Radio access technology management for wireless communications of multiple subscriber identity module (MSIM) low latency hotspot devices

Abstract

A device executing a low latency application using a Wi-Fi link may switch from the Wi-Fi link to using a second link connected to a multi-subscriber (MSIM) PHS device. The device may access any of a plurality of cellular links via the second link, each cellular link corresponding to a different respective cellular subscription of a plurality of subscriptions used by the PHS device. Thus, the application executing on the device may use a preferred cellular link of the plurality of cellular links. The preferred cellular link may be determined based on parameters corresponding to the plurality of cellular links for each respective cellular subscription. These parameters may be retrieved from a location database. The preferred cellular link (which may currently correspond to a primary subscription) on the PHS device may switch to a different cellular link (which may correspond to a non-primary subscription) during execution of the application on the device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communications, including radio access technology (RAT) management for wireless communications of multiple subscriber identity module (MSIM) low latency hotspot devices.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices (i.e., user equipment devices or UEs) now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using a global positioning system (GPS), and are capable of operating complex and sophisticated applications that utilize these capabilities. In addition, there are many different wireless communication technologies and wireless communication standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (WCDMA, TDS-CDMA), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), Bluetooth TM etc. The current telecommunications standard that surpasses previous standards is called the fifth generation of mobile networks or fifth generation wireless systems, known as 3GPP NR (also known as 5G-NR or NR-5G, 5G New Radio, or NR for short). NR provides higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users while supporting device-to-device, ultra-reliable and massive machine communications, as well as lower latency and lower battery consumption than the LTE standard.

[0004] One aspect of wireless communication systems (including NR cellular wireless communication) is to operate certain mobile devices as personal hotspot (PHS) devices for other devices to access the cellular link of the PHS device for use by certain applications running on other mobile devices. Some PHS devices may be multiple subscribers or multi-subscriber (MSIM) devices. Currently, switching between different subscriptions on an MSIM device is extremely limited, especially when the MSIM device is used as a PHS device. Therefore, improvements are needed. Summary of the invention

[0005] In particular, embodiments of methods and processes for improving radio access technology (RAT) management for wireless communications of multiple subscriber identity module (MSIM) low latency hotspot devices are presented herein. Embodiments of a wireless communication system are also presented herein, the wireless communication system comprising at least wireless communication devices or user equipment devices (UE) and / or base stations and / or access points (AP) communicating with each other within the wireless communication system.

[0006] First exemplary embodiment

[0007] In some embodiments, a device may determine a link quality of a Wi-Fi link used by the device for an application session executed on the device. The device may also evaluate link performance of multiple cellular links corresponding to respective cellular subscriptions used by a second device (e.g., a device available to the device as a personal hotspot (PHS) device). Based on a determination indicating that the link quality of the Wi-Fi link does not meet a set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the device should switch from using the Wi-Fi link to using a second link established between the device and the second device (e.g., a low-latency PHS link between the device and the second device used by the device as a PHS), the device may switch to using the second link to access a cellular link selected from the multiple cellular links for use by the device via the second device for the application session. Alternatively, the device may continue to use the Wi-Fi link in response to a determination indicating that the Wi-Fi link meets the set of link performance requirements, or a determination indicating that the Wi-Fi link does not meet the set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the device should not switch from using the Wi-Fi link to using the second link.

[0008] In some embodiments, the device may be a wearable device, such as a smart watch or smart glasses. The selected cellular link may be determined based at least on the link quality of the multiple cellular links. The device may obtain parameters corresponding to the multiple cellular links for each corresponding cellular subscription from a location database, and perform the evaluation using the obtained parameters. The first subscription in these corresponding cellular subscriptions may be a primary subscription (or a dedicated data service, DDS, subscription), and the remaining subscriptions in these corresponding cellular subscriptions may be non-primary subscriptions (or non-DDS subscriptions). In some embodiments, the selected cellular link may be determined based at least on whether any non-primary subscription in the non-primary subscription supports a dedicated bearer. When at least one non-primary subscription in the non-primary subscription supports the dedicated bearer, the selected cellular link may be further determined based on whether the primary subscription supports the dedicated bearer. When the primary subscription supports the dedicated bearer, the selected cellular link may correspond to the primary subscription. Alternatively, when the non-primary subscription supports and the primary subscription does not support the dedicated bearer, the selected cellular link may correspond to the non-primary subscription.

[0009] Second exemplary embodiment

[0010] In some embodiments, a device may include a radio circuit that enables the device to perform wireless communications, and may also include a processor coupled to the radio circuit and interoperable with the radio circuit to enable the device to perform cellular communications via an active cellular link. The active cellular link may be a first cellular link among a plurality of cellular links, each cellular link corresponding to a respective cellular subscription among a plurality of cellular subscriptions used by the device. The device may function as a PHS, and thus also establish a link with a second device. The established link (e.g., a PHS link) may allow the second device to access the active cellular link via the device for an application session executed on the second device. The device may determine a link quality of the first cellular link; evaluate link performance of the plurality of cellular links; and switch to a second cellular link as the active cellular link based on a determination that the link quality of the first cellular link does not meet a set of link performance requirements and an evaluation that the first cellular link should no longer be the active cellular link. The device may further switch to the second cellular link based on a determination that the device has enabled cellular switching.

[0011] In some embodiments, the device may continue to use the first cellular link as the active cellular link in response to a determination indicating that the first cellular link satisfies the set of link performance requirements, or a determination indicating that the link quality of the first cellular link does not satisfy the set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the first cellular link should continue to serve as the active cellular link.

[0012] The device may obtain parameters corresponding to the plurality of cellular links for each corresponding cellular subscription from a location database and perform the evaluation using the parameters. In some embodiments, the first cellular link may correspond to a primary subscription among the cellular subscriptions, and the second cellular link may correspond to a non-primary cellular subscription among the cellular subscriptions.

[0013] Exemplary Method Implementations

[0014] A method for efficient communication using a personal hotspot (PHS) device may include: executing an application on a device, which may include using a Wi-Fi link for the application; determining a link quality of the Wi-Fi link; and evaluating link performance of cellular links corresponding to respective cellular subscriptions used by the PHS device. The method may also include: switching to use of a second link established between the device and the PHS device to access an active one of the cellular links for use by the device via the PHS device for the application. The switching may be performed in response to a determination indicating that the link quality of the Wi-Fi link does not meet a set of link performance requirements, and an evaluation indicating that the device should switch from using the Wi-Fi link to using the second link. The method may also include alternatively continuing to use the Wi-Fi link in response to a determination indicating that the Wi-Fi link meets the set of link performance requirements, or in response to a determination indicating that the Wi-Fi link does not meet the set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the device should not switch from using the Wi-Fi link to using the second link.

[0015] The method may also include: determining the active cellular link based at least on the link quality of the cellular links, and in some cases additionally based on which of the multiple cellular links support dedicated bearers. Performing the evaluation may include: retrieving parameters corresponding to the cellular links for each respective cellular subscription from a location database; and performing the evaluation based on the parameters. Finally, the method may include: determining whether to switch to a second cellular link to become the active cellular link on the PHS device during execution of the application on the device; and in response to a determination indicating that the second cellular link should be the active cellular link, switching to the second cellular link to become the active cellular link. The determination may be based at least on the link performance of the cellular links.

[0016] Note that the techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, base stations, access points, cellular telephones, portable media players, tablet computers, wearable devices, and various other computing devices.

[0017] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system according to some embodiments;

[0019] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary base station in communication with an exemplary wireless user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0020] Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments;

[0021] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments;

[0022] Figure 5 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram of an exemplary cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments;

[0023] Figure 6 An exemplary wireless communication system is shown according to some embodiments, the exemplary wireless communication system including a secondary device in communication with a primary device;

[0024] Figure 7 A block diagram of an exemplary radio access technology selection manager is shown;

[0025] Figure 8 An exemplary flow chart of illustrates a communication device switching a link between different radio access technologies according to the prior art;

[0026] Fig. 9 An exemplary flow chart illustrating a communication device switching a link between different radio access technologies according to some embodiments; and

[0027] Fig.10 An exemplary flow chart illustrates a communication device used as a personal hotspot switching links between different radio access technologies according to some embodiments.

[0028] 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 be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Acronyms

[0030] Various acronyms are used throughout this patent application. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms used that may appear throughout this patent application are as follows:

[0031] 5GMM: 5G Mobility Management

[0032] AF: Application Function

[0033] AMF: Access and mobility management function

[0034] AMR: Adaptive Multi-Rate

[0035] AP: Access Point

[0036] APN: Access Point Name

[0037] APR: Application Processor

[0038] BS: Base Station

[0039] BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier

[0040] CBG: Code Block Group

[0041] CBRS: Citizens Broadband Radio Service

[0042] CBSD: Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device

[0043] CCA: Clear Channel Assessment

[0044] CMR: Change Mode Request

[0045] CORESET: Control resource set

[0046] CS: Circuit Switching

[0047] CSI: Channel State Information

[0048] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0049] DDS: Dedicated Data Service

[0050] DL: Downlink (from BS to UE)

[0051] DMRS: Demodulation Reference Signal

[0052] DN: Data Network

[0053] DSDS: Dual SIM Dual Standby

[0054] DYN: Dynamic

[0055] EDCF: Enhanced Distributed Coordination Function

[0056] eSNPN: Equivalent Independent Non-Public Network

[0057] ETSI: European Telecommunications Standards Institute

[0058] ·FDD: Frequency Division Duplex

[0059] FT: frame type

[0060] GAA: General Authorization Access

[0061] GPRS: General Packet Radio Service

[0062] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0063] GTP: GPRS Tunneling Protocol

[0064] HPLMN: Home Public Land Mobile Network

[0065] IC: within coverage

[0066] IMS: Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem

[0067] IOT: Internet of Things

[0068] IP: Internet Protocol

[0069] ITS: Intelligent Transportation System

[0070] LAN: Local Area Network

[0071] LBT: Listen before speaking

[0072] LCS: Location Services

[0073] LMF: Location Management Function

[0074] LPP: LTE Positioning Protocol

[0075] LQM: Link Quality Index

[0076] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0077] MCC: Mobile Country Code

[0078] MCS: Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0079] MNO: Mobile Network Operator

[0080] MO-LR: Mobile Station Location Request

[0081] MSIM: Multiple Subscriber Identity Module

[0082] MT-LR: Mobile station location request

[0083] NAS: Non-Access Stratum

[0084] NDI: New Data Indicator

[0085] NF: Network Function

[0086] NG-RAN: Next Generation Radio Access Network

[0087] NID: Network Identifier

[0088] NMF: Network Identifier Management Function

[0089] NPN: Non-Public (Cellular) Network

[0090] NRF: Network Repository Function

[0091] NSI: Network Slicing Example

[0092] NSSAI: Network Slice Selection Auxiliary Information

[0093] OOC: Out of coverage

[0094] PAL: Priority Access Licensee

[0095] PDCP: Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0096] PDN: Packet Data Network

[0097] PDU: Protocol Data Unit

[0098] PGW: PDN Gateway

[0099] PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network

[0100] ProSe: Proximity Services

[0101] PRS: Positioning Reference Signal

[0102] PSCCH: Physical Sidelink Control Channel

[0103] PSFCH: Physical side link feedback channel

[0104] PSSCH: Physical side link shared channel

[0105] PSD: Power Spectral Density

[0106] PSS: Primary Synchronization Signal

[0107] PT: Payload Type

[0108] PTRS: Phase Tracking Reference Signal

[0109] PUCCH: Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0110] QBSS: Basic Service Set with enhanced quality of service

[0111] QCI: Quality Class Identifier

[0112] QI: Quality Indicator

[0113] RA: Registration Accepted

[0114] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0115] RF: Radio Frequency

[0116] RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0117] ROHC: Robust Header Compression

[0118] RR: Registration Request

[0119] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0120] RS: Reference signal

[0121] RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power

[0122] RTP: Real-time Transport Protocol

[0123] RV: Redundancy Version

[0124] RX: Receive

[0125] SAS: Spectrum Allocation Server

[0126] SD: Slice Descriptor

[0127] SI: System Information

[0128] SIB: System Information Block

[0129] SID: System Identification Number

[0130] SIM: Subscriber Identity Module

[0131] SGW: Service Gateway

[0132] SMF: Session Management Function

[0133] SNPN: Independent Non-Public Network

[0134] SRS: Sounding Reference Signal

[0135] SSS: Secondary synchronization signal

[0136] SUPI: Subscription Permanent Identifier

[0137] TBS: Transport Block Size

[0138] TCP: Transmission Control Protocol

[0139] TDD: Time Division Duplex

[0140] TDRA: Time Domain Resource Allocation

[0141] TPC: Transmit Power Control

[0142] TX: Send

[0143] UAC: Unified Access Control

[0144] UDM: Unified Data Management

[0145] UDR: User Data Repository

[0146] UE: User Equipment

[0147] UI: User Input

[0148] UL: Uplink (from UE to BS)

[0149] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0150] UPF: User plane function

[0151] URM: Universal Resource Management

[0152] URSP: UE routing strategy

[0153] USIM: User Subscriber Identity Module

[0154] Wi-Fi: Wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard

[0155] WLAN: Wireless LAN

[0156] ZP: Zero Power

[0157] the term

[0158] The following is a glossary of terms that may appear in this application:

[0159] Storage media—Any of various types of memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape device; 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, such as 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 memory or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system executing a program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter example, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer system for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media, which may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0160] Carrier medium —Memory media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals (such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, or digital signals).

[0161] Programmable hardware components — 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 range from fine-grained (combinatorial logic or lookup table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units".

[0162] Computer system (or computer) —Any of various types of computing systems 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 as any device (or combination of devices) that includes at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0163] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE Device") —Any of various types of computer system devices that perform wireless communications. Also referred to as wireless communication devices, many of which may be mobile and / or portable. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones) and tablets such as iPads TM 、Samsung Galaxy TM etc., gaming devices (such as Sony PlayStation TM , Microsoft XBox TM etc.), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPod TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (e.g., drones) and drone controllers, etc. Various other types of devices that include Wi-Fi communication capabilities or both cellular and Wi-Fi communication capabilities and / or other wireless communication capabilities (e.g., via short-range radio access technologies (SRAT) such as Bluetooth TM In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic, computing and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) capable of wireless communication and which may also be portable / mobile.

[0164] Wireless device (or wireless communication device) —Any of various types of computer system devices that perform wireless communications using WLAN communication, SRAT communication, Wi-Fi communication, etc. As used herein, the term "wireless device" may refer to a UE device as defined above or a fixed device such as a fixed wireless client or a wireless base station. For example, a wireless device may be a wireless station of any type of 802.11 system, such as an access point (AP) or a client station (UE), or a wireless station of any type of cellular communication system that communicates according to a cellular radio access technology (e.g., 5G NR, LTE, CDMA, GSM), such as a base station or a cellular phone.

[0165] Communications equipment—Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, where the communications may be wired or wireless. A communications device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communications device. A UE is another example of a communications device.

[0166] Base Station (BS) - The term "base station" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0167] processor —refers to various elements (e.g., circuits) or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device (e.g., in a user equipment device or in a cellular network device). Processors may include, for example: general purpose processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores or processing circuit cores, processing circuit arrays or processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any various combinations of the foregoing.

[0168] Channel —A medium used to convey information from a transmitter (sender) 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" as used herein 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.

[0169] Band (or frequency band)—The term "frequency band" has the full range of its usual meaning and includes at least a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose. In addition, "frequency band" is used to refer to any interval in the frequency domain defined by a lower frequency and a higher frequency. The term may refer to a radio frequency band or an interval of some other spectrum. A radio communication signal may occupy a frequency range that carries the signal (or the signal is carried within this frequency range). Such a frequency range is also referred to as the bandwidth of the signal. Therefore, bandwidth refers to the difference between the upper and lower frequencies in a continuous frequency band. A frequency band may represent a communication channel, or it may be subdivided into multiple communication channels. The allocation of radio frequency ranges for different purposes is the main function of radio spectrum allocation. For example, in 5G NR, the operating bands are classified into two groups. More specifically, according to 3GPP Release 15, frequency bands are designated for different frequency ranges (FRs) and are defined as FR1 and FR2, where FR1 covers the 410MHz-7125MHz range and FR2 covers the 24250MHz-52600MHz range.

[0170] Wi-Fi —The term "Wi-Fi" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication network or RAT that is served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provides connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are distinct from cellular networks.

[0171] Automatically—refers to the performance of an action or operation 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 the action or operation to be directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is contrasted with the manual performance or specification of an operation by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but the 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 check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to user actions. 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 the 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 they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that a user has taken.

[0172] About —refers to a value that is close to a correct or exact value. For example, approximately may 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 be application dependent. 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.

[0173] concurrent —refers to parallel execution or implementation, in which tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be implemented using "strong" or strict parallelism, in which tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism," in which tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0174] Station (STA)—The term "station" herein refers to any device that has the ability to communicate wirelessly (e.g., by using the 802.11 protocol). A station may be a laptop, desktop PC, PDA, access point, or Wi-Fi phone, or any type of device similar to a UE. A STA may be fixed, mobile, portable, or wearable. Generally speaking, in wireless networking terminology, a station (STA) broadly encompasses any device that has wireless communication capabilities, and the terms station (STA), wireless client (UE), and node (BS) are therefore often used interchangeably.

[0175] Configured as —Various components may be described as being “configured to” perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad statement that generally means “having a structure” that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a collection of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad statement that generally means “having a circuit” that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, circuits that form a structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits.

[0176] Transmission Scheduling —refers to the scheduling of transmissions (such as wireless transmissions). In some specific implementations of cellular radio communications, signal transmissions and data transmissions may be organized according to specified time units of a specific duration during which the transmission occurs. As used herein, the term "time slot" has the full range of its usual meaning and refers at least to the minimum (or shortest) scheduled time unit in wireless communications. For example, in 3GPP LTE, transmissions are divided into radio frames, each of which has an equal (time) duration (e.g., 10ms). The radio frames in 3GPP LTE can be further divided into a specified number (e.g., ten) of subframes, each of which has an equal duration, and the subframes are designated as the minimum (shortest) scheduling unit, or a specified time unit for transmission. Therefore, in the 3GPP LTE example, a "subframe" can be regarded as an example of a "time slot" as defined above. Similarly, the minimum (or shortest) scheduling time unit for 5G NR (or simply NR) transmissions is called a "time slot". In different communication protocols, the minimum (or shortest) scheduling time unit may also be named differently.

[0177] resource—The term "resource" has the full range of its usual meaning and may refer to frequency resources and time resources used during wireless communication. As used herein, a resource element (RE) refers to a specific amount or number of resources. For example, in the context of time resources, a resource element may be a time period of a specific length. In the context of frequency resources, a resource element may be a specific frequency bandwidth centered on a specific frequency or a specific amount of frequency bandwidth. As a specific example, a resource element may refer to a resource unit having 1 symbol (referenced to a time resource, such as a time period of a specific length) per 1 subcarrier (referenced to a frequency resource, such as a specific frequency bandwidth, which may be centered on a specific frequency). A resource element group (REG) has the full range of its usual meaning and refers to at least a specified number of consecutive resource elements. In some implementations, a resource element group may not include resource elements reserved for reference signals. A control channel element (CCE) refers to a group of a specified number of consecutive REGs. A resource block (RB) refers to a specified number of resource elements consisting of a specified number of subcarriers per a specified number of symbols. Each RB may include a specified number of subcarriers. A resource block group (RBG) refers to a unit including multiple RBs. The number of RBs within one RBG may vary according to the system bandwidth.

[0178] Bandwidth Part (BWP) —A carrier bandwidth part (BWP) is a set of contiguous physical resource blocks selected from a contiguous subset of common resource blocks for a given parameter set on a given carrier. For the downlink, the UE may be configured with up to a specified number of carrier BWPs (e.g., four BWPs per some specifications), with one BWP active per carrier at a given time (per some specifications). For the uplink, the UE may similarly be configured with up to a number (e.g., four) of carrier BWPs, with one BWP active per carrier at a given time (per some specifications). If the UE is configured with a supplemental uplink, the UE may additionally be configured with up to a specified number (e.g., four) of carrier BWPs in the supplemental uplink, with one carrier BWP active at a given time (per some specifications).

[0179] Multi-cell layout—A master node is defined as a node (radio access node) that provides a control plane connection to the core network in the case of multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC). The master node can be, for example, a master eNB (3GPP LTE) or a master gNB (3GPP NR). A secondary node is defined as a radio access node that does not have a control plane connection to the core network, providing additional resources to the UE in the case of MR-DC. A master cell group (MCG) is defined as a group of service cells associated with a master node, including a primary cell (PCell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (SCells). A secondary cell group (SCG) is defined as a group of service cells associated with a secondary node, including a special cell, i.e., the primary cell (PSCell) of the SCG, and optionally one or more SCells. The UE can generally apply radio link monitoring to the PCell. If the UE is configured with an SCG, the UE can also apply radio link monitoring to the PSCell. Radio link monitoring is generally applied to active BWPs, and the UE does not need to monitor inactive BWPs. The PCell is used to initiate initial access, and the UE can communicate with the PCell and SCell via carrier aggregation (CA). The currently modified capabilities mean that the UE can receive and / or transmit to and / or from multiple cells. The UE initially connects to a PCell, and once the UE is in a connected state, one or more SCells may be configured for the UE.

[0180] Core Network (CN) - The core network is defined as a part of the 3GPP system that is independent of the UE's connection technology (eg, Radio Access Technology, RAT). A UE may connect to the core network via a Radio Access Network RAN, which may be RAT-specific.

[0181] Downlink Control Information (DCI) —In 3GPP communications, DCI is sent to a mobile device or UE (e.g., by a serving base station in a network) and contains a number of different fields. Each field is used to configure a portion or aspect of the scheduled communication of the device. In other words, each field in the DCI may correspond to one or more specific communication parameters that configure the corresponding aspect of the scheduled communication of the device. By decoding the DCI, the UE obtains all configuration parameters or parameter values ​​according to the fields in the DCI, thereby obtaining all information about the scheduled communication, and then performs the scheduled communication according to those parameters / parameter values.

[0182] Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)—In wireless communications (e.g., 3GPP communications), a SIM is used to securely store an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) code and its associated keys, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile devices (such as mobile phones, computers, satellite phones, smart watches, cameras, smart tablets, etc.). The SIM is implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), usually on a removable physical card, or built into the mobile device in the form of a programmable storage element. The SIM usually contains a unique serial number (ICCID), an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) code, security authentication and encryption information, temporary information related to the local network, a list of services accessible to the user, a personal identification number (PIN) for general use, and a personal unlocking key (PUK) for unlocking the PIN. A device can usually be configured with more than one SIM (or SIM card) to operate according to more than one service subscription. Such devices are called multi-SIM (MSIM) devices. MSIM devices usually have a designated primary subscriber line for cellular data communications. This can be referred to as a dedicated data service (DDS) subscription / subscriber line (or DDS subscription) for the MSIM device. Data services corresponding to other SIMs / subscriptions can be referred to as non-DDS subscriptions.

[0183] Personal Hotspot —A mobile device may have the ability to share its cellular link (i.e., communicate over a cellular link) and / or Internet connection with other connected devices. Such a mobile device may be linked to other devices via one of a number of different links, for example, via a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), via Bluetooth, or via a wired connection (such as USB). A device that wirelessly shares its cellular link and / or Internet connection with other devices is often referred to as a personal hotspot (PHS; or mobile hotspot), which effectively enables the device to function as a portable router. A personal hotspot may be protected by a PIN or password, so that a mobile device with Internet connectivity and / or cellular functionality can act as a portable wireless access point and router for other devices connected to it.

[0184] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted to include the phrase "configured to". The statement that a component is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, for that component.

[0185] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Exemplary Communication System

[0186] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system according to some embodiments is illustrated. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of a possible system, and the embodiments may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0187] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes base stations 102A to 102N, also collectively referred to as multiple base stations 102 or base stations 102. Figure 1 As shown, base station 102A communicates with one or more user equipment 106A to 106N via a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE) or a UE device. Therefore, user equipment 106A to 106N are referred to as UEs or UE devices, and are also collectively referred to as multiple UEs 106 or UEs 106.

[0188] The base station 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site, and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with UEs 106A to 106N. The base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and / or the Internet, a neutral host or various CBRS (Citizen Broadband Radio Service) deployments, and various possibilities). Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communication between user devices 106 and / or between user devices 106 and the network 100. Specifically, the cellular base station 102A may provide UEs 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, short message service (SMS) and / or data services. The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station 106 may be referred to as a "cell". Note that a "cell" may also refer to a logical identifier for a given wireless communication coverage area at a given frequency. In general, any independent cellular wireless coverage area may be referred to as a "cell". In such a case, the base station may be located at a specific intersection of three cells. In this uniform topology, a base station may serve three 120 degree beam width areas called cells. Moreover, for carrier aggregation, small cells, relays, etc. may all represent cells. Therefore, particularly in carrier aggregation, there may be primary cells and secondary cells that may serve at least partially overlapping coverage areas but at different corresponding frequencies. For example, a base station may serve any number of cells, and the cells served by a base station may or may not be collocated (e.g., a remote radio head). Also as used herein, with respect to a UE, a base station may sometimes be considered to represent a network, taking into account the uplink and downlink communications of the UE. Therefore, a UE communicating with one or more base stations in a network may also be interpreted as a UE communicating with the network, and may also be considered to be at least a part of a UE communicating on or through a network.

[0189] The base station 102 and the user equipment 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 (WCDMA), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), LAA / LTE-U, 5G-NR (abbreviated as NR), 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc. It should be noted that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Similarly, if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB". In some embodiments, the base station 102 (e.g., an eNB in ​​an LTE network or a gNB in ​​an NR network) may communicate with at least one UE that has the capability to transmit reference signals according to various embodiments disclosed herein. Depending on a given application or specific considerations, for convenience, some different RATs may be functionally grouped according to overall defining characteristics. For example, all cellular RATs may be collectively considered to represent a first (form / type) RAT, while Wi-Fi communications may be considered to represent a second RAT. In other cases, individual cellular RATs may be individually considered to be different RATs. For example, when distinguishing between cellular communications and Wi-Fi communications, "first RAT" may collectively refer to all cellular RATs considered, while "second RAT" may refer to Wi-Fi. Similarly, when applicable, different forms of Wi-Fi communications (e.g., over 2.4 GHz vs. over 5 GHz) may be considered to correspond to different RATs. In addition, cellular communications performed according to a given RAT (e.g., LTE or NR) may be distinguished from each other based on the spectrum in which those communications are performed. For example, LTE or NR communications may be performed on a primary licensed spectrum as well as on an auxiliary spectrum such as an unlicensed spectrum and / or spectrum allocated to a private network. In general, the use of various terms and expressions will always be clearly indicated in relation to the context of the various applications / implementations considered and in that context.

[0190] As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., in various possibilities, a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet). Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communication between user devices 106 and / or between user devices 106 and the network 100. Specifically, the cellular base station 102A may provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services. The UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any or all of a 3GPP cellular communication standard (such as LTE or NR) or a 3GPP2 cellular communication standard (such as a cellular communication standard in the CDMA2000 family of cellular communication standards). 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 one or more cell networks, which can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UE 106 and similar devices over a wide geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0191] Thus, although base station 102A may function as Figure 1 106A-106N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (possibly provided by base stations 102B-102N 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 106 and / or between user devices 106 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-102B illustrated in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0192] 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 NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transmit and receive 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.

[0193] UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to use WLAN, Bluetooth TM ,BluetoothTM Low-Energy, one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible. In addition, UE 106 may also communicate with network 100 through one or more base stations or through other devices, sites, or any appliances that are not explicitly shown but are considered to be part of network 100. Therefore, UE 106 communicating with the network can be interpreted as UE 106 communicating with one or more network nodes that are considered to be part of the network, and can interact with UE 106 to communicate with UE 106, and in some cases affect at least some communication parameters and / or the use of communication resources of UE 106.

[0194] For example, Figure 1 As shown in , at least some UEs (e.g., UE 106D and 106E) may represent vehicles that communicate with each other and with base station 102, for example, via cellular communications such as 3GPP LTE and / or 5G-NR communications. In addition, UE 106F may represent pedestrians that are communicating and / or interacting with the vehicles represented by UEs 106D and 106E in a similar manner. For example, in the context of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications (such as communications specified by certain versions of 3GPP standards, etc.), the disclosed Figure 1 Various embodiments of vehicles communicating in a network illustrated in FIG.

[0195] Figure 2 An exemplary user equipment 106 (e.g., one of UEs 106A to 106N) is illustrated in communication with base station 122 and access point 112 according to some embodiments. UE 106 may be a user equipment having cellular communication capabilities and non-cellular communication capabilities (e.g., Bluetooth TM, Wi-Fi, etc.), such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or a tablet computer, or almost any type of wireless device. UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may execute any method implementation in the method implementation scheme 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 execute any of the method implementation schemes described herein or any part of any of the method implementation schemes described herein. UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any of a plurality of wireless communication protocols. For example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using two or more of CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, NR, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are also possible.

[0196] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols according to one or more RAT standards, such as those previously described above. In some embodiments, UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication standards. A shared radio component may include a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas for performing wireless communication (e.g., for MIMO). Alternatively, UE 106 may include an independent transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including independent antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate therewith. As another alternative, UE 106 may include one or more radio components or radio circuits shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, as well as one or more radio components used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a radio circuit for communicating using any of LTE or CDMA2000 1xRTT or NR, and a radio circuit for communicating using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. TM Independent radio components for each of the communications. Other configurations are also possible.

[0197] Figure 3 —Block diagram of an exemplary UE

[0198] Figure 3A block diagram of an exemplary UE 106 according to some embodiments is illustrated. As shown, the UE 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 300, which may include various elements / components for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that can execute program instructions for the UE 106, and a display circuit system 304 that can 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 and / or other circuits or devices (such as display circuits 304, radio circuits 330, connector I / F 320 and / or display 360), which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table conversion or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0199] As shown, SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of UE 106. For example, UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system), display 360, and wireless communication circuits (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, Bluetooth TM , Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna (e.g., 335a), and may include multiple antennas (e.g., as shown by antennas 335a and 335b) for performing wireless communications with base stations and / or other devices. Antennas 335a and 335b are shown by way of example, and the UE device 106 may include fewer or more antennas. In general, one or more antennas are collectively referred to as antennas 335. For example, the UE device 106 may use antenna 335 to perform wireless communications with the aid of radio circuitry 330. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards.

[0200] As further described herein, the UE 106 (and / or the base station 102) may include hardware and software components for implementing methods for at least the UE 106 to send reference signals according to various embodiments described herein. The processor 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement part or all 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). In other embodiments, 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). In addition, the processor 302 may be coupled to a processor such as a processor 102 or a processor 102. Figure 3 The other components shown and / or may interoperate with other components to implement communication through the UE 106 for sending a reference signal according to various embodiments disclosed herein. In particular, the processor 302 may be coupled to Figure 3 The other components shown in and / or may interoperate with other components to facilitate UE 106 to communicate in a manner that attempts to optimize RAT selection. Processor 302 may also implement various other applications and / or end-user applications running on UE 106.

[0201] In some embodiments, the radio circuit 330 may include a separate controller dedicated to controlling communications for various corresponding RATs and / or RAT standards. Figure 3 As shown, the radio circuit 330 may include a Wi-Fi controller 356, a cellular controller (e.g., an LTE and / or NR controller) 352, and a Bluetooth controller. TM Controller 354, and according to at least some embodiments, one or more or all of these controllers may be implemented as respective integrated circuits (referred to as ICs or chips) that communicate with each other and with SOC 300 (e.g., with processor 302). For example, Wi-Fi controller 356 may communicate with cellular controller 352 via a cell-ISM link or WCI interface, and / or Bluetooth TM The controller 354 may communicate with the cellular controller 352 via a cell-ISM link, etc. Although three separate controllers are shown within the radio circuit 330, other embodiments may have fewer or more similar controllers for various different RATs and / or RAT standards that may be implemented in the UE device 106. For example, in Figure 5 At least one exemplary block diagram illustrating some embodiments of the cellular controller 352 is shown in FIG. 1 and will be further described below.

[0202] Figure 4 —Block diagram of an exemplary base station

[0203] Figure 41 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary base station 102 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4 The 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).

[0204] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106 to the telephone network described in the foregoing. 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 a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0205] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434a, and may include multiple antennas (e.g., illustrated by antennas 434a and 434b) for performing wireless communications with mobile devices and / or other devices. Antennas 434a and 434b are shown as examples, and the base station 102 may include fewer or more antennas. In general, one or more antennas that may include antenna 434a and / or antenna 434b are collectively referred to as antenna 434 or multiple antennas 434. Antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver, and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio circuit 430. Antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via communication chain 432. Communication chain 432 may be a receiving chain, a transmitting chain, or both. Radio circuit 430 may be designed to communicate via various wireless telecommunication standards, including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, 5G-NR (NR), WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement some or all 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. In the case of certain RATs (e.g., Wi-Fi), the base station 102 may be designed as an access point (AP), in which case the network port 470 may be implemented to provide access to a wide area network and / or one or more local area networks, for example, it may include at least one Ethernet port, and the radio component 430 may be designed to communicate according to the Wi-Fi standard.

[0206] Figure 5 —Exemplary Cellular Communications Circuit

[0207] Figure 5 0 illustrates an exemplary simplified block diagram of an exemplary cellular controller 352 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of is only one example of possible cellular communication circuitry; other circuitry, such as circuitry that includes or is coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or circuitry that includes or is coupled to fewer antennas, such as circuitry that may be shared between multiple RATs, is also possible. According to some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, 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.

[0208] The cellular communication circuitry 352 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a-335b and 336 as shown. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, the cellular communication circuit 352 may include a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the second modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5GNR).

[0209] As shown, the first 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 sending 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.

[0210] Similarly, the second 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 sending 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.

[0211] 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 352 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 first modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the first 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 352 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 second modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the second 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).

[0212] As described herein, the first modem 510 and / or the second modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processors 512, 522 may be configured as programmable hardware elements, 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, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

[0213] In addition, as described herein, the processors 512, 522 may include one or more components. Therefore, the processors 512, 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processors 512, 522. 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 processors 512, 522.

[0214] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 352 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuit 352 may not include the modem 520, the RF front end 540, the DL front end 560, and / or the antenna 335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuit 352 may not include the modem 510, the RF front end 530, the DL front end 550, and / or the antenna 335a. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 352 may also not include the switch 570, and the RF front end 530 or the RF front end 540 may communicate with the UL front end 572 (e.g., directly).

[0215] Figure 6 —Exemplary Multi-RAT Communication System

[0216] Figure 6 An exemplary wireless communication system 600 is shown according to some embodiments. System 600 is a system that implements both a cellular access network and a Wi-Fi radio access network. System 600 may include UE 106, a secondary mobile / wireless device 626, a cellular access network 604, and a Wi-Fi access network 606.

[0217] The cellular access network 604 represents some embodiments of a first RAT access, and the Wi-Fi access network 606 represents some embodiments of a second RAT access. The cellular access network 604 can interface with a wider cellular network (e.g., a cellular NR-5G network 616), and the Wi-Fi access network 606 can interface with the Internet 614. More specifically, the cellular access network 604 can interface with a serving base station (BS) 608, which can in turn provide access to the wider cellular network 616. The Wi-Fi access network 606 can interface with an access point (AP) 610, which can in turn provide access to the Internet 614. Thus, the UE 106 can access the Internet 614 via the AP 610, and can access the cellular network 616 via the cellular access network 604.

[0218] In some embodiments, the UE 106 may also access the Internet 614 via the cellular access network 604. More specifically, the cellular access network 604 may interface with a serving gateway, which may in turn interface with a packet data network (PDN) gateway, which may in turn interface with the Internet 614, as shown by a link 640 between the cellular network 616 and the Internet 614. In addition, the UE 106 may also act as a personal hotspot for a secondary device 626, as indicated by a communication link 620 between the UE 106 and the secondary device 626, thereby enabling the secondary device 626 to communicate via the UE 106 through the cellular access network 604. In some embodiments, the secondary device 626 may establish a link 620 (which may be a low-latency link) with the UE 106 and access the Internet 614 via the UE 106 in this manner. For example, the secondary device 626 may be executing / running an application, such as a voice call communication over Internet Protocol (VoIP call), and the application / call may be conducted by the device 626 via the link 620 and the UE 106. Alternatively, the secondary device 626 may also access the Internet 614 via the Wi-Fi access network 606, as indicated by the communication link 630 from the secondary device 626 to the Wi-Fi access network 606. In some embodiments, the secondary device 626 may be a wearable device, such as a smart watch. In addition to the communication link 620, the secondary device 626 may also communicate with the UE 106 via one or more additional links (e.g., additional wireless links).

[0219] Thus, the UE 106 may perform various communications, such as data transmission or voice calls, via either or both of the cellular access network 604 and the Wi-Fi access network 606, while the auxiliary device 626 may perform various communications via the Wi-Fi access network 606, or communicate via the cellular access network 604 through the communication link 620 and the UE 106 used as a personal hotspot.

[0220] Figure 7 —Radio access technology (selection) management

[0221] Various embodiments disclosed herein may include a wireless communication device dynamically determining when to use Wi-Fi communication or cellular communication by using various indicators (e.g., Wi-Fi link quality indicators (LQM) and cellular indicators, database parameters, etc.). A RAT manager (or RAT management algorithm) may use cross-layer indicators to evaluate whether a Wi-Fi link or a cellular link is used for telephony voice and data use cases. For example, a RAT manager in a UE may use Wi-Fi indicators, cellular indicators, application (e.g., RTP) indicators, transmission indicators, and / or motion indicators. Figure 7 An illustration of an exemplary RAT selection manager 702 is provided. Figure 7As shown, the RAT manager 702 can determine whether the RAT client 708 should perform Wi-Fi communication or cellular communication. The RAT manager 702 can use the application indicator 704, the motion indicator 710, the Wi-Fi indicator 714 and / or the cellular indicator 712 to determine whether to instruct the RAT client to use Wi-Fi or cellular technology. The RAT client 708 can represent a UE or an application executed on a UE, or any entity that has the ability to communicate according to Wi-Fi and cellular technologies.

[0222] Additionally, in the case of an MSIM device, for example, when the RAT client 708 is associated with the MSIM device, the RAT selection manager 702 may also determine which subscription the RAT client 708 uses for cellular communications. For example, the RAT manager 702 may determine whether the RAT client 708 is to conduct cellular communications on a first subscription / subscriber line (e.g., a DDS subscription) or a second subscription / subscriber line (e.g., a non-DDS subscription). In some embodiments, switching between different subscriptions may be enabled and disabled on the MSIM device, for example, by a user or by other means.

[0223] Dynamic link switching

[0224] In most current devices, the RAT manager can only dynamically switch between Wi-Fi and cellular links on a DDS subscription. That is, when switching from a Wi-Fi link to a cellular link, even in an MSIM device, the cellular link is only on a DDS subscription / line. This switching is typically based on a Wi-Fi link quality metric (LQM) and a cellular link metric. Therefore, while the RAT manager can instruct the device to switch from Wi-Fi to cellular communications, in an MSIM device, these cellular communications are only on a DDS subscription / subscriber line.

[0225] Refer again Figure 6 , the UE 106 may be running / executing an application, e.g., running a latency-sensitive application session, over a Wi-Fi link (e.g., via the Wi-Fi access network 606). When the Wi-Fi link degrades, the UE 106 may switch to cellular communication, e.g., the UE 106 may switch the application session to communication via the cellular access network 604 based on various Wi-Fi LQM and cellular indicators.

[0226] The above operation Figure 8. The device (UE) may be in Wi-Fi or in a low latency (LL) cellular link (802). At some point, an LL application (e.g., call) session may be triggered on the UE, which is conducted over Wi-Fi (804). If the Wi-Fi link is not degraded ("No" at 806), the device continues the LL application session over Wi-Fi (808). However, if the Wi-Fi link is degraded ("Yes" at 806) and the cellular link quality is good enough to switch communications from Wi-Fi ("Yes" at 810), the device may switch to the cellular link and continue the LL application session via the cellular link (812). If the cellular link quality of the PHS device is not good enough ("No" at 810), the device continues the LL application session over Wi-Fi (808). As described above, in this case, determining when the Wi-Fi link quality degrades and when the cellular link is good enough may be based on the Wi-Fi LQM and cellular link metrics (eg, RSRP, SNR, RSRQ, etc.).

[0227] Figure 8 The process example in allows dynamic switching from a Wi-Fi link or Wi-Fi communication to a cellular link, but there are certain limitations. For example, data traffic on an MSIM device uses a DDS subscription / subscriber line (DDS subscription for short) by default. Currently, switching between DDS subscription and non-DDS subscription for such MSIM devices during an active application session is not supported. For example, when the MSIM device is used as a PHS (device), the cellular data communication of the PHS MSIM device is carried out on the primary subscription (or DDS subscription) of the PHS MSIM device, and switching to another subscription (e.g., a secondary subscription or a non-DDS subscription) is not supported. This may cause problems in the following scenarios:

[0228] Both Wi-Fi and cellular links are degraded, and application sessions (e.g., calls)

[0229] Continue on the Wi-Fi link until the application session is terminated; and / or

[0230] • Cellular link performance on a DDS subscription is degraded due to various factors such as load, block error rate (BLER), or low bandwidth configured / supported by a particular site, although the cellular link metrics meet the specified criteria.

[0231] For devices supporting MSIM configuration (referred to as MSIM devices), DDS subscriptions may be on inferior RATs and have worse RF conditions than non-DDS subscriptions. In such cases, if the UE switches to the DDS subscription, the user experience provided by the DDS subscription may not be ideal, for example, it may not meet certain requirements, such as QoS requirements or other requirements of a given application. Therefore, before switching to cellular communication or cellular link (e.g., from Wi-Fi communication or Wi-Fi link) to cellular communication or cellular link, considering the different parameters on DDS subscriptions and non-DDS subscriptions, and switching to the cellular link that best meets the link requirements of a given application (session) will help improve communication and user experience.

[0232] Optimizing subscription and RAT selection using location database (DB) parameters

[0233] The decision process for dynamic switching between Wi-Fi and cellular links may utilize a database that stores relevant wireless link performance indicators. In some embodiments, this may be a location database (DB) that is a crowdsourced database that stores multiple key performance indicators (KPIs) reported by various different devices from a given location over a given period of time. The database may be updated with new data regularly, for example, it may be updated once a day. The KPIs in the database are stored on all subscriptions, not just the primary subscription (or DDS subscription). Evaluating the location DB parameters for all data subscriptions (DDS and non-DDS subscriptions) may be the best way for the RAT manager to determine whether to switch to / out of cellular communication, and more specifically, the best way to determine which subscription to use for cellular communication. That is, instead of using the DDS subscription (or primary subscription) cellular link by default, the indicators of all subscriptions may be evaluated, so that link switching may be open to switch to any subscription in the subscription for cellular communication. In some embodiments, the switching decision may be based on evaluating any one or more of the following parameters for all subscriptions of the MSIM device:

[0234] FR1 count;

[0235] FR2 count;

[0236] NR bandwidth

[0237] Downlink throughput;

[0238] Data stagnation rate;

[0239] Average latency (by application); or

[0240] Higher QCI support (dedicated or default bearers supported by subscription).

[0241] Additional parameters and inputs may be considered and selected as needed and useful. For example, if data charges for all subscriptions are low and cellular data switching (e.g., switching between subscriptions) is allowed, additional inputs may be provided by the phone system.

[0242] Evaluate cellular link metrics for all subscriptions

[0243] In some embodiments, location database parameters may be used to evaluate whether to switch from a wireless link currently used by an application session running on the device (e.g., a low latency call session running on the device) to another wireless link. More specifically, the RAT manager may directly evaluate switching between a Wi-Fi link and a cellular link on a preferred subscription. For example, a wireless link performance indicator (e.g., obtained from a database) may be used to directly evaluate whether to switch from a Wi-Fi link to a preferred cellular link that accesses a PHS MSIM device via a PHS link. The preferred cellular link may be selected from a plurality of available cellular links, e.g., cellular links on a DDS subscription and a non-DDS subscription, respectively.

[0244] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., Figure 6 For example, a call (e.g., a data call via a data transfer protocol) can be switched from a Wi-Fi link to a PHS link (e.g., link 620), where link 620 is switched via a PHS device (e.g., Figure 6 UE 106 in the example, used as a PHS for device 626, provides cellular communication access for device 626. The transition from a Wi-Fi link to a PHS link can be achieved when the following criteria are met:

[0245] Specific application sessions, for example, a low-latency call (which can be a data call) is triggered on the device and conducted over Wi-Fi;

[0246] The Wi-Fi LQM degrades and remains degraded for at least a certain duration;

[0247] Enabling (e.g., by the user) cellular handoff (switching between cellular subscriptions);

[0248] as well as

[0249] Based on a set of criteria, e.g. based on radio link performance indicators / parameters in a database

[0250] (such as KPIs in the location DB) and dedicated bearer support, it is determined (eg by the RAT manager) that the session should be switched to one of the cellular subscriptions.

[0251] If it is determined that the application session is switched from Wi-Fi to a PHS link, dedicated bearer support on both DDS subscriptions and non-DDS subscriptions can be evaluated. If all subscriptions meet a certain threshold required to enable switching to PHS, a subscription / operator that can enable dedicated bearer can be selected.

[0252] Fig. 9 The flowchart shows a method for using a device (e.g., Figure 6 Device 626 in the example runs / executes an application session via Wi-Fi and communicates with the device via PHS (e.g., Figure 6 The operation of device 626 using UE 106 as a PHS has been previously described with respect to Figure 6 . At 902, a device (e.g., device 626) may be in a Wi-Fi link while also being in a low latency (LL) personal hotspot (PHS) link (e.g., link 620 to PHS device 106, which in this case is an MSIM device). At 904, an application, e.g., a low latency application (such as a call, which may be a data call) is triggered on the UE and conducted over Wi-Fi. If the Wi-Fi link quality has not degraded, e.g., still meets the specified link quality requirements ("No" at 906), the device continues to run / execute the application over Wi-Fi (908). However, if the Wi-Fi link quality has degraded, e.g., no longer meets the specified link quality requirements ("Yes" at 906), then the link performance indicators (or parameters) of both the DDS (or primary) subscription and the non-DDS (or non-primary) subscription are evaluated, e.g., by the RAT manager (910). As previously described, in some embodiments, the link performance indicator may be obtained as a parameter or parameter value from a location database. In addition, parameters corresponding to all subscriptions (including primary (or DDS) and non-primary (or non-DDS) subscriptions) may be evaluated to determine whether to switch from a Wi-Fi link to a PHS link. If the indication is not to switch to a PHS link (not to switch to communication via PHS; "No" at 912), the device continues to run / execute the application over Wi-Fi (908). However, if the indication is to switch to a PHS link (switch to communication via PHS; "Yes" at 912), a further or additional determination may be made as to which available subscription to select for cellular communication via PHS. In some embodiments, a RAT manager executed on a secondary device (e.g., device 626) may perform an evaluation at 910 to determine whether to switch to a PHS link. In addition, a similar evaluation for all subscriptions may also be performed on a PHS MSIM device (e.g., device 106) to make further / additional determinations as follows.

[0253] Once the secondary device is instructed to switch to PHS (link), at 916, it is determined whether dedicated bearers are supported on the non-primary (or non-DDS) subscription. If not supported ("No" at 916), the device can continue to run / execute the application (session) on the primary (or DDS) subscription through PHS (via the PHS link) (920). If the bearer is supported ("Yes" at 916), it is determined at 918 whether the bearer is supported on the primary (or DDS) subscription. If the bearer is supported ("Yes" at 918), the device can continue to run / execute the application (session) on the primary (or DDS) subscription through PHS (via the PHS link) (920). If the bearer is not supported ("No" at 918), the PHS MSIM device switches to the non-primary (or non-DDS) subscription for cellular communication (922). It should be noted that the device and the corresponding RAT managers running / executing on the PHS MSIM device can communicate with each other (e.g., via the PHS link). For example, the RAT manager on the device may indicate to the PHS MSIM device when the device is to switch to PHS (at 912). In addition, the RAT manager in the device and the RAT manager in the PHS MSIM device may perform parameter evaluations for all subscriptions.

[0254] Switching between two subscriptions on an MSIM device during a PHS session

[0255] In some embodiments, location database parameters may be used to evaluate whether to switch between different subscriptions during an active application session (e.g., during an active call, which may be a data call). More specifically, a RAT manager on a device acting as a PHSMSIM device may evaluate switching between different cellular links corresponding to different subscriptions to directly select a preferred subscription. For example, a radio link performance indicator (e.g., obtained from a database) may be used to directly evaluate whether to switch from one cellular subscription to another cellular subscription (e.g., from a primary or DDS subscription to a non-primary or non-DDS subscription, or vice versa) during an active application session (e.g., during a low-latency call).

[0256] In some embodiments, a PHS session may switch from a primary or DDS subscription to a non-primary or non-DDS subscription when the following criteria are met:

[0257] · A specific application session (e.g., low latency call) is triggered and conducted via the PHSM SIM device;

[0258] The cellular quality on the current subscription degrades and remains degraded for at least the specified duration;

[0259] Enabling (e.g., by the user) cellular handoff (switching between cellular subscriptions);

[0260] Based on a set of criteria, e.g. based on radio link performance indicators / parameters in a database

[0261] (such as KPIs in the location DB) and dedicated bearer support, determining (e.g., by the RAT manager) that the current cellular subscription should be switched to a different cellular subscription.

[0262] The PHS subscription switching capability described above improves device operation (and thus improves user experience) by dynamically switching between subscriptions (eg, between two subscriptions) if data is stuck or user experience is degraded due to load, BLER, or mobility.

[0263] Fig.10 The flowchart shows a method for a PHS device (e.g., Figure 6 The device 106 in the embodiment, in this case the MSIM device used as PHS) during an active PHS session (e.g., during a device using the PHS device to communicate wirelessly for an application session (e.g., Figure 6 1004 . An exemplary method for switching between (cellular) subscriptions during an application session executed / running on a device (e.g., device 626) in a cellular network. As indicated at 1002, a device (e.g., device 626) may be connected to a PHS link, i.e., the device may be connected to a PHS device via a low-latency link (e.g., link 620, which may be a wireless link). While connected to the PHS link, an application session (e.g., a low-latency application session, such as a call session) may be triggered on the device and conducted via the PHS device on a primary subscription or a DDS subscription of the PHS device (1004). If cellular switching is not enabled on PHS ("No" at 1006), the device may continue to execute the application over PHS on the primary subscription or the DDS subscription (1014).

[0264] If cellular handoff is enabled on PHS ("YES" at 1006), it may be determined whether the cellular link quality on the primary subscription or DDS subscription has degraded, e.g., no longer meets certain expected link performance requirements (1008). If the DDS subscription cellular link quality has not degraded ("NO" at 1008), the device may continue to execute the application over PHS on the primary subscription or DDS subscription (1014). On the other hand, if the DDS subscription cellular link quality has degraded, e.g., remains degraded for a specified period of time ("YES" at 1008), link performance indicators (or parameters) for both the DDS (or primary) subscription and the non-DDS (or non-primary) subscription are evaluated, e.g., by the RAT manager (1010), and based on the evaluation, it is determined whether to switch to the non-primary subscription or non-DDS subscription (1012). If it is indicated not to switch ("NO" at 1012), the device may continue to execute the application over PHS on the primary subscription or DDS subscription (1014). If switching is indicated ("YES" at 1012), the PHS device may switch the PHS session from the primary or DDS subscription to the non-primary or non-DDS subscription, and the device may continue to execute the application over PHS on the non-primary or non-DDS subscription (1016).

[0265] By evaluating link performance indicators / parameters of cellular links corresponding to all subscriptions (including primary / DDS and non-primary / non-DDS subscriptions), and dynamically switching between different cellular subscription links based on the evaluation, for devices running / executing various applications (e.g., low latency applications), device performance and thereby user experience can be improved by always identifying and selecting the most preferred link (including Wi-Fi links and cellular links) available to the device (including cellular links available to the device via an MSIM device used as a PHS by the device). Thus, when a device executing an application session over Wi-Fi switches to executing an application session over PHS via a PHS link, the best available cellular subscription link can be selected over the PHS, such as when the device executes an application session over Wi-Fi. Fig. 9 Furthermore, a PHS session need not use the same cellular subscription link for its cellular communications during an application session and may switch to the best available cellular subscription link at any given time, e.g. Fig.10 shown.

[0266] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0267] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable storage medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs may be used to implement the present invention. In other embodiments, one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs may be used to implement the present invention.

[0268] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory storage element) may be configured to store 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 method implementation of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementation of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0269] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium (or a memory element), wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute these program instructions from the memory medium, wherein these program instructions are executable to implement any method implementation in the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementation in the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0270] 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 include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A device, comprising: A processor, the processor being configured to: determining a link quality of a Wi-Fi link used by a device for an application session executed on the device; performing an evaluation of link performance of a plurality of cellular links corresponding to respective cellular subscriptions used by the second device; Based on a determination indicating that the link quality of the Wi-Fi link does not satisfy a set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the device should switch from using the Wi-Fi link to using a second link established between the device and the second device, causing the device to switch to using the second link to access a cellular link selected from the plurality of cellular links for use by the device via the second device for the application session.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the device to continue using the Wi-Fi link in response to one of the following: indicating a determination that the Wi-Fi link satisfies the set of link performance requirements; or A determination indicating that the Wi-Fi link does not satisfy the set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the device should not switch from using the Wi-Fi link to using the second link.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the device is a wearable device and the second device is a personal hotspot device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the selected cellular link is determined based at least on the link qualities of the plurality of cellular links.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: Retrieving from a location database parameters corresponding to the plurality of cellular links for each respective cellular subscription; and The evaluating is performed using the parameters.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first one of the corresponding cellular subscriptions is a primary subscription and the remaining ones of the corresponding cellular subscriptions are non-primary subscriptions.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the selected cellular link is determined based at least on whether any of the non-primary subscriptions supports dedicated bearers.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein when at least one of the non-primary subscriptions supports the dedicated bearer, the selected cellular link is further determined based on whether the primary subscription supports the dedicated bearer.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the selected cellular link corresponds to the primary subscription when the primary subscription supports the dedicated bearer; and Wherein when the non-primary subscription supports the dedicated bearer but the primary subscription does not support the dedicated bearer, the selected cellular link corresponds to the non-primary subscription.

10. A device, comprising: a radio circuit configured to enable wireless communications of the device; and a processor coupled to the radio circuitry and configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to: conducting cellular communication via an active cellular link, wherein the active cellular link is a first cellular link of a plurality of cellular links, wherein each cellular link of the plurality of cellular links corresponds to a respective cellular subscription of a plurality of cellular subscriptions used by the device; establishing a link with a second device, wherein the link allows the second device to access the active cellular link via the device for an application session executing on the second device; determining a link quality of the first cellular link; performing an evaluation on link performance of the plurality of cellular links; as well as Based on a determination indicating that the link quality of the first cellular link does not satisfy a set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the first cellular link should no longer be the active cellular link, switching to a second cellular link of the plurality of cellular links as the active cellular link.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to continue using the first cellular link as the active cellular link in response to one of: indicating a determination that the first cellular link satisfies the set of link performance requirements; or A determination indicating that the link quality of the first cellular link does not satisfy the set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the first cellular link should continue to serve as the active cellular link.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to switch to the second cellular link further based on determining that the device is cellular handover enabled.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to interoperate with the radio circuit to: Retrieving from a location database parameters corresponding to the plurality of cellular links for each respective cellular subscription; and The evaluating is performed using the parameters.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first cellular link corresponds to a primary subscription among the plurality of cellular subscriptions, and the second cellular link corresponds to a non-primary cellular subscription among the plurality of cellular subscriptions.

15. A method for efficient communication using a personal hotspot (PHS) device, the method comprising: executing an application on the device, including using a Wi-Fi link for the application; Determining a link quality of the Wi-Fi link; performing an evaluation of link performance of a plurality of cellular links corresponding to respective cellular subscriptions used by the PHS device; Based on a determination indicating that the link quality of the Wi-Fi link does not satisfy a set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the device should switch from using the Wi-Fi link to using a second link established between the device and the PHS device, switch to using the second link to access an active cellular link among the plurality of cellular links for use by the device via the PHS device for the application.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: Continuing to use the Wi-Fi link in response to one of the following: indicating a determination that the Wi-Fi link satisfies the set of link performance requirements; or A determination indicating that the Wi-Fi link does not satisfy the set of link performance requirements and an evaluation indicating that the device should not switch from using the Wi-Fi link to using the second link.

17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: The active cellular link is determined based at least on the link qualities of the plurality of cellular links.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the active cellular link is further based on which of the plurality of cellular links support dedicated bearers.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein performing the evaluation comprises: acquiring, from a location database, parameters corresponding to the plurality of cellular links for each respective cellular subscription; as well as The evaluating is performed based on the parameters.

20. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: determining whether to switch to a second cellular link among the plurality of cellular links to become the active cellular link on the PHS device during execution of the application on the device; as well as responsive to a determination indicating that the second cellular link should be the active cellular link, switching to the second cellular link to become the active cellular link; Therein, the determination is based at least on the link performances of the plurality of cellular links.

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