Systems and methods for changing lbt for unlicensed networks

Abstract

Systems and methods for changing listen before talk (LBT) for unlicensed networks are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device includes receiving, from a base station, signaling indicating when the wireless device is to use LBT for transmissions; determining, based on the received signaling, whether LBT is to be used for transmissions; and transmitting based on the determination of whether LBT is to be used for transmissions. Some embodiments provide a low-complexity (in terms of signaling overhead and specification impact) approach to adaptively using LBT mechanisms by defining two simple modes for LBT operation (LBT mode and no-LBT mode). Some embodiments reduce the probability of simultaneous transmissions causing collisions by using LBT mode in environments and situations where network performance suffers from collisions and / or interference.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application number 63 / 065,945, filed on August 14, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure generally relates to the use of Listen-Before-Speak (LBT) for transmission. Background Technology

[0004] New radio (NR) in unlicensed spectrum (NR-U)

[0005] Allowing unlicensed networks (i.e., networks operating in shared (or unlicensed) spectrum) to effectively utilize available spectrum is an attractive approach to increasing system capacity. While unlicensed spectrum is not of the same quality as a licensing regime, allowing its effective use as a complement to licensed deployments has the potential to bring significant value to 3GPP operators and ultimately the entire 3GPP industry. This type of solution would enable operators and vendors to leverage existing or planned investments in LTE / NR hardware in the radio and core networks.

[0006] For a node permitted to transmit in unlicensed spectrum at lower frequency bands, it typically needs to perform a Free Channel Assessment (CCA) or Listen-After-Speak (LBT). This process usually involves sensing that the radio medium is not occupied. The medium's idleness can be sensed in different ways (e.g., using energy detection, preamble detection, or virtual carrier detection). The former means that the node listens to the channel over multiple time intervals and measures the energy of interference (added noise). If the energy is less than a certain threshold (often called the Energy Detection (ED) threshold), it declares the medium idle. Otherwise, it declares the medium busy (or occupied).

[0007] After sensing that the medium is idle, nodes are typically allowed to transmit for a certain duration (sometimes referred to as Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) or Channel Occupancy Time (COT)). In some regions, the maximum duration of COT depends on the type of CCA that has been performed. It typically ranges from 1 ms to 10 ms. This limit is denoted as Maximum Channel Occupancy Time (MCOT). During COT, a new radio base station (gNB) is allowed to share its access to the radio medium with uplink transmissions from user equipment (UE). This is sometimes referred to as shared COT. The main objective of introducing the shared COT concept is to minimize the need for UEs to perform long LBTs before uplink transmissions. In some regions, scheduled UEs are permitted to perform short LBTs immediately after downlink transmissions.

[0008] NR-U operation in high frequency spectrum

[0009] RP-193259 (New SID: Study on NR to support 52.6GHz to 71GHz) and RP-193229 (New WID on extending current NR operation to 71GHz) were approved in RAN#86 to study and extend NR support in the frequency range of 52.6GHz to 71GHz. One of the main objectives of this Study Item (SI) and Work Item (WI) is to study channel access mechanisms, taking into account potential interference to / from other nodes, assuming beam-based operation, in order to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to unlicensed spectrum in frequencies between 52.6GHz and 71GHz.

[0010] Regulatory requirements

[0011] In Europe and the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), new bands and regulatory parameters for the 57-71GHz band for wideband data transmission systems are defined in ERC / REC 70-03. The corresponding update has also been made to the technical annex of EC Decision 2006 / 771 / EC for short range devices (SRD) in 2019. ERC / REC 70-03 defines three sub-bands in the 57-71GHz band as summarized in Table 1.

[0012] Table 1: Regulatory parameters for wideband data transmission systems

[0013]

[0014] CEPT requires implementing suitable spectrum sharing mechanisms for operation in 57-71GHz. These mechanisms can vary by technology. Some example mechanisms include: automatic transmit power control (ATPC) and listen-before-talk (LBT). Thus, LBT is not mandated by CEPT in principle.

[0015] In the spectrum allocation in the United States, the frequency range of 57GHz to 71GHz can be used for mobile use as part of the unlicensed spectrum as specified by Part 15 of the FCC regulations. No spectrum access and mitigation requirements are specified. Instead, only requirements on transmission power limits in terms of effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) and / or maximum conducted output power are specified.

[0016] Similarly, in countries in ITU Regions 2 and 3, only transmission power limits in terms of EIRP and / or maximum conducted power are specified. LBT is also not required in these countries.

[0017] Energy detection threshold adaptation for NR

[0018] Some disclosures discuss various methods for adapting ED thresholds. Some disclosures discuss various methods for partial frequency reuse of resources (with flexible energy detection, where different resources in time, frequency, or space use different energy detection thresholds).

[0019] It should be noted that setting the ED threshold to a very high value (infinity) does not amount to a no-LBT mode, because even if the ED threshold is very high, the transmitter still needs to defer and sense the channel, thus adding additional overhead. Improved systems and methods are needed for transmitting with or without LBT. SUMMARY

[0020] Systems and methods for changing listen before talk (LBT) for unlicensed networks are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device includes receiving, from a base station, signaling indicating when the wireless device is to use LBT for transmissions; determining, based on the received signaling, whether LBT is to be used for transmissions; and transmitting based on the determination of whether LBT is to be used for transmissions.

[0021] In some embodiments, a method of determining and signaling LBT mode (LBT or no-LBT) depending on the state of the network is considered, where: a new radio base station (gNB) / user equipment (UE) determines the LBT mode statically or dynamically based on the long-term or short-term state of the network. The gNB uses or does not use the LBT mode for downlink (DL) transmissions and / or signals to the UE the LBT mode to be used for the next uplink (UL) transmission, or alternatively configures the UE with a set of rules based on which the UE can determine the LBT mode by itself.

[0022] Without loss of generality, the method is described for new radio unlicensed spectrum (NR-U), but it can be applied to other radio access technologies (RATs) as well.

[0023] Various embodiments addressing one or more of the problems disclosed herein are presented herein.

[0024] Certain embodiments can provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Some embodiments provide a low-complexity (in terms of signaling overhead and specification impact) method of adaptively using LBT mechanisms by defining two simple modes for LBT operation (LBT mode and no-LBT mode).

[0025] In environments and situations where network performance is subject to collisions and / or interference, the method reduces the probability of simultaneous transmissions causing collisions by using the LBT mode. On the other hand, if the relevant regional regulations allow or if the device is subject to less interference from simultaneous transmissions, the method increases spatial frequency reuse and reduces LBT overhead by using the no-LBT mode. Thus, the method improves overall spectral efficiency by identifying and switching to the appropriate mode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 1 shows one example of a cellular communications system in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0028] Figure 2 shows partial frequency / time reuse in a cellular network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, where two shades represent non-overlapping sets of frequency / time usage;

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized embodiment of a radio access node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 8 shows a communication system including a telecommunications network such as a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) type cellular network, which includes an access network such as a Radio Access Network (RAN) and a core network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 9 shows a communication system including a host computer, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0036] Figures 10-13is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The embodiments set forth below represent the information believed by the inventor to be the best to implement the embodiments and to fully enable others skilled in the art to practice the embodiments. Those skilled in the art recognize that these concepts and applications can also be manifested in other ways, and of the embodiments set forth, the inventor to be considered as including what is reasonably equivalent to the embodiments disclosed and making only such alterations to the embodiments disclosed as come within the scope of the concepts presented herein. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous

[0038] Radio node: As used herein, a “radio node” is a radio access node or a wireless communication device.

[0039] Radio access node: As used herein, a “radio access node” or “radio network node” or “radio access network node” is any node in a radio access network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of radio access nodes include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high- power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, etc.), a relay node, a network node that implements parts of the functionality of a base station (e.g., a network node that implements a gNB-Central Unit (gNB-CU) or a network node that implements a gNB-Distributed Unit (gNB-DU)), or a network node that implements parts of the functionality of some other type of radio access node.

[0040] Core network node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network or any node that implements core network functionality. Some examples of core network nodes include, for example, a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), etc. Some other examples of core network nodes include nodes that implement an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a User Plane Function (UPF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a Network Function (NF) Repository Function (NRF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), etc.

[0041] Communication Device: As used herein, a “communication device” is any type of device that has access to an access network. Some examples of a communication device include, but are not limited to: mobile phones, smartphones, sensor devices, meters, vehicles, household appliances, medical appliances, media players, cameras, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, television sets, radios, lighting arrangements, tablet computers, laptops, or personal computers (PCs). A communication device can be a portable, hand-held, computer- included, or car-mounted mobile device enabled to communicate voice and / or data via a radio or wired connection.

[0042] Wireless Communication Device: One type of communication device is a wireless communication device, which can be any type of wireless device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network). Some examples of a wireless communication device include, but are not limited to: a User Equipment (UE) in a 3GPP network, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, and an Internet of Things (IoT) device. Such a wireless communication device can be, or can be integrated into, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a sensor device, a meter, a vehicle, a household appliance, a medical appliance, a media player, a camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television set, a radio, a lighting arrangement, a tablet computer, a laptop, or a PC. A wireless communication device can be a portable, hand-held, computer- included, or car-mounted mobile device enabled to communicate voice and / or data via a radio connection.

[0043] Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is part of the RAN or core network of a cellular communications network / system.

[0044] Transmission / Reception Point (TRP): In some embodiments, a TRP can be a network node, a radio head, a spatial relation, or a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. In some embodiments, a TRP can be represented by a spatial relation or a TCI state. In some embodiments, a TRP can use multiple TCI states.

[0045] Note that the description given herein focuses on 3GPP cellular communications systems, and thus often uses 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to 3GPP systems.

[0046] Note that in the description herein, reference can be made to the term “cell”; however, especially with regard to 5G NR concepts, beams can be used instead of cells, and thus it is important to note that the concepts described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

[0047] Figure 1One example of a cellular communications system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is illustrated. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communications system 100 is a 5G system (5GS) that includes a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) and a 5G core (5GC). In this example, the RAN includes base stations 102-1 and 102-2 that control corresponding (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2, which include NR base stations (gNBs) and optionally next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) (e.g., LTE RAN nodes connected to a 5GC) in the 5GS. The base stations 102-1 and 102-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations 102 and individually as base station 102. Likewise, the (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cells 104 and individually as (macro) cell 104. The RAN can also include a plurality of low power nodes 106-1 to 106-4 that control corresponding small cells 108-1 to 108-4. The low power nodes 106-1 to 106-4 can be small base stations (such as pico or femto base stations) or remote radio heads (RRHs), among others. Note that while not illustrated, one or more of the small cells 108-1 to 108-4 can alternatively be provided by base stations 102. The low power nodes 106-1 to 106-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as low power nodes 106 and individually as low power node 106. Likewise, the small cells 108-1 to 108-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as small cells 108 and individually as small cell 108. The cellular communications system 100 also includes a core network 110, which is referred to as a 5GC in the 5G system (5GS). The base stations 102 (and optionally the low power nodes 106) are connected to the core network 110.

[0048] The base stations 102 and the low power nodes 106 provide service to wireless communication devices 112-1 to 112-5 in the corresponding cells 104 and 108. The wireless communication devices 112-1 to 112-5 are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices 112 and individually as wireless communication device 112. In the following description, the wireless communication devices 112 are typically UEs, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0049] Listen before talk (LBT) has been used as a medium access mechanism for unlicensed spectrum in lower frequency ranges (e.g., 2.4 and 5 GHz bands). However, LBT is typically not beneficial due to the characteristics of millimeter wave frequency ranges featuring high radio propagation loss and directional transmission and reception using large antenna arrays. The interference situation within and between systems in a 60 GHz band (or other higher bands) is very different compared to lower bands.

[0050] First, the transmit power limitations imposed by different regulations and the attenuation characteristics near the 60GHz range prohibit radio signals from causing strong interference to other nodes located tens of meters away. Second, highly directional signal transmission is less likely to interfere with other nodes (even in the vicinity, except for the nodes directly in the transmission beam coverage). For nodes using directional reception, the probability of interference is further reduced. Third, highly directional transmission also makes it difficult for the transmitter to properly detect the interference level at the intended receiver, and thus the basic assumption of interference avoidance in classic LBT is no longer valid.

[0051] LBT requirement is not mandatory in most regions and regulations. In many cases, it negatively impacts the system performance in 60GHz due to unnecessary backoff delay from LBT.

[0052] Although this can be true in most cases, there can be cases where these assumptions are not valid. For example, not all devices are capable of transmitting with high directivity. In addition, cell edge UEs are more vulnerable to interference than other UEs. Interference from neighboring cells can significantly impact performance. Finally, as the number of nodes increases, the probability of being affected by interference also increases. In this case, using LBT to avoid collisions and interference from other nodes can have a positive impact on performance.

[0053] Therefore, it is beneficial for a wireless radio access network to turn on or off LBT statically or dynamically based on the operating frequency band, spectrum congestion level, system traffic level, device capability, etc. to improve overall system performance.

[0054] Systems and methods for changing LBT for unlicensed networks are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device includes receiving, from a base station, signaling indicating when the wireless device is to use LBT for transmissions; determining, based on the received signaling, whether LBT is to be used for transmissions; and transmitting based on the determination of whether LBT is to be used for transmissions.

[0055] Some embodiments provide a low-complexity (in terms of signaling overhead and specification impact) approach to adaptively use LBT mechanism by defining two simple modes for LBT operation (LBT mode and no-LBT mode).

[0056] In environments and scenarios where the performance of the network suffers from collisions and / or interference, the approach reduces the probability of simultaneous transmissions causing collisions by using the LBT mode. On the other hand, if the relevant regional regulations allow or if the device is less vulnerable to interference from simultaneous transmissions, the approach improves spatial frequency reuse and reduces LBT overhead by using the no-LBT mode. Thus, the approach improves overall spectral efficiency by identifying and switching to the appropriate mode.

[0057] In some embodiments, the UE does not even perform LBT if certain hardware conditions are met.

[0058] Embodiment #1: Network configured LBT switching

[0059] In this embodiment, the method by which the device can operate without LBT is based on the configuration of the system, the device hardware capability, or pre-defined rules that satisfy one or more of the following thresholds or conditions:

[0060] - The number of antennas at the transmitter is greater than a certain threshold. The number of antennas to consider can be all the equipped antennas or a subset of all the antennas used for transmission.

[0061] - The directionality of the transmission from the transmitter is greater than a certain threshold.

[0062] o The directionality to consider includes beamforming gain and antenna gain.

[0063] o The beamforming gain to consider can be long-term averaged or instantaneous.

[0064] - The transmit power or effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) is less than a certain threshold. The transmit power and EIRP to consider can be average or peak power.

[0065] - The transmission duration or duty cycle is less than a certain threshold. For example, if the transmission duration is long, the LBT overhead is minimal, so LBT can be performed to avoid collision before the long transmission.

[0066] - The network scenario, e.g., controlled environment, or non-coexistence with other networks, or non-coexistence with other technologies. The input to this can be:

[0067] o Configured information in the gNB (configured through operation and maintenance means).

[0068] o Information collected from automatic neighbor relation (ANR) reports or similar reports from UEs about the presence of neighbor cells, gNBs, access points, networks, etc. in the area.

[0069] o Information collected from a central spectrum allocation entity.

[0070] In this embodiment, the device can transmit without performing LBT before the transmission based on:

[0071] - Signaling from gNB to UE that it can transmit without LBT. The indication can be based on radio resource control (RRC) configuration or can be conveyed via medium access control control element (MAC CE) or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0072] For example,

[0073] o LBT-less mode indication from gNB via system information broadcast.

[0074] o LBT-less mode activation from gNB via dedicated RRC signaling. The device will use LBT-less mode until another notification is received from gNB or use LBT-less mode based on a timer.

[0075] o LBT-less mode activation from gNB via MAC CE. The device will use LBT-less mode until another notification is received from gNB or use LBT-less mode based on a timer.

[0076] o LBT-less mode indication via UL grant from gNB, e.g., gNB signals cat1 LBT in DCI for each transmission.

[0077] - Alternatively, gNB indicates to UE the conditions under which it is allowed to transmit without performing LBT. So, if the above threshold or conditions are met, the device can operate without performing LBT or change from LBT to LBT-less mode on its own. For example, the device is RRC configured with these thresholds or conditions / RRC configured with these thresholds or conditions.

[0078] Without loss of generality, the approach is described for new radio unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) but it can be applied to other RATs as well.

[0079] Embodiment #2: Measurement based LBT switching

[0080] - Embodiment #2a: In this embodiment, gNB / UE determines to use LBT or LBT-less mode based on the collision rate or unsuccessful transmission rate of downlink (DL) or / and uplink (UL) transmissions observed over a certain period. For example, if the number of negative acknowledgements (NACKs) counted by gNB / UE over the observation period is greater than a certain threshold, it will change from LBT-less to LBT mode.

[0081] - Embodiment #2b: Similar to embodiment #2a, the gNB / UE measures the acknowledgement (ACK) / NACK ratio over a period of time and attempts to keep it at a certain target (e.g., 10%) using a control loop. That is, if the ACK / NACK ratio is greater than the target, then the LBT mode is used. Otherwise, the no-LBT mode is used.

[0082] - Embodiment #2c: In this embodiment, the gNB determines to use LBT or no-LBT mode based on current or typical conditions affecting interference between nodes and devices in the area (e.g., number of active UEs in the cell (and neighboring cells) of the gNB, traffic load measured by one or more metrics (e.g., packet arrival rate, etc.).

[0083] - Embodiment #2da: In this embodiment, the gNB determines to use LBT or no-LBT mode based on the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the uplink of the UEs served by the gNB. For example, if the SINR of certain function of the serving link is below a certain threshold, then the LBT mode is used. The function can be the minimum SINR, linear average of SINR, etc. in the served UEs. Other functions can be used and as part of this embodiment as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0084] - Embodiment #2db: In this embodiment, the UE determines to use LBT or no-LBT mode based on the SINR of the downlink from the gNB. For example, if the SINR is below a certain threshold, then the LBT mode is used.

[0085] - Embodiment #2e: In this embodiment, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is jointly selected with the LBT mode. For example, the no-LBT mode is selected in conjunction with a more robust (lower) MCS, and vice versa.

[0086] - Embodiment #2f: In this embodiment, the latency requirements of the data to be transmitted are considered. For example, for emergency traffic, a more robust (lower) MCS can be used in conjunction with the no-LBT mode, while for best effort traffic, a less robust (higher) MCS can be used in conjunction with the LBT mode.

[0087] - Embodiment #2ga: In this embodiment, the gNB determines to use LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on the gNB declaring a radio link failure. For example, if the maximum number of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) and radio link control (RLC) retransmissions is reached resulting in a radio link failure (RLF) declared by the gNB, this can indicate that the UE is experiencing severe interference or that the medium is highly used resulting in excessive LBT failures. In response, the LBT mode can be used.

[0088] - Embodiment #2gb: In this embodiment, the UE determines to use LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on its declaration of radio link failure. For example, if the maximum number of HARQ and RLC retransmissions is reached resulting in RLF, this can indicate that the gNB is experiencing severe interference or the medium is highly used resulting in excessive LBT failures. In response, LBT mode can be used.

[0089] - Embodiment #2gc: In this embodiment, the gNB determines to use LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on its declaration of layer 1 control message failures (DCI and / or uplink control information (UCI)). For example, if the maximum number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission failures (due to LBT failures) and / or PUCCH misdetections is reached resulting in degradation of reliability of layer 1 control signaling, this can indicate that the gNB is experiencing severe interference or the medium is highly used resulting in excessive LBT failures. In response, LBT mode can be used.

[0090] - Embodiment #2gd: In this embodiment, the gNB determines to use LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on channel state information (CSI) measurement reports from the UE. For example, if the CSI reports from the UE indicate very strong inter-cell or inter-network interference, this can indicate that the UE is experiencing severe interference or the medium is highly used resulting in excessive LBT failures. In response, LBT mode can be used.

[0091] - Embodiment #2h: In this embodiment, the gNB determines to use LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on the UE declaring radio link failure and subsequent RRC connection reestablishment attempts. For example, the UE performs radio link monitoring (RLM) on the link to the serving cell. The RLM procedure can account for failed LBT procedures, which can be a contributing factor when the UE declares RLF. The gNB can observe statistics of RLF from the UE queue based on RRC connection reestablishment attempts. If there is a very high reestablishment attempt rate, LBT mode can be used.

[0092] - Embodiment #2ia: In this embodiment, the gNB / UE determines LBT or no-LBT mode based on average measured energy on the channel (i.e., energy detected over a certain duration, which can be larger than the measurement slot size used in LBT procedures).

[0093] Formula. No LBT can be used if the average measured energy on the channel is greater than a certain threshold. - Embodiment #2ib: In this embodiment, the gNB / UE determines the LBT or no-LBT mode based on RSSI measurements on the operating channel during an idle time (i.e., no active DL or UL transmission in the cell) within a certain time window. No LBT can be used if the received signal strength indication (RSSI) measured during the idle time is below a certain threshold.

[0094] - Embodiment #2ja: In this embodiment, the gNB determines the LBT or no-LBT mode based on a set of statistics from all active UEs or a subset thereof or a combination of more than one set of statistics. As a non-limiting example, some combination of metrics such as successful packet reception ratio, obtained SINR, ratio of UL transmissions cancelled due to LBT failure, etc. can be used to adapt the operating mode.

[0095] - Embodiment #2jb: In this embodiment, the UE determines the LBT or no-LBT mode based on a set of statistics or a combination of more than one set of statistics. As a non-limiting example, some combination of metrics such as successful packet reception ratio, obtained SINR, ratio of UL transmissions cancelled due to LBT failure, etc. can be used to adapt the operating mode.

[0096] - Embodiment #2k: In this embodiment, the gNB / UE determines the LBT or no-LBT mode based on the receiver sensitivity measured by the received signal strength corresponding to the lowest successful MCS received from the gNB / UE over an observation period. As a non-limiting example, no LBT can be used when a lower value of the receiver sensitivity is detected, and vice versa.

[0097] - Embodiment #2l: The gNB / UE determines the LBT or no-LBT mode based on the type of transmission or signal. For example, control signals (e.g., physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical random access channel (PRACH), and synchronization signal block (SSB)) are transmitted without LBT, and data transmissions (physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) are transmitted with LBT.

[0098] - Embodiment #2m: The gNB / UE determines the LBT or no-LBT mode based on a combination of any of those methods in the above embodiments.

[0099] - Embodiment #2n: Select LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on information about how transmissions by the gNB cause harmful interference, if any, to other devices in the area. This is difficult to measure, but information from neighboring gNBs can provide relevant information, e.g., average SINR experienced by the neighboring gNB and / or UEs of the neighboring gNB.

[0100] - Embodiment #2o: Select LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on information about how often the receiver fails to receive transmissions or

[0101] the SINR experienced by the receiver of transmissions. - Embodiment #2pa: The gNB can select LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on statistics of detected energy levels. The gNB can get this information by logging its own sensing of the channel and by collecting statistics from UEs. The UEs can report this information based on request and / or they can be configured to continuously or repeatedly log such measurement data in RRC IDLE, RRC INACTIVE and / or RRC CONNECTED state and then report the logged data, e.g., based on request or triggered by certain events such as state transition (e.g., transition from RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE to RRC CONNECTED state) and / or whether / when a certain amount of data is logged. The reporting can be based on raw measurements or can report certain statistics, e.g., minimum and maximum observed energy levels within a time window, variance within a time window, or average length of a time window in which energy above a certain threshold is received.

[0102] - Embodiment #2pb: The UEs can select LBT or no-LBT mode based at least in part on statistics of detected energy levels. The UEs can get this information by logging their own sensing of the channel and by signaling from the gNB. The UEs can report this information based on request and / or they can be configured to continuously or repeatedly log such measurement data and then report the logged data, e.g., based on request or in system information. The reporting can be certain statistics, e.g., minimum and maximum observed energy levels within a time window, variance within a time window, or average length of a time window in which energy above a certain threshold is received.

[0103] - Embodiment #2q: The device observes the wireless medium and records the duration for which the wireless medium remains unoccupied between transmissions. While observing these unoccupied periods, the device builds statistics, including statistics about the idle time between channel occupancy. Based on the statistics, the device optimizes the LBT or no-LBT mode. For example, if the statistics indicate that many transmissions occur after the minimum duration permitted by the regulation, then many devices are contending for access to the wireless medium. Therefore, the LBT mode can be used.

[0104] - Embodiment #2r: In this embodiment, the gNB / UE selects the LBT or no-LBT mode based on a combination of one or more performance metrics, such as cell throughput, user throughput (including average and fifth-percentile throughput), average latency, fifth-percentile latency, etc. These performance metrics are based on long-term collection of statistics at the gNB / UE for both DL and UL.

[0105] - Embodiment #2s: In this embodiment, different LBT modes can be selected for different signals. For example, the LBT mode can be different for random access (and different triggers for random access (RA)) than for other data transmissions. For example, the no-LBT mode can also be used for RA triggers (handover (HO), UL synchronization when there is new data, SR failure).

[0106] Embodiment #3: LBT mode signaling / configuration

[0107] - As a main aspect of this embodiment, L1 signaling is used to signal the LBT mode. As a non-limiting example, the gNB can send the LBT mode update as part of the DL scheduling assignment, UL scheduling assignment, or DCI for other purposes. The signaling can be group-common or UE-specific.

[0108] - Embodiment #3a: In this embodiment, the gNB signals the LBT mode to the UE via the UL grant. To minimize the impact on the specification, the LBT mode can be signaled together with the LBT category in rel-16.

[0109] - Embodiment #3b: In this embodiment, the gNB signals the LBT mode to the UE via group communication (GC)-PDCCH. To minimize the signaling overhead, the LBT mode can be signaled on an as-needed basis (i.e., when the gNB finds that the LBT mode needs to be updated).

[0110] - Embodiment #3c: In this embodiment, the LBT mode can be signaled via both UL grant, GC-PDCCH (and via RRC). In turn, the priority of which signal to override which signal can be pre-configured. For example, the priority can be time-based (the former signaling overrides the latter signaling regardless of the category of the signal) or can be category-based (the energy detection (ED) threshold in UL grant is overridden by the ED threshold in GC-PDCCH). Alternatively, it can be the opposite way, i.e., the LBT mode received in UE-specific DCI with UL grant should override the group-common LBT mode threshold in GC-PDCCH.

[0111] - Embodiment #3d: In this embodiment, the gNB can signal different LBT modes to different UEs. For example, if the interference differs significantly for different UEs due to different locations, it can be useful to allow different UEs to use different LBT modes.

[0112] - Embodiment #3e: In this embodiment, when the LBT mode is signaled only on a need basis, the UE will use the latest LBT mode they received from the gNB.

[0113] - Embodiment #3f: In this embodiment, the LBT mode is sent as part of the system information (typically system information broadcast (SIB) 1). The LBT mode in system information can be used by the UE for transmissions related to initial access or for those transmissions required together with initial access. In another variant, the LBT mode information in system information can also contain multiple different LBT mode information to allow the UE to autonomously select the LBT mode within certain limitations (e.g., based on the current situation of the UE), conditions associated with the use of each LBT mode.

[0114] - Embodiment #3g: In this embodiment, the gNB signals the LBT mode update in a short message DCI (e.g., addressed to paging radio network temporary identifier (PRNTI) or some other radio network temporary identifier (RNTI)) with an indication of LBT mode change (explicit value, + / - step or instruction to check the new LBT mode in system information). Optionally, the DCI can also contain an indication of immediate application or later application. The later application can be, for example, at a certain system frame number, at a certain time (e.g., expressed in milliseconds or slots), at the next system information modification period boundary, etc.

[0115] - Embodiment #3h: In this embodiment, the gNB uses a pre-defined RNTI to signal the LBT mode update, e.g., where one RNTI can represent the LBT mode and another RNTI can represent the no-LBT mode.

[0116] - Example #3i: In this example, LBT mode is transmitted via group-addressed beacon frames (messages) or individually-addressed probe frames (messages) signaling.

[0117] Example #4:

[0118] In scenarios where LBT is mandatory for operation, or if the gNB determines that operation with LBT is beneficial and the UE does not support LBT, the gNB ensures that the UE UL transmission is part of a COT initiated by the gNB.

[0119] Example #5:

[0120] In this embodiment, the LBT mode switching occurs between frame-based device (FBE) mode and load-based device (LBE) mode. These modes can further be configured with appropriate energy detection thresholds. For example, the energy detection threshold for FBE can be set very high to enable efficient LBT-free operation, except for a 9-microsecond delay before transmission, since FBE only needs to sense within a single time slot.

[0121] Example #6:

[0122] In this embodiment, the LBT mode switching occurs between two LBE modes, one with random exponential backoff and the other without. For example, in an LBE mode without any backoff, the gNB or UE always selects a random counter between 0 and the contention window (CW, where CW is fixed). In an LBE mode with backoff, this CW is incremented (e.g., doubled) when a transmission failure is detected, for example, by a negative acknowledgment of reception. Similarly, as in previous embodiments, the energy detection threshold can vary based on the expected reuse level of resources across different cells.

[0123] Example #7:

[0124] In this embodiment, the LBT mode used is selected based on the time, frequency, or spatial resources allocated to a specific transmission. Furthermore, resource configuration can be coordinated between cells to enable LBT for UEs operating at the cell edge (on both the downlink and uplink), while disabling or significantly modifying the mode for UEs operating closer to the gNB. Figure 2 An exemplary example is shown in the figure. Figure 2 The illustration shows a portion of frequency / time reuse in a cellular network, where two shaded areas represent non-overlapping sets of frequency / time reuse.

[0125] Example #8:

[0126] In this embodiment, the LBT mode is configured as part of the bandwidth part configuration. A UE can be configured with more than one bandwidth part, where each bandwidth part is configured with a different LBT mode. The gNB can control the LBT mode used by selecting the bandwidth part used for communication with the UE.

[0127] Embodiment #9:

[0128] In this embodiment, the UE can be configured with different LBT modes for different DCI formats. For example, the UE can be configured to receive PUSCH scheduling via DCI formats 0_1 and 0_2, each format having its own table of time domain resource allocations (TDRA). The UE can be configured with different LBT modes for these DCI formats. For example, the network can configure the UE to not use LBT in association with PUSCH allocations signaled via DCI format 0_1, while allocations signaled via DCI format 0_2 can use LBT. Any one of the different LBT modes or associated parameters can be configured for each of these DCI formats.

[0129] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that any one of the foregoing embodiments can be used in combination with each other. For example, the table of time domain resource allocations (TDRA) (for DCI formats 0_1 and 0_2) can be configured to emulate part of the frequency / time re-use scheme in Figure 2 by configuring different resources signaled by different DCI formats.

[0130] Figure 3is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The radio access node 300 can be, for example, a base station 102 or 106 or a network node that implements all or part of the functionality of a base station 102 or gNB described herein. As illustrated, the radio access node 300 includes a control system 302, which includes one or more processors 304 (for example, central processing units (CPUs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or the like), memory 306, and a network interface 308. The one or more processors 304 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. In addition, the radio access node 600 can include one or more radio units 310 that each include one or more transmitters 312 and one or more receivers 314 coupled to one or more antennas 316. The radio units 310 can be referred to or be part of radio interface circuitry. In some embodiments, the radio units 310 are external to the control system 302 and are connected to the control system 302 via, for example, a cable (for example, an optical cable). In some other embodiments, however, the radio units 310 and possibly the antennas 316 are integrated with the control system 302. The one or more processors 304 operate to provide one or more functions of the radio access node 300 as described herein. In some embodiments, these functions are implemented in software that is stored, for example, in the memory 306 and is executed by the one or more processors 304.

[0131] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized embodiment of a radio access node 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is equally applicable to other types of network nodes. Further, other types of network nodes can have similar virtualized architectures. Again, optional features are represented by dashed boxes.

[0132] As used herein, a“virtualized” radio access node is an implementation of the radio access node 300 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the radio access node 300 is implemented as a virtual component (e.g., via a virtual machine executing on a physical processing node in a network). As illustrated, in this example, the radio access node 300 can include a control system 302 and / or one or more radio units 310, as described above. The control system 302 can be connected to the radio unit(s) 310 via optical fiber or the like, for example. The radio access node 300 includes one or more processing nodes 400 coupled to or included as part of a network 402. If present, the control system 302 or radio unit(s) are connected to the processing node(s) 400 via the network 402. Each processing node 400 includes one or more processors 404 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, or the like), memory 406, and a network interface 408.

[0133] In this example, the functions 410 of the radio access node 300 described herein are implemented at the processing node(s) 400 or distributed across the processing node(s) 400 and the control system 302 and / or radio unit(s) 310 in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 410 of the radio access node 300 described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment hosted by the processing node(s) 400. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 400 and the control system 302 is used in order to carry out at least some of the desired functions 410. Note that in some embodiments, the control system 302 can not be included, in which case the radio unit(s) 310 communicate directly with the processing node(s) 400 via an appropriate network interface.

[0134] In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of a radio access node 300 or a node (e.g., processing node 400) implementing one or more of the functions 410 of a radio access node 300 in a virtual environment according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier containing the computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory or a storage device).

[0135] Figure 5is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 300 according to some other embodiments of the disclosure. The radio access node 300 comprises one or more modules 500, each of which is implemented in software. The modules 500 provide the functionality of the radio access node 300 described herein. This discussion is equally applicable to the processing nodes 400 of Figure 4 , where the modules 500 can be implemented at one of the processing nodes 400 or distributed across multiple processing nodes 700 and / or between the processing nodes 400 and the control system 302.

[0136] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 600 according to some embodiments of the disclosure. As illustrated, the wireless communication device 600 includes one or more processors 602 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, etc.), memory 604, and one or more transceivers 606 comprising one or more transmitters 608 and one or more receivers 610 coupled to one or more antennas 612. The transceiver 606 includes radio-front end circuitry connected to the antenna 612, which is configured to condition signals 602 communicated between the antenna 612 and the processor 602, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. The processor 602 is also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The transceiver 606 is also referred to herein as radio circuitry. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device 600 described above can be fully or partially implemented in software that is, for example, stored in the memory 604 and executed by the processor 602. Note that the wireless communication device 600 can include additional components not graphically illustrated in FIG. 6, such as, for example, one or more user interface components (e.g., input / output interfaces including a display, buttons, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker, etc., and / or any other components for allowing input of information into and / or output of information from the wireless communication device 600), a power supply (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc. Figure 6

[0137] A computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of a wireless communication device 600 according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier containing the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

[0138] Figure 7 ​is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 600 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 600 includes one or more modules 700, each of which is implemented in software. The modules 700 provide functionality of the wireless communication device 600 described herein.

[0139] Referring to Figure 8 According to an embodiment, the communication system includes a telecommunication network 800, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network 802, such as a RAN, and a core network 804. The access network 802 comprises a plurality of base stations 806A, 806B, 806C, such as Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless Access Points (APs), each defining a corresponding coverage area 808A, 808B, 808C. Each base station 806A, 806B, 806C is connectable to the core network 804 over a wired or wireless connection 810. A first UE 812 located in coverage area 808C is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 806C. A second UE 814 in coverage area 808A is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 806A. While a plurality of UEs 812, 814 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 806.

[0140] The telecommunication network 800 is itself connected to a host computer 816, which can be embodied in hardware and / or software and can be embodied as a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, or a distributed server. The host computer 816 can be controlled by an owner or leaser of the service provider or can be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 818 and 820 between the telecommunication network 800 and the host computer 816 can extend directly from the core network 804 to the host computer 816 or can go via an optional intermediate network 822. The intermediate network 822 can be a combination of one or more of a public, private, or hosted networks; the intermediate network 822, if any, can be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 822 can comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0141] Figure 8The communication system as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 812, 814 and the host computer 816. The connectivity can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 824. The host computer 816 and the connected UEs 812, 814 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling over the OTT connection 824 using the access network 802, the core network 824, any intermediate network 822, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 824 can be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 824 passes are unaware of activity of other communication devices, except for the base station 806 which can be aware of the UEs 812, 814 that are within its coverage area. For example, a base station 806 can not be aware of the presence of the host computer 816 or the network 822. The base station 806 may

[0142] Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station, and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to the Figure 9 In the communication system 900, host computer 902 comprises hardware 904 including communication interface 906 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 900. The host computer 902 further comprises processing circuitry 908, which can have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 908 can comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 902 further comprises software 910, which is stored in the host computer 902 or accessible by the host computer 902, and can be executable by the processing circuitry 908. The software 910 includes a host application 912. The host application 912 can be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE 914 connecting via an OTT connection 916 terminating at the UE 914 and the host computer 902. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 912 can provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 916.

[0143] The communication system 900 further includes a base station 918 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 920 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 902 and with the UE 914. The hardware 920 of the base station 918 can include a communication interface 922 for Figure 9The radio interface 924 of the UE 914 (shown in the diagram) is for the wireless connection 926. The communication interface 922 can be configured to facilitate a connection 928 to the host computer 902. The connection 928 can be direct, or it can be via the core network of the telecommunications system (not shown in the diagram). Figure 9 (as shown in the diagram) and / or via one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 920 of base station 918 also includes processing circuitry 930, which may include one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of components (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. Base station 918 also has software 932 that is internally stored or accessible via an external connection.

[0144] The communication system 900 also includes the previously mentioned UE 914. The hardware 934 of UE 914 may include a radio interface 936 configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 926 with a base station serving the coverage area where UE 914 is currently located. The hardware 934 of UE 914 also includes processing circuitry 938, which may include one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of components (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. UE 914 also includes software 940, which is stored in or accessible to UE 914 and can be executed by the processing circuitry 938. Software 940 includes a client application 942. Client application 942 can be operated with the support of host computer 902 to provide services to human or non-human users via UE 914. In host computer 902, the executing host application 912 can communicate with the executing client application 942 via an OTT connection 916 terminated between UE 914 and host computer 902. When providing services to a user, client application 942 can receive request data from host application 912 and, in response to that request data, provide user data. OTT connection 916 can transmit both request data and user data. Client application 942 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0145] Notice, Figure 9 The host computer 902, base station 918, and UE 914 shown can be respectively connected to Figure 8 The host computer 816, base stations 806A, 806B, and 806C, and UEs 812 and 814 are similar to or identical 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 8 As shown in the image.

[0146] exist Figure 9In the example of Figure 9, the OTT connection 916 has been drawn as a dashed line to indicate that it is an OTT connection not controlled by the cellular network operator but by the host computer 902. If the OTT connection 916 were to traverse the cellular network infrastructure, it would be possible to implement the OTT connection 916 as a logical connection within the cellular network’s infrastructure. In this case, the OTT connection 916 would not have been drawn as a dashed line. The host computer 902 can be any host computer such as a server computer, a cloud-computing resource, or the like. The host computer 902 provides the UE 914 with access to the server 920 via the OTT connection 916. The server 920 can be a server providing services such as a web server, a file server, a media server, a

[0147] The wireless connection 926 between the UE 914 and the base station 918 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments can improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 914 using the OTT connection 916, in which the wireless connection 926 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments can improve / reduce e.g. data rate, latency, power consumption, and / or similar. This can provide benefits such as e.g. reduced user waiting time, relaxed restrictions on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, and / or similar.

[0148] A measurement procedure can be provided for the purpose of monitoring the data rate, latency and perhaps other factors on which the one or more embodiments have an impact. There can further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 916 between the host computer 902 and the UE 914, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 916 can be implemented in the software 910 and the hardware 904 of the host computer 902 or the software 940 and the hardware 934 of the UE 914, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) can be deployed in or in association with the communication devices through which the OTT connection 916

[0149] Figure 10is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with some embodiments. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which can be those described earlier with reference to Figure 8 and 9 for simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 10 will be included in this section. In step 1000, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 1002 (which can be optional) of step 1000, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1004, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 1006 (which can be optional), the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. In step 1008 (which can also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0150] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with some embodiments. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which can be those described earlier with reference to Figure 8 and 9 for simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 11 will be included in this section. In step 1100 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1102, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission can be via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. In step 1104 (which can be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0151] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with some embodiments. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which can be those described earlier with reference to Figure 8 and 9 for simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 12with reference to the accompanying drawings. In step 1200, which can be optional, the UE receives input provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1202, the UE provides user data. In substep 1204 of step 1200, which can be optional, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep 1206 of step 1200, which can be optional, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application can further take into account user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates, in substep 1208, transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 1210 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure.

[0152] Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which can be those described with reference to Figure 8 and 9 for simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 13 will be included in this section. In step 1300, which can be optional, the base station receives user data from a UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. In step 1302, which can be optional, the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to a host computer. In step 1304, which can be optional, the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0153] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits expressly mentioned in this disclosure can be performed by one or more virtual means. Each virtual means can comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units can be implemented via processing circuitry and other digital hardware, where the processing circuitry can include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, other digital hardware can include digital signal processors (DSPs), special- purpose digital logic, etc. The processing circuitry can be configured to execute program code stored in memory to perform various operations consistent with the described implementations. The memory can include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage, etc. The program code can include program instructions executed by the processing circuitry to perform the operations described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry can be used to cause the respective functional unit(s) to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0154] While the processes in the drawings can show a particular order of executing; it is understood that this order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments can execute the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

[0155] Embodiments

[0156] Group A Embodiments

[0157] Embodiment 1 : A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising one or more of: determining whether LBT is to be used for transmission; transmitting based on the determination; determining whether a base station is using LBT for transmission; and receiving a transmission from the base station based on the determination.

[0158] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein one or more of the determining steps are based on a configuration of the system, a device hardware capability, or a predefined rule.

[0159] Embodiment 3: The method of any of embodiments 1-2, wherein one or more of the determining steps are based on satisfying one or more of the following thresholds or conditions: a. a number of antennas at the transmitter is greater than a certain threshold. The number of antennas to consider can be all equipped antennas or a subset of all antennas used for transmission. b. a directivity of the transmission from the transmitter is greater than a certain threshold; i. the directivity to consider can include beamforming gain and antenna gain. ii. the beamforming gain to consider can be long-term averaged or instantaneous; c. a transmit power or EIRP is less than a certain threshold. The transmit power and EIRP to consider can be average or peak power. d. a transmission duration or duty cycle is less than a certain threshold. e. a network scenario, e.g., a controlled environment, or not coexisting with other networks, or not coexisting with other technologies. Inputs to this can be: i. configured information in the gNB (configured through operation and maintenance means). ii. information collected from automatic neighbor relation (ANR) reports or similar reports from UEs about the presence of neighbor cells, gNBs, access points, networks, etc. in the area. iii. information collected from a central spectrum allocation entity.

[0160] Example 4: The method of any of the preceding examples, wherein determining whether to use LBT for transmission comprises sending without performing LBT before transmission based on one or more of: a. receiving signaling from the base station indicating that the wireless device can send without LBT (e.g., the indication can be based on RRC configuration or the indication can be conveyed via MAC-CE or DCI signaling). For example: i. a no-LBT mode indication from the base station via system information broadcast. ii. a no-LBT mode activation from the base station via dedicated RRC signaling (e.g., the wireless device will use no-LBT mode until another notification is received from the base station or use no-LBT mode based on a timer). iii. a no-LBT mode activation from the base station via MAC CE (e.g., the wireless device will use no-LBT mode until another notification is received from the base station or use no-LBT mode based on a timer). iv. a no-LBT mode indication via UL grant from the base station, e.g., the base station signals cat1 LBT in DCI for each transmission; b. receiving an indication of a condition under which it is allowed to send without performing LBT (e.g., the wireless device can operate without LBT if the aforementioned threshold or condition is met, or change from LBT to no-LBT mode on its own). For example, the wireless device is RRC configured with these thresholds or conditions.

[0161] Example 5: The method of any of examples 1-4, wherein one or more of the determining steps is based on the collision rate or unsuccessful transmission rate of DL or / and UL transmissions observed over a certain period.

[0162] Example 6: The method of example 5, wherein if the base station / wireless device counts a number of NACKs over an observation period that is greater than a certain threshold, it will change from no-LBT to LBT mode.

[0163] Example 7: The method of any of examples 1-6, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises measuring the ACK / NACK ratio over a period of time and attempting to keep it at a certain target (e.g., 10%) using a control loop (e.g., if the ACK / NACK ratio is greater than the target, use LBT mode; otherwise, use no-LBT mode).

[0164] Example 8: The method of any of examples 1-7, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on current or typical conditions of aspects that affect interference between nodes and devices in the area (e.g., the number of active wireless devices in the base station’s cell (and neighboring cells), traffic load measured by one or more indicators (e.g., packet arrival rate, etc.)).

[0165] Example 9: The method of any of Examples 1-8, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on a SINR of an uplink of a wireless device served by the base station.

[0166] Example 10: The method of any of Examples 1-9, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on a SINR of a downlink from the base station (e.g., use LBT mode if SINR is below a certain threshold).

[0167] Example 11: The method of any of Examples 1-10, wherein a modulation and coding rate (MCS) is jointly selected with the LBT mode.

[0168] Example 12: The method of any of Examples 1-11, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises considering latency requirements of data to be transmitted.

[0169] Example 13: The method of any of Examples 1-12, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based at least in part on the base station declaring a radio link failure.

[0170] Example 14: The method of any of Examples 1-13, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based at least in part on the wireless device declaring a layer 1 control message failure (DCI and / or UCI).

[0171] Example 15: The method of any of Examples 1-14, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based at least in part on a CSI measurement report from the wireless device.

[0172] Example 16: The method of any of Examples 1-15, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based at least in part on the wireless device declaring a radio link failure and a subsequent RRC connection reestablishment attempt.

[0173] Example 17: The method of any of Examples 1-16, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on an average measured energy on the channel (i.e., energy detected over a certain duration of time, which can be larger than the measurement slot size used in LBT procedures).

[0174] Example 18: The method of any of Examples 1-17, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on RSSI measurements on the operating channel during an idle time (i.e., no active DL or UL transmissions in the cell) within a certain time window (e.g., if the measured RSSI during the idle time is below a certain threshold, then LBT is not used).

[0175] Example 19: The method of any of Examples 1-18, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on a set of statistics from all active wireless devices or a subset thereof or a combination of more than one set of statistics.

[0176] Example 20: The method of any of Examples 1-19, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on a combination of one or more of: a. a combination of more than one set of statistics; b. receiver sensitivity measured by the received signal strength corresponding to the lowest successful MCS received from the wireless device / base station over an observation period; c. type of transmission or signal; d. information on how harmful interference (if any) to other devices in the area caused by the transmission opportunity; e. information on how often the receiver fails to receive the transmission or the SINR experienced by the receiver of the transmission; f. statistics of the detected energy level; and g. performance metrics such as cell throughput, user throughput (including average and fifth percentile throughput), average latency, fifth percentile latency, etc.

[0177] Example 21: The method of any of Examples 1-20, wherein different LBT modes can be selected for different signals.

[0178] Example 22: The method of any of Examples 1-21, wherein the LBT mode is signaled using L1 signaling.

[0179] Example 23: The method of any of Examples 1-22, wherein the base station ensures that the wireless device UL transmission is part of a COT initiated by the base station.

[0180] Example 24: The method of any of the preceding Examples, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via a transmission to a base station.

[0181] Group B Examples

[0182] Embodiment 25: A method performed by a base station, the method comprising one or more of: determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions; transmitting based on the determination; determining whether a wireless device is using LBT for transmissions; and receiving transmissions from the wireless device based on the determination.

[0183] Embodiment 26: The method of embodiment 25, wherein one or more of the determining steps are based on a configuration of the system, a device hardware capability, or a predefined rule.

[0184] Embodiment 27: The method of any of embodiments 25-26, wherein one or more of the determining steps are based on satisfying one or more of the following thresholds or conditions: a. a number of antennas at the transmitter is greater than a certain threshold. The number of antennas to consider can be all equipped antennas or a subset of all antennas used for transmission. b. a directivity of transmissions from the transmitter is greater than a certain threshold; i. the directivity to consider can include beamforming gain and antenna gain. ii. the beamforming gain to consider can be long-term averaged or instantaneous; c. a transmit power or EIRP is less than a certain threshold. The transmit power and EIRP to consider can be average or peak power. d. a transmission duration or duty cycle is less than a certain threshold. e. a network scenario, e.g., a controlled environment, or not coexisting with other networks, or not coexisting with other technologies. Inputs to this can be: i. configured information in the gNB (configured through operation and maintenance means). ii. information collected from automatic neighbor relation (ANR) reports or similar reports from UEs about the presence of neighbor cells, gNBs, access points, networks, etc. in the area. iii. information collected from a central spectrum allocation entity.

[0185] Example 28: The method of any of the preceding examples, wherein determining whether to use LBT for transmission comprises transmitting without performing LBT prior to transmission based on one or more of: a. receiving signaling from the base station indicating that the wireless device can transmit without LBT (e.g., the indication can be based on RRC configuration or the indication can be conveyed via MAC-CE or DCI signaling). For example: i. a no-LBT mode indication from the base station via system information broadcast. ii. a no-LBT mode activation from the base station via dedicated RRC signaling (e.g., the wireless device will use no-LBT mode until another notification is received from the base station or use no-LBT mode based on a timer). iii. a no-LBT mode activation from the base station via MAC CE (e.g., the wireless device will use no-LBT mode until another notification is received from the base station or use no-LBT mode based on a timer). iv. a no-LBT mode indication via UL grant from the base station, e.g., the base station signals cat1 LBT in DCI for each transmission; b. receiving an indication of a condition under which it is allowed to transmit without performing LBT (e.g., the wireless device can operate without LBT if the aforementioned thresholds or conditions are met, or change from LBT to no-LBT mode on its own). For example, the wireless device is RRC configured with these thresholds or conditions.

[0186] Example 29: The method of any of examples 25-28, wherein one or more of the determining steps is based on the collision rate or unsuccessful transmission rate of DL or / and UL transmissions observed over a certain period.

[0187] Example 30: The method of example 29, wherein if the base station / wireless device counts a number of NACKs over an observation period that is greater than a certain threshold, it will change from no-LBT to LBT mode.

[0188] Example 31: The method of any of examples 25-30, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises measuring the ACK / NACK ratio over a period of time and attempting to keep it at a certain target (e.g., 10%) using a control loop (e.g., if the ACK / NACK ratio is greater than the target, use LBT mode; otherwise, use no-LBT mode).

[0189] Example 32: The method of any of examples 25-31, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on current or typical conditions of aspects that affect interference between nodes and devices in the area (e.g., the number of active wireless devices in the base station’s cell (and neighboring cells), traffic load measured by one or more indicators (e.g., packet arrival rate, etc.)).

[0190] Embodiment 33: The method of any of embodiments 25-32, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on a SINR of an uplink of a wireless device served by the base station.

[0191] Embodiment 34: The method of any of embodiments 25-33, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on a SINR of a downlink from the base station (e.g., use LBT mode if SINR is below a certain threshold).

[0192] Embodiment 35: The method of any of embodiments 25-34, wherein a modulation and coding rate (MCS) is jointly selected with the LBT mode.

[0193] Embodiment 36: The method of any of embodiments 25-35, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises considering latency requirements of data to be transmitted.

[0194] Embodiment 37: The method of any of embodiments 25-36, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based at least in part on the base station declaring a radio link failure.

[0195] Embodiment 38: The method of any of embodiments 25-37, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based at least in part on it declaring a layer 1 control message failure (DCI and / or UCI).

[0196] Embodiment 39: The method of any of embodiments 25-38, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based at least in part on a CSI measurement report from the wireless device.

[0197] Embodiment 40: The method of any of embodiments 25-39, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based at least in part on the wireless device declaring a radio link failure and a subsequent RRC connection reestablishment attempt.

[0198] Embodiment 41: The method of any of embodiments 25-40, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on an average measured energy on the channel (i.e., energy detected over a certain duration, which can be larger than the measurement slot size used in LBT procedures).

[0199] Example 42: The method of any of the preceding examples 25-41, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on RSSI measurements on the operating channel during an idle time (i.e., no active DL or UL transmissions in the cell) within a certain time window (e.g., if the measured RSSI during the idle time is below a certain threshold, then LBT is not used).

[0200] Example 43: The method of any of the preceding examples 25-42, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on a set of statistics from all active wireless devices or a subset thereof or a combination of more than one set of statistics.

[0201] Example 44: The method of any of the preceding examples 25-43, wherein one or more of the determining steps comprises determining based on a combination of one or more of the following: a. a combination of more than one set of statistics; b. receiver sensitivity measured by the received signal strength corresponding to the lowest successful MCS received from the wireless device / base station over an observation period; c. type of transmission or signal; d. information on how harmful interference (if any) to other devices in the area caused by the transmission opportunity; e. information on how often the receiver fails to receive the transmission or the SINR experienced by the receiver of the transmission; f. statistics of the detected energy level; and g. performance metrics such as cell throughput, user throughput (including average and fifth percentile throughput), average latency, fifth percentile latency, etc.

[0202] Example 45: The method of any of the preceding examples 25-44, wherein different LBT modes can be selected for different signals.

[0203] Example 46: The method of any of the preceding examples 25-45, wherein the LBT mode is signaled using L1 signaling.

[0204] Example 47: The method of any of the preceding examples 25-46, wherein the base station ensures that the wireless device UL transmission is part of a COT initiated by the base station.

[0205] Example 48: The method of any of the preceding examples, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.

[0206] Group C Examples

[0207] Example 49: A wireless device comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A examples; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless device.

[0208] Example 50: A base station comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B examples; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the base station.

[0209] Example 51: A user equipment, UE, comprising: an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A examples; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0210] Example 52: A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data, toward a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment, UE; wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B examples.

[0211] Example 53: The communication system of the preceding example, further including the base station.

[0212] Example 54: The communication system of the preceding 2 examples, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0213] Example 55: The communication system of the preceding 3 examples, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE includes processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0214] Example 56: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the Group B examples.

[0215] Example 57: The method of the preceding example, further comprising at the base station, transmitting the user data.

[0216] Embodiment 58: The method of the preceding 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising, at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

[0217] Embodiment 59: A user equipment, UE, configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the preceding 3 embodiments.

[0218] Embodiment 60: A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment, UE; wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0219] Embodiment 61 : The communication system of the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0220] Embodiment 62: The communication system of the preceding 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0221] Embodiment 63: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0222] Embodiment 64: The method of the preceding embodiment, further comprising, at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

[0223] Embodiment 65: A communication system including a host computer comprising: a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment, UE, to a base station; wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0224] Embodiment 66: The communication system of the preceding embodiment, further comprising the UE.

[0225] Embodiment 67: The communication system of the preceding 2 embodiments, further including a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station.

[0226] Embodiment 68: The communication system of the preceding 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute the host application; and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

[0227] Embodiment 69: The communication system of the preceding 4 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data; and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

[0228] Embodiment 70: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted from the UE to the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0229] Embodiment 71 : The method of the preceding embodiment, further comprising at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

[0230] Embodiment 72: The method of the preceding 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; and at the host computer, executing a host computer application associated with the client application.

[0231] Embodiment 73: The method of the preceding 3 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application; and at the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input data being provided at the host computer by executing a host computer application associated with the client application; wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0232] Embodiment 74: A communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a user equipment, UE, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and a processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

[0233] Embodiment 75: The communication system of the preceding embodiment, further including the base station.

[0234] Embodiment 76: The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0235] Embodiment 77: The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, to provide user data to be received by the host computer.

[0236] Embodiment 78: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving user data originating from a transmission received by the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0237] Embodiment 79: The method of the preceding embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

[0238] Embodiment 80: The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising, at the base station, initiating transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

[0239] At least some of the following abbreviations can be used in the present disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between these abbreviations, the abbreviation as used above should prevail. If listed more than once below, the first listing should prevail over any subsequent listing.

[0240] • 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0241] • 5G Fifth Generation

[0242] • 5GC Fifth Generation Core

[0243] • 5GS Fifth Generation System

[0244] • ACK Acknowledgement

[0245] • AMF Access and Mobility Management Function

[0246] • AN Access Network

[0247] • ANR Automatic Neighbor Relation

[0248] • AP Access Point

[0249] • ASIC Application-Specific Integrated Circuit

[0250] • ATPC Automatic Transmit Power Control

[0251] • AUSF Authentication Server Function

[0252] • CCA Clear Channel Assessment

[0253] • CE Control Element

[0254] • CEPT Conference of European Postal and Telecommunications Administrations

[0255] • COT Channel Occupancy Time

[0256] • CPU Central Processor Unit

[0257] • CSI Channel State Information

[0258] • CW Contention Window

[0259] • DCI Downlink Control Information

[0260] • DL Downlink

[0261] • DN Data Network

[0262] • DSP Digital Signal Processor

[0263] • ED Energy Detection

[0264] • EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power

[0265] • Enb Enhanced or Evolved Node B

[0266] • E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

[0267] • FBE Frame Based Equipment

[0268] • FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array

[0269] • GC Group Communication

[0270] • gNB New Radio Base Station

[0271] • gNB-CU New Radio Base Station Central Unit

[0272] • gNB-DU New Radio Base Station Distributed Unit

[0273] • HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0274] • HSS Home Subscriber Server

[0275] • IoT Internet of Things

[0276] • LBE Load Based Equipment

[0277] • LBT Listen Before Talk

[0278] • LTE Long Term Evolution

[0279] • MAC Medium Access Control

[0280] • MAC-CE Medium Access Control Control Element

[0281] • MCOT Maximum Channel Occupancy Time

[0282] • MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0283] • MME Mobility Management Entity

[0284] • MTC Machine Type Communication

[0285] • NACK Negative-acknowledgement

[0286] • NEF Network Exposure Function

[0287] • NF Network Function

[0288] • NR New Radio

[0289] • NRF Network Function Repository Function

[0290] • NR-U New Radio Unlicensed Spectrum

[0291] • NSSF Network Slice Selection Function

[0292] • OTT Over-the-Top

[0293] • PC Personal Computer

[0294] • PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0295] • PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0296] • PCF Policy Control Function

[0297] • P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway

[0298] • PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0299] • P-RNTI Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0300] • PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0301] • PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0302] • RA Random Access

[0303] • RAM Random Access Memory

[0304] • RAN radio access network

[0305] • RAT radio access technology

[0306] • RLC radio link control

[0307] • RLF radio link failure

[0308] • RLM radio link monitoring

[0309] • RNTI radio network temporary identifier

[0310] • ROM read-only memory

[0311] • RRC radio resource control

[0312] • RRH remote radio head

[0313] • RSSI received signal strength indication

[0314] • RTT round-trip time

[0315] • SCEF service capability exposure function

[0316] • SIB system information broadcast

[0317] • SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio

[0318] • SMF session management function

[0319] • SSB synchronization signal block

[0320] • TDRA time domain resource allocation

[0321] • TXOP transmission opportunity

[0322] • UCI uplink control information

[0323] • UDM unified data management

[0324] • UE user equipment

[0325] • UL uplink

[0326] • UPF user plane function

[0327] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, signaling indicating whether the wireless device is to use listen-before-talk, LBT, for transmissions; determining whether to use LBT for transmissions based on the received signaling and on one or more of the following conditions being met: a directionality of transmissions from a transmitter being greater than a threshold, a transmit power or effective isotropic radiated power, EIRP, being less than a threshold; and transmitting based on the determination of whether to use LBT for transmissions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, the signaling received from the base station comprises an indication of whether LBT is to be used.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, receiving the signaling from the base station comprises one or more of: receiving signaling from the base station based on radio resource control, RRC, configuration; receiving signaling from the base station via a medium access control - control element, MAC-CE; receiving signaling from the base station via downlink control information, DCI; receiving signaling from the base station via a system information broadcast, SIB; receiving signaling from the base station based on RRC configuration; and receiving signaling from the base station in DCI for each transmission.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions is further based on a collision rate or an unsuccessful transmission rate of downlink, DL, or / and uplink, UL, transmissions observed over a particular period.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises measuring an acknowledgement, ACK / NACK, ratio over a period of time and adjusting a LBT mode to keep the ACK / NACK ratio at a particular target.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises making the determination based on a signal to interference plus noise ratio, SINR, of an uplink of the wireless device served by the base station.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises making the determination based on a SINR of a downlink from the base station.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, a modulation and coding scheme, MCS, is jointly selected with a LBT mode.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises taking into account latency requirements of data to be transmitted.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises making the determination based at least in part on a base station declaring a radio link failure.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises making the determination based at least in part on a base station declaring a layer 1 control message failure.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises making the determination based at least in part on a channel state information, CSI, measurement.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises making the determination based at least in part on a wireless device declaring a radio link failure and a subsequent RRC connection reestablishment attempt.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises making the determination based on an average measured energy on a channel.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein, determining whether to use LBT for transmissions further comprises making the determination based on one or more of: a combination of more than one set of statistics; a receiver sensitivity measured by a received signal strength corresponding to a lowest successful MCS received from the wireless device over an observation period; a type of transmission or signal; information about the harmfulness of interference caused by the transmission opportunity to other devices in the area; information about the frequency at which the receiver fails to receive the transmission or the SINR experienced by the receiver of the transmission; statistics of the detected energy levels; and performance indicators including one or more of: cell throughput, user throughput, average latency, and fifth percentile latency.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein, Signaling LBT mode using L1 signaling.

17. A method performed by a base station (300), the method comprising: determining whether a wireless device should use listen-before-talk, LBT, for transmissions based on one or more of the following conditions being met: a directionality of transmissions from the transmitter being greater than a threshold, a transmit power or effective isotropic radiated power, EIRP, being less than a threshold; sending signaling to the wireless device indicating whether the wireless device is to use LBT for transmissions; and receiving transmissions from the wireless device based on the determination of whether LBT is to be used for transmissions.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The signaling sent from the base station includes an indication of whether LBT is to be used.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein, The sending of the signaling from the base station includes one or more of the following: sending signaling from the base station based on radio resource control, RRC, configuration; sending signaling from the base station via medium access control - control element, MAC-CE; sending signaling from the base station via downlink control information, DCI; sending signaling from the base station via system information broadcast, SIB; and sending signaling from the base station in DCI for each transmission.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions is further based on a collision rate or unsuccessful transmission rate of downlink, DL, or / and uplink, UL, transmissions observed over a certain period.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions further includes measuring an acknowledgement, ACK / NACK, ratio over a period of time and adjusting the LBT mode to keep the ACK / NACK ratio at a certain target.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions further includes making the determination based on a signal to interference plus noise ratio, SINR, of uplink of the wireless device served by the base station.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions further includes making the determination based on a SINR of downlink from the base station.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein, A modulation and coding scheme, MCS, is jointly selected with the LBT mode.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions further includes considering latency requirements of data to be transmitted.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions further includes making the determination based at least in part on a base station declaring radio link failure.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions further includes making the determination based at least in part on a base station declaring layer 1 control message failure.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether LBT is to be used for transmissions further includes making the determination based at least in part on a channel state information, CSI, measurement report from the wireless device.

29. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether to use LBT for transmission further comprises determining based at least in part on the wireless device declaring radio link failure and a subsequent RRC connection reestablishment attempt.

30. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether to use LBT for transmission further comprises determining based on average measured energy on the channel.

31. The method of claim 17, wherein, Determining whether to use LBT for transmission further comprises determining based on one or more of: a combination of more than one set of statistics; receiver sensitivity measured by a received signal strength corresponding to a lowest successful MCS received from the wireless device over an observation period; a type of transmission or signal; information on a hazard of interference caused by the transmission opportunity to other devices in a region; information on a frequency at which the transmission is unsuccessfully received by a receiver or a SINR experienced by the receiver for the transmission; statistics of detected energy levels; and a performance indicator comprising one or more of: cell throughput, user throughput, average latency, and fifth percentile latency.

32. The method of claim 17, wherein, signaling the LBT mode using L1 signaling.

33. The method of claim 17, further comprising: ensuring that the wireless device uplink transmission is part of a channel occupancy time, COT, of the base station.

34. A wireless device (600) comprising: one or more transmitters (608); one or more receivers (610); and processing circuitry (602) associated with the one or more transmitters (608) and the one or more receivers (610), the processing circuitry (602) being configured to cause the wireless device (600) to: receive, from a base station, signaling indicating whether the wireless device is to use listen-before-talk, LBT, for transmission; determine whether to use LBT for transmission based on the received signaling and one or more of the following conditions being met: a directionality of a transmission from a transmitter being greater than a threshold value, a transmit power or effective isotropic radiated power, EIRP, being less than a threshold value; and transmit based on the determination of whether to use LBT for transmission.

35. The wireless device (600) according to claim 34, wherein the processing circuitry (602) being further configured to cause the wireless device (600) to perform the method of any of claims 2-16.

36. A base station (300) comprising: one or more transmitters (312); one or more receivers (314); and processing circuitry (304) associated with the one or more transmitters (312) and the one or more receivers (314), the processing circuitry (304) being configured to cause the base station (300) to: determine whether a wireless device should use listen-before-talk, LBT, for transmission based on one or more of the following conditions being met: a directionality of a transmission from a transmitter being greater than a threshold value, a transmit power or effective isotropic radiated power, EIRP, being less than a threshold value; transmit, to the wireless device, signaling indicating whether the wireless device is to use LBT for transmission; and receive, from the wireless device, a transmission based on the determination of whether to use LBT for transmission.

37. The base station (300) according to claim 36, wherein The processing circuitry (304) is further configured to cause the base station (300) to perform the method according to any one of claims 18-33.

Images