Resolving frequency conflicts between multiple network operators

Abstract

The disclosure relates to resolving frequency conflicts between multiple network operators. Apparatuses, systems, and methods are described for a wireless device to avoid reselection or handover to cells of different operators. The wireless device may be attached to a first base station of a first network operator. The wireless device may determine that a neighboring base station is associated with a second network operator. Based on determining that the neighboring base station is associated with the second network operator, the wireless device may exclude the third base station from handover or reselection.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of an invention patent application with an application date of August 7, 2018, application number 201880096420.0, and titled “Solving Frequency Conflicts between Multiple Network Operators”. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to wireless devices, and more particularly to apparatus, systems and methods for resolving frequency conflicts between multiple network operators. Background Art

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. There are many different wireless communication technologies and standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi and WiGig), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), Bluetooth, etc.

[0004] As wireless communication technologies become more prevalent, wireless devices increasingly include multiple antennas and / or multiple radio components to implement various wireless communication technologies. Some standards (eg, the latest versions of IEEE 802.11ad and 802.11ay) use directional wireless technology to improve system performance.

[0005] In addition, wireless communication technology has evolved from voice-only communications to also include the transmission of data, such as the Internet and multimedia content. In addition, interference and conflicts between transmissions of one or more radio access technologies (RATs) are increasingly likely (e.g., in unlicensed spectrum). For example, conflicts may occur between transmissions (e.g., between 5G / cellular transmissions and / or wireless local area network (WLAN) transmissions). Interference and conflicts may degrade the wireless ecosystem and result in negative impacts on users of, for example, both RATs. Therefore, improvements in the art are desired. Summary of the invention

[0006] Embodiments are directed to apparatus, systems, and methods for resolving frequency conflicts among multiple network operators.

[0007] A wireless device or UE may communicate with a first base station of a first network operator. For example, the wireless device may be attached or camped on the first base station.

[0008] While attached to the first base station, the wireless device may perform measurements of a plurality of neighboring base stations including a second base station of the first network operator and a third base station of the second network operator.

[0009] The wireless device may determine that the third base station is associated with the second network operator.For example, the wireless device may read an information block, such as a system information block 1 (SIB1) of the third base station, and determine that the network operator identity of the third cell is the second network operator.

[0010] Based on determining that the third base station is associated with the second network operator, the wireless device may exclude the third base station from the measurement report.

[0011] The wireless device may then provide a measurement report to the first base station, wherein the measurement report includes the measurement values ​​of the second base station and excludes the measurement values ​​of the third base station.

[0012] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of base stations, cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and various other computing devices.

[0013] The present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the themes described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be interpreted as narrowing the scope or essence of the themes described in this invention in any way. Other features, aspects and advantages of the themes described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings.

[0015] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 2 A base station (BS) and an access point (AP) are shown in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0018] Figure 4 An example block diagram of a BS / AP is shown according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 5 An example block diagram of cellular communication circuitry is shown according to some embodiments.

[0020] Fig. 6A An example of connections between an EPC network, an LTE base station (eNB), and a 5G NR base station (gNB) according to some embodiments is shown.

[0021] Figure 6B Examples of protocol stacks for eNB and gNB are shown according to some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 7 An exemplary network environment involving potential conflicts between cells of different network operators is shown according to some embodiments.

[0023] Figure 8 A message flow diagram related to handover to a cell of a different network operator having the same identity is shown according to some embodiments.

[0024] Fig. 9 An exemplary method for avoiding reselection or handover to a cell of a different network operator on a similar frequency is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0025] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, their purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] the term

[0027] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0028] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or their combination. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system through a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, through a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0029] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transport signals such as electrical, electromagnetic or digital signals.

[0030] Programmable hardware element - includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (field programmable gate array), PLD (programmable logic device), FPOA (field programmable object array), and CPLD (complex PLD). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic unit or lookup table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units".

[0031] Computer System - Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0032] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transported by a user and capable of wireless communication. A UE capable of operating according to the 5G standard may be referred to as a new radio unit (NRU).

[0033] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0034] Processing element - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0035] Channel - a medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22 MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0036] Band—The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0037] Automatic—refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the need for user input to directly specify or perform the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatic" is in contrast to a user manually performing or specifying an action, where the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0038] Approximately - refers to a value that is close to a correct or exact value. For example, approximately can refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of an exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold value may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0039] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism", where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0040] IEEE 802.11-refers to technology based on IEEE 802.11 wireless standards, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11-2012, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, and / or other IEEE 802.11 standards. IEEE 802.11 technology may also be referred to as "Wi-Fi" or "wireless local area network (WLAN)" technology.

[0041] Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently performing the task, the component can be configured to perform the task (for example, a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some environments, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a circuit system that performs one or more tasks during operation." Thus, even when the component is not currently turned on, the component can be configured to perform the task. Typically, the circuits that form the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuits.

[0042] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) interpretation of that component.

[0043] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Communications systems

[0044] Figure 1 A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of possible systems, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0045] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B to user equipment 106N, etc. through a transmission medium. Each of the user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE) or a "new radio unit" (NRU). Therefore, the user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE, a UE device, or an NRU.

[0046] Base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site (cellular base station) and may include hardware to enable wireless communications with UEs 106A through 106N.

[0047] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), and the like. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0048] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102A may provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0049] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0050] Thus, although base station 102A may function as Figure 1 106A-N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any various other granularity of service area size. For example, in Figure 1 The base stations 102A-B shown in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0051] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NG core (NGC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transmission and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0052] In some embodiments, the base station 102A may be (or may include) an access point (AP). The base station 102A may be capable of communicating using one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) communication standards. For example, the base station 102A may be capable of communicating using the IEEE 802.11 standard (e.g., Wi-Fi).

[0053] It should be noted that the UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), the UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, the UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0054] Figure 2 A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A-106N) is shown in communication with base station 102 and access point 104 according to some embodiments. UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet computer, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0055] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0056] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0057] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0058] The access point 104 may be an access point that provides a wireless local area network (WLAN). The access point 104 may be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., in various possibilities, a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet). Thus, the access point 104 may facilitate communication between UEs 106 and / or between UEs 106 and the network 100. The access point 104 and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using Wi-Fi, including any of the various versions of IEEE 802.11 (e.g., a, b, g, n, ac, ad, ay, wake-up radio (WUR), etc.).

[0059] In some embodiments, the WLAN may be an ad hoc network, for example, using a personal basic service set (PBSS) architecture, for example, as defined in IEEE 802.11ad. In this case, the role of the access point 104 may be performed by a UE device (e.g., one of the UEs 106) acting as a PBSS control point (PCP). For convenience, the terms "access point" and "AP / PCP" may be used herein to include an access point or a PCP.

[0060] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0061] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to an embodiment, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a new radio unit (NRU), a mobile device or a mobile station (STA), a wireless device or a wireless station, a desktop computer or a computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, a notebook computer or a portable computing device), a tablet computer and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 may be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 300 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0062] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; an input device such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; an output device such as a speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuitry 330 (such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc.), and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TM and WLAN circuitry (eg, IEEE 802.11, Wi-Fi). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0063] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336 as shown. The antennas may be grouped into any number of antenna arrays, each of which may include any number of antennas. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338 as shown, which may also be grouped into antenna arrays. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to antennas 335 and 336 in addition to or as an alternative to being coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to antennas 337 and 338. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0064] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0065] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0066] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 having SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 345 .

[0067] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 306, a read-only memory (ROM) 350, a NAND flash memory 310)) and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 304, the short-range wireless communication circuit 229, the cellular communication circuit 330, the connector I / F 320, and / or the display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0068] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. The communication device 106 may be configured to transmit a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT and to transmit an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT. The wireless device may also be configured to transmit a request to attach to a second network node. The request may include an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first and second network nodes. In addition, the wireless device may be configured to receive an indication that a dual connection with the first network node and the second network node has been established.

[0069] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features for time-division multiplexing UL data for NSA NR operation. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention.

[0070] In addition, as described in the present invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0071] In addition, as described herein, both the cellular communication circuit 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuit 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 230. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 32. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329.

[0072] Figure 4 – Block diagram of a base station / access point

[0073] Figure 4 1 shows an example block diagram of a base station 102 / access point 104 according to some embodiments. For convenience, the term base station is used Figure 4 The rest of the description. Note that Figure 4The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0074] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a network (eg, a telephone network and / or the Internet) and provide access to the network as described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Multiple devices of the network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0075] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0076] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or to an NG Core (NGC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0077] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5GNR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0078] Base station (BS) 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communications according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and WLAN / Wi-Fi, LTE and WLAN / Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0079] As further described later herein, the base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the features described herein.

[0080] In addition, as described herein, processor 404 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 404. Therefore, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0081] Additionally, as described herein, radio 430 may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio 430. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0082] Figure 5 : Block diagram of a cellular communication circuit

[0083] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit of is only one example of one possible cellular communication circuit. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106, BS 102, or AP 104 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, an NRU, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0084] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 3 335a-335b and 336 shown in the figure). Any number of antennas may be included in each of one or more antenna arrays. An antenna switch block (not shown) may be included to switch between antennas and / or antenna arrays. Multiple antennas may be used for single or multiple spatial streams (e.g., directional streams or beams for transmission and reception, such as Tx beams or Rx beams). Therefore, the wireless device may be able to communicate according to a standard (e.g., 5G) that includes directional functionality. Similarly, the wireless device may also be able to implement directional multi-gigabit (DMG) or enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) functionality (such as IEEE 802.11ad and ay). The device may use multiple different antenna patterns (e.g., within a single array or possibly multiple antenna arrays) to transmit / receive different directional sectors / beams. The device may scan through the beams and attempt to select a preferred / optimal beam (e.g., which provides the best transmission / reception characteristics).

[0085] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include modem 510 and modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as, for example, LTE or LTE-A, and modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as, for example, 5G NR.

[0086] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0087] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0088] In some embodiments, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0089] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be configured to establish a first wireless link with a first cell according to a first radio access technology (RAT), wherein the first cell operates in a first system bandwidth, and to establish a second wireless link with a second cell according to a second RAT, wherein the second cell operates in a second system bandwidth. The first system bandwidth and the second system bandwidth may be the same, they may be independent, or they may overlap. In addition, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be configured to determine whether the cellular communication circuit 330 system has uplink activity scheduled according to both the first RAT and the second RAT, and if the uplink activity is scheduled according to both the first RAT and the second RAT, the uplink activity of both the first RAT and the second RAT is performed by time division multiplexing (TDM) the uplink data of the first RAT and the uplink data of the second RAT. In some embodiments, in order to perform uplink activities of both the first RAT and the second RAT by time division multiplexing (TDM) uplink data of the first RAT and uplink data of the second RAT when the uplink activities are scheduled according to both the first RAT and the second RAT, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be configured to receive an allocation of a first UL subframe for transmission according to the first RAT and an allocation of a second UL subframe for transmission according to the second RAT. In some embodiments, the TDM of the uplink data may be performed at the physical layer of the cellular communication circuit 330. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may also be configured to receive an allocation of a portion of each UL subframe for control signaling according to one of the first RAT or the second RAT.

[0090] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features or for time-division multiplexing UL data for NSA NR operations and various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0091] In addition, as described herein, processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 512.

[0092] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features of UL data for time-division multiplexing NSA NR operations and various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0093] In addition, as described herein, processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 522.

[0094] It should be understood that the circuits shown are exemplary only. In some embodiments, different numbers of modems, RF front ends, DL front ends, UL front ends, switches and / or antennas are possible and can be configured as desired.

[0095] Figure 6A-6B : 5GNR non-standalone (NSA) operation with LTE

[0096] In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communications will initially be deployed concurrently with current wireless communications standards (e.g., LTE). For example, dual connectivity between LTE and 5G New Radio (5G NR or NR) has been specified as part of the initial deployment of NR. Figure 6A-6BAs shown, the evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate with the current LTE base station (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, the eNB 602 may communicate with the 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), and data may be transferred between the EPC network 600 and the gNB 604. Thus, the EPC network 600 may be used (or reused), and the gNB 604 may serve as additional capacity for the user equipment, for example, to provide increased downlink throughput for the UE. In other words, LTE may be used for control plane signaling, and NR may be used for user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish a connection with the network, and NR may be used for data services.

[0097] Figure 6B The proposed protocol stack for the eNB 602 and the gNB 604 is shown. As shown, the eNB 602 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer 632 that interfaces with the radio link control (RLC) layers 622a-622b. The RLC layer 622a may also interface with the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer 612a, and the RLC layer 622b may interface with the PDCP layer 612b. Similar to the dual connectivity specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12, the PDCP layer 612a may interface with the EPC network 600 via a master cell group (MCG) bearer, while the PDCP layer 612b may interface with the EPC network 600 via a separate bearer.

[0098] In addition, as shown, the gNB 604 may include a MAC layer 634 that interfaces with the RLC layers 624a-b. The RLC layer 624a may interface with the PDCP layer 622b of the eNB 602 via an X2 interface for information exchange and / or coordination (e.g., scheduling UEs) between the eNB 602 and the gNB 604. In addition, the RLC layer 624b may interface with the PDCP layer 614. Similar to the dual connectivity specified in Advanced LTE Release 12, the PDCP layer 614 may interface with the EPC network 600 via a secondary cell group (SCG) bearer. Thus, the eNB 602 may be considered a master node (MeNB) and the gNB 604 may be considered a secondary node (SgNB). In some cases, the UE may be required to maintain a connection with both the MeNB and the SgNB. In such a case, the MeNB may be used to maintain a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the EPC, while the SgNB may be used for capacity (e.g., additional downlink and / or uplink throughput).

[0099] In general, non-standalone (NSA) implementations employ dual connectivity in both uplink (UL) and downlink (DL). In other words, dual connectivity requires two active radio links in both UL and DL. In some embodiments, depending on the band combination, two (substantially) parallel UL connections may result in reduced receiver sensitivity at the UE. For example, in some proposed implementations, the UE may be required to support 4 DL and 1 UL connections in LTE on bands 1 (UL: 1920-1980 MHz, DL: 2110-2170 MHz), 3 (UL: 1710-1785 MHz, DL: 1805-1880 MHz), 7 (UL: 2500-2570 MHz, DL: 2620-2690 MHz), and 20 (UL: 832-862 MHz, DL: 791-821 MHz), while (substantially) supporting 1 DL and 1 UL connection in NR at 3400-3800 MHz in parallel. In such implementations, the fifth-order intermodulation products (IM5) generated by the second-order harmonics of LTE UL Band 3 and NR UL at the UE's 5G NR transmitter may fall into the LTE's DL Band 7 frequency during (substantially) simultaneous UL operations. Similarly, the fourth-order harmonics of LTE UL Band 20 and NR UL transmissions may generate fifth-order intermodulation products that may interfere with and thereby desensitize LTE DL Band 7 reception.

[0100] In addition, future specifications NR NSA may require UEs to support coexistence of LTE UL and NR UL within the bandwidth of an LTE component carrier, and coexistence of LTE DL and NR DL within the bandwidth of an LTE component carrier. In addition, this implementation may also be required to minimize the impact on the NR physical layer design to enable such coexistence and not affect LTE legacy devices (e.g., devices that do not support NR) operating on LTE carriers coexisting with NR.

[0101] Thus, in some implementations of NR NSA, a UE may be configured with multiple UL carriers on different frequencies (e.g., where there is at least one LTE carrier and at least one NR carrier of a different carrier frequency), but operating on either an LTE carrier or an NR carrier at a given time. In other words, a UE may be configured to operate on only one of these carriers between a pair of LTE and NR carriers at a given time. Note that such implementations may also allow for (substantially) simultaneous operation on two or more UL carriers at a given time.

[0102] In some embodiments, a UE such as a communication device 106 may support coexistence of LTE and NR on specific bands and / or frequencies. In addition, the UE may determine that for a band combination, UL sharing in NSA mode may be required to avoid receiver desensitization. Therefore, the UE may need to inform the network that the UL sharing mode will be used for the LTE / NR band combination. In some embodiments, a conditional field may be added to the UE capability message. The conditional field may indicate whether the UL sharing mode will be used for the allocated band combination. In addition, the conditional field may indicate the band / frequency that the UE supports NSA operation. It should also be noted that in some embodiments, for example, as further described below, the UE may be configured to perform NSA operation via time division multiplexing (TDM). However, in other embodiments, the UE may be configured to perform NSA operation via other mechanisms such as frequency division multiplexing (FDM) or MAC layer multiplexing.

[0103] Multiple network operators using similar frequencies

[0104] In licensed spectrum, it is not possible for multiple network operators to share the same frequencies in a region because each network operator has a different allocated frequency. However, for unlicensed spectrum (e.g., under NR-U), multiple network operators may share the same spectrum or use the same or overlapping frequencies.

[0105] Figure 7 An exemplary wireless environment with overlapping cells of different network operators or public land mobile networks (PLMNs) is shown. As shown, cells 1 and 2 are associated with a first PLMN, while cell 3 (which overlaps with cells 1 and 2) is associated with a second PLMN. In this embodiment, cell 3 has a frequency that overlaps with cell 1 and / or cell 2.

[0106] Currently, cell reselection does not require checking the identity of the target cell's network operator, since in the licensed spectrum the same frequency range will necessarily belong to the same network operator. However, since different network operators may use the same frequencies in the unlicensed spectrum (e.g. Figure 7 As shown in FIG. 4 , such reselection behavior may cause the UE to perform reselection of a cell of a network operator different from the source cell, resulting in failed reselection and poor user experience.

[0107] Additionally, according to current standards (e.g., within TS 38.304), the UE may operate in the following manner: "If the highest ranked cell or best cell according to the absolute priority reselection rule is an intra-frequency cell or inter-frequency cell that is unsuitable due to belonging to a PLMN that is not indicated as equivalent to the registered PLMN, the UE shall not consider this cell and other cells on the same frequency as candidates for reselection for a maximum of 300 seconds." Thus, a failed reselection to a cell of a different PLMN may result in preventing the UE (if following current standards) from reselecting to any other cell within the same frequency range. Figure 7 For example, a failed reselection from cell 1 to cell 3 may result in a 300 second lock on the reselection from cell 1 to cell 2. This problem may be addressed according to a number of different implementations.

[0108] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to identify the network operator (e.g., PLMN or EPLMN) of the target cell in order to avoid reselecting to a different network operator (e.g., different from the network operator of the origin cell and / or different from the operator to which the UE is a subscriber). For example, the UE may be configured to read SIB1 to identify the identity of the network operator of the potential target cell. The UE may be configured to read SIB1 at any of various points during the reselection process. For example, the UE may read SIB1 to determine the network operator identity before any cell ranking of the target cell for reselection, thereby limiting the ranked cells to only those cells with the same network operator (or the network operator to which the UE subscribes). Alternatively, the UE may read SIB1 of a neighboring or potential target cell while Tresel is running, for example, in order to avoid delayed reselection due to the duration of the SIB1 reading. According to this embodiment, the UE will again avoid selecting cells of disallowed network operators, for example, by removing any target cells of disallowed network operators from the ranking list.

[0109] In some embodiments, the network operator may assist the UE in avoiding cells of different network operators. For example, the network operator may transmit a blacklist containing the identities of cells belonging to different network operators (e.g., via the origin cell). The network may be able to do so by collecting cell information of neighboring cells (such as PCI (physical cell identity) and / or CGI / NCGI (cell global identification / NR cell global identification)), for example using automatic neighbor cell relations (ANR). When collecting this information, the network may identify cells belonging to other network operators and add those cells to the blacklist (e.g., adding PCI and / or NCGI to the blacklist). Therefore, the UE may be configured to use a blacklist to avoid reselecting to those cells, for example, by removing them from consideration, ensuring that they are not ranked during the reselection process, or any other appropriate method.

[0110] In some implementations, when the UE inadvertently reselects to a cell of a different network operator, the UE may immediately reselect to a different cell from the ranked list, rather than following the 300 second lock period specified by the standard.

[0111] Another similar problem may occur when there is an identity conflict between cells of different network operators. For example, a cell of a first network operator and a cell of a second network operator may have the same PCI and have the same or overlapping frequencies, e.g. Figure 7 Cell 2 and cell 3 may have the same PCI. Figure 8 The message flow diagram is shown in FIG.

[0112] Similar to the above case, for example, during radio resource management (RRM) measurements, the UE may not read the SIB1 of the target cell to identify the network operator. Therefore, the UE may report the PCI of the neighboring cell 3 belonging to a different network operator to the serving cell. However, in this case, the reported PCI of the neighboring cell 3 is the same as the PCI of the neighboring cell 2, which is the same network operator as cell 1. Therefore, serving cell 1 may assume and start handover preparation for cell 2, even if the UE is actually measuring / targeting the neighboring cell 3 of a different operator for handover. Therefore, the UE cannot access neighboring cell 3, for example, due to a RACH failure when attempting to attach to a network operator to which it is not subscribed. In addition, because cell 3 is ranked higher than cell 2 for handover, the UE may not be able to handover to cell 2, for example, because the signal of cell 2 is too weak. Therefore, attempting to attach to cell 2 (for example, after failing to attach to cell 3) may result in a RACH failure.

[0113] In some embodiments, similar to the above embodiments, the UE may be configured to read SIB1 to obtain network operator information of neighboring cells (e.g., during RRM measurements). Thus, the UE may be configured to determine the network operator identity in order to avoid measurements and / or attempts to switch to unallowed network operators. In some embodiments, in order to speed up PLMN reading, NCGI and / or network operator specific information may be specified in SSB (synchronization signal block) or special reference signal (RS) or MIB (master information block) transmission. Similar to the above, although the network operator identity information may be read during RRM measurements, the information may also be read at any other feasible time. For example, the UE may be configured to identify the network operator (e.g., by reading SIB1) when the trigger time (TTT) is running. For example, if the UE identifies that the network operator is different from its network operator (e.g., the network operator of the originating cell), the UE may cancel the TTT and not trigger the transmission of the measurement report of the neighboring cell. This may mean that the UE does not have to wait for the start of the TTT (e.g., by reading SIB1 before starting the TTT).

[0114] In addition, it is possible that a threshold (e.g., specified by the network) may be used to read the network operator identity information of the target cell. The threshold may keep the measurement delay within a tolerable range and produce an acceptable idle mode measurement and / or SIB reading load on the UE. In one embodiment, the threshold may be based on the absolute value of the RSRP / RSRQ value of the neighboring cell. Thus, the UE may only read the network identity information (e.g., in SIB1) of neighboring cells having an RSRP / RSRQ amount above the absolute threshold. Alternatively or in addition, the threshold may be based on the relative increment of the RSRP / RSRQ value of the neighboring cell. Thus, the UE may only read the network identity information of neighboring cells on the current serving cell having an RSRP / RSRQ increment above the relative increment threshold.

[0115] In some embodiments, a validity timer (eg, configured by the network) may be used for reading the network identity (eg, SIB1) of a neighboring cell. After the timer expires, the UE may need to reacquire the network identity (eg, SIB 1) of the neighboring cell.

[0116] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to switch to a cell of another network operator (e.g., Figure 7 and Figure 8The UE may be configured to indicate the HOF cause as a PCI conflict between two different network operators. At the same time, the reporting UE may be configured to prohibit the cell for a certain duration (e.g., which may be fixed or configured by the network as needed). The network may be configured to resolve the conflict (e.g., by assigning a new PCI to the neighboring cell 2) and / or provide information to the UE in the area to avoid handover to the neighboring cell 3.

[0117] Figure 9 - Avoid reselecting a base station from a different network operator

[0118] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method for avoiding reselection or handover to a base station of a different network operator. Fig. 9 Various aspects of the method may be implemented by a wireless device, a base station, and / or a network, such as the UE 106, BS 102, and / or network 100 (e.g., 5G AMF) shown and described with respect to the various figures herein, or more generally, in addition to other devices, may be implemented in conjunction with any of the computer systems or devices shown in the above figures as needed. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown, Fig. 9 The method can be operated as follows.

[0119] A wireless device or UE may communicate with a first base station of a first network operator at 902. For example, the wireless device may be attached or camped on the first base station.

[0120] In 904, while attached to the first base station, the wireless device may perform measurements of a plurality of neighboring base stations, including a second base station of the first network operator and a third base station of the second network operator. The measurements may be performed in response to any of a variety of triggers, as desired. For example, the signal quality of the first base station may fall below a measurement threshold. Alternatively or in addition, the measurements may be performed based on a schedule or in response to completion of a timer.

[0121] In 906, the wireless device may determine that the third base station is associated with the second network operator. For example, the wireless device may read an information block, such as a system information block 1 (SIB1) of the third base station, and determine that the network operator identity of the third base station is the second network operator. Reading the information block may include determining the PCI or NCGI of the third base station. As described above, in some embodiments, the NCGI and / or network operator specific information may be provided in and / or read from information in an SSB or special RS or MIB transmission. Thus, the network operator identity may be determined from any number of locations.

[0122] In some embodiments, the determination in 906 may be performed as part of the measurement in 904 or later. For example, in one embodiment, the wireless device may always perform the determination before the cell ranking (and thus only rank valid cells). As another example, the measurement may be associated with reselection and 906 may be performed during the reselection timer. Alternatively, the measurement may be associated with handover and 906 may be performed during TTT. In addition, the determination may be performed in the case where the second base station and the third base station have the same PCI, as discussed above.

[0123] Note that 906 may also be applied to the second base station, except that the wireless device determines that the second base station is associated with the first network operator. Thus, the determination of the associated network identity may be performed for all or a subset of the neighboring base stations selected for measurement. However, in some embodiments, the identification may be performed only for base stations that meet a threshold quality level. For example, an absolute or relative signal quality threshold may be used to determine whether to determine the network operator identity of a corresponding base station in the measurement list.

[0124] As another possibility, the wireless device may receive and / or use a blacklist broadcasted by the first network operator (e.g., via the first base station) instead of reading the specific information broadcasted by the third base station. The blacklist may identify the third base station (e.g., by its PCI) as belonging to a different network operator, thereby allowing the wireless device to use the blacklist to avoid reporting those invalid base stations in measurement reports or reselecting to those invalid base stations.

[0125] In 908, the wireless device may exclude the third base station from reselection or handover. For example, for handover, the wireless device may exclude the third base station from the measurement report. For example, the wireless device may provide a measurement report to the first base station, wherein the measurement report includes measurement values ​​of the second base station and excludes measurement values ​​of the third base station.

[0126] It is noted that excluding the third base station may occur at any of various points in the process. For example, the third base station may be removed before ranking the measured neighboring base stations. Alternatively or in addition, the base station may be removed at a later point, such as when it is determined in 906 that the third base station is associated with the second network operator. As a specific example, if the wireless device determines that the third base station is associated with the second network operator during the TTT, the wireless device may cancel the TTT and may not trigger a measurement report of the third base station.

[0127] In 910, the wireless device may perform a handover or reselection to a base station other than the third base station (eg, the second base station).

[0128] In some embodiments, in the event that the wireless device has switched or reselected a base station (e.g., a third base station) that is not a network operator to which the wireless device subscribes (e.g., a network operator different from that of the first base station), the wireless device may immediately switch to a base station of a valid network operator (e.g., the next valid base station in the ranked list). The wireless device may also report a failed switch to the network.

[0129] Implementation

[0130] The following paragraphs present exemplary, non-limiting embodiments corresponding to various parts of the description provided above.

[0131] In one embodiment, an apparatus configured for inclusion in a wireless device comprises: one or more processing elements, wherein the one or more processing elements are configured to: communicate with a first base station of a first network operator; measure multiple neighboring base stations, including a second base station of the first network operator and a third base station of the second network operator; decode a first system information block (SIB) of the third base station; determine that the third base station is associated with the second network operator based on decoding the first SIB; exclude the third base station from switching or reselection based on determining that the third base station is associated with the second network operator; and perform switching or reselection excluding the third base station.

[0132] In some embodiments, excluding the third base station from switching or reselection includes excluding the third base station from a measurement report, wherein the one or more processing elements are further configured to provide the measurement report to the first base station.

[0133] In some embodiments, the one or more processing elements are further configured to: perform a handover from the first base station to the second base station based on the measurement report.

[0134] In some embodiments, the measurement is associated with reselection, wherein the one or more processing elements are further configured to: perform reselection of the second base station based on the measurement.

[0135] In some embodiments, decoding the first SIB of the third base station is performed before cell ranking of the plurality of neighboring base stations.

[0136] In some embodiments, the decoding of the first SIB of the third base station is performed during a reselection timer.

[0137] In some embodiments, the decoding of the first SIB of the third base station is performed during radio resource management (RRM) measurements.

[0138] In some embodiments, the decoding of the first SIB of the third base station is performed during a time to trigger (TTT) timer.

[0139] In some embodiments, the first SIB is SIB1.

[0140] In some embodiments, the decoding of the first SIB of the third base station is based on comparing a signal quality of the third base station to a signal quality threshold.

[0141] In some embodiments, the wireless device includes: an antenna; a radio component coupled to the antenna; and a processing element coupled to the radio component, wherein the processing element is configured to: attach to a first base station associated with a first network operator; read a first information block (IB) of a second base station; determine that the second base station is associated with a second network operator different from the first network operator; based on determining that the second base station is associated with the second network operator, exclude the second base station for switching or reselection; and perform switching or reselection to a third base station associated with the first network operator.

[0142] In some embodiments, said reading the first IB and said determining that the second base station is associated with the second network operator are performed before a timer associated with reselection or handover.

[0143] In some embodiments, the reading the first IB is performed during a measurement process.

[0144] In some embodiments, said reading the first IB and said determining that the second base station is associated with the second network operator are performed after starting a timer associated with reselection or handover.

[0145] In some embodiments, the first IB is SIB1.

[0146] In some embodiments, a method for operating a wireless device, the method comprising: at the wireless device: communicating with a first base station of a first network operator; performing measurements of multiple neighboring base stations, including a second base station of the first network operator and a third base station of the second network operator; determining that the third base station is associated with the second network operator; based on determining that the third base station is associated with the second network operator, excluding the third base station from reselection; and performing reselection of the second base station based on excluding the third base station from reselection.

[0147] In some embodiments, determining that the third base station is associated with the second network operator includes reading a system information block 1 (SIB1) of the third base station.

[0148] In some embodiments, determining that the third base station is associated with the second network operator is performed when performing measurements of the third base station.

[0149] In some embodiments, said determining that the third base station is associated with the second network operator is performed after performing measurements of the third base station.

[0150] In some embodiments, determining that the third base station is associated with the second network operator includes receiving a base station blacklist from the first network operator, wherein the base station blacklist includes the third base station.

[0151] A method comprising any act or combination of acts as substantially described herein in the detailed description and claims.

[0152] A method as substantially described herein, with reference to each or any combination of the drawings contained herein, with reference to each or any combination of the paragraphs in the detailed description, with reference to each or any combination of the drawings and / or the detailed description, or with reference to each or any combination of the claims.

[0153] A wireless device configured to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the detailed description, drawings, and / or claims.

[0154] A wireless device comprising any component or combination of components as described herein in the detailed description and / or drawings as included in the wireless device.

[0155] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause performance of any act or combination of acts as substantially described herein in the detailed description and / or accompanying drawings.

[0156] An integrated circuit configured to perform any act or combination of acts as substantially described herein in the detailed description and / or accompanying drawings.

[0157] A mobile station configured to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the detailed description and / or accompanying drawings.

[0158] A mobile station comprising any component or combination of components as described herein in the detailed description and / or drawings as included in a mobile station.

[0159] A mobile device configured to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the detailed description and / or accompanying drawings.

[0160] A mobile device comprising any component or combination of components as described herein in the detailed description and / or drawings as included in a mobile device.

[0161] A network node configured to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the detailed description and / or accompanying drawings.

[0162] A network node comprising any component or combination of components as described herein in the detailed description and / or drawings as included in a mobile device.

[0163] A base station configured to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the detailed description and / or accompanying drawings.

[0164] A base station includes any component or combination of components as described in the detailed description and / or drawings herein as included in a mobile device.

[0165] A 5G NR network node or base station, which is configured to perform any action or combination of actions substantially described in the detailed description and / or drawings herein.

[0166] A 5G NR network node or base station, comprising any components or combination of components as described in the detailed description and / or drawings herein as included in a mobile device.

[0167] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0168] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein or any combination of such subsets.

[0169] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any of the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0170] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A device, comprising: A processor configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, perform operations including: communicating with a first cell of a first public land mobile network PLMN; measuring a plurality of neighboring cells, including a second cell of the first PLMN and a third cell of a second PLMN, wherein the second cell of the first PLMN and the third cell of the second PLMN use a first frequency, wherein the second PLMN is not indicated as being identical to the first PLMN; When in licensed spectrum, based on the second PLMN not being indicated as being equivalent to the first PLMN and based on the second cell and the third cell using the first frequency, excluding cells on the first frequency from reselection, including the second cell and the third cell; and The reselection is performed excluding at least the third cell. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the third cell is a highest ranked cell based on the measurements.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: decoding a first system information block SIB of the third cell; and Determining that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN is based on decoding the first SIB.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN prior to cell ranking of the plurality of neighboring cells.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine, during a reselection timer, that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN during a radio resource management (RRM) measurement.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN during a time to trigger (TTT) timer.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to exclude the third cell from the reselection based on the second PLMN not being indicated as being equivalent to the first PLMN when in an unlicensed spectrum.

9. A wireless device, comprising: Wireless communication circuits; and a processor coupled to the wireless communication circuit, wherein the processor is configured to cause the wireless device to: communicating with a first cell of a first public land mobile network PLMN; measuring a plurality of neighboring cells, including a second cell of the first PLMN and a third cell of a second PLMN, wherein the second cell of the first PLMN and the third cell of the second PLMN use a first frequency, wherein the second PLMN is not indicated as being identical to the first PLMN; when in licensed spectrum, excluding a cell on the first frequency from reselection based on the second PLMN not being indicated as being equivalent to the first PLMN and based on the second cell and the third cell using the first frequency, including the second cell and the third cell; and The reselection is performed excluding at least the third cell.

10. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to: decoding a first system information block SIB of the third cell; and Determining that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN is based on decoding the first SIB.

11. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN prior to cell ranking of the plurality of neighboring cells.

12. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN during a reselection timer.

13. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN during a radio resource management (RRM) measurement.

14. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN during a time to trigger (TTT) timer.

15. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: communicating with a first cell of a first public land mobile network PLMN; measuring a plurality of neighboring cells, including a second cell of the first PLMN and a third cell of a second PLMN, wherein the second cell of the first PLMN and the third cell of the second PLMN use a first frequency, wherein the second PLMN is not indicated as being identical to the first PLMN; When in licensed spectrum, based on the second PLMN not being indicated as being equivalent to the first PLMN and based on the second cell and the third cell using the first frequency, excluding cells on the first frequency from reselection, including the second cell and the third cell; and The reselection is performed excluding at least the third cell.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the third cell is a highest ranked cell based on the measurements.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the method comprises: It is determined that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN based on reading a system information block 1 (SIB1) of the third cell.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the method comprises: When performing measurement of the third cell, it is determined that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the method comprises: After performing measurements of the third cell, it is determined that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the method comprises: Based on receiving a cell blacklist from the first PLMN, wherein the cell blacklist includes the third cell, it is determined that the third cell is associated with the second PLMN.

Images