Network entity equipment, user equipment and method for dynamically adjusting MBMS transmission area

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for dynamically adjusting a multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) transmission area. A network entity groups multiple user equipment (UE) into multiple UE groups. Each UE group is associated with one of multiple MBMS sub-areas, and the multiple MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area. The network entity generates an MBMS transmission configuration for the sub-area and transmits the configuration for the multiple sub-areas to the multiple UEs. The multiple UEs receive and decode MBMS services / data according to the configuration for the sub-areas.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular to a multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) system. Background Art

[0002] Multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) is a point-to-multipoint interface designed to provide efficient broadcast and multicast services for Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular networks. MBMS services can be transmitted in the physical multicast channel (PMCH), while unicast services can be transmitted in the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). MBMS uses Single-Cell Point-to-Multipoint (SC-PTM) transmission to provide multicast services within a single cell, and uses Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) transmission to provide broadcast services within a group of multiple cells. SC-PTM uses the same Long Term Evolution (LTE) downlink (DL) shared channel and subframe structure for transmission, while MBSFN defines a new channel and has a subframe structure different from the regular subframe LTE to ensure that the transmission is performed on a group of cells.

[0003] Technical issues

[0004] In the current standard, a common MBMS area configuration is provided for all UEs within the MBMS area. MBMS related radio resources are allocated to the physical multicast channel (PMCH) regardless of the actual number of ongoing sessions and UE channel conditions. There is no mechanism available for the UE to request dynamic adjustment of the MBMS transmission area configuration.

[0005] In addition, using different resource allocation methods for MBMS traffic carried by PMCH and unicast traffic carried by PDSCH requires UE to change reception behavior and increases UE design complexity. Summary of the invention

[0006] The first aspect of the present disclosure provides a method that can be performed in a network entity device, including: grouping a plurality of user equipment (UE) into a plurality of user equipment groups in a plurality of multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) sub-areas. Each of the user equipment groups is associated with one of the sub-areas, and the plurality of MBMS sub-areas are located in an MBMS area. The method also includes generating a configuration of the sub-area, and sending the configuration of the sub-area to the plurality of UEs.

[0007] A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method executable in a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting an indication message including channel quality and service interest of the user equipment. The indication message is used to associate the user equipment with a first multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) sub-area in a plurality of MBMS sub-areas. The plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area. The method further comprises receiving a configuration of the first MBMS sub-area, and receiving and decoding an MBMS session according to the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area.

[0008] A third aspect of the invention provides a network entity device, comprising a transceiver and a processor connected to the transceiver. The processor is configured to perform the following steps, including:

[0009] Grouping a plurality of user equipments (UEs) into a plurality of user equipment groups in a plurality of multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) sub-areas, wherein each of the user equipment groups is associated with one of the sub-areas, and the plurality of MBMS sub-areas are located in an MBMS area;

[0010] generating a configuration of the sub-region; and

[0011] The configuration of the sub-area is transmitted to the plurality of user equipments.

[0012] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a user equipment (UE), comprising a transceiver and a processor connected to the transceiver. The processor is configured to perform the following steps, including:

[0013] transmitting an indication message including a channel quality and a service interest of the user equipment, wherein the indication message is used to associate the user equipment with a first multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) sub-area of ​​a plurality of MBMS sub-areas, wherein the plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area;

[0014] receiving a configuration of the first MBMS sub-area; and

[0015] An MBMS session is received and decoded according to the configuration of the first MBMS sub-zone.

[0016] The disclosed method may be implemented in a chip. The chip may include a processor configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the disclosed method.

[0017] The disclosed method may be programmed as computer-executable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The non-transitory computer-readable medium, when loaded into a computer, instructs a processor of the computer to execute the disclosed method.

[0018] The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include at least one of the group consisting of a hard disk, a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and a flash memory.

[0019] The disclosed method can be programmed as a computer program product to enable a computer to execute the disclosed method.

[0020] The disclosed method can be programmed as a computer program to enable a computer to execute the disclosed method.

[0021] Beneficial effects

[0022] The present invention provides a mechanism that allows dynamic control and adjustment of MBSFN area transmission configuration based on the user distribution and service requirements. The present invention also provides the following advantages on the user equipment (UE) side and the network side.

[0023] UE-side functions include:

[0024] Improved MBMS reception quality: The disclosed method provides improved UE reception quality compared to the current MBMS standard. The current MBMS standard defines a generic MBMS configuration where the same modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is applied to all UEs within the MBMS area regardless of the actual channel quality conditions of the UEs. The disclosed method allows different optimal MCSs to be selected for different UEs based on the actual channel quality conditions of the UEs, thereby improving the MBMS reception quality at the UE side.

[0025] Reducing UE processing power requirements: Selecting the best MCS also helps reduce UE processing power requirements. In the disclosed method, for example, a UE with high channel quality conditions can use a high MCS to receive MBMS. In current MBMS standards with pre-configured and universal MCS allocations, such UEs may be configured with a low MCS, which may result in a situation where the UE requires more reception intervals to receive and decode the amount of data than when the best MCS is selected.

[0026] Reduced UE design complexity: The disclosed method allows the UE to use the same resource allocation method for MBMS in PMCH and unicast in PDSCH. In addition, the disclosed method allows the UE to use the same resource allocation method for the MBMS data channel MTCH (i.e., multicast traffic channel, MTCH) and the signaling channel MCCH (i.e., multicast control channel, MCCH). The UE can therefore use a unified behavior or mechanism when receiving and decoding these channels. Network-side benefits include:

[0027] ● Efficient resource utilization: Since operators need to optimize the MCS selection for MBSFN service areas, the optimization process requires base stations to utilize efficient measurement tools and labor to select the maximum MCS that meets the UE coverage requirements. Selecting a low MCS for eMBMS data transmission can achieve good user coverage at the expense of unicast occupied radio resources, while selecting a higher MCS may result in over-provisioning of the resources to MBMS services. The disclosed method allows the network scheduler to optimize the MCS selection for MBMS transmission based on UE channel conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or related technologies, the embodiments are briefly introduced with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings are only some embodiments of the present invention, and ordinary technicians in this field can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without paying the above premise.

[0029] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a 5G core network.

[0031] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an MBMS area according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the disclosed method.

[0033] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the disclosed method.

[0034] Figure 6 An exemplary schematic diagram of dynamically adjusting MBSFN area configuration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided.

[0035] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The technical matters, structural features, objectives and effects achieved will be described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings as follows. Specifically, the terms in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to illustrate the purpose of a certain embodiment and are not used to limit the present invention. In the description herein, a network may be referred to as a radio access network (RAN), a core network (CN), or a combination of the RAN and CN. The RAN may include one or more RAN entities, and the CN may include one or more CN entities.

[0037] The present invention relates to wireless communication, and more specifically to the multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) system. A method for dynamically controlling a multicast broadcast transmission area is provided. In the present disclosure, the UE sends a message indicating the UE channel quality condition, location information, and service interest to the network through a radio resource control (RRC) message, uplink control information (UCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). Examples of the RRC message may include reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) and temporary mobile group identity (TMGI). Examples of the UCI may include a channel quality indicator (CQI), SINR, and service interest indication. Examples of the MAC CE may include a service interest indication. Based on the indication message received from the UE, the network classifies a plurality of UEs within the MBSFN area into different MBSFN sub-areas based on the channel quality condition and the service interest of the UE in the indication message. The network associates an MBMS session to the UE based on the service interest of the UE, and dynamically updates a downlink transmission configuration, including RAN resources allocated to the session, based on an average channel quality value of the MBSFN sub-area. The network sends the transmission configuration update including the session association and RAN resource allocation update to the UE, so that each UE can effectively receive the broadcast MBMS service in the MBSFN sub-area to which the UE is classified.

[0038] Reference Figure 1 , a telecommunication system, including a UE 10a, a UE 10b, a base station 200a and a network entity device 300, executes a disclosed method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The illustration is for illustration and not limitation, and the system may include more UE, BS, and CN entities. The connections between devices and device components are Figure 11 and 10. The UE 10a may include a processor 11a, a memory 12a, and a transceiver 13a. The UE 10b may include a processor 11b, a memory 12b, and a transceiver 13b. The base station 200a may include a processor 201a, a memory 202a, and a transceiver 203a. The network entity device 300 may include a processor 301, a memory 302, and a transceiver 303. Each of the processors 11a, 11b, 201a, and 301 may be configured to implement the proposed functions, procedures, and / or methods in the description. The layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processors 11a, 11b, 201a, and 301. Each of the memories 12a, 12b, 202a, and 302 may be operable to store various programs and information to operate the connected processors. Each of the transceivers 13a, 13b, 203a and 303 is operatively connected to a connected processor to transmit and / or receive radio signals or wired signals. The UE 10a can communicate with the UE 10b via a side link. The base station 200a can be one of an eNB, a gNB or other radio nodes, and can configure radio resources and MBSFN sub-areas for the UE 10a and UE 10b.

[0039] Each of the processors 11a, 11b, 201a and 301 may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits and / or data processing devices. Each of the memories 12a, 12b, 202a and 302 may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a memory card, a storage medium and / or other storage devices. Each of the transceivers 13a, 13b, 203a and 303 may include baseband circuits and radio frequency (RF) circuits to process radio frequency signals. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the technology may be implemented with modules, programs, functions, entities, etc. to perform the functions. The modules may be stored in a memory and executed by the processor. The memory may be implemented within a processor or external to the processor, where those may be communicatively coupled to the processor by various means, as is known in the art.

[0040] The network entity device 300 may be a node in CN. CN may include LTE CN or 5G core network (5G core, 5GC), which includes user plane function (UPF), session management function (SMF), mobility management function (AMF), unified data management (UDM), policy control function (PCF), control plane / user plane separation (CUPS), authentication server (AUSF), network slice selection function (NSSF) and the network exposure function (NEF).

[0041] The 5G NR system reuses the existing unicast service architecture and procedures to deliver MBMS services as much as possible. Figure 2 , the application function (AF) 212 in 5GC 220 is enhanced by introducing a new network function called multicast service function (MSF), which provides MBMS service layer functions via Npcf or Nnef interfaces. The network exposure function (NEF) and the policy control function (PCF) 213 are enhanced to exchange 5G MBMS quality of service (QoS) and service area related information with AF 212, and exchange session policy related information with session management function (SMF) 214. The functions of the user plane function (UPF) 216 are enhanced to support the configuration / control of the MBMS flow. The access and mobility function (AMF) 215 is also enhanced to support the management of MBMS transmission resources across the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) nodes 210 and 211. Interfaces N2, N3, N6 and N7 define relevant standards in 5G.

[0042] MBMS operation is described in detail as follows. In the description herein, the disclosed method is performed in a system including multiple UEs and a network. The network may include at least one of the base station 200a and the network entity device 300. The multiple UEs may include the UEs 10a and 10b.

[0043] MBMS in 5G NR is designed to efficiently deliver multimedia broadcast / multicast services with flexibility in resource allocation and latency to support a wide range of emerging 5G applications and services, such as public safety, mission critical (MC), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and Internet protocol television (IPTV) applications. In order to facilitate the efficient delivery of MBMS services, the disclosed method proposes that the 5G MBMS system supports dynamic control of MBMS transmission area configuration based on the user distribution and service requirements. The disclosure provides a mechanism for dynamically controlling and adjusting MBSFN area configuration based on user distribution and service requirements (session-related ID, QoS information). The user distribution includes channel quality and other location information, as well as the service requirement session-related identifier (ID) and quality of service (QoS) information. The following briefly introduces the MBSFN area definition in 5G NR and the possible MBMS area configuration to better understand the proposed method.

[0044] The MBMS area configuration example is detailed as follows:

[0045] In LTE MBMS, an MBSFN area is defined as a group of cells within an MBSFN synchronization area that collaborate to implement the transmission of MBMS services. Multiple cells can belong to one MBSFN area, and each cell can belong to up to eight MBSFN areas. An MBSFN synchronization area is defined as a group of eNodeB base stations that perform MBSFN transmission synchronously. All cells within an MBSFN synchronization area send the same waveform with an extended CP to the UE, so that the UE can identify the MBMS service within the MBSFN synchronization area. An MBSFN area can support multiple physical multicast channels (PMCH), such as 15 PMCHs. Each PMCH corresponds to a multicast channel (MCH). Each MCH can multiplex multiple multicast logical channels, such as 29 channels. Each MBSFN area may have a multicast control channel (MCCH). Therefore, one MCH can multiplex one MCCH and multiple multicast traffic channels (MTCH), and other MCHs can similarly multiplex multiple MTCHs. In 5G NR, different MBSFN area scenarios are required to reflect the gNB split architecture in the 5G NR network. The gNB split architecture in 5G NR introduces new elements on the RAN side, such as gNB centralized unit (CU) and gNB distributed unit (DU). Embodiments of the present invention can be applied to scenarios that rely on the network elements, such as gNB-CU, gNB-DU and the cell, involving MBSFN area configuration, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0046] Figure 3 An example of an NR MBMS network architecture is shown, which includes the 5G NR Core 220, which is interconnected to gNB-CU 31 and gNB-CU 32 using a control plane interface N2 and a user plane interface N3. The gNB-CU 31 is interconnected to gNB-DU 311 and gNB-DU 312 via an F1 interface, and is connected to the gNB-CU 32 via an X2 logical interface. Figure 3 Three MBSFN scenarios are shown, including:

[0047] 1) Intra-gNB-DU MBSFN scenario: All cells involved in the MBSFN area are in one coverage area 311a of the gNB-DU 311. The MAC entity in the gNB-DU 311 performs radio resource scheduling and allocation. There is no external interface involved in this scenario, so the expected latency of MBMS transmission is low and no synchronization protocol is required.

[0048] 2) Inter-gNB-DU MBSFN scenario: All cells involved in one MBSFN area belong to two or more gNB-DUs. For example, two cells in coverage area 311a and cells in coverage area 312a of the gNB-DU 312 involved in MBSFN area 31a belong to the gNB-DUs 311 and 312. The gNB-CU 31 performs radio resource scheduling and allocation, and the scenario involves the F1 interface. As expected, the latency of MBMS transmission remains low and no synchronization protocol is required.

[0049] Inter-CU MBSFN scenario: The cells involved in the MBSFN area are distributed over several gNB-DUs, where these gNB-DUs belong to two or more gNB-CUs. The anchor / master CU performs the radio resource scheduling and allocation, and both Xn and F1 interfaces are involved in the scenario. The expected latency of MBMS transmission is medium and a synchronization protocol is required.

[0050] Table 1 shows the latency and synchronization requirements for different NR MBMS scenarios:

[0051] Table 1: Delay and synchronization requirements for different NR MBMS scenarios

[0052] Assumption Involved interfaces Expected delay Synchronization Inside gNB-DU - Low unnecessary Between gNB and DU F1 Low unnecessary gNB-CU F1,Xn Medium need

[0053] In order to promote the effective delivery of MBNS services in such diverse MBSFN area scenarios, MBMS in NR networks requires a new mechanism that allows dynamic adjustment of MBSFN areas. The present disclosure provides a method for dynamically adjusting MBMS transmission areas based on UE channel quality and service requirements. The method is applicable to all scenarios, including intra-DU MBSFN, inter-DU MBSFN, and inter-CU MBSFN areas. In the detailed description of the embodiment of the disclosed method, the intra-DU MBSFN scenario is described as an example.

[0054] A general description of the disclosed method is given below.

[0055] See also Figure 4The present invention provides a method for dynamically adjusting the multicast / broadcast transmission area according to the UE distribution and UE service requirements. The UE distribution includes at least one of channel quality and location information. The location information of the UE can be represented by a reference signal time difference (RSTD) and / or other positioning assistance information such as an angle of arrival and a Cell-ID. In the disclosed method, multiple user equipments (UEs) send indication messages to the network (block 400). Each indication message sent by the UE indicates the service interest and channel quality of the UE. The indication message can be carried in an RRC message, uplink control information (UCI), a MAC control element, or any combination thereof. Examples of the RRC message may include reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR), and temporary mobile group identity (TMGI). Examples of the UCI may include a channel quality indicator (CQI), SINR, and a service interest indication. Examples of the MAC CE may include a service interest indication. The service interest indication may include an indication of a traffic type or a service type within a logical channel.

[0056] Based on the indication messages received from the multiple UEs, the network groups the multiple UEs within the MBSFN area into multiple groups or MBSFN sub-areas based on the channel quality and service interests of the multiple UEs (block 401). After receiving the indication messages from the multiple UEs, the network first determines the number of session clusters based on the service interests in the indication messages, and classifies the UEs into the session clusters based on the channel quality and the service interests of the UEs. The service interests of the UEs may include QoS requirements for the services that the UEs are interested in receiving. The network clusters the UEs into multiple channel quality groups, the number of which is equal to the number of the session clusters. For example, the network, such as a CN entity or a base station, places UEs with similar channel quality values ​​in the same channel quality group, or in other words, the same channel quality cluster. For each channel quality cluster, the network identifies an average channel quality value of the channel quality cluster and associates each cluster with an MBSFN sub-area. The network divides the UEs into MBSFN sub-areas based on the differences in the actual channel quality values ​​of the UEs to average the channel quality values ​​of the channel quality clusters.

[0057] The network associates MBMS sessions to the multiple UEs based on the service interests of the multiple UEs and dynamically allocates RAN resources for the sessions based on an average channel quality of all UEs within each MBSFN sub-area (block 402). For each MBSFN sub-area, the network dynamically allocates a transmission configuration, including the RAN resource allocation, for downlink transmissions to the multiple UEs within the MBSFN sub-area based on the channel quality average of the MBSFN sub-area. The downlink transmission configuration includes sessions associated with the MBSFN sub-area. The RAN resource configuration includes an MCS and a transport block size (TBS) associated with the MBSFN sub-area.

[0058] The network sends the transmission configuration to the multiple UEs in the current scheduling interval, and sends an update of the transmission configuration to the multiple UEs in the next scheduling interval based on the updated reports of the multiple UEs, so that each UE receives and decodes the configuration of the MBSFN sub-area and the configuration update to receive the MBMS service in the session associated with the service interest of the UE (block 403).

[0059] refer to Figure 5 The present disclosure provides a method for allowing one or more UEs, such as one or both of the UEs 10a and 10b, to receive MBMS and unicast services in the 5G NR system. Figure 5The process in can be applied to each of a plurality of UEs in RRC connection mode. For example, for each of the plurality of UEs, the UE determines the channel quality and expected service interest of the UE and generates an indication message including the channel quality and the service interest (step 311). The UE sends the indication message including the channel quality and the service interest to the network (network, NW), such as one or both of the base station 200a and the NW entity 300 (step 312). The indication message is used to associate the UE with a specific MBMS sub-area among a plurality of multimedia broadcast / multicast service (MBMS) sub-areas. The specific MBMS sub-area is referred to as the first sub-area hereinafter. The plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area. In response to the indication message, the NW determines the MBMS area configuration (e.g., PMCH configuration, MBSFN sub-area configuration, and MBMS session) and sends the configuration to the UE (step 313). The NW sends the MBMS area configuration to the UE and sends the MBMS session to the UE according to the configuration (step 314). The UE receives and decodes the MBMS session according to the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area. The configuration of the first MBMS sub-area includes configuration parameters of the MBMS session in the first MBMS sub-area and configuration parameters of the PMCH in the first MBMS sub-area. Figure 5 The method can be applied to multiple UEs.

[0060] In one example, an MBSFN area under a gNB-DU coverage area includes a plurality of UEs, such as UE1, UE2, UE3, UE4, UE5, UE6, and UE7. These UEs are interested in four services, and these services may be grouped into three clusters (S1, S2), (S3), and (S4) based on the QoS requirements of the services. For example, the QoS requirements may be represented by at least one or more of a QoS class identifier (QCI), a guaranteed bit rate (GBR), a maximum bit rate (MBR), latency, and a packet loss rate (PLR). As shown in Table 2, each UE sends an indication message to the network, including a channel quality (CQ) measurement report and an indication of the service interest of the UE. As shown in Table 3, when receiving the indication message from the plurality of UEs in the MBSFN area, the network determines the number of session clusters to which the UE will be clustered based on the service interest in the indication message, wherein the service interest includes the QoS requirement of the UE. In the example, multiple UEs having service interests in services S1 and S2 are classified into the first session cluster. Multiple UEs having service interests in service S3 are classified into the second session cluster. Multiple UEs having service interests in service S4 are classified into the third session cluster.

[0061] The network divides the multiple UEs into multiple channel quality clusters according to the channel quality reports of the multiple UEs, and sets the number of the channel quality clusters to be equal to the total number of the session clusters. As shown in Table 3, three session clusters are associated with three channel quality clusters. The network places multiple UEs with similar channel quality in the same channel quality cluster. In the example, multiple UEs with CQ values ​​of 1.0 and 1.5 are classified into the first CQ cluster and the first session cluster. Multiple UEs with CQ values ​​of 2.9 and 3.0 are classified into the second CQ cluster and the second session cluster. Multiple UEs with CQ values ​​of 4.8, 5.5 and 5.9 are classified into the third CQ cluster and the third session cluster.

[0062] As shown in Table 4, the network identifies the CQ mean for each cluster and associates each CQ mean with a group representing an MBSFN sub-area. The network groups multiple UEs into the MBSFN sub-areas based on the difference between the UE CQ and the QC mean of the channel quality cluster. The network allocates sessions to multiple UEs within each MBSFN sub-area based on the service interest of the UE. The network then allocates the RAN resources for the PMCH downlink channel to the sessions in the MBSFN sub-area based on the CQ mean for that particular MBSFN sub-area. Examples of the CQ mean include 1.25 for MBSFN sub-area A1, 2.95 for MBSFN sub-area A2, and 5.4 for MBSFN sub-area A3. The network scrambles the PMCH of each MBSFN sub-area using the specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) of the MBSFN sub-area and sends the MBMS session to the UE in the PMCH so that only the area in which the UE associated with the MBSFN sub-area has the RNTI can decode and descramble the PMCH transmission using the RNTI. Thus, only UEs belonging to the specific sub-area can identify and decode the PMCH transmission associated with the specific MBSFN sub-area. For example, according to the Figure 5 In the context of the present invention, the UE descrambles the PMCH in the first MBMS sub-zone using a specific RNTI of the first MBMS sub-zone. The UE decodes the PMCH according to a bitmap, which defines radio resources within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH. The bitmap may include one of a frame-based bitmap, a subframe-based bitmap, and a time slot-based bitmap, and the bitmap is included in the configuration of the first MBMS sub-zone. The disclosed method improves MBMS reception quality because each PMCH transmission of a sub-zone is encoded according to an actual sub-zone channel quality, and helps to direct the MBMS session to multiple UEs according to the service interests of the UEs.

[0063] Table 2: Indication message content

[0064]

[0065]

[0066] Table 3: Report clustering

[0067]

[0068] Table 4: UE grouping into MBSFN sub-areas

[0069]

[0070] To capture rapid changes in user distribution and service requirements, such as SINR changes due to UE movement within the MBSFN area, the network dynamically adjusts the allocation of MBMS sessions and RAN resources based on changes in UE channel quality and service interest reports.

[0071] Figure 6 It describes how the network updates the allocation of sessions and RAN resources for MBSFN areas based on changes in UE distribution and service requirements across areas. Figure 6 Four examples depicted as (a), (b), (c) and (d) are shown in FIG. Different examples have different UE distributions and service requirements. Figure 6 In each example of the diagram, a system with a distribution of UEs in an MBSFN area is associated with allocated RAN resources represented by the number of TBSs used for sessions and subframes used for PMCH transmissions.

[0072] The example (a) shows the RAN resource allocation mechanism in the current LTE MBMS. In the example, the RAN resource allocation is fixed for the MBSFN area. Figure 6 As shown in example (a), seven RAN resources are allocated for delivering MBMS to seven UEs, and the network reuses the allocations over time regardless of changes in UE channel quality or service requirements until the configuration of the resource allocations is changed, for example, by an operations and maintenance (O&M) entity. Configuration of resource allocations according to the disclosed method is shown in examples (b), (c), and (b). Figure 6 Each example represents the resource allocation configuration for a single MBFSN area within a specific period, and the specific period is called a configuration adjustment interval or a scheduling interval. Figure 6 (b) configuring resource allocation configuration for the adjustment interval for the first area, the network divides the multiple UEs into three MBMSN sub-areas (A1, A2, A3), allocates sessions according to the service requirements of the multiple UEs in each MBSFN sub-area, and allocates RAN resources for the sessions to the UEs according to the average channel quality value of the MBSFN sub-area. Compared with the previous LTE allocation mechanism, the network allocates fewer RAN resources to the MBSFN sub-areas A2 and A3. This is because the resources allocated to each MBSFN sub-area are determined by the network scheduler, which selects the best MCS and TBS to meet the UE channel quality and service requirements in each MBSFN sub-area, thereby achieving efficient use of RAN resources. Figure 6(c) The resource allocation configuration representing the second configuration adjustment interval: Because the sessions of the service S2 associated with the UE3 and UE4 have been stopped, fewer RAN resources than the first interval are allocated to the sessions of the UEs. Figure 6 (d) represents the resource allocation configuration of the third adjustment interval. Only two RAN resource instances are allocated for the entire MBSFN area. Since the multiple UEs associated with the sub-area A2 are very close to the gNB-DU and obtain good channel quality, the gNB allocates a high MCS and a smaller amount of RAN resources for the session to the UE.

[0073] According to the current design of MBMS in TS-36.331 and TS 36.300, when a UE with MBMS capability enters an MBSFN area or is interested in receiving MBMS services, the UE first obtains the SystemInformationBlockType2 (SIB2), which is broadcast on the broadcast control channel (BCCH) of the MBMS cell in the MBSFN area where the UE is located. After reading the content of SIB2, the UE obtains the MBMS subframe allocation information defined by the mbsfn-SubframeConfigList information element (IE). The IE indicates which radio frames are reserved for PMCH or MBMS transmission, and which radio frames are reserved for PDSCH or unicast transmission. After determining the subframes allocated to MBMS, if the UE is interested in receiving MBMS services, the UE continues to obtain and read SystemInformationBlockType13 (SIB13), which carries the information required to obtain the MBMS control information, and the information required for the MBMS control information is associated with one or more MBSFN areas. A set of information contained in the SIB13 includes the MBMS-NotificationConfig IE and the mbsfn-AreaInfoList IE, and the MBMS-NotificationConfig IE specifies the MBMS notification configuration applicable to all MBSFN areas. The MBSFN-AreaInfoList IE contains the information required to obtain the MBMS control information associated with one or more MBSFN areas. The MBMS control information includes the MBSFN area identifier and the MCCH channel configuration information. The MCCH channel configuration information includes the MCCH modification period (mcch-ModificationPeriod-NR), the repetition period (mcch-RepetitionPeriod), the MCCH offset (mcch-Offset), the subframes that may carry MCCH scheduling (sf-AllocInfo), the MCS applicable to these subframes, and the first subframe of the multicast channel scheduling information (MCHscheduling information, MSI) period (i.e., singnallingMCS).

[0074] After acquiring and reading the MCCH configuration, the UE obtains the MCCH channel, which carries a message called MCCH-Message, which contains the MBSFNAreaConfiguration message. The MBSFNAreaConfiguration message provides all the information required to schedule MBMS services for the MBSFN area. The information includes the CommonSF-AllocPatternList, the commonSF-AllocPeriod and the PMCH-InfoList IE. The CommonSF-AllocPatternList is the common subframe allocation (CSA) pattern list and defines the pattern of subframes within the radio frame allocated to the MBSFN area. The subframe pattern represents the subframe defined by the bitmap of the MBSFN-SubframeConfig IE in the mbsfn-SubframeConfigList. The commonSF-AllocPeriod or the CSA period defines how many radio frames the allocation pattern defined by commonSF-Alloc is repeated. The PMCH-InfoList IE provides the configuration of all PMCHs belonging to the MBSFN area and the configuration of the sessions carried by each PMCH. The PMCH-InfoList IE may include the configuration of up to 15 PMCHs, with up to 29 sessions per PMCH, where each session is associated with an individual MTCH. For each PMCH, information about which MBSFN subframes carry the PMCH (start, end) and the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) in the DataMCSIE is applicable to the subframes of the PMCH or MCH, and the commonSF-Alloc field of the CommonSF-AllocPatternList indicates the subframes of the PMCH or MCH. After decoding the PMCH, the UE obtains the multicast channel scheduling information (MCH scheduling information, MSI), which carries the scheduling information of the MTCH. The logical channel ID of the MTCH is also mapped to a temporary mobile group identity (TMGI), which maps the session to the relevant MBMS service in the application layer.

[0075] Currently, the UE does not transmit indications or reports to the network for the purpose of dynamically adjusting the MBMS transmission area configuration. Although mechanisms such as the MBMS measurement using MeasResultListMBSFN-r12 are included in the standard LTE release 12. However, the purpose of including such measurement indications is to enhance the overall MBMS operation by identifying coverage holes, adding cells to or removing cells from the MBSFN area, and identifying long-term MCS, location of packet loss, and forward error correction (FEC) rate. Therefore, in LTE, MBMS measurements only include measurements related to signal strength, such as PMCH RSRP and RSRQ, and measurements related to error rate, such as MCH-BLER shown in Table 6.

[0076] Table 6: MeasResultListMBSFN-r12 IE

[0077]

[0078]

[0079] In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the UE sends an indication message to the network indicating the channel quality and service interest of the UE for dynamic adjustment of the MBMS transmission area. The indication message may be transmitted via an RRC message, a UCI report, or a MAC control element. Examples of the RRC message may include reference signal received quality (RSRQ) and / or RSRA and / or signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR), and a temporary mobile group identity (TMGI). Examples of the UCI may include a channel quality indicator (CQI), SINR, and service interest indication. Examples of the MAC CE may include the MAC CE and the service / service type indication within the MAC header, which may be specified by a logical channel identifier. For RRC-based MBSFN measurements, SINR-related measurements may include MBSFN SINR and / or MBSFN may support channel quality indicator (CQI) reports as a supplement to the signal strength-related and error rate-related measurements. The MBSFNSINR and MBSFN CQI are indicated by parameters sinrResultMBSFN-nr and CqiResultMBSFN-nr respectively in the MeasResultListMBSFN-NR IE of Table 7.

[0080] The UCI-based and MAC CE-based indications indicating the service interest and the channel quality are provided together by the UE to the network. Similarly, an RRC message-based indication indicating the MBMS channel quality measurement and the MBMS service interest is provided together to the network in the same RRC signaling message by indicating, for example, the TMGI in the MBSFN measurement message or by indicating the channel quality (e.g., RSRQ, RSRP or SINR of the quality of the MBMS frequency of interest in the service indication message).

[0081] Table 7: MeasResultListMBSFN-NR IE

[0082]

[0083] As shown in Table 8, for the MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx message (where xx represents the LTE version), which provides the information required to schedule MBMS services within the MBSFN area, a fixed number of resources, such as subframes and radio frames, are pre-configured to carry the PMCH for sessions associated with the MBSFN area. These resources are allocated to the PMCH regardless of the actual number of ongoing sessions and UE channel conditions. In other words, the commonSF-Alloc IE pre-configures a bitmap to define the subframes reserved for carrying PMCH in the downlink, and a fixed repetition period is set by the commonSF-AllocPeriod-rxx IE to define the period at which the reserved subframes are repeated on a radio frame basis, regardless of the number of ongoing sessions. The period can range from 40ms to 2560ms. This configuration can result in inefficient utilization of radio resources by MBMS services in NR.

[0084] Table 8: MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx messages

[0085]

[0086] One embodiment of the disclosed method includes in NR an MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR message, such as the MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR IE in Table 9, as a class extension within a message in NR dedicated to carrying the MBSFN area configuration, such as the MCCH message in Table 9, or as a non-critical extension to the MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx message, such as the MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx IE in Table 10. This helps when certain NR MBMS functions are supported in older MBMS versions.

[0087] Table 9: MCCH-Message

[0088]

[0089]

[0090] Table 10: MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx

[0091]

[0092]

[0093] An embodiment of the disclosed method is not to pre-statically pre-configure the resources for PMCH only through commonSF-Alloc IE, but to configure according to the indication message received from UE including UE channel quality and service requirements, and also allows the network, such as a network scheduler, to determine the required number of PMCHs. The network can also dynamically allocate the number of radio resources, such as the number of subframes, time slots and / or minimum time slots required to carry these configured PMCHs within the allocated period. The allocated period may be referred to as a scheduling interval or an allocation interval or a transmission time interval (TTI). The network allocates a certain amount of radio resources to each of the required number of PMCHs within the scheduling interval. The radio resources can be configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots.

[0094] An embodiment of the disclosed method does not only use a pre-configured bitmap to define the subframes within the radio frame reserved and allocated for the PMCH, but also allows the network scheduler to determine the bitmap based on the actual resource requirements of the unicast carried by the PDSCH and the MBMS carried by the PMCH within the scheduling interval. The network end can obtain the actual resource requirements of the MBMS from the indication message of the UE. In addition, as shown in Table 11, an embodiment of the disclosed method proposes three options for indicating the resources allocated by the scheduler, including:

[0095] 1) A frame-based bitmap indication indicating the subframe within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH;

[0096] 2) a subframe-based bitmap indication indicating the time slot within the subframe allocated to the PMCH; and

[0097] 3) A timeslot-based bitmap indication indicating mini-slots within the timeslots allocated to PMCH.

[0098] One of the reasons behind the introduction of such indications is to unify the MBMS and unicast user plane scheduling. Similar to the scheduling interval for unicast carried by PDSCH, an embodiment of the disclosed method provides a scheduling interval for MBMS carried by PMCH. Another reason is to introduce units with finer granularity allocation, namely subframes, time slots and mini-slots, allowing the network scheduler to apply different scheduling settings for different MBMS traffic types or different QoS requirements (as indicated by the QoS flow ID (QFI) in the MBMS protocol data unit (PDU) session). The network allocates a certain amount of radio resources to each of the required number of PMCHs within the scheduling interval. The allocated radio resources can be configured in units of subframes, time slots or mini-slots by a dynamic allocation method, and the radio resources can be configured based on a radio frame by a static allocation method. The network can configure the units of the radio resource allocation for different service types. The service interest of the UE may include an indication of one of the different service types. In addition, the network end can configure the units of the radio resource allocation for different QoS requirements. The service interest of the UE may include a QFI indicating one of the different QoS requirements.

[0099] Similarly, the scheduling interval can be configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots by a dynamic allocation method, and the scheduling interval can be configured in units of one radio frame by a static allocation method. The network can configure the unit of the scheduling interval for different service types. The service interest of the UE may include an indication of one of the different service types. In addition, the network end may configure the unit of the scheduling interval for different QoS requirements. The service interest of the UE may include a QFI indicating one of the different QoS requirements.

[0100] One embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a new IE, MBMS-AllocationPattern-nr, in MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR to indicate the static and dynamic allocation methods and the resource allocation, as well as the bitmaps used to indicate the two cases. As shown in Table 12, commonSF-Alloc-nr and commonSF-Allocperiod-nr represent the bitmap and the allocation period used in the static allocation method, such as Static_alloc in Tables 12, 13 and 15, while MBMS-Alloc-sf, MBMS-Alloc-sl and MBMS-Alloc-ms are bitmaps that specify the frame-based indication, subframe-based indication and time slot-based indication for the dynamic allocation method, respectively, as shown in dynamic_alloc in Tables 12, 13 and 15. In Table 11, assuming a normal cyclic prefix and assuming that a small slot includes two, four and seven OFDM symbols, respectively, the number of small slots per time slot is determined. The NR parameter set μ is variable, indicating the subcarrier spacing and symbol length used in NR.

[0101] In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the network provides a QoS requirement (e.g., a service class identifier (QCI)) for the UE based on the service type or UE's QoS requirement, such as data / bit rate, delay and packet loss rate, and different channel quality conditions.

[0102] Table 1 1: Bitmap sizes for the frame-based, subframe-based and slot-based indications

[0103]

[0104] Table 1 2: MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR message

[0105]

[0106]

[0107] For the dynamic allocation method, instead of using a configurable repetition period during which the resources reserved for PMCH are repeated, an embodiment of the disclosed method allows the network (e.g., a network scheduler) to define an allocation interval, such as the duration of one or more frames, subframes, time slots, or even mini-slots, wherein the time domain resources, such as subframes, time slots, mini-slots or symbols, and frequency domain resources are dynamically allocated to PMCH. As shown in Table 13, an embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a new IE, MBMS-Alloc-interval, in the MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR to define the allocation interval or scheduling interval.

[0108] Table 13: MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR message

[0109]

[0110]

[0111] In the current standard, a common area configuration is provided for all UEs within the MBMS area. In such a configuration, such as the configuration provided by PMCH-InfoList-rxx in Table 14, the same configuration applies to all PMCHs configured for the MBSFN area, regardless of the channel quality conditions of the UEs within the MBSFN area or the service requirements of the MBMS sessions carried by the configured PMCHs. Due to the fact that different UEs within the MBMS area may have different service requirements, i.e., service quality level identifiers (QCIs), such as data / bit rate, latency and packet loss rate, and different channel quality conditions, different MBMS configurations may be required, so such a configuration may result in performance degradation on both the UE side and the network side.

[0112] Table 14: PMCH-InfoList-rxx

[0113]

[0114]

[0115] In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the network groups multiple UEs in the MBSFN area into different MBSFN sub-areas, and provides sessions and PMCH configurations for each MBSFN sub-area respectively. Specifically, the network, such as a network scheduler, aggregates sessions in the MBSFN area into multiple session clusters based on UE service interests, and the UE service interests may include QoS requirements such as QCI information. The session provided for each MBSFN sub-area may be a session for carrying multiple MBMS bearers and services, which may be represented by MBMS-SessionInfoList-r9. For details of PMCH configuration, see Table 18.

[0116] In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the network groups the UEs in the MBSFN area into different MBSFN sub-areas by clustering the multiple UEs into a number of channel quality clusters according to the channel qualities of the multiple UEs. The number of the channel quality clusters is equal to the number of the session clusters. Each channel quality cluster is associated with an individual MBSFN sub-area. The network dynamically allocates RAN resources for each session in the MBSFN sub-area based on the average or mean of the channel qualities of all UEs in the MBSFN sub-area. Therefore, one embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a new IE, NofSubAreaPerMBSFN, in the MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR message to indicate the number of MBSFN sub-areas into which the UEs can be grouped during a specified scheduling interval (e.g., specified by MBMS-Alloc-interval). In addition, as shown in Table 15, the PMCH-InfoListIE is redefined to provide a set of PMCHs with different configurations for each MBSFN sub-area, rather than providing a common configuration for all PMCHs in the MBSFN area.

[0117] Table 15: MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR

[0118]

[0119]

[0120] As shown in Table 16, an embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a new IE, namely PMCH-SubAreaInfo-NRIE, to specify the individual PMCH configuration associated with a specific MBSFN sub-area, and introduces the PMCH-SubAreaConfigList IE in the IE to indicate the configuration parameters of all PMCHs configured for the sub-area. The sub-area can be indicated by SubAreaID or parameter MBSFN-SubAreaId. In addition, an embodiment of the disclosed method introduces the PMCH-SubArea-Config IE in the PMCH-SubArea-ConfigList to specify the configuration parameters of each individual PMCH indicated by pmch-Config-nr and the configuration parameters for the session carried by the PMCH, and the session is shown as mbms-SessionInfoList-nr.

[0121] One embodiment of the disclosed method optionally uses a specific RNTI, such as an RNTI specified by SubArea-RNTI, to scramble the PCMH configured for a separate MBSFN sub-area to distinguish the PMCH broadcasted in each MBSFN sub-area and improve the PMCH decoding performance on the UE side. For example, the PMCH of the MBSFN sub-area is configured based on the UE SNR value in the MBSFN sub-area being different from the UE SNR value in other MBSFN sub-areas to improve the PMCH decoding performance on the UE side.

[0122] Table 16: PMCH-SubAreaInfoList-NR IE

[0123]

[0124]

[0125] For each individual PMCH configured for the MBSFN sub-area specified by the PMCH-Config-rxx IE, a multicast traffic channel (MTCH) is configured to carry MBMS user data. MTCH is carried on PMCH, and PMCH appears in the subframes reserved for MBMS according to a configurable period, such as 10ms to 10240ms defined by the MCH scheduling information or MSI (e.g., mch-SchedulingPeriod-rxx). As shown in Table 17, the period only involves the time domain scheduling, and the frequency domain scheduling includes the MCS and TBS or RB allocation of the PMCH. Other lower-layer configurations are semi-static allocations, which may result in inefficient utilization of RAN resources. Using different resource allocation methods for MBMS services carried by PMCH and unicast services carried by PDSCH requires the UE to change the receiving behavior and increase the design complexity of the UE.

[0126] Table 17: PMCH-Config-rxx IE

[0127]

[0128]

[0129] In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the network scheduler dynamically allocates frequency domain resources such as MCS, TBS and radio block (RB) for each configured PMCH in a manner similar to the resource allocation method for unicast PDSCH, and uses an MSI scheduling interval similar to the scheduling interval for unicast PDSCH scheduling, for example, based on the duration of a subframe, time slot or mini-slot. Accordingly, as shown in Table 18, one embodiment of the disclosed method introduces PMCH-Config-NR IE in PMCH-SubArea-Config to indicate the dynamic resource allocation for PMCH in the MBSFN sub-area as the PMCH configuration associated with the MBSFN sub-area, and defines the following parameters in the IE PMCH-Config-NR:

[0130] 1-dataMCS-PMCH: This parameter indicates the MCS selected by the scheduler from the MCS table (e.g., TS 38.214 Table 5.1.3.1-1, TS 38.214 Table 5.1.3.1-2, TS 38.214-Table 5.1.3.1-3) based on the mapping of the UE RSRP / RSRSQ / SNR or CQI measurement to the MCS value;

[0131] 2-resourceAllocation: This parameter indicates the frequency domain resource allocation for PMCH, including the downlink resource allocation type, such as those defined in TS 38.214-5.1.2.2;

[0132] 3-rbg-Size: This parameter indicates the resource block group configuration according to the bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size, such as the parameters given in TS 38.214-Table 5.1.2.2.1-1 and Table 6.1.2.2.1-1;

[0133] 4-prb-BundlingType: This parameter indicates the physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and bundling size;

[0134] 5-pmch-TimeDomainAllocationList: This parameter indicates the start and length of the time domain resource allocation in PMCH symbols, such as specified in TS 38.214 5.1.2.1; and

[0135] 6-mch-SchedulingPeriod-nr: This parameter indicates the period or the scheduling interval used for MSI scheduling.

[0136] For the other lower layer configurations, such as the interleaving configuration, zero-power (ZP) CSI-RS resource allocation, etc., an embodiment of the disclosed method uses a configuration mechanism for PMCH that is as similar as possible to the configuration for the unicast PDSCH channel. As shown in Table 18, an embodiment of the disclosed method uses the same resource allocation method for PMCH carrying MBMS user data in MTCH and PMCH carrying MBMS signaling in MCCH to provide efficient and reliable MBMS control information scheduling according to UE channel quality and service requirements.

[0137] Table 18: PMCH-Config-NR

[0138]

[0139]

[0140] Figure 7 7 is a block diagram of a system 700 for wireless communication as an example according to an embodiment of the present invention. The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any appropriately configured hardware and / or software. Figure 7System 700 is shown, including radio frequency (RF) circuitry 710, baseband circuitry 720, processing unit 730, memory / storage 740, display 750, camera 760, sensor 770, and input / output (I / O) interface 780, interconnected as shown.

[0141] The processing unit 730 may include circuits, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors, such as a graphics processor and an application processor. The processor may be coupled to a memory / storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable various applications and / or operating systems to be executed on the system.

[0142] The baseband circuit 720 may include circuits, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include a baseband processor. The baseband circuit may handle various radio control functions, enabling it to communicate with one or more radio networks through a radio frequency circuit. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, frequency modulation transfer, etc. In some embodiments, the baseband circuit may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit may support communications with 5G NR, LTE, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) and / or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), and wireless personal area networks (WPAN). An implementation in which the baseband circuit is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as a multi-mode baseband circuit. In various embodiments, the baseband circuit 720 may include circuits to operate signals that are not strictly considered to be baseband frequencies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit can include circuitry that operates on a signal having an intermediate frequency that is between the baseband frequency and the modulation frequency.

[0143] The RF circuit 710 can implement communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuit can include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. In various embodiments, the RF circuit 710 can include circuits for operating signals that are not strictly considered to be frequency modulated. For example, in some embodiments, the RF circuit can include circuits for operating signals having an intermediate frequency, which is between the baseband frequency and the frequency modulation.

[0144] In various embodiments, the transmitter circuit, control circuit or receiver circuit discussed above with respect to the UE, eNB or gNB may be embodied in whole or in part in one or more of the radio frequency circuit, baseband circuit and / or processing unit. As used herein, "circuitry" may refer to, be part of or include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated or combined) and / or a memory (shared, dedicated or combined) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit and / or other appropriate hardware components that provide the functionality. In some embodiments, the electronic device circuit may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functions associated with the circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit, processing unit and / or memory / storage may be implemented together on a single chip system (System On A Chip, SOC).

[0145] The memory / storage 740 can be used to load and store data and / or instructions, for example, for the system. The memory / storage for one embodiment can include any combination of suitable volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and / or non-volatile memory, such as flash memory. In various embodiments, the I / O interface 780 can include one or more user interfaces intended to allow users to interact with the system and / or peripheral component interfaces intended to allow peripheral components to interact with the system. The user interface can include, but is not limited to, a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, etc. The peripheral component interface can include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an audio jack, and a power interface.

[0146] In various embodiments, the sensor 770 may include one or more sensing devices to determine environmental conditions and / or location information associated with the system. In some embodiments, the sensor may include, but is not limited to, a gyroscope sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may also be part of a baseband circuit and / or a radio frequency circuit, or interact with it, so as to communicate with components of a positioning network, such as a global positioning system (GPS) satellite. In various embodiments, the display 750 may include a display, such as a liquid crystal display and a touch screen display. In various embodiments, the system 700 may be a mobile computing device, such as, but not limited to, a notebook computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook, an ultrabook, a smart phone, etc. In various embodiments, the system may have more or fewer components, and / or different architectures. Where appropriate, the methods described herein may be implemented as a computer program. The computer program may be stored on a storage medium, such as a non-temporary storage medium.

[0147] Embodiments of the present invention are a combination of techniques / procedures that may be adopted in 3GPP specifications to create a final product.

[0148] It is understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that each unit, algorithm and step described and disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention is implemented using electronic hardware or a software combination of a computer and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in hardware or in software depends on the conditions of the application and the design requirements of the technical solution. Those of ordinary skill in the art can use different ways to implement the functions of each specific application, and such implementation should not exceed the scope of the present invention. It is understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that since the working processes of the above-mentioned systems, devices and units are basically the same, reference can be made to the working processes of the systems, devices and units in the above-mentioned embodiments. For ease of description and simplification, these working processes will not be described in detail.

[0149] It is to be understood that the systems, devices and methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in other ways. The above embodiments are merely illustrative examples. The division of the above-mentioned units is only based on the division of logical functions, and there may be other division methods during implementation. It is possible that multiple units or components are combined or integrated into another system. It is also possible that some features are omitted or skipped. On the other hand, the mutual coupling, direct coupling or communication coupling described or discussed above is achieved through some ports, devices or units, whether indirectly or through electronic, mechanical or other types of communication to achieve coupling.

[0150] The above-mentioned units as separate components for explanation may be physically separated or not physically separated components. The above-mentioned units may be physical units or not physical units, that is, they may be arranged in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the above-mentioned units may be used according to the purpose of the embodiment. In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment may be integrated into one processing unit, or may be physically independent, or may be integrated into one processing unit having two or more units.

[0151] If the software functional unit is implemented as a product for use and sale, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution proposed by the present invention can be implemented in the form of a software product in basic key parts or in part. Alternatively, a part of a technical plan that is beneficial to traditional technology can be implemented in the form of a software product. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium, including multiple commands for a computing device (such as a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. The storage medium includes a USB disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a floppy disk, or other types of media capable of storing program code.

[0152] The goal of MBMS in NR is to efficiently provide various broadcast-multicast services in NR, which requires dynamic adjustment of MBMS areas according to user distribution or service requirements. The present invention provides a method that allows dynamic adjustment of MBMS area configuration according to UE distribution and / or service requirements. The disclosure provides a method that supports dynamic control of MBMS areas while meeting the user distribution and service requirements, such as QoS, data rate, delay and packet loss rate. In addition, the disclosure provides dynamic and intelligent control of broadcast / multicast transmission areas by allowing the UE to configure MBMS transmission areas based on UE service interests and channel quality.

[0153] While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the scope thereof, given the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method executed in a network entity device, comprising: Grouping a plurality of user equipments (UE) into a plurality of user equipment groups in a plurality of multimedia broadcast / multicast service MBMS sub-areas, wherein each of the user equipment groups is associated with one of the sub-areas, and the plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area; generating a configuration of the sub-region; transmitting the configuration of the sub-area to the plurality of user devices; receiving indication messages from the plurality of user equipments, each indication message of the plurality of indication messages being received from one of the plurality of user equipments and comprising a channel quality and a service interest of the user equipment, the plurality of indication messages comprising the channel quality and the service interest of the plurality of user equipments; grouping the plurality of user devices into a plurality of session clusters according to the service interests of the plurality of user devices; Based on channel qualities of the multiple user equipments, grouping the multiple user equipments into multiple channel quality clusters; Determining a required number of physical multicast channels PMCH to be configured according to the indication messages of the multiple user equipments; and Within a scheduling interval, a certain amount of radio resources is allocated to each of the required number of PMCHs, wherein the allocation of the radio resources is configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots through a dynamic allocation method, or is configured in units of one or more radio frames through a static allocation method.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The number of the channel quality clusters is equal to the number of the session clusters.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The MBMS area configuration includes a parameter indicating the number of the MBMS sub-areas, the number of the MBMS sub-areas is equal to the number of the channel quality clusters, and the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-areas.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Acquire a channel quality mean value in each of the channel quality clusters to form a plurality of channel quality mean values ​​of the plurality of channel quality clusters; and The plurality of user equipments are grouped into the plurality of MBMS sub-areas according to the plurality of channel quality averages of the plurality of channel quality clusters.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The configuration parameters of the session and the configuration parameters of the physical multicast channel (PMCH) of each MBMS sub-area are provided, wherein the configuration parameters of the session and the configuration parameters of the PMCH are included in the configuration of the sub-area.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include the configuration of the frequency domain and time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The configuration of the frequency domain resources of the PMCH includes at least one of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a transport block size (TBS) and a resource block (RB).

8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating resource block group configuration according to a bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size.

9. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating a physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and a bundling size.

10. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating the start and length of time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: scrambling the PMCH of each MBMS sub-area in the MBMS sub-area using a specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) of the MBMS sub-area; and The MBMS session is sent to the user equipment in the PMCH.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The message dedicated to carrying MBMS single frequency network (MBSFN) area configuration includes MBMS area configuration as a class extension, wherein the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-area.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The message dedicated to carrying MBMS single frequency network (MBSFN) area configuration includes the MBMS area configuration as a non-critical extension, wherein the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-area.

14. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The units are configured for different service types, and the service interest of the user equipment includes an indication of one of the different service types.

15. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The unit may be configurable for different quality of service (QoS) requirements, and the service interest of the user equipment includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) indicating one of the different QoS requirements.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A bitmap is determined to define the radio resources within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH, wherein the bitmap comprises one of a frame-based bitmap, a subframe-based bitmap, and a slot-based bitmap, and the bitmap is included in an MBMS zone configuration.

17. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The scheduling interval is determined, wherein the scheduling interval is configured in units of subframes, time slots, or minimum time slots.

18. A method executable in a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting an indication message including a channel quality and a service interest of the user equipment, wherein the indication message is used to associate the user equipment with a first multimedia broadcast / multicast service MBMS sub-area of ​​a plurality of MBMS sub-areas, wherein the plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area; receiving a configuration of the first MBMS sub-area; and receiving and decoding an MBMS session according to said configuration of said first MBMS sub-area; Wherein, the indication message includes the channel quality and service interest of the user equipment; The user equipment is grouped into a session cluster associated with the service interest of the user equipment among a plurality of session clusters; The user equipment is grouped into a channel quality cluster associated with the channel quality of the user equipment among a plurality of channel quality clusters; The required number of physical multicast channels PMCH configured for the user equipment is determined according to the indication message of the user equipment; and Within a scheduling interval, each of the required number of PMCHs is allocated a certain amount of radio resources, wherein the allocation of the radio resources is configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots through a dynamic allocation method, or is configured in units of one or more radio frames through a static allocation method.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The configuration of the first MBMS sub-area includes configuration parameters of an MBMS session in the first MBMS sub-area and configuration parameters of a PMCH in the first MBMS sub-area.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include frequency domain and time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The configuration of the frequency domain resources of the PMCH includes at least one of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a transport block size (TBS) and a resource block (RB).

22. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating resource block group configuration according to a bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size.

23. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating a physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and a bundling size.

24. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating the start and length of time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

25. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The configuration parameters for the PMCH include parameters indicating the scheduling interval, and the scheduling interval is used for multicast channel scheduling information (MCH scheduling information, MSI) scheduling.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The scheduling interval can be configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots.

27. The method of claim 19, further comprising: The PMCH in the first MBMS sub-zone is descrambled using a specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) of the first MBMS sub-zone.

28. The method of claim 19, further comprising: The PMCH is decoded according to a bitmap that defines radio resources within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH, wherein the bitmap comprises one of a frame-based bitmap, a subframe-based bitmap, and a slot-based bitmap, and the bitmap is included in the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area.

29. A network entity device, comprising: Transceiver; and A processor, connected to the transceiver, is used to perform the following steps, including: Grouping a plurality of user equipments (UE) into a plurality of user equipment groups in a plurality of multimedia broadcast / multicast service MBMS sub-areas, wherein each of the user equipment groups is associated with one of the sub-areas, and the plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area; generating a configuration of the sub-region; transmitting the configuration of the sub-area to the plurality of user devices; receiving indication messages from the plurality of user equipments, each indication message of the plurality of indication messages being received from one of the plurality of user equipments and comprising a channel quality and a service interest of the user equipment, the plurality of indication messages comprising the channel quality and the service interest of the plurality of user equipments; grouping the plurality of user devices into a plurality of session clusters according to the service interests of the plurality of user devices; Based on channel qualities of the multiple user equipments, grouping the multiple user equipments into multiple channel quality clusters; Determining the required number of physical multicast channels PMCH to be configured according to the indication messages of the multiple user equipments; and Within a scheduling interval, a certain amount of radio resources is allocated to each of the required number of PMCHs, wherein the allocation of the radio resources is configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots through a dynamic allocation method, or is configured in units of one or more radio frames through a static allocation method.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The number of the channel quality clusters is equal to the number of the session clusters.

31. The device according to claim 30, characterized in that The MBMS area configuration includes a parameter indicating the number of the MBMS sub-areas, the number of the MBMS sub-areas is equal to the number of the channel quality clusters, and the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-areas.

32. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: Obtaining a channel quality mean value in each of the channel quality clusters to form a plurality of channel quality mean values ​​of the plurality of channel quality clusters; and The plurality of user equipments are grouped into the plurality of MBMS sub-areas according to the plurality of channel quality averages of the plurality of channel quality clusters.

33. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: The configuration parameters of the session and the configuration parameters of the physical multicast channel (PMCH) of each MBMS sub-area are provided, wherein the configuration parameters of the session and the configuration parameters of the PMCH are included in the configuration of the sub-area.

34. The device according to claim 33, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include the configuration of the frequency domain and time domain resources of the PMCH.

35. The device according to claim 34, characterized in that The configuration of the frequency domain resources of the PMCH includes at least one of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a transport block size (TBS) and a resource block (RB).

36. The device according to claim 33, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating resource block group configuration according to a bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size.

37. The device according to claim 33, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating a physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and a bundling size.

38. The apparatus according to claim 33, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating the start and length of time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

39. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: scrambling the PMCH of each MBMS sub-area in the MBMS sub-area using a specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) of the MBMS sub-area; and The MBMS session is sent to the user equipment in the PMCH.

40. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: The message dedicated to carrying MBMS single frequency network (MBSFN) area configuration includes MBMS area configuration as a class extension, wherein the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-area.

41. The apparatus according to claim 29, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: The message dedicated to carrying MBMS single frequency network (MBSFN) area configuration includes the MBMS area configuration as a non-critical extension, wherein the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-area.

42. The apparatus according to claim 29, characterized in that The units are configured for different service types, and the service interest of the user equipment includes an indication of one of the different service types.

43. The apparatus according to claim 29, characterized in that The unit may be configurable for different quality of service (QoS) requirements, and the service interest of the user equipment includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) indicating one of the different QoS requirements.

44. The apparatus according to claim 29, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: A bitmap is determined to define the radio resources within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH, wherein the bitmap comprises one of a frame-based bitmap, a subframe-based bitmap, and a slot-based bitmap, and the bitmap is included in an MBMS zone configuration.

45. The apparatus according to claim 29, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: The scheduling interval is determined, wherein the scheduling interval is configured in units of subframes, time slots, or minimum time slots.

46. ​​A user equipment (UE), comprising: Transceiver; and A processor, connected to the transceiver, is used to perform the following steps, including: transmitting an indication message including a channel quality and a service interest of the user equipment, wherein the indication message is used to associate the user equipment with a first multimedia broadcast / multicast service MBMS sub-area of ​​a plurality of MBMS sub-areas, wherein the plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area; receiving a configuration of the first MBMS sub-area; and receiving and decoding an MBMS session according to said configuration of said first MBMS sub-area; Wherein, the indication message includes the channel quality and service interest of the user equipment; The user equipment is grouped into a session cluster associated with the service interest of the user equipment among a plurality of session clusters; The user equipment is grouped into a channel quality cluster associated with the channel quality of the user equipment among a plurality of channel quality clusters; The required number of physical multicast channels PMCH configured for the user equipment is determined according to the indication message of the user equipment; and Within a scheduling interval, each of the required number of PMCHs is allocated a certain amount of radio resources, wherein the allocation of the radio resources is configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots through a dynamic allocation method, or is configured in units of one or more radio frames through a static allocation method.

47. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that The configuration of the first MBMS sub-area includes configuration parameters of an MBMS session in the first MBMS sub-area and configuration parameters of a PMCH in the first MBMS sub-area.

48. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include frequency domain and time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

49. The user equipment according to claim 48, characterized in that The configuration of the frequency domain resources of the PMCH includes at least one of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a transport block size (TBS) and a resource block (RB).

50. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating resource block group configuration according to a bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size.

51. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating a physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and a bundling size.

52. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating the start and length of time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

53. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that The configuration parameters for the PMCH include parameters indicating the scheduling interval, and the scheduling interval is used for multicast channel scheduling information (MCH scheduling information, MSI) scheduling.

54. The user equipment according to claim 53, characterized in that The scheduling interval can be configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots.

55. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: The PMCH in the first MBMS sub-zone is descrambled using a specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) of the first MBMS sub-zone.

56. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that The processor also performs the following steps, including: The PMCH is decoded according to a bitmap that defines radio resources within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH, wherein the bitmap comprises one of a frame-based bitmap, a subframe-based bitmap, and a slot-based bitmap, and the bitmap is included in the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area.

57. A chip, comprising: A processor, used to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method described in any one of claims 1 to 17.

58. A chip, comprising: A processor, used to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 28.

59. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored therein, wherein the computer program causes the computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 17.

60. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored therein, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 18 to 28.

61. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 17.

62. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 18 to 28.

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