Systems and methods supporting location and country determination for 5G satellite access

Abstract

A serving satellite NodeB (gNB) supports satellite access to a PLMN with a fifth-generation (5G) core network (5GCN). The gNB determines or verifies the country of a user equipment (UE) to ensure that the UE is located in the same country as the PLMN. The gNB can determine the UE's country based on UE measurements from broadcast satellite signals and a positioning ID (PID) broadcast for each radio cell. The PID changes frequently to prevent spoofing. The gNB can use multiple UE measurements from mobile radio cells over a period of time to generate a more accurate position for the UE. The gNB can indicate to the 5GCN whether the UE's country has been verified. If the gNB indicates that the country is not fully verified, the 5GCN will determine the UE's location and country.

Description

[0001] Claiming priority under 35 USC § 119

[0002] This application claims the benefit of and priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 060,990, filed on August 4, 2020, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SUPPORTING LOCATION AND COUNTRY DETERMINATION FOR 5G SATELLITE ACCESS,” and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 17 / 387,913, filed on July 28, 2021, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SUPPORTING LOCATION AND COUNTRY DETERMINATION FOR 5G SATELLITE ACCESS,” both of which are assigned to the present assignee and are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Technical Field

[0003] Various aspects described herein relate generally to wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to accessing wireless networks using communication satellites. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems, which may be referred to as new radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ techniques such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations or network access nodes, each of which simultaneously supports communication for multiple communication devices, which may be referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0005] Standardization work is underway to integrate satellite-based communication systems with terrestrial wireless communication systems, such as 5G New Radio (NR) networks. In such systems, user equipment (UE) will access satellites (also known as space vehicles (SVs)), rather than base stations that will connect to earth stations, also known as ground stations or non-terrestrial (NTN) gateways, which in turn will connect to the 5G network (e.g., directly or via a base station). 5G networks can treat satellite systems as another radio access technology (RAT) that is different from, but also similar to, terrestrial 5G NR.

[0006] Since satellites are generally different from terrestrial base stations in terms of the size of their coverage area, the mobility of their coverage area, longer propagation delays, and different carrier frequencies, 5G satellite RATs may require different implementations and support than 5G terrestrial RATs to provide common services to end users. Optimizing these different implementations and support while minimizing their impact may then be preferable.

[0007] An example of a universal service involves supporting regulatory requirements such as emergency (EM) calling, lawful intercept (LI), and wireless emergency alerts (WEA). Using satellite RATs to support these universal services should preferably have minimal new impact on the terrestrial 5G core network (5GCN), while still providing the same or better service levels as terrestrial 5G RATs.

[0008] Another common service involves the continuity of UE radio access to the 5GCN and to external entities accessed via the 5GCN. Because satellites in medium-Earth orbit and low-Earth orbit have mobile coverage areas, UE radio access may be interrupted. Means to mitigate or avoid such interruptions in an efficient manner may be useful.

[0009] Another type of service involves supporting the ability of a UE to access a 5GCN in the same country as the UE - for example, where the satellite coverage area crosses an international border. Means to enable same-country 5GCN access may then be required. Summary of the Invention

[0010] A serving satellite NodeB (gNB) supports satellite access to a public land mobile network (PLMN) with a fifth-generation (5G) core network (5GCN). The gNB determines or verifies the country of a user equipment (UE) to ensure that the UE is located in the same country as the PLMN. The gNB can determine the UE's country based on UE measurements from broadcast satellite signals and a positioning ID (PID) broadcast for each radio cell. The PID changes frequently to prevent UE spoofing. The gNB can additionally use multiple UE measurements from mobile radio cells over a period of time to generate a more accurate position for the UE. The gNB can indicate to the 5GCN whether the UE's country has been verified. The 5GCN determines the UE's location and country only if the gNB indicates that the country is not fully verified.

[0011] In one embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) for supporting satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN) includes: receiving a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from a communication satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; obtaining a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; and sending the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0012] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) configured to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN) includes: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a communication satellite; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from the communication satellite via the wireless transceiver, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; obtain a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; and send the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) via the wireless transceiver after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0013] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) configured to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN) includes: receiving a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from a communication satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; obtaining a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; and sending the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0014] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the program code including instructions to: receive a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from a communication satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; obtain a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; and send the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0015] In one embodiment, a method performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB) for supporting satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN) includes: receiving a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the DL signal being received by the UE from a communication satellite for a serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; determining a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement; and determining a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0016] In one embodiment, a satellite NodeB (gNB) configured to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN) includes: an external interface configured to communicate with a network entity; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the external interface, a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the DL signal being received by the UE from a communication satellite for a serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; determine, based on the first measurement, a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times; and determine, based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell, a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times.

[0017] In one embodiment, a satellite Node B (gNB) configured to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN) includes: means for receiving a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the DL signal being received by the UE from a communication satellite for a serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; means for determining a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement; and means for determining a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0018] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a satellite NodeB (gNB) to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the program code including instructions to: receive a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the DL signal being received by the UE from a communications satellite for a serving radio cell, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement; and determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 A diagram of a communication system with a network architecture having transparent space vehicles (SVs) capable of supporting satellite access to a wireless network is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 A diagram of a communication system with a network architecture having regenerative SVs capable of supporting satellite access to a wireless network is shown.

[0021] Figure 3 A diagram of a communication system with a network architecture having regenerative SVs and a separate satellite Node B (gNB) architecture capable of supporting satellite access to a wireless network is shown.

[0022] Figure 4 An SV generating multiple beams over an area including multiple countries is shown.

[0023] Figure 5 The radio cells generated by the SV over an area comprising a plurality of fixed cells are shown.

[0024] Figure 6 The allocation of radio cells to fixed tracking areas (TAs) produced by the SV is shown.

[0025] Figure 7A and Figure 7B The use of differential angle of arrival to determine the position of a user equipment (UE) is shown.

[0026] Figure 8 Determining the location of a UE using the coverage area of ​​a radio cell resulting from a SV moving over time is shown.

[0027] Figure 9 A signaling flow illustrating various messages sent between components of a communication system to determine whether a UE is located in a country associated with a serving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) is shown.

[0028] Figure 10 A signaling flow illustrating various messages sent between components of a communication system to determine the location of a UE based on measurements or communications over a period of time is shown.

[0029] Figure 11 A signaling flow illustrating various messages sent between components of the communication system during a positioning session of a UE is shown.

[0030] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a UE configured to access a serving PLMN through a SV.

[0031] Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a satellite Node B (gNB) configured to support UE access to a serving PLMN via an SV.

[0032] Figure 14is a diagram showing an example of a hardware implementation of an application management function (AMF) configured to support UE access to a serving PLMN through an SV.

[0033] Figure 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a Location Management Function (LMF) configured to support UE accessing a serving PLMN through an SV.

[0034] Figure 16 is a flow chart of an example process performed by a UE for accessing a serving PLMN through a SV.

[0035] Figure 17 is a flow chart of an example process performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB) for a UE to access a serving PLMN via an SV.

[0036] Figure 18 is a flow chart of an example process performed by a UE for accessing a serving PLMN through a SV.

[0037] Figure 19 is a flow chart of an example process performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB) for a UE to access a serving PLMN via an SV.

[0038] Figure 20 is a flow chart of an example process performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB) for a UE to access a serving PLMN via an SV.

[0039] Figure 21 Flowchart of an example process performed by the AMF for a UE to access a serving PLMN via an SV.

[0040] Figure 22 is a flow chart of an example process performed by the LMF for a UE to access a serving PLMN via an SV.

[0041] According to certain example embodiments, similar reference symbols in the various drawings indicate similar elements. In addition, multiple instances of an element can be indicated by following the first digit of the element with a letter or hyphen and a second digit. For example, multiple instances of element 102 can be indicated as 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, etc. When only the first digit is used to refer to such an element, it should be understood that any instance of the element (e.g., element 102 in the previous example will refer to elements 102-1, 102-2, 102-3). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Satellites, also known as space vehicles (SVs) or communication satellites, can be used in communication systems, for example, using a gateway and one or more satellites to relay communication signals between the gateway and one or more UEs. For example, a UE can access a satellite (instead of a terrestrial base station) that can connect to an earth station (ES), also known as a ground station or non-terrestrial network (NTN) gateway. The earth station will in turn connect to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station (without a ground antenna) or a network node in the 5G core network (5GCN). This element will in turn provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately provide access to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices.

[0043] Reasons for UEs to access 5G (or other cellular networks) satellite may include ubiquitous outdoor coverage for both users and mobile network operators (MNOs). For example, in many countries, including the United States, unavailable or poor cellular coverage is a common problem. In addition, even if there is generally good cellular coverage, cellular access is not always possible. For example, cellular access may be hindered by congestion, physical barriers, localized cellular outages caused by weather (such as hurricanes or tornadoes), or localized power outages. Satellite access to cellular networks can provide a new independent access that may be available anywhere outdoors. Current satellite-enabled phones for low-Earth orbit (LEO) SVs may be similar in size to cellular smartphones, and therefore, supporting mobile NR support for satellite-enabled phones does not require a significant increase in the size of the phone. In addition, satellite-enabled smartphones can help drive phone sales and potentially increase revenue for operators. For example, potential users may include anyone with limited or no cellular access, anyone who wants a backup for lack of cellular access, and anyone involved in public safety or who needs (almost) 100% reliable mobile communications. Additionally, some users may desire improved or more reliable E911 service, for example, for medical emergencies or vehicle breakdowns in remote areas.

[0044] Using 5G satellite access can offer other benefits. For example, 5G satellite access can reduce infrastructure costs for mobile network operators (MNOs). For example, MNOs can use satellite access to reduce the deployment of ground base stations (such as NR NodeBs, also known as gNBs) and backhaul in sparsely populated areas. Furthermore, 5G satellite access can be used to overcome internet congestion, such as in certain countries. Furthermore, 5G satellite access may provide diversification for space vehicle operators (SVOs). For example, 5G NR satellite access can provide an alternative revenue stream for SVOs that otherwise provide fixed internet access.

[0045] To enable 5G satellite access by a UE to a public land mobile network (PLMN), it may be necessary (e.g., due to national regulatory requirements) for the PLMN to determine or verify the country in which the UE is located during 5G satellite access to ensure that the UE is located in the same country as the PLMN. However, it may be desirable for the network, rather than the UE, to perform this determination or verification, as the UE may not be trusted to perform a reliable determination. For example, a user subject to regulated services, such as being the target of lawful interception (LI), may use 5G satellite access to gain access to a PLMN in another country where lawful interception is not available. A UE may access a PLMN in another country because the radio beam coverage of a low-Earth orbit (LEO) or medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellite can reach or exceed 1000 kilometers, providing access to more than one country. Therefore, due to regulatory services such as LI and for emergency calls and wireless emergency alerts, it may be desirable or required for the UE to always access a PLMN in the same country as the UE, with the network, rather than the UE, verifying this condition. Additionally, due to signaling and overhead considerations, the next generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN), rather than the 5GCN, may be preferred for performing UE location and country determination. Therefore, effective and reliable methods are needed to support network, especially NG-RAN, verification in UE countries.

[0046] Figure 1 A diagram of a communication system 100 is shown that is capable of supporting satellite access using 5G New Radio (NR) or some other wireless access type such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) in accordance with an embodiment. Figure 1 A network architecture with a transparent space vehicle (SV) is shown. A transparent SV can implement frequency conversion and radio frequency (RF) amplifiers in both the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) directions and can correspond to an analog RF repeater. For example, a transparent SV can receive uplink (UL) signals from all served UEs and can DL redirect the combined signal to an earth station without demodulating or decoding the signal. Similarly, a transparent SV can receive UL signals from an earth station and DL redirect the signal to a served UE without demodulating or decoding the signal. However, the SV can frequency convert the received signal and can amplify and / or filter the received signal before transmitting it.

[0047] The communication system 100 includes multiple UEs 105, multiple SVs 102-1 to 102-4 (collectively referred to as SVs 102 herein), multiple non-terrestrial network (NTN) gateways 104-1 to 104-4 (collectively referred to as NTN gateways 104 herein) (sometimes simply referred to as gateways 104, earth stations 104 or ground stations 104 herein), and multiple satellite NodeBs (gNBs) 106-1 to 106-3 (collectively referred to as gNBs 106 herein) that are capable of communicating with the UEs via the SVs 102 and are part of a next generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 112.

[0048] Note that the term “gNB” traditionally refers to an NRNodeB base station used for terrestrial access interfacing with a New Radio (NR) radio. The same term (gNB) can also be used to refer to a base station supporting satellite access interfacing with an NR radio. The two variants of gNB (satellite and terrestrial) can support many of the same functions, protocols, and interfaces, but differ in other aspects. To distinguish between gNBs supporting terrestrial access and gNBs supporting satellite access, different labels are used in this document. A gNB can also support both terrestrial and satellite NR access simultaneously, however, for simplicity, this is not discussed further here.

[0049] The communication system 100 is shown as further including components of multiple fifth generation (5G) networks, including 5G core networks (5GCNs) 110-1 through 110-3 (collectively referred to herein as 5GCNs 110). 5GCNs 110 may be public land mobile networks (PLMNs) that may be located in the same or different countries. Figure 1 Various components within 5GCN1 110-1 are shown that may operate with NG-RAN 112. It should be understood that 5GCN2 110-2 and 5GCN3 110-3 may include identical, similar, or different components and associated NG-RANs, and to avoid unnecessary confusion, they are described in detail below. Figure 11. 5G networks may also be referred to as New Radio (NR) networks; NG-RAN 112 may be referred to as 5G RAN or NR RAN; and 5GCN 110 may be referred to as NG Core Network (NGC). Communication system 100 may further utilize information from space vehicles (SVs) 190 for a satellite positioning system (SPS), including a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), all of which are sometimes referred to herein as GNSS. Note that SV 190 acts as a navigation SV and is separate and distinct from SV 102, which acts as a communication SV. However, it is not excluded that some of SVs 190 may also act as some of SVs 102 and / or that some of SVs 102 may also act as some of SVs 190. In some embodiments, for example, SV 102 may be used for both communication and positioning. The following describes additional components of the communication system 100. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0050] Figure 1 The granted connectivity in the illustrated communication system 100 having a network architecture with transparent SVs allows a gNB 106 to access multiple earth stations 104 and / or multiple SVs 102. A gNB 106, such as illustrated by gNB 106-2, may also be shared by multiple PLMNs (5GCN 110), which may all be in the same country or possibly in different countries, and an earth station 104, such as illustrated by earth station 104-1, may be shared by more than one gNB 106.

[0051] It should be noted that Figure 1 Only a generalized illustration of the various components is provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be repeated or omitted as desired. Specifically, although only three UEs 105 are shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater (or smaller) number of SVs 190, SVs 102, earth stations 104, gNBs 106, NG-RAN 112, gNBs 114, 5GCN 110, external clients 140, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted, depending on the desired functionality.

[0052] Although Figure 1 A 5G-based network is shown, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc.

[0053] UE 105 may include and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a terminal supporting secure user plane location (SUPL) (SET), or by some other name. In addition, UE 105 may correspond to a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet, a PDA, a tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or portable device. Typically, although not necessarily, UE 105 may support the use of a mobile communication system such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs) such as BT, WiMAX, 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 112 and 5GCN 140), etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may be connected to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable. The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using space vehicles such as SV 102. Using one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 to communicate with external clients 140 (via Figure 1 Elements of the 5GCN 110 not shown, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC) 126).

[0054] UE 105 may comprise a single entity, or may comprise multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where a user may use audio, video and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and a separate wired or wireless modem.

[0055] UE 105 can support position determination, for example, using signals and information from a space vehicle 190 in an SPS such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo or BeiDou or some other local or regional SPS (such as IRNSS, EGNOS or WAAS), all of which can be generally referred to as GNSS in this article. Position measurement using SPS is based on measuring the propagation delay time of SPS signals broadcast from multiple orbiting satellites to the SPS receiver in UE 105. Once the SPS receiver measures the signal propagation delay of each satellite, the range to each satellite can be determined, and then the measured range and the known position of the satellite can be used to determine accurate navigation information including the three-dimensional position, velocity and time of day of the SPS receiver. Positioning methods that can be supported by SV 190 can include Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and Differential GNSS (DGNSS). Information and signals from SV 102 can also be used to support positioning. The UE 105 may also support positioning using terrestrial positioning methods, such as downlink (DL) time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), enhanced cell ID (ECID), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), multi-cell RTT, angle of arrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), time of arrival (TOA), receive-transmit time difference (RxTx), and / or other positioning methods. Note that the terms "position method" and "positioning method" may be synonymous and used interchangeably.

[0056] The estimate of the location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a geodetic location, location, location estimate, location fix, position, position fix, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for the UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above ground level, floor level, or basement level, or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or a designation of a certain point or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 105 may also be expressed as an area or volume (defined geographically or civically) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may also be a relative position including, for example, a distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin at a known location, which may be defined geographically, in municipal terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved for and then, if necessary, converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0057] UE 105 is configured to communicate with 5GCN 110 via SV 102, earth station 104, and gNB 106. The NG-RAN associated with 5GCN 110 may include one or more gNBs 106, as shown by NG-RAN 112. NG-RAN 112 may also include multiple terrestrial gNBs, as illustrated by gNB 114, which is not capable of communicating with UEs via SV 102. Pairs of terrestrial and / or satellite base stations (e.g., gNB 114 and gNB 106-1 in NG-RAN 112) may be connected to each other using terrestrial links—for example, directly or indirectly via other gNBs 114 or gNB 106 and communicating using an Xn interface. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via SV 102 and earth station 104 via wireless communications between each UE 105 and the serving gNB 106. The gNB 106 may use 5G NR to provide wireless communication access to the 5GCN 110 on behalf of each UE 105. 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access and may be defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0058] Figure 1The base stations (BSs) in the illustrated NG-RAN 112 may also or instead include next-generation evolved Node Bs, also referred to as ng-eNBs. The ng-eNBs may be connected to one or more gNBs 106 and / or gNBs 114 in the NG-RAN 112—e.g., directly or indirectly via other gNBs 106, gNBs 114, and / or other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNBs may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UEs 105.

[0059] Satellite NodeB (gNB 106) may be referred to by other names or terms such as sNB, "satellite node," or "satellite access node." gNB 106 is distinct from terrestrial gNB 114, but may be based on terrestrial gNB 114 with additional capabilities. For example, gNB 106 may terminate the radio interface and associated radio interface protocol to UE 105, and may transmit downlink signals to UE 105 and receive uplink signals from UE 105 via SV 102 and earth station 104. gNB 106 may also support signaling connections and voice and data bearers to UE 105, and may support handover of UE 105 between different radio cells of the same SV 102, between different SVs 102, and / or between different gNBs 106. In some systems, gNB 106 may be referred to as a gNB or enhanced gNB. gNB 106 may be configured to manage mobile radio beams (for LEO SVs) and the associated mobility of UE 105. gNB 106 can facilitate handover (or transfer) of SV 102 between different earth stations 104, different gNBs 106, and between different countries. gNB 106 can hide or obscure certain aspects of the connected SV 102 from 5GCN 110, for example, by interfacing with 5GCN 110 in the same or similar manner as gNB 114, and can avoid 5GCN 110 having to maintain configuration information for SV 102 or perform mobility management related to SV 102. gNB 106 can further facilitate sharing of SV 102 across multiple countries. gNB 106 can communicate with one or more earth stations 104, for example, as shown by gNB 106-2 communicating with earth stations 104-2 and 104-1. gNB 106 can be separate from earth stations 104, for example, as shown by gNBs 106-1 and 106-2 and earth stations 104-1 and 104-2. The gNB 106 may include one or more earth stations 104, or may be combined with one or more earth stations 104, for example, using a split architecture. For example, gNB 106-3 is shown as having a split architecture, with a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 107 and earth stations 104-3 and 104-4 acting as distributed units (DUs) (sometimes referred to as gNB-DU 104-3 and gNB-DU 104-4). The gNB 106 may typically be fixed to the ground via transparent SV operation. In one embodiment, one gNB 106 may be physically combined with or physically connected to one earth station 104 to reduce complexity and cost.

[0060] Earth station 104 can be shared by more than one gNB 106 and can communicate with UE 105 via SV 102. Earth station 104 can be dedicated to only one SVO and one associated SV 102 constellation and can therefore be owned and managed by the SVO. Although earth station 104 can be included within gNB 106, for example as a gNB-DU within gNB 106-3, this is only possible when both the gNB 106 and the included earth station 104 are owned by the same SVO or the same MNO. Earth station 104 can communicate with SV 102 using control and user plane protocols that can be SVO-specific. The control and user plane protocols between the earth station 104 and the SV 102 can: (i) establish and release the communication link from the earth station 104 to the SV 102, including authentication and encryption; (ii) update the SV software and firmware; (iii) perform SV operation and maintenance (O&M); (iv) control the radio beam (e.g., direction, power, on / off status) and the mapping between the radio beam and the earth station uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) payloads; and (v) assist in handover of the SV 102 or radio cell to another earth station 104.

[0061] As mentioned above, although Figure 1 Nodes configured to communicate according to 5G NR and LTE communication protocols for NG-RAN 112 are depicted, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, such as, for example, the LTE protocol for the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) or the IEEE 802.11x protocol for WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) that provides LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include the E-UTRAN, which may include base stations including evolved Node Bs (eNBs) that support LTE radio access. The core network for the EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 1 In NG-RAN 112, EPC corresponds to Figure 1 The methods and techniques described herein for supporting RAN location server functionality may be applicable to such other networks.

[0062] gNB 106 and gNB 114 may communicate with Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 122 in 5GCN 110. AMF 122 may communicate with Location Management Function (LMF) 124 for positioning functions. For example, gNB 106 may provide an N2 interface to AMF 122. The N2 interface between gNB 106 and 5GCN 110 may be the same as the N2 interface supported between gNB 114 and 5GCN 110 for terrestrial NR access for UE 105 and may utilize the Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.413 between gNB 106 and AMF 122. AMF 122 may support mobility of UE 105, including radio cell changes and handovers, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105 and may support data and voice bearers for UE 105. When the UE accesses the NG-RAN 112, the LMF 124 may support positioning of the UE 105 and may support positioning procedures / methods such as A-GNSS, DL-TDOA, RTK, PPP, DGNSS, ECID, AOA, AOD, multi-cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures including positioning procedures based on communication signals from one or more SVs 102. The LMF 124 may also process location service requests for the UE 105 received, for example, from the AMF 122 or from the Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 126. The LMF 124 may be connected to the AMF 122 and / or the GMLC 126. In some embodiments, a node / system implementing the LMF 124 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC). Note that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the position of UE 105) can be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 102 for signals transmitted by SV 102, SV 190, gNB 114, and assistance data provided to UE 105, for example, by LMF 124).

[0063] The GMLC 126 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 140 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 122 for forwarding by the AMF 122 to the LMF 124, or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 124. A location response from the LMF 124 (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) may similarly be returned to the GMLC 126 directly or via the AMF 122, and the GMLC 126 may then return the location response (e.g., containing a location estimate) to the external client 140. The GMLC 126 is shown connected to Figure 1122 and LMF 124 in the 5GCN 110, although in some embodiments the 5GCN 110 may support only one of these connections.

[0064] A network exposure function (NEF) 128 may be included in the 5GCN 110, for example, connected to the GMLC 126 and the AMF 122. In some embodiments, the NEF 128 may be connected to communicate directly with the external client 140. The NEF 128 may support securely exposing capabilities and events related to the 5GCN 110 and the UE 105 to the external client 140, and may enable secure provision of information from the external client 140 to the 5GCN 110.

[0065] User Plane Function (UPF) 130 can support voice and data bearers for UE 105 and enable voice and data access for UE 105 to other networks, such as the Internet 175. UPF 130 can connect to gNB 106 and gNB 114. UPF 130 functions may include: external protocol data unit (PDU) session point interconnecting with data networks, packet (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP)) routing and forwarding, user plane portion of packet inspection and policy rule enforcement, user plane quality of service (QoS) handling, downlink packet buffering, and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 130 can connect to Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 132 to support locating UE 105 using SUPL. SLP 132 can further connect to or be accessible from external client 140.

[0066] As shown, a session management function (SMF) 134 is connected to the AMF 122 and the UPF 130. The SMF 134 may have the ability to control both local and central UPFs within a PDU session. The SMF 134 may manage the establishment, modification, and release of PDU sessions for the UE 105, perform IP address allocation and management for the UE 105, act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for the UE 105, and select and control the UPF 130 on behalf of the UE 105.

[0067] The external client 140 may connect to the core network 110 via the GMLC 126 and / or the SLP 132 and / or the NEF 128. The external client 140 may optionally connect to the core network 110 and / or a location server via the Internet 175, which may be, for example, an SLP located outside the 5GCN 110. The external client 140 may connect to the UPF 130 directly or through the Internet 175 (not shown). Figure 1). The external client 140 may be a server, a web server, or a user device, such as a personal computer, a UE, etc.

[0068] As noted, while the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc., for supporting and interacting with mobile devices, such as the UE 105 (e.g., for implementing voice, data, positioning, and other functions). In some such embodiments, the 5GCN 110 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, in some embodiments, the 5GCN 110 may control the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, Figure 1 The N3IWF may be connected to the WLAN (not shown). For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for the UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may be connected to the WLAN and other elements in the 5GCN 110, such as the AMF 122.

[0069] right Figure 1 The support of transparent SV with the network architecture shown may affect the communication system as follows. The 5GCN 110 may treat the satellite RAT as a new type of terrestrial RAT with longer latency, reduced bandwidth, and higher error rates. Therefore, although there may be some impact on protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment and mobility management (MM) and connection management (CM) procedures, the impact on the AMF 122 (or LMF 124) may be minimal - for example, such as providing pre-configured data for fixed tracking areas (TAs) and cells to the UE 105 during registration. There may be no impact on the SV 102. The SV 102 can be shared with other services (e.g., satellite TV, fixed internet access), with 5G NR mobile access added for the UE in a transparent manner. This can enable the use of legacy SVs 102 and avoid the need to deploy new SVs 102. In addition, the gNB 106 can be fixed and can be configured to support a country and one or more PLMNs in that country. The gNB 106 may need to assist in allocating and transferring SVs 102 and radio cells between the gNB 106 and the earth station 104, and support handover of the UE 105 between radio cells, SVs 102, and other gNBs 106. Therefore, the gNB 106 may be different from the terrestrial gNB 114. In addition, the coverage area of ​​the gNB 106 may be much larger than the coverage area of ​​the gNB 114.

[0070] In some embodiments, the radio beam coverage of SV 102 can be large, e.g., up to or greater than 1000 km, and can provide access to more than one country. Earth station 104 can be shared by multiple gNBs (e.g., earth station 104-1 can be shared by gNBs 106-1 and 106-2), and gNB 106 can be shared by multiple core networks in separate PLMNs located in the same country or in different countries (e.g., gNB 106-2 can be shared by 5GCN1 110-1 and 5GCN2 110-1, which can be in different PLMNs in the same country or in different countries).

[0071] Figure 2 A diagram of a communication system 200 is shown that is capable of supporting satellite access using 5G New Radio (NR) or some other wireless access type such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) according to an embodiment. Figure 2 The network architecture shown is similar to Figure 1 The network architecture shown is similar or identical to the elements specified. However, Figure 1 In contrast to the transparent SV 102 shown in FIG. Figure 2 A network architecture is shown with regenerated SVs 202-1, 202-2, 202-3, and 202-4 (collectively, SVs 202). Unlike transparent SVs 102, regenerated SVs 202 include an onboard satellite NodeB, referred to as gNB 202, which may include the functional capabilities of gNB 106 and is sometimes referred to herein as SV / gNB 202. NG-RAN 112 is shown as including SVs / gNBs 202. Reference is made herein to gNBs 202 when referring to SV / gNB 202 functionality related to communication with UE 105 and 5GCN 110, and to SVs 202 when referring to SV / gNB 202 functionality related to communication with earth stations 104 and UE 105 at the physical radio frequency level. However, there may be no precise demarcation between SVs 202 and gNBs 202.

[0072] The onboard gNB 202 may perform some or all of the same functions as the gNB 106 described above. For example, the gNB 202 may terminate the radio interface and associated radio interface protocol to the UE 105 and may transmit downlink signals to the UE 105 and receive uplink signals from the UE 105, which may include encoding and modulation of transmitted signals and demodulation and decoding of received signals. The gNB 202 may also support signaling connections and voice and data bearers to the UE 105 and may support handover of the UE 105 between different radio cells of the same gNB 202 and between different gNBs 202. The gNB 202 may facilitate handover (or transfer) of the SV 202 between different earth stations 104, different 5GCNs 1110, and between different countries. For example, the gNB 202 may hide or obscure certain aspects of the SV 202 from the 5GCN 110, e.g., by interfacing with the 5GCN 110 in the same or similar manner as the gNB 114. The gNB 202 may further facilitate sharing of the SV 202 across multiple countries. The gNB 202 may communicate with one or more earth stations 104 and one or more 5GCNs 110 via the earth station 104. In some embodiments, the gNB 202 may utilize an inter-satellite link (ISL) ( Figure 2 202s), which can support the Xn interface between any pair of gNBs 202.

[0073] For LEO SVs, SV / gNB 202 needs to manage mobile radio cells covering different countries at different times. As shown, earth station 104 can be directly connected to 5GCN 110. For example, as shown, earth station 104-1 can be connected to AMF 122 and UPF 130 of 5GCN1 110-1, while earth station 104-2 can similarly be connected to 5GCN2 110-2, and earth stations 104-3 and 104-4 can be connected to 5GCN3 110-3. For example, if earth stations 104 are limited, earth stations 104 can be shared by multiple 5GCNs 110. For example, in some embodiments (shown with dashed lines), earth station 104-2 can be connected to both 5GCN1 110-1 and 5GCN2 110-2, and earth station 104-3 can be connected to both 5GCN2 110-2 and 5GCN3 110-3. 5GCN 110 may need to know the SV 202 coverage area in order to page UE 105 and manage handover. Figure 1 Compared to the network architecture with transparent SV 102 shown in , the network architecture with regenerated SV may have greater impact and complexity for both gNB 202 and 5GCN 110.

[0074] right Figure 2 The support of regenerated SVs with the illustrated network architecture may affect the communication system 200 as follows. If fixed TAs and cells are not supported, the 5GCN 110 may be affected because core components of mobility management and regulatory services that are typically based on fixed cells and fixed TAs for terrestrial PLMNs may have to be replaced by a new system (e.g., based on the UE 105 location). If fixed TAs and fixed cells are supported, the 5GCN 110 (e.g., AMF 122) may need to map any fixed TA to one or more SVs 202 with current radio coverage for that TA when performing paging of a UE 105 located in that TA. This may require configuring long-term orbit data for the SVs 202 in the 5GCN 110 (e.g., obtained from the SVO of the SVs 202) and may add significant new impacts to the 5GCN 110.

[0075] Legacy SVs would require extensive software (SW) updates to support gNB 202 functionality, which may not be feasible. SV 202 would also need to fully support all UEs 105 accessing the SV 202, which may be problematic for legacy SVs due to limited processing and storage capabilities. Therefore, the SV 202 may need to include new hardware (HW) and SW, rather than being based on a SW upgrade of an existing SV. New SVs / gNBs 202 may need to support regulatory and other requirements in multiple countries. A GEO SV 202 coverage area typically encompasses a few or many countries, while LEO or Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) SVs 202 typically operate over many countries. Consequently, support for fixed TAs and fixed cells may require that the SV / gNB 202 be configured with fixed TAs and fixed cells for the entire global coverage area. Alternatively, the AMF 122 (or LMF 124) in a single 5GCN 110 can support fixed TAs and fixed cells for the associated PLMN, reducing SV / gNB 202 complexity at the expense of increased 5GCN 110 complexity. In addition, the ISL from SV / gNB 202 to SV / gNB 202 usually changes dynamically as the relative position of SV / gNB 202 changes, making the Xn-related process more complicated.

[0076] Figure 3 A diagram of a communication system 300 is shown that is capable of supporting satellite access using 5G New Radio (NR) or some other wireless access type such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), according to an embodiment. Figure 3 The network architecture shown is similar to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network architecture shown is similar or identical to the elements specified. However, Figure 1 Unlike the transparent SV 102 shown in FIG. Figure 3 A network architecture is shown with regenerative SVs 302-1, 302-2, 302-3, and 302-4 (collectively, SVs 302), with a split architecture for satellite NodeBs. The satellite NodeB, referred to as gNB 307, includes a central unit (CCU) 307, and unlike the transparent SV 102, the regenerative SV 302 includes an onboard gNB distributed unit (gNB-DU) 302, sometimes referred to herein as SV / gNB-DU 302. Reference is made herein to the gNB-DU 302 when referring to the SV / gNB 302 functionality related to communication with the UE 105 and the gNB-CU 307, and to the SV 302 when referring to the SV / gNB-DU 302 functionality related to communication with the earth station 104 and the UE 105 at the physical radio frequency level. However, there may be no precise demarcation between the SV 202 and the gNB-DU 302.

[0077] Each gNB-DU 302 communicates with a ground-based gNB-CU 307 via one or more earth stations 104. A gNB-CU 307, along with one or more gNB-DUs 302 communicating with the gNB-CU 307, performs functions similar to or identical to those of a gNB with a split architecture as described in 3GPP TS 38.401. Here, the gNB-DU 302 corresponds to and performs functions similar to or identical to a gNB distributed unit (gNB-DU) as defined in TS 38.401, while the gNB-CU 307 corresponds to and performs functions similar to or identical to a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) as defined in TS 38.401. For example, the gNB-DU 302 and gNB-CU 307 may communicate with each other using the F1 Application Protocol (F1AP) as defined in 3GPP TS 38.473 and may together perform some or all of the same functions as the gNB 106 or gNB 202 described previously. To simplify references to different types of gNBs in the following description, the gNB-DU 302 may sometimes be referred to as gNB 302 (without the “DU” label), and the gNB-CU 307 may sometimes be referred to as gNB 307 (without the “CU” label).

[0078] The gNB-DU 302 may terminate the radio interface and associated lower-level radio interface protocols to the UE 105 and may transmit downlink signals to the UE 105 and receive uplink signals from the UE 105, which may include encoding and modulation of transmitted signals and demodulation and decoding of received signals. The gNB-DU 302 may support and terminate the radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) protocol layers for the NR radio frequency (RF) interface to the UE 105, as defined in 3GPP TS 38.201, 38.202, 38.211, 38.212, 38.213, 38.214, 38.215, 38.321, and 38.322. The operation of the gNB-DU 302 is controlled in part by the associated gNB-CU 307. One gNB-DU 307 may support one or more NR radio cells for the UE 105. The gNB-CU 307 may support and terminate the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and Service Data Protocol (SDAP) for the NR RF interface to the UE 105 as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331, 38.323, and 37.324, respectively. The gNB-CU 307 may also be split into separate control plane (gNB-CU-CP) and user plane (gNB-CU-UP) portions, where the gNB-CU-CP communicates with one or more AMFs 122 in one or more 5GCNs 110 using the NGAP protocol, and where the gNB-CU-UP communicates with one or more UPFs 130 in one or more 5GCNs 110 using the General Packet Radio System (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) User Plane Protocol (GTP-U) defined in 3GPP TS 29.281. The gNB-DU 302 and the gNB-CU 307 may communicate over the F1 interface to (a) support control plane signaling for the UE 105 using Internet Protocol (IP), Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP), and F1 Application Protocol (F1AP) protocols, and (b) support user plane data delivery for the UE using IP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), PDCP, SDAP, GTP-U, and NR User Plane Protocol (NRUPP) protocols.

[0079] The gNB-CU 307 may communicate with one or more other gNB-CUs 307 and / or with one or more other gNBs 114 using terrestrial links to support an Xn interface between any gNB-CU 302 pair and / or between any gNB-CU 307 and any gNB 114.

[0080] The gNB-DU 302, together with the gNB-CU 307, can: (i) support signaling connectivity and voice and data bearers to the UE 105; (ii) support handover of the UE 105 between different radio cells of the same gNB-DU 302 and between different gNB-DUs 302; and (iii) facilitate handover (or transfer) of the SV 302 between different earth stations 104, different 5GCNs 110, and between different countries. For example, the gNB-CU 307 can hide or obscure certain aspects of the SV 302 from the 5GCN 110, e.g., by interfacing with the 5GCN 110 in the same or similar manner as the gNB 114. The gNB-CU 307 can further facilitate sharing of the SV 302 across multiple countries.

[0081] In the communication system 300, the gNB-DU 302 that communicates with and is accessible from any gNB-CU 307 will change over time along with the LEO SV 302. Using a split gNB architecture, the 5GCN 110 can connect to a fixed gNB-CU 307 that does not change over time and can reduce the difficulty of paging the UE 105. For example, the 5GCN 110 may not need to know which SV / gNB-DU 302 is needed to page the UE 105. A network architecture with regenerated SVs 302 in a split gNB architecture can thus reduce the impact on the 5GCN 119 at the expense of additional impact on the gNB-CU 307.

[0082] For example Figure 3 The support of the regenerative SV 302 with a split gNB architecture shown may affect the communication system 300 as follows. The impact on the 5GCN 110 may be limited as discussed above for the transparent SV 102. For example, the 5GCN 110 may treat the satellite RAT in the communication system 300 as a new type of terrestrial RAT with longer latency, reduced bandwidth, and higher error rates. Figure 2 As discussed, the impact on the SV / gNB-DU 302 may be less than that on the SV / gNB 202 (with a non-split architecture). The SV / gNB-DU 302 may need to manage changing associations with different (fixed) gNB-CUs 307. Furthermore, the SV / gNB-DU 302 may need to manage radio beams and radio cells. As described above, the impact on the gNB-CU 307 may be similar to the impact on the gNB 106 in a network architecture with a transparent SV 102, except that the impact on the radio cells and radio beams may be addressed to the gNB-DU 302.

[0083] There are currently several SVOs in operation, and several more are being prepared to begin operation, that may be capable of supporting satellite access using 5G NR or some other wireless access type such as CDMA. The various SVOs may employ different numbers of LEO SVs and earth gateways and may use different technologies. For example, currently operating SVOs include those using transparent ("bent-pipe") LEO SVs with CDMA and regenerative LEO SVs capable of ISL. New SVOs have recently been announced with plans to build large LEO SV constellations to support fixed internet access. These different SVOs are well known in the industry.

[0084] While supporting satellite access to a wireless network, the SV 102 / 202 / 302 may transmit radio beams (also referred to simply as “beams”) across multiple countries. For example, a beam transmitted by the SV 102 / 202 / 302 may overlap two or more countries. However, sharing a beam across two or more countries may introduce complications. For example, if a beam is shared by two or more countries, the earth station 104 and gNB 106 / 202 / 302 / 307 in one country may need to support access by UE 105 from other countries. If both data and voice share beams across multiple countries, privacy and security issues may arise. Additionally, sharing an SV beam across multiple countries may introduce regulatory conflicts. For example, regulated services including WEA, LI, and EM calls in a first country may require support from the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 and earth station 104 in a second country that share the same SV beam.

[0085] One solution to the complexity of sharing beams across multiple countries is to assign one beam to each country. A possible exception to assigning one beam to a country might be for small, neighboring countries. Assigning a beam to a single country also means assigning each radio cell to a single country.

[0086] As an example, Figure 4 SVs 102, 202, 302 are shown generating a plurality of beams, identified as beams B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, and B6, over an area 400 that includes portions of a plurality of countries, such as Country A, Country B, and Country C. By assigning each beam to only one country, beams B1, B3, and B5 are assigned to Country A, beams B4 and B6 are assigned to Country B, and beam B2 is assigned to Country C.

[0087] In one embodiment, a single beam can be assigned to a single country by controlling or steering the beam. Although non-geostationary earth orbit (NGEO) SVs have mobile coverage areas, the relative beam direction can be moved via a steerable antenna array to stay within or mostly stay within a country, which is sometimes referred to as a "steerable beam." For example, beam coverage can slowly move within a country and then jump to a new country, for example, after the SV 102, 202, 302 has been transferred to a new earth station 104 or a new gNB 106 or 307.

[0088] In another embodiment, a radio cell and radio beam may be allowed to simultaneously support access by different UEs 105 in two or more countries. For example, beam B1 may support access by UEs 105 in countries A and C, and beams B4 and B5 may support access by UEs 105 in countries A and B. In this case, it may be important to support regulatory services if the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 and / or AMF 122 can determine the country in which the UE 105 is located.

[0089] Figure 5 The figure shows a radio cell generated by SVs 102, 202, and 302 over an area 500 including multiple earth-fixed cells 502. A radio cell can include a single beam or multiple beams. For example, all beams in a radio cell can use the same frequency, or a radio cell can include one beam for each frequency in a different frequency set. For example, beams B1, B2, and B3 can support three separate radio cells (one beam for each radio cell), or can collectively support a single radio cell (e.g., radio cell 504 shown in dashed lines). Preferably, the radio cell covers a contiguous area.

[0090] The radio beams and radio cells generated by the SVs 102, 202, 302 may not coincide with cells used by terrestrial wireless networks (e.g., 5GCN 110 terrestrial cells or LTE terrestrial cells). For example, in urban areas, the radio beams or radio cells generated by the SVs 102, 202 may overlap with many 5GCN fixed terrestrial cells. When supporting satellite access to wireless networks, the radio beams and radio cells generated by the SVs 102, 202, 302 may be hidden from the 5GCN 110.

[0091] like Figure 5As shown, area 500 may include multiple earth-fixed cells 502, as well as fixed tracking areas (TAs) such as TA 506. Fixed cells are not "real cells," such as those used for terrestrial NR and LTE access, and may be referred to as "virtual cells" or "geographic cells." Fixed cells, such as fixed cell 502, have a fixed geographic coverage area, which may be defined by the PLMN operator. For example, the coverage area of ​​a fixed cell or fixed TA may include the interior of a circle, ellipse, or polygon. This coverage area is fixed relative to the Earth's surface and does not change over time, unlike the coverage area of ​​radio cells of LEO or MEO SVs, which typically change over time. 5GCN 110 may treat fixed cells 502 as the same as real cells supporting terrestrial NR access. A group of fixed cells 502 may define a fixed TA 506, which 5GCN may treat as the same as a TA defined for terrestrial NR access. Fixed cells and fixed TAs used for 5G satellite radio access may be used by 5GCN 110 to support mobility management and regulatory services for UE 105 with minimal new impact.

[0092] For a regenerated SV 202 with a non-split architecture as in the communication system 200, each radio cell may remain with the same SV 202 and may have mobile coverage areas supporting different 5GCNs 110 at different times.

[0093] For a split-architecture transparent SV 102 and regenerative SV 302, as in communication system 300, each radio cell can be assigned to and controlled by a gNB 106 or 307 representing one or more PLMNs in a country. For GEO SVs 102 / 302, assignment to a gNB 106 / 307 can be permanent or temporary. For example, assignments can change daily to accommodate peak traffic at different times in different parts of the SV 102 / 302 radio footprint and / or can change over longer periods of time to accommodate changing regional traffic needs. For non-geostationary (NGEO) SVs 102 / 302, assignments can last for a short time, such as only 5-15 minutes. The non-permanent radio cell can then be transferred to the new gNB 106 / 307 as needed (e.g., when access to the NGEO SV 102 / 302 is transferred to the new gNB 106 / 307). For example, each gNB 106 / 307 may have a fixed geographic coverage area, e.g., including multiple fixed cells 502 and a fixed TA. Upon (or after) moving to the fixed coverage area of ​​a second gNB 106 / 307, the radio cell for a first NGEO SV 102 / 302 may be transferred from the first gNB 106 / 307 to the second gNB 106 / 307. Prior to this transfer, a UE 105 accessing a radio cell in a connected state may be moved to a new radio cell of the first gNB 106 / 307 or may be handed over to the second gNB 106 / 307 as part of the transfer. An SV 102 / 302 may be accessed from only one gNB 106 / 307 or from multiple gNBs 106 / 307, potentially in different countries. In one embodiment, the SV 102 / 302 may be assigned to multiple gNBs 106 / 307 by dividing the radio cell generated by the SV 102 / 302 among different gNBs 106 / 307. Then, when the SV 102 / 302 moves or when traffic needs change, the radio cells can be transferred to a new gNB 106 / 307 (and to a new country). This implementation would be a form of soft handover, where the transfer of the SV 102 / 302 from one gNB 106 / 307 to another occurs in increments of radio cells rather than all at once.

[0094] Figure 6An example of an allocation of radio cells (e.g., cell 1 and cell 2) generated by one or more SVs 102, 202, 302 over an area 600 is shown. As shown, area 600 includes multiple fixed TAs, e.g., TA1-TA15, of which TA4, TA5, TA8, and TA9 are allocated to gNB1 (which can be gNB 106, gNB 202, or gNB 307), and TA12, TA13, TA14, and TA15 are allocated to gNB2 (which can be another gNB 106, 202, or 307). In one embodiment, a radio cell may be considered to support fixed TAs if the radio cell is completely within the TA (e.g., cell 2 is within TA12); if the TA is completely within the radio cell (e.g., TA4 is within cell 1); or if the overlap of the areas of the radio cell and the TA exceeds a predetermined threshold portion of the total area of ​​the radio cell or the total area of ​​the TA (e.g., cell 1 overlaps with TA1, TA3, TA5, TA8, or TA9). SVs 102, 202, 302 may broadcast, for example, in a system information block type 1 (SIB1) or SIB type 2 (SIB2), the identities (IDs) of supported PLMNs (e.g., where the PLMN ID includes a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC)) and, for each supported PLMN, the IDs of supported TAs (e.g., where the TA ID includes a tracking area code (TAC)). For NGEO SVs, the supported PLMNs and TAs may change as the radio cell coverage area changes. The gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may determine the PLMN and TA support (and thus broadcast the PLMN ID and TAC in the SIB for each radio cell) based on the known ephemeris data for each SV 102 / 202 / 302 and the known directivity and angle of the component radio beams for each radio cell (e.g., cell 1 and cell 2). The gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may then update the SIB broadcast.

[0095] Therefore, if Figure 6As shown, SV 102 / 202 / 302 may broadcast an SIB for cell 1 that includes TACs for TA4 and possibly TA1, TA3, TA5, TA8, and / or TA9. Similarly, SV 102 / 202 / 302 or another SV 102 / 202 / 302 may broadcast an SIB for cell 2 that includes only TACs for TA12. Cell 1 may be assigned to gNB 1 (which covers TA4, TA5, TA8, and TA9) and cell 2 may be assigned to gNB 2 (which covers TA12, TA13, TA14, and TA15). If the cell coverage area moves from one gNB area to another, cell 1 and cell 2 may be transferred from gNB 1 to gNB 2 or vice versa.

[0096] The coverage area of ​​a fixed TA can be defined in a simple, precise, and flexible manner, requiring minimal signaling to communicate to UEs 105 or gNBs 106 / 202 / 307, or entities within 5GCN 110. A fixed TA area can be small enough to allow efficient paging by encompassing an area supported by only a few radio cells (e.g., fewer than 20), yet large enough to avoid excessive UE registrations (e.g., extending for at least several kilometers in any direction). The shape of a fixed TA area can be arbitrary, e.g., defined by a PLMN operator, or can have one or more restrictions. For example, one restriction on the shape of a fixed TA area can be that a fixed TA along a country's border is precisely aligned with that border to avoid serving UEs 105 in another country. Additionally, a fixed TA can be restricted to align with an area of ​​interest, e.g., a PSAP service area, the area of ​​a large campus, etc. Furthermore, a fixed TA can be restricted so that portions of the fixed TA align with physical obstacles, such as the shores of a river or lake.

[0097] The coverage area of ​​a fixed cell can also be defined in a simple, precise, and flexible manner, requiring minimal signaling to convey to the UE 105 or gNB 106 / 202 / 307. The fixed cell coverage area can allow for simple and precise association with a fixed TA, e.g., a fixed cell can belong to a TA without meaning to do so.

[0098] Fixed cells may be used by a radio core network, such as 5GCN 110, to support regulated services, such as emergency (EM) call routing based on the current fixed serving cell of a UE 105, using fixed cells to approximate the UE 105 location, using fixed cell association to direct wireless emergency alert (WEA) alerts over a small, defined area to a recipient UE 105, or using fixed cells as a triggering event for approximate location or lawful interception (LI) of the UE 105. This use of fixed cells means that fixed cells should be able to be defined to have a size and shape similar to cells defined and used for terrestrial wireless access, including allowing for very small (e.g., pico) cells and very large (e.g., rural) cells.

[0099] Figures 4 to 6 The figure shows how a radio cell can have a coverage area that spans two or more countries. In this scenario, a gNB 106, gNB 202, or gNB-CU 307 controlling a radio cell, for example, can provide UE 105 with access to one or more PLMNs (e.g., with 5GCN 110) in only one country, or to PLMNs (e.g., with 5GCN 110) in two or more countries. For either scenario, a particularly critical issue may be enabling the PLMN to determine or verify the country in which UE 105 is located during 5G satellite access to ensure that UE 105 is located in the same country as the PLMN that UE 105 is accessing. For example, for regulatory services such as Lawful Interception (LI), and for emergency situations such as emergency calls and Wireless Emergency Alerts, it may be necessary for UE 105 to always access a PLMN (e.g., gNB 106, gNB 202, gNB-CU 307, and / or 5GCN 110) in the same country as UE 105. Permitting the UE 105 to determine or verify the country in which the UE 105 is located may be inappropriate because a user may manipulate this information in the UE 105 to avoid regulatory services such as LI, and non-malicious errors may hinder emergency services. Therefore, it is desirable for the network (e.g., gNB 106, gNB 202, gNB-CU 307, and / or 5GCN 110), rather than the UE 105, to determine or verify the country in which the UE 105 is located. Furthermore, due to signaling and processing overhead, it may also be preferable for the NG-RAN (e.g., gNB 106, gNB 202, or gNB-CU 307), rather than the 5GCN 110, to perform location and country determination / verification.

[0100] One solution for determining or verifying the country in which a UE 105 is located utilizes enhanced cell ID positioning (ECI) performed by a serving satellite NodeB (gNB 106 / 202 / 307) with enhanced reliability. With this solution, a UE 105 can measure one or more characteristics of signals broadcast from multiple SVs 102, 202, or 302. These characteristics can include reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), or a combination thereof. The UE 105 can provide the serving gNB 106, 202, or 307 with measured characteristics of signals from, for example, the serving radio cell and / or neighboring radio cells, along with the time of each measurement (e.g., a global time such as UTC time, or a local transmission time indicated by the serving cell of the serving gNB 102 / 202 / 307). The serving gNB 106, 202, or 307 uses the measurements and the measurement time to locate the UE using the enhanced cell ID (ECID) of the satellite radio cell. With conventional ECIDs, the UE 105 uses a physical cell ID (PCI) and / or a cell global identifier (CGI) to identify the terrestrial cell being measured. However, for satellite radio cells accessed by the UE, the PCI and CGI may be static (for GEO satellites) or have a lifetime of 5-15 minutes or longer for LEO or MEO satellites. Therefore, if the UE 105 obtains the PCI or CGI some time in advance, and if the UE 105 can predict cell coverage movement, then using the PCI or GGI of the ECID to identify satellite radio cells may allow for spoofed measurements by the UE 105. For example, the UE 105 may provide spoofed measurements of satellite radio cells seen at a different (spoofed) location than the UE 105's true location by including spoofed measurements along with the known (static or semi-static) PCI or CGI of these radio cells. For example, a UE in the United States located near the southern border of Mexico or the northern border of Canada may spoof the location of Mexico or Canada, respectively, to avoid service from regulatory agencies within the United States.

[0101] To make the enhanced cell ID (ECID) positioning method more reliable, spoofing of measurements on radio cells can be partially prevented by assigning a random or pseudo-random identifier (referred to herein as a positioning ID (PID)) to each radio cell, which is broadcast in the radio cell along with the PCI and CGI for the radio cell. The UE 105 can then be required to identify the radio cell for which measurements are provided using the PID rather than the PCI or CGI. The PID may change frequently (e.g., at intervals of 15-30 seconds). Therefore, the UE 105 (or an entity on behalf of the UE 105) must observe the radio cell in near real time in order to send measurements with the correct PID for positioning determination. While using a frequently changing PID may not prevent spoofing in the case where the UE 105 has another UE provide measurements to the UE 105 in real time from a spoofed position, it can prevent spoofing based on predicted measurements from previous observations of the radio cell. In one variation, the PCI of a radio cell may change frequently and randomly and thereby serve as the PID, although this may be problematic as the PCI has many other uses to identify the cell for normal operation which may be compromised.

[0102] In one embodiment, the characteristics of the signals broadcast from multiple SVs 102, 202, or 302 that can be measured by the UE 105 and reported to the serving gNB 106, 202, or 307 for position determination can be measurements of the differential AOA (DAOA) of different pairs of satellites. This has the potential for accurate 3D positioning because, unlike the DAOA of pairs of terrestrial base stations, which only supports 2D positioning, the satellites will have different azimuth and elevation angles.

[0103] Figure 7A shows how DAOA can be used to locate UE 105. Figure 7A In the example, it is assumed that UE 105 is already in Figure 7A A DAOA equal to δ is measured between a pair of SVs 102, 202, or 302, labeled A and B in FIG. This is sufficient to position the UE 105 horizontally at a point P on the arc C above (or below) the chord AB, where the angle APB is equal to δ. (Note that in Figure 7A and subsequent figures, labels including "P" denote a virtual or physical geographical location.) This follows from the constancy of the angle inscribed by a chord of a circle anywhere on the circle. Figure 7AThe diagram illustrates how a perpendicular to line AB, passing through the midpoint M of line AB, can be used to determine arc C. Point O, whose upper angle AOM is δ, on this perpendicular will be the center of the circle corresponding to arc C. Since central angle AOB will be 2δ, inscribed angle APB will be δ, according to well-known geometric theorems regarding central and inscribed angles. UE 105 will then be positioned on arc C above chord AB, or on arc C*, the mirror image of C, below chord AB. (For example, and in more detail, to obtain C and C*, a network such as gNB 106, 307 or an entity in 5GCN 110 such as LMF 124 can obtain distance OM, which is equal to known distance AM divided by (tan δ). This distance OM can then be used to locate point O, from which arc C is defined from radii OA and OB.)

[0104] If the UE 105 also determines the DAOA of another pair of SVs 102 / 202 / 302, the position of the UE 105 in two dimensions can be obtained from the intersection of the arcs C and C* obtained for the first pair of SVs with another pair of similar arcs obtained for the second pair of SVs. In some cases, when there are two or more intersection points, the DAOA of a third pair of SVs may be required to resolve the ambiguity.

[0105] As the SV moves in three dimensions, i.e., the satellite has different azimuth and elevation angles, by Figure 7A The arc C in Figure 7A The AB line in the image is rotated 360 degrees to create a two-dimensional surface, from which the position of the UE 105 can be determined in three dimensions. Line AB will then subtend the same angle δ at any point on the surface, meaning the UE 105 can be located anywhere on the surface. The DAOA obtained for another two or three pairs of SVs can then be used to locate the UE 105 on other similar surfaces, with the common intersection of these surfaces providing the UE 105's position in three dimensions.

[0106] Figure 7B shows how to determine if DAOAδ is greater than 90 degrees Figure 7A Arc C shown in (e.g., at an entity such as LMF 124 in gNB 106, 202, or 307 or 5GCN 110). Figure 7B Points A, B, M, O, and P in Figure 7A Points A, B, M, O, and P in correspond to and have the same meaning. For clarity, the points corresponding to Figure 7A The arc C* in C* is Figure 7B It is not shown, but if it existed it would be the mirror image of arc C relative to line AB.

[0107] It can be determined based on the DAOA δ of SV A and SV B reported by UE 105 and the measurement time of the known orbit (ephemeris) data Figure 7A and 7B The positions of SV A and SV B in the UE 105 (e.g., by gNB 106 / 202 / 307) can be calculated. The propagation delay from each SV A and B to the UE 105 can be ignored, in which case the positions of SV A and SV B can have a small error (e.g., approximately 50 meters for LEO SVs) due to the assumption of the position of each SV A and B when measured at the UE 105. Alternatively, the propagation delay from each SV A and B to the UE 105 can be used to determine the position of each SV A and SV B at a previous time at which the signal measured by the UE 105 was transmitted from each SV A and B. For example, the position of the UE 105 can be first obtained by ignoring the propagation delay, which may introduce some small error (e.g., approximately 50 meters) to the position obtained for the UE 105. This position can then be used to determine the propagation delay from each SV A and B to the position, which in turn can be used to correct the positions of the SVAs and B to correspond to the positions of SV A and SV B when the signal measured by the UE 105 was transmitted. The corrected positions of SVs A and B can then be used to regain the (more correct) position of UE 105. Note that while UE 105 may intentionally spoof the reported measurement time of DAOA, gNB 106, 202, or 307 or an entity in 5GCN 110 (such as LMF 124) can at least approximately verify the measurement time based on its reception time, as the reception time should exceed the measurement time by only a small margin (e.g., 1-5 seconds).

[0108] In some scenarios, UE 105 may provide one or more DAOA measurements and one or more other types of measurements, such as RSRP, RSRQ, RXTX, RSTD, and a radio cell identifier, e.g., PID. In this case, a network entity such as gNB 106, 202, or 307 or an entity in 5GCN 110 such as LMF 124 may use the DAOA measurement for Figure 7A and Figure 7B The DAOA measurement(s) are used along with other measurements to determine the location of the UE 105 using combined or "hybrid" positioning.

[0109] To report AOA and DAOA measurements to entities within 5GCN 110, such as gNB 106, 202, or 307, or LMF 124, for example, UE 105 can employ one of several techniques. In the first technique, UE 105 can report each AOA relative to a fixed reference frame, which can be local to UE 105 (e.g., aligned with an antenna or antenna connector within UE 105) or, if UE 105 is able to determine its absolute orientation, a global frame. In this technique, UE 105 can report angles using either azimuth and elevation or polar angles. In the case of a local reference frame within UE 105, a specific plane can be chosen to represent the horizontal plane, enabling the definition of "azimuth" and "elevation," even though this plane may not be aligned with the true horizontal plane. In the second technique, UE 105 can report DAOA between pairs of SVs 102, 202, or 302. For example, one SV (or one cell) may be used as a reference SV (or reference cell), and the UE 105 reports a DAOA between the reference SV (or reference cell) and each of one or more neighboring SVs (or neighboring cells). For example, each DAOA may correspond to Figure 7A and Figure 7B The angle δ in .

[0110] Another solution for determining or verifying the country in which UE 105 is located utilizes measurements of a serving radio cell acquired by UE 105 over a period of time, where the coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell may be moving (e.g., due to the use of a fixed directional antenna at SV 102 / 202 / 302). For example, as described above, UE 105 may not always be able to observe and report measurements of several radio cells from different satellites simultaneously. Instead, UE 105 may report characteristics (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, or AoA measurements) of the signal broadcast for the same serving radio cell over a period of time (e.g., from 5-15 minutes), which is the typical maximum duration that any one radio cell of a LEO satellite can provide radio coverage to the same location. If the radio cell is moving, the gNB 106, 202, 307 can roughly locate the UE 105 within the coverage area of ​​the radio cell at a sequence of times T1, T2, T3, etc., based on the measurement characteristics (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA, and / or other measurements) provided by the UE 105 at each of these times. In a simple variant, the gNB 106, 202, 307 can simply record that the UE 105 is using the serving radio cell to send UL signaling and / or receive DL signaling at each of the multiple times, and estimate the UE's position to be somewhere within the coverage area of ​​the radio cell at each of these times. Thus, the gNB 106, 202, 307 obtains a sequence of location areas L1, L2, L3, etc. for the UE corresponding to the coverage area of ​​the radio cell at each respective time T1, T2, T3, etc., where each location area represents a possible location of the UE at a particular time (e.g., a location point and an uncertainty region). As an example, L3 would indicate the location area of ​​the UE at time T3.

[0111] After obtaining the appropriate number of location areas, the gNB 106, 202, 307 can determine the location of the UE 105 as the intersection of the individual location areas. If the radio cell is moving, the location areas are typically different. The intersection of multiple location areas will then be a smaller area than each of the original location areas. Mathematically, the location L of the UE 105 can be written as L = L1 ∩ L2 ∩ L3 ∩ ... ∩ Ln, where n is the total number of location areas Li (i is between 1 and n). The intersection of all location areas Li can be a much smaller area than each individual location area Li and is therefore more accurate.

[0112] For example, Figure 8An example of SV coverage 800 is shown, in which SV 802 (e.g., corresponding to SV 102, 202, or 302) generates a radio beam to create a serving radio cell for UE 105, which moves over area 804 over a period of time. Area 804 includes portions of multiple countries, such as portions of Country A and Country B. Subscripts T1, T2, and T3 are used to identify the location of SV 802 at each time T1, T2, and T3, resulting in a serving radio cell with location areas L1, L2, and L3. As shown, UE 105 is located in the location area of ​​the serving radio cell at each time T1, T2, and T3, but due to the size of the location areas, it may not be clear in which country UE 105 is located. However, the intersection of the location areas reduces the possible location areas of UE 105 and can therefore be used to verify which country the UE is located. For example, the intersection of location areas L1 and L2 is significantly smaller than either location area L1 or L2 alone, but does not clearly identify the country in which UE 105 is located. The intersection of L1 , L2 , and L3 (or equivalently L1 and L3 ) further reduces the possible locations of UE 105 and explicitly indicates that UE 105 is located in country B.

[0113] Thus, in one embodiment, the gNB 106, 202, 307 can use signaling between the UE 105 and the SV 802 for the serving radio cell at each of the plurality of times T1, T2, and T3, such as UL signaling from the UE 105 and / or DL ​​signaling to the UE 105, to determine or verify the country in which the UE 105 is located. Additionally, measurement characteristics provided by the UE 105 at each of these times T1, T2, and T3, such as RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA, and / or other measurements, can be used to further narrow down the possible location areas of the UE 105 within the location areas L1, L2, and L3 of the serving radio cell. The intersection of these reduced possible location areas can similarly be used to determine or verify the country in which the UE 105 is located.

[0114] Using measurements of the serving radio cell acquired over a period of time to determine or verify the location or country of the UE 105 may require the UE 105 to be relatively stationary and connected for a period of time (e.g., several minutes). However, this solution offers the potential for more accurate location determination over a short period of time than other techniques. This solution also has the benefit of preventing spoofing, as the gNB 106, 202, 307 can know that the UE 105 must be connected to the serving radio cell due to the DL and UL signaling being passed to and from the UE 105.

[0115] Another solution for determining or verifying the country in which UE 105 is located assumes that location determination of UE 105 is supported by NG-RAN 112 (e.g., gNB 106 or gNB-CU 307) or by gNB 202, but is not completely reliable and may not always be able to determine the country in which UE 105 is located. As an example, if UE 105 is near an international border, NG-RAN 112 or gNB 202 may have difficulty reliably determining the country in which UE 105 is located. When NG-RAN 112 cannot reliably verify the UE's country, a more accurate location determination of UE 105 performed by 5GCN 110 (e.g., using LMF 124) may be performed. However, because 5GCN positioning may have considerable latency (e.g., up to 30 seconds) and consume more UE 105 and network processing and signaling resources, the frequency used for 5GCN location determination may need to be minimized.

[0116] To minimize the frequency of 5GCN positioning, the gNB 106, 202, 307 may provide an indication to the 5GCN 110 (e.g., for initial UE access to a PLMN) indicating whether the gNB 106, 202, 307 has verified (or, alternatively, has not yet verified) the location and country of the UE 105. For example, the indication may have two values: A) fully verified location and country, and B) not fully verified location and country.

[0117] For case A, when the gNB 106, 202, 307 fully verifies the location and country of the UE 105, the 5GCN 110 does not need to locate the UE 105. For case B, where the location and country of the UE 105 cannot be fully verified, the PLMN may employ the 5GCN 110 verification of the location and country. For example, case B may also be optional, where the gNB 106, 202, 307 denies initial UE 105 access when the location and country of the UE 105 cannot be fully verified by the gNB 106, 202, 307 (e.g., such a situation may arise for radio cells near or across country borders).

[0118] In one embodiment, when using 5GCN 110 location, for example, when the gNB 106, 202, 307 cannot fully verify the location and country of the UE 105, the 5GCN 110 can ensure that the location of the UE 105 is completely reliable and does not allow the UE 105 to spoof. In this embodiment, the serving AMF 122 can provide an indication of the UE 105's 5G satellite access to the LMF 124 in the initial location request message that the AMF 122 sends to the LMF 124 to initiate positioning of the UE 105. The LMF 124 can use this indication to select a more reliable and / or more suitable satellite positioning method (e.g., a UE-assisted method rather than a UE-based method that would be more difficult for the UE 105 to spoof).

[0119] Figure 9 A signaling flow 900 is shown illustrating various messages sent between components of a communication system during an initial PLMN access process for a UE 105, where a gNB (e.g., gNB 106, 202, or 307) determines or verifies that the UE 105 is in a country associated with a serving PLMN. Figure 9 A number of techniques are shown that may be used to determine or verify the country in which the UE 105 is located. It should be understood that any one or any combination of techniques, including all of the techniques, may be used by a network entity to determine or verify the country in which the UE 105 is located. The communication networks may be Figure 1 、 Figure 2 or Figure 3 102, 202, or 302 and is shown as including a UE 105, an SV 102 / 202 / 302, a second SV 902 which may be another SV 102 / 202 / 302, a gNB 106 / 202 / 307, an AMF 122, and a LMF 124. It should be understood that the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 or elements of the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may be included within the SV 102 / 202 / 302. For example, in the case of the SV 202, the gNB 202 would be completely included within the SV 202, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 Alternatively, in the case of SV 302, the gNB 307 (also called gNB-CU) will be terrestrial and physically separated from the SV 302, but the SV 302 will include the gNB-DU 302, as described for Figure 3 described.

[0120] exist Figure 9 At stage 1 in the process, UE 105 is in 5G mobility management (5GMM) DEREGISTERED state and RRCIDLE idle state.

[0121] In phase 2, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 or gNB-CU broadcasts (via SV 102 / 202 / 302) an indication of the PLMNs supported in each radio cell (e.g., the MCC-MNC for each PLMN). UE 105 may detect radio cells from one or more radio beams transmitted by one or more SVs, including SV 102 / 202 / 302. The gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may control the SVs 102 / 202 / 302 to broadcast a system information block (SIB) in one or more radio cells of the gNB 106 / 202 / 307. The SIB may indicate one or more PLMNs supported by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 in each radio cell of the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 (referred to as supported PLMNs). In the SIB, each PLMN may be identified by a Mobile Country Code (MCC) and a Mobile Network Code (MNC), where the MCC indicates the country of each identified PLMN (i.e., the country to which each identified PLMN belongs). The gNB may optionally assign a numerical value to each radio cell called a Positioning ID (PID), which may be used to identify the radio cell and broadcasted, for example, from the SV 102 / 202 / 302 in the SIB for each radio cell. For example, the PID may be a random or pseudo-random number that is frequently changed, such as at intervals of 15-60 seconds or other intervals, by the gNB 106, 202, 307. The SIB may include security information, such as public key(s) and an indication of encryption algorithm(s), as described below for Stage 8.

[0122] At stage 3, UE 105 may receive DL signals (e.g., DL positioning reference signals (PRS)) from SV 102 / 202 / 302, SV 902, and possibly from other SVs such as other SVs 102 / 202 / 302 and / or SV 190. The signals from SV 102 / 202 / 302 and SV 902 may be decoded based on the PIDs of SV 102 / 202 / 302 and SV 902.

[0123] At optional stage 4, UE 105 may receive location-related information for supported PLMNs broadcast in one or more radio cells (e.g., in one or more SIBs) from gNB 106 / 202 / 307 via SV 102 / 202 / 302. For example, the location-related information for the supported PLMNs may include a geographical definition of a fixed cell for each supported PLMN, a geographical definition of a fixed tracking area for each supported PLMN, or both.

[0124] At stage 5, the UE 105 may measure characteristics of the DL signal, such as RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA. The UE 105 may also measure DAOA and / or reference signal time difference (RSTD) of the DL signals received from one or more pairs of SVs 102 / 202 / 302 and / or 902.

[0125] At stage 6, the UE 105 selects a radio cell. In one embodiment, the UE 105 may first select a PLMN (referred to as a selected PLMN), where the selected PLMN is a preferred PLMN among the supported PLMNs indicated at stage 2 in one or more radio cells of the gNB 106 / 202 / 307. The UE 105 may then select a radio cell at stage 6 based on the radio cell indicating support for the preferred PLMN.

[0126] At stage 7, UE 105 may send an RRC setup request message in support of the selected radio cell to gNB 106 / 202 / 307 via SV 102 / 202 / 302 (e.g., after having performed a random access procedure to obtain initial access to the selected radio cell from gNB 106 / 202 / 307) using the selected radio cell in order to establish an RRC signaling connection to gNB 106 / 202 / 307.

[0127] At Phase 8, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may return an RRC Setup message to the UE 105. The gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may include security information in the RRC Setup message (e.g., if not provided at Phase 2), including a public encryption key and an indication of the encryption algorithm. After Phase 8, an RRC signaling connection between the UE 105 and the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may be established, and the UE 105 may be in an RRC Connected state.

[0128] At stage 9, the UE 105 may select a supported PLMN (hereinafter referred to as the selected PLMN) if not previously selected at stage 6. The selected PLMN may be one of the supported PLMNs indicated at stage 2 for the radio cell selected at stage 6. The selected PLMN (as selected at stage 6 or stage 9) is also referred to as the serving PLMN hereinafter, as the selected PLMN serves as the serving PLMN for the UE 105 after stage 19.

[0129] At stage 10, UE 105 sends an RRC Setup Complete message to gNB 106 / 202 / 307, including an indication of the selected PLMN (e.g., MCC and MNC) and a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) Registration Request message. Stage 10 may be performed by UE 105 to complete the establishment of an RRC signaling connection to gNB 106 / 202 / 307, establish a Connection Management (CM) connection to the selected PLMN, and register with the selected PLMN. UE 105 may also include in the RRC Setup Complete message the DL location measurement obtained at stage 5, optionally including the time(s) at which the DL location measurement was obtained, and optionally including the PID received at stages 2 and 3 to identify the radio cell for which the DL location measurement was obtained. The location measurement and PID (if sent) may be included in a confidential (or hidden) form by encrypting them using the public encryption key and encryption algorithm indicated at stages 2 or 8. The confidential location measurement and PID determination and encoding may be reused for some of the functionality used to support the Subscription Concealment Identifier (SUCI) described in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.003.

[0130] At stage 11, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 or an embedded or attached location management component (LMC) may determine the location and country of the UE 105 (where the country of the UE 105 corresponds to the country in which the UE 105 is located). For example, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 (or LMC) may decrypt the DL measurements and PIDs sent at stage 10 based on the encryption key and encryption algorithm indicated at stage 2 or stage 8. For example, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 (or LMC) may use a private encryption key corresponding to the public encryption key sent at stage 2 or stage 8 to decrypt the encrypted DL measurements and PIDs based on the public-private key encryption algorithm (e.g., RCA algorithm) indicated at stage 2 or stage 8.

[0131] The gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may use the PID sent by the UE 105 at stage 10 to identify the measured radio cell, and the received signal characteristics measured by the UE 105 at stage 5, such as RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA, RSTD, or DAOA, to determine the location of the UE 105, for example, using ECID with enhanced reliability. The country in which the UE 105 is located may then be determined based on the determined location of the UE 105. The gNB 106 / 202 / 307 (or LMC) may use other techniques to determine the location and country of the UE 105. For example, in one embodiment, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 (or LMC) may determine the location of the UE 105 based on signaling measurements between the UE 105 and the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302, which may be obtained over a period of time. For example, the beam coverage area of ​​the selected radio cell may be used as an approximate location of the UE 105. For example, the beam coverage area can be inferred from the known location and beam direction and angular range of the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302. If the beam coverage area is completely and unambiguously within a single country, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 can determine the country of the UE 105 based on the beam coverage area of ​​a single instance, for example. However, in some embodiments, where the beam coverage area of ​​the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 may include multiple countries, the intersection of the beam coverage areas of multiple instances over a period of time can be used to generate a more accurate location of the UE 105 (e.g., as for Figure 8 ), from which the country of the UE 105 can be determined.

[0132] In some embodiments, measured characteristics of the serving radio cell measured by the UE 105 at stage 5, such as RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA, or some combination thereof, may be used to refine the location of the UE 105. In another embodiment, measurements of UL signaling from the UE 105 may be obtained by the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 and / or by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307, such as measurements of RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, and / or AoA, and may be used by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 (or LMC) to help determine the location and country of the UE 105.

[0133] Figure 8As previously described, a process is shown in which the location and country of the UE 105 are determined based on the coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell over a period of time. In some embodiments, the location determination and location-to-country mapping may be performed by a Location Management Component (LMC), which may be part of, attached to, or reachable from the gNB 106 / 202 / 307. The gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may map the location to a country and verify that the country is supported by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 and matches the country of the selected PLMN indicated at stage 10. In some embodiments, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may further determine a fixed serving cell and / or fixed serving tracking area (TA) for the UE 105, for example, by mapping the UE 105 location to a cell ID and / or TA code (TAC) for the selected PLMN indicated at stage 9.

[0134] At stage 12, if the UE country determined at step 11 is not supported by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 or does not match the country of the selected PLMN, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may return an RRC REJECT or RRC RELEASE message to the UE 105. The RRC REJECT or RRC RELEASE message may indicate the country (e.g., using MCC) in which the UE 105 is located as determined at stage 11. If the RRC REJECT or RRC RELEASE message is received, the UE 105 may restart the process at stage 6 using the provided country.

[0135] At stage 13, if the UE 105 is in the correct country or is likely to be in the correct country, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 forwards the NAS Registration Request to the AMF 122 in the selected PLMN in an NG Application Protocol (NGAP) message (e.g., an NGAP Initial UE message) and may include an indication of whether the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 has fully verified the location and / or country of the UE 105. For example, the indication may indicate whether the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 has verified that the UE is in the country associated with the selected PLMN, which may correspond to the serving PLMN after stage 19. The NGAP message may also include identification of the fixed serving cell and / or fixed serving TA (e.g., cell ID and TAC), if they were determined at stage 11. In some embodiments, the AMF 122 or LMF 124 may perform fixed cell and / or fixed TA (cell ID and / or TAC) determination (and possibly the location of the UE 105), in which case the NGAP message may include the UE location or UE location information instead of the cell ID and TAC at stage 13. If the NGAP message indicates that the location and country of the UE 105 are fully verified by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307, the AMF 122 may accept the registration request without additional verification of the location and country of the UE 105, and the process may skip to stage 19.

[0136] At stage 14, if the NGAP message at stage 13 indicates that the UE location and / or country is not fully verified by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307, the AMF 122 may send a location request to the LMF 124. The AMF 122 may provide an indication in the positioning request that the UE 105 has 5G satellite access.

[0137] At stage 15, LMF 124 may engage in a UE-assisted positioning method (e.g., using the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP)) with UE 105, and / or may engage in a network-based positioning method (e.g., using the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa)) with gNB 106 / 202 / 307. For example, LMF 124 may select a satellite-based positioning method, such as a UE-assisted method or a network-based method that is difficult for UE 105 to disguise. For example, the UE-assisted positioning method may be based on measurements of at least one of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal (e.g., from SV 190), a communication satellite signal, or a combination thereof, communicated from UE 105 to LMF 124. For example, Figure 111 shows a process in which the location of UE 105 is determined in an LPP location session between LMF 124 and UE 105 (described later). In some embodiments, LMF 124 can determine the country in which UE 105 is located and can determine whether the UE's country is verified as the country associated with the serving PLMN. In some embodiments, LMF 124 determines a fixed cell and / or fixed TA (cell ID and / or TAC) for the selected PLMN.

[0138] At stage 16, the LMF 124 provides a location response to the AMF 122 including the location of the UE 105. The location response may additionally or alternatively include an indication of the country (if determined) of the UE 105 (i.e., the country in which the UE 105 is located), and optionally an indication of whether the UE's country is verified to be the country associated with the serving PLMN. If a fixed cell and / or fixed TA (cell ID and / or TAC) is determined by the LMF 124, the location response may also include an indication of the fixed cell and / or fixed TA (cell ID and / or TAC).

[0139] At stage 17, if the country of UE 105 (i.e., the country in which UE 105 is located) is not provided in the location response at stage 16, AMF 122 may determine the country of UE 105 (e.g., AMF 122 may map the location of UE 105 provided at stage 16 to a country) and may determine whether the country of UE 105 is verified to be the country associated with the serving PLMN. Assuming that the country of UE 105 is the same as the country of the selected PLMN, if LMF 124 does not perform at stage 15 or gNB 106 / 202 / 307 does not perform at stage 11, AMF 122 may further map the location of UE 105 to the identity of a fixed serving cell and / or the identity of a fixed TA. At stage 17, AMF 122 may also determine the allowed TAs (TACs) for UE 105 in the selected PLMN, where UE 105 is allowed to access the selected PLMN in each of the allowed TAs without performing another registration with the selected PLMN. The AMF 122 may perform other actions associated with the registration of the UE 105 at stage 17, such as authenticating the UE 105 and registering the UE 105 into a home unified data management (UDM) (not shown), and the UE 105 and the AMF 122 may perform additional actions associated with the initial registration after stage 19, which are not shown here but are well known in the art.

[0140] At stage 18, if the country of UE 105 indicated by LMF 124 at stage 16 or determined by AMF 122 at stage 17 is not the same as the country of the selected PLMN, AMF 122 may return a NAS Registration Reject message to UE 105 via gNB 106 / 202 / 307. The NAS Registration Reject message may indicate the country in which UE 105 is located (e.g., using an MCC). If a NAS Registration Reject message is received, UE 105 may restart at stage 6 using the provided country.

[0141] At stage 19, if the NGAP message of stage 13 indicates that the UE location and / or country are fully verified by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307, or if the country of the UE 105 is the same as the country of the selected PLMN indicated by the LMF 124 at stage 16 or determined by the AMF 122 at stage 17, then the AMF 122 returns a NAS Registration Accept message to the UE 105 via the gNB 106 / 202 / 307. The NAS Registration Accept message to the UE 105 may include the allowed TAs (TACs) and, optionally, location information such as the geographical definition of the allowed TAs and the constituent fixed cells of the allowed TAs. A registration flag may also be included in the NAS Registration Accept message to indicate whether the UE 105 is required to register with the serving PLMN for a change of TA after detecting that the UE 105 is no longer in any allowed TA.

[0142] At stage 20, the UE 105 stores the allowed TACs, their geographical definitions and constituent fixed cells, and registration flags (if included) to allow for later determination of the current TA and cell. As part of stage 20, the UE 105 may access a serving PLMN to obtain or enable various services.

[0143] Figure 10 A signaling flow 1000 is shown, which illustrates various messages sent between components of the communication system in the process of the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 determining the location of the UE 105 based on measurements or communications between the UE 105 and the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 acquired over a period of time (e.g., also as described in accordance with Figure 8 The communication networks can be Figure 1 、 Figure 2 or Figure 3102, 202, or 302 and is shown as including a UE 105, a SV 102 / 202 / 302, a gNB 106 / 202 / 307, an AMF 122, and a LMF 124. It should be understood that the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 or elements of the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may be included within the SV 102 / 202 / 302. For example, in the case of the SV 202, the gNB 202 would be completely included within the SV 202, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 Alternatively, in the case of an SV 302, the gNB 307 (also referred to as a gNB-CU) will be terrestrial and physically separate from the SV 302, but the SV 302 will include a gNB-DU 302, as described for Figure 3 described.

[0144] exist Figure 10 At stage 1 in , the initial registration of UE 105 to the serving PLMN is performed, e.g. Figure 9 It should be understood that the initial registration to the serving PLMN is not limited to Figure 9 The embodiment shown, and other procedures for obtaining initial registration with the serving PLMN may be performed.

[0145] At stage 2, the UE 105 is in an RRC connected state with the serving PLMN, where access stratum (AS) encryption between the UE 105 and the gNB 102 / 202 / 307 is active.

[0146] At stage 3, gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may send an RRC or LPP location request message to UE 105.

[0147] At stage 4, the UE 105 may optionally receive a DL signal (e.g., a DL PRS signal) as part of a serving radio cell from the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302. If the serving radio cell includes a PID, the DL signal may be decoded according to the PID of the serving radio cell. In some embodiments, the UE 105 may receive a DL signal from an additional SV 102 / 202 / 302 ( Figure 10 The serving radio cell and the coverage areas of the other radio cells may be mobile.

[0148] At stage 5, the UE 105 may measure characteristics of the DL signal from the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302, such as RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA. If the UE 105 receives DL signals from multiple SVs 102 / 202 / 302, the UE 105 may further measure DAOA and / or RSTD of one or more pairs of SVs 102 / 202 / 302.

[0149] At stage 6, UE 105 sends an RRC or LPP location response message to gNB 106 / 202 / 307 via SV 102 / 202 / 302. The location response message includes the DL measurements performed at stage 5, optionally the time of each DL measurement, and the identity (e.g., PID) of each measured radio cell. The DL measurements, the time of the DL measurements (if included), and the PID (if included) may be encrypted by UE 105 based on AS encryption.

[0150] At optional Stage 7, UL and DL signaling between the UE 105 and the serving 5GCN 110 (e.g., AMF 122) may be sent via the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 and the gNB 106 / 202 / 307. For example, the UL and DL signaling may be used to (i) transmit data and / or voice, and / or (ii) establish or release a call and / or session between the UE 105 and a server or other user (e.g., another UE) via the 5GCN 110. Additionally or alternatively, at stage 7, UL and DL signaling may be exchanged between the UE 105 and the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 via the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302, for example to provide handover-related measurements from the UE 105 to the gNB 106 / 202 / 307, or to enable the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 to update transmission characteristics in the UE 105, such as timing advance, Doppler shift, or transmit power level.

[0151] At stage 8, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 may determine the location of the UE 105 based on the current coverage area of ​​the UE 105's serving radio cell and any DL measurements of the serving radio cell provided at stage 6. The UE 105's serving radio cell may be determined based on, for example, UL and DL signaling between the UE 105 and the SV 102 / 202 / 302 (e.g., from stage 7), and / or the DL position measurements provided at stage 6. The coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell may be inferred by the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 based on the known location and radio beam direction of the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 and the angular range of that direction, and / or may be pre-configured in the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 by operations and maintenance (O&M). In one embodiment, the location of the UE 105 may be determined as the coverage area(s) of the serving radio cell(s) of the SV 102 / 202 / 302 at the time(s) at which the DL or UL signal is received at the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 at stage 7. The approximate area of ​​the location of the UE 105 may be refined using the DL location measurements provided at stage 6.

[0152] At stage 9, Figure 10 Stages 3-8 can be repeated over time, for example, for 5-15 minutes. For example, in some embodiments, Figure 10 Stages 3-8 of may be performed three times to produce three estimates of the UE 105 position based on the current coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell at different times, such as Figure 8 For example, the coverage area of ​​a serving radio cell may be mobile, as shown in FIG. Figure 8 As discussed, this may produce different estimates of the position of UE 105 at different times. As part of Phase 9, UE 105 may measure characteristics of the DL signal from serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 at each of the different times (as at Phase 5) and may provide the DL measurements to gNB 106 / 202 / 307 (as at Phase 6).

[0153] At stage 10, multiple positions of UE 105 from different times are combined, e.g. Figure 83-10. Figure 10 ), or, as shown at stages 11-16 and described below, the registration with the serving PLMN may be released and the signaling connection with the UE 105 may further be released.

[0154] At stage 11, if the UE location is in the wrong country for the serving PLMN, the gNB 106 / 202 / 307 sends a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) UE Context Release Request message indicating the UE country to the 5GCN (e.g., AMF 122). The Context Release Request message may indicate the UE country (e.g., using the MCC).

[0155] At stage 12, the AMF 122 sends a NAS Deregistration Request message to the UE 105. The Deregistration Request message may indicate the UE country (e.g., using the MCC).

[0156] At stage 13, UE 105 sends a NAS Deregistration Accept message to AMF 122.

[0157] At stage 14, the AMF 122 sends an NGAP UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message to the gNB 106 / 202 / 307.

[0158] At stage 15, gNB 106 / 202 / 307 sends an RRC release message to UE 105 via SV 102 / 202 / 302. The UE may then attempt to access the PLMN of the country where the UE is located (e.g., as indicated at stage 12)—for example, by initiating Figure 9 in the process.

[0159] In phase 16, AMF 122 sends an NGAP UE Context Release Complete message to AMF 122.

[0160] Figure 111 shows a signaling flow 1100 showing that during a positioning session between UE 105 and LMF 124, Figure 1-3 Various messages sent between components of the communication system 100, 200, or 300 depicted in FIG. 1 to determine the location of the UE 105 based on a UE-assisted positioning method using measurements or communications between the UE 105 and the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302, such as using the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP). For example, the positioning process relies on satellite access by the UE 105 to ensure that the location is fully reliable and UE spoofing may not be allowed. For example, the LMF 124 may initiate a positioning process that includes a positioning method suitable for satellites (e.g., a UE-assisted rather than a UE-based method to make spoofing more difficult). For example, the process may be performed at Figure 9 For the sake of completeness, Figure 9 Some of the messages in Figure 11 100. Furthermore, additional or fewer messages may be included in signaling flow 1100. In signaling flow 1100, it is assumed that UE 105 and LMF 124 communicate using the aforementioned LPP positioning protocol, although other protocols are possible, such as the LPP Extension Protocol (LPPe) defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). AMF 122 and LMF 124 may also belong to the serving and / or selected PLMN of UE 105.

[0161] exist Figure 11 At stage 1 in the UE 105, the AMF 122 for the UE 105 invokes the Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation service operation request to the LMF 124 to request the current location of the UE 105. For example, stage 1 may be the same as Figure 9 The AMF 122 may include in the service operation an indication that the UE 105 has 5G satellite access. The indication may be implicit or explicit. For example, in the case of an implicit indication, the AMF 122 may include in the service operation request an identification of the fixed serving cell (e.g., as for Figure 9 13 described in Stage 13 of the UE 105 protocol). For example, if information about a fixed cell for 5G satellite access is configured in LMF 124, LMF 124 may associate the fixed serving cell with the 5G satellite access. Alternatively, if the service operation request LMF 124 received at Stage 1 determines the country of UE 105, LMF 124 may assume 5G satellite access (implicitly). AMF 122 may also provide an indication of the required quality of service (QoS) in the service operation at Stage 1.

[0162] At stage 2, the LMF 124 sends an LPP request capability message to the UE 105 via the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 to request the positioning capability of the UE 105.

[0163] At stage 3, the UE 105 returns an LPP Provide Capability message to the LMF 124 via the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 to provide the positioning capability of the UE 105.

[0164] At stage 4, LMF 124 may send an LPP Provide Assistance Data message to UE 105. For example, LMF 124 may provide A-GNSS assistance data and / or Communication SV assistance data.

[0165] At stage 5, the LMF 124 sends an LPP request location information message to the UE 105 to request the UE 105 to provide location measurements. For example, the LMF 124 may request location measurements from the GNSS SV 190 for A-GNSS positioning. In some embodiments, the LMF 124 may also include information from the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 and other communicating SVs 102 / 202 / 302 ( Figure 11 LMF 124 may request measurements of other positioning methods (not shown) such as RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA, RSTD, or DAOA. In some embodiments, LMF 124 may request measurements for other positioning methods that do not use communication SV signals (e.g., WiFi positioning). For example, the positioning method selected by LMF 124 may be a satellite-compatible method that is difficult for UE 105 to spoof, such as a UE-assisted positioning method. LMF 124 may also request UE 105 to transmit uplink (UL) signals to be measured by serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 or gNB 106 / 202 / 307.

[0166] At stage 6 , the UE 105 receives DL signals (eg, DL PRS signals) from the serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 and other SVs 102 / 202 / 302 and / or DL ​​signals from the GNSS SV 190 .

[0167] At stage 7, UE 105 acquires and measures the DL signals transmitted by SV 102 / 202 / 302 and / or GNSS SV 190 at stage 6. For example, UE 105 may measure GNSS signals from GNSS SV 190 for A-GNSS positioning. UE 105 may additionally or alternatively measure RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA, RSTD, DAOA, or other measurements of the DL signals from SV 102 / 202 / 302. UE 105 may also obtain other non-SV signal measurements if requested at stage 5.

[0168] At stage 8, UE 105 sends an LPP Provide Location Information message to LMF 124 and includes the positioning measurements obtained at stage 7. The LPP Provide Location Information message may be forwarded to LMF 124 by serving SV 102 / 202 / 302 and serving gNB 106 / 202 / 307.

[0169] At stage 9, the LMF 124 determines the location of the UE 105 and optionally the country based on the positioning measurements received from the UE 105 at stage 8. In some embodiments, the LMF 124 may also determine the location of the UE 105 using positioning measurements obtained by one or more SVs 102 / 202 / 302 and / or by one or more gNBs 106 / 202 / 307, which are measured from UE 105 UL signals and requested by the LMF 124 and subsequently transmitted by the serving gNB 106 / 202 / 307 and / or by other gNBs 106 / 202 / 307 using NRPPa messages ( Figure 11 The LMF 124 may also verify whether the country is associated with the PLMN for the LMF 124 and the AMF 122 (e.g., the PLMN may also be the serving PLMN for the UE 105).

[0170] At stage 10, the LMF 124 returns an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response to the AMF 122 to return at least one of the determined location, the country (if determined at stage 9), and an indication of whether the LMF 124 has verified that the country (if determined) is associated with the PLMN for the LMF 124 and the AMF 122.

[0171] Figure 12 It shows that Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3FIGURE 12 is a diagram of an example of a hardware implementation of a UE 105 of FIGURE 12. The UE 1200 may perform Figure 9 、 Figure 10 and Figure 11 signal flows 900, 1000, and 1100, and Figure 16 and Figure 18 For example, the UE 1200 may include hardware components such as a satellite transceiver 1203 to wirelessly communicate with the SV 102 / 202 / 302, such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 UE 1200 may also include a wireless transceiver 1202 for wireless communication with a ground base station in NG-RAN 112 (e.g., a base station such as gNB 114 or ng-eNB). UE 1200 may also include additional transceivers, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 1206, and a transceiver for receiving and measuring signals from SPS SV 190 (in Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 1200). In some embodiments, the UE 1200 may receive data from a satellite, for example, via a satellite transceiver 1203, and may respond to a ground base station, for example, via a wireless transceiver 1202 or via a WLAN transceiver 1206. Thus, the UE 1200 may include one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, or both, and these may be integrated, discrete, or a combination of both. The UE 1200 may further include one or more sensors 1210, such as a camera, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an electronic compass, a magnetometer, a barometer, and the like. The UE 1200 may further include a user interface 1212, which may include, for example, a display, a keyboard, or other input device, such as a virtual keyboard on a display, through which a user may interface with the UE 1200. The UE 1200 also includes one or more processors 1204, a memory 1216, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1218, which may be coupled together via a bus 1214. The one or more processors 1204 and other components of the UE 1200 may similarly be coupled together via the bus 1214, a separate bus, or may be directly connected together, or coupled using a combination of the foregoing.

[0172] The one or more processors 1204 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1204 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein via one or more instructions or program codes 1220 embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1218 and / or the memory 1216. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1204 may represent one or more circuits configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal computation process or procedure related to the operation of the UE 1200.

[0173] The media 1218 and / or memory 1216 may store instructions or program code 1220 comprising executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1204, cause the one or more processors 1204 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein (e.g., such as Figure 16 and Figure 18 1600 and 1800). As shown in UE 1200, medium 1218 and / or memory 1216 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by one or more processors 1204 to perform the methods described herein. While the components or modules are illustrated as software in medium 1218 that is executable by one or more processors 1204, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in memory 1216 or may be dedicated hardware within or external to one or more processors 1204.

[0174] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the media 1218 and / or memory 1216 and be used by the one or more processors 1204 to manage both the communications and the functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the media 1218 and / or memory 1216 as shown in the UE 1200 is merely exemplary, and thus, the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or configured in various ways depending on the implementation of the UE 1200. Although the components or modules are illustrated as software in the media 1218 and / or memory 1216 that can be executed by the one or more processors 1204, it should be understood that the components or modules may be firmware or dedicated hardware within or external to the one or more processors 1204.

[0175] As shown, program code 1220 stored on media 1218 and / or memory 1216 may include a satellite data module 1222 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1204, configures one or more processors 1204 to receive downlink signals and transmit uplink signals to one or more communication satellites via satellite transceiver 1203. One or more processors 1204 may be configured, for example, to receive broadcast signaling for supported radio cells from one or more communication satellites. One or more processors 1204 may be configured, for example, to receive downlink signals for a serving radio cell from a communication satellite, where the serving radio cell has a mobile coverage area.

[0176] Program code 1220 stored on media 1218 and / or memory 1216 may include a PID module 1224 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1204, configures the one or more processors 1204 to obtain a positioning identifier (PID) from broadcast signaling received from one or more SVs via satellite transceiver 1203. The broadcast signaling for each radio cell may include a PID that may change periodically according to a sequence of periodic intervals that occur over the life of the radio cell.

[0177] Program code 1220 stored on media 1218 and / or memory 1216 may include a measurement module 1226 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1204, configures the one or more processors 1204 to obtain measurements of broadcast signaling from one or more SVs via satellite transceiver 1203. By way of example, the measurements may include RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA from one or more SVs, and RSTD or DAOA from one or more pairs of SVs. The measurement module 1226 may further configure the one or more processors 1204 to perform GNSS measurements via SPS receiver 1208 for A-GNSS positioning. The measurement module 1226 may configure the one or more processors 1204 to obtain measurements at each of a plurality of times.

[0178] Program code 1220 stored on medium 1218 and / or memory 1216 may include a registration module 1228 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1204, configures one or more processors 1204 to register and deregister with a serving PLMN via satellite transceiver 1203. For example, one or more processors 1204 may be configured to send one or more PIDs and measurements for one or more radio cells via satellite transceiver 1203 to enable the gNB to determine the location and country of the UE as part of a registration process. One or more processors 1204 may be configured to send measurements over a period of time via satellite transceiver 1203 to enable the gNB to determine the location and country of the UE as part of a registration process. One or more processors 1204 may be configured to send the one or more PIDs and measurements to the gNB in ​​an RRC message to complete establishment of an RRC signaling connection between the UE and the gNB. One or more processors 1204 may also be configured to send a request to register with the core network of the serving PLMN via satellite transceiver 1203, for example, in an RRC message.

[0179] Program code 1220 stored on medium 1218 and / or memory 1216 may include a security module 1230 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1204, configures one or more processors 1204 to receive security information from the gNB via satellite transceiver 1203, e.g., in an RRC message. The one or more processors 1204 may be configured to encrypt measurements sent to the gNB, e.g., in an RRC message, based on the security information.

[0180] Program code 1220 stored on medium 1218 and / or memory 1216 may include a reporting module 1232 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1204, configures the one or more processors 1204 to send measurements of DL signals from a communication satellite to the gNB via the satellite transceiver 1203 at each of a plurality of times, e.g., to enable the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable state for the UE based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell after all of the plurality of times.

[0181] The methods described herein can be implemented in various ways depending on the application. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementations, the one or more processors 1204 can be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0182] For implementations of the UE 1200 involving firmware and / or software, the methods can be implemented using modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the individual functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions can be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code can be stored in the medium 1218 or memory 1216 and executed by one or more processors 1204, so that the one or more processors 1204 operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. The memory can be implemented within the one or more processors 1204 or external to the one or more processors 1204. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or amount of memory, or the type of medium in which the memory is stored.

[0183] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions performed by UE 1200 may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as medium 1218 or memory 1216. Examples of storage media include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program. Computer-readable media include physical computer storage media. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor memory or other storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; magnetic disk and optical disk, as used herein, include compact disk (CD), laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disk, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0184] In addition to storage on a computer-readable storage medium, instructions and / or data for UE 1200 may be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, a communication device including part or all of UE 1200 may include a transceiver with signals indicating instructions and data. The instructions and data are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1218 or memory 1216 and are configured to cause one or more processors 1204 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium with a signal indicating information for performing the disclosed functions. At a first time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a first portion of information for performing the disclosed functions, and at a second time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a second portion of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0185] Figure 13 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a satellite Node B (gNB) 1300. The gNB 1300 may correspond to any of the following: (i) Figure 1 gNB 106, gNB-DU 104-3 or 104-4, or gNB-CU 107; (ii) Figure 2 gNB 202 in SV 202 as shown; or (iii) Figure 3 gNB-DU 302 or gNB-CU 307 in SV 302 shown. gNB 1300 can perform Figure 9 、 Figure 10 and Figure 11 The signal flows 900, 1000 and 1100 and Figure 17 、 Figure 19 or Figure 20 The process flows 1700, 1900, or 2000 and the algorithms disclosed herein are described herein. The gNB 1300 may include, for example, hardware components such as the external interface 1306, which may include one or more wired and / or wireless interfaces capable of connecting to and communicating with one or more entities in the core network in the PLMN, such as Figure 2 The AMF 122 or UPF 130 in the 5GCN 110 is shown, as well as the earth station 104, and other gNBs, UE 105 (for example, when the gNB 1300 is part of the SV 202 or SV 302), and is connected directly or through one or more intermediate networks and / or one or more network entities to other elements in the wireless network, such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown. External interface 1306 may include one or more antennas to support wireless interface and / or wireless backhaul to elements in the wireless network. gNB 1300 also includes one or more processors 1304, memory 1316, and non-transitory computer-readable media 1318, which may be coupled together via bus 1307. gNB 1300 is shown as including gNB-DU 1312 and / or gNB-CU 1314 (e.g., in the case of gNB 1300 corresponding to Figure 1 gNB 106-3 in or corresponding to Figure 2 202 in the gNB 202, where the gNB 202 includes a gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DUs), which may be a hardware component or implemented by a specially configured one or more processors 1304. When the gNB 1300 itself corresponds to a gNB-DU (e.g., gNB-DU 302) or a gNB-CU (e.g., gNB-CU 307), gNB-DU 1312 and gNB-CU 1314 may not be present.

[0186] The one or more processors 1304 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1304 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein via one or more instructions or program code 1320 embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1318 and / or the memory 1316. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1304 may represent one or more circuits configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal computation process or procedure related to the operation of the gNB 1300.

[0187] The media 1318 and / or memory 1316 may store instructions or program code 1320 comprising executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1304, cause the one or more processors 1304 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein (e.g., such as Figure 17 、 Figure 19 or Figure 20 As shown in gNB 1300, medium 1318 and / or memory 1316 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by one or more processors 1304 to perform the methods described herein. While the components or modules are illustrated as software in medium 1318 that is executable by one or more processors 1304, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in memory 1316 or may be dedicated hardware within or external to one or more processors 1304.

[0188] A number of software modules and data structures may reside in the media 1318 and / or memory 1316 and be used by the one or more processors 1304 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the media 1318 and / or memory 1316 as shown in the gNB 1300 is merely exemplary, and thus, the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or configured in various ways depending on the implementation of the gNB 1300. While components or modules are illustrated as software in the media 1318 and / or memory 1316 that can be executed by the one or more processors 1304, it should be understood that the components or modules may be firmware or dedicated hardware within or external to the one or more processors 1304.

[0189] As shown, program code 1320 stored on medium 1318 and / or memory 1316 may include a measurement module 1322 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1304, configures the one or more processors 1304 to receive, via external interface 1306, measurements generated by the UE from DL or broadcast signaling from one or more radio cells, including measurements from the serving radio cell and other radio cells, and / or measurements generated by SVs from UL signals transmitted by the UE. The measurements may, for example, include RSRP, RSRQ, RxTx, AoA for one or more SVs, or RSTD or DAOA for one or more pairs of SVs. The measurements may further include, for example, measurements of GNSS signals. The measurements may also include one or more PIDs obtained by the UE from broadcast SV signals. For example, the measurements may be in an RRC signaling message sent by the UE to complete the establishment of an RRC signaling connection between the UE and the gNB.

[0190] As shown, program code 1320 stored on medium 1318 and / or memory 1316 may include a location determination module 1324 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1304, configures the one or more processors 1304 to determine the location and country of the UE based on received measurements. For example, the one or more processors 1304 may be configured to determine the location of the UE using the PID and UE measurements using an enhanced E-CID procedure. The one or more processors 1304 may additionally or alternatively be configured to determine the location of the UE based on measurements received over time, for example, based on the coverage area of ​​one or more mobile radio cells, for example, to determine a more accurate or reliable country based on measurements of the UE's serving radio cell and the mobile coverage area after receiving multiple measurements over time. The one or more processors 1304 may be configured to determine the country of the UE by mapping the determined location to a country.

[0191] As shown, program code 1320 stored on medium 1318 and / or memory 1316 may include a country verification module 1326 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1304, configures one or more processors 1304 to verify whether the UE is in a country associated with a serving PLMN for the UE.

[0192] As shown, program code 1320 stored on medium 1318 and / or memory 1316 may include a registration module 1328 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1304, configures one or more processors 1304 to register and deregister a UE with a serving PLMN via external interface 1306. For example, one or more processors 1304 may be configured to send and receive registration and deregistration requests to an AMF in the serving PLMN via external interface 1306. One or more processors 1304 may be configured to receive a request from the UE via a communication satellite for registration of the UE with the core network of the serving PLMN. One or more processors 1304 may be configured to indicate whether the UE's country has been verified to be the same as the country associated with the PLMN. For example, one or more processors 1304 may be configured to provide a request to an entity in the core network for registration of the UE with the core network, and may include an indication of whether the UE's country has been verified to be the same as the country associated with the PLMN.

[0193] As shown, program code 1320 stored on medium 1318 and / or memory 1316 may include a PID module 1330 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1304, configures the one or more processors 1304 to assign a numerical value to a PID of at least one radio cell controlled by the gNB and broadcast the PID in the at least one radio cell via external interface 1306. For example, the numerical value assigned to the PID may be a pseudo-random value and may change periodically, e.g., at least every 60 seconds.

[0194] As shown, the program code 1320 stored on the medium 1318 and / or memory 1316 may include a security module 1332, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1304, configures the one or more processors 1304 to send security information to the UE via the external interface 1306, for example, in an RRC message, which enables encryption of measurements to be sent by the UE and decryption of measurements received from the UE based on the security information.

[0195] The methods described herein can be implemented in various ways depending on the application. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementations, the one or more processors 1304 can be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0196] For implementations of the gNB 1300 involving firmware and / or software, the methods may be implemented using modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the individual functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in the medium 1318 or memory 1316 and executed by one or more processors 1304, causing the one or more processors 1304 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. Memory may be implemented within the one or more processors 1304 or external to the one or more processors 1304. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or amount of memory, or type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0197] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions performed by gNB 1300 may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as media 1318 or memory 1316. Examples of storage media include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program. Computer-readable media include physical computer storage media. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor storage or other storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0198] In addition to storage on computer-readable storage media, instructions and / or data for gNB 1300 may be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communications device. For example, a communications device including part or all of gNB 1300 may include a transceiver with signals indicating instructions and data. The instructions and data are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., medium 1318 or memory 1316) and are configured to cause one or more processors 1304 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. That is, the communications device includes a transmission medium with signals indicating information for performing the disclosed functions. At a first time, the transmission medium included in the communications device may include a first portion of information for performing the disclosed functions, while at a second time, the transmission medium included in the communications device may include a second portion of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0199] Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware implementation of the AMF 1400 in the serving PLMN, for example, Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 The AMF 122 shown in FIG. AMF 1400 can perform Figure 9 、 Figure 10 and Figure 11 The signal flows 900, 1000 and 1100 and Figure 21 The process flow 2100 and the algorithms disclosed herein are shown in FIG. 1400. The AMF 1400 includes, for example, hardware components such as an external interface 1402 configured to communicate with the gNB 106 or earth station 104. The AMF 1400 includes one or more processors 1404, a memory 1416, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium 4118, which may be coupled together via a bus 1407.

[0200] The one or more processors 1404 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1404 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein via one or more instructions or program code 1420 embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1418 and / or the memory 1416. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1404 may represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of a data signal computation process or procedure related to the operation of the AMF 1400.

[0201] The media 1418 and / or memory 1416 may store instructions or program code 1420 comprising executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1404, cause the one or more processors 1404 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein (e.g., such as Figure 21 2100). As shown in AMF 1400, medium 1418 and / or memory 1416 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by one or more processors 1404 to perform the methods described herein. While the components or modules are illustrated as software in medium 1418 that is executable by one or more processors 1404, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in memory 1416 or may be dedicated hardware within or external to one or more processors 1404.

[0202] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the media 1418 and / or memory 1416 and be used by the one or more processors 1404 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the media 1418 and / or memory 1416 as shown in the AMF 1400 is merely exemplary, and thus, the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or configured in different ways depending on the implementation of the AMF 1400. Although components or modules are illustrated as software in the media 1418 and / or memory 1416 that can be executed by the one or more processors 1404, it should be understood that the components or modules may be firmware or dedicated hardware within or external to the one or more processors 1404.

[0203] As shown, program code 1420 stored on medium 1418 and / or memory 1416 may include a registration module 1422 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1404, configures one or more processors 1404 for registration and deregistration of a UE with a serving PLMN via external interface 1402. For example, one or more processors 1404 may be configured to receive a registration request from a UE from a gNB via external interface 1402, the registration request including an indication of whether the UE's country is verified by the gNB as being associated with the serving PLMN. If the UE's country is verified as being in the country associated with the serving PLMN, one or more processors 1404 may be configured to accept the registration. One or more processors 1404 may be configured to send and receive, for example, a registration accept message, a registration reject message, a release request message, a deregistration request message, a deregistration accept message, a context release command message, and a context release complete message via external interface 1402.

[0204] As shown, program code 1420 stored on medium 1418 and / or memory 1416 may include a location session module 1424. When implemented by one or more processors 1404, if the UE's country is not verified by the gNB as being in the country associated with the serving PLMN, the location session module 1424 configures the one or more processors 1404 to initiate and participate in a location session between the UE and the LMF via external interface 1402. For example, if the UE's country is not verified by the gNB as being in the country associated with the serving PLMN, the one or more processors 1404 may be configured to send a location request to the LMF via external interface 1402. The location request may include an indication that the UE has satellite access. The one or more processors 1404 may be configured to receive a location response from the LMF via external interface 1402, where the response from the LMF may include the UE's location or an indication of whether the UE's country is verified as being in the country associated with the serving PLMN. If not provided by the LMF, the one or more processors 1404 may determine the UE's country based on the location. The one or more processors 1404 may be configured to determine whether the UE's country is in the country associated with the serving PLMN.

[0205] The methods described herein can be implemented in various ways depending on the application. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementations, the one or more processors 1404 can be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0206] For implementations of the AMF 1400 involving firmware and / or software, the methods may be implemented using modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the individual functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in the medium 1418 or memory 1416 and executed by one or more processors 1404, such that the one or more processors 1404 operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors 1404 or external to the one or more processors 1404. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0207] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions performed by AMF 1400 may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as medium 1418 or memory 1416. Examples of storage media include computer-readable media encoded with data structures and computer-readable media encoded with computer programs. Computer-readable media include physical computer storage media. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor storage or other storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; as used herein, magnetic disk and optical disk include compact disk (CD), laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disk, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0208] In addition to storage on computer-readable storage media, instructions and / or data of AMF 1400 can be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, a communication device including part or all of AMF 1400 may include a transceiver with signals indicating instructions and data. The instructions and data are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., medium 1418 or memory 1416) and are configured to cause one or more processors 1404 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium with signals indicating information for performing the disclosed functions. At a first time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a first portion of information for performing the disclosed functions, while at a second time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a second portion of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0209] Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware implementation of the LMF 1500 in the serving PLMN, for example, Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 The LMF 124 is shown in FIG. The LMF 1500 can perform Figure 9 、 Figure 10 and Figure 11 The signal flows 900, 1000 and 1100 and Figure 22The process flow 2200 and the algorithms disclosed herein are shown in FIG. 15. The LMF 1500 includes, for example, hardware components such as an external interface 1502 configured to communicate with the AMF 122. The LMF 1500 includes one or more processors 1504, a memory 1516, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium 4118, which may be coupled together via a bus 1507.

[0210] The one or more processors 1504 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1504 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein via one or more instructions or program code 1520 embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1518 and / or the memory 1516. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1504 may represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of a data signal computation process or procedure associated with the operation of the LMF 1500.

[0211] The media 1518 and / or memory 1516 may store instructions or program code 1520 comprising executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1504, cause the one or more processors 1504 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein (e.g., such as Figure 22 2200). As shown in LMF 1500, medium 1518 and / or memory 1516 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by one or more processors 1504 to perform the methods described herein. While the components or modules are illustrated as software in medium 1518 that is executable by one or more processors 1504, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in memory 1516 or may be dedicated hardware within or external to one or more processors 1504.

[0212] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the media 1518 and / or memory 1516 and be used by the one or more processors 1504 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the media 1518 and / or memory 1516 as shown in the LMF 1500 is merely exemplary, and thus, the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or configured in various ways depending on the implementation of the LMF 1500. Although components or modules are illustrated as software in the media 1518 and / or memory 1516 that can be executed by the one or more processors 1504, it should be understood that the components or modules may be firmware or dedicated hardware within or external to the one or more processors 1504.

[0213] As shown, program code 1520 stored on medium 1518 and / or memory 1516 may include a location request module 1522 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1504, configures the one or more processors 1504 to receive a location request for the UE from the AMF via the external interface 1502, which may include an indication that the UE has access to a communication satellite.

[0214] As shown, program code 1520 stored on medium 1518 and / or memory 1516 may include a location session module 1524 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1504, configures the one or more processors 1504 to conduct a location session with the UE via external interface 1502 to determine the UE's location, for example, using at least one of a UE-assisted positioning method and a network-based positioning method. The one or more processors 1504 may verify that the UE is located in a country associated with a serving PLMN. For example, the one or more processors 1504 may be configured to use GNSS signals, communication satellite signals, or a combination thereof. For example, the one or more processors 1504 may be configured to send a location response to the AMF via external interface 1502. For example, the one or more processors 1504 may be configured to determine the UE's location and, in some embodiments, may be configured to determine the UE's country based on the location or verify that the UE is in a country associated with a serving PLMN, and provide an indication in the location response to the AMF as to whether the UE is in a country associated with the serving PLMN.

[0215] The methods described herein can be implemented in various ways depending on the application. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementations, the one or more processors 1504 can be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0216] For implementations of the LMF 1500 involving firmware and / or software, the methods can be implemented using modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the individual functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions can be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code can be stored in the medium 1518 or memory 1516 and executed by one or more processors 1504, causing the one or more processors 1504 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. The memory can be implemented within the one or more processors 1504 or external to the one or more processors 1504. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or amount of memory, or type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0217] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions performed by LMF 1500 may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as medium 1518 or memory 1516. Examples of storage media include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program. Computer-readable media include physical computer storage media. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor storage or other storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; as used herein, magnetic disk and optical disk include compact disk (CD), laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disk, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0218] In addition to storage on a computer-readable storage medium, instructions and / or data of LMF 1500 can be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, a communication device including part or all of LMF 1500 may include a transceiver with signals indicating instructions and data. The instructions and data are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., medium 1518 or memory 1516) and are configured to cause one or more processors 1504 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium with signals indicating information for performing the disclosed functions. At a first time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a first portion of information for performing the disclosed functions, while at a second time, the transmission medium included in the communication device may include a second portion of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0219] Figure 16 Shown by such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 Flow diagram of an example process flow 1600 performed by a UE 105 of FIG. 1 for supporting satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0220] As shown, at block 1602, a UE receives broadcast signaling for a plurality of radio cells supported by a plurality of communication satellites from a plurality of communication satellites (e.g., SVs 102, 202, or 302), the broadcast signaling for each of the plurality of radio cells including a positioning identifier (PID), wherein the PID periodically changes according to a periodic interval sequence, wherein the periodic interval sequence occurs within a life cycle of each radio cell, e.g., as in Figure 9 In one embodiment, the PID may change at least every 60 seconds. The PID may be a physical cell ID. The means for receiving broadcast signaling for a plurality of radio cells supported by a plurality of communication satellites from a plurality of communication satellites may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1216 and / or media 1218, such as Figure 12 The satellite data module 1222 in the UE 1200 in FIG.

[0221] At block 1604, the UE obtains measurements of broadcast signaling for at least one radio cell of a plurality of radio cells, e.g., as in Figure 9In one embodiment, the measurement of at least one radio cell may be at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reception time and transmission time (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), or some combination thereof. The means for obtaining the measurement of the broadcast signaling for at least one radio cell of the plurality of radio cells may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in a memory 1216 and / or medium 1218, such as Figure 12 The measurement module 1226 in the UE 1200 in .

[0222] At block 1606, the UE sends measurements and a PID for at least one radio cell to a satellite NodeB (gNB), e.g., gNB 106, 202, or 307, wherein the measurements and the PID enable the gNB to determine the location and country of the UE, e.g., as in Figure 9 In one embodiment, measurements of the broadcast signaling are obtained for the at least one radio cell and a second radio cell of the plurality of radio cells, and the UE may also send the measurements for the at least one radio cell, the PID, and the PID for the second radio cell to the gNB, wherein the measurements for the at least one radio cell, the PID, and the PID for the second radio cell enable the gNB to determine the location and country of the UE, for example, as described in Figure 9 In one embodiment, the measurements may include reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or both. The means for sending the measurements and PID for at least one radio cell to the satellite NodeB (gNB) may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1216 and / or media 1218, such as Figure 12 The registration module 1228 in the UE 1200 in the embodiment of the present invention, wherein the measurements and PID enable the gNB to determine the location and country of the UE. The means for transmitting the measurements for at least one radio cell, the PID and the PID for the second radio cell may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in a memory 1216 and / or medium 1218, such as Figure 12 A registration module 1228 in a UE 1200 in which measurements for at least one radio cell, a PID, and a PID for a second radio cell enable the gNB to determine the location and country of the UE.

[0223] In one embodiment, the measurements and PID for at least one radio cell may be sent to the gNB in ​​a first radio resource control (RRC) message, wherein the first RRC message is sent to complete the establishment of an RRC signaling connection between the UE and the gNB, e.g., as in Figure 9 The UE may also receive security information from the gNB in ​​a second RRC message, e.g., as in Figure 9 The UE may cipher the measurements in the first RRC message based on the security information, for example, as discussed in stage 8 of Figure 9 The means for receiving security information from the gNB in ​​the second RRC message and encrypting the measurements in the first RRC message based on the security information may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1216 and / or medium 1218, such as Figure 12 For example, the first RRC message may be an RRC setup complete message, and the second RRC message may be an RRC setup message, for example, as respectively described in Figure 9 The UE may also include in the first RRC message a request to register with the core network of the serving PLMN, wherein the gNB's determination of the UE's location and country enables the gNB to verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for including in the first RRC message a request to register with the core network of the serving PLMN may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1216 and / or media 1218, such as Figure 12 The registration module 1228 in the UE 1200 in .

[0224] Figure 17 Shown by such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 Flowchart of an example process flow 1700 performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB) of gNB 106 / 202 / 307 in FIG. 1 to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (e.g., UE 105) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0225] As shown, at block 1702, the gNB may receive, from a UE, broadcast signaling for a plurality of radio cells and a positioning identifier (PID) for each of the plurality of radio cells, the broadcast signaling for the plurality of radio cells being received by the UE from a plurality of communication satellites (e.g., SVs 102, 202, or 302), wherein the PID for each radio cell periodically changes according to a periodic interval sequence, wherein the periodic interval sequence occurs within a life cycle of each radio cell, e.g., as in Figure 9 In one embodiment, the measurements may include at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination of these. In one embodiment, the PID for each radio cell may be a physical cell ID. The means for receiving measurements of broadcast signaling for multiple radio cells and a positioning identifier (PID) for each radio cell in the multiple radio cells from the UE may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in a memory 1316 and / or medium 1318, such as Figure 13 The measurement module 1322 in the gNB 1300 in FIG.

[0226] At block 1704, the gNB may determine the location and country of the UE based on the measurements and PID for each radio cell, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for determining the location and country of the UE based on the measurements and PID for each radio cell may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The location determination module 1324 in the gNB 1300 in.

[0227] In one embodiment, the plurality of radio cells may include at least one radio cell controlled by the gNB, and the gNB may assign a value to the PID for the at least one radio cell, e.g., as in Figure 9 The gNB may broadcast the PID in at least one radio cell, e.g., as in Figure 9In one embodiment, the value of the PID may be a pseudo-random value. In one embodiment, the value of the PID may change at least once every 60 seconds. The means for assigning a value to the PID for at least one radio cell may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 PID module 1330 in gNB 1300 in. Means for broadcasting PID in at least one radio cell may be, for example, external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 with dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 PID module 1330 in gNB 1300, and SV 102 / 202 / 302.

[0228] In one embodiment, the measurement and PID for the broadcast signaling for each radio cell may be received from the UE in a first radio resource control (RRC) message, wherein the first RRC message is sent by the UE to complete the establishment of the RRC signaling connection between the UE and the gNB, e.g., as in Figure 9 In one embodiment, the gNB may also send security information to the UE in the second RRC message, wherein the security information enables the UE to encrypt the measurement in the first RRC message, for example, as in Figure 9 The gNB may decrypt the measurements received in the first RRC message based on the security information, e.g. Figure 9 For example, the first RRC message may be an RRC setup complete message, and the second RRC message may be an RRC setup message, for example, as discussed in stages 10 and 11 of . Figure 9 The means for sending the security information to the UE in the second RRC message may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1316 and / or medium 1318, such as Figure 13 The security module 1332 in the gNB 1300 in the embodiment of the present invention may include security information that enables the UE to encrypt the measurement in the first RRC message. The means for decrypting the measurement received in the first RRC message based on the security information may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in the memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The security module 1332 in the gNB 1300 in FIG.

[0229] In one embodiment, the gNB may receive a request from the UE in a first RRC message for the UE to register with the core network of the serving PLMN, for example, as in Figure 9 The gNB may verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on the location and country determined for the UE, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for receiving in the first RRC message a request for the UE to register with the core network of the serving PLMN may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The registration module 1328 in the gNB 1300 in the UE. The means for verifying that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on the location and country determined for the UE can be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in the memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The gNB may also provide (e.g., may send) to an entity in the core network a request for the UE to register with the core network and an indication of whether the gNB has verified that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for providing to entities in the core network a request for the UE to register with the core network and an indication of whether the gNB has verified that the UE is located in a country associated with the serving PLMN may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 Registration module 1328 in gNB 1300.

[0230] Figure 18 Shown by such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 Flow diagram of an example process flow 1800 performed by a UE 105 in FIG. 1 for supporting satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0231] As shown, at block 1802, a UE receives a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from a communication satellite (e.g., SV 102, 202, or 302), the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area, e.g., as combined with Figure 8 and Figure 10The components for receiving the downlink (DL) signal of the serving radio cell from the communication satellite may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1216 and / or media 1218, such as Figure 12 The satellite data module 1222 in the UE 1200 in FIG. 12A , the serving radio cell has a mobile coverage area.

[0232] At block 1804, the UE obtains a first measurement of a DL signal at each of a plurality of times, e.g., as in Figure 10 In one embodiment, the first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination thereof. The means for obtaining the first measurement of the DL signal at each of the plurality of times may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1216 and / or media 1218, such as Figure 12 The measurement module 1226 in the UE 1200 in .

[0233] At block 1806, the UE sends a first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) (e.g., gNB 106, 202, or 307) after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell, e.g., as in Figure 10 The gNB may control a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE. The means for sending a first measurement of a DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) after each of the plurality of times may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in a memory 1216 and / or medium 1218, such as Figure 12 The reporting module 1232 in the UE 1200 in .

[0234] In one embodiment, the UE may also send a request to the gNB to register with the core network of the serving PLMN, wherein the gNB forwards the registration request to the core network, for example, as in Figure 9For example, the gNB's more accurate location and more reliable determination of the country of the UE may enable the gNB to verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN. The means for sending a request to the gNB to register with the core network of the serving PLMN may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1216 and / or media 1218, such as Figure 12 The registration module 1228 in the UE 1200 in the gNB forwards the registration request to the core network.

[0235] In one embodiment, the UE may also receive DL signals of other radio cells from other communication satellites (eg, SV 102, 202, or 302), the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas, such as in Figure 10 The components for receiving DL signals of other radio cells from other communication satellites may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1216 and / or media 1218, such as Figure 12 The satellite data module 1222 in the UE 1200 in the mobile coverage area and the other radio cells have a mobile coverage area. The UE may obtain a second measurement of the DL signals of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells at each of a plurality of times, for example, as in Figure 10 In one embodiment, the second measurement may be at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination thereof. The means for obtaining the second measurement of the DL signals of the serving radio cell and the other radio cell at each of the plurality of times may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1216 and / or a medium 1218, such as Figure 12 The measurement module 1226 in the UE 1200 in the embodiment of the present invention. The UE may send a second measurement together with the first measurement to the gNB after each of a plurality of times, wherein the first measurement and the second measurement enable the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable state of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and other radio cells, e.g., as in Figure 10The means for sending the second measurement with the first measurement to the gNB after each of the plurality of times may be, for example, a satellite transceiver 1203 and one or more processors 1204 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1216 and / or media 1218, such as Figure 12 The reporting module 1232 in the UE 1200 in .

[0236] Figure 19 Shown by such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 Flowchart of an example process flow 1900 performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB) of gNB 106 / 202 / 307 in FIG. 1 to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (e.g., UE 105) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0237] As shown, at block 1902, the gNB receives a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from a UE after each of a plurality of times, the UE receiving a DL signal of a serving radio cell from a communication satellite (e.g., SV 102, 202, or 302), the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area, e.g., as in Figure 10 The gNB may control a serving radio cell, and the gNB may be a serving gNB for the UE. In one embodiment, the first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these. The means for receiving the first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of the plurality of times may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in a memory 1316 and / or medium 1318, such as Figure 13 In the measurement module 1322 in the gNB 1300, the UE receives a DL signal of a serving radio cell from a communication satellite, where the serving radio cell has a mobile coverage area.

[0238] At block 1904, the gNB determines the location and country of the UE after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, e.g., as in Figure 10 The means for determining the location and country of the UE after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13The location determination module 1324 in the gNB 1300 in.

[0239] At block 1906, the gNB determines a more accurate location and a more reliable state of the UE after all of the multiple times based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell, e.g., as in Figure 10 The means for determining a more accurate position and a more reliable state of the UE after all of the multiple times based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The location determination module 1324 in the gNB 1300 in.

[0240] In one embodiment, the gNB may receive a request from the UE to register with the core network of the serving PLMN, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for receiving a request from the UE to register with the core network of the serving PLMN may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The gNB may further forward the registration request to the core network, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for forwarding the registration request to the core network may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 In one embodiment, the gNB determines a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE for the registration request and may verify whether the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable country, e.g., as in Figure 10 The means for verifying whether the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable country may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13In one embodiment, the gNB may verify that the UE is not located in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable country and may send a message to the core network indicating that the UE is not located in the country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the message enables the serving PLMN to deregister the UE, for example, as directed to Figure 10 The means for verifying that the UE is not located in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable country may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The country verification module 1326 in the gNB 1300 in the core network can be, for example, the external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 with dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in the memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The registration module 1328 in the gNB 1300 in the embodiment of the present invention indicates that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the message enables the serving PLMN to deregister the UE.

[0241] In one embodiment, the gNB may also receive, from the UE after each of a plurality of times, a second measurement of DL signals received by the UE from the serving radio cell and other radio cells, the UE receiving DL signals of other radio cells from other communication satellites (e.g., SV102, 202, or 302), the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas, for example, as in Figure 10 In one embodiment, the second measurement may include at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination thereof. The means for receiving, from the UE after each of the plurality of times, a second measurement of DL signals received by the UE from the serving radio cell and the other radio cells may be, for example, an external interface 1306, and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1316 and / or a medium 1318, such as Figure 13In the measurement module 1322 in the gNB 1300, the UE receives DL signals of other radio cells from other communication satellites, and the other radio cells have mobile coverage areas. The gNB can determine a more accurate position and a more reliable position of the UE after all of the multiple times based on the first measurement, the second measurement, and the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells, for example, as in Figure 10 The means for determining a more accurate position and a more reliable state of the UE after all times of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, the second measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell and the other radio cells may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in the memory 1316 and / or the media 1318, such as Figure 13 The location determination module 1324 in the gNB1300.

[0242] Figure 20 Shown by such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 Flowchart of an example process flow 2000 performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB) of gNB 106 / 202 / 307 in FIG. 1 to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (e.g., UE 105) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0243] As shown, at block 2002, the gNB may receive a registration request for a serving PLMN from a UE via a communication satellite (e.g., SV 102, 202, or 302) belonging to a plurality of communication satellites (e.g., SV 102, 202, or 302), e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for receiving a registration request for a serving PLMN from a UE via a communication satellite belonging to a plurality of communication satellites may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1316 and / or a medium 1318, such as Figure 13 The measurement module 1322 in the gNB 1300 in FIG.

[0244] At block 2004, the gNB may perform verification of whether the UE is in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on information provided by at least one of the UE, the communication satellite, or the gNB, e.g., as in Figure 9 as discussed in Stage 11.

[0245] For example, to verify the country, the gNB can obtain the UE's location based on this information and map the location to the country, e.g., as in Figure 9The means for obtaining the location of the UE based on this information and the means for mapping the location to a country may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 The information provided by the UE may include at least one of a first measurement of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal received by the UE (e.g., from SV 190), a second measurement of downlink (DL) signals received from a plurality of communication satellites, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the second measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination thereof.

[0246] The means for performing verification of whether the UE is in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on information provided by at least one of the UE, the communication satellite, or the gNB may be, for example, one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in the memory 1316 and / or the media 1318, such as Figure 13 The country verification module 1326 in the gNB 1300 in.

[0247] At block 2006, when the verification determines that the UE is or may be in a country associated with the serving PLMN, the gNB provides a registration request to a first entity in the core network of the serving PLMN (e.g., AMF 122), e.g., as directed to Figure 9 The means for providing a registration request to a first entity in the core network of the serving PLMN when the verification determines that the UE is or may be in a country associated with the serving PLMN may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 Registration module 1328 in gNB 1300.

[0248] At block 2008, the gNB provides an indication to the Registration Request (to the first entity) of whether the gNB has verified that the UE is in the country associated with the serving PLMN, e.g., as specified for Figure 9The means for providing an indication to the registration request of whether the gNB has verified that the UE is in the country associated with the serving PLMN may be, for example, an external interface 1306 and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 Registration module 1328 in gNB 1300.

[0249] In one embodiment, the indication is that the country is verified by the gNB as being associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the indication enables the first entity to accept the registration request without being certain about the location of the UE, e.g. Figure 9 In one embodiment, the indication is that the country is not verified by the gNB as being the country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the core network obtains the location of the UE to verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN, e.g. Figure 9 The means for providing a registration request and an indication of whether the country is verified by the gNB as being in the country associated with the serving PLMN to the first entity in the core network of the serving PLMN may be, for example, an external interface 1306, and one or more processors 1304 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1316 and / or media 1318, such as Figure 13 Registration module 1328 in gNB 1300.

[0250] Figure 22 Shown by such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 Flowchart of an example process flow 2100 performed by a first entity in a core network of a serving PLMN of an AMF 122 in FIG. 1 for supporting satellite wireless access of a user equipment (e.g., UE 105) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0251] As shown, at block 2102, a first entity may receive a message from a satellite NodeB (gNB), such as gNB 106, 202, or 307, containing a registration request from a UE and a first indication of whether the UE's country is verified by the gNB as a country associated with a serving PLMN, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for receiving messages from the satellite NodeB (gNB) may be, for example, an external interface 1402 and one or more processors 1404 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1416 and / or media 1418, such as Figure 14The registration module 1422 in the AMF 1400 in the gNB receives the registration request from the UE and a first indication of whether the UE's country is verified by the gNB as the country associated with the serving PLMN.

[0252] At block 2104, if the first indication is that the UE's country is verified by the gNB as being the country associated with the serving PLMN, the first entity may accept the registration request, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for accepting the registration request if the first indication is that the UE's country is verified by the gNB as being associated with the serving PLMN may be, for example, an external interface 1402 and one or more processors 1404 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1416 and / or media 1418, such as Figure 14 Registration module 1422 in AMF 1400 in.

[0253] At block 2106, if the first indication is that the UE's country is not verified by the gNB as the country associated with the serving PLMN, the first entity may initiate a location of the UE to verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for initiating the location of the UE to verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN if the first indication is that the UE's country is not verified by the gNB as the country associated with the serving PLMN can be, for example, an external interface 1402, and one or more processors 1404 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in a memory 1416 and / or medium 1418, such as Figure 14 The location session module 1424 in the AMF 1400.

[0254] In one embodiment, the first indication may be that the UE's country is verified to be the country associated with the serving PLMN, and the first entity may further send a registration accept message to the UE, e.g., as in Figure 9 The means for sending the registration accept message to the UE may be, for example, an external interface 1402 and one or more processors 1404 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1416 and / or medium 1418, such as Figure 14 Registration module 1422 in AMF 1400 in.

[0255] In one embodiment, the first indication is that the UE's country is not verified as the country associated with the serving PLMN, and the first entity may further send a location request to a second entity in the core network (e.g., LMF 124) to determine the UE's location, e.g., as in Figure 9The first entity may also receive a response from the second entity, the response comprising at least one of the location of the UE, an indication of the country of the UE (corresponding to the country in which the UE is located), or a second indication of whether the country of the UE is verified by the second entity as the country associated with the serving PLMN, e.g. Figure 9 The means for sending a location request to a second entity in the core network to determine the location of the UE and the means for receiving a response from the second entity may be, for example, an external interface 1402 and one or more processors 1404 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in a memory 1416 and / or medium 1418, such as Figure 14 The location session module 1424 in the AMF 1400 in the second entity. The means for receiving the response from the second entity may be, for example, the external interface 1402 and one or more processors 1404 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in the memory 1416 and / or media 1418, such as Figure 14 The location session module 1424 in the AMF 1400 in the embodiment of the present invention may further comprise the location session module 1424 in the AMF 1400 in the embodiment of the present invention, the response comprising at least one of the location of the UE, an indication of the country of the UE, or a second indication of whether the country of the UE is verified by the second entity as the country associated with the serving PLMN. In one embodiment, the response may comprise the location of the UE, and the first entity may further verify whether the location of the UE is in the country associated with the serving PLMN, for example, as for Figure 9 In one embodiment, the first entity may also include in the location request an indication that the UE has access to a communication satellite, wherein the indication enables the second entity to obtain the location of the UE using a UE-assisted positioning method, a network-based positioning method, or both, for example, as described in Figure 9 The means for including in the location request an indication that the UE has access to a communication satellite may be, for example, an external interface 1402 and one or more processors 1404 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1416 and / or media 1418, such as Figure 14 The location session module 1424 in the AMF 1400 in the UE may be configured to provide a location session module 1424 in the AMF 1400 in the UE. For example, the UE-assisted positioning method may be based on transferring measurements of at least one of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal (e.g., a signal of SV 190), a communication satellite signal (e.g., a signal of SV 102, 202, and / or 302), or a combination thereof from the UE to a second entity. As an example, the first entity may be an access and mobility management function (e.g., AMF 122), and the second entity may be a location management function (e.g., LMF 124).

[0256] Figure 22 Shown by such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 Flowchart of an example process flow 2200 performed by a first entity in a core network of a serving PLMN of LMF 124 in FIG. 1 for supporting satellite wireless access of a user equipment (e.g., UE 105) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0257] As shown, at block 2202, a first entity receives a location request from a second entity in a core network, wherein the location request indicates that the UE has communication satellite access (e.g., to SV 102, 202, or 302), e.g., as in Figure 9 1502 and / or AMF 1518. The second entity may send a location request to the first entity based on the second entity receiving a message from a serving satellite NodeB (gNB), such as gNB 106, 202, or 307, including the registration request for the UE and an indication that the country of the UE (i.e., the country in which the UE is located) has not been verified by the gNB as a country associated with the serving PLMN. The first entity may be a location management function (e.g., LMF 124), and the second entity may be an access and mobility management function (e.g., AMF 122). The means for receiving the location request from the second entity in the core network may be, for example, an external interface 1502 and one or more processors 1504 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in memory 1516 and / or media 1518, such as Figure 15 The location request module 1522 in the LMF 1500 in the embodiment of the present invention is configured to receive a location request from a UE, wherein the location request indicates that the UE has access to a communication satellite.

[0258] At block 2204, the first entity determines the location of the UE using at least one of a UE-assisted positioning method and / or a network-based positioning method, e.g., as in Figure 9 At stage 15 and Figure 11 The UE-assisted positioning method may be based on the transfer of measurements of at least one of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal (e.g., from SV 190), a communication satellite signal (e.g., from SV 102, 202, or 302), or a combination thereof from the UE to the first entity. The means for determining the position of the UE using at least one of the UE-assisted positioning method and the network-based positioning method may be, for example, an external interface 1502, and one or more processors 1504 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in a memory 1516 and / or medium 1518, such as Figure 15 Location session module 1524 in LMF 1500

[0259] At block 2206, the first entity provides a location response to the second entity, the location response including the location, e.g., as in Figure 9 At stage 16 and Figure 11 In one embodiment, the location response enables the second entity to verify whether the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN. In one embodiment, the first entity may perform verification that the UE is in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on location and include in the location response an indication indicating whether the UE is in the country associated with the serving PLMN, for example, as in Figure 9 In one embodiment, the first entity may determine the country in which the UE is located based on the location and may include an indication of the country in the location response, for example, as in Figure 9 The means for providing the location response to the second entity may be, for example, an external interface 1502 and one or more processors 1504 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in memory 1516 and / or media 1518, such as Figure 15 The location session module 1524 in the LMF 1500 in the location response includes the location. The means for performing verification that the UE is in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on the location and the means for including in the location response an indication indicating whether the UE is in a country associated with the serving PLMN can be, for example, the external interface 1502 and one or more processors 1504 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in the memory 1516 and / or media 1518, such as Figure 15 The location session module 1524 in the LMF 1500 in the embodiment of the present invention. The means for determining the country in which the UE is located based on the location can be, for example, one or more processors 1504 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions implemented in the memory 1516 and / or media 1518, such as Figure 15 The location session module 1524 in the LMF 1500 in the location response. The means for including an indication of the country in the location response can be, for example, the external interface 1502 and one or more processors 1504 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions embodied in the memory 1516 and / or media 1518, such as Figure 15 The location session module 1524 in the LMF 1500 in .

[0260] The abbreviations used herein can be identified in Table 1 below:

[0261]

[0262]

[0263] Table 1

[0264] Substantial modifications may be made depending on specific requirements. For example, custom hardware may also be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. In addition, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed.

[0265] Configurations may be described as processes depicted as flow charts or block diagrams. Although each process may describe operations as sequential, many operations may be performed in parallel or concurrently. Furthermore, the order of operations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps not included in the figures. Furthermore, examples of methods may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments that perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium. A processor may perform the described tasks.

[0266] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As used herein, the articles "a" and "an" refer to one or more than one (i.e., at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. As an example, "an element" refers to one element or more than one element. When referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a time duration, etc., "about" and / or "approximately" as used herein include variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5% or +0.1% relative to the specified value, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other embodiments described herein. When referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a time duration, a physical property (e.g., frequency), etc., "substantially" as used herein also includes variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5% or +0.1% relative to the specified value, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other embodiments described herein.

[0267] As used herein, including in the claims, "or," as used in a list of items beginning with "at least one of" or "one or more of," indicates a disjunctive list, so that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Furthermore, as used herein, unless otherwise specified, a statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the item or condition.

[0268] As used herein, a mobile device, user equipment (UE), or mobile station (MS) refers to a device such as a cellular or other wireless communication device, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal communication system (PCS) device, a personal navigation device (PND), a personal information manager (PIM), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, or other suitable mobile device capable of receiving wireless communications and / or navigation signals (e.g., navigation positioning signals). The term "mobile station" (or "mobile device," "wireless device," or "user device") is also intended to include devices that communicate with a personal navigation device (PND), such as via short-range wireless, infrared, wired, or other connections—regardless of whether satellite signal reception, assistance data reception, and / or location-related processing occurs at the device or at the PND. Furthermore, "mobile station" or "user device" is intended to include all devices, including wireless communication devices, computers, laptop computers, tablet devices, and the like, that are capable of communicating with a server, such as via the Internet, WiFi, or other networks, and capable of communicating with one or more types of nodes, regardless of whether satellite signal reception, assistance data reception, and / or location-related processing occurs at the device, at the server, or at another device or node associated with the network. Any operable combination of the above is also considered a “mobile station” or “user equipment.” A mobile device or user equipment (UE) may also be referred to as a mobile terminal, terminal, device, secure user plane location enabled terminal (SET), target device, target, or by some other name.

[0269] In one embodiment, a first example independent claim may include a method for supporting positioning of a user equipment (UE) at a first wireless node, comprising: receiving a first request for a broadcast of an increased amount of location-related information based on a wireless access type of the first wireless node; and broadcasting the increased amount of location-related information using the wireless access type and based on the first request.

[0270] Example dependent claims may include one or more of the following features. The wireless access type is fifth generation (5G), new radio (NR), or long term evolution (LTE). The location-related information includes a positioning reference signal (PRS). The increased amount of location-related information includes an increased PRS bandwidth, an increased frequency of PRS positioning opportunities, an increased duration of PRS positioning opportunities, an increased number of separate PRS signals, PRS transmission using an uplink carrier frequency, or some combination thereof. The method may also include sending a second request for silent transmission to a second wireless node for the wireless access type, wherein the silent transmission is based on avoiding radio interference with the increased amount of location-related information broadcast by the first wireless node. The location-related information may include location assistance data. The location assistance data may include assistance data for DL-TDOA, assistance data for Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), assistance data for Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), assistance data for Precise Point Positioning (PPP), assistance data for Differential GNSS (DGNSS), or any combination thereof. The increased amount of location-related information may include an increased amount of location assistance data, additional types of location assistance data, an increased frequency of broadcasting location assistance data, an increased repetition of broadcasting location assistance data, or any combination thereof. The first request may be received from a third wireless node. The first request may be received from a UE. The first request may be received using a radio resource control (RRC) protocol for the wireless access type. Based on the wireless access type, the first wireless node may be a serving wireless node for the UE. The method may also include sending a third request to broadcast an increased amount of location-related information to a fourth wireless node for the wireless access type, wherein the third request is based on the first request. The method may also include sending a response to the UE, wherein the response includes a confirmation of the increased amount of location-related information broadcast by the first wireless node. The method may also include receiving a fourth request from the UE to terminate broadcasting the increased amount of location-related information, and terminating broadcasting the increased amount of location-related information using the wireless access type based on the fourth request.

[0271] While some techniques, processes, and / or implementations presented herein may conform to all or part of one or more standards, in some embodiments, these techniques, processes, and / or implementations may not conform to some or all of these one or more standards.

[0272] In view of this description, embodiments may include different combinations of features. Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0273] Clause 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for supporting satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the method comprising: receiving a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from a communications satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; obtaining a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; and sending the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0274] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the gNB controls a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE.

[0275] Clause 3. A method according to any of clauses 1 or 2, wherein the first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these.

[0276] Clause 4. A method according to any of clauses 1-3, further comprising sending a request to the gNB to register with the core network of the serving PLMN, wherein the gNB forwards the registration request to the core network.

[0277] Clause 5. A method according to clause 4, wherein the gNB's more accurate location and more reliable determination of the country of the UE enables the gNB to verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN.

[0278] Clause 6. The method according to any of clauses 1-4 further includes: receiving DL signals of other radio cells having mobile coverage areas from other communication satellites; obtaining a second measurement of the DL signals of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells at each of a plurality of times; and sending the second measurement together with the first measurement to the gNB after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement and the second measurement enable the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable state of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

[0279] Clause 7. A method according to clause 6, wherein the second measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination of these.

[0280] Clause 8. A user equipment (UE) configured to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a communication satellite; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the wireless transceiver, a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area from the communication satellite; obtain a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; and transmit, via the wireless transceiver, the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0281] Clause 9. A UE according to clause 8, wherein the gNB controls a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB of the UE.

[0282] Clause 10. A UE according to any of clauses 8 or 9, wherein the first measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these.

[0283] Clause 11. A UE according to any of clauses 8-10, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send, via the wireless transceiver, a request to register with the core network of the serving PLMN to the gNB, wherein the gNB forwards the registration request to the core network.

[0284] Clause 12. A UE according to clause 11, wherein the gNB's more accurate location and more reliable determination of the country of the UE enables the gNB to verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN.

[0285] Clause 13. A UE according to any of clauses 8 to 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the wireless transceiver, DL signals of other radio cells having mobile coverage areas from other communication satellites; obtain, at each of a plurality of times, a second measurement of the DL signals of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells; and send, via the wireless transceiver, the second measurement together with the first measurement to the gNB after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement and the second measurement enable the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable location of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

[0286] Clause 14. A UE according to clause 13, wherein the second measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination of these.

[0287] Clause 15. A user equipment (UE) configured to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), comprising: means for receiving a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from a communications satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; means for obtaining a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; and means for sending the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0288] Clause 16. A UE according to clause 15, wherein the gNB controls a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB of the UE.

[0289] Clause 17. A UE according to any of clauses 15 or 16, wherein the first measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these.

[0290] Clause 18. A UE according to any of clauses 15-17, further comprising means for sending a request to the gNB to register with the core network of the serving PLMN, wherein the gNB forwards the registration request to the core network.

[0291] Clause 19. A UE according to clause 18, wherein the gNB's more accurate location and more reliable determination of the country of the UE enables the gNB to verify that the UE is located in the country associated with the serving PLMN.

[0292] Clause 20. A UE according to any of clauses 15-19, further comprising: means for receiving DL signals of other radio cells having mobile coverage areas from other communication satellites; means for obtaining, at each of a plurality of times, a second measurement of the DL signals of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells; and means for sending the second measurement together with the first measurement to the gNB after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement and the second measurement enable the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable state of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

[0293] Clause 21. A UE according to clause 20, wherein the second measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination of these.

[0294] Clause 22. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the program code comprising instructions to: receive a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from a communications satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; obtain a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; and send the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB (gNB) after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0295] Clause 23. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to clause 22, wherein the gNB controls a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE.

[0296] Clause 24. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of clauses 22 or 23, wherein the first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these.

[0297] Clause 25. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of clauses 22-24, wherein the program code further comprises instructions to send a request to the gNB to register with the core network of the serving PLMN, wherein the gNB forwards the registration request to the core network.

[0298] Clause 26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to clause 25, wherein the gNB's determination of a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE enables the gNB to verify that the UE is located in a country associated with a serving PLMN.

[0299] Clause 27. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of clauses 22-26, wherein the program code further comprises instructions to: receive DL signals of other radio cells from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas; obtain a second measurement of the DL signals of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells at each of a plurality of times; and after each of the plurality of times, send the second measurement together with the first measurement to the gNB, wherein the first measurement and the second measurement enable the gNB to determine a more accurate location and a more reliable location of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

[0300] Clause 28. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to clause 27, wherein the second measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination of these.

[0301] Clause 29. A method performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB) for supporting satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the method comprising: receiving a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the UE receiving the DL signal of a serving radio cell from a communications satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; determining a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement; and determining a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0302] Clause 30. A method according to clause 29, wherein the gNB controls a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE.

[0303] Clause 31. A method according to any of clauses 29 or 30, wherein the first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these.

[0304] Clause 32. The method of any of clauses 29-31, further comprising: receiving a request from the UE to register with a core network of a serving PLMN; and forwarding the registration request to the core network.

[0305] Clause 33. The method of clause 32, wherein determining the more accurate location of the UE and the more reliable country is for the registration request, and further comprising: verifying whether the UE is located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable country.

[0306] Clause 34. The method according to clause 33 further includes: verifying that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on a more reliable country; and sending a message to the core network indicating that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the message enables the serving PLMN to deregister the UE.

[0307] Clause 35. The method according to any of clauses 29-34 further includes: receiving, after each of a plurality of times, a second measurement of DL signals received by the UE from the serving radio cell and other radio cells, the UE receiving DL signals of other radio cells from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas; and determining a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, the second measurement, and the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and other radio cells.

[0308] Clause 36. A method according to clause 35, wherein the second measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA) or some combination of these.

[0309] Clause 37. A satellite NodeB (gNB) configured to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), comprising: an external interface configured to communicate with a network entity; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the external interface, a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the UE receiving a DL signal of a serving radio cell from a communication satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; determine, based on the first measurement, a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times; and determine, based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell, a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times.

[0310] Clause 38. A gNB according to clause 37, wherein the gNB controls a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE.

[0311] Clause 39. A gNB according to any of clauses 37 or 38, wherein the first measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these.

[0312] Clause 40. A gNB according to any of clauses 37-39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a request from the UE to register with the core network of the serving PLMN; and forward the registration request to the core network.

[0313] Clause 41. A gNB according to clause 40, wherein determining the more accurate location of the UE and the more reliable country is used for the registration request, and the at least one processor is further configured to: verify whether the UE is located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable country.

[0314] Clause 42. The gNB of clause 41, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: verify that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on a more reliable country; and send a message to the core network indicating that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the message enables the serving PLMN to deregister the UE.

[0315] Clause 43. A gNB according to any of clauses 37-42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, from the UE, after each of a plurality of times, a second measurement of DL signals received by the UE from the serving radio cell and other radio cells, the UE receiving DL signals of the other radio cells from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas; and determine, after all of the plurality of times, a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE based on the first measurement, the second measurement, and the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

[0316] Clause 44. The gNB of clause 43, wherein the second measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination of these.

[0317] Clause 45. A satellite Node B (gNB) configured to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), comprising: means for receiving a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the UE receiving the DL signal of a serving radio cell from a communications satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; means for determining a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement; and means for determining a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0318] Clause 46. A gNB according to clause 45, wherein the gNB controls a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE.

[0319] Clause 47. A gNB according to any of clauses 45 or 46, wherein the first measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these.

[0320] Clause 48. A gNB according to any of clauses 45-47, further comprising: means for receiving a request from the UE to register with the core network of the serving PLMN; and means for forwarding the registration request to the core network.

[0321] Clause 49. A gNB according to clause 48, wherein determining the more accurate location of the UE and the more reliable country is used for the registration request, and the gNB further comprises: means for verifying whether the UE is located in a country associated with a serving PLMN based on the more reliable country.

[0322] Clause 50. The gNB of clause 49 further comprising: means for verifying, based on a more reliable country, that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN; and means for sending a message to the core network indicating that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the message enables the serving PLMN to deregister the UE.

[0323] Clause 51. A gNB according to any of clauses 45-50, further comprising: means for receiving, from the UE, after each of a plurality of times, a second measurement of DL signals received by the UE from the serving radio cell and other radio cells, the UE receiving DL signals of the other radio cells from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas; and means for determining a more accurate location and a more reliable state of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, the second measurement and the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

[0324] Clause 52. The gNB of clause 51, wherein the second measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination of these.

[0325] Clause 53. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a satellite NodeB (gNB) to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the program code comprising instructions to: receive a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the UE receiving the DL signal of a serving radio cell from a communications satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; determine a location and a country of the UE after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement; and determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell.

[0326] Clause 54. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to clause 53, wherein the gNB controls a serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE.

[0327] Clause 55. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of clauses 53 or 54, wherein the first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination of these.

[0328] Clause 56. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of any of clauses 53-55, wherein the program code further comprises instructions to: receive a request from the UE to register with a core network of a serving PLMN; and forward the registration request to the core network.

[0329] Clause 57. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to clause 56, wherein a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE are determined for the registration request, and wherein the program code further comprises instructions to: verify whether the UE is located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable country.

[0330] Clause 58. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to clause 57, wherein the program code further comprises instructions to: verify based on a more reliable country that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN; and send a message to the core network indicating that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the message enables the serving PLMN to deregister the UE.

[0331] Clause 59. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of clauses 53-58, wherein the program code further comprises instructions to: after each of a plurality of times, receive from the UE a second measurement of DL signals received by the UE from the serving radio cell and other radio cells, the UE receiving DL signals of the other radio cells from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas; and determine a more accurate location and a more reliable country of the UE after all of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, the second measurement, and the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

[0332] Clause 60. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to clause 59, wherein the second measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), receive time-transmit time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), differential angle of arrival (DAOA), or some combination of these.

[0333] Although specific embodiments have been disclosed herein in detail, this has been done by way of example only for purposes of illustration and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto. In particular, various substitutions, changes, and modifications are contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims. The claims set forth are representative of the embodiments and features disclosed herein. Other non-claimed embodiments and features are also contemplated. Therefore, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a user equipment (UE), for supporting satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the method comprising: receiving a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from a communication satellite, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; obtaining a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; sending, after each of the plurality of times, the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB gNB, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine, after each of the plurality of times, an estimate of the position of the UE and an estimate of the country in which the UE is located, wherein each determined estimate of the position of the UE comprises a location area based on an uncertainty in the estimate, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine, after all of the plurality of times, a more accurate estimate of the position of the UE and a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell, wherein determining the more accurate estimate of the position of the UE comprises determining an intersection of the location areas and estimating the position of the UE to be within the intersection of the location areas, wherein the more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located is determined based on the more accurate position of the UE; and Verifying whether the UE is located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable estimate of the country. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the location area determined based on one of the first measurements is a coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell when one of the first measurements is performed.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gNB controls the serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB of the UE.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, reception time-transmission time difference RxTx, arrival angle AoA, or some combination of these.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending a request to the gNB to register with a core network of the serving PLMN, wherein the gNB forwards the request for the registration to the core network.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving DL signals of other radio cells from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas; obtaining second measurements of DL signals of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells at each of the plurality of times; sending the second measurement together with the first measurement to the gNB after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement and the second measurement enable the gNB to determine, after all of the plurality of times, a more accurate estimate of the location of the UE and a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located based on the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the second measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, reception time-transmission time difference RxTx, arrival angle AOA, reference signal time difference RSTD, differential arrival angle DAOA, or some combination of these.

8. A user equipment (UE) configured to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the UE comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a communications satellite; at least one memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving a downlink (DL) signal of a serving radio cell from the communication satellite via the wireless transceiver, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; obtaining a first measurement of the DL signal at each of a plurality of times; sending, via the wireless transceiver, the first measurement of the DL signal obtained at each of the plurality of times to a satellite NodeB gNB after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine, after each of the plurality of times, an estimate of the position of the UE and an estimate of the country in which the UE is located, wherein each determined estimate of the position of the UE includes a location area based on an uncertainty in the estimate, wherein the first measurement enables the gNB to determine, after all of the plurality of times, a more accurate estimate of the position of the UE and a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located based on the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell, wherein determining the more accurate estimate of the position of the UE comprises determining an intersection of the location areas and estimating the position of the UE to be within the intersection of the location areas, wherein the more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located is determined based on the more accurate position of the UE; and Verifying whether the UE is located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable estimate of the country. 9 . The UE according to claim 8 , wherein the location area determined based on one of the first measurements is a coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell when one of the first measurements is performed.

10. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the gNB controls the serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB of the UE.

11. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the first measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reception time-transmission time difference (RxTx), angle of arrival (AoA), or some combination thereof.

12. The UE according to claim 8, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to send, via the wireless transceiver, to the gNB a request to register with a core network of the serving PLMN, wherein the gNB forwards the request for the registration to the core network.

13. The UE according to claim 8, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: receiving, via the wireless transceiver, DL signals of other radio cells from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having a mobile coverage area; obtaining second measurements of DL signals of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells at each of the plurality of times; sending the second measurement and the first measurement to the gNB via the wireless transceiver after each of the plurality of times, wherein the first measurement and the second measurement enable the gNB to determine a more accurate estimate of the location of the UE and a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located after all of the plurality of times based on the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

14. The UE according to claim 13, wherein the second measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, reception time-transmission time difference RxTx, arrival angle AOA, reference signal time difference RSTD, differential arrival angle DAOA, or some combination of these.

15. A method, performed by a satellite NodeB (gNB), for supporting satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the method comprising: receiving a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal from the UE after each of a plurality of times, the DL signal being received by the UE from a communication satellite for a serving radio cell, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; determining an estimate of the location of the UE and an estimate of the country in which the UE is located after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, wherein each determined estimate of the location of the UE includes a location area based on an uncertainty of the estimate; determining, after all times in the plurality of times, a more accurate estimate of the location of the UE and a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell, wherein determining the more accurate estimate of the location of the UE comprises determining an intersection of the location areas and estimating the location of the UE to be within the intersection of the location areas, wherein the more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located is determined based on the more accurate location of the UE; and Verifying whether the UE is located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable estimate of the country. 16 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein the location area determined based on one of the first measurements is a coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell when one of the first measurements is performed.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the gNB controls the serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein The first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, reception time-transmission time difference RxTx, arrival angle AoA, or some combination of these.

19. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, a request to register with a core network of the serving PLMN; as well as The request for the registration is forwarded to the core network.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: verifying that the UE is not located in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located; as well as A message is sent to the core network, the message indicating that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the message enables the serving PLMN to deregister the UE.

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving, from the UE after each of the plurality of times, a second measurement of DL signals received by the UE from the serving radio cell and other radio cells whose DL signals are received by the UE from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas; and A more accurate estimate of the position of the UE and a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located is determined after all times of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, the second measurement and the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the second measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, receive time-transmit time difference RxTx, angle of arrival AOA, reference signal time difference RSTD, differential angle of arrival DAOA, or some combination of these.

23. A satellite NodeB (gNB), configured to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the gNB comprising: an external interface configured to communicate with a network entity; at least one memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving, via the external interface, from the UE a first measurement of a downlink (DL) signal after each of a plurality of times, the DL signal being received by the UE from a communication satellite for a serving radio cell, the serving radio cell having a mobile coverage area; determining an estimate of the location of the UE and an estimate of the country in which the UE is located after each of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, wherein each determined estimate of the location of the UE includes a location area based on an uncertainty of the estimate; determining, after all times in the plurality of times, a more accurate estimate of the location of the UE and a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located based on the first measurement and the mobile coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell, wherein determining the more accurate estimate of the location of the UE comprises determining an intersection of the location areas and estimating the location of the UE to be within the intersection of the location areas, wherein the more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located is determined based on the more accurate location of the UE; and Verifying whether the UE is located in a country associated with the serving PLMN based on the more reliable estimate of the country.

24. The gNB of claim 23 , wherein the location area determined based on one of the first measurements is a coverage area of ​​the serving radio cell when one of the first measurements is performed.

25. The gNB of claim 23, wherein the gNB controls the serving radio cell, wherein the gNB is a serving gNB for the UE.

26. The gNB according to claim 23, wherein The first measurement includes at least one of reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, reception time-transmission time difference RxTx, arrival angle AoA, or some combination of these.

27. The gNB of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receiving, from the UE, a request to register with a core network of the serving PLMN; and The request for the registration is forwarded to the core network.

28. The gNB of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: verifying that the UE is not located in the country associated with the serving PLMN based on a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located; and A message is sent to the core network, the message indicating that the UE is not located in a country associated with the serving PLMN, wherein the message enables the serving PLMN to deregister the UE.

29. The gNB of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receiving, from the UE after each of the plurality of times, a second measurement of DL signals received by the UE from the serving radio cell and other radio cells whose DL signals are received by the UE from other communication satellites, the other radio cells having mobile coverage areas; and A more accurate estimate of the position of the UE and a more reliable estimate of the country in which the UE is located is determined after all times of the plurality of times based on the first measurement, the second measurement and the mobile coverage areas of the serving radio cell and the other radio cells.

30. The gNB according to claim 29, wherein the second measurement comprises at least one of reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, receive time-transmit time difference RxTx, angle of arrival AOA, reference signal time difference RSTD, differential angle of arrival DAOA, or some combination of these.

31. A user equipment (UE) configured to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the UE comprising components for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

32. A satellite NodeB (gNB) configured to support satellite wireless access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the gNB comprising components for performing the method of any one of claims 15 to 22.

33. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) to support satellite wireless access of the UE to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the program code comprising instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

34. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a satellite NodeB (gNB) to support satellite radio access of a user equipment (UE) to a serving public land mobile network (PLMN), the program code comprising instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 15 to 22.

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