Positioning based on difference in frequency of arrival

Abstract

Techniques for wireless positioning are disclosed. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) receives assistance data for a positioning procedure from a location server, obtains a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and enables a location of the UE to be determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

Description

Background Art 1. Technical Field

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

[0002] 2. Description of related technologies

[0003] 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) service (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.

[0004] 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 processes and technologies, and high-density deployment of 5G, enable high-precision positioning based on 5G. Summary of the invention

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of the invention related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, 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 of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a brief form before the detailed embodiments presented below.

[0006] In one aspect, a method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving assistance data for a positioning procedure from a location server; obtaining frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data; and enabling the position of the UE to be determined at least in part based on the frequency offset measurements.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of positioning performed by a network entity includes: sending auxiliary data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); receiving frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE; and determining the position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0008] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) 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: receive assistance data for a positioning procedure via the at least one transceiver; obtain frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data; and enable determination of a position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0009] In one aspect, a 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: send assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver; receive frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE via the at least one transceiver; and determine a position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0010] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: a component for receiving assistance data for a positioning procedure; a component for obtaining a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data; and a component for enabling the position of the UE to be determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0011] In one aspect, a network entity includes: a component for sending assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); a component for receiving frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE; and a component for determining a position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0012] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receive assistance data for a positioning procedure; obtain frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data; and enable determination of a position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0013] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to: send assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); receive frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE; and determine a position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0014] 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

[0015] 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.

[0016] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0017] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network structures according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0018] 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.

[0019] Figure 4 Examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0020] Figure 5 An example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) call flow between a UE and a location server for performing positioning operations is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 7 is a graph representing a radio frequency (RF) channel impulse response over time in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example system geometry for a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating system geometry for Doppler shift calculation for a non-geostationary satellite system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig.10 is a graph illustrating an example Doppler shift scenario with a 2 Gigahertz (GHz) signal at 600 kilometers (km) on the downlink and uplink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig.11 is a graph illustrating an example Doppler shift scenario with a 2 GHz signal at 1500 km on the downlink and uplink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig.12 Determining time domain correlation between narrowband reference signals according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0028] Fig.13 Examples of intra-slot and inter-slot frequency offset measurements in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0029] Fig.14 Examples of intra-slot and inter-slot comb pattern repetitions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0030] Fig.15 and Fig.16 Example methods of positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different techniques and technologies 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, etc.

[0034] 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 program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. In addition, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory 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 claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the various aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0035] 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. Generally speaking, 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.

[0036] 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, the base station 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.

[0037] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit receive point (TRP) or 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 a neighboring base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. As used herein, since 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.

[0038] 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 tower (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).

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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 stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network) or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network) or a combination of the two, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0041] 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), etc. 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.

[0042] 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) via a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0043] 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. Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of a logical communication entity and a base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on the context. In addition, since the TRP is generally the physical transmission point of the cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0044] 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 area 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) that may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0045] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as a 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).

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 gigahertz (GHz)). 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.

[0047] The small cell base station 102' can operate in a licensed spectrum and / or an unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an 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' adopting 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, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) or MulteFire.

[0048] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate in mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30GHz to 300GHz, with a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended downward to a frequency of 3GHz, with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3GHz and 30GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and UE 182 can compensate for extremely high path loss and short range by using beamforming (sending and / or receiving) through the mmW communication link 184. 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.

[0049] 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, the network node can use an antenna array (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that produces an RF beam that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antenna. 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.

[0050] The transmit beams can be quasi-colocated, 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 colocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-colocated (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.

[0051] 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 signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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 a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “below 6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0055] 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 can effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 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.

[0056] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this document, the term "below 6 GHz" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this document, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF band.

[0057] 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) utilized 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 and 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 once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and which can be used to provide additional radio resources. 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. are used interchangeably.

[0058] For example, still referring 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.

[0059] The wireless communication system 100 may further 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.

[0060] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may be able to perform sidelink communications. A UE with sidelink capability (SL-UE) may communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., an air interface between a UE and a base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) may 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 simply "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 may be unicast or multicast and may 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, each group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where 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 the sidelink communications. In other cases, the sidelink communications are performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0061] 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 that employ 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 variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0062] 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. In the case 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), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming via side link 160.

[0063] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , the UE illustrated (for simplicity, in Figure 1Any of the UEs 114 and 116 (shown as UEs 114 and 116 in the figure) may receive a signal 124 from one or more earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that UE 114 and / or 116 (or any other UE) may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a transmitter system (e.g., SV 112) positioned so that a receiver (e.g., UE 114 and / or 116) can 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 a transmitter typically transmits a signal marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. Although typically located in SV 112, the transmitter may sometimes be located on a ground-based control station, base station 102, and / or other UE 104. A UE (eg, UE 114 and / or 116 ) may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from SV 112 .

[0064] 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.

[0065] In one aspect, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In the NTN, SV 112 is connected to an earth station (ES) 118 (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in the 5G network, such as an improved base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC (e.g., core network 170). 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, UE 114 and / or 116 may receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112. The radio link between a UE (e.g., UE 114, 116) and SV 112 is referred to as a "service link" (e.g., service link 124). The radio link between SV 112 and earth station 118 is referred to as a “feeder link” (eg, feeder link 126 ).

[0066] NTN can also be used to enhance 5G service reliability by providing service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) and / or IoT devices or passengers on a mobile platform (e.g., a passenger vehicle such as an aircraft, a ship, a high-speed train, a bus, etc.), or ensuring service availability anywhere (especially for critical communications). NTN can also achieve 5G network scalability by providing efficient multicast / broadcast resources for data delivery toward the network edge or even UEs (e.g., UEs 114 and / or 116).

[0067] exist Figure 1 In the example of , SV 112 communicates with UE 114 (representing a UE in an area not served by the terrestrial 5G network) outside the coverage area of ​​base station 102 and with UE 116 (representing a UE underserved by the terrestrial 5G network) within the coverage area of ​​base station 102. Therefore, depending on the service provided by base station 102 to UE 114, SV 112 can act as a serving base station for UE 116 and act as a primary cell or a secondary cell for UE 116.

[0068] Note that although Figure 1 Only a single SV 112 and a single earth station 118 are illustrated, but it should be understood that this is merely an example and there may be any number of SVs 112 connected to any number of earth stations 118 .

[0069] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) that 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 D2D P2P 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 D2D P2P 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), wait.

[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 case of authentication based on UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), AMF 264 retrieves security material from AUSF. The functionality of AMF 264 also includes security context management (SCM). SCM receives keys from SEAF, which it uses to derive access network specific keys. The functionality of AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, for the transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as location server 230), for the transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, for the allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interoperation with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notifications. In addition, AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (3rd 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 the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0076] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that can 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., location estimate) of 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 a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or may alternatively 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 may be 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 may 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 in a variety of ways using various components or constituent parts. 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) that perform 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 5GNB, an access point (AP), a transmit receive point (TRP), or a cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as a standalone base station or a single-chip base station) or a decomposed base station.

[0080] A converged base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A decomposed base station may 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 (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed in one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of a CU, a DU, and a RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., 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 and 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 2CAn 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) that 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 respective 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 respective 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 referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of these units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface 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. In addition, these units may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) that is 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 that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 280. CU 280 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 split such as those defined by the 3rd 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 functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, a RU 287 controlled by a 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 a functional split (such as a lower layer functional split). 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 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. In addition, 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 Several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) are illustrated, which may be incorporated into 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 thereof). Figure 2A and Figure 2B The depicted NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure, such as a dedicated network, is implemented in support of the operations described herein. It should be understood that these components may 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 may 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 set of time / frequency resources in a particular 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 the 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 the signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding the 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), ultra-wideband (UWB), 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 UWB 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 components 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. The 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 positions 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 system (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit system (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing the transmitter circuit system and the receiver circuit system in a single device), in some implementations may include separate transmitter circuit systems and separate receiver circuit systems, or may be implemented in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuit system and the receiver circuit system 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 transceiver or a 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 circuit systems, 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 that provides means for providing indications to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when a 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 the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles the mapping to the signal constellation 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 split 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 from 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, 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, 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 can 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. Specifically, 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 cellular 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 signal 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 separately from a network operator or a 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 the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure 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 illustrated in scenario 420, the positioning entity uses measurement reports from the UE regarding received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the position of the UE based on the determined angle and the known position 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 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-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 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 entity and the known location of the second entity. 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 locations 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, the silent sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier, the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular 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 may be able to detect neighboring network nodes without using 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, position, fix, position fix, 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, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. The position estimate may be further defined relative to some other known location 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 location is expected to be contained with some specified or default confidence level).

[0122] Figure 5 An example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) procedure 500 is illustrated for performing positioning operations between a UE 504 and a location server (illustrated as a Location Management Function (LMF) 570). Figure 5As illustrated, positioning of the UE 504 is supported via the exchange of LPP messages between the UE 504 and the LMF 570. The LPP messages may be exchanged between the UE 504 and the LMF 570 via the serving base station of the UE 504 (illustrated as the serving gNB 502) and the core network (not shown). The LPP procedure 500 may be used to position the UE 504 in order to support various location-related services, such as for the UE 504 (or for a user of the UE 504) 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 504 to the PSAP or for navigation for some other reason. The LPP procedure 500 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.).

[0123] Initially, at stage 510, UE 504 may receive a request for positioning capabilities of the UE from LMF 570 (e.g., an LPP Request Capabilities message). At stage 520, UE 504 may provide the LMF 570 with the positioning capabilities of the UE with respect to the LPP protocol by transmitting an LPP Provide Capabilities message to the LMF 570 indicating the positioning methods supported by the UE 504 using LPP and the characteristics of these positioning methods. In some aspects, the capabilities indicated in the LPP Provide Capabilities message may indicate the types of positioning supported by the UE 504 (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) and may indicate the capabilities of the UE 504 to support those types of positioning.

[0124] Upon receiving the LPP Provide Capability message, at stage 520, the LMF 570 determines to use a particular type of positioning method (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based on the indicated positioning type supported by the UE 504, and determines a set of one or more Transmit Receiving Points (TRPs) from which the UE 504 will measure downlink positioning reference signals or towards which the UE 504 will transmit uplink positioning reference signals. At stage 530, the LMF 570 transmits an LPP Provide Assistance Data message to the UE 504 identifying the set of TRPs.

[0125] In some implementations, in response to an LPP request assistance data message ( Figure 5 (not shown), the LPP provide assistance data message at stage 530 may be transmitted by the LMF 570 to the UE 504. The LPP request assistance data message may include an identifier of the serving TRP of the UE 504 and a request for positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for a neighboring TRP.

[0126] At stage 540, the LMF 570 transmits a request for location information to the UE 504. 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.

[0127] Note that in some implementations, for example, if UE 504 receives the request for location information at stage 540 (eg, after LPP request assistance data message ( Figure 5 If, in the example embodiment (not shown), the request for assistance data is transmitted to the LMF 570, the LPP provide assistance data message transmitted at stage 530 may be transmitted after the LPP request location information message at 540.

[0128] At stage 550, the UE 504 utilizes the assistance information received at stage 530 and any additional data received at stage 540 (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.

[0129] At stage 560, the UE 504 may transmit an LPP Provide Location Information message to the LMF 570 that conveys any measurements (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), received to transmitted (Rx-Tx), etc.) obtained at stage 550 and before or at the time any maximum response time (e.g., the maximum response time provided by the LMF 570 at stage 540) has expired. The LPP Provide Location Information message at stage 560 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 540 and the response at 560 is the "response time" and indicates the latency of the positioning session.

[0130] LMF 570 uses an appropriate positioning technique (eg, DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) to compute an estimated location of UE 504 based at least in part on the measurements received in the LPP Provide Location Information message at stage 560 .

[0131] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (eg, base stations and UEs). Figure 6600 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.

[0132] 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 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.

[0133] 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) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

[0134] exist Figure 6 In the example of , a parameter set of 15 kHz is used. Therefore, 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 6 , 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.

[0135] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. 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 6In 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.

[0136] 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 communication or downlink communication. Figure 6 Example locations of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R") are illustrated.

[0137] A set of resource elements (REs) used for transmission of 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.

[0138] The transmission of PRS resources 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 6 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.

[0139] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols in a slot 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 slot. 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 6 in the example); 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: {0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0140] 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.

[0141] 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.

[0142] 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".

[0143] 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.

[0144] 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.

[0145] 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 further distinction is needed between the types of PRS, the downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as a "DL-PRS", the uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., an SRS used for positioning, i.e., PTRS) 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" is different from "DL-DMRS."

[0146] Figure 7 700 is a graph representing a channel impulse response of a multipath channel between a receiving device (e.g., any of the UEs or base stations described herein) and a transmitting device (e.g., any other of the UEs or base stations described herein) according to aspects of the present disclosure. The channel impulse response represents the strength of a radio frequency (RF) signal received through a multipath channel as a function of time delay. Thus, the horizontal axis is in units of time (e.g., milliseconds) and the vertical axis is in units of signal strength (e.g., decibels). It is noted that a multipath channel is a channel between a transmitter and a receiver over which an RF signal follows multiple paths or multipaths due to the transmission of the RF signal on multiple beams and / or due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal (e.g., reflection, refraction, etc.).

[0147] exist Figure 7 In the example of , the receiver detects / measures multiple (four) clusters of channel taps. Each channel tap represents the multipath that the RF signal follows between the transmitter and the receiver. That is, the channel taps represent the arrival of the RF signal on the multipath. Each cluster of channel taps indicates that the corresponding multipath follows substantially the same path, so each cluster of channel taps corresponds to one path. Different clusters may exist because the RF signal is transmitted on different transmit beams (and therefore at different angles), or because of the propagation characteristics of the RF signal (e.g., it may follow different paths due to reflections), or both.

[0148] All clusters of channel taps for a given RF signal represent the multipath channel (or simply channel) between the transmitter and the receiver. Figure 7 Under the illustrated channel, the receiver receives a first cluster of two RF signals (first path) on the channel tap at time T1, a second cluster of five RF signals (second path) on the channel tap at time T2, a third cluster of five RF signals (third path) on the channel tap at time T3, and a fourth cluster of four RF signals (fourth path) on the channel tap at time T4. Figure 7 In the example of , since the first cluster of RF signals at time T1 arrives first, it is assumed to correspond to RF signals transmitted on a transmit beam aligned with line of sight (LOS) or the shortest path. The third cluster at time T3 includes the strongest RF signals and may correspond to, for example, RF signals transmitted on a transmit beam aligned with a non-line of sight (NLOS) path. Note that although Figure 7 Clusters of two to five channel taps are illustrated, but it should be understood that a cluster may have more or fewer channel taps than the illustrated number of channel taps. Figure 7 Four clusters / paths are illustrated, but it should be understood that there may be more or less than four clusters / paths.

[0149] Network operators may be forced to cross-check the UE location reported by the UE in order to meet regulatory requirements for network-verified UE location (e.g., lawful interception, emergency calls, public warning systems, etc.). That is, network operators should be able to check the UE's reported location information by, for example, estimating the UE's location on the network side, and specify whether a mechanism is needed to meet regulatory requirements. In order to determine the network-verified UE location of NTN-, an NTN-capable UE may report its Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location (because an NTN-capable UE needs to have GNSS), and the network (e.g., a location server) may verify or improve the UE's GNSS report through network-assisted positioning techniques.

[0150] One mechanism for estimating the position of a UE using an NTN transmitter (e.g., SV 112) is frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) or differential Doppler (DD). FDOA is a technique similar to TDOA for estimating the position of a UE based on measurements of multiple anchors (e.g., different NTN transmitters with known locations) by the UE, or measurements of the same anchor at multiple locations (e.g., the same non-geosynchronous NTN transmitter). TDOA and FDOA can be used together to improve position accuracy, as long as TDOA can be used for positioning estimates using multiple anchors, while FDOA can be used for Doppler estimates whenever there is relative motion between the UE and the anchor (Doppler is the change in frequency of an electromagnetic wave relative to an observer that moves relative to the source of the wave). By combining TDOA and FDOA measurements, instantaneous positioning of the UE can be performed in two dimensions.

[0151] In a DL-FDOA positioning method using an NTN transmitter (e.g., a satellite), the position of the UE can be estimated based on measurements at the UE of frequency differences or frequency offsets between downlink radio signals from a single satellite or downlink radio signals from multiple satellites transmitted at different times and knowledge of the satellite's ephemeris (i.e., the trajectory or position and velocity of the satellite over time).

[0152] Figure 8 FIG800 is a diagram illustrating an example system geometry for an FDOA positioning procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 8 In the example of , the target UE is located at a fixed position (x, y, z) to be estimated, denoted as p. In the case of a single satellite and a fixed UE, multiple virtual anchor positions can be created by the satellite sending PRS at M different times. Alternatively, the M satellites can send PRS at the same time. The M satellite positions (whether the position of one satellite or the positions of multiple satellites) can be denoted as s i (i=1,2,…,M), and the speed can be expressed as Then, TDOA and FDOA can be expressed as the following system of equations:

[0153] d i,1 =d i -d1=ct i,1 =||s i -p||,i=2,3,…,M,

[0154]

[0155] exist Figure 8 In the example of , both TDOA and FDOA can be used to improve positioning accuracy, although the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) is poor due to the low diversity of anchor positions.

[0156] There is a significant Doppler shift (and therefore frequency offset) in the signals transmitted by NTN transmitters (eg, satellites), which may be used for positioning purposes. Table 1 provides a summary of the Doppler shift and frequency shift variation for different satellite altitudes.

[0157]

[0158] Table 1

[0159] There are known techniques for accounting for the Doppler shift of radio signals transmitted by satellites. Fig. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating system geometry for Doppler shift calculation for a non-geostationary satellite system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Fig. 9 The illustrated scenario assumes a Cartesian coordinate system such that the mobile satellite and the receiver (e.g., UE, ground base station) are in the yz plane. The Doppler shift experienced by a fixed receiver can be calculated as a function of time as follows:

[0160]

[0161] where f0 is the carrier frequency, d(t) is the distance vector between the satellite and the receiver, and x SAT (t) is the vector of satellite position. These vectors can be expressed as:

[0162] d(t)=[0(R E +h)sin(ω SAT t)(R E +h)cos(ω SAT t)-R E ] T

[0163] x SAT (t) = [0(R E +h)sin(ω SAT t)(R E +h)cos(ω SAT t)] T

[0164] Where R E is the radius of the Earth, h is the satellite altitude, and ω SAT is the satellite angular velocity.

[0165] After some mathematical operations, the Doppler shift as a function of elevation angle can be calculated using the closed form expression as follows:

[0166]

[0167] The angular velocity is Where G is the gravitational constant, M E is the mass of the Earth.

[0168] If the receiver (e.g., UE) is placed on an airplane or high-speed train, there will be an additional term of Doppler shift caused by its own speed. In the case of non-geostationary satellites, the Doppler shift due to satellite movement is much higher than the Doppler shift caused by receiver movement. For geosynchronous orbit (GEO) and high altitude platform stations (HAPS), the Doppler shift component is mainly caused by the movement of the receiver.

[0169] Fig.10 is a graph 1000 illustrating an example Doppler shift scenario with a 2 GHz signal at 600 km on both downlink and uplink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Graph 1000 illustrates curves for both a stationary UE and a UE in motion (both moving in the same direction as the satellite and in the opposite direction from the satellite).

[0170] Fig.11 is a graph 1100 illustrating an example Doppler shift scenario with a 2 GHz signal at 1500 km on both downlink and uplink in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Graph 1100 illustrates curves for both a stationary UE and a UE in motion (both moving in the same direction as the satellite and in the opposite direction from the satellite).

[0171] Graphs 1000 and 1100 illustrate the worst case impact of a UE moving at 1000 km / h and in the same direction as a satellite (which is a non-geostationary satellite). The boundaries of the graphs can be defined by adding the Doppler shift due to satellite motion and the Doppler shift due to UE motion. Graphs 1000 and 1100 clearly show the boundaries of the Doppler shift that depends on the sense of motion between the satellite and the UE.

[0172] Doppler can be estimated based on the characteristics of the measured reference signal. First, refer to the time domain correlation, Fig.12 Determining time domain correlation between narrowband reference signals according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In diagram 1200, a first symbol S belonging to a first narrowband reference signal (e.g., narrowband PRS) is transmitted in a first time slot (time slot i) on subcarrier k. i,k (denoted as “S_(i,k)”). The second symbol S belonging to the second narrowband reference signal is transmitted in the second time slot (time slot i+Δt). i+Δt,k (denoted as "S_(i+Δt,k)"), where Δ is the subcarrier spacing. The received symbols are denoted as R i,k and R i+Δt,k , and assuming a single-tap channel

[0173] Assuming the power is the same across all pilot tones, the phase difference or phase shift between two time slots can be estimated as:

[0174]

[0175] As shown in diagram 1200, reference signals separated by Δt1 can be used to determine a coarse Doppler estimate Specifically, the coarse Doppler can be estimated as:

[0176]

[0177] f D ~1 / Δt

[0178] Note that since the phase is wrapped around, a Doppler range (ie, maximum Doppler and minimum Doppler) may be required to estimate the Doppler correctly.

[0179] Diagram 1250 illustrates an iterative estimation process for determining a fine Doppler estimate. To obtain a fine Doppler estimate, when When , the receiving UE may apply a coarse Doppler correction to the reference signal at i+Δt2 and estimate the residual Doppler.

[0180] The time-frequency correlation between reference signals for a multipath channel with K paths:

[0181]

[0182] In the above formula, x(t) is the transmitted baseband signal, M is the number of symbols, N is the number of subcarriers, S(m,n) is the reference signal pattern in the time-frequency resource grid (for example, an example of which is shown in Figure 6 ), and T is the duration of the OFDM symbol.

[0183] Assume that there are K paths (for example, Figure 7 In the example of K = 4), the signal from the kth path experiences a delay and Doppler The received signal in the time domain is represented as:

[0184]

[0185] In the above formula, g k is the complex gain of the kth path, and η(t) is the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN).

[0186] The channel matrix can be estimated as:

[0187]

[0188] From this stage, the delay-Doppler of the K paths can be jointly estimated by a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) method or a subspace-based method (eg, MUSIC, ESPIRIT, etc.).

[0189] Various reference signal design principles are associated with determining a delayed Doppler estimate from a reference signal. Specifically, range resolution is associated with the inverse of the SCS, multiplied by the gap between pilot tones in the frequency domain, multiplied by the inverse of the number of pilot tones in the frequency domain. Velocity resolution is associated with the SCS (in parts per million (ppm)), multiplied by the gap between pilot tones in the time domain, multiplied by the inverse of the number of coherently processed pilot signals. Maximum unambiguous range is associated with the inverse of the gap between pilot tones in the frequency domain. Maximum unambiguous velocity is associated with the SCS (in ppm) multiplied by the inverse of the gap between pilot tones in the time domain.

[0190] Phase coherence is not guaranteed for both NR PRS and LTE PRS. However, phase coherence is critical for Doppler estimation, which is an important RF sensing measurement. The following options may be considered for the PRS phase coherence indication in the assistance data provided to the UE for a positioning session. As a first option, by default, PRS phase coherence is not guaranteed. The assistance data may therefore indicate a set of PRSs (e.g., PRS resources, resource sets, etc.) that have phase coherence. The UE may then use this set of PRSs to measure and report Doppler.

[0191] As a second option, the assistance data may indicate a specific TRP that may support PRS phase coherence. The assistance data may also indicate a specific set of PRSs (e.g., PRS resources, resource sets, etc.) associated with the TRP that may support PRS phase coherence. This option may reduce signaling overhead because some TRPs may always support phase coherence. For example, a specific gNB vendor may support such a feature for some deployments.

[0192] As a third option, the assistance data may indicate a specific frequency layer that may be used for RF sensing. Since Doppler is important information for most sensing use cases, the above indication implicitly indicates that the PRS configured under this specific frequency layer supports Doppler estimation by default. The assistance data may indicate a PRS that may not support Doppler estimation (e.g., due to hardware limitations, phase coherence may be challenging for two PRSs that are far apart in the time domain).

[0193] Some gNB vendors may not support phase coherent PRS transmission. In this case, the following options may be considered to achieve Doppler estimation. As a first option, the assistance data may indicate an associated downlink reference signal (e.g., TRS) for Doppler estimation. The association between PRS and other downlink reference signals for Doppler estimation may be achieved through QCL Type A, B, and / or C configurations. The associated downlink reference signal may be a narrowband reference signal, but should be configured close to the PRS in the time domain. TRS may be a preferred reference signal candidate as it should support Doppler estimation.

[0194] As a second option, the assistance data may indicate an associated non-NR signal, such as a radar waveform, used for Doppler estimation. This assumes that the PRS and its associated radar waveform are transmitted from a co-located transmitter, or even by the same transmitter. The assistance data may also include the configuration of the radar waveform (such as waveform type, parameters, etc.).

[0195] Based on the sensing measurements collected at the location server, the location server may also signal the following assistance data for the search window selection for Doppler estimation: expected Doppler and expected Doppler uncertainty. The location server may define multiple "expected Doppler" and "expected Doppler uncertainty" sets for the same PRS or a group of PRSs. If the assistance data is UE-specific, each "expected Doppler" and "expected Doppler uncertainty" set may be associated with a path index (i.e., relative to the first arrival path (e.g., in Figure 7 The channel impulse response tap index) of the path) received at time T1 in is associated with.

[0196] Note that if the sensing receiver is a gNB, there should be corresponding assistance data signaling between the location server and the receiving gNB (e.g., via NR Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa)).

[0197] Although the use of PRS for Doppler measurement has been introduced, the procedures for UE measurement and reporting to a location server have not been defined. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a definition of phase measurement to be performed by a UE, a definition of a frequency offset to be reported by a UE for an FDOA positioning procedure, a method for measuring a frequency offset based on a PRS, a PRS configuration, UE capability signaling, a positioning method (in addition to DL-TDOA, multi-RTT, GNSS, etc.), and a method for a UE to report a frequency offset to a location server.

[0198] The present disclosure defines a DL PRS receive path phase (denoted as “RSRPPh”) measurement as the linear average (∠) of the phase of the channel response x(n) at the nth path delay of the resource element carrying the DL PRS configured for the measurement, where the DL PRS RSRPPh for the first path delay is the DL PRS RSRPPh corresponding to the first detected path in time (e.g., at Figure 7 That is, for any n, the path RSRPPh can be defined as:

[0199]

[0200] In the above formula, N is the number of subcarriers carrying PRS in an OFDM symbol, and X(k) is the symbol received at the kth subcarrier. If n = 0, then

[0201] Based on the above definition of phase measurement (ie, RSRPPh), the frequency offset measurement can be defined as:

[0202]

[0203] In the above formula, i and j are symbol indices within the PRS resource, where the allocation of PRS resource elements is the same. Variables i and j should be separated by at least one symbol so that i is not equal to j. If the resource allocation on frequency is the same, variables i and j can be in the same comb structure. Variable Δ is the time difference between i and j. Frequency offset measurements can be made within the same time slot (intra-slot) or across time slots (inter-slot). For intra-slot frequency offset measurements, i and j belong to the same time slot and Δ = (ij)T s , where T s is the number of OFDM symbols. For inter-slot frequency offset measurement, i and j belong to different slots, and Δ = (ij)T s +T slot , where T s is the number of OFDM symbols, and T slot is the number of time slots.

[0204] Fig.13 Examples of intra-slot and inter-slot frequency offset measurements according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. Specifically, diagrams 1310 and 1320 illustrate intra-slot frequency offset measurements, while diagram 1330 illustrates inter-slot frequency offset measurements. Fig.13 In , time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Each large block represents a resource block, and each small block represents a resource element. As discussed above, a resource element consists of one symbol in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. Fig.13 In the example of , each resource block includes 14 symbols in the time domain and 13 subcarriers in the frequency domain. The shaded resource elements carry or are scheduled to carry DL-PRS. Thus, the shaded resource elements in each resource block correspond to PRS resources, or portions of PRS resources within one resource block (because PRS resources may span multiple resource blocks in the frequency domain).

[0205] like Fig.13 As shown, i and j are selected so that the allocation of PRS resource elements in the corresponding OFDM symbols is the same. Note that the positions of i and j in diagrams 1310, 1320, and 1330 are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to these symbols.

[0206] In order to accurately measure the frequency offset between i and j, the UE needs to coherently process the PRS resource elements at symbols i and j. That is, the phase coherence needs to be maintained across the PRS resource elements of symbols i and j.

[0207] There are various options for configuring the UE to perform the frequency offset measurement between i and j. As a first option, the UE may use two different DL-PRS resources to measure the frequency offset between the PRS symbols at i and j. That is, in the above formula, i and j will belong to PRS resources with different resource identifiers. For example, see Fig.13 , the PRS resources in slots 0 and 1 of diagram 1330 may be different PRS resources with the same comb pattern. As a second option, the UE may use one DL-PRS resource (single opportunity) to measure the frequency offset between PRS symbols at i and j. That is, i and j in the above formula will belong to PRS resources with the same PRS resource identifier and scheduled during the same opportunity. Fig.13 Diagrams 1310 and 1320 are examples of this option.

[0208] The UE may indicate to the location server its capabilities for PRS processing according to the first option (using two different DL-PRS resources to measure the frequency offset) or the second option (using one DL-PRS resource to measure the frequency offset). Note that for the first option, the UE needs to process the two DL-PRS resources coherently (i.e., with phase coherence). In this case, the location server may need to indicate to the UE a list of PRS resource IDs per TRP per frequency layer for which phase coherence may be assumed during frequency offset measurement. For the second option, phase coherence between DL-PRS symbols within the same PRS resource may be implicitly assumed, thereby forgoing the need for additional signaling. However, the UE will need to be signaled about the phase coherence between PRS symbols in different slots (e.g., when the comb pattern repeats across slots). For example, the location server may indicate to the UE that the UE may assume coherent processing starting from every even slot number up to N slots.

[0209] Since the UE needs to coherently process the PRS symbols at i and j to obtain the frequency offset measurement, and since i and j may span multiple symbols of a single slot or multiple slots, a parameter is needed to indicate the number of symbols or the number of slots between i and j. In addition, for the second option above, since the UE can use only one DL-PRS resource, the present disclosure provides intra-slot repetition of the PRS comb pattern.

[0210] Fig.14 Examples of intra-slot and inter-slot comb pattern repetitions according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. Fig.14 In FIG. 1 , time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Each large block represents a resource block and each small block represents a resource element. The shaded resource elements carry or are scheduled to carry DL-PRS. Thus, the shaded resource elements in each resource block correspond to PRS resources, or portions of PRS resources within one resource block (because PRS resources may span multiple resource blocks in the frequency domain).

[0211] Diagram 1400 illustrates an example of inter-slot repetition of a comb pattern, and diagram 1450 illustrates an example of intra-slot repetition of a comb pattern. For inter-slot repetition, the UE may be configured with a repetition gap between i and j as the number of slots. For example, a location server or serving base station may configure the UE with a "dl-PRS-CombRepetitionGapSlots" parameter that indicates a comb pattern of repetition (in Fig.14For intra-slot repetition, the UE may be configured with a repetition gap as the number of symbols within a slot. For example, the location server or serving base station may configure the UE with a "dl-PRS-CombRepetitionGapSymbols" parameter that indicates a comb pattern of repetitions within a slot (in Fig.14 The duration of symbols (e.g., the number of symbols) between two repetition gaps (e.g., 8 symbols in the example). These two types of repetition gap parameters indicate to the UE that it needs to coherently process the symbols separated by the signaled repetition gap.

[0212] To support the addition of new positioning procedures (such as DL-FDOA positioning procedures), LPP signaling can be extended to include necessary signaling (e.g., assistance data, measurement reports, etc.) between the location server and the UE. Alternatively, the current DL-TDOA LPP framework can be used for the DL-FDOA positioning procedure. In this case, the location server may request and / or the UE may report the frequency offset between the reference TRP and one or more adjacent TRPs. As another option, the assistance data for DL-FDOA positioning may be broadcast by a base station (terrestrial or non-terrestrial) in one or more positioning SIBs (posSIBs). As with the LPP assistance data for DL-FDOA, the currently defined posSIB carrying assistance data for TDOA positioning may be extended to include assistance data for DL-FDOA positioning, or a posSIB dedicated to DL-FDOA may be broadcast. In one aspect, the location server may instruct the base station to broadcast a posSIB carrying assistance data for DL-FDOA positioning, and may provide information to be included in the posSIB.

[0213] To support the techniques described herein, the UE may indicate new capabilities to the location server (e.g., in an LPP Provide Capabilities message), such as its ability to support DL-FDOA positioning procedures, or its ability to perform frequency offset reporting (e.g., as a per-band reporting capability).

[0214] The PRS used for DL-FDOA positioning may have a different configuration than the PRS configured for other types of positioning. For example, the PRS used for DL-FDOA may be narrowband and spread over time, while the PRS used for time-based positioning procedures (such as DL-TDOA) is typically wideband. In one aspect, a resource pool for such PRS (e.g., narrowband) may be specified separately from a legacy (e.g., wideband) PRS resource pool. In this case, the UE may indicate its ability to handle narrowband PRS resources separately.

[0215] Currently, the UE uses a higher layer (e.g., LPP) information element "NR-DL-PRS-ProcessingCapability" to report its PRS processing capabilities to the location server. The following is a table of the various fields of the "NR-DL-PRS-ProcessingCapability" information element. The UE may indicate that the value of the following capability for narrowband PRS processing is the same as or different from the value of the following capability for wideband PRS processing.

[0216]

[0217] Table 2

[0218] Note that when the target UE provides the "durationOfPRS-Processing" capability (N,T) within any P(≥T) time window, the target UE shall be able to process all DL-PRS resources within P if (1) N≥K, where K is defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.214, and (2) the number of DL-PRS resources in each time slot does not exceed "maxNumOfDL-PRS-ResProcessedPerSlot", and (3) the configured measurement gaps and the maximum ratio of measurement gap length (MGL) / measurement gap repetition period (MGRP) are as specified in 3GPP TS 38.133.

[0219] In one aspect, the UE may report a frequency offset relative to a reference TRP. As a first option, the frequency offset measurement may be reported together with the RSTD measurement using, for example, one or more new fields in a higher layer (e.g., LPP) information element "NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation". As a second option, the frequency offset measurement may be reported separately in one or more new higher layer (e.g., LPP) messages (such as the "FrequencyOffset-SignalMeasurementInformation" information element).

[0220] As a sub-aspect, the UE may report the first dominant path (e.g., Figure 7 The frequency offset of the path received at time T1 in ) and up to N additional paths (e.g., Figure 7 In this case, the UE may report its ability to report a first dominant path as well as its ability to report up to N additional paths. In one aspect, N = {1, 2, 4, 8}.

[0221] In one aspect, the UE may report the frequency offset in different formats. In a first aspect, the UE may report a normalized or unitless value of the frequency offset measurement and / or subcarrier spacing, or report the value of the frequency offset in ppm (per TRP). In a second aspect, the UE may report the value of the frequency offset (per TRP) based on the speed (e.g., in km / s). In a third aspect, the UE may report the value of the frequency offset (per TRP per component carrier) in frequency units (e.g., Hertz). In a fourth aspect, the UE may report the difference between the observed / measured frequency offset and the expected frequency offset received from the location server (signaled to the UE based on the location server's estimate of the UE's location (e.g., the center of the serving beam)).

[0222] In one aspect, the frequency offset measurement range and resolution can be configured. Measurements can be made in [-M lb f s ,M ub f s ], where M lb is the lower limit, M ub is the upper limit, and f s is the sampling frequency. The resolution of the measurement can be 2kf s , where k min ≤k≤k max , and k is the reporting granularity factor. lb and M ub (and additional k) may be (1) explicitly signaled by the location server to the UE per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band, or per frequency layer, (2) explicitly signaled by the location server to the UE per TRP in ppm and the UE converts to per component carrier, per frequency band, or per frequency layer, or (3) implicitly assumed by the UE based on the orbit of the satellite TRP (e.g., LEO (or LEO-600 km, LEO-1200 km, etc.), MEO, or GEO).

[0223] Fig.15 An example method 1500 of wireless positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In an aspect, the method 1500 may be performed by a UE (eg, any of the UEs described herein).

[0224] At 1510, the UE receives assistance data for a positioning procedure (e.g., an FDOA or TDOA positioning procedure) from a location server. In an 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.

[0225] At 1520, the UE obtains frequency offset measurements of one or more PRS resources transmitted by at least one TRP (e.g., a space vehicle) based on the assistance data. In an aspect, operation 1520 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.

[0226] At 1530, the UE enables determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement. In an aspect, operation 1530 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.

[0227] Fig.16 An example method 1600 of positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In an aspect, the method 1600 may be performed by a network entity (eg, a location server).

[0228] At 1610, the network entity sends assistance data for a positioning procedure (e.g., an FDOA or TDOA positioning procedure) to a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein). In an aspect, operation 1610 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.

[0229] At 1620, the network entity receives frequency offset measurements of one or more PRS resources sent by at least one TRP from the UE. In an aspect, operation 1620 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.

[0230] At 1630, the network entity determines a location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement. In an aspect, operation 1610 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 a means for performing the operation.

[0231] It should be appreciated that a technical advantage of methods 1500 and 1600 is that it enables positioning of a UE based on frequency offset measurements.

[0232] In the above detailed description, 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 dependent clause may refer to a specific combination of one clause with other clauses in a clause, the aspects of the dependent 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 dependent clause aspect with any other dependent clause or independent clause or any feature with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is clearly 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.

[0233] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0234] Clause 1. A method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving auxiliary data for a positioning procedure; obtaining frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the auxiliary data; and enabling the position of the UE to be determined at least in part based on the frequency offset measurements.

[0235] Clause 2. A method according to clause 1, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0236] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have a same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

[0237] Clause 4. A method according to any one of clauses 2 to 3, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0238] Clause 5. The method according to clause 4, wherein: the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

[0239] Clause 6. A method according to any one of clauses 2 to 3, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and the time difference indicates the number of time slots between the different time slots.

[0240] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have the same comb pattern.

[0241] Clause 8. A method as described in any of clauses 2 to 7, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources.

[0242] Clause 9. A method according to any one of clauses 2 to 7, wherein: the first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

[0243] Clause 10. A method according to clause 9, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be sent by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0244] Clause 11. According to the method described in any one of clauses 2 to 10, the method further includes: sending a capability message to a location server, wherein the capability message indicates the ability of the UE to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

[0245] Clause 12. A method according to any one of clauses 2 to 11, wherein: the first phase measurement is a first phase of a first linear average of a first channel response of a first path delay of a PRS resource element of the first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and the second phase measurement is a second phase of a second linear average of a second channel response of a second path delay of a PRS resource element of the second symbol of the one or more PRS resources.

[0246] Clause 13. A method as described in any of clauses 2 to 12, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol and the time difference.

[0247] Clause 14. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 13, the method further comprising: sending a capability message to a location server, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0248] Clause 15. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 14, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

[0249] Clause 16. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 15, wherein enabling determination of the position of the UE comprises: reporting the frequency offset measurement to a location server to enable the location server to determine the position of the UE.

[0250] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein: the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0251] Clause 18. A method according to any one of clauses 16 to 17, wherein reporting the frequency offset measurement comprises: reporting a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources; and reporting one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources.

[0252] Clause 19. The method of clause 18, further comprising sending a capability message to the location server, the capability message indicating a capability of the UE to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0253] Clause 20. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 15, wherein enabling determination of the position of the UE comprises determining the position of the UE based on the frequency offset measurement and ephemeris information of the at least one TRP.

[0254] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 1 to 20, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0255] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, further comprising sending a capability message to a location server, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0256] Clause 23. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 22, wherein the frequency offset measurement is reported in the following form: as a unitless normalized value, in parts per million (ppm), in speed, in frequency, or as the difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement received in the auxiliary data.

[0257] Clause 24. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 23, wherein the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer.

[0258] Clause 25. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 24, wherein: the auxiliary data includes a range and a resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement for each TRP in ppm, and the UE converts the range and the resolution into a range and resolution per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer.

[0259] Clause 26. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 25, further comprising: determining a range and a resolution of the frequency offset measurement based on the orbit of the at least one TRP.

[0260] Clause 27. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 26, wherein the assistance data is received from: a location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or the base station in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by a base station.

[0261] Clause 28. The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 27, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

[0262] Clause 29. A positioning method performed by a network entity, the method comprising: sending auxiliary data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); receiving frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE; and determining the position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0263] Clause 30. A method according to clause 29, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0264] Clause 31. The method of clause 30, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have a same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

[0265] Clause 32. A method according to any one of clauses 30 to 31, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0266] Clause 33. A method according to clause 32, wherein: the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

[0267] Clause 34. A method according to any one of clauses 30 to 31, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and the time difference indicates the number of time slots between the different time slots.

[0268] Clause 35. The method of clause 34, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have the same comb pattern.

[0269] Clause 36. A method as described in any of clauses 30 to 35, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources.

[0270] Clause 37. A method according to any one of clauses 30 to 35, wherein: the first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

[0271] Clause 38. A method according to clause 37, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be sent by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0272] Clause 39. According to any one of clauses 30 to 38, the method further includes: receiving a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating the ability of the UE to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

[0273] Clause 40. A method as described in any of clauses 30 to 39, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol and the time difference.

[0274] Clause 41. A method according to any one of clauses 29 to 40, the method further comprising: receiving a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0275] Clause 42. The method of any one of clauses 29 to 41, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

[0276] Clause 43. A method according to any of clauses 29 to 42, wherein: the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0277] Clause 44. A method according to any one of clauses 29 to 43, wherein receiving the frequency offset measurement comprises: receiving a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources; and receiving one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources.

[0278] Clause 45. The method of clause 44, further comprising: receiving a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0279] Clause 46. The method of any of clauses 29 to 45, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0280] Clause 47. The method of clause 46, further comprising: receiving a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0281] Clause 48. A method according to any one of clauses 29 to 47, wherein the frequency offset measurement is received in the following form: as a unitless normalized value, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as a difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement sent to the UE in the auxiliary data.

[0282] Clause 49. A method according to any one of clauses 29 to 48, wherein: the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer, or the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP in ppm.

[0283] Clause 50. A method according to any one of clauses 29 to 49, wherein sending the assistance data comprises: sending the assistance data in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; or broadcasting the assistance data in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs).

[0284] Clause 51. The method of any one of Clauses 29 to 50, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

[0285] Clause 52. The method of any one of clauses 29 to 51, wherein the network entity is a location server.

[0286] Clause 53. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) 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: receive auxiliary data for a positioning procedure via the at least one transceiver; obtain frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the auxiliary data; and enable determination of the position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0287] Clause 54. A UE according to clause 53, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0288] Clause 55. The UE of clause 54, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have a same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

[0289] Clause 56. A UE as described in any of clauses 54 to 55, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0290] Clause 57. A UE according to clause 56, wherein: the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

[0291] Clause 58. A UE as described in any of clauses 54 to 55, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and the time difference indicates the number of time slots between the different time slots.

[0292] Clause 59. The UE of clause 58, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have the same comb pattern.

[0293] Clause 60. A UE as described in any of clauses 54 to 59, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources.

[0294] Clause 61. A UE according to any one of clauses 54 to 59, wherein: the first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

[0295] Clause 62. A UE according to clause 61, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be sent by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0296] Clause 63. A UE according to any one of clauses 54 to 62, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a capability message to a location server via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating the ability of the UE to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

[0297] Clause 64. A UE according to any one of clauses 54 to 63, wherein: the first phase measurement is a first phase of a first linear average of a first channel response of a first path delay of a PRS resource element of the first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and the second phase measurement is a second phase of a second linear average of a second channel response of a second path delay of a PRS resource element of the second symbol of the one or more PRS resources.

[0298] Clause 65. A UE as described in any of clauses 54 to 64, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol and the time difference.

[0299] Clause 66. A UE according to any one of clauses 53 to 65, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a capability message to a location server via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0300] Clause 67. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 53 to 66, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

[0301] Clause 68. A UE according to any one of clauses 53 to 67, wherein the at least one processor configured to enable determination of the position of the UE includes the at least one processor configured to perform the following operations: reporting the frequency offset measurement to a location server via the at least one transceiver so that the location server can determine the position of the UE.

[0302] Clause 69. The UE of clause 68, wherein: the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0303] Clause 70. A UE according to any one of clauses 68 to 69, wherein the at least one processor configured to report the frequency offset measurement includes the at least one processor configured to perform the following operations: reporting a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources via the at least one transceiver; and reporting one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources via the at least one transceiver.

[0304] Clause 71. A UE according to clause 70, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a capability message to the location server via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0305] Clause 72. A UE according to any one of clauses 53 to 67, wherein the at least one processor configured to enable determination of the position of the UE includes the at least one processor configured to perform the following operations: determine the position of the UE based on the frequency offset measurement and the ephemeris information of the at least one TRP.

[0306] Clause 73. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 53 to 72, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0307] Clause 74. A UE according to clause 73, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a capability message to a location server via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0308] Clause 75. A UE according to any of clauses 53 to 74, wherein the frequency offset measurement is reported in the following form: as a unitless normalized value, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as a difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement received in the auxiliary data.

[0309] Clause 76. A UE according to any of clauses 53 to 75, wherein the assistance data includes a range and a resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer.

[0310] Clause 77. A UE according to any one of clauses 53 to 76, wherein: the auxiliary data includes a range and a resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement for each TRP in ppm, and the UE converts the range and the resolution into a range and resolution per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer.

[0311] Clause 78. A UE according to any one of clauses 53 to 77, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine the range and resolution of the frequency offset measurement based on the orbit of the at least one TRP.

[0312] Clause 79. A UE according to any one of clauses 53 to 78, wherein the assistance data is received from: a location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or the base station in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by a base station.

[0313] Clause 80. A UE according to any of clauses 53 to 79, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

[0314] Clause 81. A 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: send auxiliary data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver; receive frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE via the at least one transceiver; and determine a position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0315] Clause 82. A network entity according to clause 81, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0316] Clause 83. The network entity of clause 82, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have a same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

[0317] Clause 84. A network entity as described in any of clauses 82 to 83, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0318] Clause 85. A network entity according to clause 84, wherein: the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

[0319] Clause 86. A network entity as set forth in any of clauses 82 to 83, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and the time difference indicates a number of time slots between the different time slots.

[0320] Clause 87. The network entity of clause 86, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have the same comb pattern.

[0321] Clause 88. A network entity as set forth in any of clauses 82 to 87, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources.

[0322] Clause 89. A network entity according to any of clauses 82 to 87, wherein: the first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

[0323] Clause 90. A network entity according to clause 89, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be sent by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0324] Clause 91. A network entity according to any one of clauses 82 to 90, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a capability message from the UE via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

[0325] Clause 92. A network entity as defined in any of clauses 82 to 91, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol and the time difference.

[0326] Clause 93. A network entity according to any one of clauses 81 to 92, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a capability message from the UE via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0327] Clause 94. The network entity of any of clauses 81 to 93, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

[0328] Clause 95. A network entity according to any of clauses 81 to 94, wherein: the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0329] Clause 96. A network entity according to any one of clauses 81 to 95, wherein the at least one processor configured to receive the frequency offset measurement includes the at least one processor configured to perform the following operations: receiving a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources via the at least one transceiver; and receiving one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources via the at least one transceiver.

[0330] Clause 97. A network entity according to clause 96, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a capability message from the UE via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0331] Clause 98. The network entity of any of clauses 81 to 97, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0332] Clause 99. A network entity according to clause 98, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a capability message from the UE via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0333] Clause 100. A network entity according to any of clauses 81 to 99, wherein the frequency offset measurement is received in the following form: as a unitless normalized value, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as a difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement sent to the UE in the auxiliary data.

[0334] Clause 101. A network entity according to any one of clauses 81 to 100, wherein: the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer, or the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP in ppm.

[0335] Clause 102. A network entity according to any one of clauses 81 to 101, wherein the at least one processor configured to send the auxiliary data includes the at least one processor configured to perform the following operations: sending the auxiliary data in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages via the at least one transceiver; or broadcasting the auxiliary data in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs).

[0336] Clause 103. The network entity of any one of clauses 81 to 102, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

[0337] Clause 104. A network entity as recited in any one of Clauses 81 to 103, wherein the network entity is a location server.

[0338] Clause 105. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a component for receiving auxiliary data for a positioning procedure; a component for obtaining frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the auxiliary data; and a component for enabling the position of the UE to be determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0339] Clause 106. A UE according to clause 105, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0340] Clause 107. The UE of clause 106, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have a same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

[0341] Clause 108. A UE as described in any of clauses 106 to 107, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0342] Clause 109. A UE according to clause 108, wherein: the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

[0343] Clause 110. A UE as described in any of clauses 106 to 107, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and the time difference indicates the number of time slots between the different time slots.

[0344] Clause 111. The UE of clause 110, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have the same comb pattern.

[0345] Clause 112. A UE as described in any of clauses 106 to 111, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources.

[0346] Clause 113. A UE according to any one of clauses 106 to 111, wherein: the first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

[0347] Clause 114. A UE according to clause 113, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be sent by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0348] Clause 115. A UE according to any one of clauses 106 to 114, wherein the UE further comprises: a component for sending a capability message to a location server, wherein the capability message indicates the ability of the UE to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

[0349] Clause 116. A UE according to any one of clauses 106 to 115, wherein: the first phase measurement is a first phase of a first linear average of a first channel response of a first path delay of a PRS resource element of the first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and the second phase measurement is a second phase of a second linear average of a second channel response of a second path delay of a PRS resource element of the second symbol of the one or more PRS resources.

[0350] Clause 117. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 106 to 116, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol and the time difference.

[0351] Clause 118. A UE according to any of clauses 105 to 117, the UE further comprising: means for sending a capability message to a location server, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0352] Clause 119. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 105 to 118, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

[0353] Clause 120. A UE as described in any of clauses 105 to 119, wherein the means for enabling determination of the position of the UE comprises: means for reporting the frequency offset measurement to a location server to enable the location server to determine the position of the UE.

[0354] Clause 121. A UE according to clause 120, wherein: the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0355] Clause 122. A UE according to any one of clauses 120 to 121, wherein the component for reporting the frequency offset measurement includes: a component for reporting a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources; and a component for reporting one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources.

[0356] Clause 123. The UE of clause 122, the UE further comprising: means for sending a capability message to the location server, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0357] Clause 124. A UE according to any of clauses 105 to 119, wherein the means for enabling determination of the position of the UE comprises means for determining the position of the UE based on the frequency offset measurement and ephemeris information of the at least one TRP.

[0358] Clause 125. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 105 to 124, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0359] Clause 126. The UE of clause 125, the UE further comprising: means for sending a capability message to a location server, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0360] Clause 127. A UE according to any of clauses 105 to 126, wherein the frequency offset measurement is reported in the following form: as a unitless normalized value, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as a difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement received in the auxiliary data.

[0361] Clause 128. A UE according to any of clauses 105 to 127, wherein the assistance data includes a range and a resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer.

[0362] Clause 129. A UE according to any one of clauses 105 to 128, wherein: the auxiliary data includes a range and a resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement for each TRP in ppm, and the UE converts the range and the resolution into a range and resolution per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer.

[0363] Clause 130. A UE according to any one of clauses 105 to 129, the UE further comprising: means for determining a range and a resolution of the frequency offset measurement based on the orbit of the at least one TRP.

[0364] Clause 131. A UE according to any of clauses 105 to 130, wherein the assistance data is received from: a location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or the base station in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by a base station.

[0365] Clause 132. A UE according to any of clauses 105 to 131, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

[0366] Clause 133. A network entity comprising: a component for sending auxiliary data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); a component for receiving frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE; and a component for determining the position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0367] Clause 134. A network entity according to clause 133, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0368] Clause 135. The network entity of clause 134, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have a same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

[0369] Clause 136. A network entity as described in any of clauses 134 to 135, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0370] Clause 137. A network entity according to clause 136, wherein: the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

[0371] Clause 138. A network entity as set forth in any of clauses 134 to 135, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and the time difference indicates a number of time slots between the different time slots.

[0372] Clause 139. The network entity of clause 138, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have the same comb pattern.

[0373] Clause 140. A network entity as set forth in any of clauses 134 to 139, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources.

[0374] Clause 141. A network entity according to any of clauses 134 to 139, wherein: the first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

[0375] Clause 142. A network entity according to clause 141, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be sent by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0376] Clause 143. A network entity according to any one of clauses 134 to 142, the network entity further comprising: a component for receiving a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating the ability of the UE to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

[0377] Clause 144. A network entity as set forth in any of clauses 134 to 143, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol and the time difference.

[0378] Clause 145. A network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 144, the network entity further comprising: a component for receiving a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0379] Clause 146. The network entity of any of clauses 133 to 145, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

[0380] Clause 147. A network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 146, wherein: the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0381] Clause 148. A network entity according to any one of clauses 133 to 147, wherein the component for receiving the frequency offset measurement includes: a component for receiving a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources; and a component for receiving one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources.

[0382] Clause 149. The network entity of clause 148, the network entity further comprising: means for receiving a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0383] Clause 150. The network entity of any of clauses 133 to 149, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0384] Clause 151. The network entity of clause 150, further comprising: means for receiving a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0385] Clause 152. A network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 151, wherein the frequency offset measurement is received in the following form: as a unitless normalized value, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as a difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement sent to the UE in the auxiliary data.

[0386] Clause 153. A network entity according to any one of clauses 133 to 152, wherein: the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer, or the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP in ppm.

[0387] Clause 154. A network entity according to any one of clauses 133 to 153, wherein the component for sending the auxiliary data includes: a component for sending the auxiliary data in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; or a component for broadcasting the auxiliary data in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs).

[0388] Clause 155. A network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 154, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

[0389] Clause 156. The network entity of any of clauses 133 to 155, wherein the network entity is a location server.

[0390] Clause 157. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receive assistance data for a positioning procedure; obtain frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data; and enable determination of the position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0391] Clause 158. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 157, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0392] Clause 159. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 158, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have a same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

[0393] Clause 160. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 158 to 159, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0394] Clause 161. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 160, wherein: the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

[0395] Clause 162. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 158 to 159, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and the time difference indicates the number of time slots between the different time slots.

[0396] Clause 163. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 162, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have a same comb pattern.

[0397] Clause 164. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 158 to 163, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources.

[0398] Clause 165. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 158 to 163, wherein: the first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

[0399] Clause 166. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 165, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0400] Clause 167. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 158 to 166, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium also includes computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: send a capability message to a location server, wherein the capability message indicates the UE's ability to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

[0401] Clause 168. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 158 to 167, wherein: the first phase measurement is a first phase of a first linear average of a first channel response of a first path delay of a PRS resource element of the first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and the second phase measurement is a second phase of a second linear average of a second channel response of a second path delay of a PRS resource element of the second symbol of the one or more PRS resources.

[0402] Clause 169. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 158 to 168, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol, and the time difference.

[0403] Clause 170. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 157 to 169, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium also includes computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: send a capability message to a location server, wherein the capability message indicates the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0404] Clause 171. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 157 to 170, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

[0405] Clause 172. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 157 to 171, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, enable the UE to determine the position of the UE include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, enable the UE to perform the following operations: report the frequency offset measurement to a location server so that the location server can determine the position of the UE.

[0406] Clause 173. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 172, wherein: the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0407] Clause 174. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 172 to 173, wherein the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to report the frequency offset measurement include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to perform the following operations: report a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources; and report one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources.

[0408] Clause 175. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 174, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium also includes computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: send a capability message to the location server, wherein the capability message indicates the UE's ability to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0409] Clause 176. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 157 to 171, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, enable the UE to determine the position of the UE include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, enable the UE to perform the following operations: determine the position of the UE based on the frequency offset measurement and the ephemeris information of the at least one TRP.

[0410] Clause 177. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 157 to 176, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0411] Clause 178. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 177, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: send a capability message to a location server, wherein the capability message indicates the UE's ability to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0412] Clause 179. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 157 to 178, wherein the frequency offset measurement is reported in the following form: as a unitless normalized value, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as a difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement received in the auxiliary data.

[0413] Clause 180. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 157 to 179, wherein the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band, or per frequency layer.

[0414] Clause 181. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 157 to 180, wherein: the auxiliary data includes a range and a resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement for each TRP in ppm, and the UE converts the range and the resolution into a range and resolution per component carrier, per frequency band, or per frequency layer.

[0415] Clause 182. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 157 to 181, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: determine the range and resolution of the frequency offset measurement based on the orbit of the at least one TRP.

[0416] Clause 183. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 157 to 182, wherein the assistance data is received from: a location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or the base station in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by a base station.

[0417] Clause 184. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 157 to 183, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

[0418] Clause 185. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to: send assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); receive frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources sent by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE; and determine a position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0419] Clause 186. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 185, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0420] Clause 187. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 186, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have a same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

[0421] Clause 188. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any one of clauses 186 to 187, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0422] Clause 189. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 188, wherein: the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

[0423] Clause 190. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 186 to 187, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and the time difference indicates the number of time slots between the different time slots.

[0424] Clause 191. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 190, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have a same comb pattern.

[0425] Clause 192. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 186 to 191, wherein: the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources.

[0426] Clause 193. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 186 to 191, wherein: the first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

[0427] Clause 194. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 193, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0428] Clause 195. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 186 to 194, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium also includes computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity to: receive a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

[0429] Clause 196. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 186 to 195, wherein the auxiliary data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol, and the time difference.

[0430] Clause 197. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 185 to 196, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium also includes computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity to: receive a capability message from the UE, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0431] Clause 198. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 185 to 197, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

[0432] Clause 199. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 185 to 198, wherein: the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0433] Clause 200. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 185 to 199, wherein the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity to receive the frequency offset measurement include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity to perform the following operations: receive a first frequency offset measurement for a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources; and receive one or more second frequency offset measurements for one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources.

[0434] Clause 201. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 200, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium also includes computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity to: receive a capability message from the UE, wherein the capability message indicates the UE's ability to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0435] Clause 202. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 185 to 201, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0436] Clause 203. According to the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 202, the non-transitory computer-readable medium also includes computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity to: receive a capability message from the UE, wherein the capability message indicates the UE's ability to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0437] Clause 204. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 185 to 203, wherein the frequency offset measurement is received in the form of: as a unitless normalized value, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as a difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement sent to the UE in the auxiliary data.

[0438] Clause 205. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any one of clauses 185 to 204, wherein: the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer, or the auxiliary data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP in ppm.

[0439] Clause 206. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 185 to 205, wherein the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity to send the auxiliary data include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity to perform the following operations: sending the auxiliary data in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; or broadcasting the auxiliary data in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs).

[0440] Clause 207. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 185 to 206, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

[0441] Clause 208. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 185 to 207, wherein the network entity is a location server.

[0442] 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.

[0443] 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 various 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, frames, modules, circuits and steps have been generally described 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. Those skilled in the art 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.

[0444] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using 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. A 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.

[0445] 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 the 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.

[0446] In one or more example aspects, the function may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the function may be stored on a computer-readable medium or sent via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. Exemplarily and not restrictively, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, and any other medium that can also be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and 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 coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, 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. Disk and disc, as used herein, 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.

[0447] 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 singular form, plural forms may also be considered unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular form.

Claims

1. A method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving assistance data for use in positioning procedures; obtaining a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data; as well as Enabling determination of a location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and The time difference indicates a number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, The single PRS resource comprises at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and The at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and The time difference indicates the number of time slots between the different time slots. 7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have the same comb pattern.

8. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources.

9. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources, and The second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be sent by the at least one TRP with phase coherence.

11. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: A capability message is sent to a location server, wherein the capability message indicates an ability of the UE to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources.

12. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first phase measurement is a first phase of a first linear average of a first channel response of a first path delay of a PRS resource element of the first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and The second phase measurement is a second phase of a second linear average of a second channel response of a second path delay of the PRS resource elements of the second symbol of the one or more PRS resources.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol, and the time difference.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A capability message is sent to a location server, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, to report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling determination of the location of the UE comprises: The frequency offset measurement is reported to a location server to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and The frequency offset measurements are reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein reporting the frequency offset measurement comprises: reporting a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources; as well as One or more second frequency offset measurements for one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources are reported.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: A capability message is sent to the location server, the capability message indicating a capability of the UE to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling determination of the location of the UE comprises: The position of the UE is determined based on the frequency offset measurement and the ephemeris information of the at least one TRP.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: A capability message is sent to a location server, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the frequency offset measurement is reported in the form of: As a unitless normalized value, In parts per million (ppm), In units of speed, In frequency units, or As the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the expected frequency offset measurement received in the assistance data.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the assistance data includes a range and a resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band, or per frequency layer.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein: The assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP in ppm, and The UE converts the range and the resolution into a range and a resolution per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The range and resolution of the frequency offset measurement are determined based on the orbit of the at least one TRP.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the assistance data is received from: a location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or The base station in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by the base station.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

29. A positioning method performed by a network entity, the method comprising: Sending assistance data for positioning procedures to a user equipment (UE); receiving, from the UE, frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit reception point (TRP); and A location of the UE is determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein: The first symbol and the second symbol are in the same time slot, and The time difference indicates a number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein: The one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, The single PRS resource comprises at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and The at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein: The first symbol and the second symbol are in different time slots, and The time difference indicates the number of time slots between the different time slots.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different time slots have the same comb pattern.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein: The first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources.

37. The method of claim 30, wherein: The first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources, and The second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second PRS resource is different from the first PRS resource.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the auxiliary data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be sent by the at least one TRP having phase coherence.

39. The method of claim 30, further comprising: A capability message is received from the UE, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource of the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources of the one or more PRS resources.

40. The method of claim 30, wherein the assistance data comprises an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol, and the time difference.

41. The method of claim 29, further comprising: A capability message is received from the UE, the capability message indicating the UE's ability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) location procedure, to report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

42. The method of claim 29, wherein the positioning procedure is a FDOA positioning procedure.

43. The method of claim 29, wherein: The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and The frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

44. The method of claim 29, wherein receiving the frequency offset measurement comprises: receiving a first frequency offset measurement of a first dominant path of the one or more PRS resources; as well as One or more second frequency offset measurements are received for one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising: A capability message is received from the UE, the capability message indicating a capability of the UE to report the one or more second frequency offset measurements.

46. ​​The method of claim 29, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising: A capability message is received from the UE, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to obtain the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources.

48. The method of claim 29, wherein the frequency offset measurement is received in the form of: As a unitless normalized value, In parts per million (ppm), In units of speed, In frequency units, or As the difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement sent to the UE in the assistance data.

49. The method of claim 29, wherein: The assistance data includes a range and a resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band or per frequency layer, or The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement per TRP in ppm.

50. The method of claim 29, wherein sending the assistance data comprises: sending the assistance data in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; or The assistance data is broadcast in one or more Positioning System Information Blocks (posSIBs).

51. The method of claim 29, wherein the at least one TRP comprises at least one space vehicle.

52. The method of claim 29, wherein the network entity is a location server.

53. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) 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: receiving, via the at least one transceiver, assistance data for a positioning procedure; obtaining a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data; as well as Enabling determination of a location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

54. The UE of claim 53, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

55. The UE of claim 53, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A capability message is sent to a location server via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, to report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

56. The UE of claim 53, wherein the at least one processor configured to enable determination of the location of the UE comprises the at least one processor configured to: The frequency offset measurement is reported to a location server via the at least one transceiver to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE.

57. The UE of claim 56, wherein: The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and The frequency offset measurements are reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

58. The UE of claim 53, wherein the frequency offset measurement is reported in the following form: As a unitless normalized value, In parts per million (ppm), In units of speed, In frequency units, or As the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the expected frequency offset measurement received in the assistance data.

59. A network entity, the 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: sending assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver; receiving, from the UE via the at least one transceiver, frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit reception point (TRP); and A location of the UE is determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

60. The network entity of claim 59, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

61. The network entity of claim 59, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A capability message is received from the UE via the at least one transceiver, the capability message indicating an ability of the UE to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) location procedure, to report the frequency offset measurement, or both.

62. The network entity of claim 59, wherein: The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and The frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

63. The network entity of claim 59, wherein the frequency offset measurement is received in the form of: As a unitless normalized value, In parts per million (ppm), In units of speed, In frequency units, or As the difference between an actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and an expected frequency offset measurement sent to the UE in the assistance data.

64. The network entity of claim 59, wherein the at least one processor configured to send the assistance data comprises the at least one processor configured to: transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, the assistance data in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; or The assistance data is broadcast via the at least one transceiver in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs).

65. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: means for receiving auxiliary data for use in a positioning procedure; means for obtaining frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data; and Means for enabling determination of a position of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

66. A network entity, the network entity comprising: means for sending assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); means for receiving, from the UE, frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit reception point (TRP); and Means for determining a location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

67. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receiving assistance data for use in positioning procedures; obtaining frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data; and Enabling determination of a location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

68. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to: Sending assistance data for positioning procedures to a user equipment (UE); receiving, from the UE, frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit reception point (TRP); and A location of the UE is determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

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