Reporting positioning error causes during positioning sessions

Abstract

In an aspect, a first network entity may participate in a positioning session with a second network entity. The first network entity may determine that a plurality of positioning errors associated with a corresponding plurality of positioning error causes have occurred during the positioning session. The first network entity may report a positioning error cause for a positioning error of the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity during the positioning session based on a priority assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved over many generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, wireless service with Internet capabilities, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, including cellular systems and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like.

[0003] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS procedures and technologies, and high-density deployments of 5G, enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning. Summary of the invention

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary of the invention related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary of the invention should neither be considered as an exhaustive overview related to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements related to all conceived aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following summary of the invention is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects related to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a brief form before the detailed embodiments presented below.

[0005] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity includes: participating in a positioning session with a second network entity; determining that a plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; and reporting a positioning error cause of a positioning error among the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0006] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity includes: participating in a positioning session with a second network entity; determining that a plurality of positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; and reporting a plurality of positioning error causes for the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity using a bitmap representing the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0007] On the one hand, a method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity includes: participating in a first positioning session with a second network entity; determining that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding multiple positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; reporting a first positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with the first positioning error among the first plurality of positioning errors; participating in a second positioning session with the second network entity; determining that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with the second positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes; and reporting the second positioning error cause to the second network entity during the second positioning session.

[0008] In one aspect, a first network entity includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: participate in a positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; and report a positioning error cause of a positioning error among the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0009] In one aspect, a first network entity includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: participate in a positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a plurality of positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; and report a plurality of positioning error causes for the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver using a bitmap representing the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0010] In one aspect, a first network entity includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: participate in a first positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; report a first positioning error cause among the plurality of positioning error causes to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with a first positioning error among the first plurality of positioning errors; participate in a second positioning session with the second network entity; determine that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause among the plurality of positioning error causes; and report the second positioning error cause to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver during the second positioning session.

[0011] In one aspect, a first network entity includes: means for participating in a positioning session with a second network entity; means for determining that a plurality of positioning errors associated with a corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; and means for reporting positioning error causes of positioning errors among the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0012] In one aspect, a first network entity includes: means for participating in a positioning session with a second network entity; means for determining that a plurality of positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; and means for reporting a plurality of positioning error causes for the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity using a bitmap representing the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0013] In one aspect, a first network entity includes: a component for participating in a first positioning session with a second network entity; a component for determining that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; a component for reporting a first positioning error cause of the plurality of positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with a first positioning error of the first plurality of positioning errors; a component for participating in a second positioning session with the second network entity; a component for determining that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause of the plurality of positioning error causes; and a component for reporting the second positioning error cause to the second network entity during the second positioning session.

[0014] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first network entity, cause the first network entity to: participate in a positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a plurality of positioning errors associated with a corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; and report positioning error causes of positioning errors among the plurality of positioning error causes to the second network entity during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0015] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first network entity, cause the first network entity to: participate in a positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a plurality of positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; and report a plurality of positioning error causes for the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity using a bitmap representing the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0016] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first network entity, cause the first network entity to: participate in a first positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; report a first positioning error cause among the plurality of positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with a first positioning error among the first plurality of positioning errors; participate in a second positioning session with the second network entity; determine that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause among the plurality of positioning error causes; and report the second positioning error cause to the second network entity during the second positioning session.

[0017] Other objects and advantages associated with the various aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided solely for illustration and not limitation of the various aspects.

[0019] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network structures according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0021] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0022] Figure 4 Examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0023] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 6is a diagram illustrating an example downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) configuration for two transmit reception points (TRPs) operating in the same positioning frequency layer in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 7 An example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) call flow between a UE and a location server for performing positioning operations is illustrated.

[0026] Figure 8 Examples of LPP providing location information elements (IEs) associated with different types of positioning methods in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0027] Fig. 9 Depicted are causes of positioning error that may be indicated using the NR-Multi-RTT-Error IE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Fig.10 Depicted are causes of positioning error that may be indicated using the NR-DL-AoD-Error IE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Fig.11 Depicted are causes of positioning error that may be indicated using the NR-DL-TDOA-Error IE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0030] Fig.12 An example IE is shown in which multiple positioning error causes are reported in a bitmap in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Fig.13 An example method of wireless communication that may be performed by a first network entity according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0032] Fig.14 An example method of wireless communication that may be performed by a first network entity according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0033] Fig.15 An example method of wireless communication that may be performed by a first network entity according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid making the relevant details of the present disclosure difficult to understand.

[0035] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0036] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different techniques and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, which depends in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0037] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, an element of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by a program instruction executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transient computer-readable storage medium, in which a corresponding computer instruction set is stored, which, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the subject matter claimed. In addition, for each of the various aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "a logical component configured to perform the described action".

[0038] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any specific radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset location device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) head-mounted device, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for the UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0039] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE, depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be primarily used to support wireless access for UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE may transmit a signal to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link by which a base station may transmit a signal to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0040] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and an adjacent base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Because, as used herein, a TRP is a point by which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmitting from a base station or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of a base station.

[0041] In some specific implementations of supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support wireless access for the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead send a reference signal to be measured by the UE to the UE and / or may receive and measure a signal sent by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending a signal to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring a signal from the UE).

[0042] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0043] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled as "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base station may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of the two, and the small cell base station may include a femtocell, a picocell, a microcell, etc.

[0044] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through a backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) through the core network 170. The location server 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 may be integrated with the base station 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., the AP 150 described below), and the like. For signaling purposes, communication between UE 104 and location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intermediate nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0045] Among other functions, the base station 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: delivering user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) over a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0046] Base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it, depending on the context. In addition, because the TRP is generally the physical transmission point of the cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0047] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0048] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0049] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communication to determine whether a channel is available.

[0050] The small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can adopt LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' using LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, License Assisted Access (LAA) or MulteFire.

[0051] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, and a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend downward to a frequency of 3 GHz, where the wavelength is 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for extremely high path loss and short distances. In addition, it should be understood that in an alternative configuration, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0052] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. In order to change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, a network node can use an array of antennas (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates RF beams that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to each antenna in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas are added together to increase the radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress the radiation in the undesired direction.

[0053] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, which means that they appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters, regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antenna is physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0054] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signals received from that direction (e.g., increase their gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0055] The transmit beam and the receive beam may be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that parameters of a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal may be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE may then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0056] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam that receives a downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0057] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5GNR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz–7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz–52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, although portions of FR1 are greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “below 6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar naming problem sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0058] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz–24.25GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and therefore the features of FR1 and / or FR2 can be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations to more than 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6GHz–71GHz), FR4 (52.6GHz–114.25GHz), and FR5 (114.25GHz–300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0059] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "sub-6 GHz" or the like is used herein, it can broadly refer to frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, it can broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0060] In a multi-carrier system (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common control channels as well as UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station communicates, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0061] For example, still refer to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0062] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 via a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0063] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. A UE with sidelink capability (SL-UE) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., an air interface between UE and base station). SL-UE (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 160 using a PC5 interface (i.e., an air interface between UEs with sidelink capability). A wireless sidelink (or just "sidelink") is an adaptation of a core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through a base station. Sidelink communications can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be located within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0064] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. A "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band shared between various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded operations into unlicensed bands such as the unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technology (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variations of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0065] Note that although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), but any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. In addition, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) may be capable of beamforming. Where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UE 104), toward base stations (e.g., base stations 102, 180, small cells 102', access point 150), and the like. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming on sidelink 160.

[0066] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , the UE illustrated (for simplicity, in Figure 1Any of the UEs 104 (shown as a single UE 104 in FIG. 1 ) may receive a signal 124 from one or more earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UEs 104 may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a transmitter system (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable a receiver (e.g., UE 104) to determine its position on or above the earth based at least in part on a positioning signal (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitter. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SVs 112, the transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UEs 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive the signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from the SVs 112.

[0067] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 may be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), Global Positioning System (GPS) Assisted Geographic Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geographic Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0068] In one aspect, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as an improved base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element in turn will provide access to other elements in the 5G network, and ultimately provide access to entities outside the 5G network (such as Internet web servers and other user devices). In this way, instead of or in addition to communication signals from a ground base station 102, a UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112.

[0069] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “side links”). Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through the link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through the link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.

[0070] Figure 2A An example wireless network structure 200 is illustrated. For example, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in conjunction to form a core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, and specifically to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0071] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). In addition, the location server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively can be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0072] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 in the 5GC 210 can be functionally viewed as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate in conjunction to form a core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF, which it uses to derive access network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, for the transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), for the transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, for the allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interoperation with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notifications. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0073] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, service steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), service usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) handling (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in downlink), uplink service verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0074] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration for routing traffic to the correct destination at UPF 262, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0075] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 may support similar functionality as LMF 270, but LMF 270 may communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and SLP 272 may communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) on a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0076] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that may communicate with the LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server.

[0077] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as an "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface referred to as a "Uu" interface.

[0078] The functionality of the gNB 222 is divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically assigned to the gNB-DU 228, including delivery of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, and the PDCP layer, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and the MAC layer, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0079] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or constituent parts in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element or a network equipment (such as a base station, or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality) can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR base station, a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a transmit receive point (TRP) or a cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also called a stand-alone base station or a single-chip base station) or a decomposed base station.

[0080] The aggregated base station can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. The decomposed base station can be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), or one or more radio units (RU). In some aspects, the CU can be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs can be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, can be geographically or virtually distributed in one or more other RAN nodes. The DU can be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU can also be implemented as a virtual unit, namely a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0081] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a disaggregated base station may be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (network configurations such as those initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Decomposition may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing functionality of at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a disaggregated base station or disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0082] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CUs 226), which may communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units, such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both. The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via corresponding midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via corresponding fronthaul links. The RU 287 can communicate with a corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 can be served by multiple RUs 287 simultaneously.

[0083] Each of the units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interfaces of these units may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, these units may include a wired interface configured to receive or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally, the unit may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive or send signals, or both, to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0084] In some aspects, CU 280 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 280. CU280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, CU 280 may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with DU 285 for network control and signaling.

[0085] DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, DU 285 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) at least in part according to a functional partitioning such as that defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 285 or with control functions hosted by CU 280.

[0086] The lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RU 287 controlled by the DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on functional splitting (such as lower layer functional splitting). In such an architecture, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some specific implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 285 and the CU 280 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0087] The SMO framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and configuration of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255 .

[0088] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 259.

[0089] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 255 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0090] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The example may be combined with UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of Figure 2A and Figure 2B Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) in the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in the present invention (such as a dedicated network) are shown to support operations as described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different types of devices with different specific implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Moreover, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0091] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for preventing transmitting, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) on a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a certain set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0092] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide for communicating over the wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 are components (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for preventing sending, etc.) for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) using a PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE), near field communication (NFC), etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to send and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for sending and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Transceiver, and / or transceiver, NFC transceiver or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0093] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request appropriate information and operations from other systems and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the location of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0094] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for sending, means for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0095] The transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some implementations may include separate transmitter circuits and separate receiver circuits, or may be implemented in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which allow the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming", as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which allow the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366) so that the corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0096] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some implementations, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be generally characterized as a "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers typically involve signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0097] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 can provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for sending, means for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 can include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0098] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memory 340, 386, and 396 may provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively, may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations for a location component 342 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations for a location component 388 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations for a location component 398 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0099] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. As an example, sensor 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. In addition, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate positioning in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0100] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346, which provides means for providing indications to the user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0101] Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in a downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0102] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be separated into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived based on a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback sent by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0103] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its corresponding antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point that is most likely to be sent by the base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0104] In the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0105] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0106] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0107] The uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0108] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0109] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 may Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C, is shown as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C The various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In the case of , a specific implementation of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or may omit short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit sensor 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In the case of a wireless network, a specific implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0110] Various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of communication interfaces for the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide for communication between the different logical entities.

[0111] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components of may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or be combined with at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by a processor and memory component of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by a processor and memory component of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). Moreover, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by a processor and memory component of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). For simplicity, various operations, actions and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by a UE", "by a base station", "by a network entity", etc. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memories 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 342, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0112] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be operated differently from a network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a dedicated network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0113] NR supports a variety of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 4Examples of various positioning methods according to various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, as illustrated in scenario 410, the UE measures the difference between the arrival times (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from paired base stations (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or arrival time difference (TDOA) measurements), and reports these differences to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known positions of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, a positioning entity (e.g., a UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the position of the UE.

[0114] For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity determines the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station using measurement reports from the UE regarding received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams, as illustrated in scenario 420. The positioning entity can then estimate the position of the UE based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0115] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but UL-TDOA is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) sent by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE sends one or more uplink reference signals, which are measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time of the reference signal (referred to as relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the location and relative timing of the base stations involved. Based on the receive-to-receive (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known location of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can use TDOA to estimate the position of the UE.

[0116] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angle of the receive beams to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0117] Downlink and uplink based positioning methods include: enhanced cell ID (E-CID) positioning and multiple round trip time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as "multi-cell RTT" and "multi-RTT"). In the RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or UE) sends a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), and the second entity sends a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the arrival time (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. The time difference is called the received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be made or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest time slot boundary of the received signal and the transmitted signal. The two entities may then transmit their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities based on the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., calculated as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may transmit its Rx-Tx time difference measurements to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities may be determined based on the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For multi-RTT positioning, as illustrated in scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or a base station) performs an RTT positioning procedure with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined (e.g., using multilateration) based on the distance to the second entities and the known locations of the second entities. RTT and multi-RTT methods may be combined with other positioning techniques (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve location accuracy, as illustrated in scenario 440.

[0118] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timing and signal strength of the detected neighboring base stations. The UE's position is then estimated based on this information and the known location of the base stations.

[0119] To assist the positioning operation, the location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include: an identifier of the base station (or cell / TRP of the base station) from which the reference signal is measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive time slots including PRS, the periodicity of consecutive time slots including PRS, silent sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a specific positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in an overhead message broadcast periodically, etc.). In some cases, the UE itself is able to detect neighboring network nodes without the use of assistance data.

[0120] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and associated uncertainty, or a search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be + / -500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any resource used for positioning measurement is in FR1, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -32μs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurement are in FR2, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -8μs.

[0121] The position estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, a position, a fix, a position fix, a fix, etc. The position estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may be municipal and include a street address, a postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. The position estimate may be further defined relative to some other known position or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). The position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the position is expected to be contained with some specified or default confidence level).

[0122] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (eg, base stations and UEs). Figure 5 5 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0123] LTE (and in some cases NR) utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also often called tones, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain using OFDM and in the time domain using SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers can be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180kHz). Thus, for a system bandwidth of 1.25 megahertz (MHz), 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be divided into multiple subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0124] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple parameter sets (μ), for example, 15kHz (μ=0), 30kHz (μ=1), 60kHz (μ=2), 120kHz (μ=3), and 240kHz (μ=4) or larger subcarrier spacings may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5ms, the symbol duration is 33.3μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25ms, the symbol duration is 16.7μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125ms, the symbol duration is 8.33μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625ms, the symbol duration is 4.17μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) is 800 with 4K FFT size.

[0125] exist Figure 5 In the example of , a parameter set of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes, each subframe is 1 ms, and each subframe includes one time slot. Figure 5 , time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0126] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)). The resource grid is further divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figure 5In the parameter set of , for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0127] Some REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). These reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. Figure 5 Example locations of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R") are illustrated.

[0128] A set of resource elements (REs) used for transmission of a PRS is referred to as a "PRS resource". A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and 'N' (such as 1 or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0129] The transmission of a PRS resource within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also referred to as "comb density"). The comb size 'N' represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size 'N', the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported for DL-PRS. Figure 5 An example PRS resource configuration for comb-4 (which spans four symbols) is illustrated. That is, the positions of shaded REs (labeled as "R") indicate the PRS resource configuration of comb-4.

[0130] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols in a timeslot using a full frequency domain staggered pattern. DL-PRS resources can be configured in any downlink or flexible (FL) symbol configured by higher layers in a timeslot. There may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. The following are the symbol-by-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 on 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol Comb-2: {0,1}; 4-symbol Comb-2: {0,1,0,1}; 6-symbol Comb-2: {0,1,0,1,0,1}; 12-symbol Comb-2: {0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}; 4-symbol Comb-4: {0,2,1,3} (as in Figure 5 ); 12-symbol comb-4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 6-symbol comb-6: {0,3,1,4,2,5}; 12-symbol comb-6: {0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}; and 12-symbol comb-12:

[0131] {0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0132] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used to send a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in the PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in the PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across time slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from the following: 2^μ*{4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} time slots, where μ=0,1,2,3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0133] The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore, a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam". Note that this does not have any implication on whether the UE knows the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted.

[0134] A "PRS instance" or "PRS opportunity" is an instance of a periodically repeated time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be sent. A PRS opportunity may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning opportunity", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning opportunity", "positioning instance", "positioning repetition", or simply "opportunity", "instance", or "repetition".

[0135] A "positioning frequency layer" (also referred to simply as a "frequency layer") is a set of one or more PRS resource sets with the same values ​​for certain parameters across one or more TRPs. Specifically, the set of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all parameter sets supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported by PRS), the same point A, the same value of the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "absolute radio frequency channel number") and is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of four PRBs, and the minimum value is 24 PRBs and the maximum value is 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0136] The concept of frequency layer is somewhat similar to the concept of component carrier and bandwidth part (BWP), but the difference is that component carrier and BWP are used by one base station (or macro cell base station and small cell base station) to send data channels, while frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to send PRS. The UE can indicate the number of frequency layers that the UE can support when the UE transmits its positioning capabilities to the network (such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session). For example, the UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0137] It should be noted that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to: PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. as defined in LTE and NR. In addition, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may refer to a downlink positioning reference signal, an uplink positioning reference signal, or a sidelink positioning reference signal, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If it is necessary to further distinguish the type of PRS, the downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as a "DL-PRS", the uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., SRS, PTRS used for positioning) may be referred to as a "UL-PRS", and the sidelink positioning reference signal may be referred to as a "SL-PRS". In addition, for signals (e.g., DMRS) that can be sent in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink, these signals may be prefixed with "DL," "UL," or "SL" to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" may be different from "DL-DMRS."

[0138] Figure 6 600 is a diagram illustrating an example PRS configuration for two TRPs (labeled “TRP1” and “TRP2”) operating in the same positioning frequency layer (labeled “Positioning Frequency Layer 1”) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. For a positioning session, assistance data indicating the illustrated PRS configuration may be provided to the UE. Figure 6 In the example of , a first TRP ("TRP1") is associated with (e.g., transmits) two PRS resource sets labeled "PRS resource set 1" and "PRS resource set 2", and a second TRP ("TRP2") is associated with one PRS resource set labeled "PRS resource set 3". Each PRS resource set includes at least two PRS resources. Specifically, the first PRS resource set ("PRS resource set 1") includes PRS resources labeled "PRS resource 1" and "PRS resource 2", the second PRS resource set ("PRS resource set 2") includes PRS resources labeled "PRS resource 3" and "PRS resource 4", and the third PRS resource set ("PRS resource set 3") includes PRS resources labeled "PRS resource 5" and "PRS resource 6".

[0139] When the UE is configured with assistance data containing a number of PRS resources that exceeds its measurement capability, the UE assumes that the DL-PRS resources indicated in the assistance data are ordered in descending order of measurement priority. Therefore, the UE assumes that the four frequency layers are ordered according to priority, the 64 TRPs of each frequency layer are ordered according to priority, the two PRS resource sets of each TRP of the frequency layer are ordered according to priority, and the 64 PRS resources of the PRS resource set of each TRP of each frequency layer are ordered according to priority. The reference indicated by the nr-DL-PRS-ReferenceInfo IE for each frequency layer has the highest priority at least for the DL-TDOA positioning method.

[0140] Figure 7 An example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) procedure 700 is illustrated for performing positioning operations between a UE 704 (e.g., a first network entity) and a location server (illustrated as a Location Management Function (LMF) 770) (e.g., a second network entity). Figure 7 As illustrated, positioning of the UE 704 is supported via the exchange of LPP messages between the UE 704 and the LMF 770. The LPP messages may be exchanged between the UE 704 and the LMF 770 via the serving base station of the UE 704 (illustrated as the serving gNB 702) and the core network (not shown). The LPP procedure 700 may be used to locate the UE 704 in order to support various location-related services, such as for the UE 704 (or for a user of the UE 704), or for routing, or for providing an accurate location to a public safety answering point (PSAP) in association with an emergency call from the UE 704 to the PSAP, or for navigation for some other reason. The LPP procedure 700 may also be referred to as a positioning session, and there may be multiple positioning sessions for different types of positioning methods (e.g., downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), round trip time (RTT), enhanced cell identification (E-CID), etc.).

[0141] Initially, at stage 710, UE 704 may receive a request for its positioning capabilities (e.g., an LPP Request Capabilities message) from LMF 770. At stage 720, UE 704 provides its positioning capabilities with respect to the LPP protocol to LMF 770 by transmitting an LPP Provide Capabilities message to LMF 770 indicating that UE 704 uses the positioning methods supported by LPP and the features of these positioning methods. In some aspects, the capabilities indicated in the LPP Provide Capabilities message may indicate the types of positioning supported by UE 704 (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) and may indicate the ability of UE 704 to support those positioning types.

[0142] Upon receiving the LPP Provide Capability message, at stage 720, the LMF 770 determines a particular type of positioning method to be used (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based on the indicated positioning types supported by the UE 704, and determines a set of one or more Transmit Reception Points (TRPs) from which the UE 704 will measure downlink positioning reference signals or to which the UE 704 will send uplink positioning reference signals. At stage 730, the LMF 770 transmits an LPP Provide Assistance Data message to the UE 704 identifying the set of TRPs.

[0143] In some implementations, in response to an LPP request assistance data message ( Figure 7 (not shown), the LPP provide assistance data message at stage 730 may be transmitted by LMF 770 to UE 704. The LPP request assistance data message may include an identifier of a serving TRP of UE 704 and a request for positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration of a neighboring TRP.

[0144] At stage 740, the LMF 770 transmits a request for location information to the UE 704. The request may be an LPP Request Location Information message. The message typically includes information elements defining the type of location information, the expected accuracy of the location estimate, and the response time (i.e., the expected latency). Note that a low latency requirement allows for a longer response time, while a high latency requirement requires a shorter response time. However, a long response time is referred to as high latency, and a short response time is referred to as low latency.

[0145] Note that in some implementations, the LPP Provide Assistance Data message transmitted at stage 730 may be transmitted after the LPP Request Location Information message at 740, for example, if the UE 704 transmits a request for assistance data to the LMF 770 after receiving the request for location information at stage 740 (e.g., in the LPP Request Assistance Data message, Figure 7 This is the case (not shown).

[0146] At stage 750, the UE 704 utilizes the assistance information received at stage 730 and any additional data received at stage 740 (e.g., desired position accuracy or maximum response time) to perform positioning operations (e.g., measurement of DL-PRS, transmission of UL-PRS, etc.) for the selected positioning method.

[0147] At stage 760, UE 704 may transmit an LPP Provide Location Information message to LMF 770, which LPP Provide Location Information message conveys the results of any measurements (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), received to transmitted (Rx-Tx), etc.) obtained at stage 750 and before or at the expiration of any maximum response time (e.g., the maximum response time provided by LMF 770 at stage 740). The LPP Provide Location Information message at stage 760 may also include one or more times at which the positioning measurements were obtained and an identification of the TRP from which the positioning measurements were obtained. Note that the time between the request for location information at 740 and the response at 760 is the "response time" and indicates the latency of the positioning session.

[0148] LMF 770 uses an appropriate positioning technique (eg, DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) to compute an estimated location of UE 704 based at least in part on the measurements received in the LPP Provide Location Information message at stage 760 .

[0149] Positioning errors may occur during a positioning session, which may prevent the provision of requested signal measurements or other position information. Positioning error causes may be signaled in the LPP Provide Position Information message. Figure 8 Examples of LPP Provide Location Information Elements (IEs) associated with different types of positioning methods in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are shown. The NR-Multi-RTT-ProvideLocationInformation IE 802 is used to report multi-RTT signal measurements obtained during a positioning session. Specifically, the measurements are reported using the NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation IE 804. However, if a positioning error associated with a multi-RTT signal measurement occurs during a positioning session, the NR-Multi-RTT-Error IE 806 may be used to indicate the cause of the positioning error.

[0150] Similarly, the NR-DL-AoD-ProvideLocationInformation IE 808 is used to report AoD measurement information during a positioning session. Specifically, the NR-DL-AoD-SignalMeasurementInformation IE 810 is used to report the requested AoD signal measurements obtained during a positioning session. However, if a positioning error associated with the AoD signal measurement occurs during a positioning session, the nr-DL-AoD-Error IE 812 may be used to indicate the cause of the positioning error.

[0151] In addition, the NR-DL-TDOA-ProvideLocationInformation IE 814 is used to report TDOA measurement information during a positioning session. Specifically, the NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation IE 816 is used to report the requested TDOA signal measurements obtained during the positioning session. However, if a positioning error associated with the TDOA signal measurement occurs during the positioning session, the NR-DL-TDOA-Error IE 818 may be used to indicate the cause of the positioning error.

[0152] Fig. 9Depicted are positioning error causes that may be indicated using an NR-Multi-RTT-Error IE 806 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, the NR-Multi-RTT-Error IE 806 may indicate positioning error causes based on a location server error as reported by a location server (e.g., LMF) to a target device (e.g., UE) in an NR-Multi-RTT-LocationServerErrorCauses IE 902, or a target device error as reported by a target device to a location server in an NR-Multi-RTT-TargetDeviceErrorCauses IE 904. In this example, the NR-Multi-RTT-LocationServerErrorCauses IE 902 may indicate one of a plurality of enumerated location server error causes, indicating: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the positioning session (e.g., undefined value 906), 2) the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server (e.g., assistanceDataNotSupportedByServer value 908), or 3) the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is not currently available to the location server (e.g., assistanceDataSupportedButCurrentlyNotAvailableByServer value 910). In addition, the NR-Multi-RTT-TargetDeviceErrorCauses IE 904 may indicate one of a plurality of enumerated location server error causes, indicating: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the target device during the positioning session (e.g., undefined value 912), 2) assistance data for the positioning session is missing at the target device (e.g., dl-assistance-data-missing value 914), 3) the target device is unable to measure reference signals for any TRP indicated in the assistance data received by the target device (e.g., unableToMeasureAnyTRP value 916), 4) the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals for some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data (e.g., attemptedButUnableToMeasureSomeNeighbourTRPs value 918), 5) the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data (e.g., ul-srs-configuration-missing value 920), or 6) the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data (e.g., unableToTransmit-ul-srs value 922).

[0153] Fig.10Depicted are positioning error causes that may be indicated using the NR-DL-AoD-Error IE 812 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, the NR-DL-AoD-Error IE 812 may indicate a positioning error cause based on a location server error as reported by the location server to the target device in the NR-DL-AoD-LocationServerErrorCauses IE 1002, or a target device error as reported by the target device to the location server in the NR-AoD-TargetDeviceErrorCauses IE 1004. In this example, the NR-AoD-LocationServerErrorCauses IE 1002 may indicate one of a plurality of enumerated location server error causes, indicating: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the positioning session (e.g., undefined value 1006), 2) the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server (e.g., assistanceDataNotSupportedByServer value 1008), 3) the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is not currently available to the location server (e.g., assistanceDataSupportedButCurrentlyNotAvailableByServer value 1010), or 4) the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is not currently available to the location server (e.g., notProvidedAssistanceDataNotSupportedByServer value 1012).In addition, the NR-DL-AoD-TargetDeviceErrorCauses IE 1004 may indicate one of a plurality of enumerated location server error causes, indicating: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the target device during the positioning session (e.g., undefined value 1014), 2) assistance data for the positioning session is missing at the target device (e.g., assistance-data-missing value 1016), 3) the target device is unable to measure the reference signal of any TRP indicated in the assistance data received by the target device (e.g., unableToMeasureAnyTRP value 1018), 4) the target device attempted but was unable to measure the reference signal of some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data (e.g., attemptedButUnableToMeasureSomeNeighbourTRPs value 1020), 5) the target device does not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRP indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination (e.g., thereWereNotEnoughSignalsReceivedForUeBasedDL-AoD value 1022), or 6) location calculation assistance data is missing at the target device (e.g., locationCalculationAssistanceDataMissing value 1024).

[0154] Fig.11Depicted are positioning error causes that may be indicated using the NR-DL-TDOA-Error IE 818 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, the NR-DL-TDOA-Error IE 818 may indicate positioning error causes based on a location server error as reported by the location server to the target device in the NR-DL-TDOA-LocationServerErrorCauses IE 1102, or a target device error as reported by the target device to the location server in the NR-TDOA-TargetDeviceErrorCauses IE 904. In this example, the NR-TDOA-LocationServerErrorCauses IE 1102 may indicate one of a plurality of enumerated location server error causes, indicating: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the positioning session (e.g., undefined value 1106), 2) the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server (e.g., assistanceDataNotSupportedByServer value 1108), 3) the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is not currently available to the location server (e.g., assistanceDataSupportedButCurrentlyNotAvailableByServer value 1110), or 4) the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is not currently available to the location server (e.g., notProvidedAssistanceDataNotSupportedByServer value 1112).In addition, the NR-DL-TDOA-TargetDeviceErrorCauses IE 904 may indicate one of a plurality of enumerated location server error causes, indicating: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the target device during the positioning session (e.g., undefined value 1114), 2) assistance data for the positioning session is missing at the target device (e.g., assistance-data-missing value 1116), 3) the target device is unable to measure reference signals of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the assistance data received by the target device (e.g., unableToMeasureAnyTRP value 1118), 4) the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals of some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data. reference signals (e.g., attemptedButUnableToMeasureSomeNeighbourTRPs value 1120), 5) the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRP indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination (e.g., thereWereNotEnoughSignalsReceivedForUeBasedDL-TDOA value 1122), or 6) location calculation assistance data is missing at the target device (e.g., locationCalculationAssistanceDataMissing value 1124).

[0155] The reported positioning error cause assists the location server and / or UE in resolving the error scenario that caused the positioning error. Although multiple error causes may be used for each positioning method for a given positioning session, a network entity (e.g., UE or location server) may report only one positioning error cause in the ProvideLocationInformation IE (e.g., NR-Multi-RTT-Error IE 806 of NR-Multi-RTT-ProvideLocationInformation IE 802, NR-DL-AoD-Error IE 812 of NR-DL-AoD-ProvideLocationInformation IE 808, and NR-DL-TDOA-Error IE 818 of NR-DL-TDOA-ProvideLocationInformation IE 814). However, multiple positioning error causes may occur during a positioning session. For example, multiple positioning errors may occur in a multi-RTT session (e.g., positioning assistance data may not be available (dl-assistance-data-missing), and the SRS configuration may not be configured by the gNB (ul-srs-configuration-missing)). The determination of which positioning error cause to report by the network entity is left entirely to the specific implementation of the network entity. In the current specific implementation of positioning error cause reporting, no guidance is provided to the network entity as to which positioning error cause among multiple positioning error causes to report.

[0156] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, various methods may be used to determine which of a plurality of positioning error causes is reported by a network entity. In one aspect, the reporting of the positioning error cause may be based on a priority assigned to the positioning error cause. In one aspect, a first network entity (e.g., a UE or a location server) participates in a positioning session with a second network entity (e.g., a location server or a UE), and determines that a plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session. The first network entity may report the positioning error cause of the positioning error among the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity during the positioning session based on the priority assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes. In certain aspects, the positioning error cause is reported to the second network entity in a single positioning information element. The positioning error cause reported by the first network entity may be the positioning error cause having the highest priority among the one or more positioning error causes. In certain aspects, the first network entity receives an indication of the priority assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes. In certain aspects, the indication of the priority may be received from the second network entity.

[0157] In some aspects, the first network entity may be a location server and the second network entity may be a target device. In such a scenario, the plurality of positioning error causes may indicate: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the positioning session, 2) assistance data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server, 3) assistance data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or 4) any combination thereof. The positioning error cause reported by the location server may be a positioning error cause having the highest priority among the one or more positioning error causes.

[0158] In some aspects, the first network entity may be a target device (e.g., a UE), and the second network entity may be a location server. In such a scenario, the multiple positioning error causes may indicate: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the target device during the positioning session, 2) assistance data for the positioning session is missing at the target device, 3) the target device is unable to measure reference signals for any TRP indicated in the assistance data received by the target device, 4) the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals for some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data, 5) the target device did not receive enough reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination, 6) the position calculation assistance data is missing at the target device, 7) the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, 8) the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, or 9) any combination thereof. The positioning error cause reported by the target device may have the highest priority of the multiple positioning error causes.

[0159] In certain aspects, different priorities may be assigned to different positioning error causes based on the positioning method used. For example, the location server may provide a priority for each error cause defined in the wireless communication standard for each positioning method. As an example, assume that the error causes dl-assistance-data-missing and ul-srs-configuration-missing are both applicable to a given positioning session. If the priority of ul-srs-configuration-missing is higher than the priority of dl-assistance-data-missing, the network entity may report the ul-srs-configuration-missing cause for each positioning session in which both positioning error causes occur. Similarly, if the priority of ul-srs-configuration-missing is lower than dl-assistance-data-missing, the network entity may report the dl-assistance-data-missing cause for each positioning session in which both positioning error causes occur.

[0160] According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, multiple positioning error causes may be reported in a single IE using a bitmap indicating which positioning error causes were encountered during a positioning session. Instead of reporting a single positioning error cause, a network entity may report a bitmap of multiple applicable error causes that occurred during a positioning session. To this end, a first network entity (e.g., a UE or a location server) may participate in a positioning session with a second network entity (e.g., a location server or a UE) and determine that multiple positioning errors occurred during the positioning session. The first network entity may report multiple positioning error causes for multiple positioning errors to the second network entity using a bitmap representing multiple positioning error causes.

[0161] In some aspects, the first network entity may be a location server and the second network entity may be a target device. In such scenarios, the bitmap of positioning error causes sent in the positioning information element may include: 1) one or more bits indicating that an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server, 2) one or more bits indicating that assistance data for the positioning session is not supported by the location server, 3) one or more bits indicating that assistance data for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or 4) any combination thereof.

[0162] In some aspects, the first network entity may be a target device and the second network entity may be a location server. In such a scenario, the bitmap of positioning error causes sent in the positioning information element may include: 1) one or more bits indicating that an undefined error occurred at the target device, 2) one or more bits indicating that assistance data for the positioning session is missing at the target device, 3) one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to measure reference signals from any TRP indicated in the assistance data received by the target device, 4) one or more bits indicating that the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals for some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data, 5) one or more bits indicating that the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination, 6) one or more bits indicating that position calculation assistance data is missing at the target device, 7) one or more bits indicating that the target device is missing configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, 8) one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0163] Fig.12 An example IE 1200 is shown in which multiple positioning error causes are reported in a bitmap according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In the example IE 1200, the error cause corresponds to a positioning error cause that may occur during a positioning session using a multi-RTT positioning method. To this end, in this example, the IE 1200 includes bits indicating positioning error causes, which include: 1) undefined positioning cause (bit 1), 2) dl-assistance-data-missing (bit 2), 3) unableToMeasureAnyTRP (bit 3), 4) AttemptedButUnableToMeasureSomeNeighbourTRP (bit 4), 5) ul-srs-configuration-missing (bit 5) and 6) unableToTransmit-ul-srs (bit 6). Bits 7 and 8 of the example IE are reserved.

[0164] Using the example IE 1200, the network entity may report one or more positioning error causes in a single IE. For example, the network entity may report a bitmap of "01001000" for a positioning session in which both dl-assistance-data-missing and ul-srs-configuration-missing positioning errors occur. If both the unableToMeasureAnyTRP and unableToTransmit-ul-srs error causes apply, the network entity may report a bitmap of "00100100". Bitmap configurations other than the bitmap configuration shown in IE 1200 may be used, and the configuration of IE 1200 is a non-limiting example. In addition, different bitmap configurations may be used to report positioning error causes associated with different positioning methods.

[0165] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a network entity reports a single positioning error cause during a positioning session, but maintains a history of positioning error causes that have been reported. When the same positioning error occurs during different positioning sessions, the network entity may report a first positioning error in the same positioning error during a first positioning session, and report a second positioning error in the same positioning error during a second positioning session. Such reporting of positioning error causes may be extended to any number of positioning error causes that occur during any number of positioning sessions.

[0166] In some cases, consecutive positioning sessions may fail due to the same error cause (e.g., dl-assistance-data-missing and ul-srs-configuration-missing). Currently, a network entity (e.g., UE) may report the positioning error cause as dl-assistance-data-missing in a first positioning session and then report it as dl-assistance-data-missing again in a subsequent positioning session. However, in the present disclosure, a network entity (e.g., UE) may report the positioning error cause as dl-assistance-data-missing in a first positioning session and then report it as ul-srs-configuration-missing in a subsequent positioning session.

[0167] In one aspect of such a reporting strategy, a first network entity participates in a first positioning session with a second network entity and determines a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes that occurred during the first positioning session. The first network entity may report a first positioning error cause of the plurality of positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session. The first positioning error cause reported by the first network entity may be associated with a first positioning error of the first plurality of positioning errors. The first network entity then participates in a second positioning session with the second network entity and determines that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the first positioning session and the second positioning session may be consecutive positioning sessions. The second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors may include a first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause of the plurality of positioning error causes. The first network entity may report the second positioning error cause to the second network entity during the second positioning session. Thus, the first network entity reports different positioning error causes in different positioning sessions, rather than reporting the same common positioning error in different positioning sessions. In this way, the first network entity makes the second network entity aware of multiple positioning error causes that occurred in different positioning sessions, even if the same positioning error cause occurs in different positioning sessions.

[0168] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, an IE having the same format is used to report positioning error causes occurring in multiple positioning sessions. For example, a first positioning error cause may be reported in a first positioning IE, and a second positioning error cause may be reported in a second positioning IE. However, although the first positioning IE and the second positioning IE have different contents (e.g., reporting different positioning error causes), the first positioning IE and the second positioning IE have the same format. Therefore, multiple positioning error causes may be reported in multiple positioning sessions using the old positioning IE.

[0169] According to certain aspects, the order in which positioning error causes are reported in multiple positioning sessions may be based on priorities assigned to the positioning error causes. For example, a first positioning error cause may be reported based on a positioning error cause that is the highest priority among multiple positioning error causes, and a second positioning error cause may be reported based on a positioning error cause that is the second highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0170] In one aspect, the first network entity may be a location server, and the second network entity may be a target device. In such a scenario, the plurality of positioning error causes may indicate: 1) an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the first positioning session, 2) assistance data indicated for the first positioning session is not supported by the location server, 3) assistance data indicated for the first positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or 4) any combination thereof.

[0171] In one aspect, the first network entity may be a target device, and the second network entity may be a location server. In such a scenario, the plurality of positioning error causes may indicate: 1) an undefined positioning error occurs at the target device, 2) assistance data for a first positioning session is missing at the target device, 3) the target device is unable to measure reference signals for any TRP indicated in the assistance data received by the target device, 4) the target device attempts but is unable to measure reference signals for some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data, 5) the target device does not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination, 6) position calculation assistance data is missing at the target device, 7) the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, 8) the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0172] Fig.13 An example method 1300 of wireless communication that may be performed by a first network entity (e.g., a UE, a location server, etc.) according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. At operation 1302, the first network entity participates in a positioning session with a second network entity. In one aspect, operation 1302 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1302 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0173] At operation 1304, the first network entity determines that a plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session. In one aspect, operation 1304 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1304 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0174] At operation 1306, the first network entity reports the positioning error causes of the positioning errors in the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity during the positioning session based on the priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes. In one aspect, operation 1306 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1306 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0175] It should be appreciated that a technical advantage of method 1300 is that a higher priority can be assigned to a more important positioning error cause than a less important positioning error cause, which can be assigned a lower priority. Thus, when a positioning session is restricted to reporting less than all positioning error causes, more important positioning error causes are reported by the first network entity during a positioning session.

[0176] Fig.14 An example method 1400 of wireless communication that may be performed by a first network entity (e.g., a UE, a location server, etc.) according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In operation 1402, the first network entity participates in a positioning session with a second network entity. In one aspect, operation 1402 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1402 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0177] At operation 1404, the first network entity determines that a plurality of positioning errors occurred during the positioning session. In one aspect, operation 1404 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1404 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0178] At operation 1406, the first network entity reports multiple positioning error causes for multiple positioning errors to the second network entity using a bitmap representing the multiple positioning error causes. In one aspect, operation 1406 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1406 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0179] It should be appreciated that the technical advantage of method 1400 is that multiple positioning error causes occurring during a positioning session can be reported in an efficient manner using positioning information elements. Therefore, when attempting to eliminate positioning errors occurring during a positioning session, multiple positioning error causes can be considered.

[0180] Fig.15 An example method 1500 of wireless communication that can be performed by a first network entity (e.g., a UE, a location server, etc.) according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. At operation 1502, the first network entity participates in a first positioning session with a second network entity. In one aspect, operation 1502 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which can be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1502 can be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which can be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0181] At operation 1504, the first network entity determines that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session. In one aspect, operation 1504 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1504 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0182] At operation 1506, the first network entity reports a first positioning error cause in a plurality of positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with a first positioning error in the first plurality of positioning errors. In one aspect, operation 1506 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1506 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0183] At operation 1508, the first network entity engages in a second positioning session with the second network entity. In one aspect, operation 1508 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1508 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0184] At operation 1510, the first network entity determines that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include a first positioning error associated with a first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause of the plurality of positioning error causes. In one aspect, operation 1510 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1510 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0185] At operation 1512, the first network entity reports the second positioning error cause to the second network entity during the second positioning session. In one aspect, operation 1512 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1512 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0186] It should be appreciated that the technical advantage of method 1500 is that the first network entity reports different positioning error causes in different positioning sessions, rather than reporting the same positioning error in different positioning sessions. The first network entity makes the second network entity aware of multiple positioning error causes that occurred in different positioning sessions, rather than reporting the same common positioning error cause in each positioning session, even if the same positioning error cause occurs in different positioning sessions. The method can be advantageously used in scenarios employing back-to-back positioning sessions.

[0187] In the above specific embodiments, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than the features explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include less than all the features of the disclosed individual example clauses. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated into the description accordingly, wherein each clause itself can be used as a separate example. Although each subordinate clause may refer to a specific combination of one clause with other clauses in a clause, the aspects of the subordinate clause are not limited to a specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include a combination of the subject matter of the subordinate clause aspect with any other subordinate clause or independent clause or any feature with other subordinate clauses and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended to be used (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). In addition, it is also expected that various aspects of the clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0188] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0189] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, the method comprising: participating in a positioning session with a second network entity; determining that multiple positioning errors associated with corresponding multiple positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; and reporting the positioning error causes of the positioning errors among the multiple positioning errors to the second network entity during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the multiple positioning error causes.

[0190] Clause 2. A method according to clause 1, wherein: the positioning error cause is reported to the second network entity in a single positioning information element.

[0191] Clause 3. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 2, wherein: a single positioning error cause is reported during the positioning session.

[0192] Clause 4. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the positioning session comprises: a downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning method; a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method; a multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) positioning method; or any combination thereof.

[0193] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0194] Clause 6. A method according to Clause 5, wherein: the multiple positioning error causes indicate that an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the positioning session, the auxiliary data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server, the auxiliary data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the target device has the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0195] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0196] Clause 8. A method according to clause 7, wherein: the multiple positioning error causes indicate that an undefined positioning error occurred at the target device during the positioning session, the assistance data used for the positioning session is missing at the target device, the target device is unable to measure the reference signal of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the assistance data received by the target device, the target device attempted but was unable to measure the reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the assistance data, the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination, the position calculation assistance data is missing at the target device, the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the location server has the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0197] Clause 9. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 8, further comprising: receiving an indication of the priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0198] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, wherein: the indication of the priority assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes is received from the second network entity.

[0199] Clause 11. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, the method comprising: participating in a positioning session with a second network entity; determining that multiple positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; and reporting multiple positioning error causes for the multiple positioning errors to the second network entity using a bitmap representing the multiple positioning error causes.

[0200] Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0201] Clause 13. A method according to clause 12, wherein the bitmap of positioning error causes includes: one or more bits indicating that an undefined positioning error occurs at the location server; one or more bits indicating that the auxiliary data for the positioning session is not supported by the location server; one or more bits indicating that the auxiliary data for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or any combination thereof.

[0202] Clause 14. The method of clause 11, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0203] Clause 15. A method according to clause 14, wherein the bitmap of causes of positioning errors comprises: one or more bits indicating that an undefined error has occurred at the target device, one or more bits indicating that auxiliary data for the positioning session is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to measure reference signals from any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the auxiliary data received by the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data; one or more bits indicating that the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data for target-based positioning determination; one or more bits indicating that position calculation auxiliary data is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device is missing configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; or any combination thereof.

[0204] Clause 16. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, the method comprising: participating in a first positioning session with a second network entity; determining that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding multiple positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; reporting a first positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with the first positioning error among the first plurality of positioning errors; participating in a second positioning session with the second network entity; determining that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with the second positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes; and reporting the second positioning error cause to the second network entity during the second positioning session.

[0205] Clause 17. A method according to clause 16, wherein: the first positioning error cause is reported in a first positioning information element; and the second positioning error cause is reported in a second positioning information element having the same format as the first positioning information element.

[0206] Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein: the first positioning information element and the second positioning information element have the same positioning information element format.

[0207] Clause 19. The method of any one of clauses 16 to 18, wherein: the first positioning session and the second positioning session are consecutive positioning sessions.

[0208] Clause 20. A method according to any one of clauses 16 to 19, wherein: the first positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause with the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes; and the second positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause with the second highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0209] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 16 to 20, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0210] Clause 22. A method according to clause 21, wherein the multiple positioning error cause indications include: an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the first positioning session; the auxiliary data indicated for the first positioning session is not supported by the location server; the auxiliary data indicated for the first positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or any combination thereof.

[0211] Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 16 to 20, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0212] Clause 24. A method according to clause 23, wherein the multiple positioning error causes indicate: an undefined positioning error occurs at the target device; the assistance data for the first positioning session is missing at the target device; the target device is unable to measure the reference signal of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the assistance data received by the target device; the target device attempts but is unable to measure the reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the assistance data; the target device does not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination; position calculation assistance data is missing at the target device; the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data; the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data; or any combination thereof.

[0213] Clause 25. A first network entity, the first network entity comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: participate in a positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; and report a positioning error cause of a positioning error among the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0214] Clause 26. The first network entity of clause 25, wherein: the positioning error cause is reported to the second network entity in a single positioning information element.

[0215] Clause 27. The first network entity of any of clauses 25 to 26, wherein a single positioning error cause is reported during the positioning session.

[0216] Clause 28. A first network entity according to any one of clauses 25 to 27, wherein the positioning session comprises: a downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning method; a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method; a multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) positioning method; or any combination thereof.

[0217] Clause 29. The first network entity of any of clauses 25 to 28, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0218] Clause 30. A first network entity according to clause 29, wherein: the multiple positioning error causes indicate that an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the positioning session, the auxiliary data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server, the auxiliary data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the target device has the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0219] Clause 31. The first network entity of any of clauses 25 to 28, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0220] Clause 32. A first network entity according to clause 31, wherein: the multiple positioning error causes indicate that an undefined positioning error occurred at the target device during the positioning session, data for the positioning session is missing at the target device, the target device is unable to measure reference signals of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the auxiliary data received by the target device, the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data, the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data for target-based positioning determination, position calculation auxiliary data is missing at the target device, the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data, the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the location server has the highest priority of the multiple positioning error causes.

[0221] Clause 33. The first network entity of any of clauses 25 to 32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, an indication of the priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0222] Clause 34. The first network entity of clause 33, wherein: the indication of the priority assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes is received from the second network entity.

[0223] Clause 35. A first network entity, the first network entity comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: participate in a positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a plurality of positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; and report a plurality of positioning error causes for the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver using a bitmap representing the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0224] Clause 36. The first network entity of clause 35, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0225] Clause 37. A first network entity according to clause 36, wherein the bitmap of positioning error causes includes: one or more bits indicating that an undefined positioning error occurs at the location server; one or more bits indicating that the auxiliary data for the positioning session is not supported by the location server; one or more bits indicating that the auxiliary data for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or any combination thereof.

[0226] Clause 38. The first network entity of Clause 36, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0227] Clause 39. A first network entity according to clause 38, wherein the bitmap of positioning error causes includes: one or more bits indicating that an undefined error has occurred at the target device, one or more bits indicating that auxiliary data for the positioning session is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to measure reference signals from any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the auxiliary data received by the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data; one or more bits indicating that the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data for target-based positioning determination; one or more bits indicating that position calculation auxiliary data is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; or any combination thereof.

[0228] Clause 40. A first network entity, the first network entity comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: participate in a first positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding multiple positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; report a first positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with the first positioning error among the first plurality of positioning errors; participate in a second positioning session with the second network entity; determine that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes; and report the second positioning error cause to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver during the second positioning session.

[0229] Clause 41. A first network entity according to clause 40, wherein: the first positioning error cause is reported in a first positioning information element; and the second positioning error cause is reported in a second positioning information element having the same format as the first positioning information element.

[0230] Clause 42. The first network entity of clause 41, wherein: the first positioning information element and the second positioning information element have the same positioning information element format.

[0231] Clause 43. The first network entity of any of clauses 40 to 42, wherein: the first positioning session and the second positioning session are consecutive positioning sessions.

[0232] Clause 44. A first network entity according to any one of clauses 40 to 43, wherein: the first positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause that is the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes; and the second positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause that is the second highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0233] Clause 45. The first network entity of any of clauses 40 to 44, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0234] Clause 46. A first network entity according to clause 45, wherein the multiple positioning error cause indications include: an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the first positioning session; the assistance data indicated for the first positioning session is not supported by the location server; the assistance data indicated for the first positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or any combination thereof.

[0235] Clause 47. The first network entity of any of clauses 40 to 44, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0236] Clause 48. A first network entity according to clause 47, wherein the multiple positioning error causes indicate: an undefined positioning error occurs at the target device; the assistance data for the first positioning session is missing at the target device; the target device is unable to measure the reference signal of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the assistance data received by the target device; the target device attempts but is unable to measure the reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the assistance data; the target device does not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination; the position calculation assistance data is missing at the target device; the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data; the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data; or any combination thereof.

[0237] Clause 49. A first network entity, comprising: a component for participating in a positioning session with a second network entity; a component for determining that multiple positioning errors associated with corresponding multiple positioning error causes have occurred during the positioning session; and a component for reporting the positioning error causes of positioning errors among the multiple positioning errors to the second network entity during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the multiple positioning error causes.

[0238] Clause 50. The first network entity of clause 49, wherein: the positioning error cause is reported to the second network entity in a single positioning information element.

[0239] Clause 51. The first network entity of any of clauses 49 to 50, wherein a single positioning error cause is reported during the positioning session.

[0240] Clause 52. A first network entity according to any one of clauses 49 to 51, wherein the positioning session comprises: a downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning method; a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method; a multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) positioning method; or any combination thereof.

[0241] Clause 53. The first network entity of any of clauses 49 to 52, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0242] Clause 54. A first network entity according to clause 53, wherein: the multiple positioning error causes indicate that an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the positioning session, the auxiliary data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server, the auxiliary data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the target device has the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0243] Clause 55. The first network entity of any of clauses 49 to 52, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0244] Clause 56. A first network entity according to clause 55, wherein: the multiple positioning error causes indicate that an undefined positioning error occurred at the target device during the positioning session, data for the positioning session is missing at the target device, the target device is unable to measure reference signals of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the auxiliary data received by the target device, the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data, the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data for target-based positioning determination, position calculation auxiliary data is missing at the target device, the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data, the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the location server has the highest priority of the multiple positioning error causes.

[0245] Clause 57. The first network entity of any of clauses 49 to 56, further comprising means for receiving an indication of the priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0246] Clause 58. The first network entity of Clause 57, wherein: the indication of the priority assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes is received from the second network entity.

[0247] Clause 59. A first network entity, comprising: a component for participating in a positioning session with a second network entity; a component for determining that multiple positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; and a component for reporting multiple positioning error causes for the multiple positioning errors to the second network entity using a bitmap representing the multiple positioning error causes.

[0248] Clause 60. The first network entity of Clause 59, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0249] Clause 61. A first network entity according to clause 60, wherein the bitmap of positioning error causes includes: one or more bits indicating that an undefined positioning error occurs at the location server; one or more bits indicating that auxiliary data for the positioning session is not supported by the location server; one or more bits indicating that the auxiliary data for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or any combination thereof.

[0250] Clause 62. The first network entity of Clause 59, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0251] Clause 63. A first network entity according to clause 62, wherein the bitmap of positioning error causes includes: one or more bits indicating that an undefined error has occurred at the target device, one or more bits indicating that auxiliary data for the positioning session is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to measure reference signals from any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the auxiliary data received by the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data; one or more bits indicating that the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data for target-based positioning determination; one or more bits indicating that position calculation auxiliary data is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; or any combination thereof.

[0252] Clause 64. A first network entity, the first network entity comprising: a component for participating in a first positioning session with a second network entity; a component for determining that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding multiple positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; a component for reporting a first positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with a first positioning error among the first plurality of positioning errors; a component for participating in a second positioning session with the second network entity; a component for determining that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes; and a component for reporting the second positioning error cause to the second network entity during the second positioning session.

[0253] Clause 65. A first network entity according to clause 64, wherein: the first positioning error cause is reported in a first positioning information element; and the second positioning error cause is reported in a second positioning information element having the same format as the first positioning information element.

[0254] Clause 66. The first network entity of clause 65, wherein: the first positioning information element and the second positioning information element have the same positioning information element format.

[0255] Clause 67. The first network entity of any of clauses 64 to 66, wherein: the first positioning session and the second positioning session are consecutive positioning sessions.

[0256] Clause 68. A first network entity according to any one of clauses 64 to 67, wherein: the first positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause that is the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes; and the second positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause that is the second highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0257] Clause 69. The first network entity of any of clauses 64 to 68, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0258] Clause 70. A first network entity according to clause 69, wherein the multiple positioning error cause indications include: an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the first positioning session; the assistance data indicated for the first positioning session is not supported by the location server; the assistance data indicated for the first positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or any combination thereof.

[0259] Clause 71. The first network entity of any of clauses 64 to 68, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0260] Clause 72. A first network entity according to clause 71, wherein the multiple positioning error causes indicate: an undefined positioning error occurs at the target device; the assistance data for the first positioning session is missing at the target device; the target device is unable to measure the reference signal of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the assistance data received by the target device; the target device attempts but is unable to measure the reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the assistance data; the target device does not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination; position calculation assistance data is missing at the target device; the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data; the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data; or any combination thereof.

[0261] Clause 73. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a first network entity, cause the first network entity to: participate in a positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a plurality of positioning errors associated with a corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; and report a positioning error cause of a positioning error among the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0262] Clause 74. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 73, wherein: the positioning error cause is reported to the second network entity in a single positioning information element.

[0263] Clause 75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 73 to 74, wherein: a single positioning error cause is reported during the positioning session.

[0264] Clause 76. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any one of clauses 73 to 75, wherein the positioning session comprises a downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning method; a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method; a multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) positioning method; or any combination thereof.

[0265] Clause 77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 73 to 76, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0266] Clause 78. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 77, wherein: the multiple positioning error causes indicate that an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the positioning session, the auxiliary data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server, the auxiliary data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the target device has the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0267] Clause 79. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 73 to 76, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0268] Clause 80. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 79, wherein: the multiple positioning error causes indicate that an undefined positioning error occurred at the target device during the positioning session, data for the positioning session is missing at the target device, the target device is unable to measure reference signals of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the auxiliary data received by the target device, the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data, the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data for target-based positioning determination, position calculation auxiliary data is missing at the target device, the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data, the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the location server has the highest priority of the multiple positioning error causes.

[0269] Clause 81. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 73 to 80, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium also includes computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the first network entity, cause the first network entity to: receive an indication of the priority assigned to the multiple positioning error causes.

[0270] Clause 82. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 81, wherein: the indication of the priority assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes is received from the second network entity.

[0271] Clause 83. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a first network entity, cause the first network entity to: participate in a positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a plurality of positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; and report a plurality of positioning error causes for the plurality of positioning errors to the second network entity using a bitmap representing the plurality of positioning error causes.

[0272] Clause 84. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 83, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0273] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 84, wherein the bitmap of positioning error causes includes: one or more bits indicating that an undefined positioning error occurs at the location server; one or more bits indicating that auxiliary data for the positioning session is not supported by the location server; one or more bits indicating that the auxiliary data for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or any combination thereof.

[0274] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 83, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0275] Clause 87. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 86, wherein the bitmap of causes of positioning errors comprises: one or more bits indicating that an undefined error has occurred at the target device, one or more bits indicating that auxiliary data for the positioning session is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to measure reference signals from any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the auxiliary data received by the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device attempted but was unable to measure reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data; one or more bits indicating that the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data for target-based positioning determination; one or more bits indicating that position calculation auxiliary data is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device is missing configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; or any combination thereof.

[0276] Clause 88. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a first network entity, causes the first network entity to: participate in a first positioning session with a second network entity; determine that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with corresponding multiple positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; report a first positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with the first positioning error among the first plurality of positioning errors; participate in a second positioning session with the second network entity; determine that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause among the multiple positioning error causes; and report the second positioning error cause to the second network entity during the second positioning session.

[0277] Clause 89. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 88, wherein: the first positioning error cause is reported in a first positioning information element; and the second positioning error cause is reported in a second positioning information element having the same format as the first positioning information element.

[0278] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 89, wherein: the first positioning information element and the second positioning information element have the same positioning information element format.

[0279] Clause 91. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 88 to 90, wherein: the first positioning session and the second positioning session are consecutive positioning sessions.

[0280] Clause 92. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 88 to 91, wherein: the first positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause that is the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes; and the second positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause that is the second highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

[0281] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 88 to 92, wherein: the first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

[0282] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 93, wherein the multiple positioning error cause indications include: an undefined positioning error occurred at the location server during the first positioning session; the auxiliary data indicated for the first positioning session is not supported by the location server; the auxiliary data indicated for the first positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or any combination thereof.

[0283] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 88 to 92, wherein: the first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

[0284] Clause 96. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 95, wherein the multiple positioning error causes indicate: an undefined positioning error occurs at the target device; the auxiliary data for the first positioning session is missing at the target device; the target device is unable to measure the reference signals of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in the auxiliary data received by the target device; the target device attempts but is unable to measure the reference signals of some adjacent TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data; the target device does not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRPs indicated in the auxiliary data for target-based positioning determination; position calculation auxiliary data is missing at the target device; the target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; the target device is unable to send one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; or any combination thereof.

[0285] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0286] In addition, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints proposed to the entire system. The technician can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0287] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0288] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components.

[0289] In one or more example aspects, the function can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the function can be stored on a computer-readable medium or sent by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and the communication media include any medium that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and any other medium that can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is sent from a website, a server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, a fiber optic cable, a twisted pair, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwaves, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwaves are included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, disk and disc include: compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0290] Although the foregoing disclosure shows the exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. In addition, the functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. In addition, although the elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms may also be considered unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, the method comprising: engaging in a positioning session with a second network entity; determining that a plurality of positioning errors associated with a corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; as well as Positioning error causes of positioning errors among the plurality of positioning errors are reported to the second network entity during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The positioning error cause is reported to the second network entity in a single positioning information element.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: A single positioning error cause is reported during the positioning session.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning session comprises: Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) positioning method; Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method; Multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) positioning method; or Any combination of them.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first network entity is a location server; and The second network entity is a target device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The multiple positioning error cause indications an undefined positioning error occurs at said location server during said positioning session, the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server, The assistance data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the target device has the highest priority of the multiple positioning error causes.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The multiple positioning error cause indications an undefined positioning error occurs at the target device during the positioning session, assistance data for the positioning session is missing at the target device, the target device is unable to measure a reference signal of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in assistance data received by the target device, The target device attempts but is unable to measure reference signals of some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data, the target device does not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRP indicated in the assistance data for a target-based positioning determination, Position calculation assistance data is missing at said target device, The target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data, The target device is unable to transmit one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the location server has the highest priority of the multiple positioning error causes.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An indication of the priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes is received.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The indication of the priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes is received from the second network entity.

11. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, the method comprising: engaging in a positioning session with a second network entity; determining that a plurality of positioning errors occurred during the positioning session; as well as A plurality of positioning error causes for the plurality of positioning errors are reported to the second network entity using a bitmap representing the plurality of positioning error causes.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the bitmap of location error causes comprises: one or more bits indicating that an undefined positioning error has occurred at the location server; one or more bits indicating that assistance data for the positioning session is not supported by the location server; one or more bits indicating that the assistance data for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or Any combination of them.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the bitmap of location error causes comprises: one or more bits indicating that an undefined error occurred at the target device; one or more bits indicating that assistance data for the positioning session is missing at the target device; one or more bits indicating that the target device is unable to measure a reference signal from any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in assistance data received by the target device; one or more bits of a reference signal indicating that the target device attempted but was unable to measure some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data; one or more bits indicating that the target device did not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRP indicated in the assistance data for target-based positioning determination; indicating one or more bits of position calculation assistance data that are missing at the target device; indicating to the target device that one or more bits of configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data are missing; indicating that the target device is unable to transmit one or more bits of one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data; or Any combination of them.

16. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, the method comprising: engaging in a first positioning session with a second network entity; determining that a first plurality of positioning errors associated with a corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the first positioning session; reporting a first positioning error cause of the plurality of positioning error causes to the second network entity during the first positioning session, wherein the first positioning error cause is associated with a first positioning error of the first plurality of positioning errors; engaging in a second positioning session with the second network entity; determining that a second plurality of positioning errors occurred during the second positioning session, wherein the second plurality of positioning errors and the first plurality of positioning errors include the first positioning error associated with the first positioning error cause and a second positioning error associated with a second positioning error cause of the plurality of positioning error causes; and The second positioning error cause is reported to the second network entity during the second positioning session.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: The first positioning error cause is reported in a first positioning information element; and the second positioning error cause is reported in a second positioning information element having the same format as the first positioning information element.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein: The first positioning information element and the second positioning information element have the same positioning information element format.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein: The first positioning session and the second positioning session are continuous positioning sessions.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein: The first positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause as the highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes; and the second positioning error cause is reported based on a positioning error cause as the second highest priority among the multiple positioning error causes.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein: The first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the plurality of positioning error causes indicate: an undefined positioning error occurs at the location server during the first positioning session; the assistance data indicated for the first positioning session is not supported by the location server; The assistance data indicated for the first positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server; or Any combination of them.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein: The first network entity is a target device; and the second network entity is a location server.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of positioning error causes indicate: an undefined positioning error occurs at the target device; assistance data for the first positioning session is missing at the target device; the target device being unable to measure a reference signal of any transmit-receive point (TRP) indicated in assistance data received by the target device; The target device attempts but is unable to measure reference signals of some neighboring TRPs indicated in the assistance data; the target device does not receive sufficient reference signals from the TRP indicated in the assistance data for a target-based positioning determination; Position calculation assistance data is missing at the target device; The target device lacks configuration information for sending one or more reference signals indicated in the auxiliary data; The target device is unable to transmit one or more reference signals indicated in the assistance data; or Any combination of them.

25. A first network entity, the first network entity comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: engaging in a positioning session with a second network entity; determining that a plurality of positioning errors associated with a corresponding plurality of positioning error causes occurred during the positioning session; and Positioning error causes of positioning errors among the plurality of positioning errors are reported to the second network entity via the at least one transceiver during the positioning session based on priorities assigned to the plurality of positioning error causes.

26. The first network entity according to claim 25, wherein: The positioning error cause is reported to the second network entity in a single positioning information element.

27. The first network entity according to claim 25, wherein: A single positioning error cause is reported during the positioning session.

28. The first network entity of claim 25, wherein the positioning session comprises: Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) positioning method; Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method; Multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) positioning method; or Any combination of them.

29. The first network entity according to claim 25, wherein: The first network entity is a location server; and the second network entity is a target device.

30. The first network entity according to claim 29, wherein: The multiple positioning error cause indications an undefined positioning error occurs at said location server during said positioning session, the assistance data indicated for the positioning session is not supported by the location server, The assistance data indicated for the positioning session is supported by the location server but is currently unavailable to the location server, or any combination thereof; and the positioning error cause reported to the target device has the highest priority of the multiple positioning error causes.

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