

[0208] In some embodiments, the UE may indicate a V2X-SIB request to the serving cell via control signaling related to sidelink communication. For example, in some embodiments, the UE may send a "SidelinkUEInformationNR" message to the serving cell. In addition, the UE may also indicate to the serving cell "NR Sidelink System Information Request = {True}" or "NR Sidelink System Information Request = 1" for the corresponding V2X-SIB request (e.g., SIB12 and / or SIB13 and / or SIB14). In some such embodiments, after receiving SidelinkUEInformationNR, the serving cell may send SIB12 to the UE via UE-specific dedicated control signaling (e.g., RRCReconfiguration message). In some embodiments, SIB12 may be included as an information element of sl-ConfigDedicatedNR, which may be included in the RRCReconfiguration message. In some additional embodiments, the NR sidelink system information request may be configured as a sequence, such as NR Sidelink System Information Request = {'SIB12', 'SIB13', 'SIB14'}. Additionally, the UE may also indicate which V2X-SIB the UE requires by sending an NR sidelink system information request IE, for example in a SidelinkUEInformationNR message.

[0209] In some additional embodiments, the UE can also request SIB13 / 14 by sending a SidelinkUEInformationNR message to the serving cell (e.g., sending E-UTRA sidelink system information request = {true} in the SidelinkUEInformationNR message). In other embodiments, the UE can also request SIB12 by sending a SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA message to the serving cell (e.g., sending NR sidelink system information request = {true} in the SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA message).

[0210] In addition, when the UE sends a SidelinkUEInformationNR message for a V2X-SIB request, timer T350 (or any other V2X-T350 timer) may not be triggered / stopped / released. In some embodiments, the UE can still send a SidelinkUEInformationNR message for a V2X-SIB query regardless of whether there is any active T350 (or V2X-T350) count on the UE side. In some other embodiments, when the UE transmits a SidelinkUEInformationNR message for a V2X-SIB request (e.g., to a lower layer for packet delivery), V2X-T350 may still be triggered. In addition, while V2X-T350 is counting, the UE may not be allowed to send a SidelinkUEInformationNR message for a V2X-SIB query.

[0211] In some embodiments, the UE may send a "SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA" message to the serving cell. Moreover, the UE may also indicate "E-UTRA sidelink system information request = {true}" or "E-UTRA sidelink system information request = 1" (or "LTE V2X system information request = 1" or "LTE-V2X system information request = 1") corresponding to the requested V2X-SIB (e.g., SIB21 and / or SIB26). After receiving the SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA, the serving cell may send SIB21 / 26 to the UE through UE-specific dedicated control signaling (e.g., RRCReconfiguration message). In some embodiments, the requested E-UTRA sidelink system information (e.g., SIB18 / 19 / 21 / 26) may be included as an information element of sl-ConfigDedicatedNR, which may be included in the RRCReconfiguration message. In some additional embodiments, the E-UTRA sidelink system information request may be configured as a sequence, such as E-UTRA sidelink system information request = {'SIB18', 'SIB19', 'SIB21', 'SIB26'}. The UE may also indicate which (E-UTRA) V2X-SIB the UE requires by sending an E-UTRA sidelink system information request IE in the SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA message.

[0212] In addition, when the UE sends the SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA message for the (E-UTRA) V2X-SIB request, the T350 timer may not be triggered / stopped / released. In some embodiments, regardless of whether there is any active T350 countdown on the UE side, the UE can still send the SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA message for the (E-UTRA) V2X-SIB query.

[0213] In some additional embodiments, requests for V2X-SIBs (e.g., as described above) may not be subject to the T350 timer. In other words, even if T350 is still counting, the UE may still be able to send SidelinkUEInformationNR / SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA (e.g., corresponding to a V2X-SIB request). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the T350 timer may not be stopped / reset by sending SidelinkUEInformationNR or receiving a V2X-SIB via UE-specific downlink control signaling.

[0214] It should be noted that the above mechanism may also be applicable to (one or more) SIBs configured to support other services (eg, multicast broadcast service, etc.).

[0215] In some embodiments, if the UE sends a SidelinkUEInformationNR or receives a V2X-SIB, the UE may stop / reset the T350 timer (if it is running). In some additional embodiments, T350 may be stopped / reset only if the requested V2X-SIB is included in the DedicatedSIBRequest message sent by the UE (which triggers the UE to start T350 counting). In addition, when the T350 timer stops, the UE may resend another DedicatedSIBRequest message to the serving cell, which may not include the requested V2X-SIB (for example, because the UE may have already requested the proposed V2X-SIB via the proposed SidelinkUEInformationNR / SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA message).

[0216] In some additional embodiments, the existing on-demand SIB procedure (e.g., as shown in Table 3 above) may be applied together with or independently of the above mechanism. In this way, when the T350 timer is still counting (or running), the UE can still send SidelinkUEInformationNR or SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA. In addition, after sending the above SidelinkUEInformationNR / SidelinkUEInformationEUTRA, the UE may start (restart / stop) the T350 timer or may not start (restart / stop) the T350 timer.

[0217] B. Impact of V2X-SIB Segmentation

[0218] In some embodiments, the V2X-SIB (e.g., SIB12 in the NR sidelink protocol) may need to be segmented into several SIB segments for transmission, as described in greater detail above. Thereafter, the UE may need to assemble all received (and stored) SIB segments to obtain a valid target SIB (e.g., SIB12).

[0219] In some aspects of this embodiment, the UE may receive SIB segments from different cells (e.g., a serving cell and a target cell during a conditional handover procedure or a DAPS handover procedure). In some such embodiments, the T350 timer may continue counting until the UE is able to assemble the entire target SIB (e.g., a V2X-SIB, such as SIB12) based on the received SIB segments. In some embodiments, the T350 timer may be stopped while the UE is assembling received SIB segments (e.g., SIB segments received by the UE from one or more cells in the NW) to obtain a valid target SIB. In some additional embodiments, the T350 timer may be stopped if the UE receives any SIB segments from the serving cell (e.g., when the UE requests only the V2X-SIB from the serving cell).

[0220] In some additional embodiments, even when the UE has received / stored one or more SIB segments (e.g., corresponding to the target SIB) from the serving cell (or from a previous serving cell), the UE is still able to send a DedicatedSIBRequest message to the serving cell, but the UE may still not be able to assemble the target SIB based on all SIB segments received from the serving RAN.

[0221] Figure 6 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method (or process) 600 performed by a UE according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application for requesting a target SIB associated with a target service. Process 600 may begin at 610 by initiating a dedicated SIB request process to send a request for a target SIB to a serving cell. As described above, in some embodiments, the dedicated SIB request process may be initiated when the UE receives multiple SIB segments associated with a target SIB from a serving cell (e.g., based on the initiated dedicated SIB request process) and before the target SIB is successfully assembled based on the received multiple SIB segments.

[0222] In some embodiments, initiating a dedicated SIB request procedure may include initiating a dedicated SIB request procedure when the UE switches from a current downlink bandwidth part (BWP) to a second active downlink BWP that is not configured with any search space for system information reception. In some embodiments, the UE may thereafter switch to a third active downlink BWP that is configured with at least one search space for system information reception, and may assemble the requested (or target) SIB segment after receiving the remaining SIB segments of the plurality of SIB segments via the third BWP.

[0223] Then, when initiating a dedicated SIB request procedure, process 600 may start a timer (e.g., the T350 timer described above) at 620. As described above, initiating a second dedicated SIB request procedure may not be allowed while the T350 timer is running (e.g., counting down to zero).

[0224] After successfully assembling the target SIB based on the received multiple SIB segments, process 600 can set the timer to zero so that a second dedicated SIB request process can be initiated (e.g., for receiving another target SIB). In some embodiments, the target SIB can include an NR sidelink radio, such as an access stratum (AS) configuration, for the UE to implement a corresponding (e.g., associated with the target SIB) target service, such as a sidelink communication service. In some such embodiments, the UE can select a second serving cell to move from its current serving cell (e.g., during a handover process), and after moving to the second serving cell, can implement the NR sidelink communication service based on the NR sidelink radio configuration included in the target SIB received in the serving cell (e.g., after determining that the target SIB is still valid on the second serving cell).

[0225] In some embodiments, when the UE is in the NR RRC connected state, the UE may initiate a dedicated SIB request procedure and start a timer. In some such embodiments, after sending the request for the SIB, the UE may switch its RRC state from the RRC connected state to one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state. Thereafter, after switching the RRC state, the UE may implement the corresponding service (e.g., NR sidelink communication service) based on the configuration included in the target SIB (e.g., NR sidelink radio configuration).

[0226] C.DAPS switching scenario

[0227] In some embodiments, a radio bearer (e.g., a data radio bearer / signaling radio bearer) may be configured as a DAPS bearer. In some embodiments, the AS layer (or entity) of the UE may configure a DAPS bearer to be associated with a target cell (or target cell group), which may be different from a DAPS bearer associated with the UE's source cell (or source cell group). In some such embodiments, the serving cell (e.g., the source cell) may indicate the target cell (or target cell group) and the associated DAPS radio bearer configuration to the UE via UE-specific dedicated control signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, such as in an RRCReconfiguration message).

[0228] In some embodiments, when at least one DAPS bearer is configured, new signaling radio bearers (SRBs), such as SRB0, SRB1, SRB2, etc., may be configured to be associated with the target cell. In addition, in some embodiments, the original SRBs associated with the source serving cell(s) may still be maintained.

[0229] In some embodiments, a timer, such as a T350 timer, may remain active (e.g., counting / running) during a DAPS handover procedure. For example, a T350 timer associated with a source cell may be active / running during a DAPS handover (DAPS HO) procedure (e.g., and before the DAPS HO procedure is deemed successfully terminated). During the DAPS handover procedure, the UE may still be able to obtain the requested SIBs (or SIB segments) from the target cell(s) or the source cell(s). Thus, T350 may be stopped when the UE receives the requested SIBs from the target cell or serving cell. The target cell or serving cell may transmit the requested SIB segments via UE-specific dedicated control signaling or via broadcast system information. In some embodiments, the T350 timer may be associated with an RRC entity, so that when (at least) one DAPS bearer is configured during a handover procedure via the NW, there may be only one T350 timer.

[0230] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the UE may obtain a subset of (one or more) requested SIBs (or SIB segments) from the source cell and another subset of (one or more) requested SIBs (or SIB segments) from the target cell.

[0231] In some embodiments, the UE may send two DedicatedSIBRequest messages to the source cell and the target cell respectively. In some embodiments, the contents of the two DedicatedSIBRequest messages transmitted to the source cell and the target cell may be exactly the same. In some other embodiments, for a single dedicated SIB request, different contents may be transmitted to the source cell and the target cell (for example, one DedicatedSIBRequest_source message may be transmitted to the source cell, and another DedicatedSIBRequest_target message may be transmitted to the target cell). In addition, in some embodiments, two independent system information query processes may be independently initiated and performed by the UE (for example, the system information query may be similar to Figure 1), one of which is associated with the target cell and the other is associated with the source cell. In some such embodiments, in each of the two independent system information query procedures, a T350_source timer may be configured for the system information query procedure associated with the source cell, and another T350_target timer may be configured for the system information query procedure associated with the target cell. In addition, the UE may (re)start / count / stop each source timer and target timer (e.g., T350_SOURCE and / or T350_TARGET timer) based on the existing configuration (e.g., as shown in Table 3 and described above).

[0232] D. System information modification

[0233] In some embodiments, a counting timer (e.g., T350) may be stopped when the serving cell triggers an SI modification. In some embodiments, if the UE receives an indication of a system information modification (e.g., by reading a short message from the serving cell while the UE is monitoring paging DCI or paging messages), the UE may stop counting timer T350. In some embodiments, when T350 is stopped (or not running), the value of the T350 timer may be fixed. In some such embodiments, when T350 is activated again (e.g., at a later time), the T350 timer may start from a fixed value rather than from the onDemandSIB-RequestProhibitTimer.

[0234] After the UE receives the updated SIB scheduling information (e.g., included in SIB1, broadcast periodically and / or continuously by the serving cell), if the SIB(s) requested by the UE are not affected by the system information modification, the UE may reactivate (or restart) the T350 timer. The T350 timer may then start counting based on the fixed value at which it was stopped. It should also be noted that in some other embodiments, the T350 timer may be restarted using the value of a variable such as onDemandSIB-RequestProhibitTimer.

[0235] Conversely, in some embodiments, if at least one SIB of interest to the UE is modified (or the serving cell generates a new SIB request based on the updated SIB1), the UE may be triggered to send a DedicatedSIBRequest message with an onDemandSIB-RequestList to the serving cell. For example, when the modified SIB is not broadcast by the serving cell (e.g., the serving cell may indicate that a SIB (or system information) is {notbroadcast} in SIB1), the UE may be triggered to send a DedicatedSIBRequest message with an onDemandSIB-RequestList to the serving cell. Then, following the sending of the DedicatedSIBRequest message, the UE may restart the T350 timer by setting the value of T350 to onDemandSIB-RequestProhibitTimer.

[0236] E. Inter-RAT Scenario

[0237] In some embodiments, a UE in an NR RRC connected state may be instructed (e.g., by a serving cell) to switch to (at least) one target cell operating in another RAT (e.g., E-UTRA, UTRA-FDD, etc.). For example, in response to the UE sending a dedicated request message (e.g., DedicatedSIBRequest message) to the serving cell, the serving cell may send a MobilityfromNR command to the UE (e.g., through UE-specific RRC signaling). After receiving the MobilityfromNR command, the UE may be triggered to start a (contention-free / contention-based) random access procedure with the target cell indicated by the MobilityfromNR command. After the random access procedure is completed, the UE may send an inter-RAT handover complete message to the target cell to indicate that the inter-RAT handover was successful. The aforementioned 'inter-RAT handover complete message' may be sent to the serving cell based on the RAT protocol associated with the target cell.

[0238] For example, in the E-UTRA protocol, the UE may send an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message to the target (E-UTRA / LTE) cell as an indication that the inter-RAT handover was successful. Then, in some embodiments, T350 (or the described V2X-T350) may still be active until the UE sends an "inter-RAT handover complete message" to the target cell. In other words, in some such embodiments, the T350 timer may still be counting during the entire inter-RAT handover process. In some embodiments, the inter-RAT handover complete message may be an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message in the E-UTRA protocol (e.g., when the UE switches from an NR cell to an E-UTRA cell). In addition, after the UE sends the RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message to the target cell, any pending SI on-demand process or pending DedicatedSIBRequest message may be stopped / released.

[0239] In some embodiments, when the UE receives the MobilityfromNR message from the serving RAN, the count T350 may be stopped / released (or removed). In addition, after the UE receives the MobilityfromNR message from the serving RAN, any pending SI on-demand procedures or pending DedicatedSIBRequest messages may be stopped / released (or removed).

[0240] In some implementations, a UE in the NR RRC Connected state may transition to an RRC Idle state associated with another RAT (e.g., E-UTRA, etc.). In such a scenario, when the UE transitions from the (NR)RRC Connected state to the (LTE / E-UTRA)RRC Idle state (or (LTE / E-UTRA)RRC Inactive state), the counting of T350 (if any) may be stopped / released. In addition, after the UE transitions to the (LTE / E-UTRA)RRC Idle state, any pending SI on-demand procedures or pending DedicatedSIBRequest messages may also be stopped / released (or removed).

[0241] In some embodiments, if the UE receives a new 'OnDemandSIB request configuration' from the serving cell (eg, and stores the new OnDemandSIB request configuration), the UE may release the stored 'OnDemandSIB request configuration'.

[0242] In some embodiments, when the UE receives a new 'OnDemandSIB request configuration' from the serving cell, the count T350 (if any) may be released / stopped. The UE may then resend a new DedicatedSIBRequest message based on the received new 'OnDemandSIB request configuration' (and may also restart the T350 timer).

[0243] In some embodiments, when a UE receives a new 'OnDemandSIB request configuration' from a serving cell, the count T350 (if any) may not be immediately released. Instead, T350 may continue to count (or run) based on existing rules (and based on the above-described embodiments) even after receiving the new OnDemandSIB request configuration. Furthermore, the UE may initiate a new DedicatedSIBRequest message for a SIB request (e.g., based on the new OnDemandSIB request configuration) only after the existing T350 timer expires.

[0244] In some embodiments, the above mechanism may be applicable to a certain (certain) specific SIB. In addition, the serving cell may explicitly indicate to the UE which (which) SIBs the above mechanism may be applied to by broadcasting system information (e.g., SIB1), and to which (which) SIBs of the described embodiment the UE may apply to receive the target SIB by UE-specific dedicated control signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, such as RRCReconfiguration message). In some embodiments, for one or more SIBs, the manner of applying the mechanism may be predefined (e.g., in the technical specification), while for (one or more) other SIBs, the serving cell may not explicitly indicate the manner of applying the above mechanism, in which case the UE may apply a conventional method (e.g., the UE may follow the T350 counting mechanism as shown in Table 3).

[0245] In the above embodiments, the terms "network (NW), radio access network (RAN), cell, camping cell, serving cell, base station, gNB, eNB, and ng-eNB" may be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, some of these terms may refer to the same network entity. The following terms and their corresponding descriptions used in the above embodiments are provided below.

[0246] Serving cell: For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state without CA / DC configured, there is only one serving cell including the primary cell. For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state with CA / DC configured, the term serving cell may be used to refer to the set of cells including (one or more) special cells and all secondary cells.

[0247] Special cell: In dual connectivity operation, the term special cell can refer to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG. Otherwise, the term special cell refers to the PCell.

[0248] The above mechanisms can be applied to any RAT. The RAT can be (but is not limited to) NR, NR-U, LTE, or E-UTRA connected to 5GC, LTE connected to 5GC, E-UTRA connected to EPC, and LTE connected to EPC. The proposed embodiments can be applied to UEs in public networks and / or private networks (e.g., NPN, SNPN, PNI-NPN, etc.). The described mechanisms can be used for licensed frequencies and / or unlicensed frequencies.

[0249] System information (SI) may include MIB, SIB1, and other SI. Minimum SI may include MIB and SIB1. Other SI may include SIB3, SIB4, SIB5, and (one or more) other SIBs (e.g., SNPN-specific SIB, PNI-NPN-specific SIB).

[0250] Dedicated signaling may refer to (but is not limited to) (one or more) RRC messages. Examples of dedicated signaling include, but are not limited to: RRC (connection) establishment request message, RRC (connection) establishment message, RRC (connection) establishment complete message, RRC (connection) reconfiguration message, RRC connection reconfiguration message including mobility control information, RRC connection reconfiguration message without mobility control information, RRC reconfiguration message including a configuration with sync, RRC reconfiguration message without an internal configuration with sync, RRC (connection) reconfiguration complete message, RRC (connection) recovery request message, RRC (connection) recovery message, RRC (connection) recovery complete message, RRC (connection) reestablishment request message, RRC (connection) reestablishment message, RRC (connection) reestablishment complete message, RRC (connection) rejection message, RRC (connection) release message, RRC system information request message, UE assistance information message, UE capability query message, and UE capability information message. RRC messages may be a type of dedicated signaling. The UE may receive RRC messages from the network via unicast, broadcast, or multicast.

[0251] The proposed embodiments may be applied to RRC_CONNECTED UEs, RRC_INACTIVE UEs and RRC_IDLE UEs. An RRC_CONNECTED UE may be configured with an active (DL) BWP with a common search space configured to monitor system information or paging.

[0252] In general, the above mechanisms can be applied to both the PCell and the UE. In some embodiments, the described mechanisms can be applied to both the PSCell and the UE. The described short message and / or paging DCI can be sent by the PSCell (or secondary node) to the UE. The UE can monitor the PDCCH monitoring opportunity for paging configured by the PSCell (or secondary node).

[0253] Allowed CAG List: is a per-PLMN list of CAG identifiers that the UE is allowed to access.

[0254] CAG cell: a cell that broadcasts at least one closed access group identifier.

[0255] CAG member cell: For a UE, a cell that broadcasts the identity of the selected PLMN, registered PLMN or equivalent PLMN, and for that PLMN, the allowed CAG list of UEs whose CAG identifiers belong to that PLMN.

[0256] Closed Access Group Identifier: Identifies the CAG within the PLMN.

[0257] Network identifier: Combined with the PLMN ID to identify the SNPN.

[0258] Non-public network: refers to a network deployed for non-public purposes.

[0259] NPN-only cell: refers to a cell that can only be used for normal service to NPN subscribers. When the npn-IdentityInfoList IE is present in the CellAccessRelatedInfo IE, an NPN-capable UE determines that a cell is an NPN-only cell by detecting that the cellReservedForOtherUse IE is set to true.

[0260] PNI-NPN identifier: It is the PNI-NPN identifier that is a compromise between the PLMN ID and the CAG-ID.

[0261] Registered SN PN: is the SNPN where a specific location registration result has occurred.

[0262] Selected SNPN: is the SNPN selected manually or automatically by the NAS (eg, NAS of the UE, NAS of the CN).

[0263] SNPN access mode: an operation mode in which the UE only selects SNPN.

[0264] SNPN identifier: It is the identifier of SNPN composed of PLMN ID and NID.

[0265] SNPN-only cell: a cell that can only be used to provide normal services to SNPN users.

[0266] The UE with NPN capability may correspond to a UE supporting CAG (or NPN).

[0267] Child node: I is the next-hop neighbor node of AB-node-DU; the child node is also an IAB node.

[0268] Parent node: is the next-hop neighbor node of the IAB-node-MT. The parent node can be an IAB node or an IAB-donor-DU.

[0269] Downstream: In the IAB topology, it is the direction towards the child nodes or UEs.

[0270] Upstream: In the IAB topology, it is the direction toward the parent node.

[0271] IAB Donor: A gNB that provides network access to UEs through the backhaul and access link networks.

[0272] IAB-DU: is the gNB-DU function supported by the IAB node to terminate the NR access interface to the UE and the next-hop IAB node, and terminate the F1 protocol to the gNB-CU function on the IAB donor, as defined in 3GPP TS 38.401v16.1.0.

[0273] IAB-MT: is an IAB node function that terminates the Uu interface to the parent node using the procedures and behaviors specified for the UE, unless otherwise specified. The IAB-MT function used in the 3GPP specification 38 series corresponds to the IAB-UE function defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 v16.4.0.

[0274] IAB node: A RAN node that supports NR access links to UEs and NR backhaul links to parent and child nodes. An IAB node may or may not support backhaul over LTE.

[0275] Multi-hop backhaul: A chain using NR (and / or LTE) backhaul links between the IAB node and the IAB-donor-gNB.

[0276] NR backhaul link: It is an NR link used for backhaul between the IAB node and the IAB-donor-gNB, and for backhaul between IAB nodes in the case of multi-hop backhaul.

[0277] LTE backhaul link: This is an LTE link used for backhaul between the IAB node and the IAB-donor-gNB, and for backhaul between IAB nodes in the case of multi-hop backhaul.

[0278] Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC): Dual connectivity between E-UTRA and NR nodes or between two NR nodes. MR-DC can include E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC), NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (NGEN-DC), and NR-NR Dual Connectivity (NR-DC).

[0279] Master Cell Group: In MR-DC, it is a group of serving cells associated with a master node (Master Node), including SpCell (PCell) and optionally one or more SCells.

[0280] Master Node: In MR-DC, it is the radio access node that provides the control plane connection to the core network. It can be a master eNB (in EN-DC), a master ng-eNB (in NGEN-DC), or a master gNB (in NR-DC and NE-DC).

[0281] Secondary cell group: In MR-DC, it is a group of serving cells associated with a secondary node, consisting of an SpCell (PSCell) and optionally one or more SCells.

[0282] Secondary Node: In MR-DC, it is a radio access node that has no control plane connection to the core network and provides additional resources for the UE. It can be an en-gNB (in EN-DC), a secondary ng-eNB (in NE-DC), or a secondary gNB (in NR-DC and NGEN-DC).

[0283] MeNB or Master eNB: is the eNB that acts as the master node associated with the MCG (Master Cell Group) in the MR-DC scenario.

[0284] SgNB: Secondary gNB, is a gNB that serves as a secondary node associated with the SCG (Secondary Cell Group) in the MR-DC scenario.

[0285] The first indication may be associated with NR, LTE connected to EPC, and / or LTE connected to 5GC. The second indication may be associated with NR, LTE connected to EPC, and / or LTE connected to 5GC. The first indication and the second indication may be associated with the same RAT (e.g., NR, LTE connected to EPC, LTE connected to 5GC) or different RATs. A UE that supports one RAT (e.g., if one RAT is NR, performing IAB functionality via NR and / or performing NPN functionality via NR) may request the first indication associated with NR and / or the second indication associated with NR. A UE that supports one RAT may request (or ignore) the first indication not associated with NR and / or the second indication not associated with NR.

[0286] In this embodiment, if the UE considers itself to be barred by a cell, or if the UE bars a cell, the UE may bar the cell for a period of time (e.g., 300 seconds). The UE may not consider the cell as a candidate cell for cell (re)selection for a period of time (e.g., 300 seconds).

[0287] In this embodiment, if the UE changes from SNPN access mode to PLMN access mode, the UE (NAS entity) may release (or delete or discard) the (stored or maintained) list (if any) of (one or more) SNPN IDs.

[0288] In this embodiment, if the UE changes from PLMN access mode to SNPN access mode, the UE (NAS entity) may release (or delete or discard) the (stored or maintained) list (if any) of (one or more) PLMN IDs.

[0289] DCI: Downlink Control Information. DCI may refer to a PDCCH resource with a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) scrambled by an RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier). The RNTI may be associated with an IAB. Alternatively, the DCI implementation may be applied to a physical signal.

[0290] MAC CE: stands for Medium Access Control - Control Element. MAC CE is a bit string whose length is byte-aligned (ie, a multiple of 8 bits).

[0291] In this embodiment, if the UE with IAB functionality determines that it is an IAB node or operates as an IAB node, and / or if the UE performs IAB design, and / or if the UE operates the IAB functionality, the UE may send an indication via dedicated signaling to notify the network.

[0292] DAPS bearer: is a bearer whose radio protocol is located in both the source gNB and the target gNB to use source gNB and target gNB resources during DAPS handover.

[0293] Figure 7 FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a node for wireless communication according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 7 As shown, the node 700 may include a transceiver 720, a processor 726, a memory 728, one or more presentation elements 734, and at least one antenna 736. The node 700 may also include a radio frequency (RF) band module, a base station communication module, a network communication module, and a system communication management module, input / output (I / O) ports, I / O elements, and a power supply (not shown). Figure 7 Each of the components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly via one or more buses 740.

[0294] The transceiver 720 has a transmitter 722 and a receiver 724. The transceiver 720 can be configured to transmit and / or receive time and / or frequency resource partitioning information. In some embodiments, the transceiver 720 can be configured to transmit in different types of subframes and time slots, including but not limited to usable, unusable, and flexibly usable subframe and time slot formats. The transceiver 720 can also be configured to receive data and control signaling.

[0295] Node 700 may include a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may be any available media accessible by node 700, and computer-readable media may include both volatile (and non-volatile) media and removable (and non-removable) media. As non-limiting examples, computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media may include volatile removable (and / or non-volatile) and (and / or non-removable) media implemented by any method or technology for storing information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, process modules, or other data.

[0296] Computer storage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices. Computer storage media does not include propagated data signals. Communication media may generally be embodied as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal (such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism), and include any information transmission media. The term "modulated data signal" may mean that one or more characteristics of the signal are set or changed to encode data into the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as a wired network or direct wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Any combination of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0297] The memory 728 may include computer storage media in the form of volatile and / or non-volatile memory. The memory 728 may be removable, non-removable, or a combination thereof. Exemplary memory may include solid-state memory, a hard disk, an optical drive, and the like. As shown in FIG. 7 , the memory 728 may store computer-readable, computer-executable instructions 732 (e.g., software code) that, when executed, cause the processor 726 to perform various functions described herein, such as, for example, referring to FIG. Figures 1 to 7 Alternatively, instructions 732 may not be directly executable by processor 726, but may be configured to cause node 700 (eg, when programmed and executed) to perform various functions described herein.

[0298] Processor 726 may include an intelligent hardware device, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, or an ASIC. Processor 726 may also include memory. Processor 726 may process data 730 and instructions 732 received from memory 728, as well as information transmitted through transceiver 720, the baseband communication module, and / or the network communication module. Processor 726 may also process information to be sent to transceiver 720 for transmission via antenna 736 and to the network communication module for transmission to the core network.

[0299] One or more presentation elements 734 can present data indications to a person or other device. For example, one or more presentation elements 734 include a display device, a speaker, a printing element, a vibration element, etc.

[0300] According to the above description, without departing from the scope of these concepts, a variety of technologies can be used to implement the concepts described in this application. In addition, although these concepts have been described with specific reference to certain embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of these concepts. In this way, the embodiments described will be considered illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. Furthermore, it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and that it is possible to rearrange, modify, and replace these embodiments in many ways without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for requesting a target system information block (SIB) associated with a target service, performed by a user equipment (UE), characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving and storing, on a first active downlink bandwidth part (BWP), at least one SIB segment of a plurality of SIB segments associated with the target SIB; switching from the first active downlink BWP to a second active downlink BWP; After determining that the second active downlink BWP is not configured with any common search space for receiving system information, initiating a dedicated SIB request procedure to send a request for the target SIB to a serving cell, the dedicated SIB request procedure being initiated before the UE has stored the at least one SIB segment of the plurality of SIB segments associated with the target SIB and successfully assembled the target SIB based on the plurality of SIB segments; sending the request for the target SIB to the serving cell; and A timer is started when the request is sent to the serving cell, wherein a second dedicated SIB request procedure is not initiated while the timer is running.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: receiving remaining SIB segments of the plurality of SIB segments that are not stored at the UE; While the timer is counting, assembling the target SIB based on the received and stored plurality of SIB segments; and After the target SIB is successfully assembled, the timer is stopped.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein Receiving the remaining SIB segments includes receiving the remaining SIB segments from the serving cell via UE-specific downlink control signaling.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: receiving, from the serving cell, a plurality of second SIB segments associated with the target SIB; While the timer is counting, assembling the target SIB based on the received plurality of second SIB segments; discarding the stored at least one SIB segment of the plurality of SIB segments after assembling the target SIB; and After successfully assembling the target SIB based on the received plurality of second SIB segments, stopping the timer.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein Receiving the plurality of second SIB segments includes receiving the plurality of second SIB segments after switching from the second active downlink BWP to a third active downlink BWP configured with at least one common search space for receiving system information.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: After sending the request, receiving the target SIB from the serving cell via UE-specific downlink control signaling; discarding the stored at least one SIB segment of the plurality of SIB segments after receiving the target SIB; and After receiving the target SIB, the timer is stopped.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The target service includes a New Radio (NR) sidelink communication service, and the target SIB includes an NR sidelink radio configuration, which includes an access stratum (AS) configuration for the UE to implement the NR sidelink communication service.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The method further comprises: selecting a second serving cell to move from the serving cell; and After moving to the second serving cell, after determining that the target SIB is still valid on the second serving cell, implementing the NR sidelink communication service based on the NR sidelink radio configuration included in the target SIB received in the serving cell.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein The method further comprises: Switching the radio resource control (RRC) state of the UE from an RRC connected state to one of an RRC inactive state and an RRC idle state; and After switching the RRC state of the UE, implementing the NR sidelink communication service based on the NR sidelink radio configuration included in the target SIB.

10. A user equipment UE, characterized in that: The UE includes: one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for requesting a target system information block (SIB) associated with a target service; and At least one processor coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the at least one processor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

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