Adaptive configuration based on packet loss rate (PLR)

Abstract

A method, system, apparatus, and computer program for configuring a packet loss rate (PLR) threshold of a UE in a wireless communication network is disclosed. In one aspect, a method includes a UE connected to a wireless communication network receiving a packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration message from a node in the wireless communication network; the UE determining a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message; and in response to determining the new PLR threshold configuration, selectively adjusting one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network based on the new PLR threshold configuration.

Description

[0001] Priority claim

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 865,046, filed on June 21, 2019, entitled “OMA-DM CONFIGURATION OF PACKETLOSS RATE (PLR) BASED ADAPTATION IN IMS SPEECH SESSIONS,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art

[0003] A user equipment (UE) may communicate data wirelessly using a wireless communication network. The communicated data may include voice data associated with a phone call, as well as other network traffic sent and received by the UE. The wireless communication network may include an evolved Node B (eNB) that wirelessly communicates with the UE to allow it to access a wider network. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure relates to methods, systems, apparatus, computer programs, or combinations thereof for configuring packet loss rate (PLR) thresholds for various codecs and / or codec modes, which are used by a UE to perform PLR-based adaptation.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method includes a UE connected to a wireless communication network receiving a packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration message from a node in the wireless communication network; the UE determining a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message; and in response to determining the new PLR threshold configuration, selectively adjusting one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network based on the new PLR threshold configuration.

[0006] Other versions include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer programs for performing the actions of the method defined by the instructions encoded on a computer-readable storage device.These and other versions may optionally include one or more of the following features.

[0007] In some specific implementations, the UE determines a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message, including determining a PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold.

[0008] In some implementations, the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

[0009] In some implementations, process 300 involves, in response to the packet loss rate for the connection exceeding the packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action, the UE performing the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

[0010] In some implementations, the configuring action includes changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec associated with the connection to the wireless communication network.

[0011] In some implementations, the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

[0012] In some implementations, the connection is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

[0013] In some implementations, the connection is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, in a wireless communication network, a method includes a node of the wireless communication network determining a new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration of a UE, the UE having a connection to the wireless communication network; in response to determining the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration of the UE, generating a message including the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration of the UE; and transmitting the message to the UE.

[0015] Other versions include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer programs for performing the actions of the method defined by the instructions encoded on a computer-readable storage device.These and other versions may optionally include one or more of the following features.

[0016] In some implementations, determining the new PLR threshold configuration includes determining a PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold.

[0017] In some implementations, the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

[0018] In some implementations, the configuration action includes changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec being associated with the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network.

[0019] In some implementations, the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

[0020] In some implementations, the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

[0021] In some implementations, the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a swim-lane diagram illustrating an exemplary process of network-based PLR adaptation according to some specific implementations of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 2 is a swim lane diagram illustrating an exemplary process of PLR adaptation.

[0024] Figure 3A and Figure 3B Each shows an exemplary method according to some specific implementations of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 4 An example of a wireless communication system is shown.

[0026] Figure 5 An exemplary architecture of a system including a first CN according to various embodiments is shown.

[0027] Figure 6 The architecture of a system including a second CN according to various embodiments is shown.

[0028] Figure 7 Examples of infrastructure equipment according to various embodiments are shown.

[0029] Figure 8 Examples of platforms (or "devices") are shown according to various embodiments.

[0030] Fig. 9 Exemplary components of a baseband circuit and a radio front end module (RFEM) are shown according to various embodiments.

[0031] Fig.10 Various protocol functions that may be implemented in a wireless communication device according to various embodiments are shown.

[0032] Fig.11 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and capable of performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some exemplary embodiments.

[0033] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In a wireless communication network, wireless communication may be adaptively performed between a UE and an eNB based on network conditions. For example, in response to a packet loss rate (PLR) exceeding a threshold in a voice communication session between the UE and the eNB, the UE may change a codec or codec mode associated with the voice communication session (e.g., from a high bandwidth to a lower bandwidth codec) in an attempt to improve the PLR ​​(e.g., by reducing network congestion). The present disclosure is directed to enabling an operator to use a configuration protocol, such as Open Mobile Alliance (OMA)-Device Management (DM), to configure packet loss rate (PLR) thresholds for various codecs and / or codec modes, which the UE uses to perform PLR-based adaptation. Although the UE may send a signal "PLR_adapt" (e.g., in a Session Description Protocol (SDP)) to indicate its ability to perform PLR-based adaptation, it is still unclear which PLR values ​​will trigger a request for different codec configurations. Instead of abandoning this implementation-specific, the present disclosure provides a mechanism for an operator to configure PLR ​​thresholds for various codecs and / or codec modes, which the UE uses to perform PLR-based adaptation. This approach may also result in more consistent and predictable adaptive behavior of UEs involved in the wireless communication network, thereby simplifying the task of managing and troubleshooting problems in the network.

[0035] The present technology can work in conjunction with other PLR adaptation methods, such as the Multimedia Coverage and Handover Enhancement (CHEM) scheme described in 3GPP TS 26.114. In LTE networks, it is necessary to maintain as high a voice quality as possible, thereby increasing the long-term evolution voice bearer (VoLTE) coverage area. This can also avoid or at least delay single radio voice call continuity (SRVCC) as much as possible, thereby minimizing the negative impact on the user experience of VoLTE subscribers in areas with weak LTE coverage. One problem is that the random access (RAN) mechanism in such networks does not convey enough information (e.g., codec configuration) to perform optimized handover for VoLTE. Therefore, although VoLTE calls can survive in LTE weak coverage areas, there is no need to switch VoLTE calls to 2G / 3G CS through SRVCC handover (HO). The present disclosure can achieve the communication of information required by the RAN from an architectural perspective to make optimized HO decisions for VoLTE.

[0036] The robustness of voice calls can be improved by selecting codecs and their configurations, dynamic rate and mode adaptation during a call, application layer redundancy, and other techniques (as specified in 3GPP TS 26.114). The Enhanced Voice Services Codec (EVS), and in particular the EVS channel-aware mode, demonstrates higher robustness against transmission error rates than the Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) and AMR-WB codecs through application layer partial redundancy.

[0037] In some cases, the "Max PLR" parameter (maximum tolerable packet loss rate) may be used to inform the eNB of the robustness of the selected codec. The robustness (e.g., Max PLR) information may be conveyed to the eNB using signaling from the network (Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF)) or from the UE. The eNB may derive the relevant SRVCC thresholds from this Max PLR (depending on the specific implementation). In the case of multi-rate / multi-mode codec configurations, different codec modes typically have different MaxPLRs, e.g., different robustness. The present disclosure describes a mechanism for implementing predictable UE behavior when changing codecs and codec configurations.

[0038] In some implementations, codecs / codec modes and associated threshold configurations may be pushed from the network side to the UE and eNB. Such network-based approaches rely on the fact that information about the negotiated codec and configuration (or codec mode) for an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) session is available in the PCRF through its knowledge of the SDP containing the negotiated IMS session parameters. Based on such information, the PCRF may derive relevant robustness parameter information (e.g., maximum packet loss rate) and determine corresponding downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) PLR thresholds and signal this information to the eNB. The derivation of robustness parameter information based on the negotiated codec mode may be performed according to standardized mapping rules, for example, using an indication of the maximum packet loss rate for each codec mode and a calculation of the maximum packet loss rate based on the negotiated codec mode.

[0039] Figure 1 1 is a swim lane diagram illustrating an exemplary process 100 of network-based PLR adaptation in, for example, fifth generation (5G) and / or new radio (NR) communication standards. As shown, the process involves communications between UE 102, UE 114, eNB 104, eNB 112, PCRF 106, PCRF 110, and IMS 108. In process 100, PCRF 104 is unaware of the client adaptation behavior by default, and therefore will set robustness parameters (e.g., Max PLR) based on the least robust codec mode in the negotiated codec configuration. However, if PCRF 104 knows from the SDP that the client receiver supports the most robust codec mode for adaptation, for example, when UE 102 detects packet loss, it will request the transmitter to change its encoder to a more robust mode, then PCRF 104 can set robustness parameters based on the most robust codec mode, and thereby achieve more optimized SRVCC handover performance. Such indication to PCRF 104 may be enabled by a new SDP parameter "PLR_adapt" described herein.

[0040] TS 26.114 (e.g., UE 202 and UE 214) IMS Multimedia Telephony Service (MTSI) terminals supporting the CHEM feature of a media type (e.g., voice or video) may support the following procedures:

[0041] When sending an SDP offer, the MTSI client includes the PLR_adapt attribute in the media line for this media type in the SDP offer;

[0042] When sending an SDP answer, the MTSI client includes the PLR_adapt attribute in the media line for that media type in the SDP answer, regardless of whether the PLR_adapt attribute was received in the SDP offer;

[0043] When an MTSI client receiving media detects a packet loss rate higher than the one tolerated by the currently used codec configuration, and a more robust codec configuration is available for the same codec, the MTSI client shall send a request to the media sender to use the more robust codec configuration for the same codec that will provide a lower PLR;

[0044] When an MTSI client receiving media detects that the packet loss rate is low enough to support a codec configuration of the same codec that provides better media quality than the current codec configuration, and switching to the new codec configuration will not result in oscillation between more and less robust codec configurations, the MTSI client SHOULD send a request to the media sender to use the codec configuration of the same codec that provides better media quality.

[0045] The UE 102 (or 114) may consider its jitter buffer management (JBM) and / or packet loss concealment (PLC) capabilities to derive the maximum end-to-end packet loss rate (Max-e2e-PLR) for a given codec / mode that the terminal can tolerate when using its JBM and PLC implementation, and send this parameter or some indication derived therefrom as a signal to the network (e.g., PCRF 106) through a potential mechanism such as a session description protocol (SDP). The robustness parameter values ​​used in the eNB 104 may then use this recommendation, or be refined based on this recommendation. A UE 102 with advanced JBM and PLC capabilities may determine a recommended Max-e2e-PLR value that is higher than the Max PLR corresponding to the most robust codec configuration. This means that the PLC and JBM capabilities of the UE 102 may further improve robustness over the robustness achieved by the most robust codec configuration. If PCRF 106 receives such an indication of further robustness from the UE, it can configure the PLR ​​threshold of eNB 104 accordingly, so that even if the Max PLR value (based on the most robust codec configuration) is exceeded, eNB 104 can further delay the SRVCC handover decision, thereby achieving a more optimized SRVCC handover. In addition, since there are usually two radio links in the end-to-end path from the transmitting terminal (UE 102) to the receiving terminal (UE 114), information must eventually be shared with the two eNBs 104 and eNB 112 in the transmission path to determine how to set their SRVCC handover thresholds based on achieving an appropriate packet_loss_rate target.

[0046] Figure 2 2 is a swim lane diagram illustrating an exemplary process 200 for PLR adaptation. As shown, the process involves UE A, UE B, eNB A, and eNB B.

[0047] One of the challenges in setting the switching threshold is to ensure that the end-to-end error rate on the transmission path from the media sender to the receiver does not exceed the maximum packet loss rate (Max PLR) that the codec, PLC implementation, and JBM implementation in the receiving UE can handle. In process 200, it is assumed that the backhaul introduces negligible error requirements in the transmission direction from UE B to UE A.

[0048] eNB_A_DL_PLR+eNB_B_UL_PLR<=Max PLR codec sum (in UE A, PLC+JBM)

[0049] Here, eNB_A_DL_PLR is the maximum PLR value set as the SRVCC triggering threshold for the DL connection between eNB A and UE A. Similarly, eNB_B_UL_PLR is the maximum PLR value set as the SRVCC triggering threshold for the UL connection between eNB B and UE B.

[0050] Therefore, UE A can determine the maximum PLR value based on its PLC and JBM implementation, and then decide how to use it in eNB_A_DL_PLR (for Figure 2 The arrow labeled 210 on the upper left side links the downlink PLR from eNB A to UE A) and the eNB_B_UL_PLR (for Figure 2 UE A and eNB B may allocate the PLR ​​of the uplink from UE B to eNB B linked by the arrow marked 214 on the upper right side. Specifically, UE A may determine the value of eNB_A_DL_PLR based on an evaluation of the local downlink radio conditions between UE A and eNB A, and then determine eNB_B_UL_PLR by subtracting eNB_A_DL_PLR from the maximum end-to-end PLR (Max-e2e-PLR at UE A). UE A may then provide recommended values ​​for the maximum end-to-end PLR (Max-e2e-PLR at UE A), eNB_A_DL_PLR, and eNB_B_UL_PLR in the SDP. Therefore, both the media receiver and the media sender have a component for exchanging UL PLR information in order to dynamically optimize the allocation of DL PLR and UL PLR, and result in the optimal selection of the SRVCC switching threshold on both ends of the link.

[0051] Although terminals (e.g., UE A and UE B) may signal "PLR_adapt" in SDP to indicate their ability to perform PLR-based adaptation, it is still unclear which PLR values ​​will trigger a request for different codec configurations. Instead of abandoning this implementation specificity, the present disclosure provides a mechanism for operators to configure PLR ​​thresholds for various codecs and / or codec modes, which UEs use to perform PLR-based adaptation.

[0052] One exemplary approach is to modify OMA-DM based on a new media adaptation object similar to the MTSI media adaptation management object in TS 26.114 clause 17, but the new object includes a new node indicating the PLR ​​thresholds for various codec modes that the UE uses to perform PLR-based adaptation. An example of a new OMA-DM management object node to achieve this may be as follows:

[0053] Table 1

[0054]

[0055] This internal node specifies the unique object ID of the MTSI network preference management object. The purpose of this internal node is to group together the parameters of a single object.

[0056] If the MTSI client in the terminal supports "MTSI Network Preference Management Object", the following internal nodes should be included.

[0057] Table 2

[0058]

[0059] Table 3

[0060]

[0061] Table 4

[0062]

[0063] Table 5

[0064]

[0065] Table 6

[0066]

[0067] Table 7

[0068]

[0069] The value "AMR" refers to the AMR speech codec defined in 3GPP. The value "AMR-WB" refers to the AMR-WB speech codec defined in 3GPP. The value "EVS" refers to the EVS speech codec defined in 3GPP.

[0070] Table 8

[0071]

[0072] Table 9

[0073]

[0074] Table 10

[0075]

[0076] Table 11

[0077]

[0078] Table 12

[0079]

[0080] Table 13

[0081]

[0082]

[0083] Table 14

[0084]

[0085] Figure 3A and Figure 3B Flowcharts of exemplary processes according to some specific implementations of the present disclosure are shown. For clarity of presentation, the following description generally describes processes in the context of other figures in this specification. However, it should be understood that these processes may be performed, for example, by any suitable system, environment, software and hardware or a combination of systems, environments, software and hardware as appropriate. In some specific implementations, the various steps of the process may be run in parallel, in combination, in a cycle, or in any order.

[0086] Figure 3A 300 is a flow chart of an exemplary process 300 for configuring a new PLR threshold for a UE in a wireless communication network. At step 302, process 300 involves a UE connected to a wireless communication network receiving a packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration message from a node in the wireless communication network. At step 304, process 300 involves the UE determining a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message. At step 306, process 300 involves, in response to determining the new PLR threshold configuration, selectively adjusting one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network based on the new PLR threshold configuration.

[0087] In some specific implementations, the UE determines a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message, including determining a PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold.

[0088] In some implementations, the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

[0089] In some implementations, process 300 involves, in response to the packet loss rate for the connection exceeding the packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action, the UE performing the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

[0090] In some implementations, the configuring action includes changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec associated with the connection to the wireless communication network.

[0091] In some implementations, the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

[0092] In some implementations, the connection is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

[0093] In some implementations, the connection is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

[0094] Figure 3B 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary process 310 for configuring a new PLR threshold for a UE in a wireless communication network. At step 312, the process 310 involves a node of the wireless communication network determining a new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for a UE having a connection to the wireless communication network. At step 314, the process 310 involves, in response to determining the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE, generating a message including the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE. At step 316, the process 310 involves transmitting the message to the UE.

[0095] In some implementations, determining the new PLR threshold configuration includes determining a PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold.

[0096] In some implementations, the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

[0097] In some implementations, the configuration action includes changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec being associated with the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network.

[0098] In some implementations, the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

[0099] In some implementations, the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

[0100] In some implementations, the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

[0101] Figure 3A and Figure 3B The exemplary processes shown in the drawings may be modified or reconfigured to include additional, fewer, or different steps ( Figure 3A and Figure 3B ), these steps may be performed in the order shown or in a different order.

[0102] Figure 4 An example of a wireless communication system 400 is shown. For convenience and not limitation, the exemplary system 100 is described in the context of Long Term Evolution (LTE) and fifth generation (5G) new air interface (NR) communication standards, as defined by the third generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specifications. More specifically, the wireless communication system 400 is described in the context of a non-standalone (NSA) network (e.g., E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access)-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC) network and NE-DC network) that combines both LTE and NR. However, the wireless communication system 400 may also be an independent (SA) network that combines only NR. In addition, other types of communication standards are also possible, including future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G)) systems, IEEE802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), and the like.

[0103] like Figure 4 As shown, system 400 includes UE 401a and UE 401b (collectively referred to as "UE 401"). In this example, UE 401 is shown as a smart phone (e.g., a handheld touch screen mobile computing device that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a consumer electronic device, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a feature phone, a tablet computer, a wearable computer device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a wireless handheld device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), an in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) device, an instrument panel (IC), a head-up display (HUD) device, an on-board diagnostic (OBD) device, a dashtop mobile equipment (DME), a mobile data terminal (MDT), an electronic engine management system (EEMS), an electronic / engine electronic control unit (ECU), an electronic / engine electronic control module (ECM), an embedded system, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system (EMS), a networked or "smart" appliance, an MTC device, an M2M, an IoT device, etc.

[0104] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 401 may include an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via PLMN, ProSe or D2D communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks. M2M or MTC data exchanges may be machine-initiated data exchanges. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0105] UE 401 may be configured to connect, e.g., be communicatively coupled, to RAN 410. In an embodiment, RAN 410 may be an NG RAN or 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN" or the like may refer to RAN 410 operating in an NR or 5G system 400, while the term "E-UTRAN" or the like may refer to RAN 410 operating in an LTE or 4G system 400. UE 401 utilizes connections (or channels) 403 and 404, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below).

[0106] In this example, connection 403 and connection 404 are shown as air interfaces to achieve communication coupling, and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, an advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) protocol, an LTE-based unlicensed spectrum access (LTE-U), a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, an NR-based unlicensed spectrum access (NR-U) protocol, and / or any other communication protocol discussed herein. In an embodiment, UE 401 may directly exchange communication data via ProSe interface 405. ProSe interface 405 may alternatively be referred to as SL interface 405, and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH, and PSBCH.

[0107] UE 401b is shown as being configured to access AP 406 (also referred to as "WLAN node 406," "WLAN 406," "WLAN terminal 406," "WT 406," etc.) via connection 407. Connection 407 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 406 will include wireless fidelity. Router. In this example, AP 406 is shown connected to the Internet without being connected to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, UE 401b, RAN 410, and AP 406 may be configured to utilize LWA operation and / or LWIP operation. LWA operation may involve UE 401b in RRC_CONNECTED state being configured by RAN nodes 411a-b to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve UE 401b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 407) via an IPsec protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent through connection 407. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0108] RAN 410 includes one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes 411a and 411b (collectively referred to as "RAN node 411") that enable connections 403 and 404. As used herein, the terms "access node", "access point", etc. may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functions for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP or TRP, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN node" and the like may refer to a RAN node 411 (e.g., a gNB) operating in an NR or 5G system 400, while the terms "E-UTRAN node" and the like may refer to a RAN node 411 (e.g., an eNB) operating in an LTE or 4G system 400. According to various embodiments, the RAN node 411 may be implemented as one or more of dedicated physical devices such as a macrocell base station and / or a low power (LP) base station for providing a femtocell, picocell or other similar cell with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity or higher bandwidth than a macrocell.

[0109] In some embodiments, all or part of the RAN node 411 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement RAN functional splitting, such as PDCP splitting, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes 411; MAC / PHY splitting, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 411; or "lower PHY" splitting, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers, and upper portions of the PHY layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, and the lower portions of the PHY layers are operated by individual RAN nodes 411. This virtualization framework allows idle processor cores of the RAN node 411 to execute other virtualized applications. In some specific implementations, individual RAN nodes 411 may represent a plurality of RAN nodes 411 connected to the RAN via individual F1 interfaces ( Figure 4 In these embodiments, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio heads or RFEMs (see, e.g., Figure 7 ), and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server located in the RAN 410 (not shown) or by a server pool in a manner similar to the CRAN / vBBUP. In addition or alternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes 411 may be a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), which is a next generation eNB that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminals to the UE 401 and is connected to the 5GC (e.g., Figure 6 CN 620) RAN node.

[0110] In a V2X scenario, one or more of the RAN nodes 411 may be an RSU or act as an RSU. The term "roadside unit" or "RSU" may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, wherein an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", and so on. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit located on the road side that provides connectivity support to a passing vehicle UE 401 (vUE 401). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct Short Range Communication (DSRC) band to provide extremely low latency communications required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low latency communications as well as other cellular communication services. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Some or all of the computing device and the RSU's RF circuitry may be packaged in a weather-resistant enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or backhaul network.

[0111] Any of the RAN nodes 411 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 401. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 411 may perform various logical functions of the RAN 410, including but not limited to the functions of a radio network controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0112] In an embodiment, UE 401 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of RAN nodes 411 using OFDM communication signals over a multi-carrier communication channel according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, OFDMA communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communication) or SC-FDMA communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), although the scope of the embodiment is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0113] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 411 to the UE 401, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. For OFDM systems, such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice, which makes wireless resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid includes a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0114] According to various embodiments, UE 401 and RAN node 411 communicate data (e.g., transmit data and receive data) through a licensed medium (also referred to as a "licensed spectrum" and / or a "licensed band") and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as an "unlicensed spectrum" and / or an "unlicensed band"). The licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, and the unlicensed spectrum may include a 5 GHz band. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U, and LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, License Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0115] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE 401 and the RAN node 411 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, the UE 401 and the RAN node 411 may perform one or more known medium sensing operations and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0116] LBT is a mechanism whereby equipment (e.g., UE 401 RAN node 411, etc.) utilizes the mechanism to sense the medium (e.g., channel or carrier frequency) and transmit when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a particular channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine whether other signals are present on the channel in order to determine whether the channel is occupied or idle. The LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with existing systems in unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy on an expected transmission band over a period of time, and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

[0117] Typically, existing systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLANs use a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 401, AP 406, etc.) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission. In addition, in the case where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits at the same time, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid conflicts. The backoff mechanism may be a counter randomly introduced within the CWS that increases exponentially when a conflict occurs and is reset to a minimum value when the transmission is successful. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA / CA of WLAN. In some specific implementations, the LBT process for a DL or UL transmission burst (including PDSCH or PUSCH transmission) may have a LAA contention window of variable length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values ​​of the CWS of LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for LAA transmissions may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and MCOT (eg, transmission burst) may be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0118] The LAA mechanism is built on the CA technology of the LTE-Advanced system. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a CC. A CC can have a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz, and up to five CCs can be aggregated, so the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In an FDD system, the number of aggregated carriers can be different for DL ​​and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lower than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, each CC may have a different bandwidth from other CCs. In a TDD system, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are typically the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0119] CA also includes individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells may be different, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different path losses. The primary serving cell or PCell may provide the PCC for both UL and DL, and may handle activities related to RRC and NAS. Other serving cells are called SCells, and each SCell may provide individual SCCs for both UL and DL. SCCs may be added and removed as needed, and changing PCCs may require UE 401 to undergo switching. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in an unlicensed spectrum (referred to as "LAA SCells"), and the LAA SCells are assisted by the PCells operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells, indicating different PUSCH start positions within the same subframe.

[0120] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to the UE 401. The PDCCH carries, among other information, information about the transport format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It may also inform the UE 401 about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 401b within the cell) may be performed on any of the RAN nodes 411 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 401. Downlink resource allocation information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of the multiple UEs 401.

[0121] PDCCH uses CCE to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, respectively, called REGs. Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the DCI and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0122] Some embodiments may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments may utilize EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more ECCEs may be used to transmit EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, referred to as EREG. In some cases, ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0123] RAN nodes 411 may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 412. In embodiments where system 400 is an LTE system (eg, when CN 420 is a Figure 5 401 ), the interface 412 may be an X2 interface 412. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 411 (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC 420, and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC 420. In some specific implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provide a flow control mechanism for user packets transmitted over the X2 interface, and may be used to transmit information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information about user data transmitted from the MeNB to the SeNB; information about the successful in-sequence delivery of PDCP PDUs from the SeNB to the UE 401 for user data; information about PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to the UE 401; information about the current minimum expected buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE; and the like. X2-C can provide intra-LTE access mobility functions, including context transfer from the source eNB to the target eNB, user plane transmission control, etc.; load management functions; and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0124] In an embodiment where system 400 is a 5G or NR system (e.g., when CN 420 is Figure 6412). In some embodiments, the interface 412 may be an Xn interface 412 when the 5GC 620 is connected to the 5GC 420. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 411 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC 420, between a RAN node 411 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB connected to the 5GC 420, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC 420. In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and flow control functions. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functions for managing the functions of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for the UE 401 in a connected mode (e.g., a CM connection) includes functions for managing UE mobility in a connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 411. The mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving RAN node 411 to the new (target) serving RAN node 411; and control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) serving RAN node 411 and the new (target) serving RAN node 411. The protocol stack of Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on an Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of a UDP and / or IP layer for carrying user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as the Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on SCTP. SCTP may be on top of the IP layer and may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transport is used to deliver signaling PDUs. In other specific implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0125] RAN 410 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network - in this embodiment, communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 420. CN 420 may include a plurality of network elements 422 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 401) connected to CN 420 via RAN 410. The components of CN 420 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all of the above-mentioned network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instance of CN 420 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instance of a portion of CN 420 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architecture and infrastructure may be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (alternatively performed by proprietary hardware). In other words, the NFV system may be used to perform a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0126] Generally speaking, the application server 430 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 430 may also be configured to support one or more communication services for the UE 401 via the EPC 420 (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.).

[0127] In an embodiment, CN 420 may be a 5GC (referred to as "5GC 420" or the like), and RAN 410 may be connected to CN 420 via an NG interface 413. In an embodiment, NG interface 413 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 414, which carries traffic data between RAN node 411 and UPF; and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 415, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 411 and AMF. Figure 6 An implementation of CN 420 as 5GC 420 is discussed in more detail.

[0128] In an embodiment, CN 420 may be a 5G CN (referred to as "5GC 420", etc.), while in other embodiments, CN 420 may be an EPC. In the case where CN 420 is an EPC (referred to as "EPC 420", etc.), RAN 410 may be connected to CN 420 via an S1 interface 413. In an embodiment, S1 interface 413 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 414, which carries traffic data between RAN node 411 and S-GW; and an S1-MME interface 415, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 411 and MME.

[0129] Figure 5 FIG. 5 shows an exemplary architecture of a system 500 including a first CN 520 according to various embodiments. In this example, the system 500 may implement the LTE standard, wherein the CN 520 is a Figure 4 In addition, UE 501 may communicate with Figure 4 The UE 401 is the same as or similar to the UE 401, and the E-UTRAN 510 may be Figure 4 The CN 520 may be a RAN that is the same as or similar to the RAN 410 of the mobile network, and may include the RAN node 411 discussed previously. The CN 520 may include an MME 521, an S-GW 522, a P-GW 523, an HSS 524, and an SGSN 525.

[0130] The MME 521 may be similar in function to the control plane of a conventional SGSN, and may implement MM functions to keep track of the current location of the UE 501. The MME 521 may perform various MM procedures to manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. MM (also referred to as "EPS MM" or "EMM" in an E-UTRAN system) may refer to all applicable procedures, methods, data stores, etc. for maintaining knowledge of the current location of the UE 501, providing user identity confidentiality to users / subscribers, and / or performing other similar services. Each UE 501 and MME 521 may include an MM or EMM sublayer, and when the attachment procedure is successfully completed, an MM context may be established in the UE 501 and the MME 521. The MM context may be a data structure or database object that stores MM-related information of the UE 501. The MME 521 may be coupled to the HSS 524 via an S6a reference point, to the SGSN 525 via an S3 reference point, and to the S-GW 522 via an S11 reference point.

[0131] SGSN 525 may be a node that serves UE 501 by tracking the location of individual UE 501 and performing security functions. In addition, SGSN 525 may perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between 2G / 3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by MME 521; handling of UE 501 time zone functions, as specified by MME 521; and MME selection for handover to E-UTRAN 3GPP access network. The S3 reference point between MME 521 and SGSN 525 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in an idle state and / or an active state.

[0132] The HSS 524 may include a database for network users, which includes subscription-related information for supporting network entities in handling communication sessions. The EPC 520 may include one or several HSSs 524, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 524 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing solutions, location dependencies, etc. The S6a reference point between the HSS 524 and the MME 521 may enable the transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing users to access the EPC 520 between the HSS 524 and the MME 521.

[0133] The S-GW 522 may terminate the S1 interface 413 towards the RAN 510 (at Figure 5 The S-GW 522 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and enforcement of certain policies. The S11 reference point between the S-GW 522 and the MME 521 may provide a control plane between the MME 521 and the S-GW 522. The S-GW 522 may be coupled to the P-GW 523 via the S5 reference point.

[0134] The P-GW 523 may terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN 530. The P-GW 523 may communicate with the PDN 530 via the IP interface 425 (see, e.g., Figure 4 ) routes data packets between EPC 520 and external networks such as a network including application server 430 (alternatively referred to as "AF"). In an embodiment, P-GW 523 can communicate via IP communication interface 425 (see, e.g., Figure 4 ) is communicatively coupled to an application server ( Figure 4 Application server 430 or Figure 5The S5 reference point between the P-GW 523 and the S-GW 522 may provide user plane tunneling and tunnel management between the P-GW 523 and the S-GW 522. The S5 reference point may also be used for S-GW 522 relocation due to the mobility of the UE 501 and whether the S-GW 522 needs to be connected to a non-colocated P-GW 523 for the required PDN connectivity. The P-GW 523 may also include nodes for policy implementation and charging data collection, such as a PCEF (not shown). In addition, the SGi reference point between the P-GW 523 and the packet data network (PDN) 530 may be an operator-external public, private PDN, or an internal operator packet data network, such as for providing IMS services. The P-GW 523 may be coupled to the PCRF 526 via a Gx reference point.

[0135] PCRF 526 is a policy and charging control element of EPC 520. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF 526 in a domestic public land mobile network (HPLMN) associated with an Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session of UE 501. In a roaming scenario with local traffic breakout, there may be two PCRFs associated with the IP-CAN session of UE 501: a domestic PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN). PCRF 526 may be communicatively coupled to application server 530 via P-GW 523. Application server 530 may signal PCRF 526 to indicate a new service flow and select appropriate QoS and charging parameters. PCRF 526 may configure the rule to a PCEF (not shown) with the appropriate TFT and QCI, which function starts QoS and charging as specified by application server 530. The Gx reference point between PCRF 526 and P-GW 523 may allow for the transfer of QoS policies and charging rules from PCRF 526 to PCEF in P-GW 523. The Rx reference point may reside between PDN 530 (or "AF 530") and PCRF 526.

[0136] Figure 6The architecture of a system 600 including a second CN 620 according to various embodiments is shown. The system 600 is shown to include a UE 601, which may be the same or similar to the previously discussed UE 401 and UE 501; a (R) AN 610, which may be the same or similar to the previously discussed RAN 410 and RAN 510, and which may include the previously discussed RAN node 411; and a DN 603, which may be, for example, an operator service, Internet access, or a 3rd party service; and a 5GC 620. The 5GC 620 may include an AUSF 622; an AMF 621; an SMF 624; an NEF 623; a PCF 626; an NRF 625; an UDM 627; an AF 628; an UPF 602; and an NSSF 629.

[0137] UPF 602 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point interconnected with DN 603, and a branch point to support multi-host PDU sessions. UPF 602 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, perform the user plane portion of policy rules, lawful interception of packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement) on the user plane, perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 602 may include an uplink classifier for supporting routing of traffic flows to data networks. DN 603 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. DN 603 may include or be similar to the application server 430 discussed previously. UPF 602 may interact with SMF 624 via the N4 reference point between SMF 624 and UPF 602.

[0138] The AUSF 622 may store data for authentication of the UE 601 and handle authentication-related functions. The AUSF 622 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF 622 may communicate with the AMF 621 via the N12 reference point between the AMF 621 and the AUSF 622; and may communicate with the UDM 627 via the N13 reference point between the UDM 627 and the AUSF 622. In addition, the AUSF 622 may present an interface based on the Nausf service.

[0139] AMF 621 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., responsible for registering UE 601, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 621 may be the termination point of the N11 reference point between AMF 621 and SMF 624. AMF 621 may provide transport for SM messages between UE 601 and SMF 624, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 621 may also provide a transport for UE 601 and SMSF ( Figure 6 The AMF 621 may provide transport for SMS messages between the (R)AN 610 and the AMF 621 (not shown). The AMF 621 may act as a SEAF, which may include interaction with the AUSF 622 and the UE 601, receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 601 authentication process. In the case of using USIM-based authentication, the AMF 621 may retrieve security materials from the AUSF 622. The AMF 621 may also include an SCM function that receives keys from the SEA for deriving access network-specific keys. In addition, the AMF 621 may be a termination point for the RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the (R)AN 610 and the AMF 621; and the AMF 621 may be a termination point for NAS (N1) signaling, and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection.

[0140] The AMF 621 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 601 over the N3 IWF interface. The N3 IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3 IWF may be the termination point for the N2 interface between the (R) AN 610 and the AMF 621 for the control plane, and may be the termination point for the N3 reference point between the (R) AN 610 and the UPF 602 for the user plane. Thus, the AMF 621 may process N2 signaling for PDU sessions and QoS from the SMF 624 and the AMF 621, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunnels, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and perform QoS corresponding to N3 packet markings, taking into account QoS requirements associated with such markings received over N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 601 and the AMF 621 via the N1 reference point between the UE 601 and the AMF 621, and relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 601 and the UPF 602. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing an IPsec tunnel with the UE 601. The AMF 621 may present an interface based on the Namf service, and may be an N14 reference point between the two AMF 621 and the AMF 621 and the 5G-EIR ( Figure 6 The termination point of the N17 reference point between the two (not shown).

[0141] UE 601 may need to register with AMF 621 in order to receive network services. RM is used to register UE 601 with the network (e.g., AMF 621) or deregister UE, and establish a UE context in the network (e.g., AMF 621). UE 601 may operate in the RM-REGISTERED state or the RM-DEREGISTERED state. In the RM DEREGISTERED state, UE 601 is not registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 621 does not maintain the valid location or routing information of UE 601, so AMF 621 cannot reach UE 601. In the RM REGISTERED state, UE 601 is registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 621 may maintain the valid location or routing information of UE 601, so AMF 621 can reach UE 601. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 601 can perform a mobility registration update procedure, perform a periodic registration update procedure triggered by the expiration of a periodic update timer (for example, to notify the network that UE 601 is still active), and perform a registration update procedure to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, etc.

[0142] The AMF 621 may store one or more RM contexts for the UE 601, each RM context being associated with a specific access to the network. The RM context may be a data structure, a database object, etc., which indicates or stores, among other things, the registration status and periodic update timer for each access type. The AMF 621 may also store a 5GC MM context which may be the same or similar to the (E)MM context discussed previously. In various embodiments, the AMF 621 may store the CE mode B restriction parameters of the UE 601 in the associated MM context or RM context. The AMF 621 may also derive values ​​from the UE's usage setting parameters already stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context) when necessary.

[0143] The CM may be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE 601 and the AMF 621 over the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to enable NAS signaling exchange between the UE 601 and the CN 620, and includes a signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., an RRC connection or a UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPP access) and an N2 connection of the UE 601 between the AN (e.g., the RAN 610) and the AMF 621. The UE 601 may operate in one of two CM states (CM-IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode). When the UE 601 operates in the CM-IDLE state / mode, the UE 601 may not have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 621 over the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 610 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 601. When the UE 601 operates in the CM-CONNECTED state / mode, the UE 601 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 621 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 610 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 601. Establishing an N2 connection between the (R)AN 610 and the AMF 621 may cause the UE 601 to transition from the CM-IDLE mode to the CM-CONNECTED mode, and when the N2 signaling between the (R)AN 610 and the AMF 621 is released, the UE 601 may transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode.

[0144] SMF 624 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring traffic steering of UPF to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating the interface toward the policy control function; control portion of policy enforcement and QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system); terminating the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information sent to AN via AMF over N2; and determining the SSC mode of the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between a UE 601 and a data network (DN) 603 identified by a data network name (DNN). A PDU session may be established upon request by UE 601, modified upon request by UE 601 and 5GC 620, and released upon request by UE 601 and 5GC 620 using NAS SM signaling exchanged over the N1 reference point between UE 601 and SMF 624. Upon request from an application server, 5GC 620 may trigger a specific application in UE 601. In response to receiving a trigger message, UE 601 may deliver the trigger message (or relevant parts / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in UE 601. The identified applications in UE 601 may establish a PDU session to a specific DNN. SMF 624 may check whether the UE 601 request complies with user subscription information associated with UE 601. In this regard, SMF 624 may retrieve and / or request to receive update notifications about SMF 624 level subscription data from UDM 627.

[0145] SMF 624 may include the following roaming functions: handling local execution to apply QoS SLA (VPLMN); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system, in VPLMN); and support interaction with external DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization / authentication through external DN. In roaming scenarios, an N16 reference point between two SMFs 624 may be included in the system 600, which may be located between an SMF 624 in a visited network and another SMF 624 in a home network. In addition, SMF 624 may present an interface based on Nsmf services.

[0146] NEF 623 may provide components for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 628), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, NEF 623 may authenticate, authorize and / or restrict AF. NEF 623 may also convert information exchanged with AF 628 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 623 may convert between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 623 may also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on the exposure capabilities of other network functions. The information may be stored at NEF 623 as structured data or at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-exposed to other NFs and AFs by NEF 623 and / or used for other purposes such as analysis. In addition, NEF 623 may present an interface based on Nnef services.

[0147] NRF 625 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 625 also maintains information of available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the term "instantiation" and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of a program code. In addition, NRF 625 may present an interface based on Nnrf services.

[0148] PCF 626 may provide policy rules for control plane functions to enforce these functions, and may also support a unified policy framework to manage network behavior. PCF 626 may also implement FE to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of UDM 627. PCF 626 may communicate with AMF 621 via the N15 reference point between PCF 626 and AMF 621, which may include PCF 626 in a visited network and AMF 621 in a roaming scenario. PCF 626 may communicate with AF 628 via the N5 reference point between PCF 626 and AF 628; and communicate with SMF 624 via the N7 reference point between PCF 626 and SMF 624. System 600 and / or CN 620 may also include an N24 reference point between PCF 626 (in the home network) and PCF 626 in the visited network. In addition, PCF 626 may present an interface based on Npcf services.

[0149] UDM 627 may process subscription-related information to support the handling of communication sessions by network entities, and may store subscription data of UE 601. For example, subscription data may be transmitted between UDM 627 and AMF 621 via an N8 reference point between UDM 627 and AMF. UDM 627 may include two parts: application FE and UDR ( Figure 6 FE and UDR are not shown). UDR can store subscription data and policy data of UDM 627 and PCF 626, and / or structured data for exposure and application data of NEF 623 (including PFD for application detection, application request information of multiple UE 601). Nudr service-based interface can be presented by UDR 221 to allow UDM 627, PCF 626 and NEF 623 to access specific sets of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete and subscribe to notifications of related data changes in UDR. UDM may include UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. In different transactions, several different front ends may serve the same user. UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in UDR, and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management and subscription management. UDR can interact with SMF 624 via the N10 reference point between UDM 627 and SMF 624. UDM 627 may also support SMS management, where SMS-FE implements similar application logic as described above. In addition, UDM 627 may present an interface based on Nudm services.

[0150] AF 628 can provide the influence of applications on traffic routing, provide access to NCE, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. NCE can be a mechanism that allows 5GC 620 and AF 628 to provide information to each other via NEF 623, which can be used for edge computing implementation. In such implementations, network operators and third-party services can be hosted near the UE 601 access point of the attachment to achieve effective service delivery through reduced end-to-end delay and load on the transmission network. For edge computing implementation, 5GC can select UPF 602 near UE 601 and perform traffic steering from UPF 602 to DN 603 via N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by AF 628. In this way, AF 628 can affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 628 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow AF 628 to interact directly with the relevant NF. In addition, AF 628 can present an interface based on Naf services.

[0151] NSSF 629 may select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 601. If necessary, NSSF 629 may also determine the allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAI. NSSF 629 may also determine the AMF set, or a list of candidate AMFs 621, to serve UE 601 based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying NRF 625. The selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 601 may be triggered by AMF 621, where UE 601 registers by interacting with NSSF 629, which may cause changes to AMF 621. NSSF 629 may interact with AMF 621 via the N22 reference point between AMF 621 and NSSF 629; and may communicate with AMF 621 via the N31 reference point ( Figure 6 The NSSF 629 may communicate with another NSSF 629 in the visited network (not shown). In addition, the NSSF 629 may present an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0152] As discussed previously, CN 620 may include SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relaying SM messages from / to other entities, such as SMS-GMSC / IWMSC / SMS routers, to / from UE 601. SMS may also interact with AMF 621 and UDM 627 for notification procedures that UE 601 is available for SMS transmission (e.g., setting a UE unreachable flag and notifying UDM 627 when UE 601 is available for SMS).

[0153] CN 120 may also include Figure 6 Other elements not shown in the figure, such as data storage system / architecture, 5G-EIR, SEPP, etc. The data storage system may include SDSF, UDSF, etc. Any NF can communicate with any NF and UDSF ( Figure 6 The N18 reference point between the NF and the NF (not shown) stores unstructured data in or retrieves it from the UDSF (e.g., UE context). Individual NFs may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data, or individual NFs may each have their own UDSF located at or near a single NF. In addition, the UDSF may present an interface based on the Nudsf service ( Figure 6 (not shown). The 5G-EIR may be a NF that checks the status of the PEI to determine whether to blacklist a specific equipment / entity from the network; and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

[0154] Additionally, there may be more reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services in a NF; however, for clarity, Figure 6These interfaces and reference points are omitted. In one example, CN 620 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., MME 521) and an AMF 621, to enable intercommunication between CN 620 and CN 520. Other example interfaces / reference points may include an interface based on N5g-EIR services presented by 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between an NRF in a visited network and an NRF in a home network; and an N31 reference point between an NSSF in a visited network and an NSSF in a home network.

[0155] Figure 7 An example of infrastructure equipment 700 according to various embodiments is shown. Infrastructure equipment 700 (or "system 700") can be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node (such as the RAN node 411 and / or AP 406 shown and described previously), an application server 430, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, system 700 can be implemented in or by a UE.

[0156] System 700 may include: application circuit 705, baseband circuit 710, one or more radio front end modules 715, memory circuit 720, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 725, power tee circuit 730, network controller circuit 735, network interface connector 740, satellite positioning circuit 745 and user interface 750. In some embodiments, device 700 may include additional elements, such as, for example, memory / storage, display, camera, sensor, or input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, these components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuit may be included separately in more than one device for CRAN, vBBU or other similar implementations.

[0157] The application circuit 705 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: a low dropout regulator (LDO), an interrupt controller, a serial interface such as SPI, I2C or a general programmable serial interface module, a real-time clock (RTC), a timer-counter including an interval timer and a watchdog timer, a general input / output (I / O or IO), a memory card controller such as a secure digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar product, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface, and a joint test access group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 705 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage element to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 700. In some implementations, the memory / storage element can be an on-chip memory circuit that can include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0158] The processor of the application circuit 705 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 705 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein. As an example, the processor of the application circuit 705 may include one or more Apple A series processors, Intel or Processor: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or processors; ARM-based processors licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A series processors provided by Cavium(TM), Inc. and MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior P-class processor; etc. In some embodiments, system 700 may not utilize application circuit 705, and instead may include a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received, for example, from an EPC or 5GC.

[0159] In some implementations, the application circuit 705 may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, etc. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. For example, the programmable processing device may be one or more field programmable devices (FPDs), such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.; programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), etc.; ASICs, such as structured ASICs, etc.; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); etc. In such implementations, the circuits of the application circuit 705 may include logic blocks or logic architectures, as well as other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions such as the procedures, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such an embodiment, the circuitry of the application circuit 705 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic architectures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc.

[0160] Baseband circuit 710 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Fig. 9 Various hardware electronic components of baseband circuit 710 are discussed.

[0161] The user interface circuit 750 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the system 700 or a peripheral component interface designed to enable a peripheral component to interact with the system 700. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio transmitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0162] The radio front end module (RFEM) 715 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, e.g., below). Fig. 9 Antenna array 911), and RFEM can be connected to multiple antennas. In an alternative implementation, both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions can be implemented in the same physical RFEM715 that combines both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0163] The memory circuit 720 may include one or more of the following: a volatile memory including a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a non-volatile memory (NVM) including a high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as a "flash memory"), a phase change random access memory (PRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may be combined with and The memory circuit 720 may be implemented as one or more of: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a socket memory module, and a plug-in memory card.

[0164] The PMIC 725 may include a voltage regulator, a surge protector, a power alarm detection circuit, and one or more backup power sources, such as a battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuit may detect one or more of a brownout (undervoltage) and a surge (overvoltage) condition. The power tee circuit 730 may provide power extracted from a network cable to provide both power and data connections for the infrastructure equipment 700 using a single cable.

[0165] The network controller circuit 735 may provide a connection to the network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet based on a GRE tunnel, Ethernet based on a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. A physical connection may be used to provide a network connection to / from the infrastructure equipment 700 via a network interface connector 740, which may be an electrical connection (commonly referred to as a "copper interconnect"), an optical connection, or a wireless connection. The network controller circuit 735 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some specific implementations, the network controller circuit 735 may include multiple controllers for providing connections to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0166] The positioning circuit 745 includes a circuit for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a positioning network of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union's Galileo system, China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., using the Indian constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France's Doppler Orbit Chart and Satellite Integrated Radio Positioning (DORIS), etc. for navigation), etc. The positioning circuit 745 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communications) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 745 may include a micro technology (micro PNT) IC for positioning, navigation, and timing that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 745 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 710 and / or RFEM 715 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 745 may also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 705, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., RAN node 411, etc.), etc.

[0167] Figure 7 The components shown can communicate with each other using interface circuits that can include any number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as industry standard architecture (ISA), extended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), peripheral component interconnect extended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX can be a proprietary bus, for example, used in a SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems can be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, a point-to-point interface, and a power bus, etc.

[0168] Figure 8 An example of a platform 800 (or "device 800") according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 800 may be suitable for use as a UE 401, 501, 601, an application server 430, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 800 may include any combination of components shown in the example. The components of the platform 800 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), part of an IC, a discrete electronic device, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform 800, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. Figure 8The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of computer platform 800. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0169] The application circuit 805 includes circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of an LDO, an interrupt controller, a serial interface (such as SPI), I2C or a general programmable serial interface module, an RTC, a timer (including an interval timer and a watchdog timer), a general I / O, a memory card controller (such as an SD MMC or similar controller), a USB interface, a MIPI interface, and a JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 805 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage element to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 800. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0170] The processor of the application circuit 705 may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, multi-threaded processors, ultra-low voltage processors, embedded processors, some other known processing elements, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 705 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein.

[0171] As an example, the processor of the application circuit 805 may include an Apple A series processor. The processor of the application circuit 805 may also be one or more of the following: based on Architecture Core TM Processors such as Quark TM 、Atom TM , i3, i5, i7 or MCU class processors, or available from Santa Clara, CA company( Another such processor is Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA); Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM Processor, Texas Instruments, Open Multimedia ApplicationsPlatform(OMAP) TM processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some implementations, the application circuit 805 can be part of a system on a chip (SoC), in which the application circuit 805 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit.

[0172] Additionally or alternatively, the application circuit 805 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more field programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs, etc.; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), etc.; ASICs such as structured ASICs, etc.; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); etc. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 805 may include logic blocks or logic structures, and other interconnected resources that can be programmed to perform various functions such as the processes, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 805 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic structures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc.

[0173] The baseband circuit 810 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Fig. 9 The various hardware electronic components of baseband circuit 810 are discussed.

[0174] The RFEM 815 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, e.g., below). Fig. 9 Antenna array 911), and the RFEM can be connected to multiple antennas. In an alternative implementation, both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions can be implemented in the same physical RFEM 815 that combines both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0175] The memory circuit 820 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a quantitative system memory. For example, the memory circuit 820 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and / or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM); and non-volatile memory (NVM), including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuit 820 may be developed according to the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) based low power double data rate (LPDDR) design such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuit 820 may be implemented as one or more of a solder-in package integrated circuit, a single die package (SDP), a dual die package (DDP), or a quad die package (Q17P), a socketed memory module, a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) including a micro DIMM or a mini DIMM, and / or soldered to a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In a low-power implementation, the memory circuit 820 may be an on-chip memory or register associated with the application circuit 805. In order to provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuit 820 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, among others, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, a resistive change memory, a phase change memory, a holographic memory, or a chemical memory. For example, the computer platform 800 may be combined with a computer system obtained from and Three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memory.

[0176] The removable memory circuitry 823 may include devices, circuits, housings / casings, ports or receptacles, etc., for coupling portable data storage devices to the platform 800. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage, and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, micro SD cards, xD picture cards, etc.), as well as USB flash drives, optical disks, external HDDs, etc.

[0177] The platform 800 may further include an interface circuit (not shown) for connecting external devices to the platform 800. External devices connected to the platform 800 via the interface circuit include a sensor circuit 821 and an electromechanical component (EMC) 822, and a removable memory device coupled to a removable memory circuit 823.

[0178] Sensor circuitry 821 comprises a device, module, or subsystem that is intended to detect events or changes in its environment, and to send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit (IMU) including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.), a depth sensor, an ambient light sensor, an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0179] EMC 822 includes devices, modules or subsystems that are intended to enable platform 800 to change its state, position and / or orientation or to move or control mechanisms or (sub) systems. In addition, EMC 822 can be configured to generate messages / signaling and send messages / signaling to other components of platform 800 to indicate the current state of EMC 822. EMC 822 includes one or more power switches, relays (including electromechanical relays (EMR) and / or solid-state relays (SSR)), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), audible sound generators, visual warning devices, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks and / or other similar electromechanical components. In an embodiment, platform 800 is configured to operate one or more EMC822 based on one or more capture events and / or instructions or control signals received from service providers and / or various clients.

[0180] In some specific implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 800 to the positioning circuit 845. The positioning circuit 845 includes a circuit for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by the positioning network of the GNSS. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include the GPS of the United States, the GLONASS of Russia, the Galileo system of the European Union, the Beidou navigation satellite system of China, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, QZSS of Japan, DORIS of France, etc.), etc. The positioning circuit 845 may include various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communication) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 845 may include a micro PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 845 may also be part of the baseband circuit 710 and / or the RFEM 815 or interact with it to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. Positioning circuitry 845 may also provide position data and / or time data to application circuitry 805 , which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (eg, radio base stations) for use in turn-by-turn navigation applications, and the like.

[0181] In some implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 800 with a near field communication (NFC) circuit 840. The NFC circuit 840 is configured to provide contactless short-range communication based on the radio frequency identification (RFID) standard, where a magnetic field is sensed to enable communication between the NFC circuit 840 and an NFC-enabled device (e.g., an "NFC touch point") external to the platform 800. The NFC circuit 840 includes an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip / IC that provides NFC functionality to the NFC circuit 840 by executing an NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to transmit a short-range RF signal. The RF signal may power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transfer stored data to the NFC circuit 840, or initiate data transfer between the NFC circuit 840 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) proximate to the platform 800.

[0182] The driver circuit 846 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the platform 800. The driver circuit 846 may include various drivers to allow other components of the platform 800 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the platform 800. For example, the driver circuit 846 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface of the platform 800, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuit 821 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 821, an EMC driver for obtaining an actuator position of the EMC 822 and / or controlling and allowing access to the EMC 822, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0183] A power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 825 (also referred to as “power management circuit 825”) may manage power provided to various components of the platform 800. Specifically, the PMIC 825 may control power selection, voltage regulation, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion relative to the baseband circuit 810. When the platform 800 is capable of being powered by a battery 830, for example, when the device is included in a UE 401, 501, 601, the PMIC 825 may be generally included.

[0184] In some embodiments, the PMIC 825 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the platform 800. For example, if the platform 800 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which the platform is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the platform 800 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the platform 800 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the platform is disconnected from the network and no operations such as channel quality feedback, handovers, etc. are performed. The platform 800 enters an extremely low power state and performs paging, in which the platform periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers off again. The platform 800 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power saving modes may prevent the device from using the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to several hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will be significantly delayed, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0185] The battery 830 can power the platform 800, but in some examples, the platform 800 can be mounted in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to a power grid. The battery 830 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 830 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0186] In some implementations, the battery 830 may be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or a battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS may be included in the platform 800 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 830. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 830, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 830, to provide fault prediction. The BMS may transmit information about the battery 830 to the application circuit 805 or other components of the platform 800. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 805 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 830 or the current from the battery 830. The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform 800 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0187] A power block or other power source coupled to the grid can be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 830. In some examples, the power block XS30 can be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform 800. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuit selected can depend on the size of the battery 830 and therefore the current required. Charging can be performed using the aviation fuel standard published by the Aviation Fuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance.

[0188] The user interface circuit 850 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present in or connected to the platform 800, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to implement user interaction with the platform 800 and / or a peripheral component interface designed to implement interaction with the peripheral components of the platform 800. The user interface circuit 850 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where outputs of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. are generated or produced by the operation of the platform 800. The output device circuitry may also include speakers or other audio emitting devices, printers, etc. In some embodiments, the sensor circuitry 821 may be used as an input device circuitry (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.), and one or more EMCs may be used as output device circuitry (e.g., an actuator for providing tactile feedback, etc.). In another example, an NFC circuit may be included to read an electronic tag and / or connect to another NFC-enabled device, the NFC circuitry including an NFC controller and a processing device coupled to an antenna element. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0189] Although not shown, the components of platform 800 can communicate with each other using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which can include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx, PCIe, time-triggered protocol (TTP) systems, FlexRay systems, or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX can be a proprietary bus / IX, for example, used in a SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems can be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, a point-to-point interface, and a power bus, etc.

[0190] Fig. 9 Exemplary components of a baseband circuit 910 and a radio front end module (RFEM) 915 are shown according to various embodiments. The baseband circuit 910 corresponds to Figure 7 and Figure 8Baseband circuits 710 and 810. RFEM 915 corresponds to Figure 7 and Figure 8 RFEM 715 and 815. As shown, RFEM 915 may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry 906, front end module (FEM) circuitry 908, and an antenna array 911 coupled together at least as shown.

[0191] The baseband circuit 910 includes circuits and / or control logic components that are configured to execute various radio / network protocols and radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 906. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuit of the baseband circuit 910 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuit of the baseband circuit 910 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The implementation of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions is not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments. The baseband circuit 910 is configured to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 906 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 906. The baseband circuit 910 is configured to communicate with the application circuit 705 / 805 (see Figure 7 and Figure 8 ) are connected to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of RF circuit 906. Baseband circuit 910 can handle various radio control functions.

[0192] The aforementioned circuits and / or control logic components of the baseband circuit 910 may include one or more single-core or multi-core processors. For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G baseband processor 904A, a 4G / LTE baseband processor 904B, a 5G / NR baseband processor 904C, or some other baseband processors 904D for other existing generations, generations under development or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., the sixth generation (6G), etc.). In other embodiments, some or all of the functions in the baseband processors 904A-D may be included in a module stored in the memory 904G and executed via a central processing unit (CPU) 904E. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 904A-D may be provided as a hardware accelerator (e.g., FPGA, ASIC, etc.) loaded with an appropriate bitstream or logic block stored in a corresponding memory unit. In various embodiments, the memory 904G may store program code of a real-time OS (RTOS), which, when executed by the CPU 904E (or other baseband processor), will enable the CPU 904E (or other baseband processor) to manage resources of the baseband circuit 910, schedule tasks, etc. Examples of RTOS may include: Operating System Embedded (OSE) provided TM , by Mentor Nucleus RTOS provided TM , by Mentor Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Express Provided by ThreadX TM ,Depend on FreeRTOS and REX OS provided by OpenKernel (OK) OKL4 provided, or any other suitable RTOS, such as those discussed herein. In addition, the baseband circuit 910 includes one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 904F. The audio DSP 904F includes elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.

[0193] In some embodiments, each of processors 904A-904E includes a corresponding memory interface to send data to / receive data from memory 904G. Baseband circuit 910 may also include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to baseband circuit 910; an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to the baseband circuit; Figures 7 to XApplication circuit interface for sending data to / receiving data from the application circuit 705 / 805 of T; Fig. 9 RF circuit 906 to send data / receive data from the RF circuit RF circuit interface; for receiving data from one or more wireless hardware elements (e.g., near field communication (NFC) components, Low power consumption components, components, etc.) to send data / receive data from these wireless hardware elements; and a power management interface for sending power or control signals to / receiving power or control signals from the PMIC 825.

[0194] In an alternative embodiment (which can be combined with the above embodiment), the baseband circuit 910 includes one or more digital baseband systems, which are coupled to each other and to the CPU subsystem, the audio subsystem and the interface subsystem via an interconnection subsystem. The digital baseband subsystem can also be coupled to the digital baseband interface and the mixed signal baseband subsystem via another interconnection subsystem. Each of the interconnection subsystems may include a bus system, a point-to-point connector, a network on chip (NOC) structure and / or some other suitable bus or interconnection technology, such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include a DSP circuit, a buffer memory, a program memory, a voice processing accelerator circuit, a data converter circuit such as an analog-to-digital converter circuit and a digital-to-analog converter circuit, an analog circuit including one or more of an amplifier and a filter, and / or other similar components. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the baseband circuit 910 may include a protocol processing circuit with one or more control circuit instances (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuit and / or the radio frequency circuit (e.g., the radio front end module 915).

[0195] although Fig. 9, but in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 910 includes various processing devices (e.g., "multi-protocol baseband processor" or "protocol processing circuit") for operating one or more wireless communication protocols and various processing devices for implementing PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, the PHY layer functions include the aforementioned radio control functions. In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuit operates or implements various protocol layers / entities of one or more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, when the baseband circuit 910 and / or the RF circuit 906 are part of a millimeter wave communication circuit or some other suitable cellular communication circuit, the protocol processing circuit may operate an LTE protocol entity and / or a 5G / NR protocol entity. In a first example, the protocol processing circuit will operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. In a second example, when the baseband circuit 910 and / or the RF circuit 906 are part of a Wi-Fi communication system, the protocol processing circuit may operate one or more IEEE-based protocols. In a second example, the protocol processing circuit will operate Wi-Fi MAC and logical link control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuitry may include one or more memory structures (e.g., 904G) for storing program code and data for operating protocol functions, and one or more processing cores for executing program code and performing various operations using data. The baseband circuitry 910 may also support radio communications for more than one wireless protocol.

[0196] The various hardware elements of the baseband circuit 910 discussed herein may be implemented as, for example, a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more ICs. In one example, the components of the baseband circuit 910 may be appropriately combined in a single chip or a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 910 and the RF circuit 906 may be implemented together, such as, for example, a system on a chip (SOC) or a system-in-package (SiP). In another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 910 may be implemented as a separate SoC communicatively coupled to the RF circuit 906 (or multiple instances of the RF circuit 906). In yet another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 910 and the application circuit 705 / 805 may be implemented together as a separate SoC mounted to the same circuit board (e.g., a "multi-chip package").

[0197] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 910 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 910 may support communications with E-UTRAN or other WMANs, WLANs, WPANs. Embodiments in which the baseband circuit 910 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits.

[0198] RF circuit 906 may enable communication with a wireless network through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 906 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. RF circuit 906 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuits for down-converting RF signals received from FEM circuit 908 and providing baseband signals to baseband circuit 910. RF circuit 906 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuits for up-converting baseband signals provided by baseband circuit 910 and providing RF output signals for transmission to FEM circuit 908.

[0199] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 906 may include a mixer circuit 906a, an amplifier circuit 906b, and a filter circuit 906c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 906 may include a filter circuit 906c and a mixer circuit 906a. The RF circuit 906 may also include a synthesizer circuit 906d, which is used to synthesize the frequency used by the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 908 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 906d. The amplifier circuit 906b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 906c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 910 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required.In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0200] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 906d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 908. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuit 910 and may be filtered by filter circuit 906c.

[0201] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and quadrature up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image suppression (e.g., Hartley image suppression). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0202] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 906 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 910 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit 906.

[0203] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0204] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 906d can be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 906d can be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0205] Synthesizer circuit 906d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by mixer circuit 906a of RF circuit 906. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 906d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0206] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuit 910 or the application circuit 705 / 805 according to the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by the application circuit 705 / 805.

[0207] The synthesizer circuit 906d of the RF circuit 906 may include a frequency divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode frequency divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable, delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop set. In these embodiments, the delay element may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0208] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 906d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and can be used with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals with multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 906 can include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0209] FEM circuitry 908 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from antenna array 911, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuitry 906 for further processing. FEM circuitry 908 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by RF circuitry 906 for transmission by one or more antenna elements in antenna array 911. In various embodiments, amplification by the transmit or receive signal paths may be accomplished only in RF circuitry 906, only in FEM circuitry 908, or in both RF circuitry 906 and FEM circuitry 908.

[0210] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 908 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit 908 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 908 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 906). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 908 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 906), and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission by one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 911.

[0211] The antenna array 911 includes one or more antenna elements, each of which is configured to convert an electrical signal into a radio wave to travel through the air and convert the received radio wave into an electrical signal. For example, a digital baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit 910 is converted into an analog RF signal (e.g., a modulated waveform), which is amplified and transmitted via the antenna elements of the antenna array 911 including one or more antenna elements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may be formed into a variety of arrangements as known and / or discussed herein. The antenna array 911 may include a microstrip antenna or a printed antenna fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. The antenna array 911 may be formed as a patch of metal foil of various shapes (e.g., a patch antenna) and may be coupled to the RF circuit 906 and / or the FEM circuit 908 using a metal transmission line or the like.

[0212] The processor of the application circuit 705 / 805 and the processor of the baseband circuit 910 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 910 can be used alone or in combination to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuit 705 / 805 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., TCP and UDP layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include an RRC layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include a MAC layer, an RLC layer, and a PDCP layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include a PHY layer of a UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0213] Fig.10 Various protocol functions that may be implemented in a wireless communication device according to various embodiments are shown; in particular, Fig.10 An arrangement 1000 is included to show the interconnection between various protocol layers / entities. Various protocol layers / entities operating in conjunction with 5G / NR system standards and LTE system standards are provided. Fig.10The following description, but Fig.10 Some or all aspects of the invention may also be applicable to other wireless communication network systems.

[0214] In addition to other higher layer functions not shown, the protocol layers of arrangement 1000 may also include one or more of PHY 1010, MAC 1020, RLC 1030, PDCP 1040, SDAP 1047, RRC 1055, and NAS layer 1057. The protocol layers may include one or more service access points (e.g., Fig.10 Items 1059, 1056, 1050, 1049, 1045, 1035, 1025 and 1015).

[0215] PHY 1010 can transmit and receive physical layer signals 1005, which can be received from one or more other communication devices or transmitted to one or more other communication devices. Physical layer signals 1005 may include one or more physical channels, such as those discussed herein. PHY 1010 may also perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and switching purposes) and other measurements used by higher layers (e.g., RRC1055). PHY 1010 may also further perform error detection on transmission channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transmission channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels and MIMO antenna processing. In an embodiment, an instance of PHY 1010 may process a request from an instance of MAC1020 via one or more PHY-SAP 1015, and provide an indication thereto. According to some embodiments, the request and indication transmitted via PHY-SAP 1015 may include one or more transmission channels.

[0216] An instance of MAC 1020 may process requests from an instance of RLC 1030 via one or more MAC-SAPs 1025 and provide indications thereto. These requests and indications transmitted via MAC-SAP 1025 may include one or more logical channels. MAC 1020 may perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs from one or more logical channels onto TBs to be delivered to PHY 1010 via transport channels, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs delivered from PHY 1010 via transport channels to one or more logical channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, and logical channel prioritization.

[0217] An instance of RLC 1030 may process requests from an instance of PDCP 1040 via one or more radio link control service access points (RLC-SAPs) 1035 and provide indications thereto. These requests and indications transmitted via RLC-SAPs 1035 may include one or more RLC channels. RLC 1030 may operate in a variety of operating modes, including: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). RLC 1030 may perform transmission of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transmission, and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission. RLC 1030 may also perform resegmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transmission, reorder RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transmission, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect protocol errors for AM data transmission, and perform RLC re-establishment.

[0218] An instance of PDCP 1040 may process requests from an instance of RRC 1055 and / or an instance of SDAP 1047 via one or more Packet Data Convergence Protocol Service Points (PDCP-SAP) 1045 and provide indications thereto. These requests and indications transmitted via PDCP-SAP 1045 may include one or more radio bearers. PDCP 1040 may perform header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP sequence numbers (SNs), perform in-order delivery of upper layer PDUs when lower layers are reestablished, eliminate duplication of lower layer SDUs when lower layers are reestablished for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM, encrypt and decrypt control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification on control plane data, control timer-based data discard, and perform security operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0219] An instance of SDAP 1047 may process requests from one or more higher layer protocol entities via one or more SDAP-SAPs 1049 and provide instructions thereto. These requests and instructions transmitted via SDAP-SAP 1049 may include one or more QoS flows. SDAP 1047 may map QoS flows to DRBs and vice versa, and may also mark QFIs in DL and UL packets. A single SDAP entity 1047 may be configured for a separate PDU session. In the UL direction, NG-RAN 410 may control the mapping of QoS flows to DRBs in two different ways (reflective mapping or explicit mapping). For reflective mapping, SDAP 1047 of UE 401 may monitor the QFI of the DL packets of each DRB, and may apply the same mapping to packets flowing in the UL direction. For DRBs, SDAP 1047 of UE 401 may map UL packets belonging to a QoS flow corresponding to the QoS flow ID and PDU session observed in the DL packets of the DRB. To implement the reflective mapping, the NG-RAN 610 may mark the DL packets with a QoS flow ID over the Uu interface. The explicit mapping may involve the RRC 1055 configuring the SDAP 1047 with explicit mapping rules of QoS flows to DRBs, which may be stored and followed by the SDAP 1047. In an embodiment, the SDAP 1047 may be used only in NR implementations and may not be used in LTE implementations.

[0220] The RRC 1055 may configure aspects of one or more protocol layers, which may include one or more instances of PHY 1010, MAC 1020, RLC 1030, PDCP 1040, and SDAP 1047, via one or more Management Service Access Points (M-SAPs). In an embodiment, an instance of the RRC 1055 may process requests from one or more NAS entities 1057 and provide instructions thereto via one or more RRC-SAPs 1056. The main services and functions of the RRC 1055 may include broadcasting of system information (e.g., included in a MIB or SIB related to NAS), broadcasting of system information related to the access stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance, and release of an RRC connection between the UE 401 and the RAN 410 (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions including key management, inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. These MIBs and SIBs may include one or more IEs, each of which may include a separate data field or data structure.

[0221] NAS 1057 may form the highest layer of the control plane between UE 401 and AMF 621. NAS 1057 may support mobility and session management procedures of UE 401 to establish and maintain an IP connection between UE 401 and P-GW in the LTE system.

[0222] According to various embodiments, one or more protocol entities of arrangement 1000 may be implemented in UE 401, RAN node 411, AMF 621 in NR implementation or MME 521 in LTE implementation, UPF 602 in NR implementation or S-GW 522 and P-GW 523 in LTE implementation, etc., for control plane or user plane communication protocol stacks between the aforementioned devices. In such embodiments, one or more protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of UE 401, gNB 411, AMF 621, etc. may communicate with a corresponding peer protocol entity that may be implemented in or on another device, which entity uses the services of the corresponding lower layer protocol entity for such communication. In some embodiments, the gNB-CU of gNB 411 may host the RRC 1055, SDAP 1047, and PDCP 1040 of the gNB that control operations of one or more gNB-DUs, and the gNB-DUs of gNB 411 may each host the RLC 1030, MAC 1020, and PHY 1010 of gNB 411.

[0223] In a first example, the control plane protocol stack may include, in order from the highest layer to the lowest layer, NAS 1057, RRC 1055, PDCP 1040, RLC 1030, MAC 1020, and PHY 1010. In this example, an upper layer 1060 may be built on top of NAS 1057, which includes an IP layer 1061, SCTP 1062, and an application layer signaling protocol (AP) 1063.

[0224] In a NR specific implementation, AP 1063 can be an NG application protocol layer (NGAP or NG-AP) 1063 for the NG interface 413 defined between the NG-RAN node 411 and the AMF 621, or AP 1063 can be an Xn application protocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP) 1063 for the Xn interface 412 defined between two or more RAN nodes 411.

[0225] The NG-AP 1063 may support the functionality of the NG interface 413 and may include an elementary procedure (EP). The NG-AP EP may be an interaction unit between the NG-RAN node 411 and the AMF 621. The NG-AP 1063 services may include two groups: UE-associated services (e.g., services related to the UE 401) and non-UE-associated services (e.g., services related to the entire NG interface instance between the NG-RAN node 411 and the AMF 621). These services may include functions including, but not limited to: a paging function for sending a paging request to the NG-RAN node 411 involved in a specific paging area; a UE context management function for allowing the AMF 621 to establish, modify and / or release the UE context in the AMF 621 and the NG-RAN node 411; a mobility function for the UE 401 in ECM-CONNECTED mode, for intra-system HO to support mobility within the NG-RAN, and for inter-system HO to support mobility from / to the EPS system; a NAS signaling transport function for transmitting or rerouting NAS messages between the UE 401 and the AMF 621; a NAS node selection function for determining the association between the AMF 621 and the UE 401; an NG interface management function for setting up the NG interface and monitoring errors through the NG interface; a warning message sending function for providing a means for transmitting a warning message via the NG interface or cancelling an ongoing warning message broadcast; a NAS signaling transport function for transmitting or rerouting NAS messages between the UE 401 and the AMF 621; a NAS node selection function for determining the association between the AMF 621 and the UE 401; a ... 420 A configuration transmission function for requesting and transmitting RAN configuration information (eg, SON information, performance measurement (PM) data, etc.) between two RAN nodes 411; and / or other similar functions.

[0226] The XnAP 1063 may support the functions of the Xn interface 412 and may include XnAP basic mobility procedures and XnAP global procedures. The XnAP basic mobility procedures may include procedures for handling UE mobility within the NG RAN 411 (or E-UTRAN 510), such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN state transfer procedures, UE context retrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, procedures related to dual connectivity, etc. The XnAP global procedures may include procedures that are not related to a specific UE 401, such as Xn interface setup and reset procedures, NG-RAN update procedures, cell activation procedures, etc.

[0227] In an LTE specific implementation, the AP 1063 may be an S1 application protocol layer (S1-AP) 1063 for the S1 interface 413 defined between the E-UTRAN node 411 and the MME, or the AP 1063 may be an X2 application protocol layer (X2AP or X2-AP) 1063 for the X2 interface 412 defined between two or more E-UTRAN nodes 411.

[0228] The S1 application protocol layer (S1-AP) 1063 may support the functionality of the S1 interface, and similar to the NG-AP discussed previously, the S1-AP may include an S1-AP EP. The S1-AP EP may be an interaction unit between the E-UTRAN node 411 and the MME 521 within the LTE CN 420. The S1-AP 1063 services may include two groups: UE-associated services and non-UE-associated services. The functions performed by these services include, but are not limited to: E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transmission, RAN Information Management (RIM), and configuration transmission.

[0229] The X2AP 1063 may support the functions of the X2 interface 412 and may include an X2AP basic mobility procedure and an X2AP global procedure. The X2AP basic mobility procedure may include a procedure for handling UE mobility within the E-UTRAN 420, such as a handover preparation and cancellation procedure, an SN state transfer procedure, a UE context retrieval and a UE context release procedure, a RAN paging procedure, a procedure related to dual connectivity, etc. The X2AP global procedure may include a procedure that is not related to a specific UE 401, such as an X2 interface setup and reset procedure, a load indication procedure, an error indication procedure, a cell activation procedure, etc.

[0230] The SCTP layer (alternatively referred to as the SCTP / IP layer) 1062 may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages (e.g., NGAP or XnAP messages in NR implementations, or S1-AP or X2AP messages in LTE implementations). The SCTP 1062 may ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 411 and the AMF 621 / MME 521 based in part on the IP protocol supported by the IP 1061. The Internet Protocol layer (IP) 1061 may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. In some implementations, the IP layer 1061 may deliver and transmit PDUs using point-to-point transport. In this regard, the RAN node 411 may include L2 and L1 layer communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) with the MME / AMF to exchange information.

[0231] In a second example, the user plane protocol stack may include SDAP 1047, PDCP 1040, RLC 1030, MAC 1020, and PHY 1010 in order from the highest layer to the lowest layer. The user plane protocol stack may be used for communication between UE 401, RAN node 411, and UPF 602 in NR implementation, or communication between S-GW 522 and P-GW 523 in LTE implementation. In this example, the upper layer 1051 may be built on top of SDAP 1047 and may include a user datagram protocol (UDP) and IP security layer (UDP / IP) 1052, a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol for a user plane layer (GTP-U) 1053, and a user plane PDU layer (UP PDU) 1063.

[0232] The transport network layer 1054 (also referred to as the "transport layer") may be built on top of the IP transport, and the GTP-U 1053 may be used on top of the UDP / IP layer 1052 (including the UDP layer and the IP layer) to carry the user plane PDU (UP-PDU). The IP layer (also referred to as the "Internet layer") may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. The IP layer may assign IP addresses to user data packets, for example, in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats.

[0233] GTP-U 1053 may be used to carry user data within the GPRS core network and between the radio access network and the core network. For example, the transmitted user data may be packets in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats. UDP / IP 1052 may provide checksums for data integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the source and destination, and encryption and authentication of selected data flows. The RAN node 411 and the S-GW 522 may utilize the S1-U interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including an L1 layer (e.g., PHY 1010), an L2 layer (e.g., MAC 1020, RLC 1030, PDCP 1040, and / or SDAP 1047), a UDP / IP layer 1052, and a GTP-U 1053. S-GW 522 and P-GW 523 may utilize an S5 / S8a interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including an L1 layer, an L2 layer, a UDP / IP layer 1052, and a GTP-U 1053. As previously discussed, the NAS protocol may support the mobility and session management procedures of UE 401 to establish and maintain an IP connection between UE 401 and P-GW 523.

[0234] In addition, despite Fig.101063 and / or transport network layer 1054. The application layer may be a layer where a user of UE 401, RAN node 411, or other network element interacts with a software application, for example, executed by application circuitry 705 or application circuitry 805, respectively. The application layer may also provide one or more interfaces for the software application to interact with the communication system (such as baseband circuitry 910) of UE 401 or RAN node 411. In some implementations, the IP layer and / or the application layer may provide the same or similar functionality as layers 5 to 7 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, or portions thereof (e.g., OSI layer 7—application layer, OSI layer 6—presentation layer, and OSI layer 5—session layer).

[0235] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

Claims

1. A method for use in a wireless communication network, comprising: A UE connected to the wireless communication network receives a packet loss rate PLR ​​threshold configuration message from a node in the wireless communication network; The UE determines a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message; as well as In response to determining the new PLR threshold configuration, one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network are adaptively adjusted based on the new PLR threshold configuration.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the UE determines the new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message comprises: A PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold are determined.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: In response to the packet loss rate of the connection exceeding the packet loss rate at which the UE is to perform the configuration action, the UE performs the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the configuring action comprises changing a current codec associated with the connection to the wireless communication network to a new codec. The method of claim 5 , wherein the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

9. A method for use in a wireless communication network, comprising: A node of the wireless communication network determines a new packet loss rate PLR ​​threshold configuration for a UE, the UE having a connection to the wireless communication network; generating a message including the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE in response to determining the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE, wherein the new PLR threshold configuration is to be used by the UE to adaptively adjust one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network; and The message is transmitted to the UE.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the new PLR threshold configuration comprises: A PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold are determined.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the configuration action comprises changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec being associated with the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device having stored thereon instructions, which when executed by a data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising: A UE connected to a wireless communication network receives a packet loss rate PLR ​​threshold configuration message from a node in the wireless communication network; The UE determines a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message; and In response to determining the new PLR threshold configuration, one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network are adaptively adjusted based on the new PLR threshold configuration.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the UE determines the new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message comprises: A PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold are determined.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 18, the operations further comprising: In response to the packet loss rate of the connection exceeding the packet loss rate at which the UE is to perform the configuration action, the UE performs the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 19, wherein the configuration action comprises changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec associated with the connection to the wireless communication network.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 20, wherein the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the connection is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the connection is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device having stored thereon instructions, which when executed by a data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising: A node of a wireless communication network determines a new packet loss rate PLR ​​threshold configuration for a UE, the UE having a connection to the wireless communication network; generating a message including the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE in response to determining the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE, wherein the new PLR threshold configuration is to be used by the UE to adaptively adjust one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network; and The message is transmitted to the UE.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein determining the new PLR threshold configuration comprises: A PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold are determined.

26. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 25, wherein the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

27. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 26, wherein the configuration action comprises changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec associated with the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 27, wherein the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

29. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 24, wherein the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

30. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 24, wherein the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

31. A wireless communication system, comprising: One or more processors and one or more storage devices storing operable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: A UE connected to a wireless communication network receives a packet loss rate PLR ​​threshold configuration message from a node in the wireless communication network; The UE determines a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message; as well as In response to determining the new PLR threshold configuration, one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network are adaptively adjusted based on the new PLR threshold configuration.

32. The system of claim 31 , wherein the UE determines the new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message comprises: A PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold are determined.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

34. The system of claim 33, the operations further comprising: In response to the packet loss rate of the connection exceeding the packet loss rate at which the UE is to perform the configuration action, the UE performs the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the configuration action comprises changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec associated with the connection to the wireless communication network.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

37. The system of claim 31 , wherein the connection is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

38. The system of claim 31, wherein the connection is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

39. A wireless communication system, comprising: One or more processors and one or more storage devices storing operable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: A node of a wireless communication network determines a new packet loss rate PLR ​​threshold configuration for a UE, the UE having a connection to the wireless communication network; generating a message including the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE in response to determining the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE, wherein the new PLR threshold configuration is to be used by the UE to adaptively adjust one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network; and The message is transmitted to the UE.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein determining the new PLR threshold configuration comprises: A PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold are determined.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the configuration action comprises changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec associated with the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

44. The system of claim 39, wherein the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

45. The system of claim 39, wherein the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

46. ​​A wireless communication device, comprising: A circuit configured to perform operations comprising: A UE connected to a wireless communication network receives a packet loss rate PLR ​​threshold configuration message from a node in the wireless communication network; The UE determines a new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message; and In response to determining the new PLR threshold configuration, one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network are adaptively adjusted based on the new PLR threshold configuration.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the UE determines the new PLR threshold configuration based on the PLR ​​threshold configuration message comprises: A PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold are determined.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

49. The apparatus of claim 48, the operations further comprising: In response to the packet loss rate of the connection exceeding the packet loss rate at which the UE is to perform the configuration action, the UE performs the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the configuring action comprises changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec associated with the connection to the wireless communication network.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

52. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the connection is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

53. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the connection is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

54. A wireless communication device, comprising: A circuit configured to perform operations comprising: A node of a wireless communication network determines a new packet loss rate PLR ​​threshold configuration for a UE, the UE having a connection to the wireless communication network; generating a message including the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE in response to determining the new packet loss rate (PLR) threshold configuration for the UE, wherein the new PLR threshold configuration is to be used by the UE to adaptively adjust one or more configuration settings associated with a connection to the wireless communication network; and The message is transmitted to the UE.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein determining the new PLR threshold configuration comprises: A PLR threshold and a configuration action associated with the PLR ​​threshold are determined.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the PLR ​​threshold defines a packet loss rate at which the UE will perform the configuration action on the connection to the wireless communication network.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the configuration action comprises changing a current codec to a new codec, the current codec associated with the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the new codec is configured to use less network bandwidth than the current codec.

59. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a voice connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

60. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the connection of the UE to the wireless communication network is a Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) connection associated with a telephone call involving the UE.

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