Uplink dc location signaling optimization

Abstract

Techniques for reporting UL DC locations involve excluding UL DC locations when the UL DC locations are outside an area of interest of the network (e.g., outside a configured frequency range or outside a frequency range of the current serving cell). That is, the network may indicate to the UE in a request that they are provided only when the UL DC satisfies: 1) within a particular frequency range, or 2) outside the particular frequency range. The request may identify a criterion according to which the UL DC location will be excluded from the report.

Description

Related Applications

[0001] This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 363,437, filed on April 22, 2022, entitled “UPLINK DC POSITION SIGNALING OPTIMIZATION,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present description relates to telecommunication systems. Background Art

[0003] A communication system may be a facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed or mobile communication devices. Signals may be carried on wired or wireless carriers.

[0004] An example of a cellular communication system is an architecture standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Recent developments in this area are generally referred to as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. E-UTRA (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) is the air interface of the 3GPP's LTE upgrade path for mobile networks. In LTE, a base station or access point (AP) referred to as an enhanced node access point (eNB) provides wireless access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, a mobile device or mobile station is referred to as a user equipment (UE). LTE has included many improvements or developments.

[0005] For example, the global bandwidth shortage faced by wireless operators has prompted the consideration of using underutilized millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum for future broadband cellular communication networks. mmWave (or extremely high frequency) can include, for example, a frequency range between 30 and 300 gigahertz (GHz). The radio waves in this frequency band can, for example, have a wavelength from 10 to 1 mm, giving it the name millimeter wave band or millimeter wave. The amount of wireless data will likely increase significantly in the next few years. A variety of technologies have been used to try to meet this challenge, including obtaining more spectrum, having smaller cell sizes, and using improved technologies that achieve more bits / second / hertz. One factor that can be used to obtain more spectrum is to move to higher frequencies, such as above 6GHz. For the fifth generation wireless system (5G), an access architecture that deploys cellular radio equipment using mmWave radio spectrum has been proposed. Other example spectrums can also be used, such as centimeter wave radio spectrum (e.g., 3-30GHz). Summary of the invention

[0006] According to an example embodiment, a method includes: receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network from a network node in the wireless network, a request to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for the user equipment to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0007] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory containing computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to at least: transmit a request for providing the location of an uplink DC subcarrier by a network node in a wireless network to a group of user devices in the wireless network, the request identifying criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0008] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus includes: a component for receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, a request from a network node in the wireless network to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for the user equipment to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0009] According to an example embodiment, a computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium and stores executable code, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to cause the at least one data processing device to: transmit a request for providing the location of an uplink DC subcarrier by a network node in a wireless network to a group of user devices in the wireless network, the request identifying criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0010] According to an example embodiment, a method includes: a network node in a wireless network transmits a request to a group of user devices in the wireless network to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0011] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory containing computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to at least: transmit a request for providing the location of an uplink DC subcarrier by a network node in a wireless network to a group of user devices in the wireless network, the request identifying criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0012] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus includes: a network node in a wireless network transmits a request to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier to a group of user devices in the wireless network, the request identifying criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0013] According to an example embodiment, a computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium and stores executable code, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to: transmit, by a network node in a wireless network, to a group of user devices in the wireless network a request for providing the location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0014] The details of one or more example implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a digital communication network according to an example implementation.

[0016] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating direct current (DC) positions for different bandwidth parts (BWP) according to an example embodiment.

[0017] Figure 3A is a diagram showing a cell with four BWPs, each using a different DC position, according to an example embodiment.

[0018] Figure 3B is a diagram showing a cell with four BWPs, all using the same DC location, according to an example embodiment.

[0019] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating default DC positions and offsets according to an example implementation.

[0020] Figure 5 is a diagram showing which DC location information a UE needs to report or exclude from reporting according to an example embodiment.

[0021] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating per UE carrier numbering according to an example embodiment.

[0022] Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating a process of excluding DC locations from a report according to an example implementation.

[0023] Figure 8is a flow chart illustrating a process of excluding DC locations from a report according to an example implementation.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a node or wireless station (eg, a base station / access point, a relay node, or a mobile station / user equipment) according to an example embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and are helpful for those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the ways described below.

[0026] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "said" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that when used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "having", "having", "includes", and / or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0027] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a digital communication system such as wireless network 130 according to an example implementation. Figure 1 In a wireless network 130, user devices 131, 132, and 133, which may also be referred to as mobile stations (MS) or user equipment (UE), may be connected (and communicate) with a base station (BS) 134, which may also be referred to as an access point (AP), an enhanced Node B (eNB), a gNB (which may be a 5G base station), or a network node. At least a portion of the functionality of an access point (AP), a base station (BS), or an (e) Node B (eNB) may also be performed by any node, server, or host operably coupled to a transceiver (such as a remote radio head). BS (or AP) 134 provides wireless coverage within a cell 136, including user devices 131, 132, and 133. Although only three user devices are shown connected or attached to BS 134, any number of user devices may be provided. BS 134 is also connected to a core network 150 via an interface 151. This is just one simple example of a wireless network, and other examples may be used.

[0028] User equipment (user terminal, user equipment (UE)) may refer to a portable computing device including a wireless mobile communication device operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), including but not limited to the following types of devices: as examples, mobile stations (MS), mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, devices using wireless modems (alarm or measurement equipment, etc.), laptop and / or touch screen computers, tablet computers, phablets, game consoles, notebook computers, vehicles and multimedia devices. It should be understood that a user equipment may also be a device almost exclusively used for uplink, an example of which is a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips to a network.

[0029] In LTE (as an example), the core network 150 may be referred to as an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include a mobility management entity (MME) that may handle or assist in mobility / serving cell changes of user equipment between BSs, one or more gateways that may forward data and control signals between the BSs and a packet data network or the Internet, and other control functions or blocks.

[0030] The various example embodiments may be applied to a variety of wireless technologies, wireless networks such as LTE, LTE-A, 5G (New Radio or NR), cmWave and / or mmWave band networks, or any other wireless network or use case. LTE, 5G, cmWave, and mmWave band networks are provided as illustrative examples only, and the various example embodiments may be applied to any wireless technology / wireless network. The various example embodiments may also be applied to a variety of different applications, services, or use cases, such as ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), Internet of Things (IoT), time-sensitive communications (TSC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (MMTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-device, etc. Each of these use cases or types of UEs may have its own set of requirements.

[0031] The UL direct current (DC) subcarrier in OFDM is a subcarrier that is not available for data transmission. Since the DC position can vary depending on which UL BWP is used, NR Rel-15 has defined that the UE reports to the network to indicate what the DC position of each BWP is, such as Figure 2 shown.

[0032] Figure 22 is a diagram showing the direct current (DC) position for different bandwidth parts (BWPs). For example, the DC position of a BWP labeled "BWP0" within the cell bandwidth 210 is at the center of BWP0. Similarly, the DC position for a BWP labeled "BWP1" within the cell bandwidth 210 is at the center of BWP1.

[0033] The UE does not need to report a specific DC position (e.g., the center of the available frequency in the cell bandwidth, see Figure 3A ), and can report any DC position that the UE wishes to use: the DC position can be Figure 2 The center frequency of each BWP is shown, but can also be the same DC carrier for all BWPs (see Figure 3B ), depending on the radio frequency configuration used by the UE. The UE may also indicate the DC position as "outside carrier" (i.e., not within the configured channel bandwidth) or "unknown" (i.e., the DC position is unknown, which means that the UE is not able to report the DC position information or the information is not available). It should be noted that the Rel-15 specification does not allow the UE to report the DC position and / or multiple DC positions for UL carrier aggregation (CA) cases.

[0034] Figure 3A is a diagram showing a cell with four BWPs: BWP1, BWP2, BWP3 and BWP4, using a different DC position for each BWP: CC1.BWP1, CC1.BWP2, CC1.BWP3 and CC1.BWP4. Figure 3B is a diagram showing a cell with four BWPs: BWPs BWP1, BWP2, BWP3 and BWP4, using the same DC position (CC. BWP1, 2, 3, 4) for all BWPs.

[0035] In Rel-16, 3GPP developed specifications to allow UE to report up to two DC positions for UL CA situations, which means that the UE can report one or two DC positions for UL CA situations. In Rel-17, further enhancements to the UL DC position reporting mechanism address the issue of allowing UE to report up to two DC positions to handle CA with two or more CCs. However, the challenge faced by 3GPP is that the DC position is affected by various factors, such as the outer edge of the external activated or configured BWP or the activated or configured CC. This means that if three consecutive CCs are configured (CC1, CC2 and CC3 from the left), the DC position when CC1 and CC3 are activated and the DC position when CC1 and CC2 are activated may be different. Up to four BWPs can be configured for one CC, and the signaling needs to take into account all permutations of activated or configured BWPs and all permutations of activated or activated CCs. Since this does significantly increase the amount of signaling overhead, a solution is sought.

[0036] Considering that the UE needs to meet the out-of-band emission requirements, the DC position is likely to be in the center between the lower edge of the lower BWP or CC and the upper edge of the upper BWP or CC within CA. Note that the BWP or CC can be activated, not activated or configured. The advantage of this solution is that as long as the terminal follows this principle, the UE does not have to explicitly report its DC position (not reporting the arrangement itself, or reporting the arrangement with an offset range relative to the default DC position in the absence of an arrangement), and the amount of signaling is saved.

[0037] 3GPP agreed to define a default UL DC position, which is in the middle of the UE bandwidth, i.e., in the frequency range between the lower edge of the lowest frequency component and the upper edge of the highest frequency component, where the highest and lowest frequency components can be one of the following: activated carrier component, configured carrier component, activated BWP and configured BWP.

[0038] With respect to the above default UL DC position, in order to provide implementation flexibility to the UE, an exception is allowed, i.e. the DC position is located somewhere other than the default DC position. So far, 3GPP has agreed to handle this exception in a way that allows the UE to signal an offset relative to the default DC position when necessary, e.g. Figure 4 shown.

[0039] Figure 4 is a diagram showing the default DC position and offset. Figure 4As shown, there are three CCs: CC1, CC2, and CC3. "Middle" is the default DC position, which in this example is the center of the lower edge of CC1 and the upper edge of CC3. However, the DC is placed in CC2, and the position is indicated by the distance from the default DC position, which is defined as the offset. Although it has been agreed to use an offset from the default value, the possible values ​​of the offset have not yet been resolved.

[0040] Up to ±1.5 GHz has been proposed in RAN4 as one of the maximum ranges considering the widest passband bandwidth of about 3 GHz in FR2-1, and up to ±20 MHz as the minimum range, but no consensus has been reached. The continued lack of consensus mainly comes from the trade-off between signaling overhead and UE implementation flexibility.

[0041] The + / -1.5 GHz signal offset will be referred to as Option 1 and the + / -20 MHz signal offset as Option 2 hereinafter.

[0042] Problem 1: Signaling Overhead

[0043] Assuming that the number of CCs can be up to 16, and considering the introduction of new frequency bands in even higher frequency ranges (as done in 3GPP Rel-17, where the FR2 frequency area is extended by frequencies between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz), the situation will become worse than before. For example, n263 will be introduced in Rel-17, and the n263 full-pass bandwidth is 24 GHz (57 GHz-71 GHz), the minimum channel bandwidth is 400 MHz and is also the only mandatory channel bandwidth for 120 kHz SCS. Other channel bandwidths for higher SCS are optional. Assuming that this band may be used for unlicensed operation, there may be at most 60 CCs. Now the number of permutations to take two out of 60 CCs is Each CC in the CC can be configured with a maximum of four BWPs, and the number of permutations and combinations is 28,320.

[0044] If option 1 is adopted (i.e., maximum offset frequency range), the maximum offset value will be 12 GHz, where the SCS can be 120 kHz. Then, the number of points indicating the DC position is 100,000 points, where each permutation requires 17 bits. Therefore, a total of 28,320x17=481,440 bits are required for one band combination for the UE to report its DC position. If option 2 is adopted (i.e., + / -20 MHz with 120 kHz SCS), 166 points are required for the DC position, which requires 8 bits. Since the 20 MHz offset can come from a 60 kHz SCS, for fairness, we can increase this number 166 proportionally to 332. Then, the required number of bits for option 2 is 9. The number of permutations is the same, but even so, the total number of bits for each band combination is 28,320x9=254,880 bits.

[0045] In summary, the number of bits required for each band combination is 481,440 bits (-481 kilobits or -60 kilobytes) and 254,880 bits (-254 kilobits or -31 kilobytes) for Option 1 and Option 2, respectively.

[0046] Since this is not a UE capability, the UE is required to report these values ​​whenever the network requires it. And the instances where the UE may be requested to provide such reports are likely to only increase in the future for the following reasons. UL enhancement is one of the most important items in Rel-18 and later versions, and therefore, features that are more sensitive to UL quality will be used more frequently, such as UL256QAM for FR2 and UL1024QAM for FR1. mmWave frequencies are more sensitive to UL quality than sub-6GHz frequencies due to excess phase noise. • New features may require information where the UL DC location is, for example to identify applicable A-MPR or suitable UL transmission bandwidth configuration. In general, the network may need to request the UE to report the DC location more frequently than before. Therefore, the trade-off between more signaling overhead and performance improvement should be resolved.

[0047] Problem 2: UL signal quality processing

[0048] At this point, adopting option 2 (+ / -20MHz offset range) in 3GPP seems to be a better choice to avoid excessive signaling overhead, considering that allowing UE implementation flexibility in terms of DC position reporting does not provide benefits to network operations. However, TS38.331 already allows the UE to report value 3301, which indicates "undetermined position within carrier". Therefore, the limitations implemented by the UE may cause the UE to report 3301 even if the DC falls within a carrier among multiple CCs for CA due to the lack of sufficient offset range. On the other hand, in order to enhance UL coverage, performance requirements for UL256QAM for FR2 will be discussed in Rel-18, and performance requirements for UL1024QAM for FR1 are introduced in Rel-17. The increased possibility of UE reporting 3301 may become an obstacle to making these UL enhancement features popular in the actual market, because the UL quality degradation caused by the lack of accurate DC position may prevent the UE from realizing its full potential.

[0049] Compared to the conventional method of reporting DC position cited above, the improved technique involves excluding the UL DC position when the UL DC position is outside the frequency range of interest to the network (e.g., outside the configured frequency range or outside the frequency range of the current serving cell). That is, the network can indicate to the UE through a request that the UL DC position be provided only when: 1) within a specific frequency range, or 2) outside a specific frequency range. The request can identify a criterion according to which the UL DC position will be excluded from the report.

[0050] It should be noted that in the context of the subject matter of this document, a frequency range may include multiple non-contiguous frequency intervals. For example, a specific frequency range may be a frequency range corresponding to multiple non-adjacent CCs.

[0051] In some embodiments, the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range includes a specific frequency range. In some embodiments, the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range is outside the frequency range of the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range is outside the specific frequency range. In this last case, in some embodiments, the operating frequency range may include carrier aggregation. The above-mentioned improved technology relates to a group of carrier components, each of which covers a corresponding component frequency range; in this case, the request includes an identifier of each carrier component in the group of carrier components. In some embodiments, the identifier includes a corresponding reference number for each carrier component in the group of carrier components.

[0052] Advantageously, the improved technique provides improvements in both signaling overhead and flexibility in UE implementation.

[0053] It is shown that the UE can exclude the DC position when the DC position is outside the frequency range of interest to the network (for example, outside the configured frequency range or outside the frequency range of the current serving cell). That is, the network can indicate to the UE by request that the UL DC position is only provided when: 1) within a specific frequency range, or 2) outside a specific frequency range. This can be indicated in part via existing DC position signaling, namely code points 3300 ("outside carrier") and 3301 ("undetermined position within carrier"), or via specific new code points in the signaling, and can include a reference to the CC where the UL DC is located (based on the CC number provided by the network).

[0054] Figure 5 is a diagram showing which DC location information a UE is required to report or exclude from reporting. Figure 5 Three UEs are shown, UE1, UE2, and UE3. Each UE can be configured using different carriers: UE1 uses CC1 and CC6, UE2 uses CC2 and CC6, and UE3 uses CC2, CC3, CC4, and CC5. Each UE can also reference these carriers based solely on its own configuration (based solely on the UE carrier configuration). However, since the network determines the operating carriers, each of the three UEs can be assigned to use the same numbering for 6 CCs: CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4, CC5, and CC6. The network indicates to the UE what the "reference number" for each configured CC should be. For UE1, the UL DC position deviates from the default position and is at the center of CC6; for UE1, UL DC position information is required because CC6 is used by UE1 and UE2. For UE2, the UL DC position deviates from the default position, at the center of CC4 but towards one end of the CC4 frequency range; for UE2, UL DC position information is required because CC4 is used by UE3. For UE3, the UL DC position deviates from the default position and is at a frequency that is not used in any CC; since the network cannot use this information, this UL DC position is not used.

[0055] The rationale for increasing the number of bits in the offset range from the default DC position is that the distance is continuous from the origin. However, in terms of network operation, the UL DC position outside the carrier component used by the network is generally irrelevant to network quality, e.g. Figure 5As shown. What is important is whether the carrier causes interference to the frequency used by the network (even for another UE). In addition, the network may not always need all UL DC position information from the UE. For example, the network may use high-order modulation only for some CCs under the network at a given time instance, so it may not necessarily need to express the DC position by the distance from the default DC position. And the network may not need DC position information on some CCs under the network, especially if those CCs are not used by the UE to send UL DC reports.

[0056] Therefore, in some embodiments, the improved technology includes: The network defines reference numbers n(1,2,…,m) for all CCs that can be used for CA, including potential information about the size of the CC. This has been Figure 5 Partially depicted in Figure 6 Shown in more detail. • The network requests the UE to report the DC position to 1) fall within a CC designated by the network with a reference number, or 2) not fall within a CC designated by the network with a reference number. This network filtering allows signaling optimization for various contiguous and non-contiguous cases. oUE reports the DC position in permutation for the corresponding reference number following the same method defined in Rel-15 and 16 (using 12 bits (4096) per BWP / CC) or using the default UL DC position with offset frequency. • The network can know the exact UL DC position from information consisting of the reference number of the CC with the DC position and the exact DC position within the CC. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the carrier numbering of each UE. Figure 5 Same, Figure 6Three UEs are shown, UE1, UE2, and UE3. Each UE can be configured with different carriers: UE1 uses CC1 and CC6, UE2 uses CC2 and CC6, and UE3 uses CC2, CC3, CC4, and CC5. Each UE can also reference these carriers based only on its own configuration (based only on the UE carrier configuration). However, since the network determines the operating carriers, each of the three UEs can be assigned to use the same numbering for 6 CCs: CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4, CC5, and CC6. The network indicates to the UE what the "reference number" should be for each configured CC, and can also indicate how many consecutive carrier blocks the UE should assume for the CC. The UE can then count frequencies based on the carrier reference numbers, assuming that they are consecutive. This defines a reference numbering scheme that allows the network to define carrier numbering per UE or per network deployment (depending on which is more appropriate), and allows information to be attached to each carrier to allow non-contiguous blocks to be considered. Once the numbering is defined, the network can simply instruct the UE to report the DC position based on the numbering. Additionally, the network may request the UE to report the DC position if the UE is within certain carriers (allowed list), or may request the UE to report the DC position if the UE is not within certain carriers (blocked list).

[0057] Note that as an alternative to carrier numbering, the network may explicitly share the frequency range that the network is interested in with the UE, for example, via indicating the end and start frequencies of the range.

[0058] The bits required to indicate the DC position of each permutation are the same as those of Rel-15 and 16, i.e., 12 bits. This means that they are smaller than option 1 (17 bits) and larger than option 2 (9 bits). However, this method will be able to significantly reduce the number of bits required to indicate the number of permutation indexes. More specifically, if there are at most two carrier components (CC1 and CC2) available in the network, and the network wants to know which UE's DC falls into CC2 and the corresponding DC position in CC2, as shown in Table 1. It should be noted that each CC can have up to four BWPs. For example, the permutation consisting of BWP1 in CC1 and BWP1 in CC2 is represented as (1,1), BWP1 in CC1 and BWP2 in CC2 are represented as (1,2), and so on, represented by index 1 and index 2 in the second column in Table 1, respectively. Therefore, the number of permutations can be at most 16 (4x4). Therefore, the number of permutation indexes in the first column in Table 1 is 16. In this case, no permutation information and related information about CC1 are reported. More specifically, with respect to permutation index 1, as shown in the rightmost column of Table 1, the DC falls in the CC with reference number 1. Although the exact DC position can be indicated by the default DC position + offset range A, in this example, the network is not interested in the DC falling in the CC outside CC2, and therefore, all information associated with index 1 does not need to be reported. In another example using permutation index 4, the DC falls in the CC with reference number 2. For this case, the DC position should be reported to the network. Since the DC of permutation index 4 does not fall at the default DC position, the UE can report the permutation index 4 with offset C, or the UE can explicitly report the DC position of the permutation index 4 within CC2 with 12 bits. Thus, the signaling for the permutation and the associated information can be reduced, and the signaling for the indication of the DC position can be reduced from 17 bits to 12 bits (compared to option 1). Although the signaling for the indication of the DC position can be a little larger than the 9 bits of option 2, it is still possible for this method to compensate for this increase by reducing the amount of information about the permutation. Therefore, this may be a good candidate to achieve both signaling overhead and UE implementation flexibility. Table 1: Example scenario where two CCs are available and the network only wants to know the UL DC location information on CC2.

[0059] Example 1-1: Figure 7is a flow chart illustrating a process 700 of determining an action to take when executing a machine learning algorithm. Operation 710 includes receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, from a network node in the wireless network a request to provide a location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for the user equipment to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0060] Example 1-2: The example implementation of Example 1-1, wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range includes a specific frequency range.

[0061] Example 1-3: The example implementation according to Example 1-1, wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range is outside the frequency range of the current serving cell.

[0062] Example 1-4: The example implementation of Example 1-1, wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range is outside a specific frequency range.

[0063] Example 1-5: The example implementation of Example 1-4, wherein each component carrier in the set of component carriers covers a respective component frequency range, and wherein the request includes an identifier for each component carrier in the set of component carriers.

[0064] Example 1-6: The example implementation of Example 1-5, wherein the identifier comprises a respective reference number for each carrier component in a set of carrier components.

[0065] Example 1-7: An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any one of Examples 1-1 to 1-6.

[0066] Example 1-8: A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to cause the at least one data processing device to perform the method of any one of Examples 1-1 to 1-6.

[0067] Example 2-1: Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating a process 800 of determining an action to take when executing a machine learning algorithm. Operation 810 includes transmitting, by a network node in a wireless network to a group of user devices in the wireless network, a request to provide a location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

[0068] Example 2-2: The example implementation of Example 2-1, wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range is outside a specific frequency range.

[0069] Example 2-3: According to the example implementation of Example 2-2, each carrier component in the set of carrier components covers a corresponding component frequency range, and wherein the method further includes assigning a corresponding reference number to each carrier component in the set of carrier components.

[0070] Example 2-4: The example implementation of Example 2-2, wherein the request includes a reference number assigned to a component carrier, the component carrier covering a frequency range outside of the specific frequency range.

[0071] Example 2-5: According to the example implementation of Example 2-2, the request includes an allowed list of carrier components in a set of carrier components, and for the carrier components in the allowed list, the user equipment can report an uplink DC subcarrier.

[0072] Example 2-6: According to the example implementation of Example 2-2, it also includes: receiving from a user equipment in the group of user equipment (i) a report indicating a reference number of a carrier component in a set of carrier components and (ii) a position of an uplink DC subcarrier within the carrier component; and determining the position of the uplink DC subcarrier based on the reference number and the position of the uplink DC subcarrier within the carrier component.

[0073] Example 2-7: An example implementation according to Example 2-6, wherein the default position for the uplink DC subcarrier is located at the center of a UE frequency range, wherein the frequency range has a minimum frequency at the lowest frequency of a first carrier component of a set of carrier components and a maximum frequency of a second carrier component of a set of carrier components, each of the first carrier component and the second carrier component being one of: an activated carrier component, a configured carrier component, or an activated BWP and a configured BWP; and wherein determining the position of the uplink DC subcarrier includes specifying an offset of the default position of the uplink DC subcarrier.

[0074] Example 2-8: An apparatus comprising components for performing the methods of Examples 2-1 to 27.

[0075] Example 2-9: A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to cause the at least one data processing device to perform the methods of Examples 2-1 to 2-7.

[0076] Example abbreviation list: A-MPR Additional Maximum Power Reduction BWP Bandwidth Section CA Carrier Aggregation CC Carrier Component DC Direct Current FR Frequency Range OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation RF RRC Radio Resource Control SCS subcarrier spacing UE User Equipment UL Uplink

[0077] Fig. 9 900 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., AP, BS, e / gNB, NB-IoT UE, UE, or user equipment) according to an example embodiment. The wireless station 900 may include, for example, one or more RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers 902A, 902B, each of which includes a transmitter for sending signals (or data) and a receiver for receiving signals (or data). The wireless station also includes a processor or control unit / entity (controller) 904 for executing instructions or software and controlling the sending and receiving of signals, and a memory 906 for storing data and / or instructions.

[0078] The processor 904 may also make decisions or determinations, generate time slots, subframes, packets or messages for transmission, decode received time slots, subframes, packets or messages for further processing, and other tasks or functions described herein. For example, the processor 904 may be a baseband processor that may generate messages, packets, frames or other signals for transmission via the wireless transceiver 902 (902A or 902B). The processor 904 may control the transmission of signals or messages on a wireless network, and may control the reception of signals or messages via a wireless network, etc. (e.g., after being down-converted by the wireless transceiver 902). The processor 904 may be programmable and capable of executing software or other instructions stored in a memory or other computer medium to perform the various tasks and functions described above, such as one or more of the tasks or methods described above. The processor 904 may be (or may include) a programmable processor such as hardware, programmable logic, execution software or firmware, and / or any combination of these. Using other terms, the processor 904 and the transceiver 902 may be considered together as, for example, a wireless transmitter / receiver system.

[0079] In addition, refer to Fig. 9 , the controller (or processor) 908 can execute software and instructions and can provide overall control for the station 900 and can Fig. 9Other systems not shown provide controls, such as controlling input / output devices (e.g., display, keyboard), and / or may execute software for one or more applications that may be provided on wireless station 900, such as, for example, an email program, audio / video applications, a word processor, voice over IP applications, or other applications or software.

[0080] Additionally, a storage medium containing stored instructions may be provided, which when executed by a controller or processor may cause the processor 904 or other controller or processor to perform one or more of the functions or tasks described above.

[0081] According to another example embodiment, the RF or wireless transceiver 902A / 902B may receive signals or data and / or transmit or send signals or data. The processor 904 (and possibly the transceiver 902A / 902B) may control the RF or wireless transceiver 902A or 902B to receive, send, broadcast or transmit signals or data.

[0082] However, the embodiments are not limited to the systems given as examples, but a person skilled in the art may apply the solutions to other communication systems. Another example of a suitable communication system is the 5G concept. It is assumed that the network architecture in 5G will be very similar to the network architecture of LTE Advanced. 5G uses multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in conjunction with smaller sites, and may also adopt various radio technologies for better coverage and enhanced data rates.

[0083] It should be understood that future networks will most likely utilize network function virtualization (NFV), which is a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into "building blocks" or entities that can be operationally connected or linked together to provide services. A virtualized network function (VNF) may include one or more virtual machines that run computer program code using a standard or general-purpose type server rather than custom hardware. Cloud computing or data storage may also be utilized. In radio communications, this may refer to node operations that may be performed at least in part in a server, host, or node that is operationally coupled to a remote radio head. Node operations may also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. It should also be understood that the labor distribution between core network operations and base station operations may be different from that of LTE, or even absent.

[0084] The embodiments of the various technologies described herein may be implemented in a digital electronic circuit system or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. The embodiments may be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier (e.g., a machine-readable storage device) or in a propagated signal, for use in a data processing device (e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers) to execute or control the operation of the data processing device. The embodiments may also be provided on a computer-readable medium or a computer-readable storage medium that may be a non-transient medium. The embodiments of the various technologies may also include embodiments provided via transient signals or media, and / or downloadable programs and / or software embodiments via the Internet or other networks, wired networks, and / or wireless networks. In addition, the embodiments may be provided via machine type communications (MTC) and also via the Internet of Things (IoT).

[0085] A computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or some intermediate form, and it may be stored in some carrier, distribution medium, or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. For example, such carriers include recording media, computer memories, read-only memories, optical and / or electrical carrier signals, telecommunication signals, and software distribution packets. Depending on the processing power required, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer, or the computer program may be distributed among multiple computers.

[0086] In addition, embodiments of the various techniques described herein may use information-physical systems (CPS) (systems in which collaborative computing elements control physical entities). CPS can enable implementation and utilization of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processor microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. Mobile information-physical systems are a subcategory of information-physical systems, in which the physical system in question has inherent mobility. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals. The rise in the popularity of smartphones has increased interest in the field of mobile information-physical systems. Therefore, various embodiments of the techniques described herein may be provided via one or more of these techniques.

[0087] Computer programs (such as those described above) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine or other unit or part thereof suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site, or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0088] The method steps may be implemented by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program or a portion of a computer program to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The method steps may also be implemented by a dedicated logic circuit system (e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit)), and the apparatus may be implemented as a dedicated logic circuit system.

[0089] Processors suitable for executing computer programs include, for example, both general-purpose and special-purpose microprocessors and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer, chip or chipset. Typically, the processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Typically, a computer may also include or be operatively coupled to receive data from one or more mass storage devices for storing data, or to transfer data to one or more mass storage devices, or to receive and transfer data, such as magnetic, magneto-optical disks or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for deploying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including, for example, semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and memory may be supplemented by a dedicated logic circuit system, or incorporated into a dedicated logic circuit system.

[0090] To provide interaction with a user, embodiments may be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor) for displaying information to the user and a user interface, such as a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or trackball), through which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices may also be used to provide interaction with the user; for example, the feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and the input from the user may be received in any form, including acoustic, voice, or tactile input.

[0091] Embodiments may be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component, such as a data server, or includes an intermediate component, such as an application server, or includes a front-end component, such as a client computer with a graphical user interface or a web browser, through which a user can interact, or any combination of such back-end components, intermediate components, or front-end components. The components may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs), such as the Internet.

[0092] While certain features of the described embodiments have been shown as described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It should therefore be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes that are contemplated in the various embodiments.

Claims

1. A device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory containing computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A user device in a wireless network receives a request from a network node in the wireless network to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for the user device to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node. 2 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range includes a specific frequency range.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range is outside the frequency range of the current serving cell. The device of claim 1 , wherein the criterion includes whether an operating frequency range is outside a specific frequency range.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein each carrier component in a set of carrier components covers a corresponding component frequency range, and The request includes an identifier for each component carrier in the set of component carriers.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the identifier comprises a respective reference number for each carrier component in the set of carrier components.

7. A method comprising: A user device in a wireless network receives a request from a network node in the wireless network to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for the user device to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range includes a specific frequency range.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range is outside the frequency range of a current serving cell.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the criterion includes whether the operating frequency range is outside a specific frequency range.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein each carrier component in a set of carrier components covers a corresponding component frequency range, and The request includes an identifier for each component carrier in the set of component carriers.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the identifier comprises a respective reference number for each carrier component in the set of carrier components.

13. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code, wherein the code, when executed by at least one data processing device, is configured to cause the at least one data processing device to perform a method, the method comprising: A user device in a wireless network receives a request from a network node in the wireless network to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for the user device to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

14. An apparatus comprising: A component for receiving, by a user equipment in a wireless network, a request from a network node in the wireless network to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier, the request identifying criteria for the user equipment to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

15. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory containing computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to at least: A network node in a wireless network transmits a request to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier to a group of user devices in the wireless network, wherein the request identifies criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node. The device of claim 15 , wherein the criterion includes whether an operating frequency range is outside a specific frequency range.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein each carrier component in a set of carrier components covers a corresponding component frequency range, and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: Each carrier component in the set of carrier components is assigned a corresponding reference number.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the request comprises a reference number assigned to a carrier component in the set of carrier components, the carrier component covering a frequency range outside the specific frequency range.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the request comprises an allowed list of carrier components in the set of carrier components, for which the user equipment can report an uplink DC subcarrier.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least: receiving from a user equipment in the group of user equipment (i) a report indicating a reference number of a component carrier in the group of component carriers and (ii) a position of the uplink DC subcarrier within the component carrier; and Based on the reference number and the position of the uplink DC subcarrier within the carrier component, the position of the uplink DC subcarrier is determined.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the default position for the uplink DC subcarrier is located at the center of a UE frequency range, the frequency range having a minimum frequency at the lowest frequency of a first carrier component of the set of carrier components and a maximum frequency of a second carrier component of the set of carrier components, each of the first carrier component and the second carrier component being one of: an activated carrier component, a configured carrier component, or an activated BWP and a configured BWP; and Wherein determining the position of the uplink DC subcarrier includes specifying an offset of the default position of the uplink DC subcarrier.

22. A method comprising: A network node in a wireless network transmits a request to provide the location of an uplink DC subcarrier to a group of user devices in the wireless network, wherein the request identifies criteria for each user device in the group of user devices to exclude the location of the uplink DC subcarrier in a report to the network node.

23. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and storing executable codes, which, when executed by at least one data processing device, are configured to cause the at least one data processing device to perform the method according to claim 7.

24. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method according to claim 7.

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