Connected mode beam management for narrowband systems

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A user equipment (UE) and a network can establish communication over directional beams. The UE can receive, from the network, a configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams, where each directional beam of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured for transmission on a narrowband carrier of the set of narrowband carriers. The UE can determine a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based at least in part on the configuration, and transmit, to the network, the one or more channel sounding messages on respective narrowband carriers in accordance with the trigger and the configuration.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This patent application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 058,432, entitled “CONNECTED MODE BEAM MANAGEMENT FOR NARROWBAND SYSTEMS,” filed July 29, 2020, by Sengupta et al., and U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 369,724, entitled “CONNECTED MODE BEAM MANAGEMENT FOR NARROWBAND SYSTEMS,” filed July 7, 2021, by Sengupta et al., each of which has been assigned to its assignee. Technical Field

[0003] The following concerns wireless communication, and more specifically beam management for narrowband systems. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, and so on. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth-generation (4G) systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth-generation (5G) systems, which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or Discrete Fourier Transform Extended Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes, each base station or network access node simultaneously supporting communication with multiple communication devices, which may otherwise be known as User Equipment (UE). Summary of the Invention

[0005] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses for supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems.

[0006] A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) is described. The method may include: communicating with a network via directional beams; configuring the reception of one or more channel sounding messages from the network for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured to be transmitted on a frequency resource in the set of frequency resources; determining a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based on the configuration; and transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages to the network on the corresponding frequency resource according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0007] An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate with a network via directional beams; configure itself to receive one or more channel sounding messages from the network for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured to be transmitted on a frequency resource in the set of frequency resources; determine a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based on the configuration; and transmit the one or more channel sounding messages to the network on the corresponding frequency resource according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0008] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include: components for communicating with a network via directional beams; components for configuring one or more channel probe messages of one or more directional beams to be received from the network, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources, and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on a frequency resource in the set of frequency resources; components for determining a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on the configuration; and components for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages to the network on the corresponding frequency resource according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0009] A non-transitory computer-readable medium is described, storing code for wireless communication at a UE. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: communicate with a network via a directional beam; configure receiving one or more channel sounding messages from the network for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured to be transmitted on a frequency resource in that set of frequency resources; determine a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based on the configuration; and transmit the one or more channel sounding messages to the network on the corresponding frequency resource according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0010] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: identifying, based on the configuration, the location of a corresponding frequency resource for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the location includes time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof.

[0011] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving system information from the network via one or more directional beams or the directional beams or any combination thereof, the system information indicating the configuration.

[0012] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each frequency resource may differ from the resources used for random access procedures with the network, and each frequency resource may differ from the anchor resources of the set of frequency resources associated with each directional beam.

[0013] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: determining a first configuration for a first channel probe message on a first directional beam of the one or more directional beams; and determining a second configuration for a second channel probe message on a second directional beam of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel probe messages being transmitted according to the first configuration or the second configuration or any combination thereof.

[0014] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: determining a second configuration based on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration, the method further including applying a frequency conversion to the first configuration, the second configuration being determined based on the applied frequency conversion.

[0015] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first configuration may differ from the second configuration.

[0016] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, at least a portion of the first configuration and the second configuration may be common to the first directional beam and the second directional beam.

[0017] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, each of the one or more channel probe messages includes a random access preamble message, and the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media may include additional operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: determining, according to the configuration, a set of random access opportunities for transmitting the random access preamble message, the random access preamble message being transmitted during at least one of the set of random access opportunities, wherein the set of random access opportunities includes random access opportunities that can be configured on different frequency resources of the one or more directional beams.

[0018] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the random access timing can be configured on one or more directional beams according to a pattern on time resources or frequency resources or both; the pattern includes a set of random access resources in adjacent carriers that are temporally adjacent, each of the temporally adjacent random access resources being separated by a time interval; and each random access preamble message includes a narrowband random access preamble message.

[0019] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a first random access preamble, which may differ from a second random access preamble that can be used with a random access procedure for the network.

[0020] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the first random access preamble of the one or more channel probe messages includes a preamble that can be shared on two or more UEs, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble, or any combination thereof.

[0021] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: prohibiting the monitoring of responses from the network based on the sending of one or more channel probe messages.

[0022] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: monitoring communications on the directional beam after sending the one or more channel probe messages; and communicating with the network via the directional beam based on the monitoring.

[0023] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: receiving downlink control information (DCI) from the network that includes a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages, the method further comprising: identifying a narrowband physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) command within the DCI, wherein the narrowband PDCCH command includes the trigger; and determining, based on the narrowband PDCCH command, one or more directional beams, one or more frequency resources, or any combination thereof, for transmitting one or more random access preamble messages as the one or more channel probe messages.

[0024] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting one or more random access preamble messages at each of a set of multiple transmission times based on the narrowband PDCCH command.

[0025] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: receiving radio resource control signaling configuring the one or more channel probe messages; the method further includes receiving, from the network, one or more messages modifying the configuration of the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the one or more messages include a Media Access Control (MAC) control element, a DCI, or any combination thereof, and wherein the one or more messages activate, deactivate, or any combination thereof transmission of the one or more channel probe messages.

[0026] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: determining that an event trigger may have been satisfied, wherein the one or more channel probe messages may be sent based on the satisfaction of the event trigger; and identifying a set of resources for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on the satisfaction of the event trigger, wherein the set of resources may be shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or may be UE-specific resources, or may be contention-based resources, or contention-free resources, or any combination thereof.

[0027] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: monitoring a first frequency resource in a first set of frequency resources associated with the directional beam; determining a beam fault of the directional beam based on the monitoring, wherein sending the one or more channel probe messages may be based on the determined beam fault, wherein the one or more channel probe messages may be part of a beam fault recovery procedure; and indicating the beam fault to the network based on the signal quality of the first frequency resource of the directional beam meeting a threshold.

[0028] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each of the one or more directional beams corresponds to a different radio frequency.

[0029] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving configurations of one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein the one or more channel sounding messages may be sent based on performing measurements on the one or more measurement objects.

[0030] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a narrowband probe reference signal (SRS), and each of the set of frequency resources includes a narrowband carrier, or a bandwidth portion, or any combination thereof.

[0031] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: selecting a second directional beam different from the directional beam based on a beam management procedure or a beam fault recovery procedure or any combination thereof, wherein the selection may be based on transmitting one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the network using the second directional beam.

[0032] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: identifying a first cell associated with the directional beam; executing a handover procedure to a second cell different from the first cell, the handover procedure corresponding to establishing a connection with a second directional beam associated with the second cell, wherein the handover procedure may be based on sending one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam, and communicating with the network using the second directional beam.

[0033] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the triggering includes periodic transmission timing, aperiodic transmission timing, semi-persistent transmission timing, dynamic transmission timing, transmission timing initiated by one or more UEs, one or more event triggers or any combination thereof, the directional beam, the frequency resource, the group of frequency resources, the one or more channel probe messages or any combination thereof can be used for narrowband Internet of Things communications, and the network includes non-terrestrial networks.

[0034] A wireless communication method for use in a UE is described. The method may include: communicating with a network via a directional beam; receiving from the network an indication to modify a carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switching to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0035] An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate with a network via a directional beam; receive from the network an instruction to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the instruction.

[0036] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include: components for communicating with a network via a directional beam; components for receiving from the network an indication to modify a carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and components for switching to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0037] A non-transitory computer-readable medium is described, storing code for wireless communication at a UE. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: communicate with a network via a directional beam; receive from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0038] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the second narrowband carrier may be from a set of candidate carriers, and the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media may include additional operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving the set of candidate carriers from the network, wherein the configuration may be received via radio resource control signaling, MAC control elements, or any combination thereof.

[0039] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: receiving a DCI, a MAC control element, or any combination thereof, including an indication to modify a carrier used for communication; the method further includes sending an acknowledgment of the indication to modify the carrier used for communication in response to the received DCI or the MAC control element, or any combination thereof.

[0040] A method for wireless communication is described. The method may include: communicating with a UE via a directional beam; receiving one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the one or more channel probe messages being received on frequency resources in a set of frequency resources; and determining the channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages.

[0041] An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate with a UE via a directional beam; receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the one or more channel probe messages being received on frequency resources of a set of frequency resources; and determine the channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages.

[0042] Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include: components for communicating with a UE via a directional beam; components for receiving one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the one or more channel probe messages being received on frequency resources of a set of frequency resources; and components for determining the channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages.

[0043] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: communicate with a UE via a directional beam; receive one or more channel sounding messages from the UE, the one or more channel sounding messages being received on frequency resources in a set of frequency resources; and determine the channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel sounding messages.

[0044] A method for wireless communication is described. The method may include: communicating with a UE via a directional beam; sending an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switching to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0045] An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate with a UE via a directional beam; send an instruction to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the instruction.

[0046] Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include: components for communicating with a UE via a directional beam; components for sending to the UE an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and components for switching to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0047] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: communicate with a UE via a directional beam; send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0048] A wireless communication method at a UE is described. The method may include: communicating with a network via a directional beam; and configuring the receiving from the network of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams. In some examples, each of the one or more directional beams may be associated with a set of narrowband carriers, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in that set of narrowband carriers. In some examples, the method may include: determining a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based on the configuration; and transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0049] An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the processor and memory being configured to: communicate with a network via directional beams; and receive from the network one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams. In some examples, each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages may be configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in the set of narrowband carriers. The processor and memory may also be configured to determine, based on the configuration, a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages; and to transmit the one or more channel sounding messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0050] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include components for: communicating with a network via a directional beam; and receiving from the network one or more channel sound messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers. In some cases, each of the one or more channel sound messages is configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in the set of narrowband carriers. The apparatus may further include: components for determining a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sound messages based on the configuration; and components for transmitting the one or more channel sound messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0051] A non-transitory computer-readable medium is described, storing code for wireless communication at a UE. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: communicate with a network via directional beams; and configure the receiving from the network of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams. In some examples, each of the one or more directional beams may be associated with a set of narrowband carriers, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in that set of narrowband carriers. The instructions may be executed by the processor to cause the device to: determine a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based on the configuration; and transmit the one or more channel sounding messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0052] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: identifying the location of a corresponding narrowband carrier for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on the configuration, wherein the location includes time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof.

[0053] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving system information from the network via one or more directional beams or the directional beams or any combination thereof, the system information indicating the configuration.

[0054] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each narrowband carrier may be different from the carrier used for random access procedures with the network.

[0055] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each narrowband carrier may be different from the anchor carrier in the set of narrowband carriers associated with each directional beam.

[0056] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: determining a first configuration for a first channel probe message on a first directional beam of the one or more directional beams; and determining a second configuration for a second channel probe message on a second directional beam of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel probe messages being transmitted according to the first configuration or the second configuration or any combination thereof.

[0057] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining the second configuration based on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration.

[0058] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: applying a frequency conversion to the first configuration, the second configuration being determined based on the applied frequency conversion.

[0059] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first configuration may differ from the second configuration.

[0060] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, at least a portion of the first configuration and the second configuration may be common to the first directional beam and the second directional beam.

[0061] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: determining, according to the configuration, a set of random access opportunities for transmitting the random access preamble message, the random access preamble message being transmitted during at least one of the random access opportunities in the set of random access opportunities, wherein the set of random access opportunities includes random access opportunities that can be configured on different narrowband carriers of the one or more directional beams.

[0062] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the random access timing can be configured on one or more directional beams according to a pattern on time resources or frequency resources or both.

[0063] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the pattern includes a set of random access resources in adjacent carriers that are temporally adjacent.

[0064] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each random access resource in the group of temporally adjacent random access resources may be separated by time intervals.

[0065] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a first random access preamble, which may differ from a second random access preamble that can be used with a random access procedure for the network.

[0066] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the first random access preamble of the one or more channel probe messages includes a preamble that can be shared on two or more UEs, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble, or any combination thereof.

[0067] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: prohibiting the monitoring of responses from the network based on the sending of one or more channel probe messages.

[0068] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: monitoring communications on the directional beam after sending the one or more channel probe messages; and communicating with the network via the directional beam based on the monitoring.

[0069] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each of the random access preamble messages includes a narrowband random access preamble message.

[0070] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: receiving from the network a DCI including a trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages.

[0071] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: identifying a narrowband PDCCH command within the DCI, wherein the narrowband PDCCH command includes a trigger.

[0072] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: determining one or more directional beams, one or more narrowband carriers, or any combination thereof, based on the narrowband PDCCH command, for transmitting one or more random access preamble messages as one or more channel probe messages.

[0073] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting one or more random access preamble messages at each of a set of transmission times based on the narrowband PDCCH command.

[0074] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving radio resource control signaling that configures the one or more channel probe messages.

[0075] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: receiving one or more messages from the network that modify the configuration of the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the one or more messages include MAC control elements, DCI, or any combination thereof.

[0076] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the one or more messages activate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, deactivate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, or any combination thereof.

[0077] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: determining that an event trigger may have been met, wherein one or more channel probe messages may be sent based on the satisfaction of the event trigger.

[0078] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: identifying a set of resources for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on the satisfaction of the event trigger, wherein the set of resources may be shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or may be UE-specific resources, or may be contention-based resources, or may be contention-free resources, or any combination thereof.

[0079] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: monitoring a first narrowband carrier in a first set of narrowband carriers associated with the directional beam; and determining a beam fault of the directional beam based on the monitoring, wherein sending the one or more channel probe messages may be based on the determined beam fault, wherein the one or more channel probe messages may be part of a beam fault recovery procedure.

[0080] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for indicating a beam fault to the network that the signal quality of a first narrowband carrier based on the directional beam meets a threshold.

[0081] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each of the one or more directional beams corresponds to a different radio frequency.

[0082] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving configurations of one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein the one or more channel sounding messages may be sent based on performing measurements on the one or more measurement objects.

[0083] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes narrowband SRS.

[0084] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: selecting a second directional beam different from the directional beam based on a beam management procedure or a beam fault recovery procedure or any combination thereof, wherein the selection may be based on transmitting one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the network using the second directional beam.

[0085] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: identifying a first cell associated with the directional beam; executing a handover procedure to a second cell different from the first cell, the handover procedure corresponding to establishing a connection with a second directional beam associated with the second cell, wherein the handover procedure may be based on sending one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the network using the second directional beam.

[0086] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the trigger includes periodic transmission timing, aperiodic transmission timing, semi-persistent transmission timing, dynamic transmission timing, transmission timing initiated by one or more UEs, one or more event triggers or any combination thereof.

[0087] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the directional beam, the narrowband carrier, the set of narrowband carriers, the one or more channel probe messages or any combination thereof can be used for narrowband Internet of Things (IoT) communications.

[0088] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the network includes non-terrestrial networks.

[0089] A wireless communication method at a UE is described. The method may include: communicating with a network via a directional beam; and receiving from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam. In some examples, the second narrowband carrier may be different from the first narrowband carrier. The method may also include switching to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0090] An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the processor and memory being configured to: communicate with a network via a directional beam; receive from the network an indication to modify a carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication. In some examples, the second narrowband carrier may be different from the first narrowband carrier.

[0091] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include: components for communicating with a network via a directional beam; and components for receiving from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam. In some examples, the second narrowband carrier may be different from the first narrowband carrier. The apparatus may include components for switching to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0092] A non-transitory computer-readable medium is described, storing code for wireless communication at a UE. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: communicate with a network via a directional beam; receive from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication. In some examples, the second narrowband carrier is different from the first narrowband carrier.

[0093] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second narrowband carrier may come from a set of candidate carriers.

[0094] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving the set of candidate carriers from the network, wherein the configuration may be received via radio resource control signaling, MAC control elements, or any combination thereof.

[0095] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: receiving a DCI, MAC control element, or any combination thereof, including an indication to modify a carrier used for communication.

[0096] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: sending an acknowledgment of an indication to modify a carrier used for communication in response to the received DCI or the MAC control element or any combination thereof.

[0097] A wireless communication method is described. This method may include: communicating with a UE via a directional beam; receiving one or more channel probe messages from the UE; and determining the channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages. In some examples, the one or more channel probe messages may be received on narrowband carriers in a set of narrowband carriers.

[0098] An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the processor and memory being configured to: communicate with a UE via a directional beam; and receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the one or more channel probe messages being received on narrowband carriers of a set of narrowband carriers. The processor and memory may be configured to determine the channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages.

[0099] Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. This apparatus may include: components for communicating with a UE via a directional beam; components for receiving one or more channel probe messages from the UE; and components for determining the channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages. In some examples, the one or more channel probe messages may be received on a narrowband carrier in a set of narrowband carriers.

[0100] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: communicate with a UE via a directional beam; receive one or more channel sounding messages from the UE; and determine the channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel sounding messages. In some cases, the one or more channel sounding messages are received on narrowband carriers in a set of narrowband carriers.

[0101] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: determining the configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams may be associated with a corresponding group of narrowband carriers, each of the one or more channel sounding messages being configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in at least one corresponding group of narrowband carriers; and sending to the UE an indication of the configuration of the one or more channel sounding messages, wherein the one or more channel sounding messages may be received based on the configuration.

[0102] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: identifying the location of a narrowband carrier for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages, the location including time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof.

[0103] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting system information to the UE via the one or more directional beams or any combination thereof, the system information indicating the configuration.

[0104] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each narrowband carrier may differ from the carrier used for the random access procedure.

[0105] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each narrowband carrier may be different from the anchor carrier in the set of narrowband carriers associated with each directional beam.

[0106] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: determining a first configuration for a first channel probe message on a first directional beam of one or more directional beams; and determining a second configuration for a second channel probe message on a second directional beam of one or more directional beams, the one or more channel probe messages being received according to the first configuration or the second configuration or any combination thereof.

[0107] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second configuration may be based on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration.

[0108] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first configuration may differ from the second configuration.

[0109] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, at least a portion of the first configuration and the second configuration may be common to the first directional beam and the second directional beam.

[0110] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: determining, according to the configuration, a set of random access opportunities for receiving the random access preamble message, the random access preamble message being received during at least one of the random access opportunities in the set of random access opportunities, wherein the set of random access opportunities includes random access opportunities that can be configured on different narrowband carriers of the one or more directional beams, and wherein the configuration indicates the set of random access opportunities.

[0111] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the random access timing can be configured on one or more directional beams according to a pattern on time resources or frequency resources or both.

[0112] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the pattern includes a set of random access resources in adjacent carriers that are temporally adjacent.

[0113] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each random access resource in the group of temporally adjacent random access resources may be separated by time intervals.

[0114] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a first random access preamble, which may differ from a second random access preamble that can be used in a random access procedure.

[0115] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the first random access preamble includes a preamble shared among two or more UEs including the UE, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble or any combination thereof.

[0116] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each of the random access preamble messages includes a narrowband random access preamble message.

[0117] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending radio resource control signaling that configures the one or more channel probe messages.

[0118] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: sending one or more messages to the UE to modify the configuration of the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the one or more messages include MAC control elements, DCI, or any combination thereof.

[0119] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the one or more messages activate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, deactivate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, or any combination thereof.

[0120] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: sending a DCI to the UE including a trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages.

[0121] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: transmitting a narrowband PDCCH command within the DCI, wherein the narrowband PDCCH command includes a trigger.

[0122] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: sending an indication of one or more directional beams, one or more narrowband carriers, or any combination thereof for sending one or more random access preamble messages as channel probe messages as part of the narrowband PDCCH command.

[0123] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving one or more random access preamble messages at each of a set of transmission times based on the narrowband PDCCH command.

[0124] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving one or more channel probe messages as part of a beam fault recovery procedure.

[0125] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: receiving an indication of beam fault from the UE when the signal quality of the narrowband carrier based on the directional beam meets a threshold.

[0126] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each of the one or more directional beams including the directional beam corresponds to a different radio frequency.

[0127] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the one or more channel probe messages may be received based on the fulfillment of an event trigger.

[0128] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: configuring a set of resources for the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the set of resources may be shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or may be UE-specific resources, or may be contention-based resources, or may be contention-free resources, or any combination thereof.

[0129] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: transmitting configurations for one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein the one or more channel sounding messages may be received based on measurements of the one or more measurement objects.

[0130] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes narrowband SRS.

[0131] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: selecting a second directional beam different from the directional beam based on a beam management procedure or a beam fault recovery procedure or any combination thereof, wherein the selection may be based on receiving one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the UE using the second directional beam.

[0132] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: executing a handover procedure to hand over the UE to a second cell, which is different from a first cell that may be associated with the directional beam and is associated with a second directional beam, wherein the handover procedure may be based on a received channel probe message.

[0133] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the one or more channel probe messages may be received based on periodic transmission timing, aperiodic transmission timing, dynamic transmission timing, transmission timing initiated by one or more UEs, one or more event triggers, or any combination thereof.

[0134] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the directional beam, the narrowband carrier, the set of narrowband carriers, or any combination thereof can be used for narrowband Internet of Things (IoT) communications.

[0135] A wireless communication method is described. The method may include: communicating with a UE via a directional beam; sending an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switching to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0136] An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor and memory may be configured to communicate with a UE via a directional beam; send an instruction to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the instruction. In some cases, the second narrowband carrier may be different from the first narrowband carrier.

[0137] Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include: components for communicating with a UE via a directional beam; and components for sending to the UE an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier. The apparatus may include components for switching to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0138] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: communicate with a UE via a directional beam; and send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, wherein the second narrowband carrier may be different from the first narrowband carrier. The instructions may be executed to switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0139] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second narrowband carrier may come from a set of candidate carriers.

[0140] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a configuration of the group of candidate carriers to the UE, wherein the configuration may be transmitted via radio resource control signaling, MAC control elements, or any combination thereof.

[0141] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing DCI, MAC control elements, or any combination thereof, including indications for modifying the carrier used for communication.

[0142] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing: receiving an acknowledgment of an indication to modify a carrier used for communication in response to the received DCI or the MAC control element or any combination thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0143] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0144] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0145] Figure 3 An example of a satellite beam configuration supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0146] Figure 4 An example of a cell configuration supporting connection mode beam management for a narrowband system, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0147] Figure 5 An example of resource configuration supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0148] Figure 6 An example of resource configuration supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0149] Figure 7An example of a process flow in a system supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0150] Figure 8 An example of a process flow in a system supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0151] Figure 9 and Figure 10 A block diagram of a device supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0152] Figure 11 A block diagram is shown of a communication manager supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0153] Figure 12 A diagram of a system including a device supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0154] Figure 13 and Figure 14 A block diagram of a device supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0155] Figure 15 A block diagram is shown of a communication manager supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0156] Figure 16 A diagram of a system including a device supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown.

[0157] Figures 17 to 24 A flowchart illustrating a method for connection mode beam management for narrowband systems, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0158] Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) can provide coverage of a geographic area by using one or more high-altitude devices (e.g., satellites) to communicate with one or more user terminals or one or more base stations (e.g., Next-Generation Node Bs or Gigabit Node Bs (either of which may be referred to as gNBs)) (also referred to as access stations or access gateways). One or more high-altitude devices may also communicate with both one or more user terminals and one or more base stations. High-altitude devices may be referred to herein as satellites, and terrestrial base stations may be referred to herein as base stations.

[0159] In some examples, a base station can transmit data to a satellite, which can then transmit the data to a user terminal, or the base station can transmit data to a user terminal, which can then be transmitted to a satellite. Alternatively, the user terminal can communicate indirectly with the satellite via a base station. In some examples, the satellite itself may be or include the functionality of a base station. In such examples, the satellite and the user terminal can communicate directly. Examples of user terminals may include a UE, relay equipment configured to relay signals between the satellite and the user terminal, or other devices. In some cases, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) may support narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communication. Thus, the user terminal may be an IoT device, which can be a low-cost or low-complexity device that can provide automated communication between machines. IoT devices may support NB-IoT communication to support relatively improved battery life, system capacity, and spectrum efficiency.

[0160] Satellites can provide multiple directional beams. In some examples, different satellite beams belonging to the same satellite can use different frequencies. For example, a satellite may move in low Earth orbit, which may affect the channel conditions of the UE on different directional beams. For instance, a UE or base station may be configured to communicate with a satellite on a first beam at a first time point, but the satellite may move such that at a second time point, the first beam may not be preferred for communication between the UE or base station and the satellite.

[0161] In some cases, a UE or base station can perform beam reselection to improve communication conditions when satellites move and channel conditions change with the beam. However, if the UE is communicating using NB-IoT communication, its ability to perform connected-mode measurements may be limited. For example, the UE may have limited capabilities (e.g., low-power, reduced-capacity, or low-complexity devices) and performing measurements may affect UE operation. In other examples, the UE may not be configured to perform measurements on signals received on the beam (e.g., when in connected mode), resulting in limited or no mechanisms available for the UE to perform beam management procedures.

[0162] By implementing the techniques described herein, a UE can transmit uplink signals (which may be referred to herein as channel sounding messages, but may additionally or alternatively include messages with random access preambles, sounding reference signals (SRS), or other signals that facilitate the detection of directional beams) on narrowband carriers to help the network determine the quality of the directional satellite beams used for communication between the network and devices (e.g., between the UE and a satellite). For example, the network can use channel sounding messages from the UE to estimate the channel quality of a specific satellite beam used for communication with the UE. In such cases, random access preambles, SRS, etc., can be transmitted on narrowband carriers from a set of narrowband carriers associated with the directional beam. Additionally, uplink signaling can be configured to be transmitted in one beam or on multiple beams (e.g., via narrowband carriers associated with each beam). In some aspects, narrowband carriers may be referred to as a set of frequency resources, frequency resources, or similar terms.

[0163] The UE can be configured with a configuration, triggering mechanism, or both for transmitting channel sounding messages. This configuration may include, but is not limited to: the position of the carrier (e.g., a narrowband carrier); the position across time, frequency, and / or beam; resource scheduling across time, frequency, and / or beam; the value of the repetition count of the preamble repetition unit of the random access preamble, etc. Additionally, the triggering mechanism can define one or more parameters associated with the timing of transmitting the channel sounding message. For example, the triggering mechanism can define whether the channel sounding message can be transmitted periodically, aperiodically, semi-persistently, or triggered by the UE (e.g., based on some event or event-triggered event). In some cases, when a random access preamble is used as a channel sounding message, the configuration, triggering mechanism, or both of the random access preamble may differ from other configurations and triggering mechanisms used for transmitting random access preambles, for example, in terrestrial communications. Therefore, when transmitting a random access preamble as a channel sounding message on a narrowband carrier, the random access preamble may differ from other preambles used for random access procedures or may be transmitted in a different manner than these other preambles (e.g., on different carriers). This allows the network to know that uplink signals can be used to determine beam or channel quality.

[0164] The network can configure a UE to communicate on different carriers, beams, or both within the same cell or in different cells, based on one or more channel sounding messages sent by the UE according to configuration provided by the network. In some examples, the channel sounding messages sent by the UE can inform one or more parameters of the beam switching procedure. In some cases, the beam switching procedure can be a separate procedure from the procedure that provides configuration and triggering mechanisms for one or more channel sounding messages to the UE.

[0165] As further described herein, a UE can perform beam and / or carrier handover based on signaling received from the network. For example, the network can send an indication to the UE to handover a carrier, beam, or both, where one or more carriers the UE can handover to can be selected from a set of candidate carriers. In such cases, the candidate carriers can be configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, and the UE can acknowledge receipt of the indication to handover a carrier / beam.

[0166] Various aspects of this disclosure are first described within the context of wireless communication systems. These aspects are illustrated and described with reference to satellite beam configurations, cell configurations, resource configurations, and exemplary process flowcharts. Various aspects of this disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts relating to connection mode beam management for narrowband systems.

[0167] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more base stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be an LTE network, an LTE-A network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communication, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communication, low-latency communication, communication with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof.

[0168] Base stations 105 can be distributed throughout a geographical area to form a wireless communication system 100, and can be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. Base stations 105 and UE 115 can communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 can provide a coverage area 110, and UE 115 and base station 105 can establish one or more communication links 125 over the coverage area. Coverage area 110 can be an example of a geographical area over which base stations 105 and UE 115 can support signal communication according to one or more radio access technologies.

[0169] UE 115 can be distributed throughout the entire coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 can be fixed or mobile, or fixed or mobile at different times. UE 115 can be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1Some exemplary UEs 115 are shown in the document. The UE 115 described herein is capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, base stations 105, or network devices (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network devices), such as... Figure 1 As shown.

[0170] Base station 105 can communicate with core network 130, or with each other, or both. For example, base station 105 can interface with core network 130 via one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). Base station 105 can communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130) via backhaul links 120 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces), or both. In some examples, backhaul link 120 can be or include one or more radio links. UE 115 can communicate with core network 130 via communication link 160.

[0171] One or more of the base stations 105 described herein may include, or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as, base station transceiver, radio base station, access point, radio transceiver, node B, e-node B (eNB), next-generation node B or gigabit node B (any of which may be referred to as gNB), home node B, home e-node B or other suitable terms.

[0172] UE 115 may also include or be referred to as a mobile device, wireless device, remote device, handheld device, or subscriber device, or some other suitable term, wherein "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client, etc. UE 115 may also include or be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computer, laptop computer, or personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, IoT device, Internet of Things (IoE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, etc., which may be implemented in various objects such as home appliances or vehicles, meters, etc.

[0173] The UE 115 described in this article may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UE 115s that can sometimes act as relays, as well as base station 105 and network devices, including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, etc. Figure 1 As shown.

[0174] UE 115 and base station 105 can wirelessly communicate with each other via one or more communication links 125 on one or more carriers. The term "carrier" can refer to a set of radio frequency resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communication link 125. For example, a carrier for communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a portion of the bandwidth (BWP) that operates according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). In NB-IoT communication, "carrier" may refer to a narrowband channel. For example, a carrier can be a physical resource block wide-narrowband channel. Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling coordinating operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. Wireless communication system 100 can use carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation to support communication with UE 115. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, UE 115 can be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation can be used with frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers.

[0175] In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates the operation of other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)) and can be located according to a channel grating for discovery by UE115. A carrier may operate in standalone mode, where initial acquisition and connection can be performed via the carrier by UE115, or in non-standalone mode, where different carriers (e.g., the same or different radio access technologies) are used to anchor the connection.

[0176] The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include uplink transmission from UE 115 to base station 105, or downlink transmission from base station 105 to UE 115. The carrier may carry downlink or uplink communication (e.g., in FDD mode), or may be configured to carry both downlink and uplink communication (e.g., in TDD mode).

[0177] A carrier can be associated with a specific bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth can be referred to as the carrier or the "system bandwidth" of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth can be one of multiple defined bandwidths of a carrier used for a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz). Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base station 105, UE 115, or both) can have a hardware configuration that supports communication on a specific carrier bandwidth, or can be configured to support communication on one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 can include base station 105 and UE 115 that support simultaneous communication via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each serving UE 115 can be configured to operate on a portion (e.g., subband, BWP) or all of the carrier bandwidth.

[0178] The signal waveform transmitted via a carrier can consist of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or DFT-S-OFDM). In a system employing MCM, a resource element can consist of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of a modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely proportional. The number of bits carried by each resource element can depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the decoding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Therefore, the more resource elements the UE 115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate of the UE 115. Wireless communication resources can refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, temporal resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and using multiple spatial layers can further improve the data rate or data integrity of communication with the UE 115.

[0179] One or more digital parameters can be supported for the carrier, where the digital parameters can indicate the subcarrier spacing (Δf) and cyclic prefix. The carrier can be divided into one or more BWPs with the same or different digital parameters. In some examples, the UE 115 can be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for the carrier can be active at a given time, and communication for the UE 115 can be restricted to one or more active BWPs.

[0180] The time interval of base station 105 or UE 115 can be expressed as a multiple of a basic time unit, such as T. s =1 / (Δf) max ·N f The sampling period is ) seconds, where Δf max This can represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, while N...f This can represent the maximum supported Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) size. The time intervals of communication resources can be organized based on radio frames, each with a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame can be identified by its System Frame Number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0181] Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into multiple time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include multiple symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix preceding each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, time slots may be further divided into multiple micro-time slots containing one or more symbols. In addition to the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., N) symbols. f Sampling period. The duration of the symbol period can depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of the operation.

[0182] A subframe, time slot, micro-time slot, or symbol can be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., in the time domain) and can be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the duration of the TTI (e.g., the number of symbol periods in the TTI) can be variable. Alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 can be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).

[0183] Physical channels can be multiplexed on a carrier using various techniques. For example, one or more of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques can be used to multiplex physical control channels and physical data channels on a downlink carrier. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for physical control channels can be defined by the number of symbol periods and can extend over the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) can be configured for a group of UEs 115. For example, one or more UEs 115 can monitor or search for control regions for control information based on one or more search space sets, and each search space set can include one or more control channel candidates at one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level for control channel candidates can refer to the number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with coded information for a control information format with a given payload size. The search space set may include a shared search space set configured to issue control information to multiple UEs 115 and a UE-specific search space set configured to issue control information to a specific UE 115.

[0184] Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells (e.g., macro cells, small cells, hotspots, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof). The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with base station 105 (e.g., via a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier used to distinguish neighboring cells (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID), or others). In some examples, a cell may also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion of geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) on which a logical communication entity operates. Depending on various factors such as the capabilities of base station 105, such cells may range from smaller areas (e.g., structures, subsets of structures) to larger areas. For example, a cell may be or include buildings, subsets of buildings, or external space between or overlapping with geographic coverage area 110, etc.

[0185] Macro cells can cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and allow unrestricted access for UE 115 that has a service subscription to a network provider supporting macro cells. In contrast, small cells can be associated with a lower-power base station 105 and can operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells can provide unrestricted access to UE 115 with a service subscription to a network provider, or restricted access to UE 115 associated with a small cell (e.g., UE 115 in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), or UE 115 associated with a user at home or office). Base station 105 can support one or more cells and can also support communication on one or more cells using one or more component carriers.

[0186] In some examples, a carrier can support multiple cells and can be configured with different cells based on different protocol types that can provide access for different types of devices (e.g., MTC, NB-IoT, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)).

[0187] In some examples, base station 105 may be mobile, and thus provide communication coverage for mobile geographic coverage areas 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations 105. Wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network, in which different types of base stations 105 use the same or different radio access technologies to provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

[0188] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, can be low-cost or low-complexity devices and can provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC can refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with each other or with base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay this information to a central server or application that utilizes the information or presents the information to humans interacting with the application. Some UEs 115 can be designed to collect information or automate the behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based billing.

[0189] NB-IoT can refer to low-power wide-area communication used for many different devices (e.g., UE 115). NB-IoT communication can utilize bandwidth within a narrow band (e.g., a 200kHz radio frequency band). Therefore, NB-IoT can provide high power efficiency for various devices while also enhancing system capacity and spectral efficiency. Thus, NB-IoT-enabled systems can provide extended battery life and increased connection density for a relatively large number of UE 115 devices. In some implementations, NB-IoT can be used to support various deployments, such as smart metering, facility management, connectivity with various appliances and devices, and industrial applications, among others.

[0190] UE 115 can operate according to various states or modes for communicating with the network. For example, the UE can operate according to an RRC idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE), an RRC inactive state (e.g., RRC_INACTIVE), and an RRC connected state (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED). UE 115 can transition between these states or modes, for example, based on its communication traffic. In the RRC idle state (which may be referred to as idle mode), UE 115 may not be registered to a specific cell and may correspondingly lack an access stratum (AS) context, and therefore UE 115 may not have an active RRC connection established with the network (e.g., via base station 105). In idle mode, UE 115 can periodically wake up to monitor channels for paging or other signaling, and the mobility of UE 115 can be managed by UE 115 while performing measurements on one or more cells. In the RRC connected state (which may be referred to as connected mode), UE 115 may have an established RRC connection (e.g., with 5GC), where UE 115 may store AS context. Here, UE 115 may belong to a known cell and can be identified using the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) assigned to UE 115. When in connected mode, UE 115 can monitor messages sent by the network, which may include monitoring various channels (e.g., paging channels, control channels, etc.).

[0191] The RRC inactive state can be used to reduce signaling overhead, provide an intermediate mode (e.g., a mode between idle and connected), and also to reduce latency when transitioning to another mode (e.g., transitioning to connected mode). UE 115 can periodically wake up while in inactive mode to monitor paging messages from the network, where UE 115 may, in some cases, perform a random access procedure to move to connected mode and communicate with the network. In some examples, UE 115 (e.g., an NB-IoT UE) may not perform measurements on signals received from the network, for example, when in connected mode, because measurements could lead to increased processing and power consumption at the NB-IoT UE. Therefore, such a device may lack a mechanism for effectively modifying or changing the beam used to communicate with the network. However, as described herein, UE 115 can transmit uplink messages (e.g., Narrowband Physical Random Access Channel (NPRACH) preamble, SRS, or other messages) on a narrowband carrier associated with the beam, which can signal to the network about beam or channel quality. The network can use such messaging to modify or adjust the beams and / or carriers used by UE 115, thereby achieving improved communication quality and throughput. Such beam management techniques (which can also be extended or used for beam fault detection, beam fault recovery, or radio link failure procedures) enable efficient mobility management of UE 115. Alternatively, in the case of an NTN where high-altitude nodes can move relative to UE 115 (and UE 115 may be relatively stationary, such as in smart building deployments or other deployments), a mechanism can be provided to enhance beam selection as the node moves.

[0192] Wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication, or various combinations thereof. For example, wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) or mission-critical communication. UE 115 can be designed to support ultra-reliable low-latency or mission-critical functions (e.g., mission-critical functions). Ultra-reliable communication may include private or group communication and may be supported by one or more mission-critical services such as mission-critical key-touch (MCPTT), mission-critical video (MCVideo), or mission-critical data (MCData). Support for mission-critical functions may include service prioritization, and mission-critical services may be available for public safety or general business applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission-critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency are used interchangeably herein.

[0193] In some examples, UE 115 can also communicate directly with other UE 115 via device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocols). One or more UE 115s utilizing D2D communication can be within the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 105. Other UE 115s in this group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 105 or unable to receive transmissions from base station 105. In some examples, multiple groups of UE 115s communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE 115 transmits to each other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication between UE 115s is performed without the involvement of base station 105.

[0194] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel between vehicles (e.g., UE 115), such as a sidelink communication channel. In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or some combination thereof. Vehicles may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal control, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure (such as roadside units), or communicate with the network via vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication through one or more network nodes (e.g., base station 105), or both.

[0195] Core network 130 can provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. Core network 130 can be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), and can include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), access and mobility management function (AMF)) managing access and mobility, and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or user plane function (UPF)) routing packets or interconnects to external networks. The control plane entity can manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions of UE 115 served by base station 105 associated with core network 130, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management. User IP packets can be delivered through the user plane entity, which can provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity can connect to network operator IP service 150. Network operator IP service 150 can include access to the Internet, intranet(s), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or packet-switched streaming services.

[0196] Some network devices, such as base station 105, may include sub-components such as access network entity 140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with UE 115 via one or more other access network transmitting entities 145, which may be referred to as a radio headend, smart radio headend, or transmit / receive point (TRP). Each access network transmitting entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio headends and ANCs) or combined into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0197] Wireless communication system 100 can operate using one or more frequency bands in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. In some examples, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelength ranges from approximately 1 decimeter to 1 meter. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but the waves can be sufficient to penetrate structures to enable macrocells to provide service to UE 115 located indoors. Compared to transmissions using smaller frequencies and longer waves in the High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz, UHF wave transmissions can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 km).

[0198] Wireless communication system 100 can utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, wireless communication system 100 can employ licensed assisted access (LAA), unlicensed LTE (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in unlicensed bands such as the 5 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as base station 105 and UE 115 can employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operation in unlicensed bands can be based on carrier aggregation configurations, combining component carriers operating in licensed bands (e.g., LAA). Operation in unlicensed spectrum can include downlink transmission, uplink transmission, P2P transmission, or D2D transmission, etc.

[0199] Base station 105 or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which can be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. The antennas of base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which can support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be juxtaposed in an antenna assembly such as an antenna tower. In some examples, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with base station 105 may be located in different geographical locations. Base station 105 may have multiple rows and columns of antenna arrays with antenna ports, which base station 105 can use to support beamforming for communication with UE 115. Similarly, UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays capable of supporting various MIMO or beamforming operations. Alternatively or additionally, antenna panels may support radio frequency beamforming for signals transmitted via antenna ports.

[0200] Beamforming (also known as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that can be used in transmitting or receiving equipment (e.g., base station 105, UE 115) to shape or manipulate antenna beams (e.g., transmit beam, receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting and receiving equipment. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals transmitted via antenna elements of an antenna array, such that some signals propagating relative to a specific orientation of the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals transmitted via antenna elements may include the transmitting or receiving equipment applying amplitude offset, phase offset, or both to the signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the equipment. The adjustment associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a specific orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting or receiving equipment, or relative to some other orientation).

[0201] Base station 105 or UE 115 may use beam scanning technology as part of beamforming operations. For example, base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with UE 115. Base station 105 may transmit several signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) multiple times in different directions. For example, base station 105 may transmit signals based on different beamforming weight sets associated with different transmission directions. Beam directions may be identified using transmissions in different beam directions (e.g., by a transmitting device such as base station 105, or by a receiving device such as UE 115) for later transmission or reception by base station 105.

[0202] Base station 105 may transmit signals, such as data signals associated with a specific receiving device, in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device such as UE 115). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based on the signals transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by base station 105 in different directions and may report to base station 105 an indication of signals received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality.

[0203] In some examples, multiple beam directions can be used to perform transmissions by a device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115), and the device can use a combination of digital pre-decoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from base station 105 to UE 115). UE 115 can report feedback indicating pre-decoding weights for one or more beam directions, and this feedback can correspond to a configured number of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. Base station 105 can transmit reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)), which can be pre-decoded or undecoded. UE 115 can provide feedback for beam selection, which can be a pre-decoded matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., multi-panel codebook, linear combination codebook, port selection codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques to transmit signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115) or to transmit signals in a single direction (e.g., to transmit data to a receiving device).

[0204] When receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from base station 105, the receiving device (e.g., UE 115) can attempt multiple receiving configurations (e.g., directional listening). For example, the receiving device can attempt multiple receiving directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing the received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different sets of receiving beamforming weights applied to the received signals at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array (e.g., different sets of directional listening weights), or by processing the received signals according to different sets of receiving beamforming weights applied to the received signals at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array. Any of these can be referred to as "listening" according to different receiving configurations or receiving directions. In some examples, the receiving device can use a single receiving beam to receive along a single configuration direction (e.g., when receiving data signals). The single receiving configuration can be aligned in a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receiving configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or based on other acceptable signal quality according to listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0205] UE 115 and base station 105 can support data retransmission to increase the likelihood of successful data reception. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback is a technique used to improve the likelihood of correct data reception over communication link 125. HARQ can include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ)). Under adverse radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio conditions), HARQ may improve throughput in the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. In some examples, the device can support HARQ feedback within the same time slot, where the device can provide HARQ feedback in a specific time slot for data received in a previous symbol within that time slot. In other cases, the device can provide HARQ feedback in subsequent time slots or according to some other time interval.

[0206] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been designated FR1 (410MHz to 7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz to 52.6GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as midband frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6GHz" band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although this differs from the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) band (30GHz to 300GHz), which is designated as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0207] In light of the foregoing, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that the terms "below 6 GHz" and the like, as used herein, can broadly refer to frequencies that are less than 6 GHz, within FR1, or may include midband frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that the terms "millimeter wave" and the like, as used herein, can broadly refer to frequencies that may include midband frequencies, within FR2, or within the EHF band.

[0208] The wireless communication system 100 also includes at least one satellite 155. Satellite 155 can communicate with one or more of base stations 105 and UEs 115. Satellite 155 can be any suitable type of communication satellite configured to facilitate communication between different nodes in a wireless communication system (such as an NTN). Satellite 155 can be an example of a space satellite, balloon, airship, aircraft, drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, etc. In some examples, satellite 155 can be or include geostationary or geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, low Earth orbit (LEO) or medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, or high-altitude platforms (HAPs), etc. In some examples, satellite 155 can be a multi-beam satellite configured to provide service to multiple service beam coverage areas within a defined geographic service area.

[0209] In some examples, the cell may be provided or established by satellite 155 as part of the NTN. In some examples, satellite 155 may perform the functions of base station 105. For example, satellite 155 may communicate directly with core network 130 without utilizing a terrestrial base station (e.g., base station 105), may communicate directly with one or more devices (such as one or more UEs 115), or both. In some other examples, satellite 155 may be an example of a relay transponder for base station 105.

[0210] In various examples, the communication manager may be a component of the device or included in the device to support various beam management techniques, such as the transmission and reception of channel sound messages. For example, UE 115 may include communication manager 101 or satellite 155 may include communication manager 102. Alternatively, base station 105 may include communication manager 102.

[0211] In some examples, the communication manager 101 can communicate with a network via a directional beam and configure itself to receive one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams from the network. In such cases, each of the one or more directional beams may be associated with a set of narrowband carriers, and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in that set of narrowband carriers. In some examples, the communication manager 101 may determine a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on this configuration; and transmit the one or more channel probe messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration. In some examples, the communication manager 101 may also communicate with the network via the directional beam; and send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, which is different from the first narrowband carrier. The communication manager 101 may switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this indication.

[0212] In some examples, the communication manager 102 can communicate with the UE via a directional beam and receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the channel probe messages being received on a narrowband carrier in a set of narrowband carriers. In some examples, the communication manager 102 can determine the beam or channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages. The communication manager 102 can also communicate with the UE 115 via the directional beam. In some examples, the communication manager 102 can send an indication to the UE to change the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier. In some examples, the communication manager 102 can switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this indication.

[0213] Wireless communication system 100 can support efficient beam reselection for communication between UE 115 and satellite 155. In some cases, each beam of satellite 155 may include one or more carriers. In some examples, the carriers may be narrowband carriers, which include a 180kHz resource block for narrowband IoT communication. For example, each beam of satellite 155 may include at least one carrier carrying synchronization signals, system information, or both (e.g., an anchor carrier). Satellite 155 can provide one or more cells, where each cell may include one or more sets of carriers. Each set of carriers may correspond to a different beam of satellite 155. In such cases, wireless communication system 100 can support UE 115 (e.g., an NB-IoT device) sending messages to a network (e.g., an NTN) so that the network can determine beam or channel quality for beam management purposes. Specifically, the UE may send uplink channel sounding messages on carriers associated with satellite beams. Channel sounding messages may be random access preamble messages or messages including preambles (e.g., NPRACH preambles), or may include SRS or some other signal. In any case, channel sounding messages can be configured by the network, and the UE can send channel sounding messages based on configuration and triggering mechanisms. This configuration may include indications of the location for sending channel sounding messages (e.g., on non-anchor carriers, on some time / frequency resources, on one or more beams), and the transmission of channel sounding messages can be periodic, aperiodic, event-based, or any combination thereof. Channel sounding messages can be sent across different directional beams between the UE 115 and the network (e.g., via satellite 155, base station 105), where each directional beam can be associated with a set of carriers, and the channel sounding message can be sent on one of the carriers in the set of carriers used for the corresponding beam.

[0214] It should be noted that although the aspects of this disclosure are described in the context of NTN and NB-IoT systems, it should be understood that the described technologies can be supported by other communication technologies and systems, and the features described herein should not be considered as limited to or applicable only to NTN or NB-IoT systems.

[0215] Figure 2 Examples of a wireless communication system 200 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure are shown. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the wireless communication system 200 may include a base station 105-a, a device 215 (e.g., a UE), and a satellite 155-a, which may be as described in reference... Figure 1 Examples of base station 105, UE 115 and satellite 155 described.

[0216] Wireless communication system 200 can provide geographic coverage area 110-a by communicating with one or more of base station 105-a and device 215 using satellite 155-a. Therefore, base station 105-a can provide service to geographic coverage area 110-a with the assistance of or via satellite 155-a. In some examples, base station 105-a may not have its own terrestrial geographic coverage area. For example, base station 105-a can communicate directly with satellite 155-a without directly communicating with any terrestrial user terminal (such as device 215). In some examples, satellite 155-a can relay communication between base station 105-a and device 215. For example, device 215 can communicate with satellite 155-a via base station 105-a and vice versa. In some examples, a terrestrial or ground base station (e.g., base station 105-a) can be an example of a gateway. In some examples, satellite 155-a itself can act as a base station (in other words, satellite 155-a can perform scheduling and radio link control, and other operations). In some examples, the NTN may not include base station 105-a, which communicates directly with device 215 without relaying via satellite 155-a. In other examples, the NTN may consist of satellite 155-a and may not include base station 105.

[0217] In some examples, device 215 and satellite 155-a can communicate directly via uplink 205-b and downlink 210-b. Alternatively, device 215 and satellite 155-a can communicate indirectly via uplink 205-a and downlink 210-a between base station 105-a and satellite 155-a, and via uplink 201-c and downlink 210-c between base station 105-a and device 215. In some examples, for communication initiated at device 215 and destined for base station 105-a, device 215 can send an uplink transmission to satellite 155-a on uplink 205-b. Satellite 155-a can relay the uplink transmission on uplink 205-b as a downlink transmission on downlink 210-a to base station 105-b.

[0218] Satellite 155-a can provide multiple beams. In some examples, different satellite beams belonging to satellite 155-a can use different frequencies. Satellite 155-a may move, for example, in low Earth orbit, which may affect the channel conditions of device 215 on different beams. For example, device 215 can perform cell reselection to improve communication conditions when satellite 155-a moves.

[0219] In some examples, device 215 may operate in a mode or communication scheme in which it may not perform connected-mode measurements after establishing a communication link. For example, device 215 may operate in low-power mode, or device 215 may be an example of an NB-IoT UE. Device 215 may perform measurements in idle mode to establish a connection with a cell, but once the connection is established, device 215 may suspend further measurements to conserve power. When in connected mode, device 215 may not monitor other cells or other beams. In some cases, if device 215 experiences a communication failure, device 215 may declare a radio link failure and initiate a process to re-establish the communication link. For example, device 215 may be an NB-IoT UE that can monitor only a single carrier (carrier configuration via RRC signaling). If the link quality between device 215 and satellite 155-a deteriorates, device 215 may declare a radio link failure and initiate a cell reselection process.

[0220] By implementing the techniques described herein, device 215 can send one or more uplink messages, such as one or more channel sounding messages 220, which may include random access preamble messages or SRS, to assist the network in determining the quality of one or more directional satellite beams used for communication between satellite 155-a and device 215. For example, satellite 155-a can use one or more channel sounding messages 220 from device 215 to estimate the beam or channel quality of a specific satellite beam at device 215. In some examples, channel sounding messages 220 may be NPRACH preamble messages (e.g., messages including NPRACH preambles), or SRS, or another signal that can be used by the network to determine beam or channel quality. In some cases, random access preamble messages may be narrowband random access preamble messages, which may include NPRACH preambles with a different signal structure compared to physical random access channel (PRACH) preambles (e.g., for eMBB).

[0221] Satellite 155-a can receive one or more channel sounding messages 220 transmitted on one or more beams from device 215, and measure the beam quality of one or more beams used for communication between device 215 and satellite 155-a based on the received one or more channel sounding messages 220. Satellite 155-a can determine the configuration for communication with device 215 based on the measured beam quality of one or more beams. In some examples, satellite 155-a can configure device 215 to use different beams based on the measured beam quality.

[0222] Device 215 may be configured with one or more sets of resources to transmit one or more channel sound messages 220 across different beams. This configuration may include one or more carrier positions, one or more positions across at least one of time, frequency, and satellite beams, the arrangement across at least one of time, frequency, and beams, and possible values ​​for the number of repetitions of the preamble repetition unit of the random access preamble. In such cases, device 215 may identify which narrowband carriers (e.g., from a set of narrowband carriers associated with corresponding beams in one or more beams) can be used to transmit channel sound messages 220.

[0223] The device can be configured with a triggering mechanism for sending one or more channel probe messages 220. In some examples, device 215 can be configured to send channel probe messages 220 at set time intervals. For example, these set time intervals can be periodic or according to a defined schedule. Alternatively, device 215 can be configured to send channel probe messages non-periodically. For example, device 215 can prompt the sending of channel probe messages by signaling (e.g., on demand). In other examples, device 215 can determine to initiate the sending of channel probe messages. For example, device 215 can determine to mimic the sending of channel probe messages in response to an event such as the determination of poor beam quality.

[0224] In some examples, channel sounding message timing can be triggered by downlink control information (DCI). For example, channel sounding message timing can be triggered by a narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH) command DCI (e.g., a DCI including an NPDCCH command). The NPDCCH command in the DCI can be configured to indicate which beams(s) are used to transmit NPRACH preamble messages as channel sounding messages. Alternatively or additionally, a single NPDCCH command DCI can trigger the transmission of NPRACH preamble messages (e.g., channel sounding message 220) at random access times on multiple beams or during random access times (e.g., using random access resources in time and frequency). In some cases, a single NPDCCH command DCI can trigger the transmission of random access preamble messages temporally consecutively on different frequency resources, such as using TDM and FDM for multiple random access preambles. For example, device 215 can be configured with coordinated channel sounding message timing across multiple carriers. Alternatively or additionally, a single NPDCCH command can trigger random access message timing across multiple time instances, where carrier or beam positions can be located in different time instances. In this way, satellite 155-a can determine the beam quality indication received from device 215, while reducing NPDCCH monitoring at the UE.

[0225] In some examples, the timing of channel sounding messages can be triggered periodically by unicast RRC or by semi-persistent scheduling, and some triggering parameters can be updated by the MAC-Control Element (CE) / DCI. In some examples, the movement pattern of satellite 155-a may be known or predictable, and the triggering mechanism of channel sounding messages can be configured based on the known movement pattern of satellite 155-a. The MAC-CE, DCI, or both can indicate or adjust which carriers or beams are used for the transmission of channel sounding messages. Alternatively or additionally, the MAC-CE, DCI, or both can activate or deactivate channel sounding messages (e.g., in certain time windows, such as when device 215 can perform beam changes). Here, the network can estimate one or more time periods during which device 215 can modify the directional beam, and can activate or deactivate the transmission of channel sounding messages based on one or more time periods.

[0226] In some examples, device 215 may initiate the transmission of a channel probe message. Device 215 may determine to transmit a channel probe message in response to events such as, but not limited to, device 215 experiencing poor channel conditions, traffic load and network congestion, or meeting beam switching or beam failure thresholds based on downlink reference signal measurements. Resources for such UE-initiated channel probe messages may be shared among multiple UEs, or access may be contention-based. In some examples, device 215 may be able to identify appropriate beams based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signaling, and device 215 may transmit on the identified beams. Alternatively, device 215 may also be configured to measure signal strength on different beams, and transmit such a channel probe message 220 if a measurement event is triggered. For example, device 215 may determine that an adjacent beam may have better characteristics, and device 215 may transmit a channel probe message 220 in response to this determination. In such examples, the transmission of channel sound messages can also be part of a beam fault detection report or beam fault recovery procedure, which may occur if the current beam is determined to have poor signal quality. In some cases, device 215 can perform NTN-specific connection mode measurements to support the transmission of one or more channel sound messages 220.

[0227] In some cases, device 215 may determine that a carrier configured to communicate with satellite 155-a is below a receive threshold in one or more parameters. Device 215 may declare a beam fault and initiate a beam fault recovery (BFR) procedure instead of declaring a radio link fault procedure. In some cases, device 215 may initiate a BFR procedure by declaring a beam fault to the network via communication with base station 105-a, satellite 155-a, or both, without declaring a radio link fault. Device 215 may also begin transmitting one or more channel sound messages on one or more beams. Device 215 may connect to different carriers based on one or more channel sound messages 220. In such cases, the execution of the BFR procedure may be an example of an event-triggered or event-driven instance initiated by a UE transmitting channel sound messages 220 (e.g., transmitting NPRACH preamble messages) on different carriers in different beams.

[0228] In some examples, the channel probe message can use the NPRACH framework, but it can be executed using any reference signal. For example, the channel probe message could be a narrowband SRS. Alternatively, the channel probe message could be an NTN-specific uplink signal. In some cases, the channel probe message framework (e.g., configuration options, triggering mechanisms, etc.) can be adapted to applications using other reference signals. These other applications can include different physical signal characteristics, such as, but not limited to, sequence and time-frequency mappings. For example, these other applications might use a cyclic prefix configuration different from the beginning of each preamble resource unit (PRU) in the NPRACH preamble. Additionally, the DCI triggering mechanism may differ from the NPDCCH command, which is NPRACH-specific.

[0229] After sending one or more channel probe messages, device 215 may return to the carrier to which it was initially connected without waiting for a response to the one or more channel probe messages. In the example of sending one or more channel probe messages using NPRACH preamble transmission, device 215 may return to the carrier to which it was initially connected without waiting for a response to the NPRACH preamble transmission in order to continue communication. In this example, after sending one or more NPRACH preambles on one or more carriers in different beams, the UE may not monitor the response (e.g., the Random Access Response (RAR)). UE behavior that does not monitor the RAR after NPRACH preamble transmission for channel probe messages may differ from UE behavior after NPRACH preamble transmission for other applications (such as, but not limited to, initial access procedures or timing synchronization procedures) where the UE monitors the RAR to indicate the action the UE will perform.

[0230] In some examples, a mechanism that the network can use to perform beam-switching procedures can be employed. This beam-switching may be implicitly based on uplink probe signals emitted by device 215 or according to each configuration provided by the network. In such cases, the network can determine, based on one or more channel probe messages 220, whether to configure device 215 to communicate on a different carrier or beam, or both. Satellite 155-a or base station 105-a can transmit carrier or beam-switching configurations to device 215 via downlink 210-b or downlink 210-a, respectively.

[0231] UE 115-a can be configured with a set of candidate carriers, candidate beams, or both. That is, wireless communication system 200 can indicate support for carrier handover (e.g., carriers in different beams), where the carrier to be switched to can be from a set of candidate carriers. Device 215 can be configured with this set of candidate carriers, candidate beams, or both during initial access. In some cases, device 215 can be configured with candidate carriers via RRC signaling. Satellite 155-a or base station 105-a can configure device 215 to switch to a different carrier or beam from this set of candidate carriers or candidate beams via DCI or MAC-CE signaling. Device 215 can perform a carrier or beam handover procedure based on DCI or MAC-CE signaling for a carrier or beam within this set of candidate carriers or candidate beams without performing RRC reconfiguration. In some examples, device 215 can provide the network with a feedback message acknowledging receipt of DCI and / or MAC-CE. That is, device 215 can provide an acknowledgment of the indication of switching beams / carriers, which can be transmitted via HARQ ACK transmission (e.g., on NPUSCH format 2).

[0232] Figure 3 Examples of satellite beam configuration 300 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure are shown. In some examples, satellite beam configuration 300 may implement aspects of wireless communication system 100 and wireless communication system 200.

[0233] The satellite can provide multiple beams for use with UE 115 (e.g., reference beams). Figure 2The device described in device 215 communicates with the satellite. In some cases, different satellite beams may have different frequencies. For example, the satellite may transmit on multiple frequencies (such as a first frequency 305, a second frequency 310, and a third frequency 315) on the beam. Coverage area 320 may be associated with a satellite beam. For example, coverage area 320-a may be associated with the beam using the first frequency 305, coverage area 320-b may be associated with the beam using the second frequency 310, and coverage area 320-c may be associated with the beam using the third frequency 315. In some other examples, additional frequencies may be used by the satellite beam.

[0234] In some cases, similar to a reference Figure 1 Coverage areas 110 and 320 described herein may be associated with geographic regions. As UE 115 moves, or as a satellite moves (e.g., in low Earth orbit), UE 115 may move between coverage areas or have better communication conditions with different beams. UE 115 may implement the techniques described herein to improve connection mode beam management for narrowband communications.

[0235] In the examples, the satellite can be configured with one or more carrier groups. In some cases, the carriers can be, for example, narrowband carriers used for NB-IoT communication. Each carrier group can be associated with a different beam. For example, a first beam in coverage area 320-a can provide a first carrier group, a second beam in coverage area 320-b can provide a second carrier group, and a third beam in coverage area 320-c can provide a third carrier group. In some examples, each carrier group can include at least one carrier for transmitting synchronization signals and system information. In some cases, the carrier used for transmitting synchronization signals and system information can be referred to as an anchor carrier.

[0236] In some cases, a satellite may provide one or more cells. For example, a first cell may include a first set of carriers associated with coverage area 320-a and a first beam, a second set of carriers associated with coverage area 320-b and a second beam, and a third set of carriers associated with coverage area 320-c and the second beam. In some cases, a cell may include additional or fewer beams or carrier groups. Additionally, a satellite may provide a second cell that can be associated with coverage areas 325-a, 325-b, and 325-c. In some cases, coverage area 325-a and coverage area 320-a may be associated with the same first set of carriers, coverage area 325-b and coverage area 320-b may be associated with the same second set of carriers, and coverage area 325-c and coverage area 320-c may be associated with the same third set of carriers.

[0237] In some cases, each beam of a satellite can correspond to a cell. For example, each coverage area 320 can correspond to a cell and a beam. UE 115 can connect to a cell and similarly obtain system information from other cells in order to perform effective cell reselection.

[0238] UE 115 may be located at a first position within coverage area 320-b at a first time point and establish a communication link with satellite 155 on a first carrier of a first beam. At a second time point, satellite 155 may move relative to UE 115, and the communication link establishment may degrade. UE 115 may send one or more channel sounding messages to assist the network in improving channel conditions. UE 115 may send channel sounding messages on one or more beams, wherein the one or more beams may be associated with beams serving the surrounding coverage area. For example, UE 115 may send uplink messages (e.g., random access preamble, NPRACH preamble, SRS, etc.) across one or more directional beams to assist the network in determining the quality of the directional satellite beams used for communication between the network and the device. In such cases, each directional beam may be associated with a set of narrowband carriers, and uplink signaling (e.g., random access preamble, SRS) may be sent on narrowband carriers within that set of narrowband carriers. If the beam quality of the device degrades below a threshold, the uplink signal can be used to switch the device to a different beam or support beam failure recovery procedures.

[0239] Satellite 155 can reconfigure communication resources for communicating with UE 115 based on channel sounding messages sent by UE 115. For example, satellite 155 can determine, based on channel sounding messages sent by UE 115, to configure UE 115 to communicate with a beam serving coverage area 320-c. In this example, coverage areas 320-b and 320-c may be in the same cell, so UE 115 can perform handover procedures associated with changing carriers or beams within the same cell. In another example, satellite 155 can determine, based on channel sounding messages sent by UE 115, to configure UE 115 to communicate with a beam serving coverage area 325-a. In this example, coverage areas 320-b and 325-a may be in different cells, so UE 115 can perform handover procedures associated with changing cells. In this example, UE 115 can perform a procedure to establish a new RRC connection with the new cell.

[0240] Figure 4 Examples of cell configuration 400 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure are shown. In some examples, cell configuration 400 may implement aspects of wireless communication system 100 and wireless communication system 200.

[0241] Satellites can provide one or more beams for UE 115. In some cases, each satellite beam may correspond to one or more carriers. Narrowband IoT carriers can be an example of carriers provided by satellites.

[0242] For example, a satellite may provide one or more cells 405, where each cell may include one or more carrier groups 410. Cell 405-a may include carrier group 410-a and carrier group 410-b, and cell 405-b may include carrier group 410-c and carrier group 410-d. The carrier group 410-a may include carriers including at least anchor carrier 415-a and carrier 420-a. Carrier group 410-b may include anchor carrier 415-b and carrier 420-b. Carrier group 410-c of cell 405-b may include anchor carrier 415-c and carrier 420-c, and carrier group 410-d may include anchor carrier 415-d and carrier 420-d. In other examples, a carrier group may include a different number of carriers, or cell 405 may include a different number of carrier groups 410. In some cases, a group of carriers 410 may be referred to as a carrier group.

[0243] In some cases, at least one carrier in each beam may be used to transmit synchronization signals, system information, or both. For example, anchor carrier 415 in a set of carriers 410 may be used to transmit synchronization signals and system information. In some cases, other carriers in the set of carriers 410 (e.g., carrier 420) may be used for communication and may not be used to transmit synchronization signals and system information. In some cases, a set of carriers 410 may include at least one anchor carrier 415 and zero or more carriers 420. In some cases, a set of carriers 410 may not include anchor carrier 415 but may include one or more carriers 420.

[0244] In some cases, frequency information for other beams can be indicated to UE 115. For example, the carrier frequency of a carrier in carrier group 410-b (such as anchor carrier 415-b) can be indicated to UE 115. In some cases, the carrier frequency of carrier group 410-b can be explicitly indicated to UE 115, or UE 115 can receive frequency shift indication from carrier group 410-a. In some cases, scheduling information for system information blocks associated with carriers 410 in other groups can be indicated to UE 115.

[0245] In some cases, a set of anchor carriers 415 may be indicated to UE 115, and UE 115 may perform beam reselection within this set of anchor carriers. In some cases, beam reselection may be initiated based on downlink control information or MAC-CE. In some cases, the set of anchor carriers 415 may be in the same cell 405 or across different cells 405. For example, if UE 115 is on anchor carrier 415-a, then UE 115 may be configured with anchor carriers 415-b and 415-c, and UE 115 may perform beam reselection on either anchor carrier. In some cases, UE 115 may be configured with at least some system information for the beam or carrier group 410.

[0246] One or more messages, such as random access preamble messages, SRS, or channel probe messages, can be configured to be transmitted on resources different from those used for the initial access procedure. In some examples, to support connected-mode beam management, resources in non-anchor carriers (i.e., carriers that are not anchor carriers) can be allocated to the UE 115 for transmitting one or more channel probe messages. For example, if the channel probe message is an NPRACH message, the carrier location of one or more channel probe messages may differ from the resources used for NPRACH transmission to support the initial access procedure, which can be transmitted on one or more anchor carriers. In some cases, at least one carrier within each satellite beam may be designated for channel probe message transmission. In some cases, transmitting channel probe messages on non-anchor carriers can help the network determine the purpose of the transmission. For example, transmitting an NPRACH preamble on a non-anchor carrier can help the network determine that the NPRACH preamble transmission is a channel probe message for a beam-switching procedure rather than an initial access procedure or synchronization procedure.

[0247] In some examples, system information in any beam can provide one or more carrier positions and corresponding channel sounding message configurations for other beams, where the other beams may be close to or near the UE 115. In some examples, system information in the first beam in the cell can include carrier positions and corresponding channel sounding message configurations for other beams in the cell. If the UE is configured to estimate other beams, the UE 115 can use the carrier positions and corresponding channel sounding message configurations to estimate the other beams. For example, if the UE 115 is configured to communicate via carrier group 410-a, the UE 115 can determine the carrier position and channel sounding message configuration based on the system information transmitted on anchor carrier 415-a to transmit a channel sounding message for carrier group 410-b.

[0248] Channel sounding message (SSM) configurations can have a similar set of parameters across beams, or a different set of parameters across beams. For example, the SSM configuration for the first beam can have the same periodicity as the SSM configuration for the second beam. In another example, the SSM configuration for the first beam can have a different timing offset than the SSM configuration for the second beam. In some examples, the SSM configuration in the third beam can be the same as the SSM configuration in the fourth beam, but with a frequency offset. In this example, the configuration can be indicated in the system information.

[0249] In some examples, channel sounding message timing can be coordinated across beams in different carriers. Channel sounding message timing can be configured with timing offsets and periodicity. If channel sounding message timing is configured on a per-carrier basis without coordination with other carriers or beams, the order and timing of cross-beam channel sounding message timing may not allow multiple beams to perform effective channel sounding. Alternatively, if channel sounding message timing is coordinated across beams in different carriers, UE 115 can effectively send channel sounding messages across multiple beams.

[0250] Figure 5 Examples of resource configuration 500 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure are shown. In some examples, resource configuration 500 may implement aspects of wireless communication system 100 and wireless communication system 200. Resource configuration 500 may be implemented by a transmit and receive point (TRP) 560, which may be an example of base station 105 or satellite 155 described herein. In resource configuration 500, TRP 560 may configure resources for channel probe messages across multiple carriers.

[0251] TRP 560 can configure channel sounding message timing 515 on the first carrier 510. Channel sounding message timing can also be called random access timing and can similarly correspond to random access resources configured by the network, for example, for the UE's random access procedure. The first channel sounding message timing 515-a can be configured with a timing offset 550-a, while subsequent channel sounding message timings (such as channel sounding message timing 515-b) can be configured with periodicity 555-a. Additionally, TRP 560 can configure channel sounding message timing 525 on the second carrier 520. The first channel sounding message timing 525-a on the second carrier 520 can be configured with a timing offset 550-b, while subsequent channel sounding message timings (such as channel sounding message timing 525-b) can be configured with periodicity 555-b. Furthermore, TRP 560 can configure channel sounding message timing 535 on the third carrier 530. The first channel probe message timing 535-a on the third carrier 530 can be configured with a timing offset 550-c, while subsequent channel probe message timings (such as channel probe message timing 535-b) can be configured with periodicity 555-c. Additionally, the TRP 560 can configure the channel probe message timing 545 on the fourth carrier 540. The first channel probe message timing 545-a on the fourth carrier 540 can be configured with a timing offset 550-d, while subsequent channel probe message timings (such as channel probe message timing 545-b) can be configured with periodicity 555-d.

[0252] In some examples, each beam 505 from TRP 560 may correspond to a one-to-one carrier. For example, the first beam 505-a may correspond to the first carrier 510, the second beam 505-b may correspond to the second carrier 520, the third beam 505-c may correspond to the third carrier 530, and the fourth beam 505-d may correspond to the fourth carrier 540. Alternatively, multiple carriers may correspond to a single beam. For example, the first carrier 510 and the second carrier 520 may correspond to the first beam 505-a, while the third carrier 530 and the fourth carrier 540 may correspond to the second beam 505-b.

[0253] In some examples, multiple beams can correspond to a single cell. For instance, the first beam 505-a, the second beam 505-b, and the third beam 505-c can correspond to the first cell, while the fourth beam 505-d can correspond to the second cell. If the TRP 550 configures the UE 115 to change the beam from the first beam 505-a in the first cell to the second beam 505-b in the first cell in response to a channel sounding message, the UE 115 can execute a procedure to change the beam within the cell.

[0254] Alternatively, each beam can correspond to a separate cell, or UE 115 can be configured to change beams to beams in different cells. For example, a first beam 505-a can correspond to a first cell, a second beam 505-b to a second cell, a third beam 505-c to a third cell, and a fourth beam 505-d to a fourth cell. UE 115 can be configured to change beams from the first beam 505-a in the first cell to the second beam 505-b in the second cell. In this example, UE 115 can perform a handover procedure to facilitate the handover, as a new RRC connection with the new cell must be established. For example, UE 115 can establish a new RRC connection with the new cell. However, any such handover procedure can begin with the transmission of an NPRACH-based channel probe message, similar to the procedure for switching beams within a cell. In this case, there can be one or more cell groups, some of which may have common system information and can be indicated in the system information of the serving cell. In some examples, the NPRACH configuration corresponding to different cells in such cell groups can be provided in the system information. In some cases, it may be impossible to coordinate NPRACH resources across different cells. Further downlink measurement objects (if configured) can be extended across cells, which can be similar to the radio resource management framework for broadband UEs.

[0255] UE 115 can be configured to use resource configuration 500 to send channel sounding messages for a first carrier 510, a second carrier 520, a third carrier 530, and a fourth carrier 540. UE 115 can first send a channel sounding message on the first carrier 510 at channel sounding message timing 515-a. Then, UE 115 can send a channel sounding message on the second carrier at channel sounding message timing 525-a. Next, UE 115 can send a channel sounding message on the third carrier 530, but UE 115 may have missed the first channel sounding message timing 535-a on the third carrier 530 and may wait until the second channel sounding message timing 535-b on the third carrier 530, which may result in additional system delay. Finally, UE 115 can send a channel sounding message on the fourth carrier 540, but UE 115 may have missed the first channel sounding message timing 545-a and the second channel sounding message timing 545-b on the fourth carrier 540. UE 115 can wait until the third channel probe message on the fourth carrier 540 is sent at timing 545-e.

[0256] Figure 6Examples of resource configuration 600 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure are shown. In some examples, resource configuration 600 may implement aspects of wireless communication system 100 and wireless communication system 200. Resource configuration 600 may be implemented by TRP 650, which may be an example of base station 105 or satellite 155 described herein. In resource configuration 600, TRP 650 may configure resources for channel sounding messages across multiple carriers.

[0257] TRP 650 can configure channel sound message timing 615 on the first carrier 610. The first channel sound message timing 615-a can be configured with a timing offset 635-a, while subsequent channel sound message timings (such as channel sound message timing 615-b) can be configured with a periodicity 655. TRP 650 can coordinate resources used for channel sound messages to facilitate transmission of channel sound messages across multiple carriers while reducing the total delay of transmission across multiple carriers. TRP 650 can configure channel sound message timings for other carriers with the same period (e.g., periodicity 655) as the channel sound message timings used for the first carrier. TRP 650 can also configure channel sound message timings with time offsets for other carriers to prevent channel sound message timings from overlapping in time and to provide gap periods 660 (e.g., fixed gaps), for example, to provide time for radio resource components to reconfigure to different carriers (e.g., the first carrier 610). In some examples, TRP can provide a single configuration of channel sound message transmission timings across different carriers based on a pattern of time or frequency, or both. For example, resource configuration 600 could be an example of a single configuration sent by the channel probe message provided by the TRP. Furthermore, refer to... Figure 5 The correspondence between beams and carriers described in resource configuration 500 can be similarly applied to the correspondence between beams and carriers in resource configuration 600.

[0258] UE 115 can be configured to transmit channel sounding messages on the first carrier 610, the second carrier 620, the third carrier 630, and the fourth carrier 640 using resource configuration 600. UE 115 can transmit a channel sounding message on the first carrier 610 using channel sounding message timing 615-a, and then UE 115 can transmit a channel sounding message on the second carrier 620 using channel sounding message timing 625-a after the gap period 660 expires. UE 115 can continue transmitting channel sounding messages on the third carrier 630 after the gap period 660 expires and transmit channel sounding messages on the fourth carrier 640 after the gap period 660 expires. UE 115 can also be configured to repeat channel sounding measurements at a certain period 655.

[0259] Figure 7 An example of a process flow 700 in a system supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. In some examples, process flow 700 may implement aspects of wireless communication system 100 and wireless communication system 200. Process flow 700 may be implemented by device 705 or device 710 or both, which may be corresponding examples of the UE 115 or base station 105 (or satellite 155) described herein. In some cases, device 710 may be an example of a transmitting terminal, TRP, or another device as described herein that provides access to the network. In the following description of process flow 700, information transmitted between device 705 and device 710 may be performed in different orders or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted in process flow 700, and other operations may be added to process flow 700. Figure 7 In the example, device 705 and device 710 can communicate with each other via NTN.

[0260] At point 715, device 705 can communicate with device 710 via a directional beam. Device 705 can communicate using narrowband communication. For example, device 705 can communicate using NB-IoT communication.

[0261] At 720, device 705 can receive from device 710 a configuration for one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers. In some cases, each of the one or more channel sounding messages can be configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in at least one set of narrowband carriers. In some cases, device 705 can identify the location of the narrowband carrier for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based at least in part on this configuration, wherein the location includes time resources, frequency resources, at least one directional beam in the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof. Device 705 can also receive from device 710 system information indicating the location of the narrowband carrier for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages. In some examples, the narrowband carrier may be different from the anchor carrier in the set of narrowband carriers associated with each directional beam.

[0262] At 722, device 705 can receive system information via one or more directional beams, wherein the system information may include indications of the configuration for one or more channel sounding messages. This system information may indicate the location of a corresponding narrowband carrier used to transmit the one or more channel sounding messages. For example, device 705 may identify the location of a corresponding narrowband carrier used to transmit the one or more channel sounding messages based on this configuration, wherein the location includes time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof. In such cases, the location of the corresponding narrowband carrier can be identified based on the system information.

[0263] At 725, device 705 can determine the trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on the configuration received from device 710 at 720. In some examples, device 705 can receive downlink control information from the network that includes the trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages. Device 705 can identify an NPDCCH command, where the NPDCCH command includes the trigger.

[0264] At 730, device 705 can send the one or more channel probe messages to device 710 on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration. In some cases, device 705 can determine that an event trigger has been met, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are sent based on the satisfaction of the event trigger. In some cases, device 705 can identify a set of resources for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on the satisfaction of the event trigger, wherein the set of resources is shared by two or more devices including device 705.

[0265] At 735, device 710 can determine the beam or channel quality of the first directional beam based on the received channel probe message received from device 705 at 730. In some cases, device 710 can execute a handover procedure for switching device 705 from a first cell to a second cell, wherein the handover procedure is based on one or more received channel probe messages.

[0266] At 740, device 710 can select a second directional beam, different from the first directional beam, for communication between device 705 and device 710, based on a beam management procedure, a beam fault recovery procedure, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the selection of the second beam can be based on receiving one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam.

[0267] At 745, in some cases, device 710 can signal device 705 to use a second directional beam for communication between device 705 and device 710. Therefore, at 750, device 705 can select a second directional beam different from the first directional beam. In some cases, this selection can be based on sending one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam. Alternatively or concurrently, the second beam can be selected based on a beam management procedure or a beam fault recovery procedure, or any combination thereof.

[0268] At 755, devices 705 and 710 can communicate with each other using a second directional beam.

[0269] Figure 8 Examples of process flow 800 in a system supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure are shown. In some examples, process flow 800 may implement aspects of wireless communication system 100 and wireless communication system 200. Process flow 800 may be implemented by device 805 or device 810 or both, which may be corresponding examples of the UE 115 or base station 105 (or satellite 155) described herein. In some cases, device 810 may be an example of a transmitting terminal, TRP, or another device as described herein that provides access to the network. In the following description of process flow 800, information transmitted between device 805 and device 810 may be performed in different orders or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted in process flow 800, and other operations may be added to process flow 800. Figure 8 In the example, device 805 and device 810 can communicate with each other via NTN.

[0270] At point 815, device 805 can communicate with device 810 via a directional beam. Device 805 can communicate using narrowband communication. For example, device 805 can communicate using NB-IoT communication.

[0271] At 820, device 805 can receive a configuration of a set of candidate carriers from device 810. This set of candidate carriers may include one or more carriers different from the first narrowband carrier. This set of candidate carriers may include a second narrowband carrier. Device 805 can receive the configuration of this set of candidate carriers from device 810 via RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof.

[0272] At 825, device 805 can receive from device 810 an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier. In some examples, the second narrowband carrier may come from a set of candidate carriers. In some cases, device 805 receives a configuration of a set of candidate carriers from the network, wherein the configuration is received via RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof. In some examples, device 805 may receive DCI, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof, which includes modifying the indication of the carrier used for communication.

[0273] At 830, device 805 can send an acknowledgment of an indication to modify the carrier used for communication. In some cases, device 805 can send an acknowledgment in response to receiving a DCI or MAC-CE.

[0274] At 835, device 805 can switch to a second narrowband carrier based on an instruction received at 825. Device 805 can then communicate with device 810 via the second narrowband carrier.

[0275] Figure 9 A block diagram 900 of a device 905 supporting connection mode beam management for a narrowband system according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. Device 905 may be an example of various aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. Device 905 may include a receiver 910, a communication manager 915, and a transmitter 920. Device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0276] Receiver 910 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beam management for connection modes in narrowband systems). This information can be transmitted to other components of device 905. Receiver 910 can serve as a reference. Figure 12 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1220 are described. The receiver 910 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0277] The communication manager 915 may be an example of a component for performing various aspects of beam management as described herein. The communication manager 915 or its sub-components may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communication management circuitry). This circuitry may include a processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein.

[0278] In another implementation, the communication manager 915 or its sub-components may be implemented in code executed by a processor (e.g., as communication management software or firmware) or in any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 915 or its sub-components may be performed by a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device.

[0279] In some examples, the communication manager 915 can be configured to use the receiver 910, the transmitter 920, or both, or otherwise cooperate with them to perform various operations (e.g., pass, receive, confirm, send).

[0280] Communication manager 915 can communicate with a network via a directional beam; receive from the network a configuration for one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers (e.g., frequency resources), and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in the set of narrowband carriers; determine a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on the configuration; and transmit the one or more channel probe messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration. Communication manager 915 can also communicate with the network via the directional beam; receive from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication. Communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1210 described herein.

[0281] The communication manager 915 or its sub-components may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or in any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 915 or its sub-components may be controlled by a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

[0282] The communication manager 915 or its subcomponents may be physically located in various locations, including portions distributed such that functionality is implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, according to various aspects of this disclosure, the communication manager 915 or its subcomponents may be separate and distinct components. In some examples, according to various aspects of this disclosure, the communication manager 915 or its subcomponents may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to input / output (I / O) components, transceivers, network servers, another computing device, one or more other components described in this disclosure, or combinations thereof.

[0283] Transmitter 920 can transmit signals generated by other components of device 905. In some examples, transmitter 920 can be co-located with receiver 910 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 920 can be a reference. Figure 12 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1220 are described. The transmitter 920 can utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0284] In some examples, the communication manager 915 may be implemented as an integrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem, and the receiver 910 and transmitter 920 may be implemented as analog components (e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas) coupled to the mobile device modem to enable wireless transmission and reception over one or more bands.

[0285] The communication manager 915 described herein can be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow device 905 to assist in maintaining the quality of the communication beam or channel between device 905 and the network. Based on the techniques used to maintain the quality of the communication beam or channel between device 905 and the network, device 905 may support the transmission of uplink signaling to assist the network in beam management.

[0286] Therefore, device 905 can increase the likelihood of accurate beam switching and thus increase the probability of successful communication over the channel. In some examples, based on the increased probability of successful communication, device 905 can more efficiently power and transmit and receive communications for the processor or one or more processing units associated with the narrowband system, which can enable the device to save power and extend battery life.

[0287] Figure 10A block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. Device 1005 may be an example of aspects of device 905 or UE 115 as described herein. Device 1005 may include receiver 1010, communication manager 1015, and transmitter 1045. Device 1005 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0288] Receiver 1010 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to connection mode beam management for narrowband systems). This information can be transmitted to other components of device 1005. Receiver 1010 can serve as a reference. Figure 12 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1220 are described. The receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0289] Communication manager 1015 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 915 as described herein. Communication manager 1015 may include communication component 1020, configuration component 1025, triggering component 1030, transmitting component 1035, and carrier component 1040. Communication manager 1015 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1210 as described herein.

[0290] The communication component 1020 can communicate with the network via a directional beam.

[0291] Configuration component 1025 can receive configurations for one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams from a network, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers (e.g., frequency resources), and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on the narrowband carriers in the set of narrowband carriers.

[0292] The triggering component 1030 can determine the trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on this configuration.

[0293] The transmitting component 1035 can transmit one or more channel probe messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0294] The communication component 1020 can communicate with the network via a directional beam.

[0295] The carrier component 1040 can receive from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier.

[0296] Configuration component 1025 can switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this instruction.

[0297] Transmitter 1045 can transmit signals generated by other components of device 1005. In some examples, transmitter 1045 can be co-located with receiver 1010 in a transceiver assembly. For example, transmitter 1045 can be a reference... Figure 12 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1220 are described. The transmitter 1045 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0298] Figure 11 A block diagram 1100 of a communication manager 1105 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. The communication manager 1105 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 915, communication manager 1015, or communication manager 1210 described herein. The communication manager 1105 may include a communication component 1110, a configuration component 1115, a triggering component 1120, a transmitting component 1125, a resource component 1130, a system information component 1135, a message component 1140, a monitoring component 1145, a beam fault component 1150, a carrier component 1155, a carrier configuration component 1160, a modification component 1165, and an acknowledgment component 1170. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0299] Communication component 1110 can communicate with a network via a directional beam. In some examples, communication component 1110 can communicate with a network via a directional beam. In some examples, communication component 1110 can communicate with a network via a directional beam based on monitoring. In some examples, communication component 1110 can use a second directional beam to communicate with a network. In some cases, each of the one or more directional beams corresponds to a different radio frequency.

[0300] Configuration component 1115 can receive configurations for one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams from a network, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers (e.g., frequency resources), and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on the narrowband carriers in the set of narrowband carriers.

[0301] In some examples, configuration component 1115 may switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this indication. In some examples, configuration component 1115 may determine a first configuration of a first channel probe message on a first directional beam in one or more directional beams. In some examples, configuration component 1115 may determine a second configuration of a second channel probe message on a second directional beam in one or more directional beams, the one or more channel probe messages being sent according to the first configuration or the second configuration or any combination thereof.

[0302] In some examples, configuration component 1115 may determine the second configuration based on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration. In some examples, configuration component 1115 may apply frequency switching to the first configuration, and the second configuration is determined based on the applied frequency switching. In some examples, configuration component 1115 may receive RRC signaling configuring one or more channel probe messages.

[0303] In some examples, configuration component 1115 may receive one or more messages from the network that modify the configuration of the one or more channel sounding messages, wherein the one or more messages include MAC-CE, DCI, or any combination thereof. In some examples, configuration component 1115 may receive configurations for one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein the one or more channel sounding messages are sent based on measurements performed on the one or more measurement objects.

[0304] In some examples, configuration component 1115 can execute a handover procedure to a second cell different from the first cell, the handover procedure corresponding to establishing a connection with a second directional beam associated with the second cell, wherein the handover procedure is based on sending one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam.

[0305] In some cases, the first configuration differs from the second configuration. In some cases, at least a portion of the first and second configurations are common across the first and second directional beams. In some cases, the one or more messages activate, deactivate, or any combination thereof the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages.

[0306] Triggering component 1120 can determine the trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on this configuration. In some examples, triggering component 1120 can receive a DCI from the network that includes a trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages. In some examples, an NPDCCH command is identified within the DCI, wherein the NPDCCH command includes a trigger.

[0307] In some examples, triggering component 1120 may determine that an event trigger has been met, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are sent based on the satisfaction of the event trigger. In some examples, triggering component 1120 may identify a set of resources for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on the satisfaction of the event trigger, wherein the set of resources is shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or is UE-specific, or is a contention-based resource, or is a contention-free resource, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the trigger includes periodic transmission timing, aperiodic transmission timing, semi-persistent transmission timing, dynamic transmission timing, transmission timing initiated by one or more UEs, one or more event triggers, or any combination thereof.

[0308] Transmitting component 1125 may transmit one or more channel probe messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier based on the trigger and the configuration. In some examples, transmitting component 1125 may transmit one or more random access preamble messages at each of a set of transmission opportunities based on the NPDCCH command. In some examples, transmitting component 1125 may send an acknowledgment of an indication to modify the carrier used for communication in response to the received DCI or the MAC control element or any combination thereof.

[0309] The carrier component 1155 can receive from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier. In some cases, the second narrowband carrier comes from a set of candidate carriers.

[0310] Resource component 1130 can identify the location of a corresponding narrowband carrier for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on this configuration, wherein the location includes time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof. In some examples, resource component 1130 can identify a first cell associated with a directional beam.

[0311] In some cases, each narrowband carrier is different from the carrier used for random access procedures with the network. In some cases, each narrowband carrier is different from the anchor carrier in the set of narrowband carriers associated with each directional beam.

[0312] System information component 1135 can receive system information from the network via one or more directional beams, or the directional beams or any combination thereof. In some examples, the system information may indicate the configuration of one or more channel sounding messages. In some cases, the location of a corresponding narrowband carrier may be identified based on the system information. In some cases, the directional beam, the narrowband carrier, the group of narrowband carriers, one or more channel sounding messages, one or more beams, or any combination thereof are used for NB-IoT communication. In some cases, the network includes a non-terrestrial network.

[0313] Message component 1140 can determine, based on this configuration, a set of random access opportunities for transmitting the random access preamble message, the random access preamble message being transmitted during at least one of the random access opportunities in the set, wherein the set of random access opportunities includes random access opportunities configured on different narrowband carriers of the one or more directional beams. In some examples, each of one or more channel sounding messages includes a random access preamble message. Furthermore, each of the random access preamble messages can be an example of a narrowband random access preamble message.

[0314] In some examples, message component 1140 may determine, based on NPDCCH commands, one or more directional beams, one or more narrowband carriers, or any combination thereof, for transmitting one or more random access preamble messages as channel probe messages. In some cases, the random access timing is configured across the one or more directional beams according to a pattern spanning time resources or frequency resources, or both.

[0315] In some cases, the pattern includes a set of random access resources on adjacent carriers that are temporally adjacent. In some cases, each of the temporally adjacent random access resources in the set is separated by a time interval. In some cases, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a first random access preamble that is different from a second random access preamble used for the random access procedure with the network.

[0316] In some cases, the first random access preamble of the one or more channel probe messages includes a preamble shared on two or more UEs, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble, or any combination thereof. In some cases, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes narrowband SRS.

[0317] Monitoring component 1145 can disable monitoring of responses from the network based on the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages. In some examples, monitoring component 1145 can monitor communication on the directional beam after the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages.

[0318] In some examples, monitoring component 1145 can monitor a first narrowband carrier in a first set of narrowband carriers associated with the directional beam. Beam fault component 1150 can determine a beam fault of the directional beam based on this monitoring, wherein sending the one or more channel probe messages is based on the determined beam fault, and wherein the one or more channel probe messages are part of a beam fault recovery procedure.

[0319] In some examples, the beam fault component 1150 may indicate a beam fault to the network based on the signal quality of the first narrowband carrier of the directional beam meeting a threshold. In some examples, the beam fault component 1150 may select a second directional beam different from the directional beam based on a beam management procedure or a beam fault recovery procedure or any combination thereof, wherein the selection is based on transmitting the one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam.

[0320] Carrier configuration component 1160 can receive a configuration of a set of candidate carriers from the network, wherein the configuration is received via RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof. Modification component 1165 can receive DCI, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof, which includes modifying the indication of the carrier used for communication.

[0321] The acknowledgment component 1170 may receive an acknowledgment of an indication to modify the carrier used for communication in response to the received DCI or the MAC-CE or any combination thereof.

[0322] Figure 12 A diagram of a system 1200 including a device 1205 supporting connection mode beam management for a narrowband system, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. Device 1205 may be an example of or include components of the device 905, device 1005, or UE 115 described herein. Device 1205 may include components for bidirectional voice and data communication, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1210, an I / O controller 1215, a transceiver 1220, an antenna 1225, a memory 1230, and a processor 1240. These components may communicate electronically via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1245).

[0323] Communication manager 1210 can communicate with a network via directional beams; receive configuration from the network for one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers (e.g., frequency resources), and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in the set of narrowband carriers; determine a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on the configuration; and transmit the one or more channel probe messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration. Communication manager 1210 can also communicate with the network via directional beams; receive from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0324] I / O controller 1215 can manage the input and output signals of device 1205. I / O controller 1215 can also manage peripheral devices not integrated into device 1205. In some cases, I / O controller 1215 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 1215 can utilize, for example... The operating system may be another known operating system. In other cases, the I / O controller 1215 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, or similar device. In some cases, the I / O controller 1215 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 1205 via the I / O controller 1215 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 1215.

[0325] As described herein, transceiver 1220 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links. For example, transceiver 1220 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. Transceiver 1220 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna. In some cases, device 1205 may include a single antenna 1225. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1225, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

[0326] Memory 1230 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1230 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1235, including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1230 may, in particular, include a basic input / output system (BIOS) that controls basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0327] Processor 1240 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1240 may be configured to use a memory controller to operate a memory array. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1240. Processor 1240 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in memory (e.g., memory 1230) to cause device 1205 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems).

[0328] Code 1235 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of this disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communication. Code 1235 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or other types of memory. In some cases, code 1235 may not be directly executable by processor 1240, but may enable a computer (e.g., at compile and execution time) to perform the functions described herein.

[0329] Figure 13 A block diagram 1300 is shown of a device 1305 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure. Device 1305 may be an example of aspects of a base station 105 as described herein. Alternatively or additionally, device 1305 may be an example of aspects of a satellite. Device 1305 may include a receiver 1310, a communications manager 1315, and a transmitter 1320. Device 1305 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0330] Receiver 1310 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to connection mode beam management for narrowband systems). This information can be transmitted to other components of device 1305. Receiver 1310 can serve as a reference. Figure 16 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1620 are described. The receiver 1310 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0331] The communication manager 1315 may be an example of a component for performing various aspects of beam management as described herein. The communication manager 1315 or its sub-components may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communication management circuitry). This circuitry may include a processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein.

[0332] In another implementation, the communication manager 1315 or its subcomponents may be implemented in processor-executable code (e.g., as communication management software or firmware) or in any combination thereof. If implemented in processor-executable code, the functionality of the communication manager 1315 or its subcomponents may be executed by a general-purpose processor, DSP and ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device.

[0333] In some examples, the communication manager 1315 can be configured to use the receiver 1310, the transmitter 1320, or both, or otherwise cooperate with them to perform various operations (e.g., receive, confirm, send).

[0334] Communication manager 1315 can communicate with the UE via a directional beam; receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the one or more channel probe messages being received on a narrowband carrier (e.g., a frequency resource) in a set of narrowband carriers; and determine the beam or channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages. Communication manager 1315 can also communicate with the UE via the directional beam; send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication. Communication manager 1315 may be an example of various aspects of communication manager 1610 described herein.

[0335] The communication manager 1315 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or in any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 1315 or its subcomponents may be controlled by a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

[0336] The communication manager 1315 or its subcomponents may be physically located in various locations, including portions distributed such that functionality is implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, according to various aspects of this disclosure, the communication manager 1315 or its subcomponents may be separate and distinct components. In some examples, according to various aspects of this disclosure, the communication manager 1315 or its subcomponents may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to I / O components, transceivers, network servers, another computing device, one or more other components described in this disclosure, or combinations thereof.

[0337] Transmitter 1320 can transmit signals generated by other components of device 1305. In some examples, transmitter 1320 can be co-located with receiver 1310 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 1320 can be a reference... Figure 16 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1620 are described. The transmitter 1320 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0338] Figure 14 A block diagram 1400 of a device 1405 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. Device 1405 may be an example of aspects of device 1305 or base station 105 as described herein. In some examples, device 1405 may be an example of a satellite. Device 1405 may include a receiver 1410, a communication manager 1415, and a transmitter 1445. Device 1405 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0339] Receiver 1410 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to connection mode beam management for narrowband systems). This information can be transmitted to other components of device 1405. Receiver 1410 can serve as a reference. Figure 16 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1620 are described. The receiver 1410 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0340] Communication manager 1415 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1315 as described herein. Communication manager 1415 may include network communication manager 1420, message manager 1425, channel quality manager 1430, carrier configuration manager 1435, and configuration manager 1440. Communication manager 1415 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1610 as described herein.

[0341] The communication manager 1420 can communicate with the UE via a directional beam.

[0342] The message manager 1425 can receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, which are received on a narrowband carrier (e.g., a frequency resource) in a set of narrowband carriers.

[0343] The channel quality manager 1430 can determine the channel quality of the directional beam based on one or more received channel probe messages.

[0344] The network communication manager 1420 can communicate with the UE via a directional beam.

[0345] The carrier configuration manager 1435 can send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier.

[0346] Configuration Manager 1440 can switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this instruction.

[0347] Transmitter 1445 can transmit signals generated by other components of device 1405. In some examples, transmitter 1445 can be co-located with receiver 1410 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 1445 can be a reference... Figure 16 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1620 are described. The transmitter 1445 can utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0348] Figure 15 A block diagram 1500 is shown of a communication manager 1505 supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems according to one or more aspects of this disclosure. The communication manager 1505 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1315, communication manager 1415, or communication manager 1610 described herein. The communication manager 1505 may include a network communication manager 1510, a message manager 1515, a channel quality manager 1520, a configuration manager 1525, a transmission manager 1530, a resource manager 1535, a modification manager 1540, a trigger manager 1545, a beam fault manager 1550, a switching manager 1555, a carrier configuration manager 1560, and an indication manager 1565. Each of these modules may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0349] The network communication manager 1510 can communicate with the UE via a directional beam. In some examples, the network communication manager 1510 can communicate with the UE via a directional beam. In some examples, the network communication manager 1510 can communicate with the UE using a second directional beam. In some cases, the directional beam, the narrowband carrier, the set of narrowband carriers, or any combination thereof are used for narrowband IoT communication.

[0350] The message manager 1515 can receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, which are received on a narrowband carrier (e.g., a frequency resource) in a set of narrowband carriers.

[0351] In some examples, message manager 1515 can receive one or more random access preamble messages at each of a set of transmission times based on NPDCCH commands. In some cases, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a first random access preamble, which is different from the second random access preamble used for the random access procedure.

[0352] In some cases, the first random access preamble includes a preamble shared among two or more UEs including the UE, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble, or any combination thereof. In some cases, at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes narrowband SRS.

[0353] The channel quality manager 1520 can determine the channel quality of the directional beam based on one or more received channel probe messages.

[0354] Configuration manager 1525 can switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this instruction. In some examples, configuration manager 1525 can determine the configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a corresponding group of narrowband carriers, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in at least one corresponding group of narrowband carriers. In some examples, each of the one or more channel sounding messages includes a random access preamble message. Furthermore, each of the random access preamble messages can be an example of a narrowband random access preamble message (e.g., having a different format than a random access preamble configured on a non-narrowband carrier).

[0355] In some examples, configuration manager 1525 may determine a first configuration for a first channel probe message on a first directional beam of the one or more directional beams. In some examples, configuration manager 1525 may determine a second configuration for a second channel probe message on a second directional beam of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel probe messages being received according to the first configuration, the second configuration, or any combination thereof.

[0356] In some examples, configuration manager 1525 may send RRC signaling to configure one or more channel probe messages. In some examples, configuration manager 1525 may send an indication, as part of the NPDCCH command, of one or more directional beams, one or more narrowband carriers, or any combination thereof, for sending one or more random access preamble messages as part of the one or more channel probe messages.

[0357] In some examples, configuration manager 1525 can configure a set of resources for the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the set of resources is shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or is UE-specific, or is contention-based, or is non-contention-based, or any combination thereof.

[0358] In some cases, each narrowband carrier is different from the carrier used for random access procedures. In some cases, each narrowband carrier is different from the anchor carrier in the group of narrowband carriers associated with each directional beam. In some cases, the second configuration is based on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration. In some cases, the first configuration differs from the second configuration. In some cases, at least a portion of the first configuration and the second configuration are common to the first directional beam and the second directional beam.

[0359] The carrier configuration manager 1560 can send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier. In some cases, the second narrowband carrier comes from a set of candidate carriers.

[0360] The transmission manager 1530 can send an instruction to the UE on the configuration of one or more channel probe messages, which are received based on the configuration.

[0361] In some examples, the transmission manager 1530 may transmit system information to the UE via one or more directional beams, or the directional beams or any combination thereof, indicating the configuration. In such examples, the location of the narrowband carrier used for transmitting one or more channel probe messages may be identified based on the configuration indicated by the system information.

[0362] In some examples, the transmission manager 1530 can transmit configurations for one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are received based on measurements of the one or more measurement objects.

[0363] In some examples, the transmission manager 1530 can send the configuration of the group of candidate carriers to the UE, wherein the configuration is sent via RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof.

[0364] Resource Manager 1535 can identify the location of a narrowband carrier used to transmit the one or more channel probe messages, the location including time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof.

[0365] In some examples, the resource manager 1535 may determine, based on the configuration, a set of random access opportunities for receiving the random access preamble message, the random access preamble message being received during at least one of the random access opportunities in the set of random access opportunities, wherein the set of random access opportunities includes random access opportunities configured on different narrowband carriers of the one or more directional beams, and wherein the configuration indicates the set of random access opportunities.

[0366] In some cases, the random access timing is configured across one or more directional beams according to a pattern spanning time resources, frequency resources, or both. In some cases, the pattern includes a set of random access resources on adjacent carriers that are temporally adjacent. In some cases, each of the temporally adjacent random access resources in the set is separated by a time interval.

[0367] In some cases, each of the one or more directional beams, including the directional beam, corresponds to a different radio frequency. In some cases, the one or more channel probe messages are received based on periodic transmission timing, aperiodic transmission timing, dynamic transmission timing, transmission timing initiated by one or more UEs, one or more event triggers, or any combination thereof.

[0368] The modification manager 1540 can send one or more messages to the UE to modify the configuration of one or more channel probe messages, wherein the one or more messages include MAC-CE, DCI, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the one or more messages activate, deactivate, or any combination thereof the transmission of one or more channel probe messages.

[0369] Trigger manager 1545 can send a DCI to the UE that includes a trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages. In some examples, an NPDCCH command is sent within the DCI, where the NPDCCH command includes a trigger. In some cases, the one or more channel probe messages are received based on the fulfillment of an event trigger.

[0370] The beam fault manager 1550 may receive one or more channel probe messages as part of a beam fault recovery procedure. In some examples, the beam fault manager 1550 may receive an indication of a beam fault from the UE based on the signal quality of the narrowband carrier of the directional beam meeting a threshold.

[0371] In some examples, the beam fault manager 1550 may select a second directional beam different from the directional beam based on a beam management program or a beam fault recovery program or any combination thereof, wherein the selection is based on receiving one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam.

[0372] The handover manager 1555 can execute a handover procedure to switch the UE to a second cell that is different from the first cell associated with the directional beam and is associated with the second directional beam, wherein the handover procedure is based on a received channel sounding message.

[0373] The instruction manager 1565 can send DCI, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof, including modifications to the indication of the carrier used for communication.

[0374] Figure 16 A diagram of a system 1600 including a device 1605 supporting connection mode beam management for a narrowband system, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. Device 1605 may be an example of or include components of the devices 1305, 1405, or base station 105 described herein. Device 1605 may include components for bidirectional voice and data communication, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1610, a network communication manager 1615, a transceiver 1620, an antenna 1625, a memory 1630, a processor 1640, and an inter-station communication manager 1645. These components may communicate electronically via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1650).

[0375] The communication manager 1610 can communicate with the UE via a directional beam; receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the one or more channel probe messages being received on a narrowband carrier (e.g., a frequency resource) in a set of narrowband carriers; and determine the beam or channel quality of the directional beam based on the received one or more channel probe messages. The communication manager 1610 can also communicate with the UE via the directional beam; send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switch to the second narrowband carrier based on the indication.

[0376] The network communication manager 1615 can manage (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links) communication with the core network. For example, the network communication manager 1615 can manage the transmission of data communication for client devices (such as one or more UEs 115).

[0377] As described herein, transceiver 1620 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links. For example, transceiver 1620 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. Transceiver 1620 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna. In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1625. However, in other cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1625, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

[0378] Memory 1630 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. Memory 1630 may store computer-readable code 1635 including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 1640), cause the device to perform the various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1630 may, in particular, contain a BIOS that controls basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0379] Processor 1640 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1640 may be configured to use a memory controller to operate a memory array. In some cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1640. Processor 1640 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in memory (e.g., memory 1630) to cause device 1605 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting connection mode beam management for narrowband systems).

[0380] Inter-site communication manager 1645 can manage communication with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for coordinating communication with UE 115 with other base stations 105. For example, inter-site communication manager 1645 can coordinate the scheduling of transmissions to UE 115 for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, inter-site communication manager 1645 may provide an X2 interface within LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to facilitate communication between base stations 105.

[0381] Code 1635 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of this disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communication. Code 1635 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or other types of memory. In some cases, code 1635 may not be directly executable by processor 1640, but may enable a computer (e.g., at compile and execution time) to perform the functions described herein.

[0382] Figure 17 A flowchart illustrating a method 1700 for connection mode beam management for a narrowband system according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. Operation of method 1700 can be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 1700 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12 The described communication manager is used to perform these functions. In some examples, the UE can execute a set of instructions to control the UE's functional elements to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the UE can use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

[0383] At position 1705, the UE can communicate with the network via a directional beam. Position 1705 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be achieved by referring to [reference]. Figures 9 to 12 The configuration module described is used to perform various aspects of operation 1705.

[0384] At 1710, the UE can receive configuration from the network for one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources, and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on a frequency resource in that set of frequency resources. Operation 1710 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12 The configuration module described is used to perform various aspects of operation 1710.

[0385] At point 1715, the UE can determine the trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on this configuration. Operation 1715 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12 The described trigger module performs various aspects of operation 1715.

[0386] At 1720, the UE can send one or more channel probe messages to the network on the corresponding frequency resources based on the trigger and the configuration. Operation 1720 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as per reference... Figures 9 to 12 The described sending module performs various aspects of operation 1720.

[0387] Figure 18 A flowchart illustrating a method 1800 for connection mode beam management for a narrowband system according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. Operation of method 1800 can be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 1800 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12 The described communication manager is used to perform these functions. In some examples, the UE can execute a set of instructions to control the UE's functional elements to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the UE can use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

[0388] At position 1805, the UE can communicate with the network via a directional beam. Position 1805 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be achieved by referring to [reference]. Figures 9 to 12 The network communication manager described is used to perform various aspects of operation 1805.

[0389] At 1810, the UE can receive configuration from the network for one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources, and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on one of the frequency resources in that set. Operation 1810 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12The described configuration module performs various aspects of operation 1810.

[0390] At 1815, the UE can identify the location of the corresponding frequency resource for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on this configuration, wherein the location includes time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof. Operation 1815 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12 The resource module described is used to perform various aspects of operation 1815.

[0391] At 1820, the UE can determine the trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages based on this configuration. Operation 1820 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12 The described trigger module performs various aspects of operation 1820.

[0392] At point 1825, the UE can send one or more channel probe messages to the network on the appropriate frequency resources based on the trigger and the configuration. Operation 1825 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as per reference... Figures 9 to 12 The described sending module performs various aspects of operation 1825.

[0393] Figure 19 A flowchart illustrating a method 1900 for connection mode beam management for a narrowband system according to one or more aspects of this disclosure is shown. Operation of method 1900 can be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 1900 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12 The described communication manager is used to perform these functions. In some examples, the UE can execute a set of instructions to control the UE's functional elements to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the UE can use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

[0394] At position 1905, the UE can communicate with the network via a directional beam. Position 1905 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be achieved by referring to [reference]. Figures 9 to 12 The network communication manager described is used to perform various aspects of operation 1905.

[0395] At 1910, the UE can receive from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier. Operation 1910 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12The carrier module described is used to perform various aspects of operation 1910.

[0396] At point 1915, the UE can switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this indication. Operation 1915 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be done as per reference... Figures 9 to 12 The described configuration module performs various aspects of operation 1915.

[0397] Figure 20 A flowchart illustrating a method 2000 for connection mode beam management for a narrowband system, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. Operation of method 2000 can be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 2000 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 9 to 12 The described communication manager is used to perform these functions. In some examples, the UE can execute a set of instructions to control the UE's functional elements to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the UE can use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

[0398] In 2005, the UE can communicate with the network via a directional beam. Operation 2005 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as described in the reference. Figures 9 to 12 The described network communication manager performs various aspects of operations in 2005.

[0399] At 2010, the UE can receive a configuration of a set of candidate carriers from the network, wherein the configuration is received via RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof. Operation 2010 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as per reference... Figures 9 to 12 The carrier module described is used to perform various aspects of operation 2010.

[0400] At point 2015, the UE can receive from the network an indication to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier and originating from the set of candidate carriers. Operation 2015 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as per reference... Figures 9 to 12 The carrier module described is used to perform various aspects of operation 2015.

[0401] At point 2020, the UE can switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this indication. Operation 2020 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be done as per reference... Figures 9 to 12 The described configuration module is used to perform various aspects of operations in 2020.

[0402] Figure 21A flowchart illustrating a method 2100 for connection mode beam management for a narrowband system, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. Operation of method 2100 can be implemented by a base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. Alternatively or concurrently, operation of method 2100 can be implemented by a satellite or other access device. For example, operation of method 2100 can be implemented by, as described in reference... Figures 13 to 16 The described communication manager is used to perform this. In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

[0403] At point 2105, the base station can communicate with the UE via a directional beam. Operation 2105 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as described in the reference. Figures 13 to 16 The network communication manager described is used to perform various aspects of operation 2105.

[0404] At 2110, the base station can receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, which are received on one frequency resource in a set of frequency resources. Operation 2110 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The message module is described to perform various aspects of operation 2110.

[0405] At point 2115, the base station can determine the beam or channel quality of the directional beam based on one or more received channel probe messages. Operation 2115 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The described channel quality module performs various aspects of operation 2115.

[0406] Figure 22 A flowchart illustrating a method 2200 for connection mode beam management for a narrowband system, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. Operation of method 2200 can be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 2200 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The described communication manager is used to perform this. In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

[0407] At point 2205, the base station can communicate with the UE via a directional beam. Operation 2205 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as per reference... Figures 13 to 16 The network communication manager described is used to perform various aspects of operation 2205.

[0408] At 2210, the base station can determine the configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a corresponding group of frequency resources, and each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured to be transmitted on a frequency resource in at least one corresponding group of frequency resources. Operation 2210 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The configuration module described is used to perform various aspects of operation 2210.

[0409] At 2215, the base station can send an indication to the UE of the configuration of one or more channel probe messages received based on that configuration. Operation 2215 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The described sending module performs various aspects of operation 2215.

[0410] At 2220, the base station can receive one or more channel probe messages from the UE, which are received on one frequency resource in a set of frequency resources. Operation 2220 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as per reference... Figures 13 to 16 The message module is described to perform various aspects of operation 2220.

[0411] At 2225, the base station can determine the beam or channel quality of the directional beam based on one or more received channel probe messages. Operation 2225 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The described channel quality module performs various aspects of operation 2225.

[0412] Figure 23 A flowchart illustrating a method 2300 for connection mode beam management for a narrowband system, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. Operation of method 2300 can be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 2300 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The described communication manager is used to perform this. In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

[0413] At position 2305, the base station can communicate with the UE via a directional beam. Position 2305 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as per reference. Figures 13 to 16The network communication manager described is used to perform various aspects of operation 2305.

[0414] At 2310, the base station may send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier. Operation 2310 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The carrier configuration module described herein performs various aspects of operation 2310.

[0415] At point 2315, the base station can switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this indication. Operation 2315 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be done as per reference... Figures 13 to 16 The described configuration module performs various aspects of operation 2315.

[0416] Figure 24 A flowchart illustrating a method 2400 for connection mode beam management for a narrowband system, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, is shown. Operation of method 2400 can be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 2400 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The described communication manager is used to perform this. In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

[0417] At position 2405, the base station can communicate with the UE via a directional beam. Operation 2405 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed as described in the reference. Figures 13 to 16 The network communication manager described is used to perform various aspects of operation 2405.

[0418] At 2410, the base station can send the configuration of the group of candidate carriers to the UE, wherein the configuration is sent via RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or any combination thereof. Operation 2410 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The carrier configuration module described herein performs various aspects of operation 2410.

[0419] At 2415, the base station may send an indication to the UE to modify the carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier and originating from the set of candidate carriers. Operation 2415 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 13 to 16 The carrier configuration module described herein performs various aspects of operation 2415.

[0420] At 2420, the base station can switch to the second narrowband carrier based on this indication. Operation 2420 can be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, it can be done as per reference... Figures 13 to 16 The described configuration module performs various aspects of operation 2420.

[0421] It should be noted that the methods described herein depict possible embodiments, and the operations and steps can be rearranged or otherwise modified, and other embodiments are possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more methods can be combined.

[0422] The following provides an overview of various aspects of this disclosure:

[0423] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: communicating with a network via directional beams; configuring the reception from the network of one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources, and each of the one or more channel probe messages is configured to be transmitted on a frequency resource in the set of frequency resources; determining a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based at least in part on the configuration; and transmitting the one or more channel probe messages to the network on a corresponding frequency resource according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0424] Aspect 2: The method according to aspect 1 further includes: identifying, at least in part, the location of a corresponding frequency resource for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on the configuration, wherein the location includes time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof.

[0425] Aspect 3: The method according to aspect 2 further includes: receiving system information from the network via the one or more directional beams or the directional beams or any combination thereof, the system information indicating the configuration.

[0426] Aspect 4: The method according to any one of Aspects 2 to 3, wherein each frequency resource is different from the resources used for random access procedures with the network, and each frequency resource is different from the anchor resource in the set of frequency resources associated with each directional beam.

[0427] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4 further includes: determining a first configuration of a first channel probe message on a first directional beam of the one or more directional beams; and determining a second configuration of a second channel probe message on a second directional beam of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel probe messages being transmitted according to the first configuration or the second configuration or any combination thereof.

[0428] Aspect 6: According to the method of aspect 5, determining the second configuration includes: determining the second configuration at least in part based on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration, the method further includes: applying a frequency conversion to the first configuration, the second configuration being determined at least in part based on the applied frequency conversion.

[0429] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of aspects 5 to 6, wherein the first configuration is different from the second configuration.

[0430] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of Aspects 5 to 7, wherein at least a portion of the first configuration and the second configuration is common across the first directional beam and the second directional beam.

[0431] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein each of the one or more channel probe messages includes a random access preamble message, the method further comprising: determining, according to the configuration, a set of random access opportunities for transmitting the random access preamble message, the random access preamble message being transmitted during at least one of the set of random access opportunities, wherein the set of random access opportunities includes random access opportunities spanning different frequency resource configurations across the one or more directional beams.

[0432] Aspect 10: According to the method of aspect 9, wherein the random access timing is configured across the one or more directional beams according to a pattern spanning time resources or frequency resources or both; the pattern includes a set of random access resources in adjacent carriers, the set of random access resources being temporally adjacent, each of the temporally adjacent random access resources in the set being separated by a time interval; and each random access preamble message includes a narrowband random access preamble message.

[0433] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of Aspects 9 to 10, wherein at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a first random access preamble, the first random access preamble being different from a second random access preamble used for a random access procedure with the network.

[0434] Aspect 12: The method according to any one of Aspects 9 to 11, wherein the first random access preamble of the one or more channel probe messages includes a preamble shared on two or more UEs, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble, or any combination thereof.

[0435] Aspect 13: The method according to any one of Aspects 9 to 12 further includes: prohibiting monitoring of responses from the network based at least in part on sending the one or more channel probe messages.

[0436] Aspect 14: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 13 further includes: monitoring communication on the directional beam after sending the one or more channel probe messages; and communicating with the network via the directional beam at least in part based on the monitoring.

[0437] Aspect 15: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 14, determining the trigger comprises: receiving downlink control information from the network including a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages, the method further comprising: identifying a narrowband physical downlink control channel command within the downlink control information, wherein the narrowband physical downlink control channel command includes the trigger; and determining, at least in part based on the narrowband physical downlink control channel command, one or more directional beams, one or more frequency resources, or any combination thereof, for transmitting one or more random access preamble messages as the one or more channel probe messages.

[0438] Aspect 16: According to the method of aspect 15, sending the one or more channel probe messages includes: sending one or more random access preamble messages at each of a plurality of transmission times, at least in part based on the narrowband physical downlink control channel command.

[0439] Aspect 17: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 16, receiving the configuration includes: receiving radio resource control signaling configuring the one or more channel probe messages, the method further comprising: receiving from the network one or more messages modifying the configuration of the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the one or more messages include a medium access control (MAC) control element, downlink control information, or any combination thereof, and wherein the one or more messages activate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, deactivate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, or any combination thereof.

[0440] Aspect 18: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 17 further includes: determining that an event trigger has been satisfied, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are sent at least in part based on the satisfaction of the event trigger; and identifying a set of resources for sending the one or more channel probe messages at least in part based on the satisfaction of the event trigger, wherein the set of resources is shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or is UE-specific resource, or is a contention-based resource, or is a contention-free resource, or any combination thereof.

[0441] Aspect 19: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 18 further includes: monitoring a first frequency resource in a first set of frequency resources associated with the directional beam; determining a beam fault of the directional beam based at least in part on the monitoring, wherein sending the one or more channel probe messages is based on the determined beam fault, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are part of a beam fault recovery procedure; and indicating the beam fault to the network based at least in part on the signal quality of the first frequency resource of the directional beam satisfying a threshold.

[0442] Aspect 20: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 19, wherein each of the one or more directional beams corresponds to a different radio frequency.

[0443] Aspect 21: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 20 further includes: receiving configurations of one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are sent at least in part based on measurements performed on the one or more measurement objects.

[0444] Aspect 22: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 21, wherein at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a narrowband probe reference signal, and each frequency resource in the set of frequency resources includes a narrowband carrier, or a bandwidth portion, or any combination thereof.

[0445] Aspect 23: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 22 further includes: selecting a second directional beam different from the directional beam based at least in part on a beam management procedure or a beam fault recovery procedure or any combination thereof, wherein the selection is based at least in part on transmitting the one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the network using the second directional beam.

[0446] Aspect 24: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 23 further includes: identifying a first cell associated with the directional beam; performing a handover procedure to a second cell different from the first cell, the handover procedure corresponding to establishing a connection with a second directional beam associated with the second cell, wherein the handover procedure is based at least in part on transmitting the one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the network using the second directional beam.

[0447] Aspect 25: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 24, wherein the triggering includes periodic transmission timing, aperiodic transmission timing, semi-persistent transmission timing, dynamic transmission timing, transmission timing initiated by one or more UEs, one or more event triggers, or any combination thereof; the directional beam, the frequency resources, the set of frequency resources, the one or more channel probe messages, or any combination thereof are used for narrowband Internet of Things communication; and the network includes a non-terrestrial network.

[0448] Aspect 26: A method for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: communicating with a network via a directional beam; receiving from the network an indication to modify a carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switching to the second narrowband carrier at least in part based on the indication.

[0449] Aspect 27: The method according to aspect 26, wherein the second narrowband carrier is derived from a set of candidate carriers, the method further comprising: receiving a configuration of the set of candidate carriers from the network, wherein the configuration is received via radio resource control signaling, medium access control (MAC) control elements, or any combination thereof.

[0450] Aspect 28: The method according to any one of Aspects 26 to 27, receiving the indication includes: receiving downlink control information, MAC control element or any combination thereof, including an indication to modify a carrier used for communication, the method further comprising: sending an acknowledgment of the indication to modify the carrier used for communication in response to the received downlink control information or the MAC control element or any combination thereof.

[0451] Aspect 29: A method for wireless communication, comprising: communicating with a UE via a directional beam; receiving one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the one or more channel probe messages being received on a frequency resource in a set of frequency resources; and determining the channel quality of the directional beam based at least in part on the received one or more channel probe messages.

[0452] Aspect 30: A method for wireless communication, comprising: communicating with a user equipment (UE) via a directional beam; sending to the UE an indication to modify a carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switching to the second narrowband carrier at least in part based on the indication.

[0453] Aspect 31: A method for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: communicating with a network via directional beams; configuring one or more channel probe messages of one or more directional beams from the network, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of narrowband carriers, each of the one or more channel probe messages being configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in the set of narrowband carriers; determining a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based at least in part on the configuration; and transmitting the one or more channel probe messages to the network on the corresponding narrowband carrier according to the trigger and the configuration.

[0454] Aspect 32: The method according to aspect 31 further includes: identifying, at least in part, the location of a corresponding narrowband carrier for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages based on the configuration, wherein the location includes time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof.

[0455] Aspect 33: The method according to aspect 32 further includes: receiving system information from the network via the one or more directional beams or the directional beams or any combination thereof, the system information indicating configuration.

[0456] Aspect 34: The method according to any one of aspects 32 to 33, wherein each narrowband carrier is different from the carrier used for random access procedures with the network.

[0457] Aspect 35: The method according to any one of aspects 32 to 34, wherein each narrowband carrier is different from the anchor carrier in the set of narrowband carriers associated with each directional beam.

[0458] Aspect 36: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 35 further includes: determining a first configuration of a first channel probe message on a first directional beam of the one or more directional beams; and determining a second configuration of a second channel probe message on a second directional beam of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel probe messages being transmitted according to the first configuration or the second configuration or any combination thereof.

[0459] Aspect 37: According to the method of aspect 36, determining the second configuration includes: determining the second configuration based at least in part on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration.

[0460] Aspect 38: The method according to aspect 37 further includes: applying frequency conversion to the first configuration, wherein the second configuration is determined at least in part based on the applied frequency conversion.

[0461] Aspect 39: The method according to any one of aspects 36 to 38, wherein the first configuration is different from the second configuration.

[0462] Aspect 40: The method according to any one of Aspects 36 to 39, wherein at least a portion of the first configuration and the second configuration is common across the first directional beam and the second directional beam.

[0463] Aspect 41: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 40, wherein each of the one or more channel probe messages includes a random access preamble message, the method further comprising: determining, according to the configuration, a set of random access opportunities for transmitting the random access preamble message, the random access preamble message being transmitted during at least one of the set of random access opportunities, wherein the set of random access opportunities includes random access opportunities spanning different narrowband carrier configurations across the one or more directional beams.

[0464] Aspect 42: According to the method of aspect 41, the random access timing is configured across the one or more directional beams according to a pattern spanning time resources or frequency resources or both.

[0465] Aspect 43: According to the method of aspect 42, the pattern includes a set of random access resources in adjacent carriers, the set of random access resources being temporally adjacent.

[0466] Aspect 44: The method according to aspect 43, wherein each random access resource in the group of temporally adjacent random access resources is separated by a time interval.

[0467] Aspect 45: The method according to any one of aspects 41 to 44, wherein at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a first random access preamble, the first random access preamble being different from a second random access preamble used for a random access procedure with the network.

[0468] Aspect 46: The method according to any one of Aspects 41 to 45, wherein the first random access preamble of the one or more channel probe messages comprises a preamble shared across two or more UEs, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble, or any combination thereof.

[0469] Aspect 47: The method according to any one of aspects 41 to 46 further includes: prohibiting monitoring of responses from the network based at least in part on sending the one or more channel probe messages.

[0470] Aspect 48: The method according to any one of aspects 41 to 47, wherein each of the random access preamble messages comprises a narrowband random access preamble message.

[0471] Aspect 49: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 48 further includes: monitoring communication on the directional beam after sending the one or more channel probe messages; and communicating with the network via the directional beam at least in part based on the monitoring.

[0472] Aspect 50: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 49, determining the trigger includes: receiving downlink control information from the network including a trigger for sending the one or more channel probe messages.

[0473] Aspect 51: The method according to aspect 50 further includes: identifying a narrowband physical downlink control channel command within the downlink control information, wherein the narrowband physical downlink control channel command includes the triggering.

[0474] Aspect 52: The method according to aspect 51 further includes: determining, at least in part, the one or more directional beams, one or more narrowband carriers, or any combination thereof for transmitting one or more random access preamble messages as the one or more channel probe messages based on the narrowband physical downlink control channel command.

[0475] Aspect 53: According to any one of Aspects 51 to 52, transmitting the one or more channel probe messages comprises: transmitting one or more random access preamble messages at each of a plurality of transmission times, at least in part based on the narrowband physical downlink control channel command.

[0476] Aspect 54: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 53, receiving the configuration includes: receiving radio resource control signaling configuring the one or more channel probe messages.

[0477] Aspect 55: The method according to aspect 54 further includes: receiving from the network one or more messages that modify the configuration of the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the one or more messages include a medium access control (MAC) control element, downlink control information, or any combination thereof.

[0478] Aspect 56: According to the method of aspect 55, wherein the one or more messages activate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, deactivate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, or any combination thereof.

[0479] Aspect 57: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 56 further includes: determining that an event trigger has been satisfied, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are sent at least in part based on the satisfaction of the event trigger.

[0480] Aspect 58: The method according to aspect 57 further includes: identifying a set of resources for sending the one or more channel probe messages based at least in part on satisfying the event trigger, wherein the set of resources is shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or is a UE-specific resource, or is a contention-based resource, or is a contention-free resource, or any combination thereof.

[0481] Aspect 59: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 58 further includes: monitoring a first narrowband carrier in a first set of narrowband carriers associated with the directional beam; and determining a beam fault of the directional beam based at least in part on the monitoring, wherein sending the one or more channel probe messages is based on the determined beam fault, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are part of a beam fault recovery procedure.

[0482] Aspect 60: The method according to aspect 59 further includes: indicating a beam fault to the network based at least in part on the signal quality of the first narrowband carrier of the directional beam meeting a threshold.

[0483] Aspect 61: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 60, wherein each of the one or more directional beams corresponds to a different radio frequency.

[0484] Aspect 62: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 61 further includes: receiving configurations of one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are sent at least in part based on measurements performed on the one or more measurement objects.

[0485] Aspect 63: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 62, wherein at least one of the one or more channel sounding messages includes a narrowband sounding reference signal.

[0486] Aspect 64: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 63 further includes: selecting a second directional beam different from the directional beam based at least in part on a beam management procedure or a beam fault recovery procedure or any combination thereof, wherein the selection is based at least in part on transmitting the one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the network using the second directional beam.

[0487] Aspect 65: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 64 further includes: identifying a first cell associated with the directional beam; performing a handover procedure to a second cell different from the first cell, the handover procedure corresponding to establishing a connection with a second directional beam associated with the second cell, wherein the handover procedure is based at least in part on transmitting the one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the network using the second directional beam.

[0488] Aspect 66: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 65, wherein the triggering includes periodic transmission timing, aperiodic transmission timing, semi-persistent transmission timing, dynamic transmission timing, transmission timing initiated by one or more UEs, one or more event triggers, or any combination thereof.

[0489] Aspect 67: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 66, wherein the directional beam, the narrowband carrier, the set of narrowband carriers, the one or more channel probe messages, or any combination thereof, are used for narrowband Internet of Things communication.

[0490] Aspect 68: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 67, wherein the network includes a non-terrestrial network.

[0491] Aspect 69: A method for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: communicating with a network via a directional beam; receiving from the network an indication to modify a carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switching to the second narrowband carrier at least in part based on the indication.

[0492] Aspect 70: The method according to aspect 69, wherein the second narrowband carrier is derived from a set of candidate carriers.

[0493] Aspect 71: The method according to aspect 70 further includes: receiving a configuration of the group of candidate carriers from the network, wherein the configuration is received via radio resource control signaling, medium access control (MAC) control elements, or any combination thereof.

[0494] Aspect 72: The method according to any one of aspects 69 to 71, receiving the indication includes: receiving downlink control information, MAC control elements, or any combination thereof, including an indication to modify a carrier used for communication.

[0495] Aspect 73: The method according to aspect 72 further includes: sending an acknowledgment of an indication to modify a carrier used for communication in response to the received downlink control information or the MAC control element or any combination thereof.

[0496] Aspect 74: A method for wireless communication, comprising: communicating with a UE via a directional beam; receiving one or more channel probe messages from the UE, the one or more channel probe messages being received on narrowband carriers of a set of narrowband carriers; and determining the channel quality of the directional beam based at least in part on the received one or more channel probe messages.

[0497] Aspect 75: The method according to aspect 74 further includes: determining the configuration of one or more channel probe messages for one or more directional beams, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a corresponding group of narrowband carriers, each of the one or more channel probe messages being configured to be transmitted on a narrowband carrier in at least one corresponding group of narrowband carriers; and sending to the UE an indication of the configuration of the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are received at least in part based on the configuration.

[0498] Aspect 76: The method according to aspect 75 further includes: identifying the location of a narrowband carrier for transmitting the one or more channel probe messages, the location including time resources, frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof.

[0499] Aspect 77: The method according to any one of Aspects 75 to 76, wherein sending an indication of the configuration comprises: sending system information to the UE via the one or more directional beams or the directional beams or any combination thereof, the system information indicating the location of a narrowband carrier for sending the one or more channel probe messages.

[0500] Aspect 78: The method according to any one of aspects 75 to 77, wherein each narrowband carrier is different from the carrier used for the random access procedure.

[0501] Aspect 79: The method according to any one of aspects 75 to 78, wherein each narrowband carrier is different from the anchor carrier in the set of narrowband carriers associated with each directional beam.

[0502] Aspect 80: The method according to any one of Aspects 75 to 79, determining the configuration includes: determining a first configuration of a first channel probe message on a first directional beam of the one or more directional beams; and determining a second configuration of a second channel probe message on a second directional beam of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel probe messages being received according to the first configuration or the second configuration or any combination thereof.

[0503] Aspect 81: The method according to aspect 80, wherein the second configuration is at least partially based on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration.

[0504] Aspect 82: The method according to any one of aspects 80 to 81, wherein the first configuration is different from the second configuration.

[0505] Aspect 83: The method according to any one of aspects 80 to 82, wherein at least a portion of the first configuration and the second configuration is common across the first directional beam and the second directional beam.

[0506] Aspect 84: The method according to any one of Aspects 75 to 83, wherein each of the one or more channel probe messages includes a random access preamble message, the method further comprising: determining, according to the configuration, a set of random access opportunities for receiving the random access preamble message, the random access preamble message being received during at least one of the set of random access opportunities, wherein the set of random access opportunities includes random access opportunities configured on different narrowband carriers of the one or more directional beams, and wherein the configuration indicates the set of random access opportunities.

[0507] Aspect 85: The method according to aspect 84, wherein the random access timing is configured across the one or more directional beams according to a pattern spanning time resources or frequency resources or both.

[0508] Aspect 86: According to the method of aspect 85, the pattern includes a set of random access resources in adjacent carriers, the set of random access resources being temporally adjacent.

[0509] Aspect 87: The method according to aspect 86, wherein each random access resource in the group of temporally adjacent random access resources is separated by a time interval.

[0510] Aspect 88: The method according to any one of aspects 84 to 87, wherein at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a first random access preamble, the first random access preamble being different from a second random access preamble used for a random access procedure.

[0511] Aspect 89: The method according to aspect 88, wherein the first random access preamble includes a preamble shared among two or more UEs including the UE, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble, or any combination thereof.

[0512] Aspect 90: The method according to any one of aspects 84 to 89, wherein each of the random access preamble messages comprises a narrowband random access preamble message.

[0513] Aspect 91: According to any one of aspects 75 to 90, transmitting the configuration includes: transmitting radio resource control signaling configuring the one or more channel probe messages.

[0514] Aspect 92: The method according to aspect 91 further includes sending one or more messages to the UE that modify the configuration of the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the one or more messages include a medium access control (MAC) control element, downlink control information, or any combination thereof.

[0515] Aspect 93: The method according to aspect 92, wherein the one or more messages activate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, deactivate the transmission of the one or more channel probe messages, or any combination thereof.

[0516] Aspect 94: The method according to any one of aspects 74 to 93 further includes: sending downlink control information to the UE including triggering for sending the one or more channel probe messages.

[0517] Aspect 95: The method according to aspect 94 further includes: sending a narrowband physical downlink control channel command within the downlink control information, wherein the narrowband physical downlink control channel command includes the triggering.

[0518] Aspect 96: The method according to aspect 95 further includes: sending an indication for sending one or more random access preamble messages as one or more channel probe messages, one or more directional beams, one or more narrowband carriers or any combination thereof, as part of the narrowband physical downlink control channel command.

[0519] Aspect 97: According to any one of Aspects 95 to 96, receiving the one or more channel probe messages comprises: receiving one or more random access preamble messages at each of a plurality of transmission times, at least in part based on the narrowband physical downlink control channel command.

[0520] Aspect 98: According to any one of aspects 74 to 97, receiving the one or more channel probe messages includes: receiving the one or more channel probe messages as part of a beam fault recovery procedure.

[0521] Aspect 99: The method according to aspect 98 further includes: receiving an indication of beam fault from the UE based at least in part on the signal quality of the narrowband carrier of the directional beam meeting a threshold.

[0522] Aspect 100: The method according to any one of aspects 74 to 99, wherein each of the one or more directional beams of the directional beams corresponds to a different radio frequency.

[0523] Aspect 101: The method of any one of aspects 74 to 100, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are received at least in part based on the satisfaction of an event trigger.

[0524] Aspect 102: The method according to aspect 101 further includes: configuring a set of resources for the one or more channel probe messages, wherein the set of resources is shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or is UE-specific resources, or is contention-based resources, or is contention-free resources, or any combination thereof.

[0525] Aspect 103: The method according to any one of aspects 74 to 102 further includes: transmitting configurations of one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are received at least in part based on measurements of the one or more measurement objects.

[0526] Aspect 104: The method according to any one of aspects 74 to 103, wherein at least one of the one or more channel probe messages includes a narrowband probe reference signal.

[0527] Aspect 105: The method according to any one of Aspects 74 to 104 further includes: selecting a second directional beam different from the directional beam based at least in part on a beam management procedure or a beam fault recovery procedure or any combination thereof, wherein the selection is based at least in part on receiving the one or more channel probe messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicating with the UE using the second directional beam.

[0528] Aspect 106: The method according to any one of Aspects 74 to 105 further includes: performing a handover procedure to hand over the UE to a second cell different from a first cell associated with the directional beam, the second cell being associated with the second directional beam, wherein the handover procedure is based at least in part on a received channel probe message.

[0529] Aspect 107: The method according to any one of Aspects 74 to 106, wherein the one or more channel probe messages are received at least in part based on periodic transmission timing, aperiodic transmission timing, dynamic transmission timing, transmission timing initiated by one or more UEs, one or more event triggering, or any combination thereof.

[0530] Aspect 108: The method according to any one of Aspects 74 to 107, wherein the directional beam, the narrowband carrier, the set of narrowband carriers, the channel sounding message, or any combination thereof is used for narrowband Internet of Things communication.

[0531] Aspect 109: A method for wireless communication, comprising: communicating with a user equipment (UE) via a directional beam; sending to the UE an indication to modify a carrier used for communication from a first narrowband carrier associated with the directional beam to a second narrowband carrier associated with a second directional beam, the second narrowband carrier being different from the first narrowband carrier; and switching to the second narrowband carrier at least in part based on the indication.

[0532] Aspect 110: The method according to aspect 109, wherein the second narrowband carrier is derived from a set of candidate carriers.

[0533] Aspect 111: The method according to aspect 110 further includes: sending a configuration of the group of candidate carriers to the UE, wherein the configuration is sent via radio resource control signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element or any combination thereof.

[0534] Aspect 112: According to any one of aspects 109 to 111, sending the indication includes: sending downlink control information, MAC control elements, or any combination thereof, which includes an indication to modify the carrier used for communication.

[0535] Aspect 113: The method according to any one of aspects 109 to 112 further includes: receiving an acknowledgment of an indication to modify a carrier used for communication in response to the received downlink control information or the MAC control element or any combination thereof.

[0536] Aspect 114: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 25.

[0537] Aspect 115: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 25.

[0538] Aspect 116: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 25.

[0539] Aspect 117: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of aspects 26 to 28.

[0540] Aspect 118: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 26 to 28.

[0541] Aspect 119: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of aspects 26 to 28.

[0542] Aspect 120: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of aspects 29 to 29.

[0543] Aspect 121: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 29 to 29.

[0544] Aspect 122: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of aspects 29 to 29.

[0545] Aspect 123: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of aspects 30 to 30.

[0546] Aspect 124: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 30 to 30.

[0547] Aspect 125: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of aspects 30 to 30.

[0548] Aspect 126: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of aspects 31 to 68.

[0549] Aspect 127: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 31 to 68.

[0550] Aspect 128: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of aspects 31 to 68.

[0551] Aspect 129: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of aspects 69 to 73.

[0552] Aspect 130: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 69 to 73.

[0553] Aspect 131: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of aspects 69 to 73.

[0554] Aspect 132: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of aspects 74 to 108.

[0555] Aspect 133: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 74 to 108.

[0556] Aspect 134: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of aspects 74 to 108.

[0557] Aspect 135: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of aspects 109 to 113.

[0558] Aspect 136: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 109 to 113.

[0559] Aspect 137: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to any one of aspects 109 to 113.

[0560] While aspects of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR systems may be described for illustrative purposes, and the terms LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR may be used in many descriptions, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques can be applied to a variety of other wireless communication systems, such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash OFDM, and other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0561] The information and signals described herein can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0562] The various illustrative boxes and components described in conjunction with the disclosure herein can be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, CPU, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0563] The functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented as software executed by a processor, the functions can be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that different parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0564] Computer-readable media include both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media (including any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another). Non-transitory storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. For example, and without limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disc (CD) ROM, flash memory, or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the definition of computer-readable media includes coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave. As used herein, disks and optical discs include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital multifunction discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. The combination of these is also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0565] Moreover, as used herein (including in the claims), such as in the list of items (e.g., in the form of "..." …… The "or" used in a list of items beginning with the phrase "at least one" or "one or more" indicates an inclusive list, such that at least one of A, B, or C represents A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B as well as C). Furthermore, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "at least partially based on".

[0566] In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Furthermore, various components of the same type can be distinguished by adding a dash after the reference numerals and a second label to differentiate them. If only the first reference numeral is used in the description, the description applies to any of the similar components having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the second or other subsequent reference numerals.

[0567] The description herein, illustrated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, describes exemplary configurations and does not represent all examples that can be implemented or that fall within the scope of the claims. The term "example" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and not "preferred" or "superior to other examples." Detailed descriptions include specific details to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques can be practiced without these specific details. In some examples, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0568] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and other variations can be applied to the general principles defined herein without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be given the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate with a network over a directional beam; receive, from the network, a configuration of one or more channel sounding messages of one or more directional beams associated with a satellite, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources including an anchor resource, each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured for transmission on a frequency resource of the set of frequency resources that is different from the anchor resource for each directional beam of the set of frequency resources associated with each directional beam; determine, based at least in part on the configuration, a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages; and transmit, to the network, the one or more channel sounding messages on respective frequency resources that are different from at least one corresponding anchor resource, for sounding at least one of the one or more directional beams, in accordance with the trigger and the configuration.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify, based at least in part on the configuration, a location of the respective frequency resources for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages, wherein the location comprises a time resource, the frequency resources, at least one of the one or more directional beams, or any combination thereof.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive the configuration are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the network, system information over the one or more directional beams or the directional beam or any combination thereof, the system information indicating the configuration.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: each frequency resource is different from a resource for a random access procedure with the network.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: determine a first configuration of a first channel sounding message on a first directional beam of the one or more directional beams; and determine a second configuration of a second channel sounding message on a second directional beam of the one or more directional beams, wherein transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages is in accordance with the first configuration or the second configuration or any combination thereof.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the instructions executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to determine the second configuration are executable to cause the apparatus to: determine the second configuration based at least in part on modifying at least a portion of the first configuration, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: apply a frequency translation to the first configuration; and determine the second configuration based at least in part on the applied frequency translation.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the first configuration is different from the second configuration.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least a portion of the first configuration and the second configuration are common on the first directional beam and the second directional beam.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more channel sounding messages comprises a random access preamble message, and wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: determine a set of random access occasions for transmitting the random access preamble message according to the configuration; and transmit the random access preamble message during at least one random access occasion of the set of random access occasions, wherein the set of random access occasions comprises random access occasions configured across different frequency resources of the one or more directional beams.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the random access occasions are configured across the one or more directional beams according to a pattern across time resources or frequency resources, or both; the pattern comprises a set of random access resources in adjacent carriers, the set of random access resources being adjacent in time, each random access resource of the set of random access resources adjacent in time being separated by a time interval; and each random access preamble message comprises a narrowband random access preamble message.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more channel sounding messages comprises a first random access preamble that is different from a second random access preamble used for a random access procedure with the network.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a first random access preamble of the one or more channel sounding messages comprises a preamble shared on two or more UEs, a UE-specific preamble, a contention-based random access preamble, a contention-free random access preamble, or any combination thereof.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: refrain from monitoring for a response to the one or more channel sounding messages from the network based at least in part on transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: monitor for communications on the directional beam based at least in part on transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages; and communicate with the network over the directional beam based at least in part on the monitoring.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to determine the trigger are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the network, a downlink control information comprising a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify a narrowband physical downlink control channel order within the downlink control information, wherein the narrowband physical downlink control channel order includes the trigger; and determine, based at least in part on the narrowband physical downlink control channel order, one or more directional beams, one or more frequency resources, or any combination thereof, for transmitting one or more random access preamble messages as the one or more channel sounding messages.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to transmit the one or more channel sounding messages are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit one or more random access preamble messages at each of a plurality of transmission occasions based at least in part on the narrowband physical downlink control channel order.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive the configuration are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive radio resource control signaling configuring the one or more channel sounding messages, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive one or more messages from the network modifying a configuration of the one or more channel sounding messages, wherein the one or more messages comprise a medium access control (MAC) control element, downlink control information, or any combination thereof, and wherein the one or more messages activate transmission of the one or more channel sounding messages, deactivate transmission of the one or more channel sounding messages, or any combination thereof.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: determine that an event trigger has been satisfied, wherein transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages is based at least in part on determining that the event trigger has been satisfied; and identify a set of resources for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based at least in part on determining that the event trigger has been satisfied, wherein the set of resources is shared by two or more UEs including the UE, or is UE-specific resources, or is contention-based resources, or is contention-free resources, or any combination thereof.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: monitor a first frequency resource of a first set of frequency resources associated with the directional beam; determine a beam failure of the directional beam based at least in part on the monitoring, wherein transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages is based on the determined beam failure, and wherein the one or more channel sounding messages are part of a beam failure recovery procedure; and indicate the beam failure to the network based at least in part on a signal quality of the first frequency resource of the directional beam satisfying a threshold.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each directional beam of the one or more directional beams corresponds to a different radio frequency.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receiving a configuration of one or more measurement objects corresponding to different directional beams, wherein transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages is based at least in part on performing measurements on the one or more measurement objects.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the one or more channel sounding messages comprises a narrowband sounding reference signal, and each frequency resource of the set of frequency resources comprises a narrowband carrier, or a bandwidth part, or any combination thereof.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: select a second directional beam different from the directional beam based at least in part on a beam management procedure or a beam failure recovery procedure, or any combination thereof, wherein the selection is based at least in part on transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicate with the network using the second directional beam.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify a first cell associated with the directional beam; perform a handover procedure to a second cell different from the first cell, the handover procedure corresponding to establishing a connection with a second directional beam associated with the second cell, wherein the handover procedure is based at least in part on transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages on at least the second directional beam; and communicate with the network using the second directional beam.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the trigger comprises a periodic transmission occasion, an aperiodic transmission occasion, a semi-persistent transmission occasion, a dynamic transmission occasion, one or more UE initiated transmission occasions, one or more event triggers, or any combination thereof; the directional beam, the frequency resource, the set of frequency resources, the one or more channel sounding messages, or any combination thereof, are for narrowband internet of things communications; and the network comprises a non-terrestrial network.

26. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate with a user equipment (UE) over a directional beam; transmit, to the UE, a configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams associated with a satellite, wherein each directional beam of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources comprising an anchor resource, each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured for reception on a frequency resource of the set of frequency resources different from the anchor resource for each directional beam of the set of frequency resources associated with each directional beam; receive, from the UE, the one or more channel sounding messages for sounding at least one of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel sounding messages being received on respective frequency resources different from at least one corresponding anchor resource; and ​ determine a channel quality of the directional beam based at least in part on the received one or more channel sounding messages.

27. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for communicating with a network over a directional beam; means for receiving, from the network, a configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams associated with a satellite, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources including an anchor resource, each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured for transmission on a frequency resource of the set of frequency resources that is different from the anchor resource for each directional beam of the set of frequency resources associated with each directional beam; means for determining a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based at least in part on the configuration; and means for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages to the network on respective frequency resources that are different from at least one corresponding anchor resource for sounding at least one of the one or more directional beams in accordance with the trigger and the configuration.

28. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for communicating with a user equipment (UE) over a directional beam; means for transmitting, to the UE, a configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams associated with a satellite, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources including an anchor resource, each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured for reception on a frequency resource of the set of frequency resources that is different from the anchor resource of the set of frequency resources associated with each directional beam for each directional beam; means for receiving the one or more channel sounding messages from the UE for sounding at least one of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel sounding messages being received on respective frequency resources that are different from at least one corresponding anchor resource; and means for determining a channel quality of the directional beam based at least in part on the received one or more channel sounding messages.

29. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: communicating with a network over a directional beam; receiving, from the network, a configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams associated with a satellite, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources including an anchor resource, each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured for transmission on a frequency resource of the set of frequency resources that is different from the anchor resource of the set of frequency resources associated with each directional beam for each directional beam; determining a trigger for transmitting the one or more channel sounding messages based at least in part on the configuration; and transmitting, to the network, the one or more channel sounding messages for sounding at least one of the one or more directional beams on respective frequency resources different from at least one corresponding anchor resource, in accordance with the trigger and the configuration.

30. A method for wireless communication, comprising: communicating with a user equipment (UE) over a directional beam; transmitting, to the UE, a configuration of one or more channel sounding messages for one or more directional beams associated with a satellite, wherein each of the one or more directional beams is associated with a set of frequency resources including an anchor resource, each of the one or more channel sounding messages is configured for reception on a frequency resource of the set of frequency resources different from the anchor resource of the set of frequency resources associated with each directional beam for each directional beam; receiving, from the UE, the one or more channel sounding messages for sounding at least one of the one or more directional beams, the one or more channel sounding messages being received on respective frequency resources different from at least one corresponding anchor resource; and determining a channel quality of the directional beam based at least in part on the received one or more channel sounding messages.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for wireless communication, storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform the method of claim 29.

32. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for wireless communication, storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform the method of claim 30.

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