Coverage enhancement for reduced capability new radio devices

Abstract

Changing one or more transmission properties of a repetition transmission sent or received by a device to enhance blind coverage of a wireless device, where the repetition transmission includes, for example, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and / or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission. The varying properties can include a start time of each repetition, a duration of each repetition, a start frequency of each repetition, a bandwidth of each repetition, a number of repetitions per subframe, and / or a number of repetitions per slot. The repetitions can be within a bandwidth part (BWP) or span multiple BWPs. The repetitions can differ in start time, start frequency, duration, bandwidth, and slot and subframe pattern. Higher level signaling, such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling, can be used to control inclusion or omission of demodulation reference signals (DMRS) in the repetition transmission.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 992,366, filed March 20, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Background Technology

[0003] This disclosure relates to radio communications, such as those utilizing technologies such as 3GPP TS 38.331, Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification (Version 15), V15.8.0 and 3GPP TS 38214, Data Physical Layer Procedure (Version 16), V16.0.0. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Blind coverage enhancement for wireless devices can be achieved in various ways, such as repeating Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and / or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmissions in various modes in the time domain, for example, within a Bandwidth Part (BWP) or across different BWPs. When frequency hopping is enabled or disabled, PDSCH and PUSCH can be repeated across different beams.

[0005] To facilitate such repetition, procedures can be used to manage crossing time slot boundaries, manage invalid symbols, and handle reserved resource elements.

[0006] Signaling can be used to indicate repeating parameters in the time and frequency domains.

[0007] Non-blind coverage enhancement can be achieved using procedures that enable user equipment (UE) to assist the network in determining or modifying the repetition counts of PDSCH and PUSCH.

[0008] For blind or non-blind coverage enhancement procedures, overhead demodulation reference signal (DMRS) can be reduced in several ways, such as DMRS sharing between different repetitions.

[0009] The purpose of providing this summary is to introduce selected concepts in a simplified form, which are further described in the following detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to addressing any or all of the shortcomings pointed out in any part of this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0010] A more detailed understanding can be obtained from the following description, which is given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Figure 1is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of a dynamic scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH or SPS-PDSCH or configured PUSCH grant Type 2 non-consecutive PDSCH or PUSCH repetition.

[0012] Figure 2 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of a configured PUSCH grant Type 2 non-consecutive PUSCH repetition.

[0013] Figure 3 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of repetitions with evenly spaced beginnings but with different lengths.

[0014] Figure 4 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of non-consecutive repetitions independent of each other.

[0015] Figure 5 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of consecutive repetitions with 2 OFDM symbol durations.

[0016] Figure 6 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of a repetition group on non-consecutive slots.

[0017] Figure 7 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of splitting a repetition into two sub-repetitions.

[0018] Figure 8 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of not transmitting a part of a repetition when this part crosses a slot boundary.

[0019] Figure 9A and Figure 9B is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of shifting a repetition when fixing the end position to the initial repetition.

[0020] Figure 10A and Figure 10B is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of shifting a repetition so that it is entirely contained in a slot with the most repetition symbols.

[0021] Figure 11A and Figure 11B illustrates a flowchart of an example repetition shifting procedure.

[0022] Figure 12 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of discarding a repetition that crosses a slot boundary.

[0023] Figure 13 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of compensating for a discarded repetition so that the ratio of the total number of discarded repetitions is less than or equal to the repetition discard ratio.

[0024] Figure 14is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of splitting a repetition around an invalid symbol.

[0025] Figure 15A and Figure 15B shows a flowchart of an example repetition shifting procedure taking into account invalid symbols.

[0026] Figure 16A and Figure 16B is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of splitting a repetition around an invalid symbol.

[0027] Figure 17A and Figure 17B is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of splitting a repetition around an invalid symbol within a compensation window. In Figure 17A , the threshold is not defined. In Figure 17B , there are not enough symbols to carry any part of the repetition.

[0028] Figure 18 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of inter-slot hopping of PDSCH or PUSCH within a BWP.

[0029] Figure 19 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of intra-repetition hopping of PDSCH or PUSCH within a BWP.

[0030] Figure 20 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of inter-repetition hopping of PDSCH or PUSCH within a BWP.

[0031] Figure 21 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of cross-BWP and cross-slot hopping.

[0032] Figure 22 shows an example of cyclic hopping between different BWPs.

[0033] Figure 23 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of inter-repetition hopping across BWPs.

[0034] Figure 24 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of selecting a single LPRB group.

[0035] Figure 25 is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of selecting contiguous LPRB groups.

[0036] Figure 26 shows an example of reusing the available bits of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 to indicate the spacing between consecutive repetitions and the number of repetitions.

[0037] Figure 27is a time and frequency diagram illustrating an example of requesting a modification of the number of repetitions of a PDSCH.

[0038] Figure 28A and Figure 28B is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for modifying the number of repetitions indicated by a gNB.

[0039] Figure 29 is a time and frequency diagram of a DMRS sharing example when frequency hopping is disabled.

[0040] Figure 30A and Figure 30B is a time and frequency diagram illustrating a DMRS sharing example when frequency hopping is disabled. In Figure 30A , the alternating repeated DMRSs are dropped. In Figure 30B , the repetitions of DMRSs that can be dropped are indicated by a bitmap.

[0041] Figure 31 is a time and frequency diagram of a DMRS sharing example across a slot boundary.

[0042] Figure 32 is a time and frequency diagram of a DMRS sharing example with frequency hopping enabled.

[0043] Figure 33A An example communications system in which the methods and apparatuses described and claimed herein can be embodied is illustrated.

[0044] Figure 33B is a block diagram of an example apparatus or device configured for wireless communication.

[0045] Figure 33C is a system diagram of an example radio access network (RAN) and core network.

[0046] Figure 33D is a system diagram of another example RAN and core network.

[0047] Figure 33E is a system diagram of another example RAN and core network.

[0048] Figure 33F is a block diagram of an example computing system.

[0049] Figure 33G is a block diagram of another example communications system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Specialized terminology

[0051] Table 0 of the Appendix describes many of the abbreviations used herein.

[0052] In this document, the term "program" generally refers to a method that performs operations to achieve a particular end. The term "program" is used in place of "method" to avoid confusion with the special meaning of the term "method" in the context of M2M applications and IoT applications. The steps described for a program are generally optional and can be performed in a variety of ways and in a variety of sequences. The term "program" should not be interpreted to mean a rigid set and sequence of steps, but rather a general method for achieving a result that can be adapted in a variety of ways.

[0053] Repetition in NR

[0054] For a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), multiple types of repetition procedures can be configured. In one type, the PDSCH can be repeated in consecutive slots. The number of repetitions is configured by the radio resource control (RRC) parameter pdsch-AggregationFactor as described in 3GPP TS 38.331, Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification (Release 15), V15.8.0.

[0055] The same symbol allocation is applied across the pdsch-AggregationFactor consecutive slots. In other words, the repetitions occupy the same symbols indicated by the start and length indicator value (SLIV) across the pdsch-AggregationFactor consecutive slots. For dynamic PDSCH scheduling, the SLIV for the first repetition is provided by a downlink control information (DCI) format 1 1 or 1 2 scrambled by a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), modulation coding scheme radio network temporary identifier (MCS-RNTI) and the same SLIV value is applied across consecutive slots. See 3GPP TS 38.214, Data Physical Layer Procedures (Release 16), V16.0.0.

[0056] A semi-persistent PDSCH is configured by sps-config which provides, among other information, a periodicity for downlink semi-persistent scheduling (DL SPS). See TS 38.331. In addition, it is activated by a DCI format 1 0 or 1 1 or 1 2 scrambled by a configured scheduling radio network temporary identifier (CS-RNTI) which provides, among other information, a SLIV and k0 indicating a slot offset between the DCI and the PDSCH it schedules. See TS 38.214. If pdsch-AggregationFactor is configured, each PDSCH is repeated pdsch-AggregationFactor times in consecutive slots and all repetitions occupy the same symbols.

[0057] For PDSCH repetition when configured with pdsch-AggregationFactor, the redundancy version is cycled according to the sequence 0-2-3-1 from the redundancy version (RV) indicated in the DCI.

[0058] Moreover, in the context of single-DCI based multi-transmission and reception point (M-TRP) PDSCH for ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), multiple repetition procedures have been developed. TDMSchemeA and TDMSchemeB PDSCH are of interest as they describe PDSCH repetition in time domain.

[0059] Specifically, in TDMSchemeA, time-domain PDSCH repetition is confined within a single slot. The number of repetitions is implicitly determined and it is equal to the number of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states indicated in the DCI. The first repetition is indicated by a new ratio (NR) Rel. 15 scheduling following SLIV. The duration of the remaining repetitions should be the same as the first repetition, and the spacing between the first symbol of a repetition and the previous repetition is set by the higher layer parameter StartingSymbolOffsetK. See TS 38.214.

[0060] On the other hand, in TDMSchemeB, time-domain PDSCH repetition is transmitted in consecutive slots. The number of repetitions is indicated by RepNumR16 in PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation. The same SLIV applies to all PDSCH transmission occasions. See TS 38.214.

[0061] For PDSCH repetition according to TDMSchemeA or B, the RV of PDSCH repetition associated with the first TCI state should follow the same RV derived in the case of pdsch-AggregationFactor. For PDSCH repetition associated with the second TCI state, an additional shift is applied and the shift value is provided by the higher layer signaling RVSeqOffset. See TS 38.214.

[0062] The current NR framework does not allow for dynamic adjustment of PDSCH repetition.

[0063] For example, the number of repetitions in pdsch-AggregationFactor, and the spacing between repetitions when using TDMSchemeA PDSCH repetition procedure, must be set through RRC reconfiguration.

[0064] Similarly, the current NR configuration only allows for repetition to be confined entirely within a single slot, or to span multiple consecutive slots, with one repetition per slot.

[0065] Currently, PDSCH repetition cannot be configured or scheduled to occupy non-contiguous time slots, and PDSCH repetition cannot be configured to be confined to a time slot while occupying multiple contiguous or non-contiguous time slots, although these would be beneficial in achieving a balance between latency requirements and coverage enhancement.

[0066] For the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), there are two main repetition types: PUSCH repetition type A and PUSCH repetition type B. To some extent, PUSCH repetition type A is similar to PDSCH repetition, which occurs in consecutive time slots, with only one repetition per time slot. On the other hand, PUSCH repetition type B, developed for URLLC in NR Rel.16, can achieve back-to-back repetition in one or more consecutive time slots.

[0067] For PUSCH repetition type A, the temporal resource of the first repetition is represented by the SLIV value. On the other hand, for PUSCH repetition type B, separate fields for start and length are introduced to provide greater flexibility, and S+L<=27 is allowed compared to S+L<=14 for PUSCH repetition type A.

[0068] Table 1 in the appendix shows which PUSCH mapping types can be used repeatedly with different types of PUSCH.

[0069] Challenges

[0070] Reduced-capability NR equipment is expected to have limited capabilities, which may be reflected in one or more of the following characteristics: reduced processing power, fewer antennas, and shorter battery life. Therefore, coverage of reduced-capability NR equipment is expected to be significantly reduced across all channels. For PDSCH, existing coverage enhancement procedures in NR offer limited flexibility because repetition must occur in consecutive time slots, with either a single repetition per time slot or multiple repetitions within a single time slot. PUSCH, on the other hand, offers two types of repetition procedures. PUSCH repetition type A is similar to the PDSCH repetition procedure with the aforementioned drawbacks. PUSCH repetition type B is more suitable for URLLC use cases. Therefore, there is a need to enhance PDSCH or PUSCH repetition schemes for reduced-capability NR equipment to relax the requirement that repetition must occur in consecutive time slots.

[0071] Exemplary solutions

[0072] For reduced capability devices, the traffic is typically either very small or consists of moderate data transmissions with higher tolerance to latency compared to URLLC devices. In addition, reduced capability devices are typically located in more obstructed or attenuated locations compared to enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) devices. Different repetition schemes are described herein for improving data transmission coverage with relaxed latency.

[0073] Start and duration of repetition in time domain

[0074] To enhance the coverage of a downlink or uplink shared channel, repetitions can be dynamically or non-dynamically scheduled. This can apply to, for example, PDSCH transmitted on the downlink by a next generation Node B (gNB) or PUSCH transmitted on the uplink by a UE. For example, via a semi-persistent PDSCH or a configured PUSCH grant Type 1 or Type 2, a gNB can transmit data on the downlink via PDSCH repetitions and a UE can transmit data on the uplink via PUSCH repetitions, respectively. These repetitions can have the same or different power levels, redundancy versions, durations, modulation and coding schemes (MCSs), and / or starting or ending positions in different slots.

[0075] The repetitions can occupy consecutive or non-consecutive orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols or slots. The repetitions can be fully contained within one slot or subframe or frame or can span multiple slots or subframes or frames. Figure 1 Examples of dynamic PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions are shown in which repetitions are indicated by DCI. For example, DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or 0_2 for PUSCH or DCI format 1_0 or 1_1 or 1_2 for PDSCH can be used and can be scrambled with a C-RNTI. For example, a semi-persistent PDSCH with repetitions activated can be used with DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 scrambled with a CS-RNTI or a configured PUSCH grant Type 2 with repetitions activated can be used with DCI format 0_0 or 1_1 or 0_2 scrambled with a CS-RNTI. In Figure 1 In an example, PDSCH or PUSCH repetitions are evenly spaced by four OFDM symbols over multiple slots or subframes. Each repetition spans consecutive OFDM symbols with the same length z.

[0076] For a configured PUSCH grant Type 1, Figure 2 Examples of multiple non-consecutive PUSCH repetitions of the same duration z occurring within a slot are shown. This is different from the current practice for configured PUSCH grant Type 1 which allows a single repetition to be transmitted across each slot of consecutive slots in repetition Type A or multiple back-to-back repetitions to be transmitted across each slot of consecutive slots in repetition Type B.

[0077] As Figure 3 shown in the example of FIG. 2, in addition to having equal length uniformly spaced repetitions, the repetitions can have different durations, but their starting symbols are still equally spaced. Here, the spacing between the start of any two consecutive repetitions is d symbols. The repetitions can have different durations, z i , i e {1,..., K}. This can be beneficial to allow different repetitions to align or adapt to changes in channel quality or scheduling strategies with different modulation and coding schemes, time slot boundaries, and other scheduled or configured transmissions.

[0078] Figure 4 An example is shown in which the start, duration, and even the number of repetitions can vary from slot to slot. The start of non-consecutive repetitions or their durations can not have a particular pattern. In other words, the start and length of each repetition are independent of each other, and each repetition has its own start position and length.

[0079] For consecutive repetitions, the repetitions are back-to-back, and they can be fully contained within a slot or span multiple slots. Figure 5 An example is shown of multiple repetitions over 2 consecutive slots, each repetition having the same duration, z = 2 OFDM symbol lengths. Also, consecutive repetitions can have different durations. In this case, the end of one repetition is the same as the start of the next repetition.

[0080] In addition, the repetitions can be consecutive at one level of granularity and non-consecutive at another level of granularity. For example, all repetitions within a slot (in-slot repetitions) can be consecutive. However, the in-slot repetitions can span non-consecutive slots. Figure 6 An example is shown of a repetition group consisting of K consecutive repetitions in a slot, where K = 2. The next repetition group consisting of another K repetitions occurs on a non-consecutive slot. The spacing between the start of a repetition group to the start of the next repetition group is denoted by d. Although in the example of FIG. 3, the same number of repetitions K is used in each group, and all repetition groups have the same duration, in practice, each group can have a different number of repetition times and different durations. Figure 6 offset

[0081] Impact of slot boundary

[0082] ​​Depending on the start of the repetition, its duration, and the way this information is signaled to the UE, some repetitions can cross the slot boundary. This is not desirable in NR, where a scheduling unit is one slot. There are multiple ways to address this issue.

[0083] One possibility is to split the PDSCH or PUSCH repetition that crosses the slot boundary into two "sub-repetitions", where the sub-repetitions do not necessarily have the same duration, depending on the location of the slot boundary with respect to the repetition.

[0084] Figure 7 An example of a repetition with a length of four symbols and crossing the boundary between slot 0 and slot 1 is shown. This DL or UL repetition can be split into two sub-repetitions, each with a duration of 2 OFDM symbols.

[0085] Splitting the repetition into two sub-repetitions can create some ambiguity in terms of PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type, Type A or Type B. This can be addressed in two ways.

[0086] First, the UE can assume that the DMRS follows the initially scheduled or configured repetition without any additional DMRS symbols or changing the mapping type. For DL or UL transmission, the UE or gNB is expected to use the initially scheduled or configured DMRS for channel estimation of both sub-repetitions.

[0087] Second, regardless of the initial mapping type A or B, for DL or UL transmission, each sub-repetition can be assumed to follow PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type B, respectively. Thus, each sub-repetition has at least one front-loaded DMRS symbol. The UE can rate match around the resource elements (REs) occupied by the additional DMRS. Alternatively, the UE can assume that those REs carrying additional DMRS are punctured. Furthermore, to further compensate for the additional DMRS overhead, the MCS index can be adjusted based on the duration of each sub-repetition. The mapping between the initial MCS index and the MCS index of the sub-repetition can be specified, e.g., as provided in the protocol specification. Table 2 of the Appendix shows an exemplary mapping of the initial MCS index to the new MCS index of the sub-repetition. The initial repetition has a length of z, is scheduled or configured with MCS z, and is split into two sub-repetitions with lengths z mini,1 and z mini,2 , respectively.

[0088] Figure 8An example of dropping a smaller portion of a repetition crossing a slot boundary is shown, where only one symbol is in slot 0 and the rest of the symbols are in slot 1. Instead of splitting the repetition crossing the slot boundary, a smaller portion of the repetition is not transmitted. For DL or UL transmission, the UE or gNB can assume that the smaller portion of the repetition is dropped, or discarded, and rate matched on the remaining resources. Thus, it is assumed that the first symbol is not transmitted. But Figure 8 An example of dropping a smaller portion of a repetition at the beginning of the initial repetition is shown. In implementation, if the smaller portion of the repetition falls at the end of the initial repetition, it can be dropped.

[0089] The slot boundary can evenly divide the repetition, e.g., the number of repetition symbols before the slot boundary is equal to the number of repetition symbols after the slot boundary. In this case, some rules can be applied to determine which portion of the repetition is dropped. For example, when the repetition crosses the slot boundary, the portion of the repetition in the even slot can be dropped, as specified in the protocol specification. Also, the portion of the repetition that can be dropped can be signaled by higher layer signaling, such as RRC parameter rep_portion_dropping, to be set to even or odd. Also, it can be specified, provided in the protocol specification that the first or second portion of the repetition can always be dropped. Also, the higher layer signaling can indicate which portion to drop, e.g., set the RRC parameter rep_portion_dropping to first or second.

[0090] Depending on the dropped portion of the repetition and the PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type, some scheduled or configured DMRS can be dropped. For example, if the first portion of the repetition is dropped, this can be problematic because at least the front-loaded DMRS in PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type B will be dropped. There are two options.

[0091] First, if it is PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type B and the second portion of the repetition is dropped, the UE expects no additional DMRS to be received or transmitted compared to the DMRS in the first portion of the PDSCH or PUSCH repetition.

[0092] Second, if it is PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type B and the first portion of the repetition is dropped, the UE expects the second portion of the PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type B to be transmitted and mapped according to type B, e.g., at least the first symbol of the second portion of the repetition will carry DMRS.

[0093] In Figure 9A and Figure 9B , the repetition is shifted without modifying its configured or scheduled end. Here, the repetition crossing the slot boundary is shifted to the right and the symbols beyond the end of the initial scheduled or configured repetition are dropped. With the same example as above, the first symbol of the repetition is dropped.Figure 8 In contrast, in Figure 9A and Figure 9B no modification of PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type is needed, and no adjustment of symbols carrying DMRS according to the duration of the repeated transmission part is needed. Basically, the gNB or UE shifts the PDSCH or PUSCH to the beginning of the next slot and removes symbols beyond the end of the scheduled or configured of the initial repetition.

[0094] In some cases, shifting the PDSCH or PUSCH to the next slot while fixing the end position can result in only a few symbols left to carry the PDSCH or PUSCH. In an extreme case, there can be only one symbol available for the PDSCH or PUSCH transmission. In this case, it can be beneficial to drop the entire repetition. If the remaining duration after shifting and removing the repetition is smaller than a certain threshold, the entire repetition can be dropped. The threshold can be an absolute number of symbols, such as a threshold equal to two symbols, or the threshold can be related to the duration of the initial scheduled or configured PDSCH or PUSCH, such as a threshold equal to half of the duration of the initial PDSCH or PUSCH. The threshold can be specified or signaled by higher layer signaling, such as an RRC parameter rep_dropping_threshold.

[0095] Yet another solution is to shift the repetition to be fully contained in a slot. For example, a smaller portion of a PDSCH or PUSCH repetition can be shifted to a slot with a larger portion of the repetition. Figure 10A and Figure 10B shows an example of a four-symbol repetition crossing the slot boundary between slot 0 and slot 1, where there is only 1 symbol in slot 0 and 3 symbols in slot 1. Thus, this repetition is shifted to the right to be fully contained in slot 1. Although Figure 10A and Figure 10B shows the repetition shifted to the right, the repetition can also be shifted to the left if a smaller portion of the repetition occurs in slot 1. Another possibility is that a repetition crossing the slot boundary is always shifted to the right or to the left, regardless of where it crosses the slot boundary.

[0096] The slot boundary can divide the repetition evenly, e.g., the number of repetition symbols before the slot boundary is equal to the number of repetition symbols after the slot boundary. In this case, a rule can be applied to determine whether the PDSCH or PUSCH repetition will be shifted to the right or to the left. For example, it can be specified that the repetition can be shifted to be fully contained in an even slot. Also, the way the repetition is shifted can be signaled by higher layer signaling, such as setting an RRC parameter rep_portion_shifting to even or odd.

[0097] Depending on the duration of the repetition and the spacing between the repetitions, the shift of the repetition crossing the slot boundary can partially or fully overlap with the previous or next repetition, if the shift occurs in the right or left direction, respectively. If the shift of the repetition crossing the slot boundary in one direction results in a collision with the previous or next repetition, then the shift in the opposite direction can occur if there is no collision with the next or previous repetition, respectively.

[0098] If the shift in the opposite direction results in a collision with the next or previous repetition, then the shift in the direction resulting in the minimum overlap can be selected. Depending on the direction of the shift, the beginning or end of the shifted repetition can collide with the previous or next repetition, respectively. Similar procedures can also apply for DMRS. If the end of the shifted repetition collides with the next repetition, then it can be assumed that the PDSCH or PUSCH is punctured or rate matched on the unavailable symbols and no special handling is applied for any dropped symbols carrying DMRS.

[0099] If the beginning of the shifted repetition collides with the previous repetition, then one of the following options can be applied, there are two options. The first option is to drop the first few overlapping symbols and apply DMRS mapping type B based on the remaining PDSCH or PUSCH duration. The second option is to puncture the same number of overlapping symbols from the end of the shifted repetition. Thus, no adjustment is needed for PDSCH or PUSCH DMRS.

[0100] Figure 11A and Figure 11B The flowchart in FIG. 1 1 illustrates the steps of the shift procedure that can be used when a repetition crosses a slot boundary. In step 1, it is checked whether the PUSCH or PDSCH crosses the slot boundary. If not, then in step 2, the PUSCH or PDSCH is transmitted / received as scheduled or configured. If the repetition crosses the slot boundary (yes in step 1 ), then in steps 3 and 4, the repetition is shifted to the slot with the most repetition symbols. If the shifted repetition does not collide with the previous / next repetition (no in step 5), then in step 6, the shifted PUSCH or PDSCH is transmitted / received. On the other hand (yes in step 5), the repetition is shifted in the opposite direction in step 7. If there is no collision in the opposite direction (no in step 8), then it will be transmitted in step 9. Otherwise (yes in step 8), the PUSCH or PDSCH is moved in the direction with the minimum overlap with the previous / next repetition in step 10. Then, in step 1 1, the overlapping symbols can be punctured or matched and the DMRS can be adjusted as described above.

[0101] Since the duration of the repetition is shortened, the remaining physical resources can not be sufficient to reliably carry the PDSCH or PUSCH with the indicated MCS index. Therefore, the MCS index can be adjusted based on the size of the remaining resources. Similar to Table 2, the adopted MCS index can be provided by a table based on the new repetition duration, e.g., only the first two columns can be used, and the relevant parameters can be indicated by higher layer signaling such as RRC. Also, in the case of PUSCH transmission, the UE can indicate the selected MCS index in the piggybacked UCI. Also, the new MCS index can be associated with the DMRS of the transmitted PDSCH or PUSCH. For example, the starting sequence of the DMRS can depend on the new MCS index. Alternatively, the PDSCH or PUSCH can be transmitted with the same MCS index regardless of the size of the remaining resources.

[0102] Alternatively, if the shifting of the repetition results in overlapping with the previous or next repetition, or there is not enough resource to carry the entire repetition, this repetition can be dropped. The number of dropped repetitions can be compensated.

[0103] Another solution is to drop the entire PDSCH or PUSCH repetition if it crosses the slot boundary. There can be no need to compensate for the dropped repetition. For example, if the total number of configured / scheduled repetitions is K, and only one repetition crosses the slot boundary, the actual number of transmitted repetitions is K-1.

[0104] For example, the dropped repetition can be compensated by transmitting a make-up for the dropped repetition, whereby the total number of actually transmitted repetitions remains the same (e.g., K), but the duration of the total repetition will be increased later. The scheduling / configuration of the replacement repetition can follow a similar configuration of the initial repetition, or can indicate a separate configuration for the repetition make-up.

[0105] Figure 12 An example with three scheduled or configured repetitions is shown. Their starting positions are equally spaced by d symbols. The second repetition crosses the slot boundary. In this case, the make-up for the dropped repetition can be transmitted following the same spacing.

[0106] In some cases, when a repetition collides with invalid symbols, the repetition can be split into two or more sub-repetitions. In this case, the number of transmitted repetitions can be greater than the indicated number of repetitions.

[0107] The separate configuration for repetition make-up can contain information about the duration of the replacement repetition, the MCS index, the time and frequency resources it can occupy, and / or the time and frequency resources of multiple candidate locations to carry one or more replacement repetitions. For example, the replacement repetition can occupy the same frequency band as the last repetition. The offset from the last repetition can indicate the first candidate location for the replacement repetition, and another parameter can indicate the periodicity of the candidate locations.

[0108] If the repetition crosses another slot boundary, the gNB or UE can try to transmit the repetition again and again until a maximum number of attempts is reached, or until a timer expires. The maximum number of attempts / timer expiration threshold can be signaled by higher layer signaling, such as an RRC parameter max_attempt / timer_threshold.

[0109] Also, a combination of the aforementioned solutions can be applied to handle the case where the repetition crosses a slot boundary.

[0110] Impact of invalid symbols

[0111] In addition to the interaction between repetition and slot boundary, the interaction between invalid symbols / reserved REs also needs to be discussed.

[0112] For PDSCH repetition, the UE does not expect to receive a DL transmission of invalid symbols, which can happen in one or more of the following eight cases.

[0113] First, if the slot format indicator (SFI) is not configured, e.g., the UE is not configured to monitor PDCCH of DCI format 2 0. Any symbol indicated as semi-static uplink symbol by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, if provided, is considered as invalid symbol.

[0114] Second, the SFI is configured (e.g., the UE is configured to) monitor PDCCH of DCI format 2 0 and the UE successfully receives it: any symbol indicated as flexible / uplink symbol dynamically is considered as invalid symbol.

[0115] Third, the SFI is configured (e.g., the UE is configured) to monitor PDCCH of DCI format 2 0 and the UE does not receive it. Any symbol indicated as semi-static uplink is considered as invalid symbol.

[0116] Fourth, if the REs of any symbol carrying PDSCH overlap with the REs of a symbol carrying a synchronization signal block (SSB), the symbol configured to carry the SSB is considered as invalid symbol.

[0117] Fifth, even when the SSB is not QCLed with the PDSCH DMRS, or the SSB is not QCLed with the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) which is QCLed with the PDSCH DMRS, e.g., the PDSCH repetition is transmitted on a different beam than the SSB, there is no overlap between the REs carrying the PDSCH and the REs carrying the SSB, the symbols configured to carry the SSB are also considered as invalid symbols.

[0118] Sixth, if the CORESET and PDSCH are transmitted on the same beam, e.g., the CORESET DMRS is not QCLed with the PDSCH DMRS, the REs carrying the PDSCH repetition that partially or fully overlap with the REs allocated to the control resource set (CORESET) are considered as invalid REs and the symbols carrying these REs are considered as invalid symbols.

[0119] Seventh, the symbols that overlap with the configured measurement gap are considered as invalid symbols.

[0120] Eighth, the symbols configured to carry the random access channel (RACH) occasion are considered as invalid symbols.

[0121] Typically, there is no invalid symbol expected to collide with the first scheduled PDSCH repetition. If an invalid symbol is expected to collide with the first PDSCH repetition, similar procedures as described herein for the subsequent PDSCH repetitions can be applied when a subsequent PDSCH repetition collides with an invalid symbol.

[0122] When a collision occurs between a PDSCH repetition and an invalid symbol, in principle, the above solutions can be applied to resolve the case of a repetition crossing a slot boundary, or a combination of them. However, here, the invalid symbols can not be known in advance. They can be distributed anywhere in the slot, and they can be contiguous or non-contiguous.

[0123] One way to solve this problem is to assume that if a repetition partially or fully overlaps with one or more invalid symbols, the repetition is dropped. For the PDSCH, the UE can not receive such PDSCH repetition. If the ratio of the number of dropped repetitions to the total number of scheduled or configured repetitions is less than a certain threshold, the dropped repetitions can not be compensated. This threshold can be specified, provided in the protocol specification, or signaled through higher layer signaling, e.g., in rep_dropping_ratio.

[0124] Figure 13 Four scheduled or configured PDSCH repetitions are shown, equally spaced by d symbols, with rep_dropping_ratio = 0.25. Here, only one fourth of the repetitions can be dropped without compensation. In this example, the first, second, and fourth repetitions are dropped.Figure 13 In the example of FIG. 7, two out of four repetitions partially or fully collide with invalid symbol parts, and thus, these two repetitions are dropped and the UE does not attempt to receive any of these two repetitions. Given rep_dropping_ratio = 0.25, at least one of these dropped repetitions needs to be compensated for to enable reliable decoding at the UE. This compensation repetition can be transmitted using similar parameters as the other repetitions but shifted by d symbols after the last repetition.

[0125] When the repetition compensation collides with one or more invalid symbols, the gNB can attempt to retransmit it following the same repetition pattern, e.g., with d symbols spacing between any two possible repetitions. The UE can attempt to receive the repetition during a compensation window, as shown in FIG. 8. The duration of the compensation window can be signaled by higher layer signaling, such as an RRC parameter comp_window. Alternatively, the UE can attempt to receive the repetition in multiple candidate locations equally spaced by d symbols. The maximum number of possible repetition compensations can be signaled by higher layer signaling, e.g., via an RRC parameter. Other parameters can be indicated, such as a new MCS index. For example, the MCS index can be indicated by an offset from the indicated MCS index of the initial repetition. For example, the new duration of the compensation repetition can be indicated in the form of an offset with respect to the duration of the initial repetition. Although in the example of FIG. 8, the repetition compensation follows the same repetition pattern, in cases where compensation is needed, dedicated higher layer signaling, such as RRC, can configure different parameters, as shown in the example of Table 3 of Appendix. Figure 13 Figure 13

[0126] Note that the procedures described can also be applied when a repetition crosses a slot boundary and / or a repetition collides with invalid symbols.

[0127] As another method of defining the compensation window. For example, the compensation window can start X symbols before the last symbol of the PDSCH repetition with the transmission of an acknowledgement / negative acknowledgement (ACK / NACK). The value of X can be indicated using higher layer signaling. Alternatively, the parameter X can be reported in the UE capability report or the parameter X can be fixed in the specification.

[0128] Another method is to define the compensation window to end X symbols before the transmission of the ACK / NACK. X can be given by higher layer signaling, reported in the UE capability report, or set in the specification.

[0129] ​​Another solution is for the UE to assume that a PDSCH that overlaps with the invalid symbol portion will be transmitted on the remaining valid symbols, either puncturing the overlapping symbols or rate matching around them. If any invalid symbol collides with any PDSCH DMRS symbol, the UE can assume that the entire repetition is discarded. Alternatively, if there are any DMRS symbols that do not collide with an invalid symbol, the transmission repetition, and the invalid colliding symbols are either punctured or rate matched. If the valid symbols are less than a certain threshold, the UE can assume that the repetition is discarded. For example, Figure 14 An example is shown where the second repetition has only one invalid symbol and thus is transmitted only if the invalid symbol is discarded. In this example, the third repetition is fully colliding with an invalid symbol. Thus, it is discarded and compensated for later.

[0130] Note that if the invalid symbol collides with the first DMRS symbol in the repetition, a similar procedure as described above can be used to transmit additional DMRS or change the mapping type.

[0131] Although Figure 14 The example shows an invalid symbol at the end of the second repetition, but the invalid symbol can occur anywhere in the repetition, for example, in the middle of the repetition. In this case, if there are still enough valid symbols and the number of invalid symbols is less than a specified / indicated threshold, the repetition can still be transmitted.

[0132] Alternatively, when a repetition collides with an invalid symbol, the repetition can be shifted. A similar procedure to the aforementioned shifting procedure can be applied. However, in this case, to determine the shifting direction, it is necessary to determine whether the shifted PDSCH repetition collides with any invalid symbol and how many symbols it collides with. Figure 15A and Figure 15B A flowchart of an example repetition shifting procedure that takes into account invalid symbols is shown. This procedure is similar to Figure 11A and Figure 11B The procedure. In contrast, in Figure 15A and Figure 15B Invalid symbols are taken into account via steps 1, 5, 8, and 10.

[0133] Alternatively, if a repetition collides with an invalid symbol, it can be split into multiple parts around these invalid symbols. The multiple parts can have equal or different durations. For example, Figure 16A An example is shown where the second and third repetitions collide with the invalid symbol portion indicated by the circles. In Figure 16B For the second repetition, the colliding symbols are shifted forward to the first two symbols of slot 1. In contrast, the colliding symbols of the third repetition are shifted backward to an earlier position in slot 1.

[0134] When the PDSCH repetition crosses the slot boundary, the DMRS of the PDSCH repetition can be handled in a similar way as described herein. Also, with the shifting of the part of the repetition that collides with invalid symbols, it can collide with the previous / next repetition. Therefore, procedures to handle the collision between repetitions can also be employed here.

[0135] In some cases, there can not be enough valid symbols to carry the shifted part of the repetition, as shown in the example of Figure 17A In this case, the shifted part can be discarded. Specifically, when colliding with invalid symbols, a compensation window can be transmitted in which part of the repetition. In the example of Figure 17A In the example of

[0136] For each repetition, its compensation window can start immediately or after a certain offset from the last symbol of the last repetition. This offset and duration of the window can be signaled by higher layer signaling such as RRC parameters Comp_Win_PerRep_offset and Comp_Win_PerRep_duration, respectively.

[0137] In some cases, it can be beneficial to define a threshold for the minimum duration of consecutive / non-consecutive symbols on which part of the repetition can be transmitted within the compensation window. For example, in Figure 17B The threshold is equal to two symbols and there are not enough symbols to carry any part of the repetition. The threshold can be signaled by higher layer signaling such as RRC parameter min_avail_sym. The higher layer signaling can be used to indicate whether the available symbols must be consecutive symbols or can be non-consecutive symbols.

[0138] For UL PUSCH repetition, invalid symbols can be determined in the same way as in NR Rel 16. To avoid invalid symbols, procedures similar to those described for DL-PDSCH repetition can be applied.

[0139] When PUSCH or PDSCH repetition crosses the slot boundary or collides with invalid symbols, the feature of splitting / shifting PUSCH or PDSCH repetition can be enabled or disabled by higher layer signaling. For example, RRC parameters or using medium access control elements (MAC-CE) can be used for this purpose to allow gNB to semi-statically control this feature.

[0140] Impact of reserved RBs

[0141] In NR, RRC parameters can be used to configure rate matching patterns for PDSCH. Specifically, rateMatchingPatternGroup1 and rateMatchingPatternGroup2 can indicate which resource blocks (RBs) are unavailable for PDSCH reception. Thus, the UE can perform rate matching around these reserved RBs to decode PDSCH. This can be beneficial when PDSCH is large and only a few RBs are unavailable. On the other hand, for capability-reduced NR devices using PDSCH, rate matching around unavailable RBs can cause PDSCH decoding to be unsuccessful and waste power.

[0142] To address this issue, one or more of the following techniques can be employed. If the ratio of coding rate and / or unavailable resources to initially scheduled or configured resources increases beyond a certain threshold, the UE can assume that PDSCH repetition is dropped. The threshold can be signaled by higher layer signaling such as RRC parameters (coding_rate_th and unavailable_res_ratio), respectively. If the ratio of coding rate and / or unavailable resources to initially scheduled or configured resources is less than or equal to coding_rate_th and / or unavailable_res_ratio, respectively, it can be assumed that PDSCH repetition is transmitted and regular NR behavior with respect to rate matching occurs.

[0143] The coding rate threshold, the ratio of unavailable resources, and / or other factors can be used to determine whether PDSCH repetition can be dropped, punctured, shifted, and / or combined with other repetitions. Higher layer signaling can indicate three thresholds such as RRC parameters coding_rate_th = {a, b, c}, where a < b < c. If the effective coding rate is greater than c, the repetition can be dropped. If the effective coding rate is greater than b but less than c, the repetition can be transmitted with rate matching around unavailable REs. If the effective coding rate is greater than a but less than b, the repetition can be transmitted with puncturing of unavailable REs. If the effective coding rate is less than a, the repetition can be transmitted without any puncturing or rate matching.

[0144] Procedures such as shifting / puncturing can also be applied here. Instead of applying these procedures around invalid symbols, they can also be applied around reserved RBs. Also, compensation for dropped repetitions can be transmitted as described in the previous examples.

[0145] Another possibility to handle repetitions that cross a slot boundary or collide with invalid symbols is to shorten the repetition and adjust some transmission parameters accordingly. If the repetition is shortened by a certain percentage (e.g., half) in time domain, the allocated frequency domain resources can be adjusted (e.g., doubled) so that the total number of allocated REs remains the same and the MCS index does not change. Alternatively, if the repetition is shortened by a certain percentage (e.g., half) in time domain, the allocated frequency domain resources can not be increased, but the MCS index can be scaled or modified according to certain rules so that the coding rate remains within acceptable limits.

[0146] Repetition in frequency domain (frequency hopping)

[0147] Reduced capability NR devices, such as low complexity UEs, are expected to operate on a reduced bandwidth compared to eMBB or URLLC UEs. Therefore, for example, the maximum bandwidth of any active bandwidth part (BWP) for reduced capability NR devices can be set to be less than or equal to a certain threshold based on the reported UE capability, or provided in the protocol specification. For example, the threshold can be equal to 24 PRBs, corresponding to 5 MHz and 10 MHz for 15 KHz and 30 KHz SCS, respectively.

[0148] A new UE category for reduced capability NR devices can be defined. Among other information, this category can define the maximum number of antennas supported by reduced capability NR devices, as well as the maximum bandwidth such devices can support. Reduced capability NR devices can indicate such capabilities as early as in the RACH procedure. For example, based on the maximum supported bandwidth and number of antennas, some preambles can be reserved for reduced capability NR devices. Such information can be indicated in Msg3 in, for example, 4-step RACH, or in message A (MsgA) in 2-step RACH. For example, a field named RedCapNR_BW-r17 can indicate the maximum bandwidth supported.

[0149] While NR allows eMBB / URLLC UEs to be configured with up to four BWPs, reduced capability NR devices can be configured with more than four BWPs, but only one BWP can be activated at any time. For example, a field named RedCapNR_NumBWP-r17 to indicate the maximum number of BWPs that can be configured for reduced capability NR devices. This field can be indicated as part of the UE capability report.

[0150] To further enhance the coverage of DL or UL transmissions, frequency hopping can be deployed for both DL and UL transmissions. Frequency hopping can be indicated to occur within a BWP or across different BWPs.

[0151] Hopping within a BWP

[0152] Hopping within a BWP means that all hops occur within the same BWP carrying the first repetition. For PUSCH repetitions, hopping can follow NR procedures to determine the starting RB, ensuring all hops are fully contained within the UL BWP. On the other hand, for PDSCH hopping, all hops can be fully contained within the DL BWP. Higher-layer signaling can be used to control such operations. For example, the new RRC parameter `freq_hopping` enables / disables PDSCH hopping, and another RRC parameter indicates whether hopping occurs within a BWP or across BWPs. For this, UL and DL can use a single parameter, or each can use a single parameter. For example, the RRC parameter can signal when a hop will occur in the time domain, and if this parameter is not present, PDSCH hopping is disabled.

[0153] During a time-slot jump, the jump occurs across the time-slot boundary, and the initial RB of the PDSCH jump can be given by the following equation:

[0154]

[0155] Or given by the following formula

[0156]

[0157] Among them RB start_indicated The initial RB within the BWP is provided by the DCI of dynamically scheduled PDSCH or the DCI that activates semi-persistent DL transport, and the RB offset For the frequency hopping between two jumps, details of signaling / indicating the offset value will be provided later. It is the time slot number within the radio frame.

[0158] Figure 18 Examples of BWP jumps and cross-slot jumps for PDSCH or PUSCH are shown. The first set of repetitions in slot 0 begins with the RB of the authorization indication. The second set of repetitions in slot 1 applies the RB. offset The offset. The remaining repetitions in different time slots will continuously iterate between these two frequency levels.

[0159] Each DMRS for a hop can occupy the same symbol, just as if frequency hopping were disabled. Alternatively, when frequency hopping is enabled, each DMRS for a hop can follow either PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type B.

[0160] In this example, frequency hopping occurs within each other's time slots. During implementation, frequency hopping can occur every N... slot_hop This occurs once. In this case, a set of repeating starting RBs can be provided as follows:

[0161]

[0162] Parameter N slot_hop may be signaled by higher layer signaling, such as RRC parameter SlotsPerHop.

[0163] Another solution for intra-BWP hopping is intra-repetition hopping, where a hop happens in each repetition. The hop can happen at a specific symbol in the repetition. For example, the number of symbols in the first hop can be given by a formula such as or where is the total number of symbols in the repetition. For each repetition, the first hop can happen in the RB RB start_indicated provided in the grant, while the second hop happens in the RB(RB start_indicated + RB offset ) mod as shown in the example of Figure 19 .

[0164] The DMRS of the PDSCH for any hop in intra-repetition hopping can follow PDSCH mapping Type B with a duration equal to the number of symbols in the hop. Alternatively, the location of the symbols carrying the DMRS for the PDSCH hop can be provided by a table, as shown in the example in Table 4 in the Appendix, where l d is the duration within the hop, and l0is the first DMRS location relative to the start of each hop (l0= 0 for PDSCH mapping Type B, while for PDSCH-Type A, it is signaled by dmrs-TypeA-Position defined in NR, is the DMRS location defined relative to the start of each hop.

[0165] For inter-repetition hopping within a BWP, a hop can happen after every N rep_hop repetitions. This can apply to PDSCH and PUSCH, as shown in the example of Figure 20 Parameter N rep_hop may be signaled by higher layer signaling, such as RRC parameter NumRepetPerHop. For example, an RRC parameter or a MAC-CE can configure multiple values for the number of repetitions per hop, and then a DCI is configured.

[0166] The starting RB for PDSCH or PUSCH hopping can be given by the following formula:

[0167]

[0168] where RB start_indicatedFor the starting RB within the BWP, provided by the DCI of the dynamically scheduled PDSCH or the DCI activating the semi-persistent DL transmission, and RB offset For frequency hopping between two hops, the details of signaling / indicating the offset value will be provided later, and i is the repetition index, where the first repetition corresponds to i = 0, and for each subsequent repetition, i is incremented by 1.

[0169] The DMRS of each hop can occupy the same symbol as if frequency hopping is disabled, or, when frequency hopping is enabled, the DMARS of each hop can follow PDSCH or PUSCH mapping type B.

[0170] To support multiple hopping procedures, a new higher layer signaling can be used to select among the supported hopping procedures. For example, an RRC parameter such as PDSCH_hopping_type can be used for this purpose, and values such as slot_hopping, intra_repetition, and inter_repetition can be adopted.

[0171] The BWP switching timer can be adjusted based on the indicated spacing between the scheduled or configured repetitions to avoid unnecessary BWP transitions between repetitions. This can be done in two ways.

[0172] First, the BWP inactivity timer can be set to the maximum value of the indicated value, i.e., the maximum spacing between any two consecutive repetitions or any function thereof, e.g., by bwp-InactivityTimer.

[0173] Second, the BWP inactivity timer can not be triggered until after the reception of the first repetition until the last indicated repetition. In other words, if the UE receives the first repetition, the BWP inactivity timer is not triggered even if there is no activity on the currently active BWP, since the UE knows that more repetitions should be received or transmitted before the last repetition.

[0174] Hopping across BWPs

[0175] Reduced-capability NR devices are expected to have limited capabilities. For URLLC / eMBB UEs, the maximum frequency bandwidth of the active BWP is expected to be much smaller than the maximum frequency bandwidth of the active BWP. Therefore, limited, if any, frequency diversity gain can be obtained by hopping within the BWP. Frequency hopping can occur across both PDSCH and PUSCH BWP.

[0176] Assuming BWP original is the BWP where the PDSCH or PUSCH (first repetition) is scheduled or configured for transmission. BWP hoppingThis involves carrying some duplicate BWPs when frequency hopping across BWPs is enabled. There may be one or more BWPs used for frequency hopping.

[0177] Inter-slot hopping across BWPs can be achieved by frequency hopping of PDSCH or PUSCH that occurs across slot boundaries but in different BWPs. Figure 21 It shows that every other time slot in BWP original =BWP 1 and BWP hopping =Example of jumping between BWP 2. BWP hopping The jump repetition in the middle may be related to those BWP original They occupy the same frequency resources. Furthermore, they can be used for BWP. hopping The skipping repetition in the code applies an offset. This offset can be used with BWP. original / BWP hopping RB of PDSCH or PUSCH in the scheduling or configuration start_indicated Furthermore, this offset is related to BWP. hopping This relates to a specific RB in the middle or carrier. Details on signaling the offset value will be provided later. For the reference RB, it can be indicated by a higher-layer signal. Figure 21 Reference RB is shown as BWP hopping An example of PRB0.

[0178] Because switching each time slot between different BWPs can result in high power consumption for NR devices with reduced capabilities, therefore, every N slot_hop A single time-slot jump could be beneficial. Parameter N slot_hop Notification can be sent via higher-level signaling (such as the RRC parameter SlotsPerHop).

[0179] In this example, the hop occurs only between two BWPs. In practice, hops may occur between multiple BWPs, for example, where PDSCH or PUSCH is scheduled or configured to occur between BWPs. original Transmission occurs in the middle, and frequency hopping occurs in the BWP. original BWP hopping,1 BWP hopping,2 BWP hopping,3 Between etc. BWP hopping The ID can be exported according to certain rules. For example, BWP hopping The ID can be equal to BWP original The ID is {1, 2, 3}, and the jumps occur in ascending order of BWP ID.

[0180] Alternatively, the hop order and ID across BWPs can be provided by higher-level signaling (such as the RRC parameter hopping_order). For example, if N slot_hopIf 1 and hopping_order = {2, 4}, then the first slot carrying PDSCH or PUSCH will be in BWP. original In the transmission / reception process, the second time slot will be in BWP ID=2, the third time slot will be in BWP ID=4, and so on, cycling between these three BWPs. Figure 22 As shown in the example.

[0181] The ID of the BWP capable of hopping can be signaled in the DCI. The DCI can schedule / activate dynamic PDSCH, semi-persistent PDSCH, dynamic PUSCH, UL authorization configured in type 2, etc. For UL authorization configured in type 1, the RRC parameter, similar to that described above, can be used to indicate the BWP ID used for frequency hopping.

[0182] The BWP ID sequence carrying the jump may not necessarily be in ascending order of its IDs. The exact sequence can be signaled in several ways. For example, if a jump occurs when BWP IDs are 0, 1, 2, 3, the jump sequence could be {0,0,0,0,3,3,3,3,0,0,0,0,2,2,2,2}, and this pattern could then be repeated, for example. Moreover, the jump pattern sequence can be random. The seed for generating the random BWP ID sequence can be indicated by higher-layer signaling.

[0183] Jumping between repetitions across BWPs enables jumping every N across different BWPs. rep_hop The case of a jump after a repetition may apply to both PDSCH and PUSCH, such as, for example Figure 23 As shown. This may be beneficial for reducing power consumption compared to switching the BWP every other time slot. The jump occurs during the BWP. original =BWP 1 and BWP hopping =BWP 2 and above. BWP hopping The jump repetition in the middle may be related to those BWP original They occupy the same frequency resources. Furthermore, they can be used for BWP. hopping The skipping repetition in the code applies an offset. This offset can be used with BWP. original or BWP hopping RB of PDSCH or PUSCH in the scheduling or configuration start_indicated Furthermore, this offset is related to BWP. hopping This relates to a specific RB in the middle or carrier. Details on signaling the offset value will be provided later. For the reference RB, it can be indicated by a higher-layer signal. Figure 23 Reference RB is shown as BWP hopping An example of PRB0.

[0184] exist Figure 23In the example, the jump occurs between two BWPs. Jumps can also occur across multiple BWPs. A similar procedure to the one described above can also be used to indicate BWP ID sequences where repetitions may occur. Note that jumps between repetitions within or across BWPs also refer to jumps between repetition groups, where a frequency hopping occurs after a certain number of repetitions. In the special case where the group size is equal to one, a jump occurs every other repetition.

[0185] This illustrates an example of frequency hopping within or across a BWP, where the repeats are equally spaced and have the same duration. In implementation, the same concept of frequency hopping can be applied to other repeating configurations where they are not equally spaced and / or have different durations.

[0186] To indicate a BWP ID sequence that may be hopping, the following three methods can be used individually or in combination.

[0187] First, instead of indicating only one hop sequence via higher-layer signaling (e.g., the RRC parameter hopping_order), more than one sequence can be indicated to the UE. For example, if four BWPs are configured, {0,1,2,3}, the following BWPs can be indicated by higher-layer signaling, etc. hopping The ID sequence is {0}, {1}, {2}, {3}, {0,1}, {0,2}, {0,3}, {1,2}, {1,3}, {2,3}, {0,1,2}, {1,2,3}. MAC-CE indicates which BWP to apply. hopping The sequence continues across these BWP loops, as shown above. For example, a jump might be expected in the BWP. hopping The IDs occur according to the indicated sequence, such as in ascending order of their IDs or according to another rule. If BWP original BWP belonging to the instruction hopping The sequence then jumps from BWP. original Start, and then in another BWP according to rules (such as ascending order of BWP ID). hopping Continue in the middle. If BWP original If it does not belong to the indicated sequence, its ID will be added to the indicated sequence, and based on BWP. original A jump occurs at the beginning of a specific sequence.

[0188] Secondly, a new field can be used to indicate which BWP should be applied to the dynamic PDSCH or PUSCH of the DCI scheduler. hoppingSequence. For example, DCI format 1_0, 1_1, 1_2 for PDSCH or DCI format 0_0, 0_1, 0_2 for PUSCH can be indicated. For semi-persistent PDSCH or configured grant Type 2, the activated DCI can have a dedicated field to indicate which sequence to apply. Also, any saved bits from other fields can be used to indicate the frequency hopping sequence. For configured PUSCH grant Type 1, e.g., as part of ConfiguredGrantConfig or rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant, a new RRC parameter can indicate the index of the selected frequency hopping sequence or the index of the MAC-CE.

[0189] Third, the hopping sequence can be indicated in a group common physical downlink control channel (GC-PDCCH), such as an example DCI format 2_0. Specifically, a new field in the GC-PDCCH (DCI format 2_0) can be used to indicate the frequency hopping sequence in addition to other information such as slot format.

[0190] Note that the DCI can indicate one of the sequences indicated by RRC (e.g., RRC + DCI), or the DCI can indicate one of the sequences in a short list provided by MAC-CE (e.g., RRC + MAC-CE + DCI).

[0191] The starting RB of the BWP can change in each hop, and other parameters such as the number of RBs of the BWP can also change. For each hop, the allocated RBs for PDSCH or PUSCH can remain the same. What changes is the starting RB of the BWP. Here, the BWP ID remains the same, but its starting RB can change for each hop, and in addition, other parameters of the BWP can change.

[0192] Multiple locationAndBandwidths can be indicated in the BWP IE that can be used when frequency hopping is enabled. Specifically, locationAndBandwidth can be a sequence of frequency domain allocations of the BWP, where the first frequency domain allocation applies to the repetitions in the first hop, the second frequency domain allocation applies to the repetitions in the second hop, and so on. Similar procedures (W) as described above for inter-slot hopping or inter-repetition hopping can also be applied here to indicate when the hopping occurs.

[0193] Alternatively, an offset can be applied to the first RB of the BWP to obtain the first RB of the BWP in each hop. Procedures to indicate the BWP hopping ID sequence can be applied here to indicate the offset value of the starting RB of the BWP. One or more of the following three procedures can be applied.

[0194] First, high layer signaling (such as RRC parameter BWP_RB_start_Offset) can provide multiple offset sequences to be applied to the first RB in a BWP. For example, the following sequences can be indicated {offset0}, {offset1}, {offset2}, {offset3}, {offset0, offset1}, {offset0, offset2}, {offset0, offset3}, {offset1, offset2}, {offset1, offset3}, {offset2, offset3}, {offset0, offset1, offset2}, {offset1, offset2, offset3}, etc. A MAC-CE can indicate one offset sequence to be applied to the first BWP RB when a jump occurs and continue to cycle across these offsets as shown above.

[0195] Second, for dynamic PDSCH or PUSCH scheduled by DCI, DCI format 1_0, 1_1, 1_2 for PDSCH or DCI format 0_0, 0_1, 0_2 for PUSCH, a new field can be used to indicate which BWP offset sequence can be applied. For semi-persistent PDSCH or configured grant Type 2, the activated DCI can have a field to indicate which sequence to be applied. Also, any saved bits from other fields can be used to indicate the frequency hopping sequence. For configured PUSCH grant Type 1, e.g., as part of ConfiguredGrantConfig or rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant, a new RRC parameter can indicate the selected frequency hopping sequence or the index of MAC-CE.

[0196] Third, the hopping sequence can be indicated in GC-PDCCH, e.g., DCI format 2_0. Specifically, a new field in GC-PDCCH (e.g., DCI format 2_0) can be used to indicate the frequency hopping sequence in addition to other information such as slot format.

[0197] Note that the DCI can indicate one of the sequences indicated by RRC (e.g., RRC + DCI), or the DCI can indicate one of the sequences in the short list provided by MAC-CE (e.g., RRC + MAC-CE + DCI).

[0198] The BWP switching timer can be adjusted based on the indicated spacing between the scheduled or configured repetitions to avoid unnecessary BWP transitions between repetitions. To this end, one or both of the following procedures can be used.

[0199] First, the BWP inactivity timer can be set to the maximum of the indicated values, e.g., by bwp-InactivityTimer, i.e., the maximum interval between any two consecutive repetitions or any function thereof.

[0200] Second, the BWP inactivity timer can not be triggered until after the first repetition is received until the last indicated repetition. In other words, if the UE receives the first repetition, the BWP inactivity timer is not triggered even if there is no activity on the currently active BWP, because the UE knows that more repetitions should be received or transmitted until the last repetition.

[0201] Spatial repetition (beam-based repetition)

[0202] Coverage enhancement can also be achieved by repeating PDSCH or PUSCH across different beams. Different beams can be used to transmit different repetitions. In NR Release 16, both cyclic and sequential beam mapping to repetitions are proposed for PDSCH. For example, if there are two beams B1 and B2 in cyclic mapping, B1 and B2 are applied to the first repetition and the second repetition, and the same pattern continues to apply to the remaining PDSCH repetitions (B1B2-B1B2-B1B2-…). See TS 38.214. For sequential beam mapping with two beams B1 and B2, B1 can be applied to the first PDSCH repetition and the second PDSCH repetition, and B2 can be applied to the third PDSCH repetition and the fourth PDSCH repetition, and the same pattern continues to apply to the remaining PDSCH repetitions (B1B1-B2B2-B1B1-B2B2-…). See TS 38.214.

[0203] The first beam can be applied to the first group of N repetitions, the second beam can be applied to the second group of N repetitions, e.g., indicated by higher layer signaling, and thus not applicable for the remaining beams, and the same pattern continues to apply to the remaining PDSCH repetitions. For example, if there are two beams, B1 and B2, and each group of repetitions has four repetitions, N = 4, the pattern would be (B1B1B1B1B1-B2B2B2B2-B1B1B1B-B2B2B2-…).

[0204] If frequency hopping is enabled, the beams can be associated with the hops. For example, all repetitions transmitted in the first hop can use a particular beam for transmission, while repetitions transmitted in the second hop can use the same beam or another beam for transmission. This applies to intra-BWP and / or cross-BWP frequency hopping. For example, in the case of cross-BWP hopping, each BWP can use a particular beam, e.g., with the same or different beams, or with a beam pattern configured for each BWP.

[0205] When frequency hopping is used, more than one beam can be used for repetitions of a transmission on any particular hop. For example, in the case of hopping across BWPs, repetitions transmitted in BWP1 can use Bl and B2 according to a particular sequence. While repetitions transmitted in BWP2 can use B3 and B4 according to a particular sequence.

[0206] Information related to time domain details of repetition

[0207] For dynamically scheduled PDSCH, semi-persistent PDSCH, dynamically scheduled PUSCH, and configured UL grant Type 1 / 2, a UE needs to know at least the following information to receive or transmit a scheduled or configured transmission: (i) the start and duration of the first repetition; (ii) the way to determine the location of the next repetition; (iii) the number of repetitions; and (iv) the redundancy version (RV) used for the repetition.

[0208] For dynamically scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH, compact scheduling DCI (e.g., DCI format 1_0 / DCI format 0_0) can be used, but its fields can be interpreted differently to provide additional information needed for coverage enhancement of PDSCH or PUSCH as well as other information related to the grant.

[0209] In both DCI formats 1_0 / DCI format 0_0, the frequency domain resource allocation field

[0210] has bits, where is the number of PRBs providing resource allocation Type 1 in the UL / DL BWP, the start and length of PRBs for PDSCH or PUSCH. For example, if the maximum bandwidth of a BWP for a reduced-capability NR device is 24 PRBs, the frequency domain resource allocation field has 9 bits. In some cases, a reduced-capability NR device can not need this flexibility because the size of PDSCH or PUSCH can be somewhat predictable and the number of PRBs needed can be fixed or almost fixed.

[0211] For example, a limited number of possible lengths of PRBs can be used. There can be a single PRB length (LPRB) provided in the protocol specification or signaled by higher layer signaling such as an RRC parameter RB_length. Also, higher layer signaling can signal multiple lengths of PRBs and a MAC-CE can be used to indicate which length can be used for PDSCH or PUSCH. In this case, only bits are needed to indicate the first PRB in PDSCH or PUSCH. In this example, where the BWP is 24 PRBs and L PRB = 6, only 5 bits are needed.

[0212] PDSCH or PUSCH can be allocated to L PRB one of the PRB groups, e.g. as shown in Figure 24 Thus, in the example where the BWP is 24 PRBs and L PRB = 6, the frequency domain resource allocation field in the DCI only needs 2 bits.

[0213] Contiguous L PRB PRB groups can be allocated to provide further scheduling flexibility. Thus, in the example where the BWP is 24 PRBs and L PRB = 6, the frequency domain resource allocation field in the DCI only needs [flog2(4+3+2+1)] = 4 bits.

[0214] Figure 25 is a time and frequency diagram of an example where contiguous L PRB groups are selected.

[0215] In both DCI format 1 0 and / DCI format 0 0, there are five bits reserved for modulation and coding scheme. Since capability reduced NR devices have limited capabilities, it is less likely that a high modulation order, e.g. 64QAM, is used. Thus, it can be beneficial to save some of these bits, e.g. only use up to 16QAM. In this case, the MCS needs four bits. By limiting the possible MCS values for capability reduced NR devices, a further reduction of the modulation and coding scheme field can be achieved.

[0216] When repetitions are equally spaced apart and have the same duration, the start and duration of the first repetition can be provided using regular NR signaling, e.g. the time domain resource allocation field consisting of four bits in DCI format 0 0 / DCI format 1 0. The other repetitions can be the same duration as the first repetition. The spacing between any consecutive repetitions (the spacing between the first / last symbol of a repetition and the first / last symbol of the next repetition, the spacing between the first / last symbol of a repetition and the last / first symbol of the next repetition, etc.) can be provided by one or more of the following two methods.

[0217] First, high layer signaling such as, e.g., the RRC parameter inter_repet_spacing can provide N spacing possible spacing values in units of symbols, slots, etc. The DCI scheduling the PDSCH or PUSCH can indicate which spacing value between repetitions can be used. Some of the saved bits from the frequency domain resource allocation field or any other field can be used to carry this indication, specifically [log2(N spacing ​first spacing value of the provided set of spacing values is applied. If there are only B available bits less than [log2(N spacing )] bits, then the selection starts from the first 2B. If the higher layer signaling indicates a single spacing value, then there is no dedicated bit in the DCI for this purpose. If there is no need to dynamically signal the spacing between consecutive repetitions, then a MAC-CE can be used to select one of the possible spacing values signaled by a RRC parameter. The parameter inter_repet_spacing can be signaled as part of PDSCH-Config / PUSCH-Config.

[0218] Secondly, the spacing between consecutive repetitions can be indicated by adding information to the PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList / PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList IE, which is a new parameter RRC for repetition inter-spacing. In DCI format 0_0 / DCI format 1_0, there are only four bits dedicated for this purpose. Therefore, to provide more flexibility, more bits can be used to indicate the time domain resource. For example, the size or the number of the time domain resource allocation (TDRA) table can be increased. For example, if one or two additional bits are used for time domain indication, then the TDRA table can have 32 or 64 entries instead of only 16 entries. These additional bits can be some saved bits from the frequency domain resource allocation field or any other field.

[0219] The number of repetitions of a dynamically scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH can be provided by one of the following three methods or a combination of the three methods.

[0220] Firstly, a higher layer signaling can indicate a set of possible N rept repetition values, such as for example the RRC parameter num_repet. The DCI scheduling the PDSCH or PUSCH can indicate which number of repetitions can be used. Some saved bits from the frequency domain resource allocation field or any other field can be used to carry this indication, specifically [log2(N rept )] bits. If there are not enough bits in the frequency domain resource allocation field or other fields available for re-use, then the first spacing value of the provided set of spacing values can be applied. If there are only B available bits less than [log2(N reptIf the high layer signaling indicates a single spacing value, there are no dedicated bits in the DCI for this purpose. If the high layer signaling indicates a single spacing value, there are no dedicated bits in the DCI for this purpose. For the case that the repetition number does not need to be dynamically signaled, a MAC-CE can be used to select one of the possible repetition values signaled by the RRC parameter. The parameter num_repet can be signaled as part of PDSCH-Config / PUSCH-Config.

[0221] Second, instead of indicating the actual repetition number, the high layer signaling can indicate the duration / window in which the repetition will happen, such as, for example, the RRC parameter dur_repet. It can be in units of slots, mS, etc. The repetitions can be transmitted / received until the last repetition that can be fully contained before the end of the window. As with the indication of the repetition number, the DCI / MAC-CE can be used to indicate the selected window size.

[0222] Third, the repetition number can be indicated in the PDSCH or PUSCH TDRA, for example, using a new parameter RRC for the repetition number. As mentioned above, the number of rows in the TDRA table can be increased, and other bits in the DCI 0_0 / 1_0 can be repurposed to indicate the selected row as described above.

[0223] In the case that the repetitions are fully contained within a slot, and the same symbol in the subsequent slot is used to carry additional repetitions, as shown in the example of Figure 6 , the PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList or PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList IE can be used to indicate the multiple SLIV values for all repetitions in the first slot. The same SLIV values can be applied in all subsequent slots. The spacing between the slots (e.g., the slot periodicity) can be configured through high layer signaling. If multiple slot periodicities are provided by the high layer signaling, a new field in the scheduling DCI or grant activating DCI can be used to indicate the selected periodicity.

[0224] Alternatively, referring again to Figure 6 , the PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList or PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList IE can be used to indicate a single SLIV value for the first repetition. The subsequent repetitions in the same slot can be back-to-back after the end of the first repetition until the end of the slot. The slot periodicity can be indicated as described above. Based on the indicated slot periodicity, the same symbol in the subsequent slot can carry the remaining repetitions.

[0225] Alternatively, e.g. in Figure 6 The PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList or PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList IE can be used to indicate a single SLIV value for the first repetition. For the case that the repetitions in the first slot are equally spaced, the high layer signaling can indicate the spacing between any two consecutive repetitions in the first slot carrying the first repetition. If more than one value is indicated in the scheduling DCI or activation DCI or MAC-CE, the slot periodicity can be indicated as described above. Based on the indicated slot periodicity, the same symbol in the subsequent slots can carry the remaining repetitions.

[0226] Alternatively, e.g. in Figure 6 The PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList or PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList IE can be used to indicate a single SLIV value for the first repetition. The number of repetitions in the first slot can be indicated using one of the methods described above. Then, the first repetition can follow the indicated SLIV value and then repeat back-to-back based on the number of repetitions indicated per slot. Here, the repetitions in the first slot do not necessarily reach the end of the slot. The slot periodicity can be indicated as described above. Based on the indicated slot periodicity, the same symbol in the subsequent slots can carry the remaining repetitions.

[0227] Figure 26 An example is shown that re-uses the reserved bits from different fields of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 for a 24 PRB BWP. Figure 26 The upper part of shows that the frequency / time domain resource allocation fields consist of 9 / 4 bits, respectively, while the MCS field consists of five bits. As described above, only the four bits starting from the LSB of the frequency domain resource allocation field are used to indicate which PRBs carry PDSCH or PUSCH. The subsequent three bits are used to indicate the spacing between any two consecutive repetitions. The two most significant bits of this field and the two least significant bits of the MCS field indicate the number of repetitions. The remaining bits of the MCS field are used to indicate the MCS.

[0228] While in this example separate bit fields are used to indicate the spacing between any two consecutive repetitions and the number of repetitions in this example, it is also possible to extend the TDRA table, e.g. using re-used bits.

[0229] The UE needs to know whether the fields of DCI 0_0 / 1_0 are interpreted as per NR Rel 15 / 16 or according to another approach. For this, one or more of the following four methods can be used.

[0230] The first approach is based on the capability of the UE. If the UE belongs to the low capability UE category, then the modified DCI 0_0 / 1_0 field interpretation can also be applied here.

[0231] Second, in some cases, it can be beneficial to have two interpretations of the DCI field. When the modified DCI 0_0 / 1_0 field interpretation is applied (e.g., NR_light_RNTI), a new RNTI should be applied for scrambling the DCI CRC. If the DCI is scrambled by C-RNTI, the regular interpretation is applied. If the DCI is scrambled by NR_light_RNTI, the modified interpretation is applied.

[0232] Third, some CORESET / search space can be reserved for each way of interpreting the DCI field. For example, an RRC parameter in the ControlResourceSet / SearchSpace IE can indicate whether the regular interpretation or the modified interpretation of the DCI field should be applied. If this parameter is not present, the regular interpretation of the DCI field is applied.

[0233] Fourth, some DMRS scrambling initialization can be reserved for the PDCCH, which the UE should use to decode its DCI with the modified interpretation provided above. For example, an RRC parameter can indicate a list of reserved DMRS scrambling initializations.

[0234] Techniques that can be implemented by reusing existing fields of DCI 0_0 / 1_0 can also be implemented using a new DCI format for reduced-capability NR devices.

[0235] For the case of repetitions that are equally spaced and have different durations, the PDSCH or PUSCH TDRA table can be modified so that each row indicates multiple SLIV values, where each value corresponds to a particular repetition. For example, if the number of SLIV values in any row is greater than the number of repetitions N rept , then only N rept SLIV values can be used, for example. Typically, the UE would not expect N rept to be less than the number of SLIV values in the indicated row.

[0236] For the case of repetition groups on non-consecutive slots as shown in Figure 6 , one of the above methods can be used to indicate the spacing between each repetition group. The TDRA of PDSCH or PUSCH can indicate the time-domain resources of the first repetition. The remaining repetitions then occur until the end of the slot, and the whole process repeats based on the specified spacing between the repetition groups.

[0237] For scheduling DCI 0_1 / 0_2 / 1_1 / 1_2, the re-use of existing fields can occur as described in the aforementioned methods or any combination of them.

[0238] For semi-persistent PDSCH or PUSCH configured grant Type 2 (which are activated by DCI format 1_1 / 1_2 or 0_1 / 0_2 respectively), the information about the spacing between any two consecutive repetitions, the duration of each repetition, the number of repetitions can be carried by re-using certain fields as described above at the time of activation DCI. If a new DCI format is introduced to activate semi-persistent PDSCH or PUSCH configured grant Type 2, dedicated fields as described above can be introduced. Alternatively, high layer signaling can indicate the required information, such as RRC parameters, inter_repet_spacing, num_repet. These RRC parameters can be transmitted as part of SPS-config or ConfiguredGrantConfig respectively. Moreover, the RRC parameters can configure multiple values of spacing between any two consecutive repetitions, the number of repetitions, and MAC-CE can indicate the value to be applied.

[0239] For PUSCH configured grant Type 1, for example, when no activation DCI is used, then the information can be provided by RRC or RRC+MAC-CE as described above.

[0240] The UE can assume that the RV of the scheduled or configured PDSCH or PUSCH is based on a specified sequence cycling, as provided in the protocol specification, such as 0-2-3-1. When a DCI is used to schedule the first repetition / activate the grant and indicates the first RV to be used, the subsequent repetitions are based on the specified sequence cycling of the RVs. Moreover, the RV sequence can be indicated by high layer signaling, such as RRC parameters.

[0241] In case pdsch-AggregationFactor, pusch-AggregationFactor or repK are indicated in PDSCH-config or PUSCH-config or ConfiguredGrantConfig respectively to indicate the number of repetitions of PDSCH or PUSCH in consecutive slots respectively, each PDSCH or PUSCH can be repeated additional times based on the provided configuration as described above, such as num_repet and inter_repet_spacing.

[0242] The number of repetitions of PDSCH or PUSCH can be signaled, for example, by a high layer parameter, such as RRC parameter num_repetition, which can be applied to dynamically scheduled PDSCH, semi-persistent PDSCH, dynamically scheduled PUSCH or configured UL grant Type 1 / 2.

[0243] Different repetitions can have different MCS indices. The MCS index of each repetition can be indicated or derived by certain rules. For example, higher layer signaling can indicate multiple MCS index offset values, and one of the MCS index offset values can be applied, denoted as MCS offset . Some repetitions can apply the MCS index indicated in the scheduling DCI for dynamic PDSCH or PUSCH, which is provided in the activation DCI in case of semi-persistent PDSCH or configured grant Type 2, or in RRC configuration for PUSCH configured grant Type 1, denoted as MCS original . Other repetitions can apply the MCS index + an indicated offset value, e.g., the actual MCS index is MCS original + MCS offset . Both MCS indices (MCS original and MCS original + MCS offset ) can be applied every other repetition. In other words, the first repetition applies MCS original , the second repetition applies MCS original + MCS offset , the third repetition applies MCS original , and so on.

[0244] Also, MCS original can be applied to the first group of N repetitions, MCS original + MCS offset can be applied to the subsequent group of N repetitions, and so on. The number of repetitions in each group can be indicated by higher layer signaling.

[0245] Also, if frequency hopping is enabled, different hops can apply different MCS. For example, the MCS offset can be a function of the frequency offset of the hop.

[0246] If higher layer signaling indicates multiple MCS offset values, a MAC-CE can indicate the selected MCS offset value. Also, a new field in the scheduling / activation DCI can indicate the selected MCS offset value by using any of the saved bits described above.

[0247] Information related to frequency domain details of repetition

[0248] For dynamically scheduled PDSCH or semi-persistent PDCSH, higher layer signaling can provide the UE with N hopping values of frequency offsets, such as the RRC parameter PDSCH-hopping_offset. The scheduling / activation DCI for PDSCH can indicate the frequency offset by log2(N hopping) indicates an offset value. For example, the MSB of the frequency domain resource allocation field or saved bits from other fields can be used to indicate the offset. For the case of lower dynamicity, the frequency offset value can be indicated by MAC-CE.

[0249] For the case of PDSCH or PUSCH hopping across BWPs, the ID of the BWP hopping may be indicated by higher layer signaling, such as RRC parameter BWP_hopping_ID. Moreover, BWP_hopping_ID can indicate multiple BWP IDs for frequency hopping, and DCI can select one ID for frequency hopping. This field is different from the BWP switching field. Moreover, RRC + MAC-CE can be used to provide the BWP hopping ID. If RRC parameter BWP_hopping_ID and frequency hopping offset parameter are configured, the indicated offset is applied in the BWP hopping as described above.

[0250] Non-blind coverage enhancement

[0251] By enabling a UE to assist a scheduling entity, which can be a gNB, another peer UE, or a road side unit (RSU, in determining the level of enhancement needed for PDSCH or PUSCH or sidelink (SL) PSSCH, non-blind coverage enhancement can be achieved. In some cases, a gNB can configure / indicate a certain number of repetitions based on certain measurements, but later due to UE mobility, either more coverage enhancement is needed (the gNB made an optimistic estimate of the level of coverage enhancement needed) or less coverage enhancement is needed to save power (the gNB made a pessimistic estimate of the level of coverage enhancement needed).

[0252] Downlink transmission

[0253] For dynamically scheduled PDSCH or activated semi-persistent PDSCH, the gNB can indicate the number of repetitions, the spacing between repetitions, etc. If the UE realizes that the number of repetitions needs to be modified, the UE can transmit an indication of the modification of the grant to the gNB. Such indication can be provided using one or both of the following ways.

[0254] First, the indication can be transmitted after receiving the DCI scheduling the PDSCH or activating the semi-persistent PDSCH, but before receiving the first PDSCH. In this case, the UE can estimate the channel quality based on, for example, PDCCH DMRS or other reference signals, and verify whether the indicated number of repetitions is sufficient for reliable decoding of the PDSCH.

[0255] Alternatively, the UE can transmit an UL signal / channel, for example, as Figure 27indicated repetitions can not be sufficient for reliable decoding. Thus, the UE can transmit a UL signal / channel to indicate that the indicated number of repetitions needs to be modified, e.g., as shown by arrow B in FIG. 1. Note that modifying the number of repetitions means increasing the number of repetitions or decreasing (early termination) the number of repetitions. Figure 27

[0256] Figure 27 A single arrow is shown to illustrate a possible UL signal / channel transmission. In implementation, this signal can be repeated multiple times to enhance coverage. All repetitions of the UL signal / channel can occur before the transmission of the first PDSCH, as shown by arrow A. Or the repetitions of the UL signal / channel can be staggered / interleaved with the PDSCH, as shown by arrow B.

[0257] For example, this UL signal / channel can be a contention-free or contention-based physical random access channel (PRACH), a PUCCH (e.g., carrying ACK / NACK), or a PUSCH carrying a MAC-CE or uplink control information (UCI). The UE needs to explicitly or implicitly indicate the desired number of repetitions. For the explicit case, a dedicated field indicated in the UCI / MAC-CE can indicate a desired offset in the number of repetitions, or directly map to the desired number of repetitions, such as mapping a PRACH occasion / DMRS initialization sequence of the PUSCH / PUCCH to the desired offset. Explicit indication is beneficial, especially when operating in a frequency division duplex (FDD) mode. On the other hand, implicit indication is based on measurements made by the gNB. For example, the gNB can measure the quality of the PRACH or DMRS of the PUCCH / PUSCH and adjust the indicated number of repetitions accordingly. This is beneficial in the case of time division duplex (TDD) mode of operation. Note that the desired offset in the number of repetitions can increase, decrease, or terminate the repetitions.

[0258] The resources for carrying the indication can be provided relative to the scheduled PDSCH itself. For example, the indication can be transmitted within a certain window before / after each repetition. The duration of the window can be indicated by higher layer signaling, such as an RRC parameter rep_adj_window. The window can start at the end of each repetition, n start symbols (depending on the UE capability and the time needed to switch from DL to UL). Alternatively, an offset can be applied, or the window can be indicated by higher layer signaling. Also, the window can end at n end symbols, or before the start of the next repetition, depending on the capability of the UE. An offset can be applied. This configuration can be indicated by higher layer signaling.

[0259] ​Another possibility for such a signal / channel is UCI carrying ACK / NACK for PDSCH. Basically, DCI can use the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing field to indicate the time gap between PDSCH and ACK / NACK submission occasion. Therefore, this value can be applied after each repetition, or possibly after a few repetitions determined by certain rules, to enable the UE to transmit ACK / NACK. If the gNB receives an early ACK, the gNB can abort the remaining repetitions, and the UE is not required to monitor the remaining repetitions after the ACK transmission.

[0260] If the UE transmits a UL signal / channel requesting explicit or implicit modification of the number of repetitions (e.g., early NACK, and possibly in combination with other information about the suggested number of repetitions), and receives another DCI with the same HARQ process ID of the currently received PDSCH and no switch of NDI, the UE can assume that additional repetitions are scheduled. The total number of repetitions is equal to the number of repetitions indicated in the first scheduling DCI plus the number of repetitions indicated in the received DCI after the transmission of the modification request. This search space can be monitored only when the UE transmits a UL signal or channel to request modification of the number of repetitions. Some parameters of this search space, such as monitoring slot periodicity and offset, can depend on the indicated grant.

[0261] The above procedure is illustrated in Figure 28A and Figure 28B In Figure 28A , the UE starts evaluating the indicated number of repetitions as early as receiving the PDCCH. In Figure 28B , the UE evaluates the indicated number of repetitions after receiving at least the first repetition.

[0262] The gNB can modify the number of repetitions to enhance coverage. In implementation, other procedures can be applied to enhance coverage without modifying the number of repetitions. For example, the gNB can modify the grant to enhance coverage, but the number of repetitions remains fixed. For example, the gNB can reduce the MCS and increase the duration of each repetition, change the frequency allocation. In this case, the UE can assume that the new DCI overrides the old DCI, and the remaining repetitions can follow the new configuration. In addition, the UE can assume that the initial number of repetitions will follow the old DCI, while the additional number of repetitions will follow the new DCI.

[0263] The UE can use any reference signal transmitted with the scheduled or activated PDSCH, such as CSI-RS for CSI or CSI-LS for phase tracking, to estimate the metrics such as RSRP, RSRQ SINR, etc. to determine if any modification to the indicated configuration is needed. No reporting is needed for such measurements. Some threshold values can be configured by higher layer signaling so that if the measured quality is below the indicated threshold, the UE can transmit a request to modify the grant configuration.

[0264] Uplink transmission

[0265] For dynamically scheduled PUSCH or configured grant Type 1 / 2, the indicated number of repetitions can not be suitable due to the mobility of the reduced-capability NR device. Similar to the DL transmission, the UE can use the PDCCH DMRS to estimate the channel and determine if the indicated number of repetitions needs to be modified. This is beneficial for dynamic PUSCH as well as configured grant Type 2 where the time gap between the activation DCI and the PUSCH transmission is small. For the case of configured grant Type 1, the time gap between the configured grant activation DCI and the actual transmission is large, and the reduced-capability NR device can use the most recent reference signal to estimate the channel quality and determine if the indicated number of repetitions needs to be modified.

[0266] If the UE realizes that the indicated number of repetitions needs to be modified, one or both of the following methods can be used.

[0267] First, in the first N repet_adj repetitions, the UE can transmit the piggybacked UCI on the PUSCH indicating that the number of repetitions needs to be modified. The piggybacked UCI can indicate the suggested number of repetitions / adjustment to the indicated number of repetitions. The value of N repet_adj may be indicated by higher layer signaling.

[0268] Second, in the first N repet_adj repetitions, the UE can transmit a MAC-CE indicating the adjustment to the number of repetitions.

[0269] The UCI / MAC-CE can be transmitted in the first N repet_adj repetitions. The UCI / MAC-CE in non-consecutive repetitions can also be determined based on certain rules. For example, it can be transmitted every other repetition, every i repetitions, etc.

[0270] After the UE transmits the indication of the change of the number of repetitions, the UE can start monitoring the gNB response. If the UE receives a DCI with the same HARQ process ID and non-toggled NDI, the UE can assume that the total number of repetitions is equal to the sum of the number of repetitions indicated in both DCIs. This applies to dynamically scheduled PUSCH. For configured grant Type 1 / 2, a DL MAC-CE can override the specified number of repetitions.

[0271] In this document, gNB can be understood as a scheduling entity, thus, for example, the functionalities of a gNB described herein can be taken over or provided by other entities such as a peer UE or a road side unit (RSU) when communicating over a sidelink.

[0272] DMRS sharing

[0273] With the increase of the number of repetitions, the DMRS overhead can be significant, especially when the number of resources allocated for the repetitions is small. In addition, the reduced capability NR devices can be fixed or have limited mobility. To address these issues, DMRS sharing can be enabled among different repetitions of PDSCH or PUSCH. DMRS sharing refers to the case that some configured DMRS within a PDSCH or PUSCH repetition or across different repetitions can be dropped, while those REs that would be occupied by DMRS can carry PDSCH or PUSCH instead of DMRS. Here, the UE or gNB can rely on the remaining DMRS to estimate the channel.

[0274] The power of the remaining DMRS symbols can be boosted to further enhance the channel estimation quality. The level of power boosting can be a function of the number of dropped DMRS symbols, or can be indicated by higher layer signaling.

[0275] DMRS sharing can occur among scheduled or configured repetitions that are confined within one slot. In other words, DMRS sharing can occur if there are multiple repetitions that are completely confined in a single slot. Figure 29 An example of PDSCH or PUSCH repetition of five symbol duration is shown, and the spacing between the last symbol of the repetition and the first symbol of the next repetition is d = 4 symbols. Note that the fifth repetition, which is denoted by 1 in Figure 29 is shifted by one symbol to the next slot to be completely contained in the next slot, as previously mentioned. Figure 29Assuming mapping type B, where two DMRS symbols occupy the first and last symbols in each repetition. In this example, DMRS sharing is used when at least two repetitions are fully contained within a single slot. In this case, the last DMRS symbol is discarded from the repetition pair in slot 0 of subframes 0 and 1. Since slot 1 in subframe 0 has only one repetition, no DMRS is discarded. When a DMRS is discarded, the RE carrying the DMRS can be used to carry either a PDSCH or a PUSCH.

[0276] The criteria for discarding DMRS symbols may be a function of other channel parameters, such as mobility velocity reflected in the Doppler shift. For example, if the velocity or Doppler shift exceeds a certain threshold, DMRS sharing may be disabled, or limited DMRS sharing may be applied. The threshold may be specified or indicated by higher-layer signaling. In the case of limited DMRS sharing, the number of DMRS symbols discarded is lower than in the case of full DMRS sharing.

[0277] Higher-layer signaling can explicitly indicate whether DMRS sharing is enabled or disabled. The minimum number of repetitions within a time slot that enables DMRS sharing can be signaled by higher-layer signaling, and DMRS sharing can be disabled when such signaling is absent. The minimum number of repetitions can be implied by signaling the minimum interval between any two consecutive repetitions that enable DMRS sharing.

[0278] In this example, when DMRS sharing is enabled, the last DMRS symbol in each repeat is discarded. Other discarding patterns / methods can be applied.

[0279] For example, higher-layer signaling may indicate the maximum number of DMRS symbols that can be dropped from the end of a repetition. In this example, the maximum number of DMRS symbols is equal to one. Moreover, it can be assumed that at least the first DMRS symbol of each repetition is always transmitted.

[0280] In addition, higher-level signaling can indicate the repeating pattern in which all or some of the DMRS symbols may be discarded. Figure 30A An example is shown where DMRS symbols are dropped once every other repeat. In this example, higher-layer signaling may indicate 1 / 2. Alternatively, higher-layer signaling may indicate a bitmap field (e.g., 7 bits), where each bit corresponds to a repeat. If the number of repeats within a time slot is N and less than 7, the UE may only consider the first N bits. For example, if the bit corresponding to a repeat is set to one, the UE may assume its DMRS has been dropped. For example, this is in Figure 30B As shown in the figure, Figure 30B and Figure 30A The difference lies in which repeated DMRS symbols are dropped. Specifically, the repetition of DMRS symbols dropped in slot 0 of subframe 1 is different. Figure 30AIn one embodiment, DMRS dropping occurs every other repetition. Figure 30B In one embodiment, DMRS dropping occurs according to an indication bitmap applied separately in each slot. If the number of repetitions within a slot is N, and N is larger than the number of bits allocated for the bitmap, it can be assumed that a wrap-around occurs to cover all repetitions within the slot.

[0281] Instead of restricting DMRS sharing to repetitions that are entirely within a single slot, DMRS sharing can be allowed between N repetitions that cross slot boundaries. Figure 31 An example is shown where N = 5. High level signaling indicates that every third repetition will keep its DMRS. Alternatively, high layer can have provided a bitmap of 100100 (7 bits in the previous example) indicating. In the case of a bitmap, the number of bits can be equal to N. If N is smaller than the bit width of the field, the UE can only consider the first N bits. If N is larger than the bit width of the field, the UE can assume that the bitmap wraps around until N repetitions are reached.

[0282] If frequency hopping is enabled and the hopping occurs within a BWP or across BWP, DMRS sharing can occur between hops that occupy the same frequency resources. Procedures can be employed to determine which repeated DMRS (e.g., per hop) can be dropped. Figure 32 An example is shown where every 3 repetitions hop across BWP. Similarly, DMRS sharing can occur every three repetitions within each hop, such that the DMRS of every other repetition of each hop is dropped.

[0283] For the case of intra-BWP hopping, for example, a wideband DMRS can cover at least the PRBs of PDSCH / PUSCH across different hops.

[0284] For the case of intra-BWP or across BWP hopping, if different hops fall within the coherence bandwidth of the channel, DMRS sharing can be applied between these hops. High layer signaling can indicate whether such a feature can be enabled, for example, based on channel measurements.

[0285] For the case of hopping across multiple BWPs that are partially or fully overlapping, DMRS sharing can be applied between the hops of the common RBs between these BWPs.

[0286] The DMRS sharing scheme can differ from BWP to BWP. For example, DMRS sharing can be applied for repetitions that fall within a BWP, but for repetitions that fall on other BWPs, DMRS sharing can be disabled. Furthermore, each BWP can have a different DMRS sharing density. For example, the bitmap of sequences used to indicate dropping DMRS can differ from BWP to BWP.

[0287] Example environment

[0288] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) develops technical standards for cellular telecommunications network technologies, including radio access, the core transport network, and service capabilities, including work on codecs, security, and quality of service. Recent radio access technology (RAT) standards include WCDMA (commonly referred to as 3G), LTE (commonly referred to as 4G), and LTE-Advanced standards. 3GPP has begun work on the standardization of the next generation of cellular technology, also referred to as “5G,” called New Radio (NR). The development of the 3GPP NR standards is expected to include the definition of a new radio access technology (new RAT) that is expected to include a new flexible radio access below 6 GHz that provides improved spectral efficiency for higher capacity, and a new mobile broadband radio access above 6 GHz to deliver ultra-high, i.e., very high, throughput. The flexible radio access below 6 GHz is expected to include a new non-backwards compatible radio access in new spectrum below 6 GHz, and is expected to include different operating modes that can be multiplexed together in the same spectrum to address a broad set of 3GPP NR use cases with different requirements. The ultra-mobile broadband is expected to include centimeter wave and millimeter wave spectrum that will provide opportunities for ultra-mobile broadband access for, e.g., indoor applications and hotspots. In particular, the ultra-mobile broadband is expected to share a common design framework with the flexible radio access below 6 GHz, while having centimeter wave and millimeter wave specific design optimizations.

[0289] 3GPP has identified a variety of use cases that NR is expected to support, resulting in a wide variety of user experience requirements for data rate, latency, and mobility. The use cases include the following general categories: enhanced mobile broadband (e.g., broadband access in dense areas, indoor ultra-high broadband access, broadband access in crowds, 50+ Mbps everywhere, ultra-low cost broadband access, vehicular mobile broadband), critical communications, massive machine type communications, network operation (e.g., network slicing, routing, migration and interworking, energy savings), and enhanced vehicle-to-everything (eV2X) communications, which can include any of the following: vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure communications (V2I), vehicle-to-network communications (V2N), vehicle-to-pedestrian communications (V2P), and vehicle communications with other entities. Specific services and applications in these categories include, for example: monitoring and sensor networks, device remote control, two-way remote control, personal cloud computing, video streaming, cloud-based wireless offices, first responder connectivity, automotive eCall, disaster alerts, real-time gaming, multi-personal video calls, autonomous driving, augmented reality, tactile internet, and virtual reality, among others. All of these use cases and others are contemplated herein.

[0290] Figure 33AOne embodiment of an exemplary communications system 100 in which the methods and apparatuses described and claimed herein can be embodied is shown. As illustrated, the exemplary communications system 100 can include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f, and / or 102g (generally referred to as or referred to collectively as WTRUs 102), a radio access network (RAN) 103 / 104 / 105 / 103b / 104b / 105b, a core network 106 / 107 / 109, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, other networks 112, and a V2X server (or ProSe Function and Server) 113, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f, 102g can be any type of apparatus or device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. Figure 33A to Figure 1 Although each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f, 102g is illustrated as a hand-held wireless communications device in E, it is understood that the various embodiments contemplate any type of apparatus or device that is configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals, including, by way of example only, user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a netbook, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a consumer electronics device, a wearable device such as a smart watch or smart clothing, a medical or e-health device, a robot, industrial equipment, a drone, a vehicle such as a car, truck, train, or airplane.

[0291] The communications system 100 can also include a base station 114a and a base station 114b. Base stations 114a can be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. Base stations 114b can be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the RRHs (Remote Radio Heads) 118a, 118b, TRPs (Transmission and Reception Points) 119a, 119b, and / or RSUs (Road Side Units) 120a, and 120b to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, the other networks 112, and / or the V2X server (or ProSe Function and Server) 113. The RRHs 118a, 118b can be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102c to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The TRPs 119a, 119b can be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The RSUs 120a, and 120b can be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102e or 102f to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network 106 / 107 / 109, the Internet 110, the other networks 112, and / or the V2X server (or ProSe Function and Server) 113. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b can be base transceiver stations (BTSs), NodeBs, eNodeBs, Home NodeBs, Home eNodeBs, site controllers, access points (APs), wireless routers, and so on. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b can include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0292] The base stations 114a can be part of the RAN 103 / 104 / 105, which can also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114b can be part of the RAN 103b / 104b / 105b, which can also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a can be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals within a particular geographic area, which can be referred to as a cell (not shown). The base station 114b can be configured to transmit and / or receive wired and / or wireless signals within a particular geographic area, which can be referred to as a cell (not shown). The cell can further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a can be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a can include three transceivers, one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a can employ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology and, therefore, can utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell.

[0293] The base stations 114a can communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 115 / 116 / 117, which can be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.). The air interface 115 / 116 / 117 can be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0294] The base station 114b can communicate with one or more of the RRHs 118a, 118b, TRPs 119a, 119b, and / or RSUs 120a and 120b over the wired or air interface 115b / 116b / 117b, which can be any suitable wired (e.g., cable, optical fiber, etc.) or wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.). The air interface 115b / 116b / 117b can be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0295] The RRHs 118a, 118b, TRPs 119a, 119b, and / or RSUs 120a, 120b can communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f over an air interface 115c / 116c / 117c, which can be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.). The air interface 115c / 116c / 117c can be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0296] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f, and / or 102g can communicate with one another over an air interface 115d / 116d / 117d (not shown), which can be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.). The air interface 115d / 116d / 117d can be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0297] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 can be a multiple access system and can employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in the RAN 103 / 104 / 105, or the RRHs 118a, 118b, TRPs 119a, 119b, and RSUs 120a, 120b, and the WTRUs 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f in the RAN 103b / 104b / 105b, can implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which can establish the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 or 115c / 116c / 117c under an unlicensed radio access (E-UTRA), using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA can include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA can include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0298] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, or the RRHs 118a, 118b, TRPs 119a, 119b, and / or RSUs 120a, 120b in the RAN 103b / 104b / 105b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d can implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which can establish the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 or 115c / 116c / 117c using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) respectively. The air interface 115 / 116 / 117 can implement 3GPP NR technology. The LTE and LTE-A technology includes LTE D2D and V2X technology and interfaces such as sidelink communication. The 3GPP NR technology includes NR V2X technology and interfaces such as sidelink communication.

[0299] In an embodiment, the base station 114a in the RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, or the RRHs 118a, 118b, TRPs 119a, 119b, and / or RSUs 120a, 120b in the RAN 103b / 104b / 105b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f can implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.16 (e.g., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 IX, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0300] Figure 33A The base station 114c in the RAN 113 can be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and can utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity access. In an embodiment, the base station 114c and the WTRUs 102d can implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114c and the WTRUs 102d can implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114c and the WTRUs 102d can utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1C, the base station 114c can have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, theFigure 33A As shown, base station 114b may have a direct connection to Internet 110. Therefore, base station 114c may not need to access Internet 110 via core network 106 / 107 / 109.

[0301] RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / 104b / 105b can communicate with core network 106 / 107 / 109, which can be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, application, and / or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of WTRU 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d. For example, core network 106 / 107 / 109 can provide call control, billing services, location-based services, prepaid calling, internet connectivity, video distribution, and / or perform advanced security features such as user authentication.

[0302] although Figure 33A As not shown, but it should be understood that RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / 104b / 105b and / or core network 106 / 107 / 109 can communicate directly or indirectly with other RANs that use the same RAT as or a different RAT than RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / 104b / 105b. For example, in addition to being connected to RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / 104b / 105b, which may be utilizing E-UTRA radio technology, core network 106 / 107 / 109 can also communicate with another RAN (not shown) using GSM radio technology.

[0303] Core networks 106 / 107 / 109 may also serve as gateways for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, and 102e to access PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. PSTN 108 may include a circuit-switched telephone network providing Common Old-Style Telephone Service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices using common communication protocols such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and Internet Protocol (IP) from the TCP / IP Internet Protocol suite. Network 112 may include wired and / or wireless communication networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, network 112 may include another core network connected to one or more RANs, which may use the same RAT as RAN 103 / 104 / 105 and / or RAN 103b / 104b / 105b or a different RAT.

[0304] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d in communication system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, and 102e may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks via different wireless links). For example, Figure 33A The WTRU 102e shown can be configured to communicate with a base station 114a that can employ cellular-based radio technology and with a base station 114b that can employ IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0305] Figure 33B This is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus or device (such as WTRU 102) configured for wireless communication according to the embodiments shown herein. Figure 33B As shown, the exemplary WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad / indicator 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power supply 134, a Global Positioning System (GPS) chipset 136, and other peripheral devices 138. It should be understood that, while remaining consistent with the implementation, the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements. Additionally, the implementation envisions that base stations 114a and 114b and / or the nodes that base stations 114a and 114b may represent (such as, but not limited to, transceiver stations (BTS), node B, site controllers, access points (APs), home node B, evolved home node B (eNodeB), home evolved node B (HeNB), home evolved node B gateways, and proxy nodes, etc.) may include... Figure 33B The elements described herein, as well as some or all of the elements described herein.

[0306] Processor 118 may be a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors associated with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) circuit, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, etc. Processor 118 may perform signal encoding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functions that enable WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. Processor 118 may be coupled to transceiver 120, which may be coupled to transmitting / receiving element 122. Although Figure 33B The processor 118 and transceiver 120 are depicted as separate components, but it should be understood that the processor 118 and transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0307] The transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 115 / 116 / 117. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit and receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0308] In addition, although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in the Figure 33B WTRU 102 can include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 can employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 can include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 115 / 116 / 117.

[0309] The transceiver 120 can be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 can have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 can include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as UTRA and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[0310] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 can be coupled to, and can receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad / indicators 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 can also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad / indicators 128. In addition, the processor 118 can access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 can include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 can include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In one embodiment, the processor 118 can access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0311] The processor 118 can receive power from the power source 134 and can be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 can be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 can include one or more dry cell batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0312] The processor 118 can also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which can be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 can receive location information over the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 can acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0313] The processor 118 may also be coupled to other peripheral devices 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules providing additional features, functions, and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, peripheral device 138 may include various sensors such as accelerometers, biometric (e.g., fingerprint) sensors, electronic compasses, satellite transceivers, digital cameras (for photos or videos), Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports or other interconnect interfaces, vibration devices, television transceivers, hands-free headsets, etc. Modules, FM radio units, digital music players, media players, video game player modules, internet browsers, and so on.

[0314] WTRU 102 may be implemented in other devices or equipment, such as sensors, consumer electronics, wearable devices (such as smartwatches or smart clothing), medical or e-health devices, robots, industrial equipment, drones, or vehicles (such as cars, trucks, trains, or airplanes). WTRU 102 may be connected to other components, modules, or systems of such devices or equipment via one or more interconnect interfaces (such as interconnect interfaces that may include one of the peripheral devices 138).

[0315] Figure 33C This is a system diagram of RAN 103 and core network 106 according to one implementation scheme. As noted above, RAN 103 can communicate with WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c via air interface 115 using UTRA radio technology. RAN 103 can also communicate with core network 106. Figure 33C As shown, RAN 103 may include nodes B 140a, 140b, and 140c, each of which may include one or more transceivers for communicating with WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c via air interface 115. Nodes B 140a, 140b, and 140c may each be associated with a specific cell (not shown) within RAN 103. RAN 103 may also include RNCs 142a and 142b. It should be understood that RAN 103 may include any number of nodes B and RNCs while remaining consistent with the implementation scheme.

[0316] like Figure 33CAs shown, the Node-Bs 140a, 140b can communicate with the RNC 142a. Additionally, the Node-B 140c can communicate with the RNC 142b. The Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c can communicate with the respective RNCs 142a, 142b via an Iub interface. The RNCs 142a, 142b can be in communication with one another via an Iur interface. Each of the RNCs 142a, 142b can be configured to control the respective Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c to which it is connected. In addition, each of the RNCs 142a, 142b can be configured to carry out or support other functionality, such as outer loop power control, load control, admission control, packet scheduling, handover control, macrodiversity, security functions, data encryption, etc.

[0317] Figure 33C The core network 106 shown in FIG. 10 can include a media gateway (MGW) 144, a mobile switching center (MSC) 146, a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) 148, and / or a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 150. While each of the foregoing elements are each depicted as part of the core network 106, it will be appreciated that any one of these elements can be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the core network operator.

[0318] The RNC 142a in the RAN 103 can be connected by an IuCS interface to the MSC 146 in the core network 106. The MSC 146 can be connected to the MGW 144. The MSC 146 and the MGW 144 provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional

[0319] The RNC 142a in the RAN 103 can also be connected to the SGSN 148 in the core network 106 via an IuPS interface. The SGSN 148 can be connected to the GGSN 150. The SGSN 148 and the GGSN 150 can provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0320] As noted above, the core network 106 can also be connected to the networks 112, which can include other wired or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0321] Figure 33DSystem diagram of a RAN 104 and core network 107, in accordance with an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 can employ E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 can also be in communication with the core network 107.

[0322] The RAN 104 can include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 can include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c can each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c can implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, can use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0323] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c can be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and can be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink and / or downlink, and the like. As shown, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c can communicate with one another over an X2 interface. Figure 33D

[0324] Figure 33D The core network 107 as shown can include a mobility management gateway (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the core network 107, it will be appreciated that any of these elements can be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the operator of the core network.

[0325] The MME 162 can be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and can serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 can be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 can also provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

[0326] ​The serving gateway 164 can be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface. The serving gateway 164 can generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The serving gateway 164 can also perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when downlink data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0327] The serving gateway 164 can also be connected to the PDN gateway 166, which can provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0328] The core network 107 can facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the core network 107 can include, or can communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the core network 107 and the PSTN 108. Further, the core network 107 can provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the networks 112, which can include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0329] Figure 33E is a system diagram of the RAN 105 and the core network 109 according to an embodiment. The RAN 105 can be an access service network (ASN) that employs IEEE 802.16 radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 117. As will be further discussed below, different functional entities of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, the RAN 105, and the core network 109 can be defined with reference to a reference point.

[0330] As Figure 33EAs shown, the RAN 105 can include base stations 180a, 180b, 180c, and an ASN gateway 182, although it will be appreciated that the RAN 105 can include any number of base stations and ASN gateways while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The base stations 180a, 180b, 180c can each be associated with a particular cell in the RAN 105 and can include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 117. In one embodiment, the base stations 180a, 180b, 180c can implement MIMO technology. Thus, the base station 180a, for example, can use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. The base stations 180a, 180b, 180c can also provide mobility management functions, such as handoff triggering, tunnel establishment, radio resource management, traffic classification, Quality of Service (QoS) policy enforcement, and the like. The ASN gateway 182 can serve as a traffic aggregation point and can be responsible for paging, caching of subscriber profiles, routing to the core network 109, and the like.

[0331] The air interface 117 between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and the RAN 105 can be defined as an Rl reference point that implements the IEEE 802.16 specification. In addition, each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can establish a logical interface (not shown) with the core network 109. The logical interface between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and the core network 109 can be defined as an R2 reference point, which can be used for authentication, authorization, IP host configuration management, and / or mobility management.

[0332] The communication link between each of the base stations 180a, 180b, and 180c can be defined as an R8 reference point that includes protocols for facilitating WTRU handovers and the transfer of data between base stations. The communication link between the base stations 180a, 180b, 180c and the ASN gateway 182 can be defined as an R6 reference point. The R6 reference point can include protocols for facilitating mobility management based on mobility events associated with each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0333] As shown, Figure 33EAs shown, RAN 105 can be connected to core network 109. The communication link between RAN 105 and core network 109 can be defined as an R3 reference point, which includes, for example, protocols for facilitating data transmission and mobility management capabilities. Core network 109 may include a Mobile IP Home Agent (MIP-HA) 184, an Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server 186, and a gateway 188. While each of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of core network 109, it should be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the core network operator.

[0334] MIP-HA manages IP addresses and enables WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c to roam between different ASNs and / or different core networks. MIP-HA 184 provides WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to packet-switched networks (such as the Internet 110) to facilitate communication between WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c and IP-enabled devices. AAA server 186 handles user authentication and user support services. Gateway 188 facilitates interoperability with other networks. For example, gateway 188 provides WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c with access to circuit-switched networks (such as PSTN 108) to facilitate communication between WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c and legacy terrestrial communication equipment. Additionally, gateway 188 may provide WTRU102a, 102b, and 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0335] although Figure 33E Although not shown, it should be understood that RAN 105 can connect to other ASNs, and core network 109 can connect to other core networks. The communication link between RAN 105 and other ASNs can be defined as an R4 reference point, which may include protocols for coordinating the mobility of WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c between RAN 105 and other ASNs. The communication link between core network 109 and other core networks can be defined as an R5 reference point, which may include protocols for facilitating interoperability between the home core network and the visited core network.

[0336] The content described herein and in Figure 33A , Figure 33C , Figure 33D and Figure 33EThe core network entities shown in FIG. 33-AE are identified by the names given to these entities in certain existing 3GPP specifications, but it will be appreciated that these entities and functions can be identified by other names in the future and that certain entities or functions can be combined in future specifications published by 3GPP, including future 3GPP NR specifications. Accordingly, the particular network entities and functions depicted and shown in FIG. 33-AE are provided by way of example only, and it will be appreciated that the subject matter disclosed and claimed herein can be embodied in any similar communication system whether presently defined or defined in the future.

[0337] Figure 33F is a block diagram of an example computing system 90 in which one or more devices of the communication networks shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33-AE, 33-A, 33-B, 33-C, 33-D, 33-E, 33-F, 33-G, 33-H, 33-I, 33-J, 33-K, 33-L, 33-M, 33-N, 33-O, 33-P, 33-Q, 33-R, 33-S, 33-T, 33-U, 33-V, 33-W, 33-X, 33-Y, 33-Z, 34-A, 34-B, 34-C, 34-D, 34-E, 34-F, 34-G, 34-H, 34-I, 34-J, 34-K, 34-L, 34-M, 34-N, 34-O, 34-P, 34-Q, 34-R, 34-S, 34-T, 34-U, 34-V, 34-W, 34-X, 34-Y, 34-Z, 35-A, 35-B, 35-C, 35-D, 35-E, 35-F, 35-G, 35-H, 35-I, 35-J, 35-K, 35-L, 35-M, 35-N, 35-O, 35-P, 35-Q, 35-R, 35-S, 35-T, 35-U, 35-V, 35-W, 35-X, 35-Y, 35-Z, 36-A, 36-B, 36-C, 36-D, 36-E, 36-F, 36-G, 36-H, 36-I, 36-J, 36-K, 36-L, 36-M, 36-N, 36-O, 36-P, 36-Q, 36-R, 36-S, 36-T, 36-U, 36-V, 36-W, 36-X, 36-Y, 36-Z, 37-A, 37-B, 37-C, 37-D, 37-E, 37-F, 37-G, 37-H, 37-I, 37-J, 37-K, 37-L, 37-M, 37-N, 37-O, 37-P, 37-Q, 37-R, 37-S, 37-T, 37-U, 37-V, 37-W, 37-X, 37-Y, and 37-Z can be embodied. Figure 33A , Figure 33C , Figure 33D and Figure 33E may be embodied. Computing system 90 can include a computer or server and can be controlled primarily by computer readable instructions, which can be in the form of software, wherever, or by whatever means stored or accessed. Such computer readable instructions can be executed within a processor 91 to cause computing system 90 to work in a certain way. Processor 91 can be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. Processor 91 can perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables computing system 90 to operate in a communication network. Coprocessor 81 is an optional processor that can execute additional functions or assist processor 91. Processor 91 and / or coprocessor 81 can receive, generate, and process data relating to the methods and devices disclosed herein.

[0338] In operation, processor 91 fetches, decodes, and executes instructions, and transfers information to and from other resources via a computer system's main data-transfer path (system bus 80). Such a system bus connects the various components in the computing system 90 and defines the medium for data exchange. System bus 80 typically includes a data bus for sending data, an address bus for sending address information, and a control bus for sending controls. An example of such a system bus 80 is the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus.

[0339] Memory that is coupled to system bus 80 includes random access memory (RAM) 82 and read only memory (ROM) 93. Such memory stores instructions and data that are needed by the processor 91 to implement the desired functions. ROM 93 typically contains stored data that cannot be readily modified, such as instructions for basic system operations. The data stored in RAM 82 can be read or altered by the processor 91 or other hardware devices. Access to RAM 82 and / or ROM 93 can be controlled by memory controller 92. Memory controller 92 can provide an address translation function that translates virtual addresses into physical addresses as instructions are executed. Memory controller 92 can also provide a memory protection function that isolates the processes within the system and isolates system processes from user processes. Thus, a program running in a first mode can only access memory that is mapped through its own process virtual address space; it cannot access the virtual address space of another process unless memory sharing between the processes has been set up.

[0340] In addition, computing system 90 can contain peripherals controller ( 83) responsible for communicating instructions from processor 91 to peripherals, such as printer 94, keyboard 84, mouse 95, and disk drive 85.

[0341] Display 86, which is controlled by display controller 96, is used to display visual output generated by computing system 90. Such visual output can include text, graphics, animated graphics, and video. The visual output can be provided in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI). Display 86 can be implemented with a CRT-based video display, an LCD-based flat-panel display, gas plasma-based flat-panel display, or a touch-panel. Display controller 96 includes electronic components required to generate a video signal that is sent to display 86.

[0342] Further, computing system 90 can contain communication circuitry, such as a network adapter 97, that can be used to connect computing system 90 to an external communications network, such as a Figure 33A to Figure 33E RAN 103 / 104 / 105, core network 106 / 107 / 109, PSTN 108, Internet 110, or other networks 112 in order to communicate with other nodes or functional entities of these networks. The communication circuitry, alone or in combination with the processor 91, can be used to perform the transmitting and receiving steps of certain apparatuses, nodes, or functional entities described herein.

[0343] Figure 33GAn embodiment of an exemplary communication system 111 is illustrated, which may embody the methods and apparatus described and claimed herein. As shown, the exemplary communication system 111 may include Wireless Transmit / Receive Units (WTRUs) A, B, C, D, E, F, a base station, a V2X server, and RSUs A and B; however, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. One or more or all WTRUs A, B, C, D, E may be outside the network's range (e.g., outside the cell coverage boundary as shown by the dashed line in the figure). WTRUs A, B, C form a V2X group, with WTRU A as the group leader and WTRUs B and C as group members. WTRUs A, B, C, D, E, F may communicate via a Uu interface or a sidelink (PC5) interface.

[0344] It should be understood that any or all of the apparatuses, systems, methods, and processes described herein can be embodied in the form of computer-executable instructions (e.g., program code) stored on a computer-readable storage medium, which, when executed by a processor (such as processor 118 or 91), cause the processor to perform and / or implement the systems, methods, and processes described herein. Specifically, any of the steps, operations, or functions described herein can be implemented in the form of such computer-executable instructions that execute on a processor of an apparatus or computing system configured for wireless and / or wired network communication. Computer-readable storage media include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented using any non-transitory (e.g., tangible or physical) method or technology for storing information, but such computer-readable storage media do not include signals. Computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile optical disc (DVD) or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic tape cartridges, magnetic tape, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other tangible or physical medium that can be used to store desired information and is accessible by a computing system.

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Claims

1. A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the WTRU to perform operations comprising: receiving a first message comprising first information indicating one or more sequences of starting frequencies for a plurality of bandwidth parts (BWPs); receiving a second message comprising second information indicating one of the one or more sequences of starting frequencies for a first BWP of the plurality of BWPs; transmitting one or more physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions or receiving one or more physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repetitions at a first frequency within the first BWP based on a first starting frequency of the indicated sequence of starting frequencies; switching the first starting frequency of the first BWP to a second starting frequency of the indicated sequence of starting frequencies, wherein a second BWP is based on the second starting frequency; and transmitting one or more additional PUSCH repetitions or receiving one or more additional PDSCH repetitions at a second frequency within the second BWP.

2. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein switching the first starting frequency of the first BWP to the second starting frequency of the second BWP is performed after a plurality of repetitions have been transmitted or received.

3. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein switching the first starting frequency of the first BWP to the second starting frequency of the second BWP is performed after a plurality of slots.

4. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein an identifier is associated with the first BWP, and wherein the identifier associated with the first BWP does not change when the first starting frequency of the first BWP is switched from the first starting frequency of the indicated sequence of starting frequencies to the second starting frequency of the indicated sequence of starting frequencies.

5. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the one or more sequences of starting frequencies for the plurality of BWPs are received via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

6. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the indication of the one of the one or more sequences of starting frequencies is received via one of: a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), downlink control information (DCI), or a group common physical downlink control channel (GC-PDCCH).

7. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more sequences of starting frequencies for the plurality of BWPs is designated as a sequence of offsets relative to a first resource block allocated for each of the plurality of BWPs.

8. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the one or more sequences of starting frequencies for the plurality of BWPs are indicated via a sequence of location and bandwidth parameters.

9. A method implemented in a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving a first message comprising first information indicating one or more sequences of starting frequencies for a plurality of bandwidth parts (BWPs); receiving a second message comprising second information indicating one of the one or more sequences of starting frequencies for a first BWP of the plurality of BWPs; transmitting one or more physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions or receiving one or more physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repetitions at a first frequency within the first BWP based on a first starting frequency of the indicated sequence of starting frequencies; switching the first starting frequency of the first BWP to a second starting frequency of the indicated sequence of starting frequencies, wherein a second BWP is based on the second starting frequency; and transmitting one or more additional PUSCH repetitions or receiving one or more additional PDSCH repetitions at a second frequency within the second BWP.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein switching the first starting frequency of the first BWP to the second starting frequency of the second BWP is performed after a plurality of repetitions have been transmitted or received.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein switching the first starting frequency of the first BWP to the second starting frequency of the second BWP is performed after a plurality of slots.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein an identifier is associated with the first BWP, and wherein the identifier associated with the first BWP does not change when the first starting frequency of the first BWP is switched from the first starting frequency of the indicated sequence of starting frequencies to the second starting frequency of the indicated sequence of starting frequencies.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more sequences of starting frequencies for the plurality of BWPs are received via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the indication of the one of the one or more sequences of starting frequencies is received via one of: a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), downlink control information (DCI), or a group common physical downlink control channel (GC-PDCCH).

15. The method of claim 9, wherein each of the one or more sequences of starting frequencies for the plurality of BWPs is designated as a sequence of offsets relative to a first resource block allocated for each of the plurality of BWPs.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more sequences of starting frequencies for the plurality of BWPs are indicated via a sequence of location and bandwidth parameters.

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