Aligning radio related measurements with QoE (Quality of Experience) measurements

Abstract

Embodiments described herein relate to methods and devices for performing radio measurements. A method performed by a wireless device includes, in response to an application session starting, performing one or more quality of experience, QoE, measurements associated with the application; transmitting a first session feedback indication based on the QoE measurements to a base station, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that the application session has started; and in response to transmitting the first session feedback indication, receiving a command from the base station to perform one or more radio measurements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments described herein relate to methods and apparatus for performing radio measurements. Background Technology

[0002] Generally, unless a different meaning is explicitly given and / or implied in the context of the use of the term, all terms used herein shall be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant art. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, all references to an element, device, component, part, step, etc., shall be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of that element, device, component, part, step, etc. Unless a step is explicitly described as occurring after or before another step and / or implied that a step must occur after or before another step, the steps of any method disclosed herein are not necessarily performed in the exact order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment of these embodiments may be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the appended embodiments will become apparent from the following description.

[0003] Figure 1 The overall architecture of NG-RAN is shown.

[0004] NG-RAN can include a collection of gNBs connected to the 5G core (5GC) via a next-generation (NG) interface.

[0005] As specified in TS38.300 v 16.3.0, NG-RAN may also include a collection of ng-eNBs, which may include an ng-eNB Central Unit (CU) and one or more ng-eNB Distributed Units (DUs). The ng-eNB CU and ng-eNB DU are connected via a W1 interface. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the general principles described in this section also apply to ng-eNBs (but not gNBs) and the W1 interface (but not the F1 interface).

[0006] gNB can support frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, time division duplex (TDD) mode, or dual-mode operation.

[0007] gNBs can be interconnected via the Xn-C interface.

[0008] A gNB may include a gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU and gNB-DU are connected via an F1 interface.

[0009] A gNB-DU can only be connected to one gNB-CU.

[0010] In the case of network sharing with multiple cell identifiers (IDs) broadcast, each cell identifier associated with a subset of the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) can correspond to a gNB-DU and the gNB-CU to which it is connected, meaning that the corresponding gNB-DUs share the same physical layer cell resources.

[0011] For flexibility, a gNB-DU can be connected to multiple gNB-CUs through appropriate implementation.

[0012] exist Figure 1 In this context, NG, Xn-C, and F1 are logical interfaces.

[0013] For NG-RAN (e.g.) Figure 1 As shown, the NG and Xn-C interfaces of a gNB comprising a gNB-CU and a gNB-DU are terminated to the gNB-CU. For E-UTRAN-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC), the S1-U and X2-C interfaces of a gNB comprising a gNB-CU and a gNB-DU are terminated to the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU and the connected gNB-DU can be visible only to other gNBs and the 5GC acting as a gNB.

[0014] Nodes hosting the user plane portion of the New Radio (NR) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) (e.g., gNB-CU, gNB-CU-UP, and for EN-DC, the primary eNB (MeNB) or secondary gNB (SgNB) (depending on bearer splitting)) should perform user inactivity monitoring and further notify nodes with C-plane connections toward the core network (e.g., via E1, X2) of their inactivity or (re)activation. Nodes hosting NR Radio Link Control (RLC) (e.g., gNB-DU) can perform user inactivity monitoring and further notify nodes hosting the control plane (e.g., gNB-CU or gNB-CU-CP) of their inactivity or (re)activation.

[0015] Indicate uplink (UL) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) configuration (i.e., how the UE uses UL at the assisting node) via X2-C (for EN-DC), Xn-C (for NG-RAN), and F1-C. Indicate downlink (DL) and / or UL radio link interruption / recovery via X2-U (for EN-DC), Xn-U (for NG-RAN), and F1-U.

[0016] NG-RAN is layered into the Radio Network Layer (RNL) and the Transport Network Layer (TNL).

[0017] The NG-RAN architecture (i.e., NG-RAN logical nodes and the interfaces between them) is defined as part of the RNL.

[0018] For each NG-RAN interface (NG, Xn, F1), the relevant TNL protocol and functionality are specified. TNL provides services for user plane delivery and signaling delivery.

[0019] In an NG-Flex configuration, each NG-RAN node connects to all Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs) in the AMF set within an Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) area, which supports at least one slice also supported by the NG-RAN node.

[0020] Figure 2 The overall architecture for separate gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP is shown.

[0021] A gNB can include a gNB-CU-CP, multiple gNB-CU-UPs, and multiple gNB-DUs. A gNB-CU-CP can be connected to a gNB-DU via an F1-C interface. A gNB-CU-UP can be connected to a gNB-DU via an F1-U interface. A gNB-CU-UP can be connected to a gNB-CU-CP via an E1 interface. One gNB-DU can be connected to only one gNB-CU-CP. One gNB-CU-UP can be connected to only one gNB-CU-CP.

[0022] For flexibility, gNB-DU and / or gNB-CU-UP can be connected to multiple gNB-CU-CPs through appropriate implementation.

[0023] A gNB-DU can be connected to multiple gNB-CU-UPs under the same gNB-CU-CP. A gNB-CU-UP can be connected to multiple DUs under the same gNB-CU-CP.

[0024] Connectivity between gNB-CU-UP and gNB-DU can be established using gNB-CU-CP with bearer context management functionality. gNB-CU-CP can select one or more appropriate gNB-CU-UPs for the service requested by the UE. In the case of multiple CU-UPs, they belong to the same security domain as defined in TS 33.210v16.4.0.

[0025] Xn-U can support data forwarding between gNB-CU-UPs during handover within the gNB-CU-CP. Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement has been specified for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The purpose of QoE measurement is to measure the end-user experience when using certain applications. Currently, QoE measurement is supported for streaming services and MTSI (Mobile Telephony Service for IMS) services.

[0026] The solutions in LTE and UMTS are similar, with the overall principle as follows. Experience quality measurement collection enables the configuration of application-layer measurements and the transmission of QoE measurement result files in the UE via RRC signaling. Application-layer measurement configurations received from Operation and Maintenance (OAM) or from OAM via the Core Network (CN) to the RAN are encapsulated in a transparent container, which is forwarded to the UE in a downlink Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. Application-layer measurements received from higher layers of the UE are encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message. The resulting container can then be forwarded to the TCE (Tracking Collector Entity) or MCE (Measurement Collector Entity).

[0027] In 3GPP Release 17, a new RAN research project for NR, "Study on NR Quality of Experience (QoE) management and optimizations for diverse services," has been approved. The aim of this research project is to investigate solutions for QoE measurement in NR. QoE management in NR will not only collect experience parameters for streaming services but also consider the typical performance requirements of different services (e.g., Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR / VR) and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC)). Based on service requirements, the NR research will also include more adaptive QoE management schemes that enable intelligent network optimization to meet the user experience needs of different services.

[0028] Measurements can be initiated toward the RAN in a management-based manner, such as from the OAM node in a general manner for a group of UEs, or they can be initiated in a signaling-based manner, such as from the OAM to the RAN via the core network (CN) for a single UE. The configuration of the measurement, encapsulated in a container transparent to the RAN, includes the measurement details.

[0029] When initiated via the core network, measurements are started toward a specific UE. In the case of Long Term Evolution (LTE), a “TRACE START” S1AP message is used, which in particular carries details about the measurement configuration that the application should collect (in the “Container for Application Layer Measurement Configuration” information element (IE), which is transparent to the RAN) and details about the tracking collection entity to which the measurements should be sent.

[0030] The RAN does not know when an application in a UE that should report QoE measurements is active or inactive, and the UE access layer also does not know when measurements are in progress, for example, for streaming sessions. When the RAN stops measurements is an implementation decision. Typically, it is done when the UE has moved out of the measurement area.

[0031] One opportunity offered by traditional solutions is the ability to maintain QoE measurements for the entire session, even during switching scenarios.

[0032] Figure 3 This illustrates the UE capability query process utilizing UTRAN.

[0033] like Figure 3 As shown, according to 3GPP TS 25.331v 16.1.0, UTRAN can request UE (via "UE Capability Query") to report its capabilities.

[0034] Figure 4 This illustrates the transmission of UE capability information utilizing UTRAN.

[0035] like Figure 4 As shown, the UE can use the "UE Capability Information" RRC message to provide its capabilities.

[0036] The “UE Capability Information” message may include “UE Radio Access Capabilities” (see the excerpt below from section 10.3.3.42 of 3GPP TS25.331v16.1.0).

[0037] The UE can use the "Measurement Capability" IE to transfer information related to the ability to perform QoE measurement collection for streaming services and / or MTSI services to the UTRAN (see 3GPP TS 25.331v16.1.0 section 10.3.3.21).

[0038] To configure QoE measurements in the UE, the UTRAN can send a Measurement Control RRC message containing “Application Layer Measurement Configuration” (see 3GPP TS 25.331v16.1.0 section 10.3.7.143).

[0039] Figure 5The measurement control message from UTRAN is shown as described above.

[0040] The UE can use the "Measurement Report" RRC message and include the "Application Layer Measurement Report" IE to send the QoE measurement results to the collection entity via UTRAN.

[0041] Figure 6 The measurement report to UTRAN is shown as described above.

[0042] The UE can also perform a cell update for the reason that "application layer measurement reports are available" in order to initiate the transfer of application layer measurement reports.

[0043] Signaling radio bearer RB4 can be used to carry the IE measurement report message "Application Layer Measurement Report" (see 3GPP TS 25.331v16.1.0 section 10.3.7.144). For E-UTRAN, UE capability transfer is used to transfer UE radio access capability information from the UE to the E-UTRAN.

[0044] Figure 7 An example of UE capability transfer utilizing E-UTRAN is shown.

[0045] The UE-EUTRA-Capability IE is used to deliver feature group indicators of E-UTRA UE radio access capability parameters and mandatory characteristics to the network.

[0046] In the response message “UECapabilityInformation”, the UE may include the “UE-EUTRA-Capability” IE. The “UE-EUTRA-Capability” IE may include the UE-EUTRA-Capability-v1530-IE, which can be used by the UE to indicate whether the UE supports QoE measurement collection for streaming services and / or MTSI services, as detailed in “MeasParameters-v1530” encoded in section 6.3.6 of TS 36.331v16.2.1.

[0047] Described in 3GPP TS 36.331v16.2.1 and Figure 8 The purpose of the "Application Layer Measurement Report" procedure shown is to notify E-UTRAN about application layer measurement reports.

[0048] Figure 8 This shows an example of an application layer measurement report using E-UTRAN.

[0049] When application layer measurements are configured, i.e., when measConfigAppLayer has been configured by E-UTRAN, a UE that can report application layer measurements in RRC_CONNECTED can initiate the process.

[0050] During the initiation process, the UE should:

[0051] 1> If application layer measurement is configured, and SRB4 is configured, and the UE has already received application layer measurement report information from the upper layer:

[0052] 2> Set the measReportAppLayerContainer in the MeasReportAppLayer message to the value of the application layer measurement report information;

[0053] 2> Set the serviceType in the MeasReportAppLayer message to the type of application layer measurement report information;

[0054] 2> Submit the MeasReportAppLayer message to the lower layer for transmission via SRB4.

[0055] The RRCConnectionReconfiguration message is used to reconfigure the UE to set up or release the UE for application layer measurements. This is signaled in the measConfigAppLayer-15 IE within the "OtherConfig" information element (IE).

[0056] The setup includes a transparent container `measConfigAppLayerContainer` and a `serviceType` IE. The `measConfigAppLayerContainer` specifies the QoE measurement configuration for the application of interest, and the `serviceType` IE indicates the application (or service) for which the QoE measurement is being configured. Supported services are streaming and MTSI. Details of the `measConfigAppLayer` IE are given in section 6.3.6 of TS 36.331v16.2.1.

[0057] As specified in 3GPP TS 36.331v16.2.1, the UE uses the MeasReportAppLayer RRC message to send the QoE measurement results of an application (or service) to the E-UTRAN node. The "serviceType" IE indicates the service for which the report is being sent.

[0058] Details of the MeasReportAppLayer message transmitted using the signaling radio carrier SRB4 are given in section 6.2.2 of TS 36.331v16.2.1.

[0059] As part of LTE specification 28.405v16.0.0, when an overload condition is observed at the RAN node, the RAN node is allowed to temporarily stop and restart QoE measurement reporting.

[0060] There is currently a certain challenge.

[0061] In existing solutions, radio-related measurements can be performed over long periods if the UE is in a connected state (i.e., RRC_CONNECTED state) or if the UE is inactive or idle (i.e., RRC_INACTIVE or RRC_IDLE state). On the other hand, QoE measurements are performed only when an application is active and running (e.g., when an ongoing session exists in the application layer). In existing solutions, only the application within the UE knows when QoE measurements are collected.

[0062] Another related issue is that the MDT measurement for the UE in RRC_CONNECTED (e.g., the only state where QoE measurement is performed) is not recorded, but the measurement results are either sent periodically or when a certain event is met as a field in the RRC message MeasurementReport. Summary of the Invention

[0063] According to some embodiments, a method for performing measurements, executed by a wireless device, is provided. The method includes, in response to the commencement of an application session, performing one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application; transmitting a first session feedback indication based on the QoE measurements to a base station, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has commenced; and, in response to transmitting the first session feedback indication, receiving a command from the base station to perform one or more radio measurements.

[0064] According to some embodiments, a method for performing measurements, executed by a base station, is provided. The method includes receiving a first session feedback indication based on QoE measurements from a wireless device, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has begun; and in response to receiving the session feedback indication, transmitting a command to the wireless device to perform one or more radio measurements.

[0065] According to some embodiments, a wireless device for performing measurements is provided. The wireless device includes processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless device to: perform one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with an application in response to the start of an application session; transmit a first session feedback indication based on the QoE measurements to a base station, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has started; and receive a command from the base station to perform one or more radio measurements in response to transmitting the first session feedback indication.

[0066] According to some embodiments, a base station for performing measurements is provided. The base station includes processing circuitry configured to cause the base station to: receive a first session feedback indication based on QoE measurements from a wireless device, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has begun; and, in response to receiving the session feedback indication, transmit a command to the wireless device to perform one or more radio measurements. Attached Figure Description

[0067] To better understand this disclosure, and to show how it may be implemented, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings by way of example only, in which:

[0068] Figure 1 This shows the overall architecture of NG-RAN;

[0069] Figure 2 The overall architecture for separate gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP is shown;

[0070] Figure 3 This demonstrates the process of querying UE capabilities using UTRAN;

[0071] Figure 4 This illustrates the transmission of UE capability information utilizing UTRAN;

[0072] Figure 5 The measurement control message from UTRAN is shown as described above;

[0073] Figure 6 The measurement report to UTRAN is shown as described above;

[0074] Figure 7 This illustrates an example of UE capability delivery utilizing E-UTRAN;

[0075] Figure 8 This shows an example of an application layer measurement report using E-UTRAN;

[0076] Figure 9 The diagram illustrates a method according to some embodiments. The method can be performed by a wireless device (or UE);

[0077] Figure 10 Methods according to some embodiments are illustrated. These methods can be performed by a base station. The base station may include a RAN node, such as a gNB, gNB-CU, or eNB;

[0078] Figure 11 Show in more detail Figure 9 and 10 The method. In particular, Figure 11 The following is a signaling diagram according to some embodiments;

[0079] Figure 12 The diagram illustrates a method according to some embodiments. The method can be performed by a wireless device (or UE);

[0080] Figure 13 The diagram illustrates a method according to some embodiments. The method can be performed by a base station;

[0081] Figure 14 Show in more detail Figure 12 and 13 Examples of methods. Specifically, Figure 14 Signaling diagrams according to some embodiments are shown;

[0082] Figure 15 A wireless network according to some embodiments is shown;

[0083] Figure 16 A user equipment is shown according to some embodiments;

[0084] Figure 17 This illustrates a virtualized environment according to some embodiments;

[0085] Figure 18 A telecommunications network is illustrated, according to some embodiments, connected to a host computer via an intermediate network;

[0086] Figure 19 A host computer is shown communicating with a user equipment via a base station through a partially wireless connection, according to some embodiments;

[0087] Figure 20 The presents a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments, the communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment;

[0088] Figure 21 The presents a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments, the communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment;

[0089] Figure 22 The presents a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments, the communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment;

[0090] Figure 23 The presents a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments, the communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment;

[0091] Figure 24 A virtualization device is shown according to some embodiments;

[0092] Figure 25 A virtualization device is shown according to some embodiments;

[0093] Figure 26 A virtualization device is shown according to some embodiments;

[0094] Figure 27 A virtualized device according to some embodiments is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0095] Certain aspects of this disclosure and its embodiments may provide solutions to the challenges discussed above or other challenges.

[0096] If there is an expectation to analyze both QoE measurements and radio-related measurements together, such as checking the radio condition when a QoE measurement occurred, then receiving radio measurements over a long period may be unnecessary because the QoE measurement was performed over a much shorter period. It can also be considered unnecessary to receive radio measurements when no QoE measurements are being recorded. In existing solutions, it is the RAN that starts and stops MDT measurement collection (a type of radio measurement), and it has no knowledge of when QoE measurements are being collected in the UE.

[0097] Furthermore, QoE measurements and radio-related measurements have different formats, which can complicate the post-processing of different types of measurements.

[0098] In some embodiments described herein, methods and apparatus are provided to improve the analysis or post-processing of application layer measurements (e.g., QoE measurements) and radio layer measurements (e.g., MDT measurements or layer 2 measurements) by using session feedback indications as triggers to start or stop radio measurements.

[0099] Some of the methods described in this document can also use a service type indication, a QoE reference indication, or a UE request session ID as part of a radio measurement configuration (e.g., ReportConfigNR in TS 38.331rel-16) to associate radio measurements with a target application / service or session.

[0100] The UE may be pre-configured with a radio measurement configuration, which may remain pending until the UE RRC layer receives a feedback indication from the application layer indicating the start of a target session or the initiation of QoE measurements related to a target session associated with a target service type. In an example where such an indication is received from the application layer before configuring the radio measurement configuration (and no indication that the session has stopped is received), the radio measurement configuration can be started / activated immediately.

[0101] The methods and apparatus described in this paper can be aligned with the reporting format of QoE measurements and radio-related measurements.

[0102] The embodiments described herein can use session feedback indications as triggers to begin performing or collecting radio-related measurements. Furthermore, network nodes can transmit indications as part of a radio measurement configuration (e.g., ReportConfigNR) to associate the measurement configuration with a target service type. This assists the network in sending a pending radio configuration to the UE, which remains pending until an application begins a session involving the target service. The radio device can then then run radio measurements associated with the configured service type as part of ReportConfigNR.

[0103] This document presents various embodiments for solving one or more of the problems disclosed herein.

[0104] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. One advantage of the embodiments described herein is that they avoid collecting certain radio-related measurements during periods when QoE measurements are not being performed. This limits the collection of measurements during periods when the results are of less interest, thereby saving resources spent on transmitting measurement reports and on performing measurements within the UE.

[0105] In other words, embodiments of this disclosure provide alignment between radio layer measurements (such as MDT and Layer 2 (L2) measurements) and application layer measurements. By utilizing the embodiments described herein, network nodes can selectively (or only) run network / radio layer measurements when QoE measurements are in progress or when a session begins in an application undergoing QoE measurements.

[0106] Therefore, time-aligned QoE measurements and radio layer measurements (such as MDT and Layer 2 measurements) facilitate the correlation and post-processing of the collected measurement files. Some embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments presented herein; these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0107] The terms “UE”, “wireless device”, “terminal equipment” and “wireless terminal” are used interchangeably.

[0108] The terms Measurement Collector Entity (MCE) and Tracking Collector Entity (TCE) can be used interchangeably.

[0109] The terms “network node” and “RAN node” can be used interchangeably, where a RAN node can be gNB, eNB, gNB-CU, gNB-CU-CP, eNB-CU, eNB-CU-CP, IAB-donor, IAB-donor-CU, IAB-donor-CU-CP, RNC, or node B.

[0110] The terms “application layer measurement”, “application measurement”, and “QoE measurement” can be used interchangeably.

[0111] The terms “MDT / tracking measurement”, “radio layer measurement”, “radio measurement” and “radio-related measurement” are used interchangeably.

[0112] The terms “linked measurement,” “synchronous measurement,” “simultaneous measurement,” and “coupled measurement” can be used interchangeably.

[0113] The terms “modem”, “radio layer”, “RRC layer” and “radio network layer” are used interchangeably.

[0114] The terms access layer and radio layer can be used interchangeably.

[0115] In various embodiments, the techniques disclosed herein are applicable to UMTS, LTE, and NR.

[0116] All references to the application layer are about the UE's application layer (because the RAN node does not have an application layer).

[0117] In various embodiments, the techniques disclosed herein are applicable to both signaling-based and management-based MDT and QoE measurements.

[0118] The terms O&M and OAM can be used interchangeably.

[0119] The terms O&M and OAM refer to the systems in the 3GPP system responsible for administration, maintenance, coordination, supply, and fault monitoring.

[0120] Figure 9 Methods according to some embodiments are illustrated. These methods can be performed by a wireless device (or UE).

[0121] Figure 9 A method according to a specific embodiment is described, the method beginning at step 902, in response to the start of an application session, performing one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application. In step 904, the method includes transmitting a first session feedback indication based on the QoE measurement to a base station, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has started. In step 906, the method includes receiving a command from the base station to perform one or more radio measurements in response to transmitting the first session feedback indication.

[0122] Figure 10 Methods according to some embodiments are illustrated. These methods can be performed by a base station. The base station may include RAN nodes, such as gNB, gNB-CU, or eNB.

[0123] Figure 10 A method according to a particular embodiment is described, the method beginning at step 1002, receiving a first session feedback indication based on QoE measurements from a wireless device, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has begun. In step 1004, the method includes, in response to receiving the first session feedback indication, transmitting a command to the wireless device to perform one or more radio measurements.

[0124] Figure 9 and 10 The method utilizes session feedback indications to trigger the execution of radio measurements.

[0125] Figure 11 Show in more detail Figure 9 and 10 The method. In particular, Figure 11 Signaling diagrams are shown according to some embodiments.

[0126] In step 1101, the network configures the UE using QoE measurements. The measurements can begin immediately or after a time period following the start of the application configuring the QoE measurements. For example, the network can transmit an RRCReconfiguration (QoE configuration) message.

[0127] In step 1102, the UE can, for example, use the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to confirm the completion of the configuration.

[0128] In step 1103, the UE is then configured with a QoE measurement configuration (e.g., a QoE with QoE measurement configured).

[0129] In step 1104, the application session then begins (e.g., session start). QoE measurement begins when the session starts on the target service / application (this step may correspond to...). Figure 9 Step 902).

[0130] In step 1105, when QoE measurement begins (and as...) Figure 9 In the example of step 904, the application layer in the UE sends a session feedback indication from the application layer to the RRC layer in the UE, and the indication is transmitted to the network in a message, such as an RRC message, such as MeasurementReport or measReportAppLayer. For example, the UE may transmit an RRC message with a session start indication (e.g., MeasurementReport or UEAssistanceInformation).

[0131] In some examples, the session feedback indication may include an indication of the application's service type or QoE reference ID. In other words, the application sends a feedback indication indicating which service has stopped or started to the RRC layer. The RRC layer may also send feedback indications to network nodes (e.g., base stations), which include indications of the service type or QoE reference ID.

[0132] In step 1106, when the network node receives a session feedback indication (which may correspond to...) Figure 10 In step 1002), it can use a session feedback indication as a trigger to configure the UE with certain radio measurements (e.g., certain MDT measurements or certain Layer 2 measurements, such as PDCP delay). For example, the network can transmit an RRCReconfiguration (radio measurement configuration or trigger) message to the UE.

[0133] Specific radio measurements can be used as tools to understand why quality of experience is a certain way. Which radio measurements and how they will be used in conjunction with QoE measurements can be pre-configured. This analysis can be performed by TCE, O&M entities, or network nodes (such as RAN nodes, e.g., gNB or eNB).

[0134] In an alternative solution, the radio-related measurement configuration has already been sent to the UE, and the message transmitted in step 1106 may include an indication to the UE to begin the previously configured radio measurements. Such an indication may be sent, for example, in an RRC message or in a MAC control element (MAC CE).

[0135] As a variation, the RAN node may indicate in the message activating previously configured radio-related measurements a subset of the configured measurements to be activated (where all of them can be part of a measurement configuration with a common measurement ID (measId)), or indicate one or a subset of a set of previously communicated measurement configurations (where each measurement configuration in the set can have its own measurement ID (measId)).

[0136] In another alternative step 1106, an instruction to begin recording radio measurements in a file may be included.

[0137] In an example where radio-related measurement configurations have not previously been sent to the UE, the UE may suggest to the network a set of radio-related measurements of particular interest to be configured, for example, taking into account one or more service types for which it has started a session(s).

[0138] As an example, if the UL PDCP average delay is not yet specified as part of radio-related measurements, but the application is time-critical, the UE may recommend reporting such a measurement.

[0139] The UE can also make unsolicited recommendations based on a certain type of network event (e.g., signal quality below a certain threshold).

[0140] In an example where radio-related measurement configurations have been previously sent to the UE, the UE may indicate to the network a subset of such radio-related measurements of particular interest, considering, for example, one or more service types for which it has started a session(s), or may suggest to the network the configuration of additional radio-related measurements.

[0141] In step 1106, the network node can thus transmit a command to the wireless device to perform one or more radio measurements. Step 1106 may correspond to Figure 9 Step 906 and Figure 10 Step 1004. The command may include an RRC message to the UE. The command may include configuration of radio-related measurements, such as RRM measurements, MDT measurements, or L2 measurements. In some examples, the command may instruct the radio device to perform one or more measurements by a pre-configured measurement configuration.

[0142] In step 1107, the UE confirms the command received in step 1106. For example, the UE may transmit the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the network.

[0143] In step 1108, the UE may transmit a measurement report to the network. For example, the UE may transmit a MeasurementReport (QoE report, radio measurement report) message to the network. The measurement report may include the results of one or more radio measurements and / or one or more QoE measurements.

[0144] In step 1109, QoE measurement is stopped or paused. QoE measurement may stop in response to an application session termination (e.g., session termination). QoE measurement may pause in response to a request from the network. When QoE measurement stops, the application layer in the UE can transmit a session feedback indication from the application layer to the RRC layer in the UE, and can also transmit the indication to the network in a message, such as an RRC message, like a MeasurementReport. In other words, in response to one or more QoE measurements stopping or pausing, the UE can transmit a second session feedback indication indicating that QoE measurement has stopped or paused to the base station.

[0145] In step 1110, upon receiving a second session feedback indication (e.g., a session feedback indication) from the RRC layer indicating the stop or pause of QoE measurements or the stop or pause of an ongoing session, the network node may stop or pause radio measurements (or network layer measurements). For example, the UE may transmit an RRC message with a session stop indication (e.g., MeasurementReport or UEAssistanceInformation).

[0146] In other words, in response to receiving a second session feedback indication from the radio device, in step 1111, the base station may transmit a command to the radio device to terminate or suspend one or more radio measurements. In some examples, the step 1111 message includes an indication to stop recording radio measurements in a file. For example, the network may transmit an RRCReconfiguration (Radio Measurement Stop / Cancel Configuration) message to the UE.

[0147] The UE (RRC layer) can continue one or more radio measurements until it receives a command from the network node.

[0148] In some examples, the UE (and the RRC layer) can autonomously stop or suspend radio measurements when it receives a second feedback indication from the application indicating the cessation of an ongoing session or related QoE measurement. In other words, in response to an application session being stopped or suspended, the radio device can terminate or suspend one or more radio measurements.

[0149] In step 1112, the UE acknowledges the command received in step 1111. For example, the UE may transmit the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the network.

[0150] In step 1113, the UE may transmit a measurement report containing any radio measurements or QoE measurements that have not yet been suspended by the network. For example, the UE may transmit a MeasurementReport (QoE report, radio measurement report) message to the network.

[0151] In the example where QoE measurement is paused, the resumption of MDT / L2 measurement can be enabled in different ways when QoE measurement resumes:

[0152] In one embodiment, the network can (e.g., in the same message) instruct the UE to restore both QoE and MDT / L2 measurements.

[0153] In another embodiment, the network can instruct the UE to resume QoE measurements, which would be an implicit instruction to the UE to also resume L2 / MDT measurements.

[0154] In another embodiment, the network can instruct the UE to resume QoE measurements, and thus the application layer in the UE can send an indication that the QoE measurements have been resumed to the RRC layer (modem) in the UE. This triggers the RRC layer to either autonomously activate the associated suspended radio measurements or notify the network of the resumed QoE measurements (e.g., confirm the resumed QoE measurements). The network can then (e.g., using an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message or an RRCReconfiguration message) instruct the UE to resume the suspended radio measurements associated with the resumed QoE measurements.

[0155] In another embodiment, where the UE can autonomously or based on some pre-configured criteria to recover QoE measurements, the UE also recovers MDT and / or L2 measurements.

[0156] In an example where consecutive requests (e.g., requests from OAM or 5GC to change the current radio-related measurement configuration) arrive at the base station after the coordination report for radio and QoE measurements has begun and before the end of such a coordination report, different alternatives are possible for the network node, such as:

[0157] (a) Incoming requests are queued for a given period of time or until, for example, the session is stopped and the QoE measurement is terminated. The indication of session termination may be derived, for example, from the receipt of feedback indications, indicating the termination of the relevant QoE measurement from the application or an ongoing session;

[0158] (b) Deny the attempt to enter and respond to the requesting entity with a specific reason for failure to indicate the existence of a conflict with the ongoing process;

[0159] (c) Cease ongoing coordination reporting;

[0160] (d) If multiple sessions are running, wait for feedback indicating that at least one session has stopped, and then:

[0161] - Disable current coordination reports that include recently terminated sessions, such as requesting the UE to provide the results determined by the terminated session; and

[0162] - Open a new coordination report that includes the remaining sessions, and its later results can be appended to the previous results of sessions that are still in progress (but not the results of sessions that have just been terminated);

[0163] (e) Dynamically reconfigure ongoing coordination reports, for example, modifying radio-related measurement configurations.

[0164] If a requested measurement reconfiguration received at a network node disrupts previous coordination between different measurement types, the network node can, in order to maintain coordination, either modify the reconfiguration or reconfigure other ongoing measurements unrelated to the requested reconfiguration. For example, if a network node receives a request to change the measurement period of a measurement type (e.g., MDT), and if this results in misalignment, the network node can modify the corresponding QoE measurement period to maintain alignment.

[0165] In an alternative solution, when a pending radio measurement configuration exists at the UE (RRC layer or lower), a session feedback indication is used within the UE (RRC layer or lower) to initiate radio-related measurements. When the RRC layer receives the session feedback indication from the application layer, it can use it as a trigger to initiate radio measurements, depending on the radio measurement configuration.

[0166] Figure 12 Methods according to some embodiments are illustrated. These methods can be performed by a wireless device (or UE).

[0167] Figure 12A method according to a specific embodiment is described, the method beginning at step 1202, in response to the start of an application session, performing one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application, and performing one or more radio measurements. The method may include performing one or more radio measurements in response to receiving an indication at the radio resource control layer that an application session has started from the application layer. The method may include receiving a radio measurement configuration from a base station, wherein the radio measurement configuration is indicated for use at the start of an application session for an indicated type of service. Alternatively or additionally, the measurement configuration may be indicated for use for a specific QoE reference ID or a UE request session ID. The method may further include transmitting a session feedback indication to the base station, the session feedback indication including results from one or more QoE measurements and one or more radio measurements.

[0168] Figure 13 A method according to some embodiments is shown. The method can be performed by a base station.

[0169] Figure 13 A method according to a particular embodiment is described, the method beginning at step 1302, transmitting a radio measurement configuration to a wireless device, wherein the radio measurement configuration is indicated for the start of an application session of an indicated service type or an application session associated with a session ID, or when a QoE measurement associated with a QoE reference ID begins.

[0170] Figure 14 Show in more detail Figure 12 and 13 Examples of methods. Specifically, Figure 14 This is a signaling diagram based on some embodiments.

[0171] In step 1401, the UE receives a QoE measurement configuration (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration(QoE configuration, radio measurement configuration) message). In this step, the UE also receives a radio measurement configuration. The radio measurement configuration can be indicated for use at the start of an application session for an indicated service type. Therefore, the radio measurement configuration can indicate at least one service type, and if at least one of the indicated service types is running, a measurement should be performed. Alternatively, the radio measurement configuration can be indicated for use with a QoE reference ID or a UE request session ID. Step 1) can correspond to... Figure 13 Step 1302.

[0172] A radio measurement configuration can be explicitly indicated as a pending measurement configuration (to be started when a session of at least one service type begins), or it can be interpreted as a pending measurement when a service type is indicated in the radio measurement configuration. Note that if a session of at least one of the indicated service types is already in progress when the UE receives the radio-related measurement configuration, the UE can immediately begin performing radio-related measurements based on the received configuration. Alternatively, when the UE receives the radio-related measurement configuration, the UE can ignore any ongoing sessions of the indicated service type(s) and treat the configuration as pending until a new session of the indicated service type(s) begins.

[0173] In step 1402, the UE confirms the measurement configuration received in step 1401. For example, the UE may transmit the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the network.

[0174] In step 1403, the UE is configured with a QoE measurement configuration and a radio measurement configuration (e.g., a UE configured with QoE measurement).

[0175] In step 1404, the application session begins (e.g., session starts). The RRC layer receives from the application layer an indication that the session has started for the indicated service type and that QoE measurement has started (including a session feedback indication for the service type).

[0176] The RRC layer uses a session feedback indication as a trigger to begin performing radio-related measurements. The configuration for radio measurements is received from the network earlier in the QoE configuration process or in a separate RRCReconfiguration message. Alternatively, the UE can begin logging radio-related measurements in a file.

[0177] In step 1405, in some examples, the UE transmits one or more intermittent reports to the network, such as a Measurement Report containing QoE measurements or radio measurements or both.

[0178] In step 1406, the RRC layer receives from the application layer an indication that the session for the indicated service type has been stopped and that QoE measurements have been stopped (e.g., session stopped) (session feedback indication). The RRC layer uses the session feedback indication as a trigger to stop performing radio measurements or, alternatively, to stop collecting radio measurements in a file. This also applies to pausing measurements, either at the request of the network or according to some previously configured criteria for pausing measurements. As previously described, resumption of measurements can be enabled.

[0179] In step 1407, the RRC layer transmits a report, such as a Measurement Report (QoE report, radio measurement report), to the network. The message contains QoE measurements or radio measurements or both.

[0180] Radio-related measurement configurations can be linked to one or more applications, service types, QoE reference IDs, or UE-RequestSessionIDs that have associated QoE measurement configurations. When more than one application / service is linked to a radio-related measurement configuration, the radio-related measurement configuration is active (and the UE performs the configured radio-related measurements) when at least one of the applications / services is active (e.g., has an ongoing session).

[0181] In some embodiments, such links can be more granular, considering not only the application / service but also its components, such as different media components (e.g., audio and video in a multimedia application). Feedback indications from the application layer in the UE are then expanded / refined to indicate start and stop with finer granularity, for example, at the media component level, allowing the application layer to indicate when to start or stop individual media components such as audio and video. Different radio-related measurement configurations can be activated by different media components.

[0182] In other embodiments, the linking of radio-related measurement configurations to one or more application / service / application component / QoE measurement configurations can be extended or generalized to include the possibility of "wildcard" links (e.g., regarding QoE measurement configurations). A wildcard link could, for example, mean that when the first QoE measurement (of any type and regarding any application / service) begins, the relevant radio-related measurement configuration will be activated, and will remain active as long as any QoE measurement session is in progress.

[0183] In some embodiments, radio-related measurement configuration is activated (or provided) when it is indicated that an associated / linked application or service (type) (or application / media component) has started. In other embodiments, radio-related measurement configuration is activated (or provided) when it is indicated that a QoE measurement session associated with an associated / linked application or service (type) has started.

[0184] In other embodiments, radio-related measurement configurations are linked to one or more QoE measurement configurations (rather than to an application / service (type)). In an example of how this can be implemented in ASN.1 code, a `measConfigAppLayerId` (i.e., a unique identifier) ​​is associated with the QoE measurement configuration. This identifier can be passed to the UE along with the IE that communicates the QoE measurement configuration to the UE. In the RRC specification for LTE (3GPP TS 36.331), this also includes a `measConfigAppLayer` IE containing a `measConfigAppLayerContainer`, which contains the actual QoE measurement configuration. The `measConfigAppLayer` IE is further included in an OtherConfig IE, which is communicated to the UE in an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message. Radio-related measurement configurations can include measurement objects (e.g., `measObjectEUTRA`) and measurement reporting configurations (e.g., `reportConfigEUTRA`) linked together by an identifier called a measurement ID (e.g., `measId`). Using a MeasIdToAddModList IE containing a sequence of MeasIdToAddMod IEs, the UE can be configured with multiple radio-related measurement configurations. To link such radio-related measurement configurations to a QoE measurement configuration, the measConfigAppLayerId can be included in the MeasIdToAddMod IE, as in the example below.

[0185]

[0186] The formats for radio-related measurements and QoE measurements are currently not the same. QoE measurements are collected and reported in an XML file, which is sent to the gNB and forwarded to the tracking collector entity. For example, MDT measurements in RRC_CONNECTED are reported to the gNB continuously (periodically or triggered by configured events) as values ​​in the RRC message MeasurementReport. If the formats were aligned, the joint analysis of both QoE and radio-related measurements might be simpler.

[0187] Such alignment could involve the UE also collecting radio-related measurements in, for example, a file in XML format, which is sent to the gNB. The file could include, for example: radio measurement samples at a given time, such as the RSRP value at that time, or the PDCP delay within a given measurement interval; the time of the measurement samples; and / or the cell ID.

[0188] Session feedback indications can also be used as triggers to begin collecting radio-related measurements in the file. When the UE receives an indication from the application layer that a session and QoE measurements have begun, it starts collecting radio-related measurements in the file. Depending on the network configuration, during the period when they are collected in the file, continuous measurements in the MeasurementReport may or may not be continuously reported.

[0189] When coordinating QoE and MDT measurement collections, QoE measurement collections can be prioritized first. MDT job requests can include an identifier for the QoE collection measurement job, or vice versa.

[0190] The following shows an example of an NR in the TraceJob information object class. The following indicates the new section that can be included in 3GPP TS28.622 Clause 4.3.30.2.

[0191]

[0192]

[0193] Attribute constraints

[0194]

[0195] Example Implementation

[0196] Non-limiting examples of including the service type, QoE reference IS, or UE-RequestSessionID as part of the measurement configuration to associate the measurement configuration with at least one specific service type can be captured as part of the reporting configuration NR in the RRC specification TS 38.331. New sections that may be included in TS 38.331 are indicated below.

[0197]

[0198]

[0199]

[0200] Optionally, the serviceType-r17 ENUMERATED parameter included in the EventTriggerConfig and PeriodicReportConfig IE in the example above can be replaced by a list / sequence of parameters, for example:

[0201] ···· serviceTypeList-r17 →→SEQUENCE·(SIZE·(1..maxNrOfServiceType))·OF·ServiceType-r17····OPTIONAL,

[0202] The ServiceType parameter can be defined as follows:

[0203] ····ServiceType-r17·········→→ENUMERATED·{ qoe , · mbms , · mtsi , ar / vr , · urllc, · iiot, ...}

[0204] Another variation of the example above is to change the field description of the serviceType parameter to:

[0205] serviceType

[0206] If this field is configured, measurements will be aborted at the UE until a QoE measurement session associated with the target service type is running at the application layer. If the UE RRC receives an indication that a session associated with the target service is running, the UERRC will perform the configured measurements.

[0207] Figure 15 A wireless network according to some embodiments is shown.

[0208] While the topics described herein can be implemented in any suitable type of system using any appropriate components, the embodiments disclosed herein are relative to wireless networks (such as...). Figure 15 The example wireless network shown is used for description. For the sake of brevity, Figure 15The wireless network depicted only includes network 1506, network nodes 1560 and 1560b, and WD 1510, 1510b, and 1510c (also referred to as mobile terminals). In practice, the wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (such as a landline telephone, service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). Among the components shown, network node 1560 and wireless device (WD) 1510 are depicted in additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate access and / or use of services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0209] Wireless networks may include any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular and / or radio network or other similar system and / or connected to it via an interface. In some embodiments, a wireless network may be configured to operate according to a specific standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, specific embodiments of a wireless network may implement: communication standards such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as the IEEE 802.11 standard; and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and / or ZigBee standards.

[0210] Network 1506 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

[0211] Network node 1560 and WD 1510 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide the functionality of the network node and / or wireless device, such as providing wireless connectivity in a wireless network. In various embodiments, the wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via wired or wireless connections).

[0212] As used herein, "network node" refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network capable of providing and / or enabling wireless access to the wireless device and / or performing other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points) and base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)). Base stations may be classified based on the coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power level) and may then be referred to as femtocells, picocells, microcells, or macrocells. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) portions of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio headend (RRH). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated as antenna-integrated radios with antennas. The distributed radio base station portion can also be referred to as a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Other examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (such as an MSR BS), network controllers (such as a radio network controller (RNC) or base station controller (BSC)), base transceiver stations (BTS), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSC, MME), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, location nodes (e.g., E-SMLC), and / or MDTs. As another example, a network node can be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. However, more generally, a network node can represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to enable and / or provide access to a wireless network for wireless devices or to provide a service to wireless devices already connected to a wireless communication network.

[0213] exist Figure 15 In the network node 1560, there are processing circuitry 1570, device-readable medium 1580, interface 1590, auxiliary equipment 1584, power supply 1586, power circuitry 1587, and antenna 1562. Although Figure 15The network node 1560 shown in the example wireless network may represent an apparatus including the illustrated combination of hardware components, but other embodiments may include network nodes having different combinations of components. It should be understood that a network node includes any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Furthermore, while the components of network node 1560 are depicted as a single frame contained within a larger frame or nested within multiple frames, in practice, a network node may include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., apparatus-readable medium 1580 may include multiple separate hard disk drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0214] Similarly, network node 1560 may be composed of multiple physically independent components (e.g., NodeB components and RNC components, or BTS components and BSC components, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding components. In some cases where network node 1560 includes multiple independent components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the independent components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In this case, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single independent network node in some situations. In some embodiments, network node 1560 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some embodiments (e.g., independent device-readable media 1580 for different RATs) may be repeated, and some components (e.g., the same antenna 1562 may be shared by RATs) may be reused. Network node 1560 may also include multiple sets of various illustrated components of different wireless technologies (such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into network node 1560. These wireless technologies can be integrated into the same or different chips or chip sets and other components within network node 1560.

[0215] Processing circuitry 1570 is configured to perform any determination, computation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 1570 may include processing information acquired by processing circuitry 1570 through steps such as: converting the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or converted information with information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information, and making a determination as a result of said processing.

[0216] Processing circuitry 1570 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, controller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field-programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coded logic operable alone or in combination with other network node 1560 components (such as device-readable medium 1580) to provide the functionality of network node 1560. For example, processing circuitry 1570 may execute instructions stored in device-readable medium 1580 or in memory within processing circuitry 1570. Such functionality may include any wireless feature, function, or benefit that provides the various wireless features, functions, or benefits described herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1570 may include a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0217] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1570 may include one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1572 and a baseband processing circuitry 1574. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1572 and the baseband processing circuitry 1574 may be located on separate chips (or chip sets), boards, or units (such as radio units and digital units). In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1572 and the baseband processing circuitry 1574 may be located on the same chip or chip set, board, or unit.

[0218] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be executed by processing circuitry 1570 by executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 1580 or in memory within processing circuitry 1570. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 1570, for example, in a hard-wired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium. In any of those embodiments, processing circuitry 1570 may be configured to perform the aforementioned functionality regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by this functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 1570 alone or other components of network node 1560, but are generally enjoyed by network node 1560 and / or generally by end users and wireless networks.

[0219] Device-readable medium 1580 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage, including, without limitation, permanent storage devices, solid-state storage, remotely mounted storage, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drives, CDs, or DVDs), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable storage devices that store information, data, and / or instructions usable by processing circuitry 1570. Device-readable medium 1580 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, etc.) and / or other instructions (which can be executed by processing circuitry 1570 and utilized by network node 1560). Device-readable medium 1580 may be used to store any calculations performed by processing circuitry 1570 and / or any data received via interface 1590. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1570 and the device-readable medium 1580 may be considered integrated.

[0220] Interface 1590 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 1560, network 1506, and / or WD 1510. As shown, interface 1590 includes one or more ports / terminals 1594 for sending and receiving data to and from network 1506 via a wired connection, for example. Interface 1590 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1592, which may be coupled to antenna 1562 or, in some embodiments, a portion of antenna 1562. Radio front-end circuitry 1592 includes a filter 1598 and an amplifier 1596. Radio front-end circuitry 1592 may be connected to antenna 1562 and processing circuitry 1570. Radio front-end circuitry 1592 may be configured to modulate the signal transmitted between antenna 1562 and processing circuitry 1570. Radio front-end circuitry 1592 may receive digital data to be transmitted to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1592 may use a combination of filter 1598 and / or amplifier 1596 to convert digital data into radio signals with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signals can then be transmitted via antenna 1562. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1562 may collect radio signals, which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuit 1592. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1570. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0221] In some alternative embodiments, network node 1560 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 1592; instead, processing circuitry 1570 may include radio front-end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 1562 without the need for separate radio front-end circuitry 1592. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or part of RF transceiver circuitry 1572 may be considered part of interface 1590. In other embodiments, interface 1590 may include one or more ports or terminals 1594, radio front-end circuitry 1592, and RF transceiver circuitry 1572 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 1590 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 1574, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0222] Antenna 1562 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1562 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1590 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1562 may include one or more omnidirectional, sector, or planar antennas operable to transmit / receive radio signals, for example, between 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas can be used to transmit / receive radio signals in any direction, sector antennas can be used to transmit / receive radio signals from a device in a specific area, and planar antennas can be line-of-sight antennas used to transmit / receive radio signals in a relative straight line. In some cases, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 1562 may be decoupled from network node 1560 and may be connectable to network node 1560 via an interface or port.

[0223] Antenna 1562, interface 1590, and / or processing circuitry 1570 may be configured to perform any receive operation and / or certain acquire operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1562, interface 1590, and / or processing circuitry 1570 may be configured to perform any transmit operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0224] Power circuit 1587 may include or be coupled to power management circuitry and is configured to supply power to components of network node 1560 for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuit 1587 may receive power from power source 1586. Power source 1586 and / or power circuit 1587 may be configured to supply power to various components of network node 1560 in a form suitable to the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). Power source 1586 may be included in power circuit 1587 and / or network node 1560 or external to power circuit and / or network node. For example, network node 1560 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via input circuitry or an interface (such as a cable), whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuit 1587. As another example, power source 1586 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack, which is connected to or integrated into power circuit 1587. The battery can provide backup power if the external power source fails. Other types of power sources (such as photovoltaic devices) may also be used.

[0225] Alternative embodiments of network node 1560 may include, except Figure 15 Additional components beyond those shown may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any functionality described herein and / or any functionality required to support the topics described herein. For example, network node 1560 may include a user interface device to allow information to enter into network node 1560 and to allow information to exit from network node 1560. This allows users to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions of network node 1560.

[0226] As used herein, “wireless device (WD)” means a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term “WD” is used interchangeably with “User Equipment” (UE) herein. Wireless communication may involve delivering and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information over the air. In some embodiments, the WD may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the WD may be designed to transmit information to the network based on a predetermined schedule, triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network. Examples of WD include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, and wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs). Vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. A WD can support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, through 3GPP standards implementing pass-through communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and in this case, it can be referred to as a D2D communication device. As another specific example, in the Internet of Things (IoT) context, a WD can represent a machine or another device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or network node. In this case, a WD can be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which in the 3GPP context can be referred to as an MTC device. As a specific example, a WD can be a UE implementing the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (such as power meters), industrial machinery or household or personal appliances (such as refrigerators, televisions, etc.), and personal wearables (such as watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other contexts, WD can refer to a vehicle or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting operational status or other functions associated with its operation. As described above, WD can also refer to a wirelessly connected endpoint; in this case, the device may be called a wireless terminal. Furthermore, as described above, WD can be mobile; in this case, it may be called a mobile device or mobile terminal.

[0227] As shown, the wireless device 1510 includes an antenna 1511, an interface 1514, processing circuitry 1520, a device-readable medium 1530, a user interface device 1532, auxiliary devices 1534, a power supply 1536, and a power circuit 1537. The WD 1510 may include one or more of the components shown, representing various wireless technologies supported by the WD 1510 (such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name just a few). These wireless technologies may be integrated into a chip or set of chips that are the same as or different from other components within the WD 1510.

[0228] Antenna 1511 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and is connected to interface 1514. In some alternative embodiments, antenna 1511 may be detachable from WD 1510 and may be connected to WD 1510 via an interface or port. Antenna 1511, interface 1514, and / or processing circuitry 1520 may be configured to perform any receive or transmit operations described herein as performed by a WD. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front-end circuitry and / or antenna 1511 may be considered as an interface.

[0229] As shown, interface 1514 includes radio front-end circuitry 1512 and antenna 1511. Radio front-end circuitry 1512 includes one or more filters 1518 and amplifiers 1516. Radio front-end circuitry 1514 is connected to antenna 1511 and processing circuitry 1520 and is configured to modulate the signal transmitted between antenna 1511 and processing circuitry 1520. Radio front-end circuitry 1512 may be coupled to antenna 1511 or is part of antenna 1511. In some embodiments, WD 1510 may not include a separate radio front-end circuitry 1512; instead, processing circuitry 1520 may include radio front-end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 1511. Similarly, in some embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1522 may be considered part of interface 1514. Radio front-end circuitry 1512 may receive digital data to be transmitted wirelessly to other network nodes or WD. Radio front-end circuitry 1512 may use a combination of filters 1518 and / or amplifiers 1516 to convert digital data into radio signals with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. Radio signals can then be transmitted via antenna 1511. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1511 can collect radio signals, which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1512. The digital data can then be passed to processing circuitry 1520. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0230] Processing circuitry 1520 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, controller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field-programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coded logic operable alone or in combination with other WD 1510 components (such as device-readable medium 1530) to provide WD 1510 functionality. Such functionality may include any wireless features or benefits that provide the various wireless features or benefits described herein. For example, processing circuitry 1520 may execute instructions stored in device-readable medium 1530 or in memory within processing circuitry 1520 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0231] As shown, the processing circuitry 1520 includes one or more of an RF transceiver circuitry 1522, a baseband processing circuitry 1524, and an application processing circuitry 1526. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1520 of the WD 1510 may include a System-on-a-Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1522, the baseband processing circuitry 1524, and the application processing circuitry 1526 may be located on a separate chip or a chip assembly. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the baseband processing circuitry 1524 and the application processing circuitry 1526 may be combined into a single chip or chip assembly, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1522 may be located on a separate chip or chip assembly. In still alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1522 and the baseband processing circuitry 1524 may be located on the same chip or chip assembly, and the application processing circuitry 1526 may be located on a separate chip or chip assembly. In other alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1522, baseband processing circuitry 1524, and application processing circuitry 1526 may be combined in the same chip or chip set. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1522 may be part of interface 1514. The RF transceiver circuitry 1522 may modulate the RF signal of processing circuitry 1520.

[0232] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as performed by WD may be provided by processing circuitry 1520 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 1530, which in some embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 1520, such as in a hard-wired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any embodiment of those particular embodiments, processing circuitry 1520 may be configured to perform the functionality regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by this functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 1520 alone or other components of WD 1510, but are generally enjoyed by WD 1510 and / or generally by end users and wireless networks.

[0233] Processing circuitry 1520 may be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by WD. Such operations performed by processing circuitry 1520 may include processing information acquired by processing circuitry 1520 by, for example, the following steps: converting the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or converted information with information stored in WD 1510, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information, and making a determination as a result of said processing.

[0234] Device-readable medium 1530 may be operable to store computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.) and / or other instructions (which can be executed by processing circuitry 1520). Device-readable medium 1530 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., CD or DVD)) and / or any other volatile or non-volatile non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device (which stores information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by processing circuitry 1520). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1520 and device-readable medium 1530 may be considered integrated.

[0235] User interface device 1532 provides components that allow a human user to interact with WD 1510. This interaction can take many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. User interface device 1532 can be operable to produce outputs to the user and allow the user to provide inputs to WD 1510. The type of interaction can vary depending on the type of user interface device 1532 installed in WD 1510. For example, if WD 1510 is a smartphone, the interaction may be via a touchscreen; if WD 1510 is a smart meter, the interaction may be via a screen providing usage (e.g., gallons used) or a speaker providing audible alarms (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface device 1532 may include input interfaces, means, and circuitry, as well as output interfaces, means, and circuitry. User interface device 1532 is configured to allow input of information to WD 1510 and is connected to processing circuitry 1520 to allow processing circuitry 1520 to process the input information. User interface device 1532 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensor, buttons / buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface device 1532 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 1510 and to allow processing circuitry 1520 to output information from WD 1510. User interface device 1532 may include, for example, a speaker, display, vibration circuitry, a USB port, a headphone jack, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuitry of user interface device 1532, WD 1510 can communicate with end users and / or wireless networks, allowing them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0236] The auxiliary device 1534 is operable to provide more specific functionality, which may generally not be performed by the WD. This may include dedicated sensors for measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication (such as wired communication), etc. The inclusion and type of components of the auxiliary device 1534 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or circumstances.

[0237] In some embodiments, power supply 1536 may take the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power battery. WD 1510 may further include power circuitry 1537 for supplying power from power supply 1536 to various components of WD 1510 that require power from power supply 1536 to perform any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 1537 may include power management circuitry in some embodiments. Additionally or alternatively, power circuitry 1537 may be operable to receive power from an external power source; in this case, WD 1510 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via input circuitry or an interface (e.g., a power cable). Power circuitry 1537 may also be operable to supply power from an external power source to power supply 1536 in some embodiments. This may be used, for example, for charging power supply 1536. The power circuit 1537 can perform any formatting, conversion or other modification on the power from the power source 1536 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components of the WD 1510 that are being powered.

[0238] Figure 16 A user device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0239] Figure 16 An embodiment of a UE according to the various aspects described herein is illustrated. As used herein, “User Equipment” or “UE” may not necessarily refer to a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, a UE may refer to a device intended for sale to or operated by a human user, but which may not or initially may not be associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may refer to a device not intended for sale to or operated by an end user, but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 1600 may be any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including NB-IoT UEs, Machine Type Communication (MTC) UEs, and / or Enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs. Figure 16 As shown, UE 1600 is an example of a WD configured for communication according to one or more communication standards (such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards) issued by the 3GPP. As previously stated, the terms "WD" and "UE" are used interchangeably. Accordingly, although... Figure 16 It is a UE, but the components described in this article are also applicable to WD, and vice versa.

[0240] exist Figure 16In this embodiment, UE 1600 includes: processing circuitry 1601 operatively coupled to input / output interface 1605; radio frequency (RF) interface 1609; network connectivity interface 1611; memory 1615, including random access memory (RAM) 1617, read-only memory (ROM) 1619, and storage medium 1621 or similar; communication subsystem 1631; power supply 1633; and / or any other components or any combination thereof. Storage medium 1621 contains operating system 1623, application programs 1625, and data 1627. In other embodiments, storage medium 1621 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may utilize... Figure 16 The components shown can be all or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between components can vary on a per-UE basis. Furthermore, some UEs may contain multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0241] exist Figure 16 In this embodiment, processing circuitry 1601 can be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 1601 can be configured to implement: any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored in memory as a machine-readable computer program, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic along with appropriate firmware; one or more stored-program general-purpose processors, such as microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs), along with appropriate software; or any combination thereof. For example, processing circuitry 1601 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for computer use.

[0242] In the depicted embodiments, the input / output interface 1605 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or both input and output devices. The UE 1600 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 1605. The output device may use an interface port of the same type as the input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input / output to / from the UE 1600. The output device may be a speaker, sound card, video card, display, monitor, printer, actuator, transmitter, smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The UE 1600 may be configured to use an input device via the input / output interface 1605 to allow a user to capture information entering the UE 1600. The input device may include a touch or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, digital camcorder, webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a navigation pad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from the user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and a light sensor.

[0243] exist Figure 16 In this configuration, RF interface 1609 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as transmitters, receivers, and antennas. Network connectivity interface 1611 can be configured to provide a communication interface to network 1643a. Network 1643a may include wired and / or wireless networks, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), computer networks, wireless networks, telecommunications networks, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, network 1643a may include a Wi-Fi network. Network connectivity interface 1611 can be configured to include receiver and transmitter interfaces for communicating with one or more other devices over the communication network according to one or more communication protocols such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connectivity interface 1611 can implement receiver and transmitter functionality suitable for communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). Transmitter and receiver functionality may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

[0244] RAM 1617 may be configured to interface with processing circuitry 1601 via bus 1602 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs (such as operating systems, application programs, and device drivers). ROM 1619 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 1601. For example, ROM 1619 may be configured to store immutable low-level system code or data for basic system functions (such as basic input and output (I / O), startup, or acceptance of keystrokes from a keyboard, which are stored in non-volatile memory). Storage medium 1621 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable magnetic tape, or flash drive. In one example, storage medium 1621 may be configured to include operating system 1623, application program 1625 (such as a web browser application, widget or accessory engine, or another application), and data file 1627. Storage medium 1621 can store any operating system or combination of operating systems for use by UE1600.

[0245] Storage medium 1621 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital multifunction disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-ray disc drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, an external micro dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory (such as a subscriber identity module or a removable subscriber identity (SIM / RUIM) module), other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 1621 may allow UE 1600 to access computer-executable instructions, applications, or the like stored on transient or non-transient storage media to offload or upload data. Manufactured products (such as manufactured products utilizing communication systems) may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 1621, which may include a device-readable medium.

[0246] exist Figure 16In this configuration, processing circuitry 1601 can be configured to communicate with network 1643b using communication subsystem 1631. Networks 1643a and 1643b can be one or more of the same networks or one or more different networks. Communication subsystem 1631 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with network 1643b. For example, communication subsystem 1631 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device (such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN)) capable of wireless communication according to one or more communication protocols (such as IEEE 802.11, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like). Each transceiver can include transmitter 1633 and / or receiver 1635 to respectively implement transmitter or receiver functionality suitable for the RAN link (e.g., frequency allocation and the like). Furthermore, the transmitter 1633 and receiver 1635 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

[0247] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 1631 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication (such as Bluetooth, near-field communication), location-based communication (such as Global Positioning System (GNSS / GPS) used to determine location), another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 1631 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GNSS / GPS communication. The network 1643b may include wired and / or wireless networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 1643b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power supply 1613 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 1600.

[0248] The features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 1600, or divided across multiple components of UE 1600. Furthermore, the features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 1631 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Additionally, the processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to communicate with any of these components via bus 1602. In another example, any component of this type of component may be represented by program instructions stored in memory, which, when executed by the processing circuitry 1601, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any component of this type of component may be divided between the processing circuitry 1601 and the communication subsystem 1631. In yet another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any component of this type of component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0249] Figure 17 A virtualized environment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0250] Figure 17 This is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 1700, in which functionality implemented through some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, "virtualization" can be applied to nodes (e.g., virtualized base stations or virtualized radio access nodes) or to apparatuses (e.g., UEs, wireless devices, or any other type of communication device) or their components, and relates to at least a portion of its functionality being implemented as an implementation of one or more virtual components (e.g., one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executed via one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0251] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (which are implemented in one or more virtual environments 1700 hosted by one or more hardware nodes of hardware node 1730). Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), the network node may be fully virtualized.

[0252] The functionality may be implemented by one or more applications 1720 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual devices, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.), operable to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein. Application 1720 runs in a virtualization environment 1700, which provides hardware 1730 including processing circuitry 1760 and memory 1790. Memory 1790 contains instructions 1795 executable by the processing circuitry 1760, thereby enabling application 1720 to operate to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0253] The virtualization environment 1700 includes general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices 1730, which include a collection of one or more processors or processing circuits 1760. These processors or processing circuits may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry (including digital or analog hardware components or special-purpose processors). Each hardware device may include a memory 1790-1, which may be a non-permanent memory for temporarily storing instructions 1795 or software executed by the processing circuitry 1760. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 1770 (also known as network interface cards), which include physical network interfaces 1780. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory permanent machine-readable storage medium 1790-2, which stores software 1795 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuitry 1760. Software 1795 may include any type of software, including software for illuminating one or more virtualization layers 1750 (also known as a hypervisor), software for executing virtual machine 1740, and software that allows it to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation to some of the embodiments described herein.

[0254] Virtual machine 1740 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface, and virtual storage devices, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1750 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device 1720 may be implemented on one or more virtual devices 1740, and the implementation may be carried out in different ways.

[0255] During operation, processing circuitry 1760 executes software 1795 to executor a hypervisor or virtualization layer 1750, sometimes referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 1750 provides a virtual operating platform that appears to the virtual machine 1740 as networked hardware.

[0256] like Figure 17As shown, hardware 1730 can be a standalone network node with general or specific components. Hardware 1730 may include antenna 17225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1730 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 17100, which also oversees the lifecycle management of application 1720.

[0257] Hardware virtualization is sometimes referred to as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many types of network devices onto industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage devices, which can reside in data center and customer site equipment.

[0258] In the context of NFV, virtual machine 1740 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 1740, and the portion of hardware 1730 that executes that virtual machine (if it is hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and / or hardware shared by that virtual machine and other virtual machines of virtual machine 1740), forms an independent virtual network element (VNE).

[0259] Within the context of NFV, a Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more virtual machines 1740 on top of the hardware networking infrastructure 1730, and corresponds to... Figure 17 Application 1720.

[0260] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 17200, each including one or more transmitters 17220 and one or more receivers 17210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 17225. The radio unit 17200 may communicate directly with the hardware node 1730 via one or more suitable network interfaces and may be combined with virtual components to provide radio capabilities (such as radio access nodes or base stations) for virtual nodes.

[0261] In some embodiments, some signaling can be influenced by using a control system 17230, which can alternatively be used for communication between hardware node 1730 and radio unit 17200.

[0262] Figure 18 This illustrates a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network, according to some embodiments.

[0263] Reference Figure 18According to an embodiment, the communication system includes a telecommunications network 1810 (such as a 3GPP-type cellular network), which includes an access network 1811 (such as a radio access network) and a core network 1814. The access network 1811 includes multiple base stations 1812a, 1812b, and 1812c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 1813a, 1813b, and 1813c. Each base station 1812a, 1812b, and 1812c can be connected to the core network 1814 via a wired or wireless connection 1815. A first UE 1891 located in coverage area 1813c is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by the corresponding base station 1812c. A second UE 1892 located in coverage area 1813a can wirelessly connect to the corresponding base station 1812a. Although multiple UEs 1891 and 1892 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a single UE is located in a coverage area or where a single UE is connected to the corresponding base station 1812.

[0264] Telecommunications network 1810 is itself connected to host computer 1830, which may be implemented in the hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server cluster. Host computer 1830 may be owned or controlled by a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 1821 and 1822 between telecommunications network 1810 and host computer 1830 may extend directly from core network 1814 to host computer 1830, or may be made via optional intermediate network 1820. Intermediate network 1820 may be one or more of public, private, or hosted networks; intermediate network 1820 (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 1820 may include two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0265] Figure 18The communication system generally enables connectivity between the connected UEs 1891 and 1892 and the host computer 1830. This connectivity can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1850. The host computer 1830 and the connected UEs 1891 and 1892 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 1850 using the access network 1811, core network 1814, any intermediate network 1820, and other possible infrastructure (not shown) acting as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1850 can be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which it passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1812 may not receive, or need not receive, notification of past routing for incoming downlink communications containing data originating from the host computer 1830 that will be forwarded (e.g., switched) to the connected UE 1891. Similarly, base station 1812 does not need to know the future routing of outgoing uplink communication from UE 1891 to host computer 1830.

[0266] Figure 19 This illustration shows a host computer that communicates with a user equipment via a base station through a partial wireless connection, according to some embodiments.

[0267] Now refer to Figure 19 This describes an example implementation of the UE, base station, and host computer described in the preceding paragraphs according to embodiments. In the communication system 1900, the host computer 1910 includes hardware 1915, which includes a communication interface 1916 configured to establish and maintain wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 1900. The host computer 1910 further includes processing circuitry 1918, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 1918 may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or combinations of these devices (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 1910 further includes software 1911, which is stored in the host computer 1910 or is accessible to the host computer 1910 and executable by the processing circuitry 1918. The software 1911 includes a host application 1912. Host application 1912 is operable to provide services to remote users, such as UE 1930 connected via OTT connection 1950 terminated between UE 1930 and host computer 1910. In providing services to remote users, host application 1912 can provide user data transmitted using OTT connection 1950.

[0268] The communication system 1900 further includes a base station 1920, provided in a telecommunications system, and including hardware 1925 enabling it to communicate with a host computer 1910 and a UE 1930. Hardware 1925 may include: a communication interface 1926 for establishing and maintaining wired or wireless connections to different communication devices of the communication system 1900; and a radio interface 1927 for establishing and maintaining at least a wireless connection 1970 with the UE 1930, the UE 1930 being located within the coverage area served by the base station 1920. Figure 19 (Not shown in the image). The communication interface 1926 can be configured to facilitate a connection 1960 to the host computer 1910. The connection 1960 can be direct, or it can be via the core network of a telecommunications system (…). Figure 19 (Not shown) and / or via one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 1925 of base station 1920 further includes processing circuitry 1928, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station 1920 further has software 1921, which is either internally stored or accessible via an external connection.

[0269] The communication system 1900 further includes the previously mentioned UE 1930. Its hardware 1935 may include a radio interface 1937 configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 1970 with a base station serving the coverage area currently occupied by the UE 1930. The hardware 1935 of the UE 1930 further includes processing circuitry 1938, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or combinations of these devices (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 1930 further includes software 1931, which is stored in the UE 1930 or accessible to the UE 1930 and executable by the processing circuitry 1938. The software 1931 includes a client application 1932. The client application 1932 may be operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 1930 with the support of a host computer 1910. In host computer 1910, host application 1912 can communicate with client application 1932 via OTT connection 1950 terminated between UE 1930 and host computer 1910. When providing services to a user, client application 1932 can receive request data from host application 1912 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 1950 can transfer both request data and user data. Client application 1932 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0270] Please note, Figure 19 The host computer 1910, base station 1920, and UE 1930 shown can be respectively connected to... Figure 18 The host computer 1830, base stations 1812a, 1812b, and 1812c, and UEs 1891 and 1892 are similar to or the same as each other. That is, the internal workings of these entities can be as follows: Figure 19 As shown, and the surrounding network topology can be viewed independently as follows: Figure 18 As shown.

[0271] Figure 19 The OTT connection 1950 has been abstractly depicted to illustrate communication between host computer 1910 and UE 1930 via base station 1920, without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices or the exact routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure can determine the routing, configuring it to be either for UE 1930 or for the service provider operating host computer 1910, or hidden from both. While OTT connection 1950 is active, the network infrastructure can further make decisions, dynamically altering the routing (e.g., based on network load balancing considerations or reconfiguration).

[0272] The wireless connection 1970 between UE 1930 and base station 1920 is based on the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more embodiments of the various embodiments may use OTT connection 1950 to improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1930, wherein wireless connection 1970 forms the final segment.

[0273] A measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors for improvement in one or more of the embodiments. Optional network functionality may further exist for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1950 between the host computer 1910 and the UE 1930 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1950 may be implemented in the software 1911 and hardware 1915 of the host computer 1910, or in the software 1931 and hardware 1935 of the UE 1930, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with communication devices through which the OTT connection 1950 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities illustrated above, or by providing values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software 1911, 1931 can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1950 may include message formatting, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; reconfiguration does not affect the base station 1920, and it may be unknown or undetectable to the base station 1920. Such processes and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, and the like by the host computer 1910. Measurements are possible because software 1911 and 1931 use the OTT connection 1950 to transmit messages, particularly empty or 'false' messages, while it monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0274] Figure 20 The present invention illustrates a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments, the communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment.

[0275] Figure 20 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system may include, as referenced... Figure 18 and Figure 19 The host computers, base stations, and UEs mentioned above. For the sake of brevity, this section will only include descriptions of... Figure 20 Referring to the accompanying drawings. In step 2010, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 2011 of step 2010 (which may be optional), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In step 2020, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying user data to the UE. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, in step 2030 (which may be optional), the base station transmits user data to the UE, the user data being carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer. In step 2040 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0276] Figure 21 The present invention illustrates a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments, the communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment.

[0277] Figure 21 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system may include, as referenced... Figure 18 and Figure 19 The host computers, base stations, and UEs mentioned above. For the sake of brevity, this section will only include descriptions of... Figure 21 Refer to the accompanying drawings. In step 2110 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In step 2120, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying user data to the UE. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission may be carried out via a base station. In step 2130 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0278] Figure 22 The present invention illustrates a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments, the communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment.

[0279] Figure 22 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system may include, as referenced... Figure 18 and Figure 19 The host computers, base stations, and UEs mentioned above. For the sake of brevity, this section will only include descriptions of... Figure 22 Referring to the accompanying drawings. In step 2210 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 2220, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 2221 of step 2220 (which may be optional), the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 2211 of step 2210 (which may be optional), the UE executes a client application that responds to the received input data provided by the host computer to provide user data. In providing user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which user data is provided, the UE initiates the transmission of user data to the host computer in sub-step 2230 (which may be optional). According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, in step 2240 of the method, the host computer receives user data transmitted from the UE.

[0280] Figure 23The present invention illustrates a method implemented in a communication system according to some embodiments, the communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment.

[0281] Figure 23 This is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system may include, as referenced... Figure 18 and Figure 19 The host computers, base stations, and UEs mentioned above. For the sake of brevity, this section will only include descriptions of... Figure 23 Refer to the accompanying drawings. In step 2310 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2320 (which may be optional), the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 2330 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0282] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may include multiple such functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers and may include digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific digital logic, and other digital hardware such as these. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more techniques described herein. In some implementations, according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure, the processing circuitry may be used to cause corresponding functional units to perform corresponding functions.

[0283] Figure 24 A virtualized device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0284] Figure 24 Show wireless networks (e.g., Figure 15 A schematic block diagram of device 2400 in the wireless network shown. This device may be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 1510). Device 2400 is operable to perform reference... Figure 9 The example methods described herein, as well as any other procedures or methods disclosed herein, may be executed. It should also be understood that... Figure 9 The method is not necessarily performed solely by device 2400. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0285] The virtual device 2400 may include processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, including digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific digital logic, etc. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. In some embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause execution unit 2402, transmission unit 2404, and receiving unit 2406, as well as any other suitable unit of device 2400, to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure.

[0286] like Figure 24 As shown, device 2400 includes an execution unit 2402, a transmission unit 2404, and a receiving unit 2406. Execution unit 2402 is configured to perform one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with an application in response to the start of an application session. Transmission unit 2404 is configured to transmit a first session feedback indication based on the QoE measurement to a base station, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has started. Receiving unit 2406 is configured to receive a command from the base station to perform one or more radio measurements in response to transmitting the first session feedback indication.

[0287] Figure 25 A virtualized device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0288] Figure 25 Show wireless networks (e.g., Figure 15 A schematic block diagram of device 2500 in the wireless network shown. This device may be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 1510). Device 2500 is operable to perform reference... Figure 10 The example methods described herein, as well as any other procedures or methods disclosed herein, may be executed. It should also be understood that... Figure 10 The method is not necessarily performed solely by device 2500. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0289] The virtual device 2500 may include processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, including digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific digital logic, etc. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. In some embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the receiving unit 2502 and the transmitting unit 2504, as well as any other suitable unit of the device 2500, to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure.

[0290] like Figure 25 As shown, device 2500 includes a receiving unit 2502 and a transmitting unit 2504. The receiving unit 2502 is configured to receive a first session feedback indication based on QoE measurements from a wireless device, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has begun. The transmitting unit 2504 is configured to, in response to receiving the first session feedback indication, transmit a command to the wireless device to perform one or more radio measurements.

[0291] Figure 26 A virtualized device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0292] Figure 26 Show wireless networks (e.g., Figure 15 A schematic block diagram of device 2600 in the wireless network shown. This device may be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 1510). Device 2600 is operable to perform reference... Figure 12 The example methods described herein, as well as any other procedures or methods disclosed herein, may be executed. It should also be understood that... Figure 12 The method is not necessarily performed solely by device 2600. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0293] The virtual device 2600 may include processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, including digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific digital logic, etc. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. In some embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause execution unit 2602 and any other suitable unit of device 2600 to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure.

[0294] like Figure 26 As shown, device 2600 includes execution unit 2602. Execution unit 2602 is configured to perform one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application and to perform one or more radio measurements in response to the start of an application session.

[0295] Figure 27 A virtualized device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0296] Figure 27 Show wireless networks (e.g., Figure 15 A schematic block diagram of device 2700 in the wireless network shown. This device may be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 1510). Device 2700 is operable to perform reference... Figure 13 The example methods described herein, as well as any other procedures or methods disclosed herein, may be executed. It should also be understood that... Figure 13 The method is not necessarily performed solely by device 2700. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0297] The virtual device 2700 may include processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, including digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific digital logic, etc. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. In some embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the transmission unit 2702 and any other suitable unit of the device 2700 to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure.

[0298] like Figure 27 As shown, device 2700 includes a transmission unit 2702. Transmission unit 2702 is configured to transmit radio measurement configuration to a wireless device, wherein the radio measurement configuration is indicated for use at the start of an application session for an indicated service type.

[0299] The term unit may have the conventional meaning in the fields of electronics, electrical devices and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc. (such as those described herein).

[0300] Example

[0301] Group A Examples

[0302] 1. A method for performing a measurement, executed by a wireless device, the method comprising:

[0303] In response to the start of an application session, perform one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application;

[0304] The first session feedback indication based on QoE measurement is transmitted to the base station, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that the application session has started; and

[0305] In response to transmitting a first session feedback indication, a command to perform one or more radio measurements is received from the base station.

[0306] 2. The method of Embodiment 1, wherein, firstly, the application layer in the wireless device transmits the first session feedback indication to the radio resource control (RRC) layer in the wireless device, and the RRC layer transmits the first session feedback indication to the base station.

[0307] 3. The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the first session feedback indication includes an indication of the service type of the application.

[0308] 4. The method of any of the embodiments 1 to 3, wherein one or more radio measurements include one of the following: MDT measurement or Layer 2 measurement or Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement.

[0309] 5. The method of any of the embodiments 1 to 4, further comprising:

[0310] Transmit the results of one or more radio measurements to the base station.

[0311] 6. The method of any of the embodiments 1 to 5 further includes: in response to one or more QoE measurements stopping or pausing, transmitting a second session feedback indication indicating that the QoE measurement has stopped or paused to the base station.

[0312] 7. The method of Example 6 further includes: receiving a command from the base station to terminate or suspend one or more radio measurements in response to transmitting a second session feedback indication to the network node.

[0313] 8. The method of any of the embodiments 1 to 5 further includes: terminating or suspending one or more radio measurements in response to an application session being stopped or paused.

[0314] 9. The method of any of the embodiments in Examples 6 to 8, wherein one or more QoE measurements cease in response to the termination of the application session.

[0315] 10. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein the command to perform one or more radio measurements includes an instruction for one or more radio measurements.

[0316] 11. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein the wireless device is pre-configured with a measurement configuration indicating one or more radio measurements.

[0317] 12. A method for performing a measurement, executed by a wireless device, the method comprising:

[0318] In response to the start of an application session, perform one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application, and perform one or more radio measurements.

[0319] 13. The method of Example 12 further includes: performing one or more radio measurements in response to receiving an indication from the application layer at the radio resource control layer that an application session has commenced.

[0320] 14. The method of Example 12 further includes: receiving a radio measurement configuration from a base station, wherein the radio measurement configuration is indicated for use at the start of an application session for an indicated service type.

[0321] 15. The method of any of the embodiments 12 to 14, further comprising: transmitting a session feedback indication, including results from one or more QoE measurements and one or more radio measurements, to a base station.

[0322] 16. The method of any of the embodiments in Examples 12 to 15, further comprising:

[0323] a. In response to stopping or pausing one or more QoE measurements, stop or pause one or more radio measurements.

[0324] 17. The method of any embodiment in the preceding embodiments further includes:

[0325] -Provide user data; and

[0326] - User data is forwarded to the host computer via transmission to the base station.

[0327] Group B Implementation Examples

[0328] 18. A method for performing a measurement, executed by a base station, the method comprising:

[0329] Receive a first session feedback indication based on QoE measurement from the wireless device, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has started; and

[0330] In response to receiving a session feedback instruction, a command to perform one or more radio measurements is transmitted to the wireless device.

[0331] 19. The method of embodiment 18, wherein the first session feedback indication includes an indication of the service type of the application.

[0332] 20. The method of Example 18 or 19, wherein one or more radio measurements include one of the following: MDT measurement or Layer 2 measurement or Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement.

[0333] 21. The method of any of the embodiments in Examples 18 to 20, further comprising:

[0334] Receive the results of one or more radio measurements from a wireless device.

[0335] 22. The method of any of the embodiments of Examples 18 to 21, further comprising: receiving from a wireless device a second session feedback indication indicating that QoE measurement has stopped or been paused.

[0336] 23. The method of embodiment 22 further includes: in response to receiving a second session feedback indication to a network node, transmitting a command to terminate or suspend one or more radio measurements to a wireless device.

[0337] 24. The method of Example 22 or 23, wherein one or more QoE measurements cease in response to the termination of the application session.

[0338] 25. The method of any one of the embodiments 18 to 24, wherein the command to perform one or more radio measurements includes an instruction for one or more radio measurements.

[0339] 26. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 25 further includes: pre-configuring the wireless device with a measurement configuration indicating one or more radio measurements.

[0340] 27. A method for performing a measurement, executed by a base station, the method comprising:

[0341] The radio measurement configuration is transmitted to the wireless device, wherein the radio measurement configuration is indicated for use when an application session of the indicated service type begins or an application session associated with a session identifier begins, or when an experience quality QoE measurement associated with an experience quality QoE reference identifier begins.

[0342] 28. The method of any embodiment in the preceding embodiments further includes:

[0343] - Obtaining user data; and

[0344] - Forward user data to the host computer or wireless device.

[0345] Group C Implementation Examples

[0346] 29. A wireless device for performing measurements, the wireless device comprising:

[0347] - The processing circuitry is configured to perform any step of any embodiment in Group A embodiments; and

[0348] - The power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the wireless device.

[0349] 30. A base station for receiving measurements, the base station comprising:

[0350] - The processing circuitry is configured to perform any step of any embodiment in any of the Group B embodiments;

[0351] - The power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the base station.

[0352] 31. A user equipment (UE) for performing measurements, the UE comprising:

[0353] - Antenna, configured to transmit and receive wireless signals;

[0354] - A radio front-end circuit, which is connected to the antenna and to the processing circuit, and is configured to modulate the signal transmitted between the antenna and the processing circuit;

[0355] - The processing circuitry is configured to perform any step of any embodiment in any of the Group A embodiments;

[0356] - An input interface that is connected to the processing circuitry and is configured to allow information to be processed by the processing circuitry to be input into the UE;

[0357] - An output interface, which is connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information that has been processed by the processing circuitry from the UE; and

[0358] - A battery, which is connected to the processing circuitry and is configured to power the UE.

[0359] 32. A communication system including a host computer, comprising:

[0360] - Processing circuitry, configured to provide user data; and

[0361] - The communication interface is configured to forward user data to the cellular network for transmission to the user equipment (UE).

[0362] -The cellular network includes a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of which is configured to perform any step of any embodiment in the Group B embodiments.

[0363] 33. The communication system of the previous embodiment further includes a base station.

[0364] 34. The communication system of any of the preceding two embodiments further includes a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with a base station.

[0365] 35. The communication system of any of the embodiments in the preceding three embodiments, wherein:

[0366] - The host computer's processing circuitry is configured to execute host applications, thereby providing user data; and

[0367] - The UE includes processing circuitry configured to execute client applications associated with the host application.

[0368] 36. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0369] - Provide user data at the host computer; and

[0370] - At the host computer, a transmission carrying user data is initiated to the UE via a cellular network including a base station, wherein the base station performs any step of any embodiment in the Group B embodiments.

[0371] 37. The method of the previous embodiment further includes transmitting user data at the base station.

[0372] 38. The method of any of the preceding two embodiments, wherein user data is provided at a host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising executing a client application associated with the host application at the UE.

[0373] 39. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE including a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the steps of the preceding three embodiments.

[0374] 40. A communication system including a host computer, comprising:

[0375] - Processing circuitry, configured to provide user data; and

[0376] - The communication interface is configured to forward user data to the cellular network for transmission to the user equipment (UE).

[0377] -The UE includes a radio interface and processing circuitry, and the components of the UE are configured to perform any step of any embodiment in any of the Group A embodiments.

[0378] 41. The communication system of the prior embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0379] 42. The communication system of any of the embodiments in the preceding two examples, wherein:

[0380] - The host computer's processing circuitry is configured to execute host applications, thereby providing user data; and

[0381] - The UE's processing circuitry is configured to execute client applications associated with the host application.

[0382] 43. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0383] - Provide user data at the host computer; and

[0384] - At the host computer, a transmission carrying user data is initiated to the UE via a cellular network including a base station, wherein the UE performs any step of any embodiment in any of the Group A embodiments.

[0385] 44. The method of the prior embodiment further includes receiving user data from the base station at the UE.

[0386] 45. A communication system including a host computer, comprising:

[0387] - The communication interface is configured to receive user data transmitted from the user equipment (UE) to the base station.

[0388] -The UE includes a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of which is configured to perform any step of any embodiment in any of the Group A embodiments.

[0389] 46. ​​The communication system of the previous embodiment further includes a UE.

[0390] 47. The communication system of any of the preceding two embodiments further includes a base station, wherein the base station includes a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward user data carried by transmissions from the UE to the base station to a host computer.

[0391] 48. The communication system of any of the embodiments in the preceding three examples, wherein:

[0392] - The host computer's processing circuitry is configured to execute host applications; and

[0393] - The UE's processing circuitry is configured to execute client applications associated with the host application, thereby providing user data.

[0394] 49. A communication system of any of the embodiments in the preceding four examples, wherein:

[0395] - The host computer's processing circuitry is configured to execute host applications, thereby providing requested data; and

[0396] - The UE's processing circuitry is configured to execute client applications associated with the host application, thereby providing user data in response to data requests.

[0397] 50. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0398] - At the host computer, user data transmitted from the UE to the base station is received, wherein the UE performs any step of any embodiment in any of the Group A embodiments.

[0399] 51. The method of the prior embodiment further includes providing user data to the base station at the UE.

[0400] 52. The method of any of the preceding two embodiments further includes:

[0401] - At the UE, the client application is executed, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; and

[0402] - On the host computer, execute the host application associated with the client application.

[0403] 53. The method of any of the preceding three embodiments further includes:

[0404] - At the UE (User Equipment) level, execute the client application; and

[0405] - At the UE, input data is received from the client application, and the input data is provided at the host computer by executing the host application associated with the client application.

[0406] - In this context, the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0407] 54. A communication system including a host computer, the host computer including a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from transmissions from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station includes a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station being configured to perform any step of any embodiment in the Group B embodiments.

[0408] 55. The communication system of the previous embodiment further includes a base station.

[0409] 56. The communication system of the preceding two embodiments further includes a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with a base station.

[0410] 57. The communication system of the preceding three embodiments, wherein:

[0411] - The host computer's processing circuitry is configured to execute host applications;

[0412] - The UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer.

[0413] 58. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0414] - At the host computer, user data originating from a transmission already received by the base station from the UE is received from the base station, wherein the UE performs any step in any of the embodiments in Group A embodiments.

[0415] 59. The method of the previous embodiment further includes receiving user data from the UE at the base station.

[0416] 60. The methods of the preceding two embodiments further include initiating the transmission of received user data to a host computer at the base station.

Claims

1. A method for performing a measurement, executed by a wireless device, the method comprising: In response to the start of an application session, perform (902) one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application; A first session feedback indication based on the QoE measurement is transmitted (904) to the base station, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that the application session has started; as well as In response to transmitting the first session feedback indication, a command to perform one or more radio measurements is received from the base station (906).

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein, First, the application layer in the wireless device transmits the first session feedback indication to the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer in the wireless device, and the RRC layer transmits the first session feedback indication to the base station.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein, The first session feedback indication includes an indication of the service type of the application.

4. The method as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The one or more radio measurements include one of the following: MDT measurement, Layer 2 measurement, or Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: The results of the one or more radio measurements are transmitted (1108) to the base station.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: Stop or pause one or more of the QoE measurements; as well as In response to the stopping or pausing of one or more QoE measurements, a second session feedback indication indicating that the QoE measurement has stopped or paused is transmitted to the base station.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: In response to transmitting the second session feedback indication to the network node, a command to terminate or suspend the one or more radio measurements is received from the base station.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: In response to the application session being stopped or paused, the one or more radio measurements are terminated or suspended.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein, In response to the termination of the application session, the one or more QoE measurements cease.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, The command to perform one or more radio measurements includes instructions for the one or more radio measurements.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, The wireless device is pre-configured with a measurement configuration that indicates the one or more radio measurements.

12. A method for performing a measurement, executed by a base station, the method comprising: Receive (1002) a first session feedback indication based on QoE measurement from the wireless device, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has started; as well as In response to receiving the session feedback indication, a command to perform one or more radio measurements is transmitted (1004) to the wireless device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first session feedback indication includes an indication of the service type of the application.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein, The one or more radio measurements include one of the following: MDT measurement, Layer 2 measurement, or Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement.

15. The method of any one of claims 12 to 14, further comprising: Receive (1108) the results of the one or more radio measurements from the wireless device.

16. The method of any one of claims 12 to 15, further comprising: The wireless device receives (1110) a second session feedback indication indicating that the QoE measurement has stopped or been paused.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: In response to receiving the second session feedback indication to the network node, a command to terminate or suspend the one or more radio measurements is transmitted (1111) to the wireless device.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein, In response to the termination of the application session, the one or more QoE measurements cease.

19. The method of any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein, The command to perform one or more radio measurements includes instructions for the one or more radio measurements.

20. The method of any one of claims 12 to 19, further comprising: The wireless device is pre-configured using a measurement configuration that indicates the one or more radio measurements.

21. A wireless device (2400) for performing measurements, wherein, The wireless device operates as follows: In response to the start of an application session, perform one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application; A first session feedback indication based on the QoE measurement is transmitted to the base station, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that the application session has started; as well as In response to transmitting the first session feedback indication, a command to perform one or more radio measurements is received from the base station.

22. The method claimed in claim 21, wherein, The wireless device operates to perform the method claimed in any one of claims 2 to 11.

23. A wireless device (2400) for performing measurements, comprising processing circuitry and a memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry, wherein the wireless device operates to: In response to the start of an application session, perform one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements associated with the application; The first session feedback indication based on the QoE measurement is transmitted to the base station, wherein... The first session feedback indicates that the application session has started; as well as In response to transmitting the first session feedback indication, a command to perform one or more radio measurements is received from the base station.

24. The method claimed in claim 21, wherein, The wireless device operates to perform the method claimed in any one of claims 2 to 11.

25. A base station (2500) for performing measurements, wherein, The base station operates as follows: Receive a first session feedback indication based on QoE measurement from a wireless device, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has started; as well as In response to receiving the session feedback indication, a command to perform one or more radio measurements is transmitted to the wireless device.

26. The base station as claimed in claim 25, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the base station to perform the method claimed in any one of claims 13 to 20.

27. A base station (2500) for performing measurements, comprising processing circuitry and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry, thereby operating the base station to: Receive a first session feedback indication based on QoE measurement from a wireless device, wherein the first session feedback indication indicates that an application session has started; and In response to receiving the session feedback indication, a command to perform one or more radio measurements is transmitted to the wireless device.

28. The base station as claimed in claim 27, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the base station to perform the method claimed in any one of claims 13 to 20.

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