Carrier aggregation with uplink carrier selection

Abstract

Various aspects relate to carrier aggregation. The selection of uplink component carriers for carrier aggregation can be flexible in the sense that the frequency band of the uplink component carrier need not be one of the frequency bands allocated for the downlink component carrier. Thus, in some aspects, the uplink component carrier can be decoupled from the downlink carrier (e.g., independent of the downlink carrier). The decision whether to implement flexible uplink component carrier selection can be based on network traffic (e.g., a particular traffic use case). As an example, the data throughput requirement for downlink traffic may be relatively high, but the component carrier selected to provide that throughput for the downlink traffic may not provide the desired level of service for the uplink traffic. Thus, one or more component carrier frequency bands selected for the uplink traffic may be different from any of the component carrier frequency bands selected for the downlink traffic.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The techniques discussed below relate generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to carrier aggregation with flexible selection of uplink carriers. Background Art

[0002] Next-generation wireless communication systems (e.g., 5G) may include a 5G core network and a 5G radio access network (RAN), such as a new radio (NR)-RAN. NR-RAN supports communication via one or more cells. For example, a wireless communication device, such as a user equipment (UE), may access a first cell of a first base station (BS), such as a gNB, and / or access a second cell of a second base station.

[0003] A base station can schedule access to a cell to support access by multiple UEs. For example, a base station can allocate different resources (e.g., time and frequency domain resources) to different UEs operating within the base station's cell. A base station can schedule UEs to communicate with the base station on multiple carriers simultaneously. This technology may be referred to as carrier aggregation.

[0004] As the demand for mobile access continues to increase, research and development continues to advance communication technologies, including technologies for enhancing mobile communications within wireless communication networks, particularly to not only meet the growing demand for mobile access, but also to advance and enhance the user experience associated with mobile communications. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following is a summary of one or more aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to identify key or important elements of all aspects of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to describe the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in some form as a prelude to the more detailed description that will be presented later.

[0006] Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to carrier aggregation. In some examples, the selection of uplink component carriers for carrier aggregation can be flexible in the sense that the frequency band of the uplink component carrier need not be one of the frequency bands allocated for the downlink component carrier. Thus, in some aspects, the uplink component carrier can be decoupled from the downlink carrier (e.g., independent of the downlink carrier).

[0007] In some examples, the decision on whether to implement flexible uplink component carrier selection is based on the traffic in the network. For example, a network operator may choose to use flexible uplink component carrier selection to support specific use cases. These use cases may involve traffic requirements in a specific area (such as a city, a manufacturing plant, a hotel, etc.).

[0008] In some examples, the data throughput requirement for downlink traffic may be relatively high, but the component carrier selected for the downlink traffic to provide that throughput may not be able to provide the desired level of service for uplink traffic. In this case, by selecting one or more component carrier frequency bands for the uplink traffic that are different from any of the component carrier frequency bands selected for the downlink traffic, better overall communication performance can be achieved compared to, for example, a carrier aggregation scheme where the uplink component carriers and the downlink component carriers are on the same frequency band.

[0009] In some examples, a method of wireless communication at a user equipment may include determining a first carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for downlink transmission from a base station, determining a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, receiving first data from the base station via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set, and transmitting second data to the base station via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set. The second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

[0010] In some examples, a user equipment may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The processor and the memory may be configured to: determine a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmission from a base station, determine a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, receive first data from the base station via the transceiver on the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, and transmit second data to the base station via the transceiver on the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands. The second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands.

[0011] In some examples, a user equipment may include: means for determining a first carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for downlink transmission from a base station, means for determining a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, means for receiving first data from the base station via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set, and means for sending second data to the base station via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set. The second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

[0012] In some examples, an article of manufacture for use with a user equipment includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein, the instructions executable by one or more processors of the user equipment to: determine a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmission from a base station, determine a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, receive first data from the base station via the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, and send second data to the base station via the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands. The second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands.

[0013] One or more of the following features may apply to any of the methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media of the preceding paragraphs. The first carrier aggregation band set and the second carrier aggregation band set may constitute a first carrier aggregation configuration in a plurality of carrier aggregation configurations. The first carrier aggregation configuration may be selected based on the service to be communicated by the user equipment. The service to be communicated by the user equipment may include a service within a specific area. The specific area may include at least one of the following: a geographic area, a paging area, a network operator area, a population area, a manufacturing area, a hotel area, a customer area, or any combination thereof. The multiple carrier aggregation configurations may include a third downlink carrier aggregation band set and a fourth uplink carrier aggregation band set. The fourth uplink carrier aggregation band set may be a subset of the third downlink carrier aggregation band set.

[0014] In some examples, a method of wireless communication at a base station may include determining a first carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for downlink transmission, determining a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission from a user equipment, sending first data to the user equipment via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set, and receiving second data from the user equipment via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set. The second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

[0015] In some examples, a base station may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The processor and the memory may be configured to: determine a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmission, determine a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE), transmit first data to the UE via the transceiver on the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, and receive second data from the UE via the transceiver on the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands. The second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands.

[0016] In some examples, a base station may include: means for determining a first carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for downlink transmission, means for determining a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission from a user equipment, means for sending first data to the user equipment via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set, and means for receiving second data from the user equipment via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set. The second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

[0017] In some examples, an article of manufacture for use with a base station includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein, the instructions executable by one or more processors of the base station to: determine a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmission, determine a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission from a user equipment, send first data to the user equipment via the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, and receive second data from the user equipment via the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands. The second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands.

[0018] One or more of the following features may apply to any of the methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media of the preceding paragraphs. The first carrier aggregation band set and the second carrier aggregation band set may constitute a first carrier aggregation configuration in a plurality of carrier aggregation configurations. The first carrier aggregation configuration may be selected based on the service to be communicated by the user equipment. The service to be communicated by the user equipment may include a service within a specific area. The specific area may include at least one of the following: a geographic area, a paging area, a network operator area, a population area, a manufacturing area, a hotel area, a customer area, or any combination thereof. The multiple carrier aggregation configurations may include a third downlink carrier aggregation band set and a fourth uplink carrier aggregation band set. The fourth uplink carrier aggregation band set may be a subset of the third downlink carrier aggregation band set. Determining the first carrier aggregation band set may include selecting the first carrier aggregation band set. Determining the second carrier aggregation band set may include selecting the second carrier aggregation band set. Selecting the second carrier aggregation band set may be independent of selecting the first carrier aggregation band set. Selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area, and selecting carrier aggregation for uplink transmission as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area. Selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than a threshold throughput, and selecting a first frequency band and a second frequency band for the second carrier aggregation frequency band set as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput. Each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band may be lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

[0019] After reading the following specific embodiments, these aspects and other aspects of the present disclosure will be more fully understood. After reading the following description of the specific example embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other aspects, features and embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Although the various features of the present disclosure can be discussed below with respect to certain embodiments and the accompanying drawings, all embodiments of the present disclosure can include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. That is, although one or more embodiments can be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features can also be used according to the various embodiments of the present disclosure discussed herein. In a similar manner, although example embodiments can be discussed below as device, system or method embodiments, it should be understood that such example embodiments can be implemented in various devices, systems and methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to some aspects.

[0021] Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram of an example of a radio access network in accordance with some aspects.

[0022] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating radio resources in an air interface utilizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) according to some aspects.

[0023] Figure 4 is a conceptual diagram of wireless communications via multiple radio frequency (RF) carriers in accordance with some aspects.

[0024] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram of several RF frequency bands according to some aspects.

[0025] Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram of wireless communication using carrier aggregation in accordance with some aspects.

[0026] Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram of wireless communications using a supplemental uplink in accordance with some aspects.

[0027] Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram of wireless communications using carrier aggregation with flexible uplink selection in accordance with some aspects.

[0028] Figure 9 is a signaling diagram of an example of carrier aggregation signaling in accordance with some aspects.

[0029] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a UE employing a processing system according to some aspects.

[0030] Figure 11 is a flow chart of an example carrier aggregation method according to some aspects.

[0031] Figure 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a base station employing a processing system according to some aspects.

[0032] Figure 13 is a flow chart of an example carrier aggregation method according to some aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configuration in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. This detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, various structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts.

[0034] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified with the frequency range names FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various literature and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes arise with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in literature and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz - 300 GHz) which is identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0035] In view of the above, unless otherwise specified, it should be understood that the term "sub-6 GHz" and the like (if used herein) can broadly refer to frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, frequencies that may be within FR1, or frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specified, it should be understood that the term "millimeter wave" and the like (if used herein) can broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, frequencies that may be within FR2, or frequencies that may be within the EHF band.

[0036] Although various aspects and embodiments are described in this application by way of illustration of some examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that additional implementations and use cases can be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovations described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, embodiments and / or uses can be implemented by integrated chip embodiments and other devices based on non-module components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial devices, retail / purchase devices, medical devices, devices supporting artificial intelligence, etc.). Although some examples may or may not be specifically for use cases or applications, a wide variety of applicability of the described innovations may occur. Implementations may range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations, and further to the range of aggregated, distributed, or OEM devices or systems that include one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some actual settings, the devices that include the described aspects and features may also necessarily include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the claimed and described embodiments. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily include multiple components for both analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.) The innovations described herein are intended to be embodied in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc., of varying sizes, shapes, and configurations.

[0037] The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented in a wide variety of telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards. Figure 1 As a non-limiting illustrative example, various aspects of the present disclosure are described with reference to a wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 includes three interacting domains: a core network 102, a radio access network (RAN) 104, and at least one scheduled entity 106. In the following discussion, the at least one scheduled entity 106 may be referred to as a user equipment (UE) 106. The RAN 104 includes at least one scheduling entity 108. In the following discussion, the at least one scheduling entity 108 may be referred to as a base station (BS) 108. By means of the wireless communication system 100, the UE 106 may be enabled to perform data communications with an external data network 110, such as (but not limited to) the Internet.

[0038] The RAN 104 may implement any suitable wireless communication technology(s) to provide radio access to the UE 106. As one example, the RAN 104 may operate in accordance with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) specifications, commonly referred to as 5G. As another example, the RAN 104 may operate under a hybrid of 5G NR and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standards, commonly referred to as LTE. 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as the Next Generation RAN, or NG-RAN. Of course, many other examples may be utilized within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0039] As shown, the RAN 104 includes multiple base stations 108. Broadly speaking, a base station is a network element in a radio access network that is responsible for radio transmission and reception to and from UEs in one or more cells. In different technologies, standards, or contexts, a base station may be referred to variously by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), a Node B (NB), an eNode B (eNB), a gNode B (gNB), or some other appropriate terminology.

[0040] Further shown is a radio access network 104 that supports wireless communications for multiple mobile devices. A mobile device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE) in the 3GPP standard, but those skilled in the art may also refer to it as a mobile station (MS), subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal (AT), mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, terminal, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other appropriate term. A UE may be a device that provides a user with access to network services.

[0041] Within this document, a "mobile" device does not necessarily have the ability to move and can be stationary. The term mobile device or mobile device refers broadly to a wide variety of devices and technologies. A UE may include multiple hardware structural components that are sized, shaped, and arranged to facilitate communication; these components may include antennas, antenna arrays, RF chains, amplifiers, one or more processors, and the like that are electrically coupled to each other. For example, some non-limiting examples of mobile devices include mobile devices, cellular (cell) phones, smartphones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal computers (PCs), notebooks, netbooks, smartbooks, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and a wide array of embedded systems, such as those corresponding to the "Internet of Things" (IoT). A mobile device may also be a car or other transportation vehicle, a remote sensor or actuator, a robot or robotic device, a satellite radio device, a global positioning system (GPS) device, an object tracking device, a drone, a multicopter, a quadcopter, a remote control device, a consumer and / or wearable device (such as glasses, wearable cameras, virtual reality devices, smart watches, health or fitness trackers), a digital audio player (such as an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, and the like. Mobile devices may also be digital home or smart home devices, such as home audio, video, and / or multimedia devices, appliances, vending machines, smart lighting, home security systems, smart meters, and the like. Mobile devices may also be smart energy devices, security devices, solar panels or solar arrays, municipal infrastructure devices that control power (e.g., smart grids), lighting, water, and the like; industrial automation and enterprise devices; logistics controllers; agricultural equipment; military defense equipment, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and weapons, and the like. Furthermore, mobile devices may provide connected medical or telemedicine support, i.e., healthcare at a distance. Telehealth devices may include telehealth monitoring devices and telehealth management devices, whose communications may be given priority treatment or priority access over other types of information, for example, in terms of priority access for transmitting critical service data and / or associated QoS for transmitting critical service data.

[0042] The wireless communication between RAN 104 and UE 106 can be described as utilizing an air interface. Transmissions over the air interface from a base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE 106) can be referred to as downlink (DL) transmissions. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the term downlink can refer to point-to-multipoint transmissions initiated at a scheduling entity (further described below; e.g., base station 108). Another way to describe this scheme can be to use the term broadcast channel multiplexing. Transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station (e.g., base station 108) can be referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions. According to further aspects of the present disclosure, the term uplink can refer to point-to-point transmissions initiated at a scheduled entity (further described below; e.g., UE 106).

[0043] In some examples, access to the air interface can be scheduled, where a scheduling entity (e.g., base station 108) allocates resources for communication between some or all devices and apparatuses within its service area or cell. In the present disclosure, as discussed further below, a scheduling entity can be responsible for scheduling, allocating, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduled entities. That is, for scheduled communications, a UE 106, which can be a scheduled entity, can utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity 108.

[0044] Base station 108 is not the only entity that can serve as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE can serve as a scheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduled entities (e.g., one or more other UEs).

[0045] like Figure 1 As shown, a scheduling entity 108 may broadcast downlink traffic 112 to one or more scheduled entities 106. Broadly speaking, a scheduling entity 108 is a node or device in a wireless communication network that is responsible for scheduling traffic, including downlink traffic 112 and, in some examples, uplink traffic 116 from one or more scheduled entities 106 to the scheduling entity 108. On the other hand, a scheduled entity 106 is a node or device that receives downlink control information 114, including but not limited to scheduling information (e.g., grants), synchronization or timing information, or other control information from another entity in the wireless communication network, such as the scheduling entity 108.

[0046] In addition, uplink and / or downlink control information and / or traffic information can be divided into frames, subframes, time slots and / or symbols. As used herein, a symbol can refer to a time unit in which each subcarrier carries a resource element (RE) in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform. A time slot can carry 7 or 14 OFDM symbols. A subframe can refer to a duration of 1ms. Multiple subframes or time slots can be grouped together to form a single frame or radio frame. Of course, these definitions are not required, and any suitable scheme for organizing a waveform can be used, and the various time divisions of a waveform can have any suitable duration.

[0047] Typically, base stations 108 may include a backhaul interface for communicating with a backhaul portion 120 of a wireless communication system. Backhaul 120 may provide a link between base stations 108 and core network 102. Furthermore, in some examples, a backhaul network may provide interconnections between respective base stations 108. Various types of backhaul interfaces using any suitable transport network may be employed, such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, and the like.

[0048] The core network 102 can be part of the wireless communication system 100 and can be independent of the radio access technology used in the RAN 104. In some examples, the core network 102 can be configured according to 5G standards (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, the core network 102 can be configured according to 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or any other suitable standard or configuration.

[0049] Now refer to Figure 2 , a diagram of a RAN 200 is provided as an example and not as a limitation. In some examples, the RAN 200 may be similar to that described above and in Figure 1 The geographic area covered by the RAN 200 may be divided into cellular regions (cells), which are uniquely identifiable by user equipment (UE) based on an identity broadcast from an access point or base station. Figure 2 Macro cells 202, 204, and 206 and small cell 208 are shown, each of which may include one or more sectors (not shown). A sector is a sub-area of ​​a cell. All sectors within a cell are served by the same base station. A radio link within a sector can be identified by a single logical identifier belonging to the sector. In a cell divided into sectors, multiple sectors within the cell can be formed by antenna groups, where each antenna is responsible for communicating with UEs in a portion of the cell.

[0050] Various base station arrangements can be utilized. For example, Figure 2, two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in cells 202 and 204; and a third base station 214 is shown controlling a remote radio head (RRH) 216 in cell 206. That is, the base stations may have integrated antennas or may be connected to antennas or RRHs via feeder cables. In the example shown, cells 202, 204, and 206 may be referred to as macro cells because base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cells of larger size. In addition, base station 218 is shown in a small cell 208 (e.g., a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, a home base station, a home Node B, a home eNodeB, etc.), which may overlap with one or more macro cells. In this example, cell 208 may be referred to as a small cell because base station 218 supports a cell of relatively small size. Cell sizing can be accomplished based on system design and component constraints.

[0051] It should be understood that the radio access network 200 may include any number of wireless base stations and cells. In addition, relay nodes may be deployed to extend the size or coverage area of ​​a given cell. Base stations 210, 212, 214, 218 provide wireless access points to the core network for any number of mobile devices. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, 214, and / or 218 may be similar to those described above and described in Figure 1 The base station / scheduling entity 108 shown in FIG.

[0052] Within the RAN 200, cells may include UEs that may communicate with one or more sectors of each cell. In addition, each base station 210, 212, 214, and 218 may be configured to provide access to the core network (see FIG. 1 ) for all UEs in the corresponding cell. Figure 1 ) access point. For example, UEs 222 and 224 can communicate with base station 210; UEs 226 and 228 can communicate with base station 212; UEs 230 and 232 can communicate with base station 214 through RRH 216; and UE 234 can communicate with base station 218. In some examples, UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 238, 240, and / or 242 can communicate with the base stations described above and in Figure 1 The UE / scheduled entity 106 shown in FIG. 1 is the same as that shown in FIG.

[0053] In some examples, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 220, which may be a drone or a quadcopter, may be a mobile network node and may be configured to function as a UE. For example, UAV 220 may operate within cell 202 by communicating with base station 210. In some examples, UAV 220 may be configured to function as a base station. That is, in some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​the cell may move depending on the location of a mobile base station, such as UAV 220.

[0054] In the radio access network 200, the ability of a UE to communicate independently of its location while moving is called mobility. The various physical channels between the UE and the radio access network are usually established, maintained, and released under the control of the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). Figure 2 The UE may include a Security Context Management Function (SCMF) that manages security contexts for both control plane and user plane functions, and a Security Anchor Function (SEAF) that performs authentication.

[0055] Radio access network 200 can utilize either DL-based mobility or UL-based mobility to implement mobility and handover (i.e., the transfer of a UE's connection from one radio channel to another). In a network configured for DL-based mobility, during a call with a scheduling entity, or at any other time, a UE can monitor various parameters of the signal from its serving cell and various parameters of neighboring cells. Depending on the quality of these parameters, the UE can maintain communication with one or more neighboring cells. During this time, if the UE moves from one cell to another, or if the signal quality from a neighboring cell exceeds the signal quality from the serving cell for a given amount of time, the UE can perform a handover, or handover, from the serving cell to the neighboring (target) cell. For example, UE 224 (illustrated as a vehicle, but any suitable form of UE may be used) can move from the geographic area corresponding to its serving cell 202 to the geographic area corresponding to neighboring cell 206. When the signal strength or quality from neighboring cell 206 exceeds the signal strength or quality of its serving cell 202 for a given amount of time, UE 224 can send a report message to its serving base station 210 indicating this condition. In response, UE 224 may receive a handover command, and the UE may undergo handover to cell 206 .

[0056] In a network configured for UL-based mobility, the UL reference signal from each UE can be used by the network to select a serving cell for each UE. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, and 214 / 216 can broadcast unified synchronization signals (e.g., a unified primary synchronization signal (PSS), a unified secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a unified physical broadcast channel (PBCH)). UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, and 232 can receive these unified synchronization signals, derive carrier frequency and slot timing from the synchronization signals, and send uplink pilots or reference signals in response to the derived timing. The uplink pilot signal sent by a UE (e.g., UE 224) can be received concurrently by two or more cells (e.g., base stations 210 and 214 / 216) within the radio access network 200. Each of these cells may measure the strength of the pilot signal, and the radio access network (e.g., one or more of base stations 210 and 214 / 216, and / or a central node within the core network) may determine a serving cell for UE 224. As UE 224 moves through radio access network 200, the network may continuously monitor the uplink pilot signals transmitted by UE 224. When the signal strength or quality of the pilot signal measured by a neighboring cell exceeds the signal strength or quality measured by the serving cell, network 200 may handover UE 224 from the serving cell to a neighboring cell with or without notifying UE 224.

[0057] Although the synchronization signals transmitted by base stations 210, 212, and 214 / 216 may be uniform, the synchronization signals may not identify a specific cell, but may identify a region of multiple cells operating on the same frequency and / or having the same timing. The use of zones in 5G networks or other next-generation communication networks implements an uplink-based mobility framework and improves the efficiency of both the UE and the network because the number of mobility messages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network can be reduced.

[0058] In various embodiments, the air interface in the radio access network 200 can utilize licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or shared spectrum. Licensed spectrum provides exclusive use of a portion of the spectrum, typically due to a mobile network operator purchasing a license from a government regulatory agency. Unlicensed spectrum provides shared use of a portion of the spectrum without requiring a government-granted license. Although access to unlicensed spectrum typically still requires compliance with some technical regulations, typically any operator or device can gain access. Shared spectrum can fall between licensed and unlicensed spectrum, where access to the spectrum may require technical regulations or restrictions, but the spectrum can still be shared by multiple operators and / or multiple RATs. For example, a license holder for a portion of licensed spectrum can provide licensed shared access (LSA) to share the spectrum with other parties, e.g., with appropriate conditions determined by the license holder to gain access.

[0059] The air interface in the radio access network 200 can utilize one or more multiplexing and multiple access algorithms to enable simultaneous communication of various devices. For example, the 5G NR specification provides for multiple access for UL transmissions from UEs 222 and 224 to the base station 210, and multiplexing of DL transmissions from the base station 210 to one or more UEs 222 and 224 using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP). In addition, for UL transmissions, the 5G NR specification provides support for discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) with CP (also known as single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA)). However, within the scope of the present disclosure, multiplexing and multiple access are not limited to the above schemes, but can be provided using time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), sparse code multiple access (SCMA), resource spread multiple access (RSMA), or other suitable multiple access schemes. Furthermore, multiplexing of DL transmissions from base station 210 to UEs 222 and 224 may be provided using time division multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM), or other suitable multiplexing schemes.

[0060] The air interface in the radio access network 200 may also utilize one or more duplexing algorithms. Duplexing refers to a point-to-point communication link in which two endpoints can communicate with each other in both directions. Full-duplex means that both endpoints can communicate with each other simultaneously. Half-duplex means that only one endpoint can send information to the other endpoint at a time. In wireless links, full-duplex channels typically rely on physical isolation of the transmitter and receiver and appropriate interference cancellation techniques. Full-duplex emulation is often achieved for wireless links by utilizing frequency division duplexing (FDD) or time division duplexing (TDD). In FDD, transmissions in different directions operate on different carrier frequencies. In TDD, time division multiplexing is used to separate transmissions in different directions on a given channel. That is, at some times, the channel is dedicated to transmissions in one direction, while at other times, the channel is dedicated to transmissions in the other direction, where the direction can change very quickly, for example, multiple times per time slot.

[0061] In another aspect of RAN 200, sidelink signals can be used between UEs without having to rely on scheduling or control information from a base station. For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UE 226 and 228) can use peer-to-peer (P2P) or sidelink signals 227 to communicate with each other without having to relay the communication through a base station (e.g., base station 212). In another example, UE 238 is shown as communicating with UEs 240 and 242. Here, UE 238 can serve as a scheduling entity or a primary sidelink device, and UEs 240 and 242 can serve as scheduled entities or non-primary (e.g., auxiliary) sidelink devices. In yet another example, a UE can serve as a scheduling entity in a device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P), or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network and / or in a mesh network. In the mesh network example, in addition to communicating with UE 238 (e.g., serving as a scheduling entity), UEs 240 and 242 can also optionally communicate directly with each other. Thus, in a wireless communication system having scheduled access to time-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2P configuration, or a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one or more scheduled entities can communicate using the scheduled resources. In some examples, sidelink signals 227 include sidelink traffic (e.g., a physical sidelink shared channel) and sidelink control (e.g., a physical sidelink control channel).

[0062] In some examples, two or more UEs (e.g., UEs 226 and 228) within the coverage area of ​​serving base station 212 can communicate with base station 212 using cellular signals and communicate with each other using direct link signals (e.g., sidelink signals 227) without relaying the communications through the base station. In an example of a V2X network within the coverage area of ​​base station 212, one or both of base station 212 and / or UEs 226 and 228 can serve as a scheduling entity to schedule sidelink communications between UEs 226 and 228.

[0063] Various aspects of the present disclosure will be described with reference to OFDM waveforms, examples of which are provided in Figure 3 Schematically illustrated in FIG. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various aspects of this disclosure can be applied to SC-FDMA waveforms in substantially the same manner as described herein below. That is, while some examples of this disclosure may focus on OFDM links for clarity, it will be appreciated that the same principles can also be applied to SC-FDMA waveforms.

[0064] Now refer to Figure 3 , shows an expanded view of an example DL subframe (SF) 302A showing an OFDM resource grid 304. However, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the PHY transmission structure for any particular application may differ from the examples described herein depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in the horizontal direction, measured in OFDM symbols; and frequency is in the vertical direction, measured in subcarriers. 5G NR supports scalable digital schemes, where different digital schemes can be used for different RF spectra, different bandwidths, etc. For example, a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, etc., may be used in different scenarios.

[0065] Resource grid 304 can be used to schematically represent the time-frequency resources used for a given antenna port. That is, in a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) implementation with multiple available antenna ports, corresponding multiple resource grids 304 can be used for communication. Resource grid 304 is divided into multiple resource elements (REs) 306. An RE is 1 subcarrier x 1 symbol, the smallest discrete portion of the time-frequency grid, and contains a single complex value representing data from a physical channel or signal. Depending on the modulation used in a particular implementation, each RE can represent one or more bits of information. In some examples, a block of REs can be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB) or more simply as a resource block (RB) 308, which contains any suitable number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In one example, an RB can include 12 subcarriers, regardless of the digital scheme used. In some examples, depending on the digital scheme, an RB can include any suitable number of consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain. In this disclosure, it is assumed that a single RB, such as RB 308, corresponds entirely to a single communication direction (either transmission or reception for a given device).

[0066] Scheduling a UE (e.g., a scheduled entity) for downlink, uplink, or sidelink transmissions typically involves scheduling one or more resource elements 306 within one or more subbands or bandwidth parts (BWPs). Each BWP can include two or more contiguous or consecutive RBs. Thus, a UE typically utilizes only a subset of the resource grid 304. In some examples, an RB can be the smallest unit of resources that can be allocated to a UE. Therefore, the more RBs scheduled for a UE and the higher the modulation scheme selected for the air interface, the higher the data rate for the UE. RBs can be scheduled by a base station (e.g., gNB, eNB, RSU, etc.) or can be self-scheduled by the UE enabling D2D sidelink communication.

[0067] In this illustration, RB 308 is shown as occupying less than the entire bandwidth of subframe 302A, with some subcarriers shown above and below RB 308. In a given embodiment, subframe 302A may have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RBs 308. Furthermore, in this illustration, RB 308 is shown as occupying less than the entire duration of subframe 302A, although this is merely one possible example.

[0068] Each 1ms subframe 302A may be composed of one or more adjacent time slots. Figure 3In the example shown, as an illustrative example, one subframe 302B includes four time slots 310. In some examples, a time slot can be defined based on a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclic prefix (CP) length. For example, a time slot can include 7 or 14 OFDM symbols with a nominal CP. Other examples may include mini-slots with shorter durations (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols). In some cases, these mini-slots can be transmitted, occupying resources scheduled for ongoing time slot transmissions for the same or different UEs. Any number of resource blocks can be utilized within a subframe or time slot.

[0069] An expanded view of one of the time slots 310 shows that the time slot 310 includes a control region 312 and a data region 314. In general, the control region 312 may carry a control channel (e.g., a PDCCH), and the data region 314 may carry a data channel (e.g., a PDSCH or a PUSCH). Of course, a time slot may contain all DL, all UL, or at least one DL portion and at least one UL portion. Figure 3 The structure shown in is merely exemplary in nature and different slot structures may be utilized and may include one or more of each of the control region and the data region.

[0070] Although Figure 3 Although not shown, each RE 306 within an RB 308 may be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels, including a control channel, a shared channel, a data channel, etc. Other REs 306 within an RB 308 may also carry pilot or reference signals, including but not limited to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a control reference signal (CRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS). These pilot or reference signals may be provided to a receiving device to perform channel estimation for the corresponding channel, which may enable coherent demodulation / detection of the control and / or data channels within the RB 308.

[0071] In some examples, time slot 310 can be used for broadcast or unicast communication. In a V2X or D2D network, broadcast communication can refer to point-to-multipoint transmission from one device (e.g., a vehicle, a base station (e.g., RSU, gNB, eNB, etc.), a UE, or other similar device) to other devices. Unicast communication can refer to point-to-point transmission from one device to a single other device.

[0072] In an example, the control region 312 of the time slot 310 may include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that includes downlink control information (DCI) sent by a base station (e.g., gNB, eNB, RSU, etc.) to one or more UEs in a set of UEs, which may include one or more sidelink devices (e.g., V2X / D2D devices). In some examples, the DCI may include synchronization information that is used to synchronize communications conducted by multiple sidelink devices on the sidelink channel. In addition, the DCI may include scheduling information that is used to indicate one or more resource blocks within the control region 312 and / or the data region 314 that are allocated to the sidelink device for sidelink communication. For example, the control region 312 of the time slot may further include control information sent by the sidelink device on the sidelink channel, while the data region 314 of the time slot 310 may include data sent by the sidelink device on the sidelink channel. In some examples, control information may be sent within a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), while data may be sent within a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0073] In a DL transmission, a transmitting device (e.g., a scheduling entity) may allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., within a control region 312) to carry DL control information to one or more scheduled entities, including one or more DL control channels, such as the PBCH; the physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH); the physical hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) indicator channel (PHICH); and / or the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The transmitting device may further allocate one or more REs 306 to carry other DL signals, such as the DMRS; the phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS); the channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS); the primary synchronization signal (PSS); and the secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

[0074] The synchronization signals PSS and SSS, and in some examples, the PBCH and PBCH DMRS, may be transmitted in a synchronization signal block (SSB) comprising three consecutive OFDM symbols, numbered in ascending order from 0 to 3 via a time index. In the frequency domain, the SSB may be spread over 240 consecutive subcarriers, numbered in ascending order from 0 to 239 via a frequency index. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to this particular SSB configuration. Other non-limiting examples within the scope of the present disclosure may utilize more or less than two synchronization signals; may include one or more supplemental channels in addition to the PBCH; may omit the PBCH; and / or may use a different number of symbols and / or non-contiguous symbols for the SSB.

[0075] The SSB may be used to transmit system information (SI) and / or provide a reference to SI sent via another channel. Examples of system information may include, but are not limited to, subcarrier spacing, system frame number, cell global identifier (CGI), cell barring indication, common control resource set (coreset) list, common search space list, search space for SIB1, paging search space, random access search space, and uplink configuration information. Two specific examples of coresets include PDCCH CORESET0 and CORESET 1.

[0076] SI can be subdivided into three sets called minimum SI (MSI), residual MSI (RMSI), and other SI (OSI). The PBCH can carry MSI and some RMSI. For example, the PBCH can carry a master information block (MIB) including various types of system information, as well as parameters for decoding the system information block (SIB). In some examples, the MIB can configure CORESET 0.

[0077] RMSI may include, for example, SystemInformationType1 (SIB1) containing various additional system information. RMSI may be carried by PDSCH (eg, at dedicated CORESET 0).

[0078] The PCFICH provides information to assist the receiving device in receiving and decoding the PDCCH. The PDCCH may carry downlink control information (DCI), including but not limited to power control commands, scheduling information, grants, and / or assignments of REs for DL ​​and UL transmissions. The PHICH carries HARQ feedback transmissions, such as acknowledgements (ACKs) or negative acknowledgements (NACKs). HARQ is a technique well known to those skilled in the art, in which the integrity of packet transmissions may be checked for accuracy on the receiving side, for example, using any suitable integrity check mechanism such as a checksum or cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrity of the transmission is confirmed, an ACK may be sent, whereas if it is not confirmed, a NACK may be sent. In response to the NACK, the transmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which may implement soft combining, incremental redundancy, and the like.

[0079] In an UL transmission, a transmitting device (e.g., a scheduled entity) may utilize one or more REs 306 to carry UL control information to a scheduling entity, including one or more UL control channels, such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). The UL control information may include various packet types and categories, including pilots, reference signals, and information configured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions. For example, the UL control information may include a DMRS or an SRS. In some examples, the control information may include a scheduling request (SR), i.e., a request to a scheduling entity to schedule an uplink transmission. Here, in response to the SR sent on the control channel, the scheduling entity may send downlink control information that may schedule resources for uplink packet transmission. The UL control information may also include HARQ feedback, channel state feedback (CSF), or any other suitable UL control information.

[0080] In addition to control information, one or more REs 306 (e.g., within the data region 314) may be allocated for user data or traffic data. Such traffic may be carried on one or more traffic channels, such as the PDSCH for DL ​​transmissions or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for UL transmissions. In some examples, one or more REs 306 within the data region 314 may be configured to carry a SIB (e.g., SIB1), which carries system information that may enable access to a given cell.

[0081] The physical channels described above are typically multiplexed and mapped onto transport channels for processing at the medium access control (MAC) layer. Transport channels carry information blocks called transport blocks (TBs). The transport block size (TBS) may correspond to the number of information bits, and the TBS may be a controlled parameter based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the number of RBs in a given transmission.

[0082] The above reference Figure 1-3 The channels or carriers described are not necessarily all of the channels or carriers that may be utilized between a scheduling entity and a scheduled entity, and one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other channels or carriers may be utilized in addition to those shown, such as other traffic, control, and feedback channels.

[0083] 5G-NR networks may also support carrier aggregation (CA) of component carriers transmitted from different cells and / or different transmit reception points (TRPs) in a multi-cell transmission environment. Different TRPs may be associated with a single serving cell or multiple serving cells. In some aspects, the term component carrier may refer to a carrier frequency (or frequency band) used for communications within a cell.

[0084] Figure 4is a conceptual diagram illustrating a wireless communication system of a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) communicating via multiple carriers according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Specifically, Figure 4 An example of a wireless communication system 400 is shown that includes a primary serving cell (PCell) 402 and one or more secondary serving cells 406a, 406b, 406c, and 406d. PCell 402 can be referred to as an anchor cell that provides a radio resource control (RRC) connection to a UE 410. In some examples, the PCell and SCell can be co-located (e.g., different TRPs in the same location).

[0085] When carrier aggregation is configured in this scenario, one or more of the SCells 406a-406d may be activated or added to the PCell 402 to form a serving cell serving the UE 410. Each serving cell corresponds to a component carrier (CC). The CC of the PCell 402 may be referred to as a primary CC, and the CCs of the SCells 406a-406d may be referred to as secondary CCs. The PCell 402 and one or more of the SCells 406 may be controlled by corresponding base stations 404 and 408a-408c or similar. Figure 1 and 2 to be served by any of the scheduling entities shown in . Figure 4 In the example shown, SCells 406a-406c are each served by a corresponding base station 408a-408c. SCell 406d is co-located with PCell 402. For example, base station 404 may include multiple TRPs, each supporting a different carrier. The coverage of PCell 402 and SCell 406d may differ because component carriers in different frequency bands may experience different path losses.

[0086] In some examples, PCell 402 can add or remove one or more of SCells 406a-406d to improve reliability and / or increase data rates for connections with UE 410. PCell 402 can be changed when switching to another PCell.

[0087] In some examples, PCell 402 can utilize a first radio access technology (RAT) such as LTE, while one or more of SCells 406 can utilize a second RAT such as 5G-NR. In this example, the multi-cell transmission environment can be referred to as a multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC) environment. An example of MR-DC is the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network - New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode, which enables a UE to be simultaneously connected to an LTE base station and an NR base station to receive data packets from both the LTE base station and the NR base station and to send data packets to both the LTE base station and the NR base station.

[0088] In some examples, PCell 402 can be a low-band cell and SCell 406 can be a high-band cell. A low-band (LB) cell uses CCs in a frequency band lower than that of a high-band cell. For example, a high-band cell can use millimeter wave (mmW) CCs, and a low-band cell can use CCs in a frequency band lower than mmW (e.g., a sub-6 GHz band). Generally, a cell using mmW CCs can provide a larger bandwidth than a cell using a low-band CC. In addition, when using a frequency carrier higher than 6 GHz (e.g., mmW), in some examples, beamforming can be used to transmit and receive signals.

[0089] Network operators (which may be referred to as "network operators" or simply "operators") may be licensed to operate on different RF frequency bands (hereinafter referred to as "bands"). These bands may be designated by licensing authorities in different countries and have specific center frequencies and bandwidths. In some examples, network operators may be licensed to use several 5G NR bands. In use, different 5G NR bands may have different bandwidths, different coverage areas, and different throughput performance.

[0090] As an example, Figure 5The frequency bands that can be assigned to China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC) are shown. The n79 band can support, for example, a 100MHz TDD band, of which 70MHz is allocated for downlink (DL) transmission and 30MHz is allocated for uplink (UL) transmission. The n79 band can also support, for example, a 100MHz TDD band, of which 80MHz is allocated for DL ​​transmission and 20MHz is allocated for UL transmission. The n41 band can support, for example, a 60MHz TDD band, of which 48MHz is allocated for DL ​​transmission and 12MHz is allocated for UL transmission. The n40 band can support, for example, a 50MHz TDD band, of which 10MHz is allocated for DL ​​transmission and 40MHz is allocated for UL transmission. The n28 band can support, for example, two 30MHz FDD bands, of which one band is allocated for DL ​​transmission and the other band is allocated for UL transmission. Other bandwidth allocations are possible in these bands.

[0091] Another network operator may be licensed to operate on another set of frequency bands. For example, China Telecom (CT) or China Unicom (CU) may be licensed to use the n78 band, n1 band, n3 band, and n5 band.

[0092] Network operators can use these frequency bands in a flexible manner to meet different use cases. For example, different DL / UL combinations can be used to support one or more of the following: heavy DL traffic, heavy UL traffic, UL coverage requirements, throughput enhancement, or a combination thereof.

[0093] Currently available UL solutions may limit the ability of network operators to provide the desired level of UL service. Carrier aggregation (CA) allows UL transmissions in one or more frequency bands. However, the UL band must be a subset of or the same frequency band as the DL band. Supplementary uplink (SUL) allows the UL band and DL band to be configured separately. However, with SUL, a UE is only allowed to use one UL band for transmission at a time.

[0094] Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram of a wireless communication system 600 including a base station (BS) 602 and a UE 604 using carrier aggregation according to some aspects. In some examples, the base station 602 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , 4, 7, 8, 9 and 12. In some examples, UE 604 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any one of 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

[0095] exist Figure 6 In the example of FIG6 , a base station (BS) 602 and a user equipment (UE) 604 communicate via a wireless communication medium (represented by a cylinder for convenience). BS 602 is shown transmitting in the downlink on one or more of a first component carrier, a second component carrier, and a third component carrier using frequency bands A, B, and C, respectively. UE 604 is shown transmitting in the uplink on one or more of a first component carrier and a second component carrier using frequency bands A and B, respectively. In other examples, other DL frequency bands and / or UL frequency bands may be used.

[0096] As described above, in carrier aggregation, UE 604 can use one frequency band for UL transmission or multiple frequency bands for UL transmission. The UL frequency band used by UE 604 for its UL carrier aggregation transmission must be a subset of the DL frequency band or the same frequency band as these DL frequency bands.

[0097] Given the possible DL band set: Band A, Band B, and Band C, UE 604 may be limited to the following carrier aggregation band combinations. In order for UE 604 to use Band A on the UL, DL must use Band A, Band A+B, Band A+C, or Band A+B+C. In order for UE 604 to use Band B on the UL, DL must use Band B, Band A+B, Band B+C, or Band A+B+C. In order for UE 604 to use Band A+B on the UL, DL must use Band A+B or Band A+B+C. In order for UE 604 to use Band A+B+C on the UL, DL must use Band A+B+C.

[0098] Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram of a wireless communication system 700 including a base station (BS) 702 and a UE 704 using a supplemental uplink (SUL) according to some aspects. In some examples, the base station 702 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , 4, 6, 8, 9 and 12. In some examples, UE 704 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any one of 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10.

[0099] exist Figure 7In the example of FIG7 , a BS 702 and a UE 704 communicate via a wireless communication medium 706. BS 702 is shown transmitting in the downlink on one or more of a first component carrier, a second component carrier, and a third component carrier using frequency bands A, B, and C, respectively. UE 704 is shown transmitting in the uplink on the first component carrier using frequency band A. In other examples, other DL frequency bands and / or UL frequency bands may be used.

[0100] As described above, in the SUL scheme, the UL frequency band and the DL frequency band can be configured separately. For example, the UL frequency band used by the UE 704 for its UL transmission does not need to be a subset of the DL frequency band, and does not need to be the same frequency band as these DL frequency bands. However, the UE 704 is only allowed to transmit on one frequency band at a time in the UL.

[0101] Given a possible set of DL bands: Band A, Band B, and Band C, the UE 704 can use any of the following SUL band combinations. When the UE 704 uses Band A for the UL, the DL can use any of Band A, Band B, Band C, Band A+B, Band A+C, Band B+C, or Band A+B+C. When the UE 704 uses Band B for the UL, the DL can use any of Band A, Band B, Band C, Band A+B, Band A+C, Band B+C, or Band A+B+C. When the UE 704 uses Band C for the UL, the DL can use any of Band A, Band B, Band C, Band A+B, Band A+C, Band B+C, or Band A+B+C.

[0102] Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram of a wireless communication system 800 including a base station (BS) 802 and a UE 804 using carrier aggregation with flexible uplink selection according to some aspects. In some examples, the base station 802 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , 4, 6, 7, 9 and 12. In some examples, UE 804 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any one of 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10.

[0103] exist Figure 8In the example of FIG, a BS 802 and a UE 804 communicate via a wireless communication medium 806. BS 802 is shown as transmitting in the downlink on one or more of a first component carrier, a second component carrier, and a third component carrier using frequency bands A, B, and C, respectively. UE 804 is shown as transmitting in the uplink on one or more of a first component carrier and a second component carrier using frequency bands A and B, respectively. In other examples, other DL frequency bands and / or UL frequency bands may be used.

[0104] In carrier aggregation with flexible uplink selection scheme, UL transmission is allowed in multiple bands with full flexibility on the combination of UL band and DL band. Figure 6 In addition to the combinations allowed in the carrier aggregation scheme of

[0054] , this scheme can also support the following combinations (in a tri-band scenario). When UE 704 uses bands A+B for UL, DL can use any of bands A, B, C, A+C, or B+C (except in

[0055] ). Figure 6 When UE 704 uses Band B+C for UL, DL may use any of Band A, Band B, Band C, Band A+B, or Band A+C (except when using Band B+C in the UL). Figure 6 When UE 704 uses bands A+B+C for UL, DL may use any of bands A, B, C, A+B, A+C, or B+C (except in the case of Figure 6 (outside the frequency bands A+B+C allowed under the carrier aggregation scheme).

[0105] Thus, in some aspects, the present disclosure relates to supporting multi-band transmission on the UL with full flexibility in the combination of DL and UL frequency bands. In some examples, existing frequency bands (e.g., those defined for 5G NR and / or LTE) can be used to provide flexible carrier aggregation services. Below are several examples of frequency band combinations for the network operators discussed above. In other examples, other frequency band combinations can be used.

[0106] For CT / CU network operators, the following frequency band combinations can be used in carrier aggregation schemes according to the present disclosure. In some examples, the UL can use the n1 band and the n3 band, while the DL can use the first n78 band and the second n78 band. In some examples, the UL can use the n1 band and the n3 band, while the DL can use the first n78 band, the second n78 band, the n1 band, and / or the n3 band. In other examples, other frequency band combinations can be used.

[0107] For CMCC network operators, the following frequency band combinations can be used in a carrier aggregation scheme according to the present disclosure. In some examples, the UL can use the n41 band and the n28 band, while the DL can use the n79 band and the n41 band. In some examples, the UL can use the n40 band and the n28 band, while the DL can use the n79 band and the n41 band. In some examples, the UL can use the n41 band and the n28 band, while the DL can use the n79 band, the first n41 band, and the second n41 band. In other examples, other frequency band combinations can be used.

[0108] Carrier aggregation with flexible UL scheduling can be used in various use cases. For example, the above-mentioned band combination (e.g., flexible band deployment on the n40+n28 bands and the n79+n41 bands, e.g., using the n40+n28 bands for UL and the n79+n41 bands for DL) can be used in mixed vertical industrial applications, hotels, population areas (e.g., cities, towns, etc.), customer sites, paging areas, and factories, just to name a few examples.

[0109] As an example, carrier aggregation with flexible UL scheduling may be used in scenarios where it is desirable to improve UL performance (e.g., for vertical IoT use cases with a hierarchical structure of communication devices) while also supporting high DL throughput. In such cases, it may be desirable to employ two or more UL component carriers without any restriction on whether the UL frequency band is the same as the DL frequency band. Here, it may be desirable to avoid such restrictions, as they may prevent network operators from providing the desired performance level on the UL, for example, due to limitations on DL-centric frequency bands relative to UL traffic.

[0110] As another example, carrier aggregation with flexible UL scheduling can be used in scenarios where it is desirable to improve UL coverage while also supporting high DL throughput. In this case, it may be desirable to employ at least one lower frequency UL component carrier (e.g., at or near the LTE frequency band). Here, since the DL may need to use a higher frequency band to provide the desired throughput, decoupling the UL and DL carrier aggregation bands enables the desired service level to be achieved for both UL and DL.

[0111] In some examples, a network operator may define several carrier aggregation configurations. These carrier aggregation configurations may include traditional carrier aggregation UL and DL band combinations and carrier aggregation UL and DL band combinations with flexible UL (e.g., decoupled UL and DL bands), as discussed herein. Thus, in some deployments (e.g., UL-centric use cases), a base station may select a carrier aggregation configuration with flexible UL, while in other deployments (e.g., DL-centric use cases), a base station may select a traditional carrier aggregation configuration. The selection of a particular carrier aggregation configuration may depend on criteria such as the traffic in the network (e.g., traffic at the base station or at one or more UEs), customer requirements, user density, traffic type (e.g., UL, DL, broadcast, etc.), traffic symmetry, traffic asymmetry, to name a few examples.

[0112] Figure 9 9 is a signaling diagram 900 illustrating an example of signaling for a carrier aggregation method in a wireless communication system including a base station (BS) 902 and a UE 904. In some examples, the base station 902 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12. In some examples, UE 904 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any one of 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

[0113] exist Figure 9 At step 906, BS 902 determines current or expected traffic conditions and / or use cases that may affect the selection of a carrier aggregation configuration. For example, the base station may determine that it is located at an industrial site that supports multiple applications with different requirements (e.g., industrial applications with vertical workflows, such as, for example, assembly lines or graded processes).

[0114] At step 908, BS 902 selects a carrier aggregation configuration from the set of carrier aggregation configurations. This selection may be based on the traffic conditions and / or use cases of step 906. The set of carrier aggregation configurations may include, for example, a first carrier aggregation configuration with a flexible UL (e.g., with a first frequency band combination set), a second carrier aggregation configuration with a flexible UL (e.g., with a second frequency band combination set), a third carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., a conventional carrier aggregation configuration with a third frequency band combination set), a fourth carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., a conventional carrier aggregation configuration with a fourth frequency band combination set), etc. Thus, BS 902 may select the carrier aggregation configuration that provides the best service for the traffic conditions and / or use cases.

[0115] At step 910, BS 902 sends an indication of the selected carrier aggregation configuration to UE 904. For example, BS 902 may send a grant to UE 904 that schedules resources for a set of component carriers according to the selected carrier aggregation configuration.

[0116] At step 912, the BS 902 sends a DL transmission via a DL component carrier (DL carrier aggregation carrier). Additionally, at step 914, the UE 904 sends a UL transmission via a UL component carrier (UL carrier aggregation carrier).

[0117] Figure 10 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a UE 1000 employing a processing system 1014. For example, the UE 1000 may be a sidelink device or other device configured to communicate wirelessly with a base station, such as Figure 1-9 In some embodiments, the UE 1000 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , any of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of 4, 6, 7, 8 or 9.

[0118] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented using a processing system 1014. The processing system 1014 may include one or more processors 1004. Examples of processors 1004 include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. In various examples, the UE 1000 may be configured to perform any one or more of the functions described herein. That is, the processor 1004 as used in the UE 1000 may be used to implement any one or more of the processes and procedures described herein.

[0119] In some examples, the processor 1004 may be implemented via a baseband or modem chip, and in other embodiments, the processor 1004 itself may include several devices distinct and separate from the baseband or modem chip (e.g., in the case of being able to work together to implement the embodiments discussed herein). As described above, various hardware arrangements and components other than the baseband modem processor may be used in embodiments, including RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.

[0120] In this example, the processing system 1014 can be implemented using a bus architecture generally represented by bus 1002. Bus 1002 can include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 1014. Bus 1002 communicatively couples various circuits including one or more processors (generally represented by processor 1004), memory 1005, and computer-readable media (generally represented by computer-readable media 1006). Bus 1002 can also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further. Bus interface 1008 provides an interface between bus 1002 and transceiver 1010 and an interface between bus 1002 and interface 1030. Transceiver 1010 provides a communication interface or unit for communicating with various other devices via a wireless transmission medium. In some examples, the UE may include two or more transceivers 1010, each transceiver 1010 being configured to communicate with a corresponding network type (e.g., a terrestrial network or a non-terrestrial network). The interface 1030 provides a communication interface or unit for communicating with various other devices and equipment (e.g., other devices housed in the same device as the UE or other external devices) via an internal bus or an external transmission medium (such as an Ethernet cable). Depending on the nature of the device, the interface 1030 may include a user interface (e.g., a keyboard, a display, a speaker, a microphone, a joystick). Of course, such a user interface is optional and may be omitted in some examples such as IoT devices.

[0121] The processor 1004 is responsible for managing the bus 1002 and general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium 1006. When executed by the processor 1004, the software causes the processing system 1014 to perform the various functions described below for any particular device. The computer-readable medium 1006 and memory 1005 can also be used to store data that is manipulated by the processor 1004 when executing the software.

[0122] One or more processors 1004 in the processing system can execute software. Software should be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable programs, execution threads, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terminology. The software may reside on a computer-readable medium 1006.

[0123] The computer-readable medium 1006 may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. As examples, non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, or key drives), random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), programmable ROMs (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readable medium 1006 may reside in the processing system 1014, external to the processing system 1014, or distributed across multiple entities including the processing system 1014. The computer-readable medium 1006 may be embodied in a computer program product. As an example, a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium in packaging material. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the functionality presented throughout this disclosure based on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the entire system.

[0124] The UE 1000 may be configured to perform any one or more of the operations described herein (e.g., as described above in conjunction with Figure 1-9 As described and in combination with Figure 11 In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 1004 as used in the UE 1000 may include circuits configured for various functions.

[0125] Processor 1004 may include communication and processing circuitry 1041. Communication and processing circuitry 1041 may be configured to communicate with a base station, such as a gNB. Communication and processing circuitry 1041 may include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes associated with wireless communication (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission) as described herein. Communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes associated with signal processing (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission) as described herein. In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 1041 may include two or more transmit / receive chains, each configured to process signals of a different RAT (or RAN) type. Communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also be configured to execute communication and processing software 1051 contained on computer-readable medium 1006 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0126] In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may be configured to receive and process downlink beamforming signals at mmWave frequencies or sub-6 GHz frequencies via the transceiver 1010 and the antenna array 1020. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may be configured to receive a corresponding reference signal (e.g., an SSB or CSI-RS) on each of a plurality of downlink beams from a base station during downlink beam scanning via at least one first antenna panel of the antenna array 1020. The communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also be configured to send a beam measurement report to the base station.

[0127] In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also be configured to generate and transmit uplink beamforming signals at mmWave frequencies or sub-6 GHz frequencies via the transceiver 1010 and the antenna array 1020. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may be configured to transmit a corresponding reference signal (e.g., an SRS or DMRS) on each of a plurality of uplink beams to the base station via at least one second antenna panel of the antenna array 1020 during an uplink beam sweep.

[0128] The communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also be configured to control the antenna array 1020 and the transceiver 1010 to search for and identify multiple downlink transmit beams during downlink beam scanning. The communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also be configured to obtain, for each identified downlink transmit beam, multiple beam measurements on each of the multiple downlink receive beams via the antenna array 1020. The communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also be configured to generate a beam measurement report for transmission to a base station using the communication and processing circuitry 1041.

[0129] The communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also be configured to identify one or more selected uplink beams based on beam measurements obtained from the downlink beam reference signal. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may be configured to compare the respective RSRP (or other beam measurements) measured on each downlink receive beam for each serving downlink transmit beam to identify the serving downlink receive beam, and further utilize the serving downlink receive beam as the selected uplink transmit beam. Each serving downlink receive beam may have the highest measured RSRP (or other beam measurement) for one of the downlink transmit beams.

[0130] The communication and processing circuitry 1041 may be configured to generate one or more uplink transmit beams for transmission in an uplink beam sweep. Each uplink transmit beam may carry an uplink reference signal (e.g., an SRS) for measurement by the base station. The communication and processing circuitry 1041 may also be configured to identify a selected uplink transmit beam selected by the base station based on the uplink beam measurements. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may be configured to receive an indication of the selected uplink transmit beam from the base station.

[0131] In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1041 can be configured to generate and send a scheduling request to the base station (e.g., via UCI in the PUCCH) to receive an uplink grant for the PUSCH. The communication and processing circuit 1041 can also be configured to generate an uplink signal and interact with the transceiver 1010 to send the uplink signal. The uplink signal may include, for example, a PUCCH, a PUSCH, an SRS, a DMRS, or a PRACH. The communication and processing circuit 1041 can also be configured to interact with the transceiver 1010 to monitor downlink signals and decode downlink signals. The downlink signal may include, for example, a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a CSI-RS, or a DMRS.

[0132] In some embodiments where communication involves receiving information, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may obtain information from a component of the UE 1000 (e.g., from the transceiver 1010, which receives the information via radio frequency signaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicable communication medium), process (e.g., decode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may output the information to another component of the processor 1004, the memory 1005, or the bus interface 1008. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may receive one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may receive the information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may include functionality of a means for receiving.

[0133] In some embodiments where communication involves transmitting (e.g., sending) information, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may obtain information (e.g., from another component of the processor 1004, the memory 1005, or the bus interface 1008), process (e.g., encode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may output the information to the transceiver 1010 (e.g., which transmits the information via radio frequency signaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicable communication medium). In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may transmit one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may transmit the information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1041 may include functionality of a means for transmitting (e.g., a means for sending).

[0134] Processor 1004 may include carrier aggregation (CA) configuration circuitry 1042 configured to perform operations related to CA configuration as discussed herein. CA configuration circuitry 1042 may also be configured to provide functionality for determining a set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmissions. CA configuration circuitry 1042 may also be configured to provide functionality for determining a set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmissions. CA configuration circuitry 1042 may also be configured to provide functionality for determining services to be communicated. CA configuration circuitry 1042 may also be configured to provide functionality for selecting a carrier aggregation configuration. CA configuration circuitry 1042 may also be configured to execute CA configuration software 1052 included on computer-readable medium 1006 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0135] Processor 1004 may include carrier aggregation (CA) processing circuitry 1043 configured to perform operations related to CA processing as discussed herein. CA processing circuitry 1043 may also be configured to provide the functionality of a means for receiving data from a base station. CA processing circuitry 1043 may also be configured to provide the functionality of a means for transmitting data to a base station. CA processing circuitry 1043 may also be configured to execute CA processing software 1053 included on computer-readable medium 1006 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0136] Figure 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 1100 for a wireless communication system according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for all example implementations. In some examples, the method 1100 may be performed by Figure 10In some examples, the method 1100 may be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0137] At block 1102, the UE may determine a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmissions from a base station. In some examples, determining the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include receiving an indication of the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands from the base station. For example, the above Figure 10 The CA configuration circuitry 1042, together with the communication and processing circuitry 1041 and the transceiver 1010, shown and described, may receive an indication from a gNB specifying DL component carriers to be used for communications based on scheduled carrier aggregation.

[0138] At block 1104, the UE may determine a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, wherein the second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set. Figure 10 The CA configuration circuit 1042 shown and described, together with the communication and processing circuit 1041 and the transceiver 1010, can receive an indication from the gNB specifying the UL component carrier to be used for communication based on scheduled carrier aggregation. As another example, the above combination Figure 10 The CA configuration circuitry 1042 is shown and described as enabling selection of UL component carriers to be used for scheduled carrier aggregation based communications (eg, based on traffic conditions, use cases, etc., as discussed herein).

[0139] In some examples, determining the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set. In some examples, selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may be independent of the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

[0140] At block 1106, the UE may receive first data from the base station via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set. Figure 10 The CA processing circuitry 1043 is shown and described along with the communication and processing circuitry 1041 and the transceiver 1010 to receive data transmissions via multiple DL component carriers.

[0141] At block 1108, the UE may send second data to the base station via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set. Figure 10 The CA processing circuitry 1043 , along with the communication and processing circuitry 1041 and the transceiver 1010 , is shown and described as being capable of transmitting data transmissions via multiple UL component carriers.

[0142] In some examples, selecting the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area. In some examples, selecting the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include selecting carrier aggregation for uplink transmission as a result of determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area.

[0143] In some examples, selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area and that downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than a threshold throughput. In some examples, selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include selecting a first frequency band and a second frequency band for the second carrier aggregation frequency band set as a result of determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area and that downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than a threshold throughput. In some examples, each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band may be lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a millimeter wave frequency band.

[0144] In some examples, selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include determining a service use case. In some examples, selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set based on the service use case. In some examples, the service use case may include at least one of an uplink service use case, a downlink service use case, or a combination thereof.

[0145] In some examples, the first carrier aggregation frequency band set and the second carrier aggregation frequency band set constitute a first carrier aggregation configuration among a plurality of carrier aggregation configurations. In some examples, the method may further include: determining a service to be communicated by the user equipment. In some examples, the method may further include: selecting the first carrier aggregation configuration based on the service to be communicated by the user equipment.

[0146] In some examples, the services to be communicated by the user equipment may include services within a specific area. In some examples, the specific area may include at least one of the following: a geographic area, a paging area, a network operator area, a population area, a manufacturing area, a hotel area, a customer area, or any combination thereof.

[0147] In some examples, the plurality of carrier aggregation configurations may include a third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set and a fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set. In some examples, the fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set may be a subset of the third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set.

[0148] In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least one n78 band, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the n1 band, the n3 band, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least one of the n78 band, the first n1 band, the first n3 band, or a combination thereof, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the second n1 band, the second n3 band, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least one of the n79 band, the first n41 band, or a combination thereof, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the second n41 band, the n28 band, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least one of the n79 band, the n41 band, or a combination thereof, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the n40 band, the n28 band, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least two of the n79 band, the n41 band, the N40 band, the N28 band, or a combination thereof, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the n78 band, the n1 band, the n3 band, or the n5 band.

[0149] Figure 12 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a base station (BS) 1200 employing a processing system 1214. In some implementations, the BS 1200 may correspond to Figure 1 、 2 , any one of the BSs (e.g., gNBs) or scheduling entities shown in any one of 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

[0150] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented using a processing system 1214. The processing system may include one or more processors 1204. The processing system 1214 may be associated with Figure 10 The processing system 1014 shown in FIG1 is substantially the same and includes a bus interface 1208, a bus 1202, a memory 1205, a processor 1204, and a computer-readable medium 1206. In addition, the BS 1200 may include an interface 1230 (e.g., a network interface) that provides a means for communicating with at least one other device within the core network and with at least one radio access network.

[0151] BS 1200 may be configured to perform any one or more of the operations described herein (e.g., as described above in conjunction with Figure 1-9 As described and in combination with Figure 13 In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 1204, as used in the BS 1200, may include circuits configured for various functions.

[0152] Processor 1204 may be configured to generate, schedule, and modify resource assignments or grants of time-frequency resources (e.g., a set of one or more resource elements). For example, processor 1204 may schedule time-frequency resources within multiple time division duplex (TDD) and / or frequency division duplex (FDD) subframes, time slots, and / or mini-slots to carry user data traffic and / or control information to and / or from multiple UEs.

[0153] Processor 1204 may be configured to schedule resources for transmitting downlink signals. Downlink signals may include, for example, PDCCH, PDSCH, CSI-RS, or DMRS. Processor 1204 may also be configured to schedule resources that may be used by the UE to transmit uplink signals. Uplink signals may include, for example, PUCCH, PUSCH, SRS, DMRS, or PRACH. Processor 1204 may also be configured to schedule resources that may be used by the UE to transmit and / or receive sidelink signals.

[0154] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 1204 may include a communication and processing circuit 1241. The communication and processing circuit 1241 may be configured to communicate with the UE. The communication and processing circuit 1241 may include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to communication (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission) as described herein. The communication and processing circuit 1241 may also include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to signal processing (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission) as described herein. The communication and processing circuit 1241 may also be configured to execute communication and processing software 1251 included on the computer-readable medium 1206 to implement one or more functions described herein. The communication and processing circuit 1241 may also be configured to interact with the transceiver 1210 to encode and transmit downlink signals. The communication and processing circuit 1241 may also be configured to interact with the transceiver 1210 to monitor and decode uplink signals.

[0155] In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 1241 may be configured to receive and process uplink beamforming signals at mmWave frequencies or sub-6 GHz frequencies via transceiver 1210 and antenna array 1220. For example, communication and processing circuitry 1241 may be configured to receive a respective reference signal (e.g., an SRS or DMRS) from a UE on each of a plurality of uplink beams during uplink beam scanning.

[0156] In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may also be configured to generate and transmit downlink beamforming signals at mmWave frequencies or sub-6 GHz frequencies via the transceiver 1210 and the antenna array 1220. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may be configured to transmit a corresponding downlink reference signal (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) on each of the multiple downlink beams to the UE via at least one first antenna panel of the antenna array 1220 during downlink beam scanning. The communication and processing circuitry 1241 may also be configured to receive a beam measurement report from the UE.

[0157] The communication and processing circuitry 1241 may also be configured to receive uplink signals on one or more uplink receive beams via one or more uplink transmit beams applied to the uplink signals. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may be configured to receive uplink signals on one or more uplink receive beams via at least one second antenna panel of the antenna array 1220. The uplink signals may include, for example, PUCCH, PUSCH, SRS, DMRS, or PRACH.

[0158] The communication and processing circuitry 1241 may also be configured to control the antenna array 1220 and the transceiver 1210 to generate multiple downlink transmit beams during downlink beam scanning. The communication and processing circuitry 1241 may also be configured to receive beam measurement reports from the UE using the communication and processing circuitry 1244. The communication and processing circuitry 1241 may also be configured to identify one or more selected uplink beams based on the beam measurements. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may be configured to compare the corresponding RSRP (or other beam measurement) measured on each downlink receive beam for each serving downlink transmit beam to identify the serving downlink receive beam, and further identify the serving downlink receive beam as the selected uplink transmit beam. Each serving downlink receive beam may have the highest measured RSRP (or other beam measurement) for one of the downlink transmit beams.

[0159] The communication and processing circuitry 1241 may be configured to receive one or more uplink transmit beams in an uplink beam sweep. Each uplink transmit beam may carry an uplink reference signal (e.g., an SRS) for measurement by the communication and processing circuitry 1241. The communication and processing circuitry 1241 may also be configured to obtain, for each uplink transmit beam, a plurality of beam measurements on each of the plurality of uplink receive beams of the antenna array 1220. The communication and processing circuitry 1241 may also be configured to select, based on the uplink beam measurements, a selected uplink transmit beam and a corresponding uplink receive beam that form a corresponding uplink BPL.

[0160] In some embodiments where communication involves receiving information, communication and processing circuitry 1241 can obtain information from a component of BS 1200 (e.g., from transceiver 1210, which receives the information via radio frequency signaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicable communication medium), process (e.g., decode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, communication and processing circuitry 1241 can output the information to another component of processor 1204, memory 1205, or bus interface 1208. In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 1241 can receive one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 1241 can receive information via one or more channels. In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 1241 can include functionality of a means for receiving.

[0161] In some embodiments where communication involves transmitting (e.g., sending) information, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may obtain information (e.g., from another component of the processor 1204, the memory 1205, or the bus interface 1208), process (e.g., encode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may output the information to the transceiver 1210 (e.g., the transceiver 1210 transmits the information via radio frequency signaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicable communication medium). In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may transmit one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may transmit the information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1241 may include functionality of a means for transmitting (e.g., a means for sending).

[0162] Processor 1204 may include carrier aggregation (CA) configuration circuitry 1242 configured to perform operations related to CA configuration as discussed herein. CA configuration circuitry 1242 may also be configured to provide functionality for determining a set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmissions. CA configuration circuitry 1242 may also be configured to provide functionality for determining a set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmissions. CA configuration circuitry 1242 may also be configured to provide functionality for determining services to be communicated. CA configuration circuitry 1242 may also be configured to provide functionality for selecting a carrier aggregation configuration. CA configuration circuitry 1242 may also be configured to execute CA configuration software 1252 included on computer-readable medium 1206 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0163] Processor 1204 may include carrier aggregation (CA) processing circuitry 1243 configured to perform operations related to CA processing as discussed herein. CA processing circuitry 1243 may also be configured to provide the functionality of a means for receiving data from a user equipment. CA processing circuitry 1243 may also be configured to provide the functionality of a means for transmitting data to a user equipment. CA processing circuitry 1243 may also be configured to execute CA processing software 1253 included on computer-readable medium 1206 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0164] Figure 13 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 1300 for a wireless communication system according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for all example implementations. In some examples, the method 1300 may be performed by Figure 12 In some examples, the method 1300 can be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0165] At block 1302, the BS may determine a first carrier aggregation band set to be used for downlink transmission. Figure 12 The CA configuration circuitry 1242 is shown and described as enabling selection of DL component carriers to be used for scheduled carrier aggregation based communications (eg, based on traffic conditions, use cases, etc., as discussed herein).

[0166] At block 1304, the BS may determine a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission from the user equipment, wherein the second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set. Figure 12The CA configuration circuitry 1242 shown and described may select an UL component carrier to be used for communications based on scheduled carrier aggregation (e.g., based on traffic conditions, use cases, etc., as discussed herein). Figure 12 The CA configuration circuitry 1242 is shown and described as being operable to receive an indication from a UE specifying UL component carriers to be used for communications based on scheduled carrier aggregation.

[0167] At block 1306, the BS may send first data to the user equipment via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set. Figure 12 The CA processing circuitry 1243 is shown and described along with the communication and processing circuitry 1241 and the transceiver 1210 to enable transmission of data transmissions via multiple DL component carriers.

[0168] At block 1308, the BS may receive second data from the user equipment via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set. Figure 12 The CA processing circuitry 1243 is shown and described along with the communication and processing circuitry 1241 and the transceiver 1210 to receive data transmissions via multiple UL component carriers.

[0169] In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set and the second carrier aggregation band set constitute a first carrier aggregation configuration in a plurality of carrier aggregation configurations. In some examples, the method may further include determining a service to be communicated by the base station, and selecting the first carrier aggregation configuration based on the service to be communicated by the base station. In some examples, the service to be communicated by the base station may include a service within a specific area. In some examples, the specific area may include at least one of the following: a geographic area, a paging area, a network operator area, a population area, a manufacturing area, a hotel area, a customer area, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the plurality of carrier aggregation configurations may include a third downlink carrier aggregation band set and a fourth uplink carrier aggregation band set. In some examples, the fourth uplink carrier aggregation band set may be a subset of the third downlink carrier aggregation band set.

[0170] In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least one n78 band, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the n1 band, the n3 band, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least one of the n78 band, the n1 band, the n3 band, or a combination thereof, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the n1 band, the n3 band, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least one of the n79 band, the n41 band, or a combination thereof, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the n41 band, the n28 band, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least one of the n79 band, the n41 band, or a combination thereof, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the n40 band, the n28 band, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation band set consists of at least two of the n79 band, the n41 band, the N40 band, the N28 band, or a combination thereof, and the second carrier aggregation band set includes at least one of the n78 band, the n1 band, the n3 band, or the n5 band.

[0171] In some examples, determining the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include receiving an indication of the second carrier aggregation frequency band set from a user equipment. In some examples, determining the first carrier aggregation frequency band set may include selecting the first carrier aggregation frequency band set. In some examples, determining the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set. In some examples, selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may be independent of selecting the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

[0172] In some examples, selecting the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area. In some examples, selecting the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include selecting carrier aggregation for uplink transmission as a result of determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area.

[0173] In some examples, selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area and that downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than a threshold throughput. In some examples, selecting the second carrier aggregation frequency band set may include selecting a first frequency band and a second frequency band for the second carrier aggregation frequency band set as a result of determining that uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than a threshold coverage area and that downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than a threshold throughput. In some examples, each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set. In some examples, the first carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a millimeter wave frequency band.

[0174] In some examples, selecting the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include determining a service use case. In some examples, selecting the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands may include selecting the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to match the service use case. In some examples, the service use case may include at least one of an uplink service use case, a downlink service use case, or a combination thereof.

[0175] Several aspects of wireless communication networks have been presented with reference to example implementations. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards.

[0176] For example, various aspects may be implemented within other systems defined by 3GPP, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved Packet System (EPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and / or Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Various aspects may also be extended to systems defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and / or Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and / or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and / or communication standard employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0177] In this disclosure, the word "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of the disclosure. Likewise, the term "aspect" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation. The term "coupled" is used herein to refer to a direct or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if object A physically contacts object B, and object B contacts object C, objects A and C can still be considered coupled to each other—even if they are not in direct physical contact with each other. For example, a first object can be coupled to a second object even if the first object has never been in direct physical contact with the second object. The terms "circuit" and "circuitry" are used broadly and are intended to include hardware implementations of electrical devices and conductors that, when connected and configured, are capable of performing the functions described in this disclosure, without limitation as to the type of electronic circuitry, as well as software implementations of information and instructions that, when executed by a processor, are capable of performing the functions described in this disclosure. As used herein, the term "determining" may include, for example, ascertaining, resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database, or another data structure), etc. Furthermore, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), etc.

[0178] Figure 1-13 One or more of the components, steps, features, and / or functions shown in the drawings may be rearranged and / or combined into a single component, step, feature, or function or may be embodied as several components, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and / or functions may also be added without departing from the novel features disclosed herein. Figure 1 、 2 , 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 can be configured to perform one or more of the methods, features or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein can also be effectively implemented in software and / or embedded hardware.

[0179] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed methods is an illustration of example processes. Based on design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically noted herein.

[0180] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Accordingly, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather should be given the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically stated otherwise, but rather "one or more." Unless otherwise specifically stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. A phrase referring to "at least one" of a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including individual members. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to encompass: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b, and c. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements throughout the various aspects described in this disclosure that are known or later become known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment, the method comprising: determining a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmissions from a base station; determining a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, wherein the second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set, wherein determining the second carrier aggregation frequency band set comprises: determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area greater than a threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput greater than a threshold throughput; and selecting the first frequency band and the second frequency band for the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput, wherein each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; receiving first data from the base station via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set; and Second data is sent to the base station via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determination of the second carrier aggregation frequency band set is independent of the determination of the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a millimeter wave frequency band.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein Determining the second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes: Identify business use cases; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set is selected based on the service use case.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The business use case includes at least one of an uplink business use case, a downlink business use case, or a combination thereof.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first carrier aggregation frequency band set and the second carrier aggregation frequency band set constitute a first carrier aggregation configuration among multiple carrier aggregation configurations.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: determining a service to be communicated by the user equipment; as well as The first carrier aggregation configuration is selected based on the traffic to be communicated by the user equipment.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The services to be communicated by the user equipment include services within a specific area.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The specific area includes one of the following: a geographic area, a paging area, a network operator area, a population area, a manufacturing area, a hotel area, a customer area, or any combination thereof.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The multiple carrier aggregation configurations include: a third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set; and A fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set, wherein the fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set is a subset of the third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one n78 frequency band; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of an n1 frequency band, an n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of an n78 frequency band, a first n1 frequency band, a first n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of a second n1 frequency band, a second n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of the n79 frequency band, the first n41 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of a second n41 frequency band, an n28 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of the n79 frequency band, the n41 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of the n40 frequency band, the n28 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least two of the n79 frequency band, the n41 frequency band, the N40 frequency band, the N28 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of the n78 frequency band, the n1 frequency band, the n3 frequency band or the n5 frequency band.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining the first carrier aggregation frequency band set includes: An indication of the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands is received from the base station.

17. A user equipment comprising: at least one transceiver; a memory including instructions; as well as At least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions so that the user equipment performs the following operations: determining a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmissions from a base station; determining a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, wherein the second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area greater than a threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput greater than a threshold throughput; and selecting the first frequency band and the second frequency band for the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput, wherein each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; receiving first data from the base station via the at least one transceiver on the first carrier aggregation frequency band set; and Second data is sent to the base station via the at least one transceiver on the second carrier aggregation frequency band set.

18. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The determination of the second carrier aggregation frequency band set is independent of the determination of the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

19. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a millimeter wave frequency band.

20. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: Identify business use cases; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set is selected based on the service use case.

21. The user equipment according to claim 20, wherein: The business use case includes at least one of an uplink business use case, a downlink business use case, or a combination thereof.

22. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set and the second carrier aggregation frequency band set constitute a first carrier aggregation configuration among multiple carrier aggregation configurations.

23. The user equipment according to claim 22, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: determining a service to be communicated by the user equipment; and The first carrier aggregation configuration is selected based on the traffic to be communicated by the user equipment.

24. The user equipment according to claim 23, wherein: The services to be communicated by the user equipment include services within a specific area.

25. The user equipment according to claim 24, wherein: The specific area includes one of the following: a geographic area, a paging area, a network operator area, a population area, a manufacturing area, a hotel area, a customer area, or any combination thereof.

26. The user equipment according to claim 23, wherein The multiple carrier aggregation configurations include: a third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set; and A fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set, wherein the fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set is a subset of the third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set.

27. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one n78 frequency band; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of an n1 frequency band, an n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

28. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of an n78 frequency band, a first n1 frequency band, a first n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of a second n1 frequency band, a second n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

29. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of the n79 frequency band, the first n41 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of a second n41 frequency band, an n28 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

30. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of the n79 frequency band, the n41 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of the n40 frequency band, the n28 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

31. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least two of the n79 frequency band, the n41 frequency band, the N40 frequency band, the N28 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of the n78 frequency band, the n1 frequency band, the n3 frequency band or the n5 frequency band.

32. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: An indication of the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands is received from the base station via the at least one transceiver.

33. A user equipment comprising: means for determining a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmissions from a base station; means for determining a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, wherein the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands includes a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, wherein the means for determining the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands comprises: means for determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area greater than a threshold coverage area and that the downlink transmission requires a throughput greater than a threshold throughput; and means for selecting the first and second frequency bands for the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput, wherein each of the first and second frequency bands is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; means for receiving first data from the base station via the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; and means for sending second data to the base station via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set.

34. An article of manufacture for use by a user equipment in a wireless communication network, the article comprising: A computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein, the instructions being executable by one or more processors of the user device to: determining a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmissions from a base station; determining a second carrier aggregation frequency band set to be used for uplink transmission to the base station, wherein the second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a first frequency band that is not in the first carrier aggregation frequency band set, wherein, to determine the second carrier aggregation frequency band set, the instructions are further executable by one or more processors of the user equipment to perform the following operations: determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area greater than a threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput greater than a threshold throughput; and selecting the first frequency band and the second frequency band for the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput, wherein each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; receiving first data from the base station via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set; and Second data is sent to the base station via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set.

35. A method of wireless communication at a base station, the method comprising: determining a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmission; Determining a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission from a user equipment, wherein the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands includes a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, wherein determining the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands includes: determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area greater than a threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput greater than a threshold throughput; and selecting the first frequency band and the second frequency band for the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput, wherein each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; sending first data to the user equipment via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set; and Second data is received from the user equipment via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set and the second carrier aggregation frequency band set constitute a first carrier aggregation configuration among multiple carrier aggregation configurations.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising: determining a service to be communicated by the base station; as well as The first carrier aggregation configuration is selected based on the traffic to be communicated by the base station.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein: The services to be communicated by the base station include services within a specific area.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein The specific area includes one of the following: a geographic area, a paging area, a network operator area, a population area, a manufacturing area, a hotel area, a customer area, or any combination thereof.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein The multiple carrier aggregation configurations include: a third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set; and A fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set, wherein the fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set is a subset of the third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set.

41. The method of claim 35, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one n78 frequency band; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of an n1 frequency band, an n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

42. The method of claim 35, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of an n78 frequency band, a first n1 frequency band, a first n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of a second n1 frequency band, a second n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

43. The method of claim 35, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of the n79 frequency band, the first n41 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of a second n41 frequency band, an n28 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

44. The method of claim 35, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of the n79 frequency band, the n41 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of the n40 frequency band, the n28 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

45. The method of claim 35, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least two of the n79 frequency band, the n41 frequency band, the N40 frequency band, the N28 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of the n78 frequency band, the n1 frequency band, the n3 frequency band or the n5 frequency band.

46. ​​The method of claim 35, wherein The determining the second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes: An indication of the second carrier aggregation frequency band set is received from the user equipment.

47. The method of claim 35, wherein: The determining the first carrier aggregation frequency band set includes: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set is selected.

48. The method of claim 35, wherein The determination of the second carrier aggregation frequency band set is independent of the determination of the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

49. The method of claim 35, wherein The first carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a millimeter wave frequency band.

50. The method of claim 35, wherein Determining the second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes: Identify business use cases; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set is selected to match the service use case.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein: The business use case includes at least one of an uplink business use case, a downlink business use case, or a combination thereof.

52. A base station, comprising: at least one transceiver; a memory including instructions; as well as At least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions so that the base station performs the following operations: determining a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmission; determining a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission from a user equipment, wherein the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands includes a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to perform the following operations: determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area greater than a threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput greater than a threshold throughput; and selecting the first frequency band and the second frequency band for the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput, wherein each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; sending first data to the user equipment via the at least one transceiver on the first carrier aggregation frequency band set; and Second data is received from the user equipment via the at least one transceiver on the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands.

53. The base station according to claim 52, wherein The first carrier aggregation frequency band set and the second carrier aggregation frequency band set constitute a first carrier aggregation configuration among multiple carrier aggregation configurations.

54. The base station according to claim 53, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to perform the following operations: determining a service to be communicated by the base station; as well as The first carrier aggregation configuration is selected based on the traffic to be communicated by the base station.

55. The base station according to claim 54, wherein The services to be communicated by the base station include services within a specific area.

56. The base station according to claim 55, wherein The specific area includes one of the following: a geographic area, a paging area, a network operator area, a population area, a manufacturing area, a hotel area, a customer area, or any combination thereof.

57. The base station according to claim 54, wherein The multiple carrier aggregation configurations include: a third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set; and A fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set, wherein the fourth uplink carrier aggregation frequency band set is a subset of the third downlink carrier aggregation frequency band set.

58. The base station of claim 52, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one n78 frequency band; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of an n1 frequency band, an n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

59. The base station of claim 52, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of an n78 frequency band, a first n1 frequency band, a first n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of a second n1 frequency band, a second n3 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

60. The base station of claim 52, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of the n79 frequency band, the first n41 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of a second n41 frequency band, an n28 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

61. The base station of claim 52, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least one of the n79 frequency band, the n41 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of the n40 frequency band, the n28 frequency band, or a combination thereof.

62. The base station of claim 52, wherein: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set consists of at least two of the n79 frequency band, the n41 frequency band, the N40 frequency band, the N28 frequency band, or a combination thereof; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set includes at least one of the n78 frequency band, the n1 frequency band, the n3 frequency band or the n5 frequency band.

63. The base station according to claim 52, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to perform the following operations: An indication of the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands is received from the user equipment via the at least one transceiver.

64. The base station according to claim 52, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to perform the following operations: The first carrier aggregation frequency band set is selected.

65. The base station according to claim 52, wherein The determination of the second carrier aggregation frequency band set is independent of the determination of the first carrier aggregation frequency band set.

66. The base station according to claim 52, wherein The first carrier aggregation frequency band set includes a millimeter wave frequency band.

67. The base station according to claim 52, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to perform the following operations: Identify business use cases; and The second carrier aggregation frequency band set is selected to match the service use case.

68. The base station according to claim 67, wherein The business use case includes at least one of an uplink business use case, a downlink business use case, or a combination thereof.

69. A base station, comprising: means for determining a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmission; means for determining a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission from a user equipment, wherein the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands includes a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, wherein the means for determining the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands comprises: means for determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area greater than a threshold coverage area and that the downlink transmission requires a throughput greater than a threshold throughput; and means for selecting the first and second frequency bands for the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput, wherein each of the first and second frequency bands is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; means for sending first data to the user equipment via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set; and means for receiving second data from the user equipment via the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands.

70. An article for use by a base station in a wireless communication network, the article comprising: A computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein, the instructions being executable by one or more processors of the base station to: determining a first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for downlink transmission; determining a second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands to be used for uplink transmission from a user equipment, wherein the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands includes a first frequency band that is not in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, wherein, to determine the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands, the instructions are further executable by one or more processors of the base station to perform the following operations: determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area greater than a threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput greater than a threshold throughput; and selecting the first frequency band and the second frequency band for the second set of carrier aggregation frequency bands as a result of determining that the uplink transmission requires a coverage area larger than the threshold coverage area and the downlink transmission requires a throughput higher than the threshold throughput, wherein each of the first frequency band and the second frequency band is lower in frequency than any frequency band in the first set of carrier aggregation frequency bands; sending first data to the user equipment via the first carrier aggregation frequency band set; and Second data is received from the user equipment via the second carrier aggregation frequency band set.

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