Connection control for non-terrestrial networks

Abstract

According to some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device for non-terrestrial network (NTN) connection control includes receiving a message comprising parameters from which the wireless device learns that it is to disconnect from a terrestrial network (TN) and connect to one of one or more NTNs, or is to disconnect from an NTN and connect to one of one or more TNs. When the parameters inform the wireless device to connect to one of one or more NTNs, the method further includes disconnecting from a TN, selecting an NTN of at least one of the one or more NTNs detected based at least in part on the one or more parameters, and connecting to the selected NTN. When the parameters inform the wireless device to connect to one of one or more TNs, the method further includes disconnecting from an NTN, and detecting, selecting, and connecting to a TN.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of this disclosure relate to wireless communication, and more specifically, to connectivity control for non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). Background Technology

[0002] Generally, unless explicitly stated and / or implied from the context, all terms used herein shall be interpreted according to their common meaning in the relevant art. Unless otherwise expressly stated, all references to “an element, device, component, apparatus, step, etc.” shall be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of an element, device, component, apparatus, step, etc. Unless it is explicitly stated that a step must be described as occurring after or before another step and / or implicitly that a step must occur after or before another step, the steps of any method disclosed herein are not necessarily performed in the exact order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Further objects, features, and advantages of the appended embodiments will become apparent from the following description.

[0003] Satellite communications are experiencing a sustained resurgence. Numerous satellite network initiatives have been announced in recent years. Target services include, for example, backhaul and fixed radio, transportation, outdoor mobile, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Satellite networks can complement terrestrial mobile networks by providing connectivity and multicast / broadcast services to underserved areas. There is significant interest in adapting terrestrial radio access technologies, including Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR), for satellite networks to benefit from a robust mobile ecosystem and economies of scale. For instance, the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) completed an initial study on adapting NR to support non-terrestrial networks (primarily satellite networks). This initial study focused on: channel models for non-terrestrial networks, defining deployment scenarios, and identifying key potential impacts. 3GPP is currently conducting follow-up research projects evaluating solutions for NR-supported non-terrestrial networks.

[0004] Satellite radio access networks typically include the following components: (a) a gateway, which connects the satellite network to the core network; (b) a satellite, referring to the onboard platform; (c) a terminal, referring to user equipment; (d) a feeder link, referring to the link between the gateway and the satellite; and (e) a service link, referring to the link between the satellite and the terminal. The link from the gateway to the terminal is usually called the forward link, while the link from the terminal to the gateway is usually called the return link.

[0005] Depending on the satellite's role in the system, there are two transponder options. One is a bend transponder, in which the satellite relays the received signal back to Earth, amplifying it only and shifting it from the uplink frequency to the downlink frequency. The other is a regenerator transponder, in which the satellite includes onboard processing to demodulate and decode the received signal and regenerate it before transmitting it back to Earth.

[0006] Depending on their orbital altitude, satellites can be classified as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, or Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites. Typical LEO altitudes range from 250 to 1,500 km, with orbital periods ranging from 90 to 120 minutes. Typical MEO altitudes range from 5,000 to 25,000 km, with orbital periods ranging from 3 to 15 hours. GEO altitudes are approximately 35,786 km, with an orbital period of 24 hours.

[0007] Satellites typically generate several beams over a given area. The coverage area of ​​a beam is usually elliptical and is traditionally considered a small area. The coverage area of ​​a beam is also often referred to as a point beam. The coverage area of ​​a point beam can move across the Earth's surface as the satellite moves, or it can be fixed relative to the Earth, in which case the satellite uses beam pointing mechanisms to compensate for its motion. The size of a point beam depends on the system design and can range from tens of kilometers to thousands of kilometers.

[0008] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example satellite network architecture with a bend transponder. Figure 1 This includes three satellites connected to the base station via three feeder links and three antennas. User equipment in one of the spot beams is connected to one of the satellites via an access link.

[0009] Two major physical phenomena affecting the design of satellite communication systems are long propagation delay and the Doppler effect. The Doppler effect is particularly pronounced for LEO satellites.

[0010] Current NTN-related activities include control plane enhancements. These enhancements include idle mode enhancements and connected mode enhancements.

[0011] For idle mode, enhancements include: definitions of additional auxiliary information used for cell selection / reselection (e.g., using user equipment (UE) location information, satellite ephemeris information, etc.), and definitions of cell-specific information for the NTN (Satellite / High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)) in the System Information Base (SIB).

[0012] For connectivity mode, enhancements include: using location information (UE and satellite / HAPS) and / or ephemeris to determine when to perform a handover, providing high handover control for handover robustness and coverage management. Enhancements to existing measurement configurations are also included to address absolute propagation delay differences between satellites (e.g., adaptation of synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) measurement gaps for SSB / Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) measurement windows).

[0013] Connection control in NR uses Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages. RRC release messages are used for several purposes, such as when a UE is suspended to an idle / inactive state, or when an RRC connection is released and the UE is set to RRC idle mode. In the latter case, redirection information can be provided to the UE in the release message, offering recommendations regarding cell selection.

[0014] The RRCEelease message is used to command the release of an RRC connection or to suspend an RRC connection.

[0015] Signaling radio bearer: SRB1

[0016] RLC-SAP: AM

[0017] Logical Channel: DCCH

[0018] Direction: Network to UE

[0019] RRCRelease message

[0020]

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[0033]

[0034] There are some challenges at present. For example, the current release and redirection messages and framework are only used for terrestrial networks, and service continuity scenarios between NTN networks or terrestrial networks (TN) and NTNs really need to be considered. Summary of the Invention

[0035] Based on the above description, there are currently certain challenges in connectivity control for non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). Certain aspects of this disclosure and its embodiments can provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0036] Specific embodiments facilitate the movement of user equipment (UE) between carrier frequencies or networks, including NTNs, specifically by using an RRCRelease with redirection to move the UE from a terrestrial network (TN) to an NTN. In some embodiments, new information is included in the RRCRelease message that informs the UE of the type of network to which it is being redirected and / or provides the UE with information that facilitates access to the network or carrier frequency to which it is being redirected, wherein, specifically, such information may indicate NTN-specific attributes. As another example, some embodiments may include methods of reducing the priority of a carrier frequency or network, such as using an extension of the depriorityReq information element (IE) in the RRCRelease message.

[0037] According to some embodiments, a method for NTN connection control performed by a wireless device includes: receiving a message including one or more parameters from which the wireless device learns that it will disconnect from a TN and connect to one or more TNs, or will disconnect from an NTN and connect to one or more TNs. When the one or more parameters inform the wireless device to connect to one or more NTNs, the method further includes: disconnecting from the TN; detecting at least one of the one or more NTNs; selecting an NTN from the detected one or more NTNs, at least in part based on the one or more parameters; synchronizing with the selected NTN, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is used to facilitate the synchronization; and connecting to the selected NTN. When the one or more parameters inform the wireless device to connect to one or more TNs, the method further includes: disconnecting from the NTN; detecting at least one of the one or more TNs; selecting a TN from the detected one or more TNs, at least in part based on the one or more parameters; synchronizing with the selected TN, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is used to facilitate the synchronization; and connecting to the selected TN.

[0038] In a particular embodiment, the message is an RCRelease message. The one or more parameters may include the carrier frequency of the NTN, the radio access technology (RAT) type associated with the NTN, and / or one or more of the following: Synchronization Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), subcarrier spacing, core network type, cell identifier, and the type of NTN (e.g., low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, or high Earth orbit, etc.).

[0039] In a particular embodiment, the one or more parameters are part of the RedirectedCarrierInfo information element and / or the CarrierInfoNR information element.

[0040] In a particular embodiment, the one or more parameters include information (e.g., ephemeris data) that facilitates the wireless device in finding and / or connecting to satellites associated with the NTN.

[0041] In a particular embodiment, the one or more parameters include priority information associated with the NTN. The priority information may include offsets applied to one or more cell quality values, and / or depriorityType. The priority information may include a list. The priority information may be associated with cells different from the current cell.

[0042] According to some embodiments, the wireless device includes processing circuitry operable to perform any of the methods described above in the wireless device method.

[0043] A computer program product is also disclosed, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable program code that, when executed by processing circuitry, is operable to perform any of the methods described above for execution by a wireless device.

[0044] According to some embodiments, a method for controlling non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity performed by a network node includes: obtaining one or more parameters associated with the NTN and sending a message to a wireless device. The message includes one or more parameters that instruct the wireless device to disconnect from the terrestrial network (TN) and connect to one or more NTNs.

[0045] In a particular embodiment, the message and the one or more parameters are the same as those described with respect to the wireless device embodiment.

[0046] According to some embodiments, a network node includes processing circuitry operable to perform any of the methods described above in the network node method.

[0047] A computer program product is also disclosed, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable program code, which, when executed by processing circuitry, is operable to perform any of the methods described above for execution by a network node.

[0048] Specific embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, specific embodiments ensure that the UE knows whether it is being redirected to a TN or an NTN, and provide information about the NTN to which the UE is being redirected. Attached Figure Description

[0049] To gain a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments, their features and advantages, the following description is now taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0050] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example satellite network architecture with a bend transponder;

[0051] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless network;

[0052] Figure 3 An example user device according to certain embodiments is shown;

[0053] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating an example method in a wireless device according to certain embodiments;

[0054] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating example methods in a network node according to certain embodiments;

[0055] Figure 6 A schematic block diagram of wireless devices and network nodes in a wireless network according to certain embodiments is shown;

[0056] Figure 7 An example virtualization environment according to certain embodiments is shown;

[0057] Figure 8 An example telecommunications network is shown that is connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to certain embodiments;

[0058] Figure 9 A host computer is shown that communicates with a user equipment via a base station through a partial wireless connection according to certain embodiments;

[0059] Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented according to certain embodiments;

[0060] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to certain embodiments;

[0061] Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to certain embodiments; and

[0062] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to certain embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0063] As stated above, there are currently certain challenges in connection control for non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). For example, current release and redirection messages and frameworks are only used for terrestrial networks and do not adequately consider scenarios involving NTN networks or service continuity between terrestrial networks (TN) and NTNs. Certain aspects of this disclosure and its embodiments can provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, certain embodiments use RRCRelease with redirection to facilitate UE movement on carrier frequencies or between networks including NTNs.

[0064] Specific embodiments are described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example only to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0065] To facilitate UE redirection, in some embodiments, the specification of the RRCReleasw message is extended to include optional information informing the UE of the carrier frequency to which it is redirected to the NTN, possibly accompanied by additional information about the relevant NTN (which facilitates UE access to that NTN). In some embodiments, the information in the RRCReleasw message can be provided by adding a new radio access technology (RAT) type (e.g., nrn similar to nr or eutra) and corresponding element parameters (i.e., RedirectedCarrierInfoNTN or CarrierInfoNTN (or RedirectCarrierInfoNR-NTN or CarrierInfoNR-NTN for NTNs operating NR / NG-RAN and NTNs operating LTE / EUTRA, respectively, and possibly RedirectCarrierInfo-EUTRA-NTN)) to the RedirectedCarrierInfo, which may include information about the following: carrier frequency (e.g., ntnFrequency), SMTC, subcarrier spacing, core network type (e.g., cnType), possible NTN RAT (e.g., NR / NG-RAN or LTE / EUTRAN), etc.

[0066] In some embodiments, this information is provided in the existing CarrierInfoNR IE. In some embodiments, the RCRelease message may include additional information to facilitate the UE's access to the NTN to which it has been redirected, such as in the CarrierInfoNR IE or the new RedirectedCarrierInfo-NTN / CarrierInfoNTN / RedirectCarrierInfoNR-NTN / CarrierInfoNR-NTN IE (note that although all of these (and more) new IE names related to redirection to the NTN are possible, for convenience they will not be repeated everywhere such IE names appear in this document).

[0067] Such information can include ephemeris data, which includes (e.g., in the new IE EphemerisInfo) spatial and temporal information about the satellite orbit of the NTN, making it easier for the UE to orient its receive and / or transmit antennas toward the satellite or calculate timing advance (TA) and Doppler shift correction. The presence of an IE that only appears in the case of redirection to the NTN can be used as an implicit indication of redirection to the NTN. The UE can also use ephemeris data to estimate the Doppler shift experienced by transmissions to / from the satellite to the satellite (or other NTN platforms). Alternatively, the NTN or redirection-related information provided in the RRRCRelease message can include an explicit indication of the Doppler shift that the UE can take in communication with the network to which the UE is redirected.

[0068] The following ASN.1 definition illustrates the existing signaling structure for reference:

[0069]

[0070]

[0071] In some embodiments, the information provided as part of the RRRRelease message includes the NTN cell, whose ID (global cell ID and / or physical cell ID) may be provided implicitly or, for example, in the RedirectedCarrierInfo-NTN (or within the CarrierInfoNR). This cell-specific redirection may be mandatory for the UE to comply with, or it may be implemented as a cell-specific offset (i.e., an offset in dB of measured cell quality, such as Reference Received Power (RSRP) or Reference Received Quality (RSRQ)) that favors the relevant cell in cell ranking and cell selection performed by the UE. In addition to providing an indication of the carrier the UE should move to, a cell indication may be provided, or the cell indication may be an implicit indication of the carrier frequency of the indicated cell to which the UE should move.

[0072] In some embodiments, the information provided as part of the RRRCrease message includes the type of NTN (e.g., LEO, MEO, GEO, HIBS, or HAPS) or the type of architecture (e.g., bend or regenerative architecture). Although HAPS and HIBS are classified as NTNs, they are not satellite networks themselves. According to any of the embodiments described above, HAPS can be readily included in the information redirected to the NTN (i.e., the information redirected to the NTN can be applied to HAPS). This is also possible for HIBS, but for HIBS, some embodiments include the relevant redirection information in existing carrier (redirection) information elements (e.g., CarrierInfoNR IE).

[0073] According to the 3GPP Release 15 specification, in the RRRCRelease message, the network can instruct the UE to reduce the priority of the current carrier frequency or the current RAT (e.g., NR) within a specific time period (indicated by the deprioritisationTimer parameter, i.e., deprioritisationReq IE). This parameter structure can be extended with the possibility of indications related to the NTN context.

[0074] In some embodiments, the range of values ​​for the `deprioritisationType` parameter of type `ENUMERATED` (currently "frequency" or "nr") has been expanded to include more possible values, such as "tn", which indicates that the UE should lower the priority of terrestrial networks and prefer non-terrestrial networks, or "ntn", which indicates that the UE should lower the priority of non-terrestrial networks and prefer terrestrial networks (wherein the latter is likely to be used if the `RRCReleasw` message is sent by an NTN). Other indication possibilities for the value of the `deprioritisationType` parameter can include different types of NTNs, such as "leo", "meo", "geo", "haps", or "hibs", which respectively indicate that the UE should lower the priority of LEO, MEO, GEO, HAPS, or HIBS networks, or that the UE should lower the priority of a particular NTN architecture (i.e., a network using a relevant architecture), such as lowering the priority of an NTN using a bend architecture, or lowering the priority of an NTN using a regenerative architecture.

[0075] As another extension, some embodiments include multiple deprioritisationType parameters, such as a sequence of such parameters or parameter values, or a list of deprioritisationType values / indications, to indicate that the UE should reduce the priority of a specific combination of the indicated types, for example, reducing the priority of an NTN operating LTE / EUTRA, or reducing the priority of an LEO NTN using a bend-tube architecture.

[0076] The currently defined deprioritisationReq IE is defined such that it can only instruct the UE to reduce the priority of attributes (e.g., the cell's carrier frequency or the cell's RAT (e.g., NR)) associated with the current cell (i.e., the cell in which the UE receives the RRCRelease message). In some embodiments, this is extended to allow for priority reduction of attributes / aspects not associated with the current cell. When the aspect to be deprioritized is the carrier frequency, this can be viewed to some extent as providing a temporary (time-limited) carrier frequency priority that temporarily overrides the regular carrier frequency priority, i.e., the priority provided in the system information or the priority provided in the RRCRelease message (which overrides the priority provided in the system information when there is a conflict). This deprioritization can involve any of the previously described deprioritization "objects," such as carrier frequencies, RATs, TN / NTN, NTN types, etc., not associated with the current cell. For example, in an RRCRelease message sent in a TN cell, the network can instruct a temporary reduction in the priority of the NTN.

[0077] In some embodiments, no explicit NTN (or TN / NTN) indication is introduced in the redirection-related information in the RRCReleasw message, but the carrier frequency to which the UE is redirected implicitly informs the UE that it is being redirected to an NTN (i.e., the UE has prior information about certain carrier frequencies or frequency ranges being used for NTN). Optionally, this can be combined with the inclusion of any other NTN or redirection-related information described above. In a variant of this embodiment, when the UE is redirected to a HIBS network, an explicit NTN (or TN / NTN) indication is included (because the HIBS network operates on International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) frequencies, i.e., frequencies that may also be used for TN), but for other NTN types operating on satellite communication frequencies, an explicit NTN (or TN / NTN) indication is not included.

[0078] The above embodiments and examples have primarily described the scenario of a UE redirecting from a TN to an NTN. However, the specific embodiments are also applicable to the opposite scenario and can be further extended to any redirection situation—at least to redirections involving NTNs in one or more ways, such as redirections between NTNs. Therefore, when a UE redirects from an NTN, the TN / NTN indication in the RRCRelease message (as discussed in the context of the previous embodiments) can also be used.

[0079] For example, the indication could be "TN", indicating that the UE is being redirected from an NTN to a TN; or "NTN", indicating that the UE is being redirected from one NTN to another, such as from one NTN carrier frequency to another and / or from one type (e.g., LEO) of NTN to another type (e.g., GEO) of NTN. Alternatively, if the UE is being redirected from an NTN and the TN / NTN indication is not present, this indicates that the UE is being redirected to another NTN (i.e., the same network type is the default). The TN indication could also include the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) ID. It could also include a timestamp indicating when the UE was allowed to search / consider NTN cells for camping. Alternatively, if the UE is being redirected from an NTN and the TN / NTN indication or NTN type (e.g., LEO, MEO, GEO, HAPS, HIBS) is not present, this indicates that the UE is being redirected to a TN (i.e., TN is the default). Similarly, if an indication of (optional) NTN type (e.g., LEO, MEO, GEO, HAPS, HIBS) is introduced in the RRRCRelease message, the absence of such an indication may indicate that the NTN to which the UE is redirected is of the same type as the NTN that indicated the redirection.

[0080] The above embodiment is described to some extent as also applicable to NTNs operating LTE / EUTRA, for example, when referring to the RedirectCarrierInfo-EUTRA IE. Other aspects of this solution can be readily adapted for LTE; for example, most NTN or redirection-related information can also be applied when the NTN is operating LTE / EUTRA. Another adaptation of this solution is that the RRCReleasw message can be replaced by the RRCConnectionRelease message defined for LTE / EUTRA.

[0081] exist Figure 2 In this network node 160, processing circuitry 170, device-readable medium 180, interface 190, auxiliary equipment 184, power supply 186, power supply circuitry 187, and antenna 162 are included. Although Figure 2 The network node 160 shown in the exemplary wireless network may represent a device including a combination of the hardware components shown, but other embodiments may include network nodes with different combinations of components.

[0082] It should be understood that a network node includes any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Furthermore, while the components of network node 160 are depicted as a single box within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component (e.g., device-readable medium 180 may include multiple separate hard disk drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0083] Similarly, network node 160 can consist of multiple physically separate components (e.g., Node B components and RNC components, BTS components and BSC components, etc.), each with its own corresponding components. In some scenarios where network node 160 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components can be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC can control multiple NodeBs. In such scenarios, each unique NodeB and RNC pair can be considered a single, separate network node in some cases.

[0084] In some embodiments, network node 160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 160 may also include multiple sets of various illustrated components for integration into network node 160 of different wireless technologies (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies). These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 160.

[0085] Processing circuitry 170 is configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 170 may include information obtained by processing circuitry 170 through processes such as: converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained or converted information with information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained or converted information, and making a determination based on the result of said processing.

[0086] Processor circuitry 170 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coding logic, operable to provide network node 160 functionality alone or together with other network node 160 components (e.g., device-readable medium 180).

[0087] For example, processing circuitry 170 may execute instructions stored in device-readable medium 180 or in memory within processing circuitry 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0088] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., radio units and digital units). In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0089] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 170, which executes instructions stored on device-readable medium 180 or memory within processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by processing circuitry 170, for example, in a hard-wired manner, without executing instructions stored on separate or discrete device-readable media. In any of these embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform the described functions regardless of whether instructions stored on device-readable storage media are executed. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to processing circuitry 170 or other components of network node 160, but are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole and / or generally by end users and the wireless network.

[0090] Device-readable medium 180 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to permanent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drives, compact discs (CDs), or digital video discs (DVDs)) and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions usable by processing circuitry 170. Device-readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and / or other instructions executable by processing circuitry 170 and usable by network node 160. Device-readable medium 180 may be used to store any calculations performed by processing circuitry 170 and / or any data received via interface 190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 and device-readable medium 180 may be considered integrated.

[0091] Interface 190 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 160, network 106, and / or WD 110. As shown, interface 190 includes ports / terminals 194 for sending and receiving data to and from network 106, for example, via a wired connection. Interface 190 also includes radio front-end circuitry 192, which may be coupled to antenna 162, or in some embodiments, is part of antenna 162.

[0092] The radio front-end circuit 192 includes a filter 198 and an amplifier 196. The radio front-end circuit 192 can be connected to an antenna 162 and processing circuitry 170. The radio front-end circuit can be configured to modulate the signal communicating between the antenna 162 and processing circuitry 170. The radio front-end circuit 192 can receive digital data that will be transmitted wirelessly to other network nodes or WDs. The radio front-end circuit 192 can use a combination of filter 198 and / or amplifier 196 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 162 can collect radio signals, which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuit 192. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry 170. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0093] In some alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not include a separate radio front-end circuitry 192. Instead, processing circuitry 170 may include radio front-end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 162 without requiring a separate radio front-end circuitry 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 172 may be considered part of interface 190. In other embodiments, interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, radio front-end circuitry 192, and RF transceiver circuitry 172 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 190 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0094] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 192 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may include one or more omnidirectional, sector, or planar antennas operable to transmit / receive radio signals in, for example, between 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas can be used to transmit / receive radio signals in any direction, sector antennas can be used to transmit / receive radio signals to / from devices within a specific area, and planar antennas can be line-of-sight antennas used to transmit / receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some cases, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may be separate from network node 160 and may be connected to network node 160 via an interface or port.

[0095] Antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuitry 170 can be configured to perform any receive operation and / or certain acquire operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals can be received from a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuitry 170 can be configured to perform any transmit operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals can be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0096] Power supply circuitry 187 may include or be coupled to power management circuitry and is configured to provide power to the components of network node 160 for performing the functions described herein. Power supply circuitry 187 may receive power from power source 186. Power source 186 and / or power supply circuitry 187 may be configured to provide power to various components of network node 160 in a manner suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). Power source 186 may be included in or external to power supply circuitry 187 and / or network node 160.

[0097] For example, network node 160 can be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit or an interface such as a cable, thereby supplying power to power circuit 187. As another example, power source 186 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack, which is connected to or integrated into power circuit 187. The battery can provide backup power if the external power source fails. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, can also be used.

[0098] Alternative embodiments of network node 160 may include more than Figure 2 Additional components of the components shown may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the functionality of the network node (including any of the functions described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein). For example, network node 160 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into and output from network node 160. This can allow users to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on network node 160.

[0099] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) means a device capable of, configured, positioned, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise stated, the term WD may be used interchangeably with User Equipment (UE) herein. Wireless transmission may include sending and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information through the air.

[0100] In some embodiments, a WD can be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a WD can be designed to send information to the network in a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the network.

[0101] Examples of WD devices include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client devices (CPEs), and in-vehicle wireless terminal devices. WD devices can support device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, and vehicle-to-anything (V2X) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, and in this case, can be referred to as D2D communication devices.

[0102] As another specific example, in the Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or network node. In this case, the WD can be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which in the 3GPP context can be referred to as an MTC device. As an example, a WD can be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (e.g., power meters), industrial machines, or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).

[0103] In other scenarios, WD can refer to a vehicle or other device capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. As described above, WD can also refer to a wirelessly connected endpoint, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, as described above, WD can be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or mobile terminal.

[0104] As shown in the figure, wireless device 110 includes an antenna 111, an interface 114, processing circuitry 120, a device-readable medium 130, a user interface device 132, auxiliary devices 134, a power supply 136, and a power circuit 137. WD 110 may include one or more of the components shown for various wireless technologies supported by WD 110 (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name just a few). These wireless technologies may be integrated into a chip or chipset that is the same as or different from other components within WD 110.

[0105] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and connected to interface 114. In some alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separate from WD 110 and may be connected to WD 110 via an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and / or processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any receive or transmit operations described herein as performed by a WD. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front-end circuitry and / or antenna 111 may be considered as an interface.

[0106] As shown, interface 114 includes radio front-end circuitry 112 and antenna 111. Radio front-end circuitry 112 includes one or more filters 118 and amplifiers 116. Radio front-end circuitry 112 is connected to antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120 and is configured to modulate signals communicating between antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120. Radio front-end circuitry 112 may be coupled to antenna 111 or is part of antenna 1011. In some embodiments, WD 110 may not include a separate radio front-end circuitry 112; instead, processing circuitry 120 may include radio front-end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be considered part of interface 114.

[0107] Radio front-end circuitry 112 can receive digital data, which will be transmitted wirelessly to other network nodes or WDs. Radio front-end circuitry 112 can use a combination of filter 118 and / or amplifier 116 to convert the digital data into radio signals with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signals can then be transmitted via antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 111 can collect radio signals, which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 112. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry 120. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0108] Processor circuitry 120 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, controller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field-programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coding logic, operable to provide WD 110 functionality, either alone or together with other WD 110 components (e.g., device-readable medium 130). Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 120 may execute instructions stored in device-readable medium 130 or in memory within processing circuitry 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0109] As shown in the figure, the processing circuit 120 includes one or more of the following: RF transceiver circuit 122, baseband processing circuit 124, and application processing circuit 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuit may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 120 of the WD110 may include a System-on-a-Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit 122, baseband processing circuit 124, and application processing circuit 126 may be on separate chips or chipsets.

[0110] In alternative embodiments, some or all of the baseband processing circuitry 124 and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined into a single chip or chipset, and the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In another alternative embodiment, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122 and the baseband processing circuitry 124 may be on the same chip or chipset, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In still other alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined into the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be part of interface 114. The RF transceiver circuitry 122 may modulate RF signals for use by the processing circuitry 120.

[0111] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being performed by WD may be provided by processing circuitry 120, which executes instructions stored on device-readable medium 130, which in some embodiments may be computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by processing circuitry 120, for example, in a hard-wired manner, without executing instructions stored on separate or discrete device-readable storage media.

[0112] In any of these embodiments, the processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform the described functions, regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to the processing circuitry 120 or other components of the WD 110, but are enjoyed by the WD 110 and / or generally by the end user and the wireless network.

[0113] Processing circuit 120 can be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by WD. These operations performed by processing circuit 120 may include information acquired by processing circuit 120 through processes such as: converting the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or converted information with information stored by WD 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information, and making a determination based on the result of said processing.

[0114] Device-readable medium 130 is operable to store computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and / or other instructions executable by processing circuitry 120. Device-readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., CD or DVD), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device storing information, data, and / or instructions usable by processing circuitry 120. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 120 and device-readable medium 130 may be integrated.

[0115] User interface device 132 can provide components that allow a human user to interact with WD 110. This interaction can take many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. User interface device 132 is operable to produce output to the user and allow the user to provide input to WD 110. The type of interaction can vary depending on the type of user interface device 132 installed in WD 110. For example, if WD 110 is a smartphone, interaction can be via a touchscreen; if WD 110 is a smart meter, interaction can be via a screen providing usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker providing audible alarms (e.g., if smoke is detected).

[0116] User interface device 132 may include input interfaces, devices, and circuitry, as well as output interfaces, devices, and circuitry. User interface device 132 is configured to allow information to be input into WD 110 and is connected to processing circuitry 120 to allow processing circuitry 120 to process the input information. User interface device 132 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensors, buttons / buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface device 132 is also configured to allow information to be output from WD 110 and to allow processing circuitry 120 to output information from WD 110. User interface device 132 may include, for example, a speaker, display, vibration circuitry, a USB port, a headphone jack, or other output circuitry. By using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuitry of user interface device 132, WD 110 can communicate with end users and / or wireless networks and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0117] The auxiliary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functions that may not typically be performed by the WD. This may include dedicated sensors for measuring for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communication, etc. The components included and the types of the auxiliary device 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0118] In some embodiments, power source 136 may be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., a power outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery cell. WD 110 may also include power supply circuitry 137 for supplying power from power source 136 to various parts of WD 110 that require power from power source 136 to perform any function described or indicated herein. In some embodiments, power supply circuitry 137 may include power management circuitry.

[0119] The power supply circuit 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in this case, the WD 110 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit or an interface such as a power cable. In some embodiments, the power supply circuit 137 may also be operable to deliver power from an external power source to the power source 136. This may be used, for example, to charge the power source 136. The power supply circuit 137 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modifications on the power from the power source 136 to suit the power supply for the various components of the WD 110 that are powering it.

[0120] While the subjects described herein can be implemented using any suitable components in any suitable type of system, the embodiments disclosed herein pertain to wireless networks (e.g., Figure 2 The example wireless network shown is described below. For simplicity, Figure 2The wireless network depicted only includes network 106, network nodes 160 and 160b, and WDs 110, 110b, and 110c. In practice, the wireless network may also include any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (e.g., a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). Among the components shown, network node 160 and wireless device (WD) 110 are depicted with additional details. The wireless network can provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate access to and / or use of services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0121] Figure 3 Example user equipment is shown according to certain embodiments. As used herein, "user equipment" or "UE" may not necessarily have the meaning of "user" in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated equipment. Alternatively, UE may refer to a device intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not or initially be associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, UE may refer to a device not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 200 may be any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including NB-IoT UE, Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or Enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. Figure 3 As shown, UE 200 is an example of a WD configured for communication according to one or more communication standards (such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards) published under the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). As previously stated, the terms WD and UE are used interchangeably. Therefore, although... Figure 3 It is a UE, but the components discussed in this article also apply to WD, and vice versa.

[0122] exist Figure 3 In this embodiment, UE 200 includes processing circuitry 201 (operably coupled to input / output interface 205), radio frequency (RF) interface 209, network connectivity interface 211, memory 215 including random access memory (RAM) 217, read-only memory (ROM) 219, and storage medium 221, communication subsystem 231, power supply 213, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 includes operating system 223, applications 225, and data 227. In other embodiments, storage medium 221 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may use... Figure 3All components are shown, or only a subset of components are used. The level of integration between components can vary from UE to UE. Furthermore, some UEs may contain multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0123] exist Figure 3 In this embodiment, processing circuitry 201 can be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processor 201 can be configured to execute any sequential state machine containing machine instructions stored in memory as a machine-readable computer program, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic and suitable firmware; one or more stored programs, a general-purpose processor (e.g., a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP)) and suitable software; or any combination thereof. For example, processing circuitry 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0124] In the depicted embodiments, the input / output interface 205 can be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or both input and output devices. The UE 200 can be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 205.

[0125] Output devices can use the same type of interface port as input devices. For example, a USB port can be used to provide input to and output from the UE 200. Output devices can be speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, transmitters, smart cards, other output devices, or any combination thereof.

[0126] UE 200 can be configured to use input devices via input / output interface 205 to allow a user to capture information into UE 200. Input devices may include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital camcorders, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional keyboards, touchpads, scroll wheels, smart cards, etc. Presence-sensitive displays may include capacitive or resistive touch sensors to sense input from the user. Sensors may be, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt sensors, force sensors, magnetometers, optical sensors, proximity sensors, another type of sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, input devices may include accelerometers, magnetometers, digital cameras, microphones, and optical sensors.

[0127] exist Figure 3In this configuration, RF interface 209 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as transmitters, receivers, and antennas. Network connectivity interface 211 can be configured to provide a communication interface to network 243a. Network 243a may include wired and / or wireless networks, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), computer networks, wireless networks, telecommunications networks, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, network 243a may include a Wi-Fi network. Network connectivity interface 211 can be configured to include receiver and transmitter interfaces for communicating with one or more other devices over the communication network according to one or more communication protocols (e.g., Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc.). Network connectivity interface 211 can implement receiver and transmitter functions suitable for the communication network link (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components or software, or alternatively, may be implemented separately.

[0128] RAM 217 can be configured to interface with processing circuitry 201 via bus 202 to provide storage or cache of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as operating systems, applications, and device drivers. ROM 219 can be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 201. For example, ROM 219 can be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I / O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard, stored in non-volatile memory.

[0129] Storage medium 221 can be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable magnetic tape, or flash drive. In one example, storage medium 221 can be configured to include operating system 223, application 225 such as a web browser application, widget or utility engine or another application, and data files 227. Storage medium 221 can store any one or a combination of various operating systems for use by UE 200.

[0130] Storage medium 221 can be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as redundant arrays of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drives, flash memory, USB flash drives, external hard disk drives, thumb drives, pen drives, key drives, high-density digital multifunction disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drives, internal hard disk drives, Blu-ray disc drives, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drives, external mini dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory (e.g., a user identification module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module), other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 can allow UE 200 to access computer-executable instructions, applications, etc., stored on transient or non-transient storage media to offload or upload data. Articles such as those utilizing communication systems can be tangibly embodied in storage medium 221, which can include device-readable media.

[0131] exist Figure 3 In this configuration, processing circuitry 201 can be configured to communicate with network 243b using communication subsystem 231. Networks 243a and 243b can be one or more of the same networks or one or more different networks. Communication subsystem 231 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with network 243b. For example, communication subsystem 231 can be configured to include one or more remote transceivers for communicating with another device (e.g., another WD, UE) or a base station of a radio access network (RAN) capable of wireless communication according to one or more communication protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.2, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc.). Each transceiver can include transmitter 233 and / or receiver 235 to implement transmitter or receiver functions suitable for the RAN link (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.). Furthermore, the transmitter 233 and receiver 235 of each transceiver can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, can be implemented separately.

[0132] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication (such as the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) for determining location), another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 243b may include wired and / or wireless networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power supply 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 200.

[0133] The features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 200 or partitioned among multiple components of UE 200. Furthermore, the features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Additionally, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to communicate with any such component via bus 202. In another example, any such component may be represented by program instructions stored in memory, which, when executed by processing circuitry 201, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any such component may be partitioned between processing circuitry 201 and communication subsystem 231. In yet another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0134] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating example methods in a wireless device according to certain embodiments. In a particular embodiment, Figure 4 One or more steps can be made by regarding Figure 2 The wireless device 110 described is used to perform this function. The wireless device is operable to perform NTN connection control.

[0135] The method begins at step 412, in which a network node (e.g., network node 160) receives a message including one or more parameters from which a wireless device learns that it will disconnect from the TN and connect to one or more TNs, or disconnect from the NTN and connect to one or more TNs.

[0136] In a particular embodiment, the message is an RRRCRelease message. The one or more parameters may include the carrier frequency of the NTN, the RAT type associated with the NTN, and / or one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), subcarrier spacing, core network type, cell identifier, and the type of NTN (e.g., low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, or high Earth orbit, etc.).

[0137] In a particular embodiment, the one or more parameters include information that facilitates the wireless device in finding and / or connecting to satellites associated with the NTN (e.g., ephemeris data, information about feeder links, location of gateways on the ground, information about coverage (e.g., estimated cell area), etc.).

[0138] In a particular embodiment, the one or more parameters include priority information associated with the NTN. The priority information may include offsets applied to one or more cell quality values, and / or depriorityType. The priority information may include a list. The priority information may be associated with cells different from the current cell.

[0139] In a particular embodiment, the one or more parameters include any parameters described with respect to the embodiments and / or examples described herein.

[0140] In a particular embodiment, the one or more parameters are part of the RedirectedCarrierInfo information element, the CarrierInfoNR information element, and / or a new information element.

[0141] When the one or more parameters inform the wireless device that it is connected to one or more NTNs, at step 414, the wireless device disconnects from the TN, and at step 416, at least one of the one or more NTNs is detected.

[0142] At step 418, the wireless device selects at least one of the detected NTNs based at least in part on the one or more parameters, and at step 420, synchronizes with the selected NTN, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is used to facilitate the synchronization. At step 422, the wireless device connects to the selected NTN.

[0143] When the one or more parameters indicate that the wireless device is connected to one or more TNs, at step 424, the wireless device disconnects from the NTN, and at step 426, at least one of the one or more TNs is detected.

[0144] At step 428, the wireless device selects at least one NTN from one or more detected TNs based at least in part on the one or more parameters, and at step 430, synchronizes with the selected TN, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is used to facilitate the synchronization. At step 432, the wireless device connects to the selected TN.

[0145] Can be Figure 4 Method 400 can be modified, added to, or omitted. Additionally, Figure 4 One or more steps in the method can be executed in parallel or in any suitable order. For example, a wireless device can wait until it has successfully detected and selected a new network before disconnecting from it.

[0146] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating example methods in a network node according to certain embodiments. In a particular embodiment, Figure 5 One or more steps can be made by regarding Figure 2 The network node 160 is described to perform this action. The network node is operable to perform NTN connection control.

[0147] The method begins at step 512, in which a network node (e.g., network node 160) obtains one or more parameters associated with an NTN, and at step 514, sends a message to a wireless device. The message includes one or more parameters that instruct the wireless device to disconnect from the terrestrial network (TN) and connect to one or more NTNs.

[0148] In a particular embodiment, the message and the one or more parameters are the same as those described with respect to the wireless device embodiment.

[0149] Can be Figure 5 Method 500 can be modified, added to, or omitted. Additionally, Figure 5 One or more steps in the method can be executed in parallel or in any suitable order.

[0150] Figure 6 A wireless network (e.g.) is shown Figure 2 The diagram shows two devices in a wireless network. The devices include a wireless device and a network node (e.g., [example device]). Figure 2 The wireless device 110 and network node 160 are shown. Devices 1600 and 1700 are operable to perform reference respectively. Figure 4 and Figure 5 The example methods described herein may perform any other procedures or methods disclosed herein. It should also be understood that... Figure 4 and Figure 5The method is not necessarily performed solely by devices 1600 and / or 1700. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0151] Virtual devices 1600 and 1700 may include processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, and other digital hardware, including digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific digital logic, etc. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory, optical storage devices, etc. In several embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more of the technologies described herein.

[0152] In some implementations, the processing circuitry can be used to cause the receiving module 1602, the determining module 1604, the transmitting module 1606, and any other suitable unit of the device 1600 to perform the corresponding functions described in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, the processing circuitry described above can be used to cause the obtaining module 1702, the transmitting module 1706, and any other suitable unit of the device 1700 to perform the corresponding functions described in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0153] like Figure 6 As shown, device 1600 includes a receiving module 1602 configured to receive control and signaling information, such as handover messages and configuration messages, according to any embodiments and examples described herein. A determining module 1604 is configured to determine which network the device should switch to, according to any embodiments and examples described herein. A sending module 1606 is configured to send control and signaling information, such as handover messages and configuration messages, according to any embodiments and examples described herein.

[0154] like Figure 6 As shown, apparatus 1700 includes an acquisition module 1702 configured to acquire one or more parameters associated with an NTN, according to any embodiments and examples described herein. A transmission module 1706 is configured to send a message to a wireless device, according to any embodiments and examples described herein, the message including one or more parameters informing the wireless device to disconnect from the TN and connect to one or more NTNs.

[0155] Figure 7This is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 300, in which functionality implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device that may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to nodes (e.g., virtualized base stations or virtualized radio access nodes) or devices (e.g., UEs, wireless devices, or any other type of communication device) or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., through one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0156] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 300 hosted on one or more hardware nodes 330. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), the network node may then be fully virtualized.

[0157] These functionalities can be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual devices, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.), operable to implement some of the features, functionalities, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 320 run in a virtualization environment 300, which provides hardware 330 including processing circuitry 360 and memory 390. Memory 390 contains instructions 395 executable by the processing circuitry 360, thereby enabling application 320 to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functionalities disclosed herein.

[0158] The virtualization environment 300 includes general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices 330, which include one or more processors or processing circuitry 360, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special-purpose processors. Each hardware device may include memory 390-1, which may be non-permanent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by the processing circuitry 360. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370 (also referred to as network interface cards), which include physical network interfaces 380. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, permanent machine-readable storage medium 390-2 in which the software 395 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuitry 360 are stored. The software 395 may include any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also referred to as hypervisors), software for executing virtual machines 340, and software that allows them to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation to some embodiments described herein.

[0159] Virtual machine 340 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device 320 may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 340, and these implementations may be made in different ways.

[0160] During operation, the processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). The virtualization layer 350 can present a virtual operating platform that appears as networked hardware of the virtual machine 340.

[0161] like Figure 7 As shown, hardware 330 can be a standalone network node with general or specific components. Hardware 330 may include antenna 3225 and may implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 330 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed by management and coordination (MANO) 3100, which oversees the lifecycle management of application 320, etc.

[0162] In some contexts, hardware virtualization is referred to as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to unify many types of network devices into industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can reside in data centers and customer residential equipment.

[0163] In the context of NFV, virtual machine 340 can be a software implementation of a physical machine, and its running programs are executed as if they were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 340, along with the portion of hardware 330 that executes that virtual machine (whether it is hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and / or hardware shared by that virtual machine and other virtual machines in virtual machine 340), forms a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0164] Still within the context of NFV, Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) are responsible for handling one or more virtual machines 340 running on top of the hardware network infrastructure 330 and corresponding to... Figure 7 The application uses specific network functions of the 320.

[0165] In some embodiments, each of the one or more radio units 3200, including one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. The radio unit 3200 may communicate directly with the hardware node 330 via one or more suitable network interfaces and may be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to the virtual node, such as a radio access node or base station.

[0166] In some embodiments, the control system 3230 may be used to implement some signaling, and the control system 3230 may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware node 330 and the radio unit 3200.

[0167] refer to Figure 8 According to an embodiment, the communication system includes: a telecommunications network 410, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which includes an access network 411 (such as a radio access network) and a core network 414. The access network 411 includes multiple base stations 412a, 412b, 412c, such as NB, eNB, gNB, or other types of radio access points, each base station defining a corresponding coverage area 413a, 413b, 413c. Each base station 412a, 412b, 412c can be connected to the core network 414 via a wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located in coverage area 413c is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by the corresponding base station 412c. A second UE 492 located in coverage area 413a can wirelessly connect to the corresponding base station 412a. Although multiple UEs 491, 492 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to cases where a single UE is located in the coverage area or a single UE is connected to the corresponding base station 412.

[0168] Telecommunications network 410 is connected to host computer 430, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server cluster. Host computer 430 may be owned by or under the control of a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. Connections 421 and 422 between telecommunications network 410 and host computer 430 may extend directly from core network 414 to host computer 430, or may pass through optional intermediate network 420. Intermediate network 420 may be one or more of public, private, or hosted networks; intermediate network 420 (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; specifically, intermediate network 420 may include two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0169] Figure 8 The communication system as a whole establishes a connection between the connected UEs 491 and 492 and the host computer 430. This connection can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450. The host computer 430 and the connected UEs 491 and 492 are configured to transmit data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 450 using the access network 411, core network 414, any intermediate network 420, and possibly other infrastructure (not shown) acting as intermediaries. The participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 450 passes are unaware of the routes for uplink and downlink communications; in this sense, the OTT connection 450 can be transparent. For example, the base station 412 may not be informed, or does not need to be informed, about the past routes of incoming downlink communications containing data originating from the host computer 430 and to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 491. Similarly, the base station 412 does not need to know the future routes of uplink communications originating from the UE 491 and outputting towards the host computer 430.

[0170] Figure 9 An example host computer is shown that communicates with a user equipment via a base station through a partially wireless connection according to certain embodiments. Reference will now be made to... Figure 9The preceding paragraphs describe example implementations of the UE, base station, and host computer according to embodiments discussed in the preceding paragraphs. In the communication system 500, the host computer 510 includes hardware 515, which includes a communication interface 516 configured to establish and maintain wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 500. The host computer 510 also includes processing circuitry 518, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. Specifically, the processing circuitry 518 may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or combinations of such devices (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 510 also includes software 511, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 510 and can be executed by the processing circuitry 518. The software 511 includes a host application 512. The host application 512 can be operated to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 530 connected via an OTT connection 550 terminating between the UE 530 and the host computer 510. When providing services to remote users, host application 512 can provide user data sent using OTT connection 550.

[0171] The communication system 500 also includes a base station 520 installed in the telecommunications system. The base station 520 includes hardware 525 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 510 and the UE 530. Hardware 525 may include: a communication interface 526 for establishing and maintaining wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 500; and a radio interface 527 for establishing and maintaining connections with the coverage area served by the base station 520 (in...). Figure 9 At least one wireless connection 570 of UE 530 (not shown in the diagram). Communication interface 526 can be configured to facilitate connection 560 to host computer 510. Connection 560 can be a direct connection, or alternatively, the connection can traverse the core network of the telecommunications system (in the diagram). Figure 9 (Not shown) and / or via one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 525 of base station 520 also includes processing circuitry 528, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station 520 also has software 521 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0172] The communication system 500 also includes the previously mentioned UE 530. Its hardware 535 may include a radio interface 537 configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 570 with a base station serving the coverage area currently occupied by the UE 530. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 also includes processing circuitry 538, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or combinations of such devices (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 530 also includes software 531, which is stored in or accessible from the UE 530 and can be executed by the processing circuitry 538. The software 531 includes a client application 532. The client application 532 can be operated to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 530 with the support of the host computer 510. In the host computer 510, a host application 512 is executing and can communicate with the executing client application 532 via an OTT connection 550, which terminates between the UE 530 and the host computer 510. When providing services to a user, client application 532 can receive request data from host application 512 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 550 can transmit both request data and user data. Client application 532 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0173] It should be noted that Figure 9 The host computer 510, base station 520, and UE 530 shown can be respectively connected to... Figure 7 The host computer 430, one of the base stations 412a, 412b, and 412c, and one of the UEs 491 and 492 are similar to or equivalent to each other. That is to say, the internal workings of these entities can be as follows: Figure 9 As shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Figure 7 The network topology.

[0174] exist Figure 9 The OTT connection 550 has been abstractly depicted to illustrate communication between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 via the base station 520, without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices or the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure can determine the routing, which can be configured to be hidden from the service provider operating the host computer 510 or both. When the OTT connection 550 is active, the network infrastructure can also make decisions to dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or network reconfiguration).

[0175] The wireless connection 570 between UE 530 and base station 520 is consistent with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT services provided to UE 530 using OTT connection 550, in which wireless connection 570 forms the final part. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments can improve signaling overhead and reduce latency, which can provide users with faster internet access.

[0176] Measurement procedures may be provided for monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that are the subject of improvements in one or more embodiments. Optional network functions may also exist for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 in response to changes in measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 may be implemented in the software 511 and hardware 515 of the host computer 510, or in the software 531 and hardware 535 of the UE 530, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with communication devices through which the OTT connection 550 traverses; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities illustrated above, or by providing values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software 511, 531 can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 550 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; reconfiguration does not need to affect the base station 520 and may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 520. Such procedures and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling, which facilitates the host computer 510 in measuring throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurement can be achieved by software 511 and 531 using OTT connection 550 to send messages (particularly empty messages or "virtual" messages) while simultaneously monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0177] Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented according to an embodiment in a communication system. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be referenced... Figure 8 and Figure 9 The host computers, base stations, and UEs described herein. For the sake of simplicity, this section includes only descriptions of... Figure 10 Reference.

[0178] In step 610, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 611 of step 610 (which may be optional), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In step 620, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying user data. In step 630 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings throughout the embodiments described herein, the base station sends the user data carried in the host computer-initiated transmission to the UE. In step 640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0179] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented according to an embodiment in a communication system. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be referenced... Figure 8 and Figure 9 The host computers, base stations, and UEs described herein. For the sake of simplicity, this section includes only descriptions of... Figure 11 Reference.

[0180] In step 710 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In step 720, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying the user data. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission can be carried out via a base station. In step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0181] Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented according to an embodiment in a communication system. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be referenced... Figure 8 and Figure 9 The host computers, base stations, and UEs described herein. For the sake of simplicity, this section includes only descriptions of... Figure 12 Reference.

[0182] In step 810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 820, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 821 of step 820 (which may be optional), the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 811 of step 810 (which may be optional), the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may also consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which user data is provided, in sub-step 830 (which may be optional), the UE initiates the transmission of user data to the host computer. In step 840 of the method, in accordance with the teachings throughout the embodiments described in this disclosure, the host computer receives user data sent from the UE.

[0183] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented according to an embodiment in a communication system. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be referenced... Figure 8 and Figure 9 The host computers, base stations, and UEs described herein. For the sake of simplicity, this section includes only descriptions of... Figure 13 Reference.

[0184] In step 910 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE according to the teachings throughout the embodiments described in this disclosure. In step 920 (which may be optional), the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0185] The term unit may have the conventional meaning in the field of electronic, electrical and / or electronic equipment, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid-state and / or discrete devices, and computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, outputs and / or display functions (such as those described herein).

[0186] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention. Components of the systems and apparatus may be integrated or separated. Furthermore, the operation of the systems and apparatus may be performed by more components, fewer components, or other components. Additionally, any suitable logic, including software, hardware, and / or other logic, may be used to perform the operation of the systems and apparatus. As used herein, “each” refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

[0187] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods disclosed herein without departing from the scope of this invention. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Furthermore, the steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0188] The foregoing description sets forth many specific details. However, it should be understood that embodiments can be implemented without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description. Using the included description, those skilled in the art will be able to achieve appropriate functionality without excessive experimentation.

[0189] References to "an embodiment," "embodiment," "example embodiment," etc., in the specification indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but each embodiment may not necessarily include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it should be considered that implementing such a feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments (whether explicitly described or not) is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0190] Although this disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments, changes and arrangements of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above description of the embodiments does not limit this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the following claims.

[0191] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. In the event of inconsistencies between abbreviations, the usage above shall prevail. If listed multiple times below, the first listing shall take precedence over any subsequent listing.

[0192] 1x RTT CDMA2000 1x Radio Transmission Technology

[0193] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0194] 5G (Fifth Generation)

[0195] ABS almost blank subframe

[0196] ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request)

[0197] AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

[0198] BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

[0199] BCH Broadcast Channel

[0200] CA carrier aggregation

[0201] CC carrier member

[0202] CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU

[0203] CDMA Code Division Multiple Access

[0204] CGI Cell Global Identifier

[0205] CIR channel impulse response

[0206] CP cyclic prefix

[0207] CPICH Common Pilot Channel

[0208] CPICH Ec / No: CPICH energy received per chip divided by the power within the frequency band.

[0209] density

[0210] CQI Channel Quality Information

[0211] C-RNTI Community RNTI

[0212] CSI Channel State Information

[0213] CSI-RS CSI Reference Signal

[0214] DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

[0215] DL downlink

[0216] DM demodulation

[0217] DMRS demodulation reference signal

[0218] DRX discontinuous reception

[0219] DTX discontinuous transmission

[0220] DTCH Dedicated Service Channel

[0221] DUT (Device Under Test)

[0222] E-CID Enhanced Cell ID (Location Method)

[0223] E-SMLC evolved service mobility location center

[0224] ECGI evolved from CGI

[0225] eNB E-UTRAN Node B

[0226] EPDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0227] E-SMLC evolved service mobility location center

[0228] E-UTRA evolved from UTRA

[0229] E-UTRAN evolved from UTRAN

[0230] FDD (Frequency Division Duplex)

[0231] GEO (Geostationary Orbit)

[0232] GERN GSM EDGE radio access network

[0233] Base stations in gNB NR

[0234] GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

[0235] GPS Global Positioning System

[0236] GSM Global Mobile Communication System

[0237] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0238] H0 switch

[0239] HSPA High-Speed ​​Packet Access

[0240] HRPD High-Speed ​​Packet Data

[0241] LEO (Low Earth Orbit)

[0242] LOS (Location of View)

[0243] LPP LTE positioning protocol

[0244] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0245] MAC Media Access Control

[0246] MBMS Multimedia Broadcast / Multicast Service

[0247] MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network

[0248] MBSFN ABS MBSFN almost blank subframes

[0249] Minimum Drive Testing (MDT)

[0250] MEO (Medium Earth Orbit)

[0251] MIB (Master Information Block)

[0252] MME (Mobility Management Entity)

[0253] MSC Mobile Switching Center

[0254] NGSO (Non-Geostationary Orbit)

[0255] NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0256] NR New Radio

[0257] NTN non-terrestrial networks

[0258] OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator

[0259] OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing)

[0260] OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)

[0261] OSS Operation Support System

[0262] OTDOA Observation Time Difference

[0263] O&M Operations and Maintenance

[0264] PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel)

[0265] P-CCPCH Main Common Control Physical Channel

[0266] Pcell main cell

[0267] PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel

[0268] PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel)

[0269] PDP distribution delay distribution

[0270] PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel)

[0271] PGW Packet Gateway

[0272] PHICH Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel

[0273] PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

[0274] PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator

[0275] PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel)

[0276] PRS Positioning Reference Signal

[0277] PSS Master Synchronization Signal

[0278] PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel)

[0279] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0280] RA Random Access

[0281] PACH Random Access Channel

[0282] QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

[0283] RAN (Radio Access Network)

[0284] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0285] RLM Radio Link Management

[0286] RNC Radio Network Controller

[0287] RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier)

[0288] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0289] RRM Radio Resource Management

[0290] RS reference signal

[0291] RSCP Received Signal Code Power

[0292] RSRP reference symbol received power or

[0293] Reference signal received power

[0294] RSRQ reference signal reception quality or

[0295] Reference symbol reception quality

[0296] RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

[0297] RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference)

[0298] SCH Synchronization Channel

[0299] Scell ​​auxiliary cell

[0300] SDU Service Data Unit

[0301] SFN system frame number

[0302] SGW Service Gateway

[0303] SI System Information

[0304] SIB System Information Block

[0305] SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio)

[0306] SON self-optimizing network

[0307] SS synchronization signal

[0308] SSS auxiliary synchronization signal

[0309] TDD (Time Division Duplex)

[0310] TDOA arrival time difference

[0311] TOA Arrival Time

[0312] TSS Level 3 Synchronization Signal

[0313] TTI Transmission Time Interval

[0314] UE User Equipment

[0315] UL uplink

[0316] UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)

[0317] USIM Universal Subscriber Identification Module

[0318] UTDOA Uplink Time Difference

[0319] UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

[0320] UTRAN Evolution of Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0321] WCDMA Broadband CDMA

[0322] WLAN (Wi-Fi) wide area network.

Claims

1. A method for controlling non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity, performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: Receive (412) RRCRelease message to disconnect the wireless device from the terrestrial network TN, the RRCRelease message including one or more parameters from which the wireless device learns that it will connect to one or more NTNs, wherein the one or more parameters include priority information associated with the NTN, the priority information including one or more of the following: an offset applied to one or more cell quality values ​​and favorable to a particular NTN; a depriorityType information element indicating that the wireless device should reduce the priority of an NTN type or NTN architecture type; and a list indicating that the wireless device should reduce the priority of a particular combination of NTN types; When the one or more parameters inform the wireless device that it is connected to one or more NTNs: Disconnect from TN (414). Detect (416) at least one of the one or more NTNs; Based at least in part on the one or more parameters, select (418) at least one of the detected NTNs; Synchronize with the selected NTN (420), wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is used to facilitate the synchronization; Connect (422) to the selected NTN.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more parameters include the carrier frequency of the NTN.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, One or more parameters include the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type associated with NTN.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more parameters include one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), subcarrier spacing, core network type, cell identifier, and NTN type.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more parameters are part of the RedirectedCarrierInfo information element.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more parameters are part of the CarrierInfoNR information element.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more parameters include information that facilitates the wireless device in finding and / or connecting to satellites associated with the NTN.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The priority information is associated with cells that are different from the current cell.

9. A wireless device (110) operable to perform non-terrestrial network (NTN) connection control, the wireless device including processing circuitry (120) operable to: The wireless device receives an RRCRelease message to disconnect from the terrestrial network (TN). The RRCRelease message includes one or more parameters from which the wireless device learns that it will connect to one or more TNs. The one or more parameters include priority information associated with the NTN, which includes one or more of the following: an offset applied to one or more cell quality values ​​and beneficial to a particular NTN; a depriorityType information element indicating that the wireless device should reduce the priority of the NTN type or NTN architecture type; And a list indicating that the wireless device should reduce the priority of a specific combination of NTN types; When the one or more parameters inform the wireless device that it is connected to one or more NTNs: Disconnect from TN; Detect at least one of the one or more NTNs; Based at least in part on the one or more parameters, select at least one of the detected NTNs; Synchronize with the selected NTN, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is used to facilitate the synchronization; Connect to the selected NTN.

10. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein, The one or more parameters include the carrier frequency of the NTN.

11. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein, One or more parameters include the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type associated with NTN.

12. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein, The one or more parameters include one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), subcarrier spacing, core network type, cell identifier, and NTN type.

13. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein, The one or more parameters are part of the RedirectedCarrierInfo information element.

14. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein, The one or more parameters are part of the CarrierInfoNR information element.

15. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein, The one or more parameters include information that facilitates the wireless device in finding and / or connecting to satellites associated with the NTN.

16. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein, The priority information is associated with cells that are different from the current cell.

17. A method for non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity control performed by a network node, the method comprising: Obtain (512) one or more parameters associated with the NTN, wherein the one or more parameters include priority information associated with the NTN, the priority information including one or more of the following: an offset applied to one or more cell quality values ​​and favorable to a particular NTN; a depriorityType information element indicating that the radio device should reduce the priority of an NTN type or NTN architecture type; and a list indicating that the radio device should reduce the priority of a particular combination of NTN types; and Send a (514) RRCRelease message to the wireless device to disconnect the wireless device from the terrestrial network TN, the RRCRelease message including one or more parameters that inform the wireless device that it is connected to one or more NTNs.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The one or more parameters include the carrier frequency of the NTN.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein, One or more parameters include the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type associated with NTN.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein, The one or more parameters include one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), subcarrier spacing, core network type, cell identifier, and NTN type.

21. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The one or more parameters include a portion of the RedirectedCarrierInfo information element.

22. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The one or more parameters include a portion of the CarrierInfoNR information element.

23. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The one or more parameters include information that facilitates the wireless device in finding and / or connecting to satellites associated with the NTN.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein, The priority information is associated with cells that are different from the current cell.

25. A network node (160) capable of performing non-terrestrial network (NTN) connection control, the network node including processing circuitry (170) operable to: Obtain one or more parameters associated with NTN, where, The one or more parameters include priority information associated with the NTN, which includes one or more of the following: an offset applied to one or more cell quality values ​​and beneficial to a particular NTN; a depriorityType information element indicating that the radio device should reduce the priority of the NTN type or NTN architecture type; And a list indicating that the wireless device should reduce the priority of a specific combination of NTN types; as well as Sending an RRCRelease message to the wireless device to disconnect the wireless device from the terrestrial network TN, the RRCRelease message including one or more parameters that inform the wireless device that it is connected to one or more NTNs.

26. The network node according to claim 25, wherein, The one or more parameters include the carrier frequency of the NTN.

27. The network node according to claim 25, wherein, One or more parameters include the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type associated with NTN.

28. The network node according to claim 25, wherein, The one or more parameters include one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), subcarrier spacing, core network type, cell identifier, and NTN type.

29. The network node according to claim 25, wherein, The one or more parameters include a portion of the RedirectedCarrierInfo information element.

30. The network node according to claim 25, wherein, The one or more parameters include a portion of the CarrierInfoNR information element.

31. The network node according to claim 25, wherein, The one or more parameters include information that facilitates the wireless device in finding and / or connecting to satellites associated with the NTN.

32. The network node according to claim 25, wherein, The priority information is associated with cells that are different from the current cell.

Images