Synchronization Signal Block Transmission in Non-Terrestrial Networks

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) transmissions in different frequency ranges. A method executable by a User Equipment (UE) includes receiving a first SSB from an entity in a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) at a first time and frequency location. The method generally includes determining, based on the first time and frequency location, one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN. The method generally includes monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 17 / 320,897, filed May 14, 2021, which claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 035,580, filed Jun. 5, 2020. Both of these applications are assigned to the assignee of this application and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth herein for all applicable purposes.

[0003] Background

[0004] Public domain

[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communication, and more particularly to techniques for Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) transmission. Aspects relate to SSB transmission in different frequency ranges in a Non - Terrestrial Network (NTN).

[0006] Description of related technologies

[0007] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple access techniques that are capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access systems include Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE - Advanced (LTE - A) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single - Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC - FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD - SCDMA) systems, to name just a few.

[0008] These multiple access techniques have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and even global levels. New Radio (e.g., 5G NR) is an example of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is an enhanced set of the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by using OFDMA with cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) to improve spectral efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards. To this end, NR supports beamforming, multiple - input multiple - output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

[0009] However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, there is a need for further improvements to NR and LTE technologies. These improvements should be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunications standards that employ these technologies.

[0010] Overview

[0011] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several aspects, and no single aspect alone is responsible for their desirable attributes. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description," it will be understood how the features of the present disclosure provide advantages including improved synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission in a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

[0012] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes: receiving a first SSB from an entity in the NTN at a first time and frequency location. The method generally includes: determining, based on the first time and frequency location, one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN. The method generally includes: monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations.

[0013] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented in a method for wireless communication by an entity in the NTN. The method generally includes: transmitting a first SSB at a first time and frequency location. The method generally includes: determining, based on the first time and frequency location, one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs. The method generally includes: transmitting the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations.

[0014] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented in a device for wireless communication. The device generally includes at least one processor and a memory coupled to the at least one processor. The memory generally includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the device to perform the following operations: receive a first SSB from an entity in the NTN at a first time and frequency location. The memory generally includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the device to perform the following operations: determine, based on the first time and frequency location, one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN. The memory generally includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the device to perform the following operations: monitor the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations.

[0015] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication. The memory generally includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: transmit a first SSB at a first time and frequency location. The memory generally includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: determine one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency location. The memory generally includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: transmit the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more times and frequencies.

[0016] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in a device for wireless communication. The device generally includes: means for receiving a first SSB from an entity in the NTN at a first time and frequency location. The device generally includes: means for determining one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN based on the first time and frequency location. The device generally includes: means for monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations.

[0017] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in a device for wireless communication. The device generally includes: means for transmitting a first SSB at a first time and frequency location. The device generally includes: means for determining one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency location. The device generally includes: means for transmitting the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more times and frequencies.

[0018] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in a computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication. The computer-readable medium generally includes code for receiving a first SSB from an entity in the NTN at a first time and frequency location. The computer-readable medium generally includes code for determining one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN based on the first time and frequency location. The computer-readable medium generally includes code for monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations.

[0019] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication. The computer-readable medium generally includes code for transmitting a first SSB at a first time and frequency location. The computer-readable medium generally includes code for determining one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency location. The computer-readable medium generally includes code for transmitting the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations.

[0020] To achieve the foregoing and related ends, one or more aspects include the features that are fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are merely indicative of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] To obtain a more particular description of the features described above for understanding the manner in which the above-recited aspects are used, reference may be made to the aspects, some of which are illustrated in the drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only certain aspects of this disclosure and that the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

[0023] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example wireless communication network in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating the design of an example base station (BS) and user equipment (UE) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 3 is an example frame format for certain wireless communication systems (e.g., New Radio (NR)) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 4 illustrates how to use different beams for Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) transmission in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 5 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example telecommunications system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 6A and 6B are example cell and beam patterns in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example operation for wireless communication by a UE in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication by an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 9 is an example time-frequency pattern for SSB transmission in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 10A illustrates SSB transmission in different frequency ranges in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 10B illustrates SSB transmission in the same frequency range.

[0034] Figure 11 illustrates time gaps for SSB transmission in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 12A and 12B illustrates the mapping of SSB to beams in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 13 illustrates a communication device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure that may include various components configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein.

[0037] Figure 14 illustrates a communication device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure that may include various components configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein.

[0038] For ease of understanding, where possible, the same reference numerals have been used to designate identical elements common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized in other aspects without specific recitation.

[0039] Detailed Description

[0040] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission, including SSB transmission in different frequency ranges in a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

[0041] In some networks (such as a new radio network (e.g., 5G NR)), the SSBs of the same cell are transmitted on the same frequency range.

[0042] NTN may involve high altitude platform devices (e.g., low earth orbit (LEO) satellites) to address coverage issues and difficult use cases that cannot be solved by a standalone terrestrial network. In NTN, a satellite may use multiple antennas to form multiple narrow beams, and these beams may operate in different frequency bands to mitigate interference between these beams. Thus, to comply with NR, when the beams are configured as the same cell, the beams frequently switch from the frequency band associated with the beam to the frequency band for SSB transmission. On the other hand, when the beams are configured as different cells, handover may be used to switch the beams.

[0043] Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for SSB transmission in NTN. In some aspects, SSB transmission follows a time and frequency pattern. A user equipment (UE) may be aware of this pattern and may thus be able to determine the location of SSB transmission after detecting a first SSB. Aspects provide a time gap between SSB transmissions for the UE to switch beams. Aspects provide an assignment of beams to SSBs such that the number of time gaps may be minimized. Aspects provide a (set of) raster(s) used by the UE to search for SSBs.

[0044] The following description provides examples of SSB transmission in different frequency bands in a communication system. Changes may be made to the functionality and arrangement of the elements discussed without departing from the present disclosure. Various examples may appropriately omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with reference to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice a method. Additionally, the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods practiced using other structures, functionality, or a combination of structures and functionality that supplement or are additional to the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be implemented by one or more elements of the claims. The term "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" need not be construed as superior or better than other aspects.

[0045] Generally, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographical area. Each wireless network may support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. The RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, air interface, etc. The frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, subcarrier, frequency channel, frequency tone, subband, etc. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographical area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs.

[0046] The techniques described herein can be used in a variety of wireless networks and radio technologies. Although aspects may be described herein using terms typically associated with 3G, 4G, and / or New Radio (e.g., 5G NR) wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in communication systems based on other generations.

[0047] NR access can support a variety of wireless communication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) targeted at wide bandwidth, millimeter wave (mmW), massive machine type communication MTC (mMTC) targeted at non-backward compatible MTC technologies, and / or mission critical targeted at ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). These services can include latency and reliability requirements. These services can also have different transmission time intervals (TTIs) to meet the corresponding quality of service (QoS) requirements. Additionally, these services can coexist in the same subframe. NR supports beamforming and the beam direction can be dynamically configured. MIMO transmission with precoding can also be supported. MIMO configurations in the DL can support up to 8 transmit antennas (multi-layer DL transmission with up to 8 streams) and up to 2 streams per UE. Multi-layer transmission with up to 2 streams per UE can be supported. Up to 8 serving cells can be used to support the aggregation of multiple cells.

[0048] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network 100 in which aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented is illustrated. For example, the wireless communication network 100 can be an NR system (e.g., a 5G NR network). As Figure 1 shown, the wireless communication network 100 can be in communication with a core network 132. The core network 132 can be in communication with one or more base stations (BSs) 110a-z in the wireless communication network 100 (also each individually referred to herein as BS 110 or collectively as BS 110) and / or UEs 120a-y (also each individually referred to herein as UE 120 or collectively as UE 120) via one or more interfaces.

[0049] According to some aspects, the UE 120 can be configured for SSB monitoring in different frequency ranges in NTN. As Figure 1 shown, the BS 110a can include an NTN SSB manager 112. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the NTN SSB manager 112 can configure the UE120a for SSB monitoring. As Figure 1As shown, UE 120a includes an NTN SSB manager 122. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the NTN SSB manager 122 may be configured to receive a first SSB from an entity in the NTN at a first time and frequency position; determine one or more time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN based on the first time and frequency position; and monitor the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions.

[0050] BS 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area (sometimes referred to as a "cell"), which may be stationary or may move according to the position of the mobile BS 110. In some examples, BSs 110 may be interconnected with each other and / or interconnected to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless communication network 100 using any suitable transport network via various types of backhaul interfaces (e.g., direct physical connections, wireless connections, virtual networks, etc.). In Figure 1 the example shown, BSs 110a, 110b, and 110c may be macro BSs for macro cells 102a, 102b, and 102c, respectively. BS 110x may be a pico BS for pico cell 102x. BSs 110y and 110z may be femto BSs for femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. A BS may support one or more cells.

[0051] BS 110 communicates with UEs 120 in the wireless communication network 100. UEs 120 (e.g., 120x, 120y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. The wireless communication network 100 may also include relay stations (e.g., relay station 110r) (also referred to as relays, etc.), which receive transmissions of data and / or other information from an upstream station (e.g., BS 110a or UE 120r) and send the transmissions of the data and / or other information to a downstream station (e.g., UE 120 or BS 110), or the relay stations relay transmissions between UEs 120 to facilitate communication between devices.

[0052] The network controller 130 may communicate with a group of BSs 110 and provide coordination and control for these BSs 110 (e.g., via backhaul). In aspects, the network controller 130 may be in communication with a core network 132 (e.g., 5G core network (5GC)), which provides various network functions such as access and mobility management, session management, user plane function, policy control function, authentication server function, unified data management, application function, network exposure function, network repository function, network slice selection function, etc.

[0053] Figure 2 Examples of components of BS 110a and UE 120a that can be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure are described (e.g., in Figure 1 wireless communication network 100).

[0054] At BS 110a, transmit processor 220 may receive data from data source 212 and control information from controller / processor 240. The control information may be used for physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be used for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. Media access control (MAC)-control element (MAC-CE) is a MAC layer communication structure that can be used for control command exchange between wireless nodes. MAC-CE may be carried in a shared channel, such as physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0055] Processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols (such as for primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)). Transmit (TX) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide the output symbol streams to modulators (MOD) 232a-232t in the transceiver. Each modulator in transceiver 232a-232t may process its respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from the modulators in transceiver 232a-232t may be transmitted via antennas 234a-234t, respectively.

[0056] At UE 120a, antennas 252a - 252r may receive downlink signals from BS 110a and may provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMOD) 254a - 254r in the transceiver, respectively. Each demodulator 254a - 254r in the transceiver may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, down-convert, and digitize) its respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators 254a - 254r in the transceiver, perform MIMO detection on these received symbols when applicable, and provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate, de-interleave, and decode) these detected symbols, provide the decoded data for UE 120a to the data sink 260, and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 280.

[0057] On the uplink, at UE 120a, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 (e.g., for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266 when applicable, further processed by modulators 254a - 254r in the transceiver (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to BS 110a. At BS 110a, the uplink signal from UE 120a may be received by the antenna 234, processed by a demodulator in the transceiver 232a - 232t, detected by the MIMO detector 236 when applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 120a. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240.

[0058] Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for BS 110a and UE 120a, respectively. The scheduler 244 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0059] The antennas 252, processors 266, 258, 264, and / or the controller / processor 280 of UE 120a, and / or the antenna 234, processors 220, 230, 238, and / or the controller / processor 240 of BS 110a may be used to perform the various techniques and methods described herein. For example, as Figure 2As shown, according to aspects described herein, the controller / processor 240 of the BS 110a has an NTN SSB manager 241, which can configure the UE 120a to monitor SSBs. As Figure 2 As shown, according to aspects described herein, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120a has an NTN SSB manager 281, which can be configured to receive a first SSB from an entity in the NTN at a first time and frequency location; determine one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN based on the first time and frequency location; and monitor the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations. Although shown at the controller / processor, other components of the UE 120a and the BS 110a can also be used to perform the operations described herein.

[0060] NR can utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) on both the uplink and downlink. NR can support half-duplex operation using time division duplex (TDD). OFDM and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) divide the system bandwidth into multiple orthogonal subcarriers, which are also often referred to as frequency tones, frequency slots, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Modulation symbols can be transmitted with OFDM in the frequency domain and with SC-FDM in the time domain. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers can depend on the system bandwidth. The minimum resource allocation (so-called resource block (RB)) can be 12 consecutive subcarriers. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, one subband can cover multiple RBs. NR can support a base subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 15 KHz, and other SCSs can be defined relative to the base SCS (e.g., 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc.).

[0061] Figure 3It is a diagram showing an example of frame format 300 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink can be divided into radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms), and can be divided into 10 subframes with indices 0 to 9, each subframe being 1 ms. Each subframe may contain a variable number of time slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16,... time slots), depending on the SCS. Each time slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7, 12, or 14 symbols), depending on the SCS. An index may be assigned to the symbol periods in each time slot. The sub-slot structure may refer to a transmission time interval having a duration less than that of a time slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols). Each symbol in a time slot may be configured for a link direction for data transmission (e.g., DL, UL, or flexible), and the link direction for each subframe may be switched dynamically. The link direction may be based on the time slot format. Each time slot may include DL / UL data as well as DL / UL control information.

[0062] In NR, synchronization signal (SS) blocks (SSBs) are transmitted. In some aspects, the SSBs may be transmitted in a burst, where each SSB in the burst corresponds to a different beam direction for UE-side beam management (e.g., including beam selection and / or beam refinement). The SSB includes PSS, SSS, and a two-symbol PBCH. The SSB may be transmitted in a fixed time slot position (such as Figure 3 symbol 0 - 3 as shown). The PSS and SSS may be used by the UE for cell search and capture. The PSS may provide half-frame timing, while the SSS may provide the CP length and frame timing. The PSS and SSS may provide cell identity. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such as the downlink system bandwidth, timing information within the radio frame, SS burst set periodicity, system frame number, etc.

[0063] The SSBs may be organized into SS bursts to support beam sweeping. Further system information (such as remaining minimum system information (RMSI), system information block (SIB), other system information (OSI)) may be transmitted on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in certain subframes. The SSB may be transmitted up to 64 times, e.g., up to 64 different beam directions for millimeter waves. Multiple transmissions of the SSB are referred to as an SS burst set. The SSBs in an SS burst set may be transmitted in the same frequency region, while the SSBs in different SS burst sets may be transmitted in different frequency regions.

[0064] As Figure 4As shown, the SS blocks can be organized into SS burst sets to support beam sweeping. As shown, each SSB within the burst set can be transmitted using a different beam, which can help the UE quickly acquire both the transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) beams (especially for mmW applications). The physical cell identity (PCI) can still be decoded from the PSS and SSS of the SSB.

[0065] Some deployment scenarios may include one or two NR deployment options. An option can be configured for non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA) options. A standalone cell may need to broadcast both the SSB and the remaining minimum system information (RMSI), e.g., using SIB1 and SIB2. A non-standalone cell may only need to broadcast the SSB and not the RMSI. In a single carrier in NR, multiple SSBs can be transmitted at different frequencies and may include different types of SSBs.

[0066] Figure 5 An example of a wireless communication system 500 that supports SSB transmission using different frequency ranges in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the wireless communication network 500 may implement aspects of the wireless communication network 100. For example, the wireless communication system 500 may include BS 110a, UE 120a, and satellite 140. In the case of a terrestrial network, BS 110a may serve a coverage area or cell 102a, and in the case of a non-terrestrial network (NTN), satellite 140 may serve a coverage area 102a. Some NTNs use high altitude platforms (e.g., balloons) instead of satellites.

[0067] As part of wireless communication in an NTN, satellite 140 can communicate with BS 110a and UE 120a. In the case of a terrestrial network, UE 120a can communicate with BS 110a over a communication link. In the case of NTN wireless communication, satellite 140 can be the serving BS for UE 120a. In some aspects, satellite 140 can act as a relay for both BS 110a and UE 120a, relaying both data transmission and control signaling 515.

[0068] Satellite 140 can orbit the Earth's surface at a specific altitude. The distance between satellite 140 and UE 120a can be much greater than the distance between BS 110a and UE 120a. The distance between UE 120a and satellite 140 can result in increased round-trip delay (RTD) in the communication between UE 120a and satellite 140. Satellite motion can cause the Doppler effect and contribute to frequency shift in the communication between UE 120a and satellite 140. Errors associated with the local oscillator of UE 120a or satellite 140 can also contribute to frequency shift. The RTD and frequency shift associated with communication in NTN can lead to inefficient transmission, latency, and an inability to accurately transmit and receive messages.

[0069] UE 120a can determine to use a random access procedure (RACH) (e.g., four-step RACH) to connect to satellite 140. The initiation of the RACH procedure can start with UE 120a transmitting a random access preamble (e.g., NR physical RACH (PRACH)) to satellite 140 or base station 110a. UE 120a can transmit the random access preamble in the PRACH. In some PRACH designs, the RTD or frequency shift associated with NTN may not be estimated or accounted for.

[0070] In some networks (such as a terrestrial NR network (e.g., 5G NR)), the SSB transmitted by a cell is transmitted in the same frequency band (e.g., occupies the same frequency band).

[0071] In NTN, a satellite can use multiple antennas to form multiple narrow beams, and these beams can operate in different frequency bands to mitigate interference between the beams.

[0072] Figure 6A Beams configured per a single cell (e.g., cell 102a) from a satellite (e.g., satellite 140) are illustrated. As illustrated, each beam is configured per cell 0. As shown, some beams are assigned for data and control transmissions in different frequency bands, and some beams can be configured for data and control transmissions in the same frequency band (e.g., beams of the same color / shading). In Figure 6AIn the beam footprint map, adjacent beams may have different frequency ranges so that beams sharing a frequency range are not adjacent. For example, beam 0 and beam 4 share frequency range 602, but they are not adjacent to each other on the beam footprint map. Similarly, beam 2 and beam 5 share frequency range 606, but they are not adjacent beams, and beam 3 and beam 6 share frequency range 608, but they are not adjacent beams. Beam 1 is adjacent to beams 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and does not share frequency range 604 with any other beam on the beam footprint map. To be consistent with terrestrial NR on SSB transmission, each antenna switches from its own frequency range to the SSB frequency range to transmit the SSB. This frequency switching may increase the implementation complexity.

[0073] Figure 6B illustrates beams configured by different cells from a satellite (e.g., satellite 140). In Figure 6B the beam footprint map, each beam is configured to a different cell. For example, beam 0 is configured to cell 0, beam 1 is configured to cell 1, and so on. Regardless of the cell configuration, adjacent beams have different frequency ranges so that beams sharing a frequency range are not adjacent. For example, beam 0 and beam 4 share frequency range 602, but they are not adjacent to each other on the beam footprint map. Similarly, beam 2 and beam 5 share frequency range 606, but they are not adjacent beams, and beam 3 and beam 6 share frequency range 608, but they are not adjacent beams. Beam 1 is adjacent to beams 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and does not share frequency range 604 with any other beam on the beam footprint map. Different beams may transmit the SSB in their own respective frequency ranges, and the aforementioned implementation complexity will be avoided. However, since each beam is configured by a different cell, beam switching means cell handover, which results in a change in radio resource control (RRC) configuration (such as access stratum (AS) security key).

[0074] Accordingly, what is needed are techniques and apparatuses for SSB transmission in NTN.

[0075] Example Synchronization Signal Block Transmission in a Non-Terrestrial Network

[0076] Aspects of the present disclosure provide Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) transmission in different frequency ranges in a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN).

[0077] According to some aspects, the SSB can be transmitted according to a time and frequency pattern. For example, the SSB pattern can indicate (e.g., define) the time and frequency positions for SSB transmission. Thus, in this scenario, when a user equipment (UE) detects the time and frequency positions of an SSB transmission, the UE has information about other SSB transmissions in the SSB pattern. Since the SSB pattern indicates the time and frequency positions of SSB transmissions, as the UE moves relative to the NTN, the UE can easily switch beams and / or perform cell handovers depending on the coverage from the NTN.

[0078] Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example operation 700 for wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Operation 700 can be performed, for example, by a UE (such as, by way of example, UE 120a in wireless communication network 100). Operation 700 can be implemented as software components executed and run on one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 the controller / processor 280). Further, the signal transmission and reception performed by the UE in operation 700 can be implemented, for example, by one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 2 the antenna 252). In some aspects, the signal transmission and / or reception performed by the UE can be implemented by obtaining and / or outputting signals via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller / processor 280).

[0079] Operation 700 can begin at 705 with the UE receiving a first SSB from an entity in the NTN at a first time and frequency position.

[0080] In some aspects, at block 710, the UE can receive signaling of a time and frequency pattern or mapping via a system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The time and frequency pattern can be signaled in a frequency grid, and the SSB positions can be indicated based on a synchronization raster index with a synchronization raster step.

[0081] In some aspects, at block 715, the UE can receive an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs. In such aspects, the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are equally spaced in frequency.

[0082] In some aspects, at block 720, the UE can receive a cell identifier (ID) associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

[0083] At 725, the UE determines one or more time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN based on the first time and frequency position.

[0084] At 730, the UE monitors the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions.

[0085] In some aspects, at block 735, the UE may transmit or receive during a time gap between SSB positions.

[0086] In some aspects, at block 740, the UE may determine the time gap between consecutive SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and retune from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first cell to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second cell during the time gap between these SSBs.

[0087] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example operation 800 for wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operation 800 may be performed, for example, by an entity in an NTN (such as, for example, a satellite 140 that may be in communication with a wireless communication network 100). Operation 800 may be an operation performed by an entity in an NTN that is complementary to operation 700 performed by a UE. Operation 800 may be implemented as software components executed and run on one or more processors. Additionally, the transmission and reception of signals by an entity in operation 800 may be implemented, for example, by one or more antennas. In certain aspects, the signal transmission and / or reception by an entity in an NTN may be implemented by obtaining and / or outputting signals via a bus interface of one or more processors.

[0088] Operation 800 may begin at 805 with an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) transmitting a first synchronization signal block (SSB) at a first time and frequency position.

[0089] In some aspects, at block 810, the entity may transmit signaling of a time and frequency pattern or mapping via SIB or RRC signaling. The time and frequency pattern may be signaled according to a frequency grid, and the SSB positions may be indicated based on a synchronization raster index with a synchronization raster step.

[0090] In some aspects, at block 815, the entity may transmit an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs, and the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs may be equally spaced in frequency.

[0091] In some aspects, at block 820, the entity may transmit a cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

[0092] At 825, the entity determines one or more time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs based on a first time and frequency position. Determining the one or more time and frequency positions may involve determining one or more other time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs based on a configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and the other SSBs.

[0093] At 830, the entity transmits the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions.

[0094] In some aspects, at block 835, the entity may transmit or receive during a time gap between SSB positions.

[0095] In some aspects, at block 840, the entity may determine a time gap between consecutive SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and may retune from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between these SSBs.

[0096] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, SSB transmissions are arranged according to an SSB pattern in time and frequency (e.g., a time and frequency grid). For example, an SSB may be transmitted at a specific time and frequency based on the SSB pattern. Accordingly, once a UE detects an SSB, the UE may infer the time-frequency positions of all other SSBs in the pattern.

[0097] In some cases, the SSB pattern may be transmitted from a BS (e.g., Figure 1 BS 110a) or from an entity in an NTN (such as a satellite (e.g., Figure 5 satellite 140)) to a UE (e.g., UE 120a). Other entities in the NTN may include high altitude platform devices and balloons. Entities in the NTN may have multiple antennas that are configured to use multiple beams on different frequency ranges. The transmitted SSBs may be received from different beams of the same cell, from different beams of different cells, or from adjacent beams in different frequency ranges. In some aspects, the UE receives the SSB pattern via an SIB message or via an RRC signaling message. If the SSBs are associated with different cells, the UE may also receive the cell identifiers associated with these SSBs (e.g., physical cell ID (PCI)).

[0098] Figure 9 An SSB pattern arranged in a time and frequency grid in time and frequency is shown. Figure 9The marked points in [description] indicate the time and frequency positions where the SSB may be located. As mentioned, based on one time and frequency position, the UE can monitor the SSB at other time and frequency positions indicated by the SSB pattern. For example, in Figure 9 if the UE detects SSB0, it knows the time and frequency positions of all other SSBs by referring to the SSB pattern. The time position of the SSB can be predefined or signaled such that detecting one SSB time position indicates the time positions of all other SSBs in the SSB pattern. Similarly, the frequency positions can be specified in a predefined frequency grid.

[0099] In some cases, the SSB pattern can specify the time position of the SSB, which represents the starting time position of the SSB (e.g., the starting OFDM symbol). The SSB pattern can specify the center frequency position of the SSB. The interval between the frequency ranges used for SSB transmission can be uniform or can vary between adjacent SSB transmission pairs. The SSB pattern can also include time gaps between SSBs, which allows transmissions such as physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) ACK transmission, and / or other transmissions. The SSB pattern can also allow reception of transmissions during the time gaps between SSBs. The SSB pattern can also repeat in time and frequency.

[0100] In some examples, the signaling of the actual SSB frequency position can use the synchronization raster step as a unit and use the synchronization raster entry as a reference for the SSB frequency position. For example, the synchronization raster entries within a specific bandwidth can be indexed by 0, 1, 2,... 31. According to this example, for an SSB pattern indicating SSB transmissions at indices 3, 10, 19, and 27, once the UE detects an SSB at one of these indices, the UE can determine the frequencies of the other three SSBs.

[0101] If all SSBs are equally spaced in frequency, the UE can receive signaling (e.g., in integer multiples of the synchronization raster step) indicating the frequency shift. Transmitting the frequency shift can reduce the signaling sent to the UE.

[0102] If the SSB pattern in the first beam differs from the SSB pattern in the second beam only in frequency, the network can send the frequency shift when configuring the SSB pattern for the second beam. The UE can derive the SSB pattern for the second beam based on the frequency shift and the SSB pattern for the first beam.

[0103] Figure 10A and 10B illustrates SSB transmissions using different beams. Generally, in NR, SSBs using different beams can be transmitted in the same frequency range, as Figure 10BAs shown in. However, according to aspects of the present disclosure, for NTN, beams 0, 1, 2 can be adjacent and can operate in different frequency ranges (1002, 1004, 1006) for the respective SSBs, as Figure 10A shown in.

[0104] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a time gap can be configured between consecutive SSBs of a cell over different frequency ranges. The time gap can accommodate frequency retuning between different SSBs and different frequency ranges. Generally, frequency retuning requires time for the UE to change frequency ranges to receive the SSB transmission, and the UE may not be able to receive consecutive SSBs if they are on different frequency ranges. Accordingly, the time gap can be used in the SSB mode to accommodate frequency retuning.

[0105] Figure 11 illustrates the gap between consecutive SSB transmissions of different beams over different frequency ranges. In NR, the minimum time gap can be zero, and accordingly frequency retuning may not be possible if consecutive SSBs are transmitted over different frequency ranges.

[0106] The time gap can be indicated as an integer, and the unit can be the number of OFDM symbols corresponding to a particular subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz). The subcarrier spacing can depend on whether the frequency range is below or above a frequency threshold (e.g., 6 GHz). In some cases, different sets of symbols can be configured at which the SSB transmission can start, and each set can ensure a minimum time gap large enough to allow frequency retuning.

[0107] In some aspects of the present disclosure, SSBs can be assigned to beams to minimize the need for a time gap and also support frequency retuning. The assignment of SSBs to beams can depend on the SSB mode, beam footprint, and / or the rule that the SSB (if assigned to a beam) will use the frequency range of that beam. Even though the SSBs are consecutive in time, the assignment of SSBs to beams eliminates the need for a non-zero time gap. The non-zero time gap can be greater than a certain value depending on the minimum capabilities of all UEs being served.

[0108] Figure 12A illustrates an example mapping of SSBs to beams. Each SSB is assigned to a beam, and each beam is assigned to a frequency range. Some beams can be assigned to the same frequency range. As Figure 12A illustrated in the beam footprint of, different frequency ranges can be assigned to adjacent beams, and the SSBs are configured to the beams to correspondingly reduce the need for a time gap and support frequency retuning. In Figure 12AIn the example mapping, beam 0 is assigned to frequency range 1202; beams 1 and 5 are assigned to frequency range 1204; beams 2 and 6 are assigned to frequency range 1206, beam 4 is assigned to frequency range 1210; and beams 3, 7, and 8 are assigned to frequency range 1208. For the SSBs configured to beams, SSB0 is configured to beam 6, SSB1 is configured to beam 4, SSB2 is configured to beam 1, SSB5 is configured to beam 7, SSB3 is configured to beam 5, SSB4 is configured to beam 3, SSB6 is configured to beam 0, SSB7 is configured to beam 8, and SSB8 is configured to beam 2. As Figure 12A As explained in Figure 12A , the mapping of SSBs to beams eliminates the need for non-zero time gaps, even when the SSBs are consecutive in time, because SSB transmissions adjacent in time are placed in non-adjacent beams. Any assignment of beams to frequency ranges can be used in conjunction with the mapping of SSBs to beams disclosed herein.

[0109] In some cases, the use of time gaps may be unavoidable. In such cases, the time gaps can be configured to accommodate frequency retuning. Figure 12B Figure 12B illustrates an SSB-to-beam mapping that uses the time gap between two SSB transmissions to allow for frequency retuning. In this example mapping, seven SSBs use the time gap, regardless of the assignment of SSBs and beams to beam footprints, because there are only 5 non-adjacent SSBs for SSB6. Figure 12B Figure 12B illustrates an SSB-to-beam mapping that allows for frequency retuning using the time gap between SSB5 and SSB6.

[0110] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, assuming that SSBs on different beams from the same cell may occupy different frequency ranges, a UE (e.g., a UE deployed in an NTN) may be pre-programmed to perform cell search. Assuming that SSBs on different beams from the same cell may occupy the same frequency range and in the case of a cell search failure, the UE may continue the cell search assuming that SSBs on different beams from the same cell occupy different frequency ranges.

[0111] Assuming that SSBs on different beams from the same cell occupy the same frequency range, a UE (e.g., a UE deployed in a terrestrial network) may be pre-programmed to perform cell search.

[0112] In some aspects, synchronization raster can be defined for a frequency range or a frequency band. One of these synchronization rasters may have a larger synchronization raster step than the other synchronization raster. The UE may perform cell search assuming the larger step, and in case of a search failure, the UE may proceed to cell search again with the smaller step.

[0113] Figure 13 A communication device 1300 is described that may include various components (e.g., corresponding to apparatus-plus-function components) configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein, such as the operations illustrated in Figure 7 . The communication device 1300 includes a processing system 1302 coupled to a transceiver 1308 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 1308 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 1300 (such as the various signals described herein) via an antenna 1310. The processing system 1302 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1300, including processing signals received by and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 1300.

[0114] The processing system 1302 includes a processor 1304 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1312 via a bus 1306. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 is configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor 1304, cause the processor 1304 to perform Figure 7Instructions for the operations described herein or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein for SSBs in different frequency ranges in NTN (e.g., computer-executable code). In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 stores code 1314 for receiving a first SSB from an entity in NTN at a first time and frequency position; code 1316 for determining, based on the first time and frequency position, one or more time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs from the entity in NTN; and code 1318 for monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 may store code 1320 for receiving signaling of a time and frequency pattern or mapping via SIB or RRC signaling. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 may store code 1322 for receiving an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 may store code 1324 for receiving a cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 may store code 1326 for transmitting or receiving during a time gap between SSB positions. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 stores code 1328 for performing the following operations: determining a time gap between consecutive SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and retuning from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between these SSBs. In some aspects, the processor 1304 has circuitry configured to implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1312. The processor 1304 includes: circuitry 1324 for receiving a first SSB from an entity in NTN at a first time and frequency position; circuitry 1326 for determining, based on the first time and frequency position, one or more time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs from the entity in NTN; and circuitry 1328 for monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions. In some aspects, the processor 1304 may include circuitry 1340 for receiving signaling of a time and frequency pattern or mapping via SIB or RRC signaling. In some aspects, the processor 1304 may include circuitry 1342 for receiving an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs. In some aspects, the processor 1304 may include circuitry 1344 for receiving a cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.In some aspects, processor 1304 may include circuitry 1346 for transmitting or receiving during the time gap between SSB positions. In some aspects, processor 1304 may include circuitry 1348 for: determining a time gap between coherent SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and retuning from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between these SSBs.

[0115] For example, the means for transmitting (or the means for outputting for transmission) may include Figure 2 the transmitter unit 254 and / or the antenna 252 of the UE 120a as illustrated in. The means for receiving (or the means for obtaining) may include Figure 2 the receiver and / or the antenna 252 of the UE 120a as illustrated in and / or Figure 13 the circuitry 1334 of the communication device 1300 in. The means for communicating may include a transmitter, a receiver, or both. The means for generating, the means for executing, the means for determining, the means for taking action, the means for determining, the means for coordinating may include a processing system, which may include one or more processors, such as Figure 2 the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, the TX MIMO processor 266, and / or the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120a as illustrated in and / or Figure 13 the processing system 1302 of the communication device 1300 in.

[0116] Figure 14 illustrates a communication device 1400 that may include various components (e.g., corresponding to means - plus - function components) configured to perform operations of the techniques disclosed herein, such as Figure 8 the operations illustrated in. The communication device 1400 includes a processing system 1402 coupled to a transceiver 1408 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 1408 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 1400 (such as the various signals described herein) via an antenna 1410. The processing system 1402 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1400, including processing signals received by and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 1400.

[0117] The processing system 1402 includes a processor 1404 coupled to a computer - readable medium / memory 1412 via a bus 1406. In some aspects, the computer - readable medium / memory 412 is configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor 1404, cause the processor 1404 to perform Figure 8Instructions for the operations described herein or for other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein for SSBs in different frequency ranges in NTN (e.g., computer-executable code). In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1412 stores code 1414 for transmitting a first SSB at a first time and frequency location; code 1416 for determining one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency location; and code 1418 for transmitting the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1412 may store code 1420 for transmitting signaling for a time and frequency pattern or mapping via SIB or RRC signaling. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1412 may store code 1422 for transmitting an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency locations of the one or more other SSBs. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1412 may store code 1424 for transmitting a cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1412 may store code 1426 for transmitting or receiving during a time gap between SSB locations. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1412 stores code 1428 for performing the following operations: determining a time gap between consecutive SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and retuning from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between these SSBs. In some aspects, the processor 1404 has circuitry configured to implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1412. The processor 1404 includes: circuitry 1424 for transmitting a first SSB at a first time and frequency location; circuitry 1426 for determining one or more time and frequency locations of one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency location; and circuitry 1428 for transmitting the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations. In some aspects, the processor 1404 may include circuitry 1440 for transmitting signaling for a time and frequency pattern or mapping via SIB or RRC signaling. In some aspects, the processor 1404 may include circuitry 1442 for transmitting an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency locations of the one or more other SSBs. In some aspects, the processor 1404 may include circuitry 1444 for transmitting a cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs. In some aspects, the processor 1404 may include circuitry 1446 for transmitting or receiving during a time gap between SSB locations.In some aspects, processor 1404 may include circuitry 1448 for: determining a time gap between coherent SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and retuning from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between the SSBs.

[0118] For example, a device for transmitting (or a device for outputting for transmission) may include Figure 2 the transmitter and / or antenna 234 of BS110a as illustrated in Figure 14 and / or the circuitry 1434 of the communication device 1400 in Figure 2 A device for receiving (or a device for obtaining) may include Figure 2 the receiver and / or antenna 234 of BS 110a as illustrated in Figure 14 A device for communicating may include a transmitter, a receiver, or both. A device for generating, a device for executing, a device for determining, a device for taking action, a device for determining, a device for coordinating may include a processing system, which may include one or more processors, such as

[0119] Example aspects

[0120] Implementing examples are described in the following numbered aspects:

[0121] Aspect 1: A method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication, including: receiving a first synchronization signal block (SSB) from an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) at a first time and frequency position; determining one or more time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN based on the first time and frequency position; and monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions.

[0122] Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, wherein the entity includes at least one of a high altitude platform device, a satellite, or a balloon.

[0123] Aspect 3: The method of any one of aspects 1-2, wherein the entity includes a plurality of antennas configured to use a plurality of beams on different frequency ranges.

[0124] Aspect 4: The method of any one of aspects 1-3, wherein the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are received from different beams of the same cell.

[0125] Aspect 5: The method as in any one of Aspects 1-4, wherein the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs each come from different beams of different cellular cells.

[0126] Aspect 6: The method as in any one of Aspects 1-5, wherein the SSBs received from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are received in different frequency ranges.

[0127] Aspect 7: The method as in any one of Aspects 1-6, wherein determining the one or more other time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs includes: determining the one or more other time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs based on a configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

[0128] Aspect 8: The method as in Aspect 7, further comprising: receiving signaling of the time and frequency pattern or mapping via a system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0129] Aspect 9: The method as in any one of Aspects 7-8, wherein the time and frequency pattern is signaled according to a frequency grid, and wherein the SSB position is indicated based on a synchronization raster index with a synchronization raster step.

[0130] Aspect 10: The method as in any one of Aspects 7-9, wherein: the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are equally spaced in frequency; and the method further comprises receiving an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs.

[0131] Aspect 11: The method as in any one of Aspects 7-10, further comprising: receiving a cellular cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

[0132] Aspect 12: The method as in any one of Aspects 7-11, wherein the time and frequency pattern of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs includes a pattern or mapping of the center frequency positions and starting symbols of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

[0133] Aspect 13: The method as in any one of Aspects 7-12, further comprising: transmitting or receiving during a time gap between SSB positions.

[0134] Aspect 14: The method as in any one of Aspects 4-13 further includes: determining a time gap between coherent SSBs of the same cell in different frequency ranges; and retuning from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between these SSBs.

[0135] Aspect 15: The method as in Aspect 14 further includes: receiving an indication of the time gap, where the time gap is indicated as an integer number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) associated with the frequency range.

[0136] Aspect 16: The method as in any one of Aspects 14-15 further includes: receiving a configuration of different sets of starting symbols associated with different SSBs, where the different sets of starting symbols define the time gap.

[0137] Aspect 17: The method as in Aspect 4, where the time gap is greater than a value depending on the minimum capability of the UE.

[0138] Aspect 18: The method as in any one of Aspects 1-17, where for each of one or more frequency ranges associated with a first SSB and the one or more other SSBs, the UE is configured with at least two synchronization raster with different step sizes.

[0139] Aspect 19: The method as in Aspect 18, where monitoring the one or more other SSBs includes: first monitoring using a synchronization raster with a larger step size; and monitoring using a synchronization raster with a smaller step size in case no SSB is detected using the synchronization raster with a larger step size.

[0140] Aspect 20: A method for wireless communication by an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), including: transmitting a first synchronization signal block (SSB) at a first time and frequency position; determining one or more time and frequency positions of one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency position; and transmitting the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions.

[0141] Aspect 21: The method as in Aspect 20, where the entity includes one of a high altitude platform device, a satellite, or a balloon.

[0142] Aspect 22: The method as in any one of Aspects 20-21, where the entity includes a plurality of antennas configured to use multiple beams in different frequency ranges.

[0143] Aspect 23: The method as in any one of aspects 20-22, wherein the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are transmitted from different beams of the same cell.

[0144] Aspect 24: The method as in any one of aspects 20-23, wherein the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs each come from different beams of different cells.

[0145] Aspect 25: The method as in any one of aspects 20-24, wherein the SSBs transmitted from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are transmitted in different frequency ranges.

[0146] Aspect 26: The method as in any one of aspects 20-25, wherein determining the one or more other time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs includes: determining the one or more other time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs based on a configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

[0147] Aspect 27: The method as in aspect 26, further comprising: signaling the time and frequency pattern or mapping via a system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0148] Aspect 28: The method as in any one of aspects 26-27, wherein the time and frequency pattern is signaled according to a frequency grid, and wherein the SSB position is indicated based on a synchronization raster index with a synchronization raster step.

[0149] Aspect 29: The method as in any one of aspects 26-28, wherein: the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are equally spaced in frequency; and the method further comprises transmitting an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs.

[0150] Aspect 30: The method as in any one of aspects 26-29, further comprising: transmitting a cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

[0151] Aspect 31: The method as in any one of aspects 26-30, wherein the time and frequency pattern of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs includes a pattern or mapping of the central positions and starting symbols of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

[0152] Aspect 32: The method as in any one of aspects 26-31, further comprising: transmitting or receiving during a time gap between SSB positions.

[0153] Aspect 33: The method as in any one of aspects 23-32, further comprising: determining a time gap between coherent SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and retuning from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between these SSBs.

[0154] Aspect 34: The method as in aspect 33, further comprising: sending an indication of the time gap, where the time gap is indicated as an integer number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) associated with the frequency range.

[0155] Aspect 35: The method as in any one of aspects 33-34, further comprising: sending a configuration of different sets of start symbols associated with different SSBs, where the different sets of start symbols define the time gap.

[0156] Aspect 36: The method as in any one of aspects 23-35, where the time gap is greater than a value depending on the minimum capabilities of the UE.

[0157] Aspect 37: The method as in any one of aspects 20-36, where, for each of one or more frequency ranges associated with a first SSB and the one or more other SSBs, an indication of at least two synchronization raster with different step sizes is sent.

[0158] Aspect 38: An apparatus comprising means for performing the method as in any one of aspects 1 to 37.

[0159] Aspect 39: An apparatus comprising: at least one processor and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory including code that can be executed by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method as in any one of aspects 1 to 37.

[0160] Aspect 40: A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable code for wireless communication, the computer-executable code, when executed by at least one processor, causes an apparatus to perform the method as in any one of aspects 1 to 37.

[0161] The techniques described herein can be used in a variety of wireless communication technologies, such as NR (e.g., 5G NR), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably. CDMA networks may implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. cdma2000 covers the IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. TDMA networks may implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). OFDMA networks may implement radio technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-A are UMTS versions that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). NR is an emerging wireless communication technology under development.

[0162] In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of a Node B (NB) and / or the NB subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In the NR system, the terms "cell" and BS, Next Generation Node B (gNB or g B node), Access Point (AP), Distributed Unit (DU), carrier, or Transmission and Reception Point (TRP) may be used interchangeably. The BS may provide communication coverage for macro cells, picocells, femtocells, and / or other types of cells. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unconstrained access by UEs with a service subscription. A picocell may cover a relatively small geographical area and may allow unconstrained access by UEs with a service subscription. A femtocell may cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a residence) and may allow constrained access by UEs associated with that femtocell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs of users in a residence, etc.). The BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. The BS for a picocell may be referred to as a pico BS. The BS for a femtocell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS.

[0163] A UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, terminal, access terminal, subscriber unit, station, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), cellular phone, smart phone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless modem, wireless communication device, handheld device, laptop computer, cordless phone, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, tablet computer, camera, gaming device, netbook, smartbook, ultrabook, appliance, medical device or equipment, biometric sensor / device, wearable device (such as a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet, etc.)), entertainment device (e.g., music device, video device, satellite radio, etc.), vehicle component or sensor, smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, Global Positioning System (GPS) device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired media. Some UEs may be considered Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices or Evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which may communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide connectivity to a network (e.g., a Wide Area Network (such as the Internet) or a cellular network) or provide connectivity to the network, for example, via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which may be Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0164] In some examples, access to an air interface can be scheduled. A scheduling entity (e.g., a BS) allocates resources for communication among some or all of the devices and equipment within its service area or cell. The scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is, for the scheduled communication, the subordinate entities utilize the resources allocated by the scheduling entity. A base station is not the only entity that can be used as a scheduling entity. In some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity and can schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs), and the other UEs can utilize the resources scheduled by the UE for wireless communication. In some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or in a mesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs can communicate directly with each other in addition to communicating with a scheduling entity.

[0165] The various methods disclosed herein include one or more steps or acts for implementing the method. Method steps and / or acts can be interchanged with one another. In other words, unless a specific order of the steps or acts is specified, the order and / or use of the specific steps and / or acts can be altered without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0166] As used herein, the phrase reciting “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. As an example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, and a - b - c, as well as any combination having multiple of the same element (e.g., a - a, a - a - a, a - a - b, a - a - c, a - b - b, a - c - c, b - b, b - b - b, b - b - c, c - c, and c - c - c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0167] As used herein, the term “determine” encompasses a variety of actions. For example, “determine” can include computing, calculating, processing, deriving, researching, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Moreover, “determine” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Moreover, “determine” can include parsing, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

[0168] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. References to singular elements are not intended to mean "one and only one" (unless specifically stated otherwise), but rather "one or more". The term "some / a" refers to one or more unless specifically stated otherwise. All structural and functional equivalents known to those of ordinary skill in the art currently or hereafter are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, whether or not such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No element of a claim should be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for" or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase "step for".

[0169] The various operations of the methods described above can be performed by any suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions. These means may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or processors (e.g., general purpose processors or specially programmed processors). Generally, where there are operations illustrated in the figures, these operations may have corresponding paired means-plus-function components with similar numbers.

[0170] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0171] If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system may be implemented with a bus architecture. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system, the bus may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges. The bus may link together various circuits including a processor, a machine-readable medium, and a bus interface. The bus interface may be used to connect, via the bus, a network adapter, etc. to the processing system. The network adapter may be used to implement the signal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the case of a user terminal (see Figure 1 ), a user interface (such as, for example, a keypad, a display, a mouse, a joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus may also link together various other circuits such as a timing source, peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and similar circuits, which are well known in the art and will not be described further herein. The processor may be implemented with one or more general-purpose and / or special-purpose processors. Examples include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a DSP processor, and other circuitry capable of executing software. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints imposed on the overall network or system, those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the functionality described with respect to the processing system.

[0172] If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Software should be construed broadly to mean instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including execution of software modules stored on the machine-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read from / to the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. As an example, the machine-readable medium may include a transmission line, a carrier modulated with data, and / or a computer-readable storage medium separate from the wireless node on which instructions are stored, all of which may be accessed by the processor via the bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, the machine-readable medium or any part thereof may be integrated into the processor, such as may be the case with a cache and / or a general register file. As an example, examples of the machine-readable medium may include RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or any combination thereof. The machine-readable medium may be embodied in a computer program product.

[0173] A software module can include a single instruction or many instructions and can be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media. A computer-readable medium can include multiple software modules. These software modules include instructions that, when executed by an apparatus such as a processor, cause a processing system to perform various functions. These software modules can include a transmission module and a reception module. Each software module can reside in a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. As an example, when a triggering event occurs, a software module can be loaded from a hard drive into RAM. During execution of the software module, the processor can load some instructions into a cache to improve access speed. One or more cache lines can then be loaded into a general register file for execution by the processor. When referring to the functionality of a software module below, it will be understood that such functionality is implemented by the processor when the processor executes instructions from the software module.

[0174] Likewise, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a web site, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology such as infrared (IR), radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology such as infrared, radio, and microwave is included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and disc, where disk often magnetically reproduces data, while disc optically reproduces data with a laser. Thus, in some aspects, a computer-readable medium can include a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a tangible medium). Additionally, for other aspects, a computer-readable medium can include a transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a signal). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0175] Accordingly, some aspects can include a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product can include a computer-readable medium having (and / or encoded with) instructions that can be executed by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein, such as instructions for performing the operations described and illustrated in Figure 7 and / or Figure 8 herein.

[0176] In addition, it should be appreciated that modules and / or other suitable devices for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and / or a base station where applicable. For example, such devices can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of the devices for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via a storage device (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage medium such as a compact disc (CD) or a floppy disk, etc.) such that once the storage device is coupled to or provided to the user terminal and / or the base station, the device can obtain the various methods. In addition, any other suitable technique can be utilized that is adapted to provide the methods and techniques described herein to the device.

[0177] It will be understood that the claims are not limited to the exact configurations and components described above. Various changes, substitutions, and modifications can be made in the layout, operation, and details of the methods and apparatuses described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory including code executable by the at least one processor to cause the device to perform the following operations: receive a first synchronization signal block (SSB) from an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) at a first time and frequency location; determine one or more time and frequency locations of the one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency location and a configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN; and monitor the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency locations, wherein the SSBs received from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are received in different frequency ranges.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the entity comprises at least one of the following: a high altitude platform device, a satellite, a balloon, or a plurality of antennas configured to use multiple beams in different frequency ranges.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are received from different beams of the same cell or different cells.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the memory further includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the device to perform the following operation: receive signaling of the time and frequency pattern or mapping via a system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the time and frequency pattern is signaled according to a frequency grid, and wherein the time and frequency locations of the SSB are indicated based on a synchronization raster index with a synchronization raster step.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein: the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are equally spaced in frequency; and the memory further includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the device to receive an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency locations of the one or more other SSBs.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the memory further includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the device to perform the following operation: receive a cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the time and frequency pattern of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs includes a pattern or mapping of the center frequency locations and start symbols of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the memory further includes code executable by the at least one processor to cause the device to perform the following operation: transmit or receive during a time gap between the time and frequency locations of the SSB.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: Determine a time gap between consecutive SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and Retune from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between the SSBs.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the memory further comprises code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: Receive an indication of the time gap, wherein the time gap is indicated as an integer number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) associated with the frequency range; and Receive a configuration of different sets of start symbols associated with different SSBs, wherein the different sets of start symbols define the time gap; wherein the time gap is greater than a value depending on the minimum capabilities of the apparatus.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, for each of one or more frequency ranges associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs, the apparatus is configured with at least two synchronization gratings having different step sizes.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to monitor the one or more other SSBs comprises: Code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: First monitor using a synchronization grating with a larger step size; and Monitor using a synchronization grating with a smaller step size if no SSB is detected using the synchronization grating with the larger step size.

14. A wireless communication apparatus in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: At least one processor; and A memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory comprising code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: Transmit a first synchronization signal block (SSB) at a first time and frequency position; Determine one or more time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency position and a configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs; and Transmit the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions, wherein the SSBs transmitted from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are transmitted in different frequency ranges.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising one of a high altitude platform device, a satellite, or a balloon.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a plurality of antennas configured to use a plurality of beams on different frequency ranges.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are transmitted from different beams of the same cell or different cells.

18. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the memory further comprises code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit the time and frequency pattern or the mapped signaling via a system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

19. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the time and frequency pattern is signaled according to a frequency grid, and wherein the time and frequency positions of the SSB are indicated based on a synchronization raster index with a synchronization raster step size.

20. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein: the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are equally spaced in frequency; and the memory further comprises code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to transmit an indication of a frequency shift for determining the time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs.

21. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the memory further comprises code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit a cell ID associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

22. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the time and frequency pattern of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs comprises a pattern or mapping of the center positions and start symbols of the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs.

23. The apparatus according to claim 14, the memory further comprises code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit or receive during a time gap between the time and frequency positions of the SSB.

24. The apparatus according to claim 14, the memory further comprises code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to: determine a time gap between consecutive SSBs of the same cell on different frequency ranges; and retune from a first frequency range associated with an SSB in a first beam to a second frequency range associated with another SSB in a second beam during the time gap between the SSBs.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, the memory further comprises code executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit an indication of the time gap, wherein the time gap is indicated as an integer number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols corresponding to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) associated with the frequency range; and transmit a configuration of different sets of start symbols associated with different SSBs, wherein the different sets of start symbols define the time gap, wherein the time gap is greater than a value depending on the minimum capabilities of the UE.

26. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, For each of one or more frequency ranges associated with the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs, send an indication of at least two synchronization raster with different step sizes.

27. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment, comprising: receiving, at a first time and frequency position, a first synchronization signal block (SSB) from an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); determining, based on the first time and frequency position, and the configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN, one or more time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs; and monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions, wherein the SSBs received from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are received in different frequency ranges.

28. A method for wireless communication by an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: transmitting, at a first time and frequency position, a first synchronization signal block (SSB); determining, based on the first time and frequency position, and the configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and one or more other SSBs, one or more time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs; and transmitting the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions, wherein the SSBs transmitted from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are transmitted in different frequency ranges.

29. A wireless communication device, comprising: means for receiving, at a first time and frequency position, a first synchronization signal block (SSB) from an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); means for determining, based on the first time and frequency position, and the configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN, one or more time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs; and means for monitoring the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions, wherein the SSBs received from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are received in different frequency ranges.

30. A wireless communication device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: means for transmitting, at a first time and frequency position, a first synchronization signal block (SSB); means for determining, based on the first time and frequency position, and the configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and one or more other SSBs, one or more time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs; and Apparatus for transmitting the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions, wherein the SSBs transmitted from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are transmitted in different frequency ranges.

31. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the one or more processors to: Receive a first synchronization signal block (SSB) from an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) at a first time and frequency position; Determine one or more time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency position and a configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and one or more other SSBs from the entity in the NTN; And Monitor the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions, wherein the SSBs received from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are received in different frequency ranges.

32. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an entity in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), cause the one or more processors to: Transmit a first synchronization signal block (SSB) at a first time and frequency position; Determine one or more time and frequency positions of the one or more other SSBs based on the first time and frequency position and a configured or predefined time and frequency pattern or mapping of the first SSB and one or more other SSBs; and Transmit the one or more other SSBs at the determined one or more time and frequency positions, wherein the SSBs transmitted from adjacent beams among the first SSB and the one or more other SSBs are transmitted in different frequency ranges.

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