Extended Channel Quality Report for 16-QAM in Narrowband Internet of Things

Abstract

According to a first embodiment, a method may include sending at least one channel quality indication configuration to at least one user equipment, the at least one channel quality indication configuration including at least one indication of whether downlink transmission associated with 16 - quadrature amplitude modulation is supported. The method may further include receiving, based on at least one condition being satisfied, at least one extended channel quality indication report from at least one user equipment.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Art

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Indian Provisional Application No. 202041012191, filed on Mar. 20, 2020. The entire content of the above-referenced application is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Some example embodiments may generally relate to mobile or wireless telecommunications systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Fifth Generation (5G) radio access technology, New Radio (NR) access technology, or other communication systems. For example, certain embodiments may relate to systems and / or methods for multiplexing sidelink logical channels having various maximum communication range values. Background Art

[0004] Examples of mobile or wireless telecommunications systems may include Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), MulteFire, LTE-A Pro, and / or 5G radio access technology or NR access technology. 5G wireless systems refer to Next Generation (NG) radio systems and network architectures. 5G systems are mainly built on 5G NR, but 5G (or NG) networks can also be built on E-UTRA radio. It is estimated that NR provides bitrates of 10 - 20 Gbit / s or higher order, and can support at least service categories such as Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), and Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC). NR is expected to provide ultra-wideband and ultra-robust, low-latency connectivity and large-scale networking to support the Internet of Things (IoT). As the Internet of Things and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications become more prevalent, the demand for networks that meet the requirements of low power consumption, low data rate, and long battery life will continue to grow. Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) represents the RAN for 5G, which can provide NR and LTE (and Advanced LTE) radio access. It is noteworthy that in 5G, a node that can provide radio access functionality to a user equipment (i.e., similar to Node B (NB) in UTRAN or evolved NB (eNB) in LTE) can be referred to as Next Generation NB (gNB) when built on NR radio, and can be referred to as Next Generation eNB (NG-eNB) when built on E-UTRA radio. Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to a first embodiment, a method may include sending at least one channel quality indication (CQI) configuration to at least one user equipment (UE), the at least one CQI configuration including at least one indication regarding whether downlink transmissions associated with 16 - quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) are supported. The method may further include receiving at least one extended CQI report from the at least one UE based on at least one condition being met.

[0006] In one variant, the method may further include sending at least one 16 - QAM measurement configuration to the at least one UE.

[0007] In one variant, the at least one 16 - QAM measurement configuration includes one or more of the following: at least one reference signal, at least one measurement time, and at least one periodic reporting interval.

[0008] According to a second embodiment, a method may include receiving at least one channel quality indication (CQI) configuration from at least one network entity (NE), the at least one CQI configuration including at least one indication regarding whether downlink transmissions associated with 16 - quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) are supported. The method may further include sending at least one extended CQI report to the at least one NE based on at least one condition being met.

[0009] In one variant, the method may further include receiving at least one 16 - QAM measurement configuration from the at least one NE.

[0010] In one variant, the at least one 16 - QAM measurement configuration includes one or more of the following: at least one reference signal, at least one measurement time, and at least one periodic reporting interval.

[0011] According to a third embodiment and a fourth embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory and computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform the methods according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and any variants thereof.

[0012] According to a fifth embodiment and a sixth embodiment, an apparatus may include modules for performing the methods according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and any variants thereof.

[0013] According to a seventh embodiment and an eighth embodiment, a computer program product may encode instructions for performing a process including the methods according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and any variants thereof.

[0014] According to the ninth and tenth embodiments, a non - transitory computer - readable medium may encode instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform a process including the method according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and any variations thereof.

[0015] According to the eleventh and twelfth embodiments, a computer program code may include instructions for performing the method according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and any variations thereof.

[0016] According to the thirteenth and fourteenth embodiments, an apparatus may include circuitry configured to perform a process including the method according to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and any variations thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] To correctly understand the exemplary embodiments, reference should be made to the drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1 An example of a signaling diagram according to certain embodiments is shown;

[0019] Figure 2 Another example of a signaling diagram according to certain embodiments is shown;

[0020] Figure 3 An example of a flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment according to certain embodiments is shown;

[0021] Figure 4 An example of a flowchart of a method performed by a network entity according to certain embodiments is shown;

[0022] Figure 5 Examples of various network devices according to certain embodiments are shown; and

[0023] Figure 6 An example of a 5G network and system architecture according to certain embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release (Rel)-17 Work Item (WI) for Internet of Things (IoT) enhancements, one objective includes specifying 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) support for NarrowBand (NB)-IoT. For example, 16-QAM can be specified for unicast in the Uplink (UL) and Downlink (DL), including the changes required for DL power allocation for the NarrowBand Physical Downlink Shared Channel (NPDSCH) and DL Transport Block Size (TBS). This can be specified via new NB-IoT UE capabilities or categories. For the DL, the maximum TBS can be increased, e.g., doubled from the maximum value in Rel-16, while the soft buffer size can be specified by at least modifying the existing NB2 UE category. For the UL, the maximum TBS may not increase. Instead, the NB-IoT channel quality reporting can be enhanced based on the framework from Rel-14 to Rel-16 to support 16-QAM in the DL.

[0025] In NB-IoT, short data transmissions in the UL and DL are important use cases. Currently, UL data can be sent in Msg3 via Early Data Transmission (EDT) during the random access procedure, or in Msg5. Similarly, DL data can be sent in Msg4. Thus, radio quality information can be reported early during initial access. Rel-14 added the ability to send DL channel quality reports in Msg3. The report would be based on the number of repetitions required to achieve a 1% Block Error Rate (BLER) for the NPDCCH. However, for 16-QAM, the number of repetitions required to achieve 1% BLER is not a suitable metric as any UE compatible with 16-QAM does not require NPDCCH repetitions. Therefore, it would be beneficial to develop the type of channel quality information suitable for UE use with 16-QAM modulation and how the NB-IoT UE reports such channel quality information to network entities, which may be performed early during initial access and random access procedures and / or when the UE is in the CONNECTED mode.

[0026] In LTE, a UE can be configured to report Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) information. For example, periodic and aperiodic reporting types can be supported and triggered by Downlink Control Information (DCI). Similarly, in NB-IoT, a UE can report channel quality in Msg3. The channel quality can be indicated as the number of repetitions required to achieve a 1% BLER for the NPDCCH.

[0027] 3GPP RAN2 #107 established quality reporting on demand in the connected mode. Specifically, the trigger command is defined as a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) with an empty payload using a reserved Logical Channel Identifier (LCID). Then the code point / index of "10001" is used for the MAC CE DL channel quality report. In addition, RAN2 introduced a single-byte MAC CE DL channel quality report to support reporting up to 8 bits.

[0028] Certain embodiments described herein may have various benefits and / or advantages to overcome the above disadvantages. For example, some embodiments may improve the spectrum efficiency range. Accordingly, certain embodiments relate to improvements in computer-related technologies.

[0029] Figure 1 An example of a signaling diagram showing communication between UE 130 and NE 140 is shown. UE 130 and NE 140 may be similar to UE 510 and NE 510 as shown in Figure 5 At 101, NE 140 may send at least one NB-MasterInformationBlock to UE 130. At 103, NE 140 may send at least one NB-SystemInformationBlockType1 to UE 130.

[0030] At 105, NE 140 may send at least one NB-SystemInformationBlockType2 (SIB2) to UE 130. For example, at least one SIB2 may include radio resource configuration information and / or may be associated with RACH configuration, common channel configuration, and / or cell barring configuration. At least one SIB2 may include one or more fields, such as at least one CQI-Reporting-16QAM field. For example, the CQI-Reporting-16QAM field may be similar to:

[0031]

[0032] The above NPRACH configuration may refer to the first NPRACH configuration defined by the NPRACH-ConfigSIB-NB IE.

[0033] At 107, UE 130 may send at least one Msg1: NPRACH preamble to NE 140, for example, at least one NPRACH configuration 1.

[0034] At 109, NE 140 may send at least one Msg2: Random Access Response to UE 130. Additionally, UE 130 may evaluate at least one criterion. For example, the criterion may include one or more of the following: determining whether UE 130 supports 16-QAM modulation, determining whether NE 140 supports 16-QAM, and determining whether at least one Msg2: Random Access Response received from NE 140 includes at least one request for 16-QAM channel quality information.

[0035] In some embodiments, UE 130 may also determine, based on at least one downlink channel quality measurement of NE 140, that the number of NPDCCH repetitions for 1% BLER does not exceed R corresponding to CE level 0 max . Additionally or alternatively, if the number of NPDCCH repetitions for 1% BLER is less than R max / N, UE 130 may determine that at least one 16-QAM channel quality information will be reported. N may be configured by system information. Additionally, UE 130 may determine, based on at least one downlink channel quality measurement of NE 140, that NRSRP > threshold_16-QAM, where threshold_16-QAM is a parameter indicated in the system information.

[0036] At 111, UE 130 may send at least one Msg3: RRC Connection Request to NE 140. In various embodiments, at least one existing field in Msg3: RRC Connection Request may include at least one CQI field configured to indicate CQI based on a combination of: at least one NPDCCH repetition indication and at least one indication of whether 16-QAM should be used for downlink transmission. The indication may indicate whether 16-QAM can be supported and / or whether 16-QAM may include additional information, such as a coding rate that may be used with 16-QAM. In some embodiments, at least one existing field in Msg3: RRC Connection Request may contain CQI information configured to indicate channel quality in terms of the number of repetitions of the NPDCCH.

[0037] While Msg3:RRCConnectionRequest can be used as an example with at least one existing field, any type of RRC message can be configured to have at least one existing field to indicate the CQI as described above, such as RRCConnectionRequest-NB, RRCConnectionResumeRequest-NB, RRCEarlyDataRequest-NB, and RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest-NB. For example, the interpretation of the value of CQI-NPDCCH without 16-QAM may be as follows:

[0038]

[0039]

[0040] Similarly, where UE 130 selects CE-level-0 for RACH access, where the NPDCCH repetition is R max and if R max is less than 16, the above values can be interpreted as:

[0041] Reported value NPDCCH repetition level noMeasurement No measurement report candidateRep-A 1 + QPSK candidateRep-B 2 + QPSK candidateRep-C 4 + QPSK candidateRep-D 8 + QPSK candidateRep-E 16 + QPSK candidateRep-F 32 + QPSK candidateRep-G 1 + 16QAM candidateRep-H 2 + 16QAM candidateRep-I 4 + 16QAM candidateRep-J 8 + 16QAM candidateRep-K 16 + 16QAM candidateRep-L 32 + 16QAM

[0042] Assuming that the maximum NPDCCH for CE level 0 is 32, a legacy UE within normal coverage can report only up to the value of Candidate-Rep-E. Any report above this value can indicate that UE 130 supports the new MCS and / or indicate that the channel quality may be good enough to use 16QAM. In various embodiments, a single-bit field can be included with CQI-NPDCCH to indicate, by using one of the spare bits, that the channel quality report must be interpreted according to the second table above. This indication can also be implicit or included as part of another field. In various embodiments, when UE 130 supports another modulation scheme, the interpretation can be modified with a different combination. Additionally, depending on the CQI field required for 16-QAM, different interpretations are possible, for example if UE 130 intends to indicate the TBS size.

[0043] In some embodiments, if the criteria at 109 are met, at least one Msg3:RRCConnectionRequest may include at least one legacy CQI-NPDCCH field and / or at least one new CQI-NPDCCH-16QAM field, which is configured to report 16-QAM information. In some embodiments, in addition to the legacy CQI-NPDCCH, at least one Msg3:RRCConnectionRequest may include at least one field associated with CQI-16QAM-r17. The at least one field may include at least one indication, which is configured to report at least one extended channel quality report for 16-QAM. The extended channel quality report may refer to an extended channel quality report to support 16-QAM modulation or a new channel quality report that supports 16-QAM modulation in addition to the existing channel quality report. As an example, the at least one field may be configured as an IE as follows:

[0044]

[0045]

[0046] In some embodiments, the at least one IE may include 17 spare bits: 4 bits may include the CQI-16QAM-r17 field, and the remaining 13 spare bits.

[0047] In various embodiments, the UE 130 may select a first NPRACH configuration (CE level 0) for the random access procedure. For example, up to 3 NPRACH configurations may be defined in NB-IoT, as shown by the following NPRACH-ConfigSIB-NB IE:

[0048]

[0049] As an example, the above first NPRACH configuration may be used when the UE 130 is in good radio conditions.

[0050] At 113, NE 140 may send at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup to UE 130. In some embodiments, the at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup may include at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration. In various embodiments, NE 140 may determine whether to configure the 16-QAM mode for UE 130 based on the extended channel quality report in Msg3. In some embodiments, the at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup may send at least one 16-QAM configuration without the at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration. For example, the 16-QAM configuration may include at least one indication of 16-QAM support for UE 130. The indication may be configured to enable UE 130 to determine how to decode or interpret the DCI received from NE 140.

[0051] In some embodiments, if NE 140 configures 16-QAM support for UE 130, NE 140 may optionally configure UE 130 for periodic and / or on-demand channel quality reporting in the connected mode. For example, NE 140 may configure UE 130 with at least one measurement configuration, such as a reference signal, measurement time, measurement trigger or criteria, report trigger or criteria, and / or periodic reporting interval. Where UE 130 has at least one data transmission with a data size below at least one threshold, the at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration may not be required. Therefore, NE 140 may use at least one buffer status report to determine whether this is needed.

[0052] At 115, UE 130 may send at least one RRCConnectionSetupComplete to NE 140. At 117, UE 130 may perform at least one channel quality measurement. At 119, NE 140 may send at least one scheduling grant for UL data transmission to UE 130. At 121, UE 130 may periodically send at least one channel measurement report to NE 140.

[0053] Figure 2 An example of a signaling diagram showing the communication between UE 230 and NE 240 is shown. According to some embodiments, UE230 and NE 240 may be similar to UE 510 and NE 510 as Figure 5 shown. Figure 1 The signaling diagram, particularly 101-115, may be similar to 201-215.

[0054] At 217, the NE 240 may send at least one channel measurement report request to the UE 230, e.g., at least one MAC. For on-demand reporting, the NE 240 may send at least one MAC message and / or at least one RRC message configured to request at least one channel quality report from the UE 230.

[0055] At 219, the UE 230 may perform at least one channel quality measurement after receiving the at least one MAC message and / or the at least one RRC message. After at least one measurement period, the NE 240 may schedule the UE 230 to send at least one channel quality measurement report.

[0056] At 221, the NE 240 may send at least one scheduling grant for UL data transmission to the UE 230. At 223, the UE 230 may send at least one channel measurement report (on demand) to the NE 240.

[0057] Figure 3 Illustrated is an example of a flowchart of a method that may be performed by a UE such as the UE 510 illustrated in Figure 5 At 301, at least one NB-MasterInformationBlock may be received from an NE such as the NE 520 illustrated in Figure 5 At 303, at least one NB-SystemInformationBlockType1 may be received from the NE.

[0058] At 305, at least one NB-SystemInformationBlockType2 (SIB2) may be received from the NE. For example, the at least one SIB2 may include radio resource configuration information and / or may be associated with RACH configuration, common channel configuration, and / or cell barring configuration. The at least one SIB2 may include one or more fields, e.g., at least one CQI-Reporting-16QAM field. For example, the CQI-Reporting-16QAM field may be similar to:

[0059]

[0060] The above NPRACH configuration refers to the first NPRACH configuration defined by the NPRACH-ConfigSIB-NB IE.

[0061] At 307, at least one Msg1: NPRACH preamble, e.g., at least one NPRACH configuration 1, can be sent to the NE. At 309, at least one Msg2: Random access response can be received from the NE. Additionally, the UE can evaluate at least one criterion. For example, the criterion can include one or more of the following: determining whether the UE supports 16-QAM modulation, determining whether the NE supports 16-QAM, and determining whether at least one Msg2: Random access response received from the NE includes at least one request for 16-QAM channel quality information.

[0062] In some embodiments, the UE can determine that the number of NPDCCH repetitions for 1% BLER does not exceed R corresponding to CE level 0 based on at least one downlink channel quality measurement of the NE max . Additionally or alternatively, if the number of NPDCCH repetitions for 1% BLER is less than R max / N, the UE can determine to report at least one 16-QAM channel quality information. N can be configured via system information. Additionally, the UE can determine that NRSRP > threshold_16-QAM based on at least one downlink channel quality measurement of the NE, where threshold_16-QAM is a parameter indicated in the system information.

[0063] At 311, at least one Msg3: RRCConnectionRequest can be sent to the NE. In various embodiments, at least one existing field in Msg3: RRCConnectionRequest can include at least one CQI field configured to indicate CQI based on a combination of: at least one NPDCCH repetition indication and at least one indication of whether 16-QAM should be used for downlink transmission. In some embodiments, at least one existing field in Msg3: RRCConnectionRequest can contain CQI information configured to indicate channel quality in terms of the number of repetitions of the NPDCCH.

[0064] Although Msg3:RRCConnectionRequest is used as an example with at least one existing field, any type of RRC message can be configured to have at least one existing field to indicate the CQI as described above, such as RRCConnectionRequest-NB, RRCConnectionResumeRequest-NB, RRCEarlyDataRequest-NB, and RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest-NB. For example, the interpretation of the value of CQI-NPDCCH without 16-QAM can be as follows:

[0065]

[0066]

[0067] Similarly, where the UE selects CE-level-0 for RACH access, where the NPDCCH is repeated as R max , and if R max is less than 16, the above value can be interpreted as:

[0068]

[0069]

[0070] Assume that the maximum NPDCCH for CE level 0 is 32. A legacy UE within normal coverage can report only up to the value of Candidate-Rep-E. Any report above that value can indicate that the UE supports the new MCS and / or indicate that the channel quality may be good enough to use 16QAM. In various embodiments, a single-bit field can be included together with CQI-NPDCCH to indicate that the channel quality report must be interpreted according to the second table above by using one of the spare bits. This indication can also be implicit or included as part of another field. In various embodiments, when the UE supports another modulation scheme, the interpretation can be modified with a different combination. Additionally, depending on the CQI field required for 16-QAM, for example if the UE intends to indicate the TBS size, different interpretations are also possible.

[0071] In some embodiments, if the criteria at 309 are met, at least one Msg3:RRCConnectionRequest may be similar to CQI-NPDCCH, which may include 16-QAM information. In some embodiments, in addition to the traditional CQI-NPDCCH, at least one Msg3:RRCConnectionRequest may include at least one field associated with CQI-16QAM-r17. The at least one field may include at least one indication configured to report at least one extended channel quality report for 16-QAM. The extended channel quality report may refer to an extended channel quality report for supporting 16-QAM modulation or a new channel quality report for supporting 16-QAM modulation in addition to the existing channel quality report. As an example, the at least one field may be configured as an IE as follows:

[0072]

[0073]

[0074] In some embodiments, at least one IE may include 17 spare bits: 4 bits may include the CQI-16QAM-r17 field, and the remaining 13 spare bits.

[0075] In various embodiments, the UE may select a first NPRACH configuration (CE level 0) for the random access procedure. For example, up to 3 NPRACH configurations may be defined in NB-IoT, as shown by the following NPRACH-ConfigSIB-NB IE:

[0076]

[0077]

[0078] For example, when the UE is in good radio conditions, the above NPRACH configuration may be used.

[0079] At 313, at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup can be received from the NE. In some embodiments, at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup can include at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration. In various embodiments, the NE can determine whether to configure the 16-QAM mode for the UE based on the extended channel quality report in Msg3. In some embodiments, at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup can send at least one 16-QAM configuration without at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration. For example, the 16-QAM configuration can include at least one indication of 16-QAM support for the UE. This indication can be configured to enable the UE to determine how to decode or interpret the DCI received from the NE.

[0080] At 315, at least one RRCConnectionSetupComplete can be sent to the NE. At 317, the UE can perform at least one channel quality measurement. At 319, at least one scheduling grant for UL data transmission can be received from the NE. At 321, the UE can periodically send at least one channel measurement report to the NE.

[0081] Figure 4 An example of a flowchart of a method that can be performed by an NE such as Figure 5 the NE 520 illustrated in is shown. At 401, according to some embodiments, at least one NB-MasterInformationBlock can be sent to the UE, such as Figure 5 the UE 510 shown in. At 403, at least one NB-SystemInformationBlockType1 can be sent to the UE.

[0082] At 405, at least one NB-SystemInformationBlockType2 (SIB2) can be sent to the UE. For example, at least one SIB2 can include radio resource configuration information, and / or can be associated with RACH configuration, common channel configuration, and / or cell barring configuration. At least one SIB2 can include one or more fields, such as at least one CQI-Reporting-16QAM field. For example, the CQI-Reporting-16QAM field can be similar to:

[0083]

[0084]

[0085] The above NPRACH configuration refers to the first NPRACH configuration defined by the NPRACH-ConfigSIB-NB IE. At 407, at least one Msg1: NPRACH preamble can be received from the UE, for example, at least one NPRACH configuration 1. At 409, at least one Msg2: random access response can be sent to the UE.

[0086] At 411, at least one Msg3: RRCConnectionRequest can be received from the UE. In various embodiments, at least one existing field in the Msg3: RRCConnectionRequest can include at least one CQI field that is configured to indicate the CQI based on a combination of: at least one NPDCCH repetition indication and at least one indication of whether 16-QAM should be used for downlink transmission. In certain embodiments, at least one existing field in the Msg3: RRCConnectionRequest can contain CQI information that is configured to indicate the channel quality in terms of the number of repetitions of the NPDCCH.

[0087] While Msg3: RRCConnectionRequest can be used as an example of having at least one existing field, any type of RRC message can be configured to have at least one existing field for indicating the CQI as described above, such as RRCConnectionRequest-NB, RRCConnectionResumeRequest-NB, RRCEarlyDataRequest-NB, and RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest-NB. For example, the interpretation of the CQI-NPDCCH value without 16-QAM may be as follows:

[0088]

[0089]

[0090] Similarly, where the UE selects CE-level-0 for RACH access, where the NPDCCH repetition is R max , and if R max is less than 16, the above value can be interpreted as:

[0091] Reported value NPDCCH repetition level noMeasurement No measurement report candidateRep-A 1 + QPSK candidateRep-B 2 + QPSK candidateRep-C 4 + QPSK candidateRep-D 8 + QPSK candidateRep-E 16 + QPSK candidateRep-F 32 + QPSK candidateRep-G 1 + 16QAM candidateRep-H 2 + 16QAM candidateRep-I 4 + 16QAM candidateRep-J 8 + 16QAM candidateRep-K 16 + 16QAM candidateRep-L 32 + 16QAM

[0092] Assume that the maximum NPDCCH for CE level 0 is 32, and a legacy UE within normal coverage can report only up to the value of Candidate-Rep-E. Any report above this value can indicate that the UE supports new MCS and / or indicate that the channel quality may be good enough to use 16QAM. In various embodiments, a single-bit field can be included together with CQI-NPDCCH to indicate, by using one of the spare bits, that the channel quality report must be interpreted according to the second table above. This indication can also be implicit or included as part of another field. In various embodiments, when the UE supports another modulation scheme, the interpretation can be modified with different combinations. Additionally, depending on the CQI field required for 16-QAM, different interpretations are possible, for example if the UE intends to indicate the TBS size.

[0093] In some embodiments, if the criteria at 411 are met, at least one Msg3:RRCConnectionRequest can be similar to CQI-NPDCCH, which can include 16-QAM information. In some embodiments, in addition to the legacy CQI-NPDCCH, at least one Msg3:RRCConnectionRequest can include at least one field associated with CQI-16QAM-r17. The at least one field can include at least one indication configured to report at least one extended channel quality report for 16-QAM. The extended channel quality report can refer to an extended channel quality report used to support 16-QAM modulation or a new channel quality report that supports 16-QAM modulation in addition to the existing channel quality report. As an example, the at least one field can be configured as an IE as follows:

[0094]

[0095]

[0096] In some embodiments, at least one IE can include 17 spare bits: 4 bits can include the CQI-16QAM-r17 field, and the remaining 13 spare bits.

[0097] In various embodiments, the UE can select a first NPRACH configuration (CE level 0) for the random access procedure. For example, up to 3 NPRACH configurations can be defined in NB-IoT, as shown in the following NPRACH-ConfigSIB-NB IE:

[0098]

[0099] For example, when the UE is in good radio conditions, the above NPRACH configuration can be used.

[0100] At 413, at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup may be sent to the UE. In some embodiments, the at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup may include at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration. In various embodiments, the NE may determine whether to configure the 16-QAM mode for the UE based on the extended channel quality report in Msg3. In some embodiments, the at least one Msg4:RRCConnectionSetup may send at least one 16-QAM configuration without the at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration. For example, the 16-QAM configuration may include at least one indication of 16-QAM support for the UE. This indication may be configured to enable the UE to determine how to decode or interpret the DCI received from the NE.

[0101] In some embodiments, if the NE configures 16-QAM support for the UE, the NE may optionally configure the UE to perform periodic and / or on-demand channel quality reporting in the CONNECTED mode. For example, the NE may configure at least one measurement configuration for the UE, such as a reference signal, measurement time, and / or periodic reporting interval. Wherein, if the UE has at least one data transmission with a data size lower than at least one threshold, the at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration may not be required. Therefore, the NE may use at least one buffer status report to determine whether this is required.

[0102] At 415, at least one RRCConnectionSetupComplete may be received from the UE. At 417, at least one channel measurement report request may be sent to the UE, for example, at least one MAC. For on-demand reporting, the NE may send at least one MAC and / or at least one RRC message configured to request at least one channel quality report to the UE.

[0103] At 419, the NE 240 may send at least one scheduling grant for UL data transmission to the UE 230. At 421, at least one channel measurement report may be received from the UE.

[0104] Figure 5 An example of a system according to some embodiments is shown. In one embodiment, the system may include multiple devices, such as user equipment 510 and / or network entity 520.

[0105] User equipment 510 may include one or more of the following: a mobile device such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer or a portable media player, a digital camera, a pocket video camera, a video game console, a navigation unit (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) device), a desktop or laptop computer, a single positioning device (e.g., a sensor or a smart meter), or any combination thereof.

[0106] The network entity 520 may be one or more of a base station (e.g., an evolved Node B (eNB) or a 5G or New Radio Node B (gNB)), a serving gateway, a server, and / or any other access node or a combination thereof. The network entity 520 may also be similar to the user equipment 510. Additionally, the user equipment 510 and / or the network entity 520 may be one or more of a Citizen Broadband Radio Service Device (CBSD).

[0107] One or more of these devices may include at least one processor, indicated as 511 and 521 respectively. The processors 511 and 521 may be embodied by any computing or data processing device, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a similar device. The processor may be implemented as a single controller or multiple controllers or processors.

[0108] At least one memory may be provided in one or more devices indicated as 512 and 522. The memory may be fixed or removable. The memory may include computer program instructions or computer code contained therein. The memories 512 and 522 may independently be any suitable storage device, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. A hard disk drive (HDD), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, or other suitable memory may be used. The memory may be combined with the processor on a single integrated circuit or may be separate from one or more processors. Additionally, the computer program instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor may be computer program code in any suitable form, e.g., compiled or interpreted computer programs written in any suitable programming language. The memory may be removable or non-removable.

[0109] The processors 511 and 521 and the memories 512 and 522 or subsets thereof may be configured to provide modules corresponding to the Figures 1 - 4 various blocks. Although not shown, the device may also include positioning hardware, such as GPS or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) hardware, which may be used to determine the location of the device. Other sensors are also permitted and may be included to determine location, altitude, orientation, etc., such as a barometer, a compass, etc.

[0110] As Figure 5As shown, transceivers 513 and 523 can be provided, and one or more devices may also include at least one antenna, illustrated as 514 and 524 respectively. A device can have a number of antennas, such as an antenna array configured for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or multiple antennas for multiple radio access technologies. For example, other configurations of these devices can be provided. Transceivers 513 and 523 can be transmitters, receivers, or both transmitters and receivers, or can be units or devices configured for transmitting and receiving.

[0111] The memory and computer program instructions can be configured to, together with a processor for a particular device, cause a hardware apparatus such as a user equipment to perform any of the processes described below (see, for example Figures 1 - 4 ). Thus, in certain embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium can be encoded with computer instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform a process such as one of the processes described herein. Alternatively, certain embodiments can be executed entirely in hardware.

[0112] In certain embodiments, the apparatus can include circuitry configured to perform Figures 1 - 4 any of the processes or functions shown therein. For example, the circuitry can be a pure hardware circuit implementation, such as an analog and / or digital circuit. In another example, the circuitry can be a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software or firmware, and / or any part of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, software, and at least one memory, which work together to cause the apparatus to perform various processes or functions. In yet another example, the circuitry can be a hardware circuit and / or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a part of a microprocessor, which includes software for operation, such as firmware. The software in the circuitry may not be present when the hardware operation is not required.

[0113] Figure 6 An example of a 5G network and system architecture according to certain embodiments is shown. Shown are a number of network functions, which can be implemented as software running as part of a network device or dedicated hardware, as the network device itself or dedicated hardware, or as a virtual function running on a network device or dedicated hardware. Figure 6 The NE and UE shown can be similar to UE510 and NE 520 respectively. The UPF can provide services such as mobility within and between RATs, routing and forwarding of data packets, inspection of packets, user plane QoS handling, buffering of downlink packets, and / or triggering of downlink data notifications. The AF can interface primarily with the core network to facilitate the use of application programs for service routing and interact with the policy framework.

[0114] The features, structures, or characteristics described throughout the exemplary embodiments of this specification may be combined in one or more exemplary embodiments in any suitable manner. For example, the use of phrases such as "certain embodiments", "some embodiments", or other similar language throughout this specification refers to the fact that the specific features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in certain embodiments", "in some embodiments", "in other embodiments", or other similar language throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same set of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more exemplary embodiments.

[0115] In addition, if desired, the different functions or processes discussed below may be performed in a different order and / or simultaneously with each other. Further, if desired, one or more of the described functions or processes may be optional or may be combined. Accordingly, the following description should be regarded as illustrative of the principles and teachings of certain exemplary embodiments and not as a limitation thereof.

[0116] It will be readily understood that the components of certain exemplary embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings herein, may be arranged and designed in a variety of different configurations. Accordingly, the following detailed description of some exemplary embodiments of a system, method, apparatus, and computer program product for extended channel quality reporting is not intended to limit the scope of certain embodiments, but rather represents selected exemplary embodiments.

[0117] Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments discussed above may be practiced with processes in a different order and / or with hardware elements in configurations different from those disclosed. Accordingly, although some embodiments have been described based on these exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions will be apparent while remaining within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments.

[0118] Partial Glossary

[0119] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0120] 5G Fifth Generation

[0121] ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit

[0122] BLER Block Error Rate

[0123] BS Base Station

[0124] CE Coverage Enhancement

[0125] CE Control Element

[0126] CPU Central Processing Unit

[0127] CQI Channel Quality Indicator

[0128] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0129] DL Downlink

[0130] EDT Early Data Transmission

[0131] eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband

[0132] eNB Evolved Node B

[0133] EPS Evolved Packet System

[0134] E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0135] gNB Next Generation Node B

[0136] GPS Global Positioning System

[0137] HDD Hard Disk Drive

[0138] IE Information Element

[0139] IoT Internet of Things

[0140] LCID Logical Control Identifier

[0141] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0142] MAC Media Access Control

[0143] MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0144] M2M Machine-to-Machine

[0145] MEMS Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems

[0146] MIMO Multiple-Input Multiple-Output

[0147] MME Mobility Management Entity

[0148] mMTC Massive Machine-Type Communication

[0149] MTC Machine-Type Communication

[0150] NAS Non-Access Stratum

[0151] NB-IoT NarrowBand Internet of Things

[0152] NRSRP NarrowBand Reference Signal Receiving Power

[0153] NE Network Entity

[0154] NG Next Generation

[0155] NG-RAN Next Generation Radio Access Network

[0156] NPDCCH Narrowband PDCCH

[0157] NPDSCH Narrowband PDSCH

[0158] NPRACH Narrowband PRACH

[0159] NR New Radio

[0160] PDA Personal Digital Assistant

[0161] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0162] PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0163] QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

[0164] QoS Quality of Service

[0165] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0166] PRB Physical Resource Block

[0167] RAM Random Access Memory

[0168] RAN Radio Access Network

[0169] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0170] RX Receiver

[0171] TB Transport Block

[0172] TBS Transport Block Size

[0173] TS Technical Specification

[0174] TX Transmission

[0175] UE User Equipment

[0176] UL Uplink

[0177] UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service

[0178] URLLC Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication

[0179] UTRAN Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0180] WI Work Item

[0181] WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)

Claims

1. A method for communication in a narrowband Internet of Things, comprising: sending at least one channel quality indication (CQI) configuration to at least one user equipment (UE), the at least one CQI configuration including at least one indication regarding whether downlink transmission associated with 16 - quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is supported; and receiving at least one extended CQI report from the at least one UE based on at least one condition being met, wherein the at least one extended CQI report includes one or more of the following: at least one indicator configured to cause a network entity to reinterpret at least one traditional field; at least one field configured to indicate a 16 - QAM support and at least one modulation and coding scheme (MCS) combination; and at least one CQI report configured for 16 - QAM, wherein the at least one condition includes one or more of the following: the UE supports 16 - QAM; the network entity supports 16 - QAM; and at least one message sent to the at least one UE includes at least one request for a 16 - QAM channel quality indication.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the at least one indicator is a 1 - bit field.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending information regarding the at least one condition associated with the at least one UE reporting the at least one extended CQI report.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the at least one condition further includes at least one of the following: at least one field of a CQI report for 16 - QAM associated with system information block type 2 for narrowband; and at least one parameter configured to indicate at least one threshold for the CQI report for 16 - QAM.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: determining to perform downlink transmission according to the CQI for 16 - QAM, wherein the number of repetitions of a narrowband physical random access channel for a specific block error rate is smaller than at least one threshold associated with coverage enhancement level 0 divided by a parameter configured through system information.

6. A device for communication in a narrowband Internet of Things, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: send at least one channel quality indication (CQI) configuration to at least one user equipment (UE), the at least one CQI configuration including at least one indication regarding whether downlink transmission associated with 16 - quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is supported; and receive at least one extended CQI report from the at least one UE based on at least one condition being met, wherein the at least one extended CQI report includes one or more of the following: at least one indicator configured to cause a network entity to reinterpret at least one traditional field; At least one field configured to indicate a combination of 16-QAM support and at least one modulation and coding scheme (MCS); and At least one CQI report configured for 16-QAM, wherein the at least one condition includes one or more of the following: The at least one UE supports 16-QAM; The device supports 16-QAM; and At least one message sent to the at least one UE includes at least one request for a 16-QAM channel quality indication.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein, The at least one indicator is a 1-bit field.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein, The at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the device to at least: Send information about the at least one condition associated with reporting the at least one extended CQI report by the at least one UE.

9. The device according to claim 6, wherein, The at least one condition further includes at least one of the following: At least one field of a CQI report for 16-QAM associated with system information block type 2 for narrowband; and At least one parameter configured to indicate at least one threshold for the CQI report for 16-QAM.

10. The device according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein, The at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the device to at least: Determine to perform downlink transmission according to the CQI for 16-QAM, wherein the number of repetitions of the narrowband physical random access channel for a specific block error rate is smaller than at least one threshold associated with coverage enhancement level 0 divided by a parameter configured by system information.

11. A device for communication in narrowband Internet of Things, comprising: A module for sending at least one channel quality indication (CQI) configuration to at least one user equipment (UE), the at least one CQI configuration including at least one indication of whether downlink transmission associated with 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is supported; and A module for receiving at least one extended CQI report from the at least one UE based on at least one condition being met, wherein the at least one extended CQI report includes one or more of the following: At least one indicator configured to cause a network entity to reinterpret at least one legacy field; At least one field configured to indicate a combination of 16-QAM support and at least one modulation and coding scheme (MCS); and At least one CQI report configured for 16-QAM, wherein the at least one condition includes one or more of the following: The UE supports 16-QAM; The network entity supports 16-QAM; and At least one message sent to the at least one UE includes at least one request for a 16-QAM channel quality indication.

12. A method for communication in narrowband Internet of Things, comprising: Receive at least one channel quality indication (CQI) configuration from at least one network entity, the at least one CQI configuration including at least one indication regarding whether downlink transmission associated with 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is supported; and Based on at least one condition being satisfied, send at least one extended CQI report to the at least one network entity, wherein the at least one extended CQI report includes one or more of the following: At least one indicator configured to cause the at least one network entity to reinterpret at least one legacy field; At least one field configured to indicate a 16-QAM support and at least one modulation and coding scheme (MCS) combination; and At least one CQI report configured for 16-QAM, wherein the at least one condition includes one or more of the following: The at least one UE supports 16-QAM; The at least one network entity supports 16-QAM; and At least one message received by the at least one UE includes at least one request for a 16-QAM channel quality indication.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: Receive information regarding the at least one condition associated with reporting the at least one extended CQI report.

14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: Receive at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration from the at least one network entity, the at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration at least including an indication that the at least one UE can transmit and receive using 16-QAM.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration further includes one or more of the following: at least one reference signal, at least one measurement time, and at least one periodic reporting interval.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The at least one condition further includes at least one of the following: At least one field of a CQI report for 16-QAM associated with system information block type 2 for narrowband; and At least one parameter configured to indicate at least one threshold for the CQI report for 16-QAM.

17. An apparatus for communication in narrowband Internet of Things, comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: Receive at least one channel quality indication (CQI) configuration from at least one network entity by the apparatus, the at least one CQI configuration including at least one indication regarding whether downlink transmission associated with 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is supported; and Based on at least one condition being satisfied, send at least one extended CQI report to the at least one network entity wherein the at least one extended CQI report includes one or more of the following: At least one indicator configured to cause the at least one network entity to reinterpret at least one legacy field; At least one field configured to indicate a combination of 16-QAM support and at least one modulation and coding scheme (MCS); and At least one CQI report configured for 16-QAM, wherein the at least one condition includes one or more of the following: The at least one device supports 16-QAM; The at least one network entity supports 16-QAM; and At least one message received by the device includes at least one request for a 16-QAM channel quality indication.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein, The at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: Receive information regarding the at least one condition associated with reporting the at least one extended CQI report.

19. The device according to claim 17, wherein, The at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: Receive at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration from the at least one network entity, the at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration including at least an indication that the at least one UE can transmit and receive using 16-QAM.

20. The device according to claim 19, wherein, The at least one 16-QAM measurement configuration further includes one or more of the following: at least one reference signal, at least one measurement time, and at least one periodic reporting interval.

21. The device according to claim 17, wherein, The at least one condition further includes at least one of the following: At least one field of a CQI report for 16-QAM associated with system information block type 2 for narrowband; and At least one parameter configured to indicate at least one threshold for the CQI report for 16-QAM.

22. A device for communication in narrowband Internet of Things, comprising: A module for receiving at least one channel quality indication (CQI) configuration from at least one network entity, the channel quality indication (CQI) including at least one indication regarding whether downlink transmission associated with 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is supported; and A module for sending at least one extended CQI report to the at least one network entity based on at least one condition being met, wherein the at least one extended CQI report includes one or more of the following: At least one indicator configured to cause the at least one network entity to reinterpret at least one legacy field; At least one field configured to indicate a combination of 16-QAM support and at least one modulation and coding scheme (MCS); and At least one CQI report configured for 16-QAM, wherein the at least one condition includes one or more of the following: The at least one device supports 16-QAM; The at least one network entity supports 16-QAM; and At least one message received by the device includes at least one request for a 16-QAM channel quality indication.

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