Mechanism for dual multi-network operation in dual connectivity

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a solution for multi-network operation in dual connectivity. Specifically, a terminal device starts a connection with a second network without releasing a secondary cell group of a first network. Therefore, the signaling overhead can be reduced, and the overall resource utilization rate is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for multi-network operations in dual connectivity. Background Art

[0002] For the dual connectivity (DC) scenario, it may include two cell groups, namely a primary cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG). The MCG may include a primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells). The SCG may include a primary secondary cell (PSCell) and one or more SCells. In addition, the user equipment (UE) may be configured with multiple user identity modules (SIMs). Summary of the invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor, and at least one memory. The at least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the device to: when in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network, transmit auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network to a network device in a second network; and establish a second connection with the network device in the second network without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor, and at least one memory. The at least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the device to: receive auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in a second network from a terminal device in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network; and establish a second connection with the terminal device.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: when in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network, transmitting auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network to a network device in a second network; and establishing a second connection with the network device in the second network without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided, comprising: receiving auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in a second network from a terminal device in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network; and establishing the second connection with the terminal device.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a component for transmitting auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network to a network device in a second network when in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network; and a component for establishing a second connection with the network device in the second network without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes: a component for receiving auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in a second network from a terminal device in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network; and a component for establishing a second connection with the terminal device.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to at least execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the abstract is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0014] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Schematic diagram showing a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode

[0015] Figure 3 FIG. 2 shows a signaling diagram for multi-SIM operation according to some example embodiments.

[0016] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Schematic diagram showing DRX according to some example embodiments

[0017] Figure 5 Flowchart 2 showing a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure

[0018] Figure 6Flowchart 2 shows a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 7 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Figure 8 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are only for illustrative purposes, which are helpful for those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways other than the ways described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0024] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0025] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element, and they do not limit the order of the nouns. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0026] As used herein, “at least one of: ,” “at least one of ,” and similar descriptions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or,” means at least any one element, or at least any two or more elements, or at least all the elements.

[0027] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step “in response to A” does not mean that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, but may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0028] The terms used herein are used only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprise", "comprising", "having", "having", "includes", and / or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0029] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0030] (a) Only hardware circuit implementation (eg, only implemented in analog and / or digital circuits).

[0031] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable):

[0032] (i) Analog and combination of analog; digital hardware circuits with software / firmware and

[0033] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor and software (including a digital signal processor), software and memory that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions; and

[0034] (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0035] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit, or a processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0036] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be carried out according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course communication technologies and systems of future types that can implement the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0037] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, from which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the node. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node such as a femto, a micro, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network equipment, such as a satellite network equipment, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network equipment, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. The IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a user equipment (UE) to a parent node, and a distributed unit (DU) portion of the IAB node that behaves like a base station to a next-hop IAB node.

[0038] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback facility, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless user terminal equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automatic processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user device", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0039] As used herein, the term "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in the time domain, a resource in the frequency domain, a resource in the spatial domain, a resource in the code domain, or any other resource supporting communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0040] As used herein, the term "dual connectivity (DU)" may refer to a mechanism that allows a terminal device to be connected to two network devices at the same time, or allows a terminal device to aggregate signals in different communication protocols. In dual connectivity, a terminal device can be connected to two cells, or typically to two cell groups, a primary cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG). The term "primary cell group (MCG)" used herein may refer to a cell group that includes a cell from which a terminal device initiates random access when DU is adopted. The term "secondary cell group (SCG)" used herein may refer to a cell group that does not include a cell from which a terminal device initiates random access when DU is adopted.

[0041] As used herein, the term "primary cell (PCell)" may refer to a cell operating on the primary frequency in an MCG, in which a terminal device performs an initial connection establishment process or initiates a connection reestablishment process. The term "secondary cell (SCell)" used herein may refer to a cell that provides additional wireless resources for a terminal device configured with carrier aggregation (CA). Other cells in an MCG may be referred to as sSCells. The term "primary and secondary cell (PSCell)" used herein may refer to a cell that a terminal device randomly accesses in an SCG when performing reconfiguration of a synchronization process. Other cells in an SCG may also be referred to as SCells. The PCell and SCell in an MCG may be operated through CA. The PSCell and SCell in an SCG may also be operated through CA. For dual-connection operation, the term "special cell (Sp Cell)" refers to the PCell of an MCG or the PSCell of an SCG, depending on whether the media access control (MAC) entity is associated with an MCG or an SCG, respectively. Otherwise, the term "SpCell" may refer to a PCell. SpCell may support physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission and contention-based random access.

[0042] As used herein, the term "radio resource control (RRC) connection state" or "RRC connection mode" may refer to a state in which a service radio bearer and a data radio bearer are allocated to a terminal device. The term "RRC idle state" or "RRC idle mode" used herein may refer to a state in which a terminal device is turned on but does not have any established RRC connection. The term "RRC inactive state" or "RRC inactive mode" used herein may refer to a state in which there is a suspended RRC connection.

[0043] As used herein, the term "discontinuous reception (DRX)" or "discontinuous transmission (DTX)" refers to a method used to save power on a mobile device in mobile communications. The term "wake-up duration" used herein refers to a time period during which a terminal device is able to monitor a channel (e.g., a physical control channel or a physical shared channel) and receive data or control information on the channel. The term "DRX period" or "opportunity for DRX" or "sleep time" or "sleep duration" used herein refers to a time period during which a terminal device does not monitor a channel and does not receive data or control information on the channel. The term "DRX cycle" used herein includes a wake-up duration during which a terminal device should monitor a channel and a DRX period during which a terminal device can skip reception of a channel.

[0044] Figure 1An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 100 is a communication network supporting DC. In the communication environment 100, the device 110, the device 120-1, and the device 120-2 can communicate with each other.

[0045] Device 110 may be a terminal device, such as a UE. Device 120-1 and device 120-2 may be network devices, such as gNBs. Device 110 may be configured with dual transmitter / receiver (TX / RX) multi-SIM. For example, device 110 may be configured to have simultaneous connections at two different networks. As an example, SIM 1001 in device 110 may be connected to device 120-1, and SIM 1002 in device 110 may be connected to device 120-2.

[0046] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described in which the device 110 is used as a terminal device and the devices 120-1 and 120-2 are used as network devices. However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in conjunction with the terminal device may be implemented on a network device or other devices, and the operations described in conjunction with the network device may be implemented on a terminal device or other devices.

[0047] In some example embodiments, in the case where apparatus 110 is a terminal device and apparatus 120-1 and apparatus 120-2 are network devices, the link from apparatus 120-1 / apparatus 120-2 to apparatus 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from apparatus 110 to apparatus 120-1 / apparatus 120-2 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, apparatus 120-1 / apparatus 120-2 is a transmission (TX) device (or transmitter), and apparatus 110 is a reception (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, apparatus 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and apparatus 120-1 / apparatus 120-2 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0048] The communication in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0049] Device 110 may be configured with connected DRX (C-DRX). In this case, device 110 is allowed to periodically enter a "sleep" state (sleep duration) during which it is not necessary to monitor the PDCCH. In order to monitor the PDCCH for possible downlink / uplink data, device 110 is allowed to periodically wake up and remain "awake" for a period of time (wake-up duration) before entering "sleep" again. In addition, device 110 may need to wake up occasionally to monitor the PDCCH, for example, to receive possible retransmissions.

[0050] Each DRX cycle may include a DRX wake-up period and a sleep period. Two types of DRX cycles are defined: a long DRX cycle and a short DRX cycle. The network may use the RRC parameter drx-LongCycleStartOffset to control the start position of the long DRX cycle. The offset value may be defined in milliseconds, i.e., the offset is defined so that the long DRX cycle may start at the subframe boundary. In addition, the network may configure the start of the "wake-up duration" at a slot level granularity within a subframe. The parameter drx-SlotOffset may define the start of the "wake-up duration" relative to the start of the subframe boundary. After the start of the long DRX cycle, the device 110 may remain active for a duration of "drx-onDurationTimer", and if no PDCCH is received within this time, the device 110 may enter a DRX sleep state until the start of the next "wake-up duration". For example, if Figure 2AAs shown, there may be a slot offset 230, which is defined by the parameter drx-SlotOffset, from the subframe boundary to the wake-up duration 210-1. The device may remain active during the wake-up duration 210-1 (whose length is defined by the parameter "drx-onDurationTimer"). If no PDCCH is received during the wake-up duration 210-1, the device 110 may enter the DRX sleep state during the opportunity 240 for DRX until the wake-up duration 210-1, that is, the beginning of the next wake-up duration.

[0051] In some embodiments, the device 110 may receive downlink control information at time point 260 of the wake-up duration 210-1, which means that the device 110 is scheduled. The device 110 may start the DRX inactivity timer at time point 260. In this case, the device 110 may remain active and continue to monitor the PDCCH before the DRX inactivity timer expires. The DRX inactivity timer may be configured by RRC as drx-InactivityTimer. Whenever the PDCCH indicates a new UL or DL ​​transmission, the device may start or restart the DRX inactivity timer.

[0052] In one approach, for a terminal device operating in a DC at a first network, a signaling procedure for instructing the terminal device to release a specific cell group is agreed when the terminal device wants to establish a connection in a second network. It is expected that the first network releases the SCG and moves to a single connection to allow the connection in the second network to proceed. However, this solution may not be very effective.

[0053] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for multi-network operation in dual connectivity is provided. Specifically, a terminal device starts a connection with a second network without releasing the SCG of the C-DRX of the first network. This can reduce signaling overhead and improve overall resource utilization.

[0054] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 3 , which shows a signaling flow 300 for reference signal transmission alignment according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 The signaling flow 300 is discussed, for example, by using the device 110, the device 120-1, and the device 120-2.

[0055] Device 110 may maintain (3001) a first connection in the first network. In some example embodiments, if dual connectivity is used at the first network, device 110 may maintain a first connection with an SCG (e.g., provided by device 120-1). The first connection with the SCG may use C-DRX. The connection of device 110 in the first network is in RRC connection mode. Alternatively, in the absence of dual connectivity at the first network, the first connection may be used. That is, the first connection in the first network may not be established with the SCG. For example, Figure 4A As shown in FIG. 4 , the device 110 may be configured with a C-DRX mode having a C-DRX period 420 . The device 110 may remain active during durations 410 - 1 and 410 - 2 . The device 110 may enter a DRX sleep state during a sleep duration 430 .

[0056] The device 110 may be in an RRC idle state in the second network of the device 120-2. Alternatively, the device 110 may be in an RRC inactive state in the second network.

[0057] Device 110 may be configured with one or more paging occasions (PO). Device 120-2 may transmit (3005) a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI) to device 110 on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) during the PO. In other words, device 110-1 may receive the P-RNTI from device 120-2. The P-RNTI may be written into the paging message. The P-RNTI may have a single fixed value used as an indication that the UE may have a paging message on the PDSCH.

[0058] If device 110 finds the P-RNTI within the PDCCH, device 110 may decode the resource allocation information within the PDCCH. This information may direct device 110 to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) resource block that transmits the paging message. Device 120-2 may transmit (3010) the paging message in the PDSCH resource block to device 110. Device 110 may decode the RRC to obtain the paging message from the PDSCH resource block. In some example embodiments, the PDSCH may include an a-DRX paging cause. Device 110 may check the identifier within each paging record. If device 110 does not find its own identifier within the paging record, device 110 may return to checking the P-RNTI in the PDCCH at each paging opportunity. Alternatively, device 110 may transmit a request to device 120-2 to establish a second connection with device 120-2.

[0059] The device 110 may determine (3015) a connection with the second network by sharing the SCG of the first network. For example, the device 110 may respond to a paging message. The device 110 may determine (3020) a transceiver available for the second network when the first network is in a sleep duration of C-DRX.

[0060] Device 110 transmits (3025) auxiliary information to device 120-2. In other words, device 120-2 receives auxiliary information from device 110. The auxiliary information is used to establish a second connection in the second network. Device 110 can establish (3026) a second connection with device 120-2 in the second network without releasing the first connection in the first network. In other words, device 110 can establish the second connection while maintaining the first connection. For example, the second connection can be established without releasing the first connection with the SCG in the first network. Device 110 and device 120-2 can perform an RRC establishment process. Alternatively, device 110 and device 120-2 can perform an RRC recovery process. This can save signaling overhead. In addition, resources can be utilized in a more efficient manner.

[0061] The device 110 may transmit the auxiliary information when establishing the second connection with the second network. For example, the auxiliary information may be transmitted during a random access process with the device 120-2.

[0062] In an example embodiment, the device 110 may transmit the assistance information based on its RRC state in the second network. For example, the assistance information may be transmitted in an RRC setup request. Alternatively, the assistance information may be transmitted in an RRC resume request. In another example embodiment, the assistance information may be transmitted in an RRC reconfiguration request.

[0063] In some example embodiments, the assistance information may be transmitted in User Assistance Information (UAI).Alternatively, the assistance information may be transmitted in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0064] In an example embodiment, the auxiliary information may include an indication of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection. For example, the indication of the discontinuous reception mode may include an indication of a connected discontinuous reception mode. Optionally, the indication of the discontinuous reception mode may include an indication of an extended discontinuous transmission (e-DTX) mode. For example, the auxiliary information may include a field for a C-DRX mode / e-DTX mode indicator. Such a field indicates that the second network may use the sleep period of the C-DRX of the first network in a C-DRX manner (as required) or in an e-DTX manner. For example, the device 120-2 may use the sleep period of the C-DRX in a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner. After receiving the indication of the DRX / DTX mode, the device 120-2 may select the mode suggested in the auxiliary information. For example, in the case where the indication of the discontinuous reception mode is an indication of a connected discontinuous reception mode, the device 120-2 may trigger the second connection during the sleep period of the connected discontinuous reception mode in the connected discontinuous reception mechanism. When the indication of the discontinuous reception mode is an indication of the extended discontinuous transmission mode, the apparatus 120-2 may trigger the second connection during the sleep period of the connected discontinuous reception mode in the extended discontinuous transmission mechanism. Optionally, the apparatus 120-2 may adopt another method according to its implementation.

[0065] Alternatively or additionally, the assistance information may indicate a maximum wake-up duration of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network. Figure 4A As shown, the assistance information may indicate a maximum wake-up duration 440 for the second network. In this way, there will be no conflict with the wake-up duration of the first network.

[0066] The assistance information may also indicate the minimum sleep time of the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network. Figure 4A As shown, the assistance information may indicate a minimum sleep time / duration 450. As an example, in the case where the second network is using a C-DRX mode, the device 120-2 may determine a C-DRX configuration based on the minimum sleep time. In this way, within the minimum sleep duration of the second network, the first network may continue to communicate for the C-DRX wake-up duration through its SCG.

[0067] In addition, the auxiliary information may also indicate a wake-up time offset relative to the end of the wake-up duration of the first network. For example, the auxiliary information may include a field for the wake-up time offset. Such a field may be used to notify the second network to start its wake-up duration after an offset relative to the end of the wake-up duration of the first network or the end of the minimum sleep duration.

[0068] In an example embodiment, the wake-up time offset may include an average extension of the wake-up duration of the first network. For example, the wake-up time offset may cover the average extension of the wake-up duration of the first network due to its traffic characteristics. Alternatively or additionally, the wake-up time offset may include a carrier switching time between an operator of the first network and an operator of the second network. In some other embodiments, the wake-up time offset may include an estimated time length using an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) model. For example, the wake-up time offset may be obtained through AI / ML techniques.

[0069] Device 110 may be connected to device 120-1 in the first network and device 120-2 in the second network at the same time (i.e., a first connection and a second connection). Device 110 may communicate with device 120-1 via SCG in C-DRX mode. Device 110 may also communicate with device 120-2 in C-DRX mode or e-DTX mode during the sleep time of the first network. For example, Figure 4A As shown, device 110 may remain active during wake-up durations 460 - 1 and 460 - 2 and go to sleep during sleep time 470 for the second connection with device 120 - 2 .

[0070] In some example embodiments, during the wake-up duration of the SCG in the first network, device 110 may transmit (3045) updated assistance information to device 120-2. In other words, device 120-2 may receive updated assistance information from device 110. Device 120-2 may modify one or more of the above-mentioned indication of the discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection, the maximum wake-up duration, the minimum sleep time, or the wake-up time offset based on the updated assistance information.

[0071] In an example embodiment, the apparatus 110 may detect (3030) an extension of the wake-up duration of the C-DRX mode of the SCG. Figure 4B As shown, device 110 may determine an extension of wake-up duration 410-2. Device 110 may determine (3040) to disable or postpone the upcoming duration of the second connection. In this case, updated auxiliary information (3045) may be transmitted to indicate the determined action.

[0072] In some example embodiments, device 110 may determine (3040) to postpone the start of the upcoming duration of the second connection by the time offset. In this case, the updated assistance information may include the time offset for postponing the start of the upcoming wake-up duration. Device 120-2 may postpone the start of the upcoming wake-up duration by the time offset. For example, Figure 4BAs shown, device 120 - 2 may delay the start of wake duration 460 - 2 .

[0073] Alternatively, device 110 may determine (3040) an upcoming duration to disable the second connection. In this case, the updated assistance information may include a disable indication indicating that the upcoming wake-up duration is disabled. Device 120-2 may disable (or skip) the upcoming wake-up duration. For example, Figure 4B As shown, device 120 - 2 may disable wake-up duration 460 - 2 .

[0074] In some other example embodiments, apparatus 110 may determine (3040) to release the second connection. In this case, the updated assistance information may include a release indication for indicating the release of the second connection with the second network. Apparatus 120-2 may release the second connection.

[0075] In some example embodiments, if device 110 is within the wake-up duration of the first connection and needs to transmit updated assistance information, device 110 may need to find a gap in communication with device 120-2 and transmit the updated assistance information. For example, device 120-2 may transmit the updated assistance information using a random access channel (RACH) procedure. Alternatively, device 120-2 may transmit the updated assistance information using a pre-allocated semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) resource.

[0076] In some example embodiments, radio resource management (RRM) for a connected discontinuous reception mode of a secondary cell group may be satisfied prior to transmission with the second network. For example, before commencing any transmission with the second connection, the apparatus 110 may process an RRM requirement for a C-DRX sleep duration of an SCG in the first network based on its implementation.

[0077] According to reference Figure 2 to Figure 4B In the described embodiment, the device 110 can establish a second connection in the second network while maintaining a first connection with the SCG in the first network, thereby reducing signaling overhead and improving overall resource utilization.

[0078] Figure 5 A flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purpose of discussion, Figure 1 Method 500 is described from the perspective of device 110.

[0079] In some example embodiments, at block 510, the apparatus 110 may maintain a first connection with a secondary cell group in the first network. The first connection of the secondary cell group may adopt a connected discontinuous reception mode.

[0080] At block 520 , the apparatus 110 , while in a first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network, transmits, to a network device in the second network, auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network.

[0081] At block 530 , the apparatus 110 establishes a second connection with a network device in the second network without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: an indication of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection, a maximum wake-up duration for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, a minimum sleep time for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, or a wake-up time offset relative to an end of the wake-up duration for the first network.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the indication of the discontinuous reception mode includes one of: an indication of a connected discontinuous reception mode, or an indication of an extended discontinuous transmission mode.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the wake-up time offset comprises at least one of: an average spread of the wake-up duration of the first network, or a carrier switching time between an operator of the first network and an operator of the second network.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the wake-up time offset includes an estimated time length using an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) model.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further includes: transmitting updated assistance information to the network device during a wake-up duration of the connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further includes: detecting an extension of the wake-up duration of the connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network; and based on the detection of the extension of the wake-up duration, transmitting updated auxiliary information associated with the extension of the wake-up duration to the network device.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the updated assistance information includes a time offset for deferring a start of an upcoming wake-up duration for the second connection.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the updated assistance information includes a disable indication indicating an upcoming wake-up duration for disabling the second connection.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the updated assistance information includes a release indication for indicating release of the second connection with the second network.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further includes: transmitting updated auxiliary information to the network device during a random access procedure with the network device; or transmitting updated auxiliary information to the network device on pre-allocated semi-persistent scheduling resources.

[0092] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 500 further includes: transmitting the auxiliary information in the user auxiliary information to the network device; or transmitting the auxiliary information in the media access control MAC control element CE to the network device.

[0093] Optionally, the method 500 further includes: transmitting one of the following auxiliary information to the network device: a radio resource control establishment request, a radio resource control recovery request, or a radio resource control reconfiguration request.

[0094] In some example embodiments, prior to transmission with the second network, radio resource management for a connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network is satisfied.

[0095] Figure 6 A flow chart of an example method 600 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present invention is shown. For the purpose of discussion, Figure 1 Method 600 is described from the perspective of device apparatus 120 - 2 .

[0096] At block 610, the device 120-2 receives auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in a second network from a terminal device in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network. The first connection of the secondary cell group adopts a connected discontinuous reception mode.

[0097] At block 620 , the equipment device 120 - 2 establishes a second connection with the terminal device.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: an indication of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection, a maximum wake-up duration for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, a minimum sleep time for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, or a wake-up time offset relative to an end of the wake-up duration for the first network.

[0099] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes: triggering a second connection during a sleep period of a connected state discontinuous reception mode in a connected state discontinuous reception mechanism based on determining that the indication of the discontinuous reception mode is an indication of a connected state discontinuous reception mode; or triggering a second connection during a sleep period of a connected state discontinuous reception mode in an extended discontinuous transmission mechanism based on determining that the indication of the discontinuous reception mode is an indication of an extended discontinuous transmission mode.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the wake-up time offset comprises at least one of: an average spread of the wake-up duration of the first network, or a carrier switching time between an operator of the first network and an operator of the second network.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the wake-up time offset includes an estimated time length using an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) model.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further includes: receiving updated auxiliary information from the terminal device within a wake-up duration of the connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further includes: receiving updated assistance information associated with the extension of the wake-up duration from the terminal device in a connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises deferring the start of the upcoming wake-up duration to the time offset in accordance with the time offset determined for deferring the start of the upcoming wake-up duration for the second connection.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: disabling the upcoming wakeup duration of the second connection in accordance with determining that the updated assistance information comprises a disabling indication for indicating disabling of the upcoming wakeup duration of the second connection.

[0106] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes: releasing the second connection with the terminal device according to determining that the updated auxiliary information includes a release indication for indicating release of the second connection with the second network.

[0107] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 600 further includes: receiving updated auxiliary information from the terminal device during a random access process with the network device; or receiving updated auxiliary information from the terminal device on pre-allocated semi-persistent scheduling resources.

[0108] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 600 further includes: receiving auxiliary information in user auxiliary information from the terminal device; or receiving auxiliary information in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) from the terminal device.

[0109] Optionally, the method 600 further includes: receiving auxiliary information of one of the following from the terminal device: a radio resource control establishment request, a radio resource control recovery request, or a radio resource control reconfiguration request.

[0110] In some example embodiments, a first device (eg, Figure 1The device 110 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The first device may be implemented as Figure 1 The device 110 in or included in the device 110.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: a component for transmitting auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network to a network device in the second network when in a first connection with a secondary cell group in the first network; and a component for establishing a second connection with the network device in the second network without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the first connection of the secondary cell group adopts a connected discontinuous reception mode.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: an indication of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection, a maximum wake-up duration for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, a minimum sleep time for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, or a wake-up time offset relative to an end of the wake-up duration for the first network.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the indication of the discontinuous reception mode comprises one of: an indication of a connected discontinuous reception mode or an indication of an extended discontinuous transmission mode.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the wake-up time offset comprises at least one of: an average spread of the wake-up duration of the first network, or a carrier switching time between an operator of the first network and an operator of the second network.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the wake-up time offset includes an estimated time length using an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) model.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting updated auxiliary information to the network device within a wake-up duration of a connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: a component for detecting an extension of a wake-up duration of a connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network; and a component for transmitting updated auxiliary information associated with the extension of the wake-up duration to a network device based on the detection of the extension of the wake-up duration.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the updated assistance information includes a time offset for deferring a start of an upcoming wake-up duration for the second connection.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the updated assistance information includes a disable indication indicating an upcoming wake-up duration for disabling the second connection.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the updated assistance information includes a release indication for indicating release of the second connection with the second network.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: a component for transmitting updated auxiliary information to the network device during a random access procedure with the network device; or a component for transmitting updated auxiliary information to the network device on pre-allocated semi-persistent scheduling resources.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting the auxiliary information in the user auxiliary information to the network device; or means for transmitting the auxiliary information in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to the network device.

[0124] In some exemplary embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: a component for transmitting to the network device auxiliary information of one of the following: a radio resource control establishment request, a radio resource control recovery request, a radio resource control reconfiguration request.

[0125] In some example embodiments, prior to transmission with the second network, radio resource management for a connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network is satisfied.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is a terminal device.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 500 or apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform.

[0128] In some example embodiments, a second device (eg, Figure 1 The device 120 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 600. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The second device may be implemented as Figure 1 The device 120-2 in or included in the device 120-2.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises: means for receiving auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network from a terminal device in a first connection with a secondary cell group in the first network; and means for establishing the second connection with the terminal device.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the first connection of the secondary cell group adopts a connected discontinuous reception mode.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the assistance information indicates at least one of: an indication of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection, a maximum wake-up duration for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, a minimum sleep time for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, or a wake-up time offset relative to an end of the wake-up duration for the first network.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the second device further includes: a component for triggering a second connection during a sleep period of a connected state discontinuous reception mode in a connected state discontinuous reception mechanism based on determining that the indication of the discontinuous reception mode is an indication of a connected state discontinuous reception mode; or a component for triggering a second connection during a sleep period of a connected state discontinuous reception mode in an extended discontinuous transmission mechanism based on determining that the indication of the discontinuous reception mode is an indication of an extended discontinuous transmission mode.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the wake-up time offset comprises at least one of: an average spread of the wake-up duration of the first network, or a carrier switching time between an operator of the first network and an operator of the second network.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the wake-up time offset includes an estimated time length using an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) model.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving updated auxiliary information from the terminal device within a wake-up duration of a connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving updated auxiliary information associated with the extension of the wake-up duration from the terminal device in a connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for deferring the start of the upcoming wakeup duration to the time offset based on determining that the updated assistance information comprises a time offset for deferring the start of the upcoming wakeup duration for the second connection.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for disabling an upcoming wakeup duration of the second connection in accordance with determining that the updated assistance information comprises a disabling indication for indicating disabling of an upcoming wakeup duration of the second connection.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further includes: a component for releasing the second connection with the terminal device based on determining that the updated auxiliary information includes a release indication for indicating release of the second connection with the second network.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving updated auxiliary information from the terminal device during a random access process with the network device; or a component for receiving updated auxiliary information from the terminal device on a pre-allocated semi-persistent scheduling resource.

[0141] In some exemplary embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving auxiliary information in user auxiliary information from a terminal device; or a component for receiving auxiliary information in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) from a terminal device.

[0142] In some exemplary embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving auxiliary information of one of the following from the terminal device: a radio resource control establishment request, a radio resource control recovery request, a radio resource control reconfiguration request.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is a network device.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 600 or device 120-2. In some example embodiments, the device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions are executed by the at least one processor to cause the second device to perform.

[0145] Figure 7 700 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 As shown, the apparatus 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processors 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processors 710.

[0146] The communication module 740 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 740 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communicating with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 740 may include at least one antenna.

[0147] As non-limiting examples, processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes a master processor.

[0148] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 724, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that do not persist during a power outage.

[0149] The computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 710. The instructions of the program 730 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 730 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

[0150] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 730 so that the device 700 may perform the operations described in reference to FIG. Figure 6 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage device accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible rather than a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0152] Figure 8 An example of a computer readable medium 800 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 800 has a program 730 stored thereon.

[0153] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof in non-limiting examples.

[0154] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in a program module, executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform any of the methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. The machine executable instructions for the program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0155] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0156] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0157] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0158] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or performing all of the operations shown to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0159] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0160] In some aspects, an apparatus for multi-network operation is provided, comprising:

[0161] at least one processor; and

[0162] at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

[0163] When in a first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network, transmitting, to a network device in the second network, auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network; and

[0164] Without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network, a second connection is established with the network device in the second network.

[0165] In some examples, the first connection uses a connected discontinuous reception mode, and / or the first connection does not use dual connectivity at the first network.

[0166] In some examples, the auxiliary information indicates at least one of: an indication of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection, a maximum wake-up duration for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, a minimum sleep time for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, or a wake-up time offset relative to the end of the wake-up duration for the first network.

[0167] In some examples, the indication of the discontinuous reception mode includes one of: an indication of a connected state discontinuous reception mode, or an indication of an extended discontinuous transmission mode.

[0168] In some examples, the wake-up time offset includes at least one of: an average spread of the wake-up duration of the first network, or a carrier switching time between an operator of the first network and an operator of the second network.

[0169] In some examples, the wake time offset includes an estimated length of time using an artificial intelligence / machine learning AI / ML model.

[0170] In some examples, the apparatus is enabled to: transmit updated auxiliary information to a network device during a wake-up duration of a connected discontinuous reception mode of a first network.

[0171] In some examples, the apparatus is caused to: detect an extension of a wake-up duration of a connected discontinuous reception mode of a first network; and based on the detection of the extension of the wake-up duration, transmit updated assistance information associated with the extension of the wake-up duration to a network device.

[0172] In some examples, the updated assistance information includes a time offset for deferring a start of an upcoming wakeup duration for the second connection.

[0173] In some examples, the updated assistance information includes a disable indication indicating an upcoming wakeup duration to disable the second connection.

[0174] In some examples, the updated assistance information includes a release indication for indicating the release of the second connection with the second network.

[0175] In some examples, the apparatus is enabled to: transmit updated auxiliary information to the network device during a random access process with the network device; or transmit updated auxiliary information to the network device on pre-allocated semi-persistent scheduling resources.

[0176] In some examples, the apparatus is enabled to: transmit auxiliary information in user auxiliary information to a network device; or transmit auxiliary information in a media access control MAC control element CE to a network device.

[0177] In some examples, the apparatus is caused to: transmit to a network device auxiliary information of one of: a radio resource control establishment request, a radio resource control resumption request, or a radio resource control reconfiguration request.

[0178] In some examples, prior to transmission with the second network, radio resource management of a connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network is satisfied.

[0179] In some examples, the apparatus is a terminal device.

[0180] In some aspects, an apparatus for multi-network operation is provided, comprising:

[0181] at least one processor; and

[0182] At least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in a second network from a terminal device in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network; and establish a second connection with the terminal device.

[0183] In some examples, the first connection uses a connected discontinuous reception mode, and / or the first connection does not use dual connectivity at the first network.

[0184] In some examples, the auxiliary information indicates at least one of: an indication of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection, a maximum wake-up duration for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, a minimum sleep time for the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, or a wake-up time offset relative to the end of the wake-up duration for the first network.

[0185] In some examples, the device is caused to: trigger a second connection during a sleep period of a connected state discontinuous reception mode in a connected state discontinuous reception mechanism based on determining that the indication of the discontinuous reception mode is an indication of a connected state discontinuous reception mode; or trigger a second connection during a sleep period of a connected state discontinuous reception mode in an extended discontinuous transmission mechanism based on determining that the indication of the discontinuous reception mode is an indication of an extended discontinuous transmission mode.

[0186] In some examples, the wake-up time offset includes at least one of: an average spread of wake-up durations for the first network, or a carrier switching time between an operator of the first network and an operator of the second network.

[0187] In some examples, the wake duration offset includes an estimated length of time using an artificial intelligence / machine learning AI / ML model.

[0188] In some examples, the apparatus is enabled to: receive updated auxiliary information from a terminal device during a wake-up duration of a connected discontinuous reception mode of a first network.

[0189] In some examples, the apparatus is enabled to: receive updated auxiliary information associated with an extension of the wake-up duration from a terminal device in a connected discontinuous reception mode of a first network.

[0190] In some examples, the apparatus is caused to: based on determining that the updated assistance information includes a time offset for deferring the start of the upcoming wakeup duration for the second connection, defer the start of the upcoming wakeup duration to the time offset.

[0191] In some examples, the apparatus is caused to: disable an upcoming wakeup duration of the second connection based on determining that the updated assistance information includes a disable indication for indicating that an upcoming wakeup duration of the second connection is to be disabled.

[0192] In some examples, the apparatus is caused to: release the second connection with the terminal device based on determining that the updated auxiliary information includes a release indication for indicating release of the second connection with the second network.

[0193] In some examples, the apparatus is enabled to: receive updated auxiliary information from a terminal device during a random access process with a network device; or receive updated auxiliary information from a terminal device on pre-allocated semi-persistent scheduling resources.

[0194] In some examples, the apparatus: receives auxiliary information in user auxiliary information from a terminal device; or receives auxiliary information in a media access control MAC control element CE from a terminal device.

[0195] In some examples, the apparatus is enabled to: receive auxiliary information from a terminal device in one of the following: a radio resource control establishment request, a radio resource control resumption request, or a radio resource control reconfiguration request.

[0196] In some examples, the apparatus is a network device.

[0197] In some aspects, a method for multi-network operation is provided, comprising: while in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network, transmitting, at a device, auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network to a network device in a second network; and establishing a second connection with the network device in the second network without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network.

[0198] In some aspects, a method for multi-network operation is provided, comprising: at an apparatus, receiving auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in a second network from a terminal device in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network; and establishing the second connection with the terminal device.

[0199] In some aspects, an apparatus for multi-network operation is provided, comprising: a component for transmitting auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network to a network device in a second network while in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network; and a component for establishing a second connection with the network device in the second network without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network.

[0200] In some aspects, an apparatus for multi-network operation is provided, comprising: a component for receiving auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in a second network from a terminal device in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network; and a component for establishing the second connection with the terminal device.

[0201] In some aspects, a computer-readable medium is provided, including instructions stored thereon, the instructions being used to cause an apparatus to at least perform a method according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: When in a first connection with a secondary cell group in a first network, transmitting, to a network device in a second network, auxiliary information for establishing a second connection in the second network; as well as The second connection is established with the network device in the second network without releasing the first connection with the secondary cell group in the first network.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first connection adopts a connected discontinuous reception mode, and / or The first connection does not use dual connectivity at the first network.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the auxiliary information indicates at least one of the following: an indication of a discontinuous reception / transmission mode for the second connection, the maximum wake-up duration of the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, the minimum sleep time of the discontinuous reception / transmission mode available to the second network, or A wake-up time offset relative to the end of the wake-up duration of the first network. 4 . The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the indication of the discontinuous reception mode comprises one of the following: an indication of the connected discontinuous reception mode, or an indication of an extended discontinuous transmission mode.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the wake-up time offset comprises at least one of: the average extension of the wake-up duration of the first network, or A carrier switching time between an operator of the first network and an operator of the second network.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the wake-up time offset comprises an estimated time length using an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) model.

7. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device: During a wake-up duration of the connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network, updated auxiliary information is transmitted to the network device.

8. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device: detecting an extension of the wake-up duration of the connected discontinuous reception mode of the first network; and Based on detecting the extension of the wake-up duration, updated assistance information associated with the extension of the wake-up duration is transmitted to the network device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the updated assistance information comprises a time offset for deferring a start of an upcoming wake-up duration for the second connection.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the updated assistance information comprises a disable indication for indicating an upcoming wake-up duration for disabling the second connection.

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