Handling of reference configurations

Abstract

According to some embodiments, there is provided a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: determining a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; and generating a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell based on the determined reference configuration and the target candidate configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the handling of reference configurations. Background Art

[0002] 3GPP Dual Connectivity

[0003] In 3GPP Rel-12, the LTE feature Dual Connectivity (DC) was introduced to enable UEs to connect in two cell groups, each controlled by an LTE access node eNB labeled Master eNB (MeNB) and Secondary eNB (SeNB). The UE still has only one RRC connection to the network. In 3GPP, the Dual Connectivity (DC) solution has been evolving since then and is now also specified for NR and between LTE and NR. Multi-Connectivity (MC) is the case when more than 2 nodes are involved. With the introduction of 5G, the term MR-DC (Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity, see also 3GPP TS 37.340) has been defined as a general term for all dual connectivity options that include at least one NR access node. Using the MR-DC broad terminology, the UE is connected in a primary cell group (MCG) controlled by a master node (MN) and in a secondary cell group (SCG) controlled by a secondary node (SN).

[0004] In addition, in MR-DC, when dual connectivity is configured for the UE, carrier aggregation can also be used in each of the two cell groups MCG and SCG. In this case, in the primary cell group MCG controlled by the master node (MN), the UE can use one PCell and one or more SCells. In the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the secondary node (SN), the UE can use one primary SCell (PSCell, also called the primary SCG cell in NR) and one or more SCells. Figure 1 This combination is shown in . In NR, the primary cell of a primary or secondary cell group is sometimes also called a special cell (SpCell). Therefore, the SpCell in the MCG is the PCell, and the SpCell in the SCG is the PSCell.

[0005] There are different ways to deploy 5G networks with or without interworking with LTE (also known as E-UTRA) and Evolved Packet Core (EPC). In principle, NR and LTE can be deployed without any interworking, which is represented by NR Standalone (SA) operation (also known as Option 2), i.e., gNBs in NR can be connected to the 5G Core (5GC) and eNBs in LTE can be connected to the EPC, without any interconnection between the two (also known as Option 1).

[0006] On the other hand, the first supported NR version uses dual connectivity, denoted as EN-DC (E-UTRAN-NR Dual Connectivity), also known as Option 3, as Figure 2 As depicted in . In such a deployment, dual connectivity between NR and LTE is applied, where the UE is connected to both the LTE radio interface to the LTE access node (LTE Uu in the figure) and the NR radio interface to the NR access node (NR Uu in the figure). In addition, in EN-DC, the LTE access node acts as a master node (called master eNB, MeNB in ​​this case) controlling the main cell group MCG, and the NR access node acts as a secondary node (sometimes also called secondary gNB, SgNB in ​​this case) controlling the secondary cell group SCG. The SgNB may not have a control plane connection to the core network (EPC), which is instead provided by the MeNB for NR in this case. This is also called "non-independent NR" or "NSA NR" for short. Note that in this case, the functionality of the NR cell is limited and will be used as a booster and / or diversity branch for connected mode UEs, but RRC_IDLE UEs cannot be pre-occupied on these NR cells.

[0007] With the introduction of 5GC, other options may also be valid. As mentioned above, option 2 supports standalone NR deployments with gNBs connected to 5GC. Similarly, LTE can also be connected to 5GC using option 5 (also known as eLTE, E-UTRA / 5GC, or LTE / 5GC, and the node can be called ng-eNB). In these cases, both NR and LTE are considered part of NG-RAN (and both ng-eNB and gNB can be called NG-RAN nodes).

[0008] It is worth noting that there are other variations of dual connectivity between LTE and NR, which have been standardized as part of NG-RAN connected to 5GC. Under the MR-DC umbrella, we have: EN-DC (Option 3): LTE is the primary node and NR is the secondary node (using EPC CN, as depicted in Error! Reference source not found.) NE-DC (Option 4): NR is the primary node and LTE is the secondary (using 5GCN) NGEN-DC (Option 7): LTE is the primary node and NR is the secondary (using 5GCN) NR-DC (a variant of Option 2): Dual connectivity, where both the master node MN controlling the MCG and the secondary node SN controlling the SCG are NR (using 5GCN, as depicted in Error! Reference source not found.).

[0009] Conditional Switch (CHO)

[0010] In 3GPP Rel-16, conditional handover has been standardized as a solution to increase robustness at handover. In order to avoid undesired reliance on the serving radio link at the time (and radio conditions) at which the UE should perform the handover, the possibility of providing early RRC signaling related to the handover to the UE has been standardized. For example, it is possible to associate the HO command with a condition based on radio conditions that may be similar to those associated to the A3 event (where a given neighbor becomes X db better than the target). Once the condition is met, the UE performs the handover according to the provided handover command.

[0011] Such a condition may be, for example, that the quality of the target cell or beam becomes X dB stronger than the serving cell. The threshold Y used in the prior measurement report event should then be selected to be lower than the threshold in the handover execution condition. This allows the serving cell to prepare for handover as soon as an early measurement report is received and to provide an RRCConnectionReconfiguration with mobilityControlInfo (or an RRCReconfiguration with reconfigurationWithSync) at a time when the radio link between the source cell and the UE is still stable. The execution of the handover is completed at a later point in time (and threshold) that is considered optimal for the handover execution.

[0012] Figure 4 An example with only serving and target cells is depicted. In practice, there may often be many cells or beams that have been reported by the UE as possible candidates based on its prior RRM measurements. The network should then have the freedom to issue conditional handover commands for several of those candidates. For example, the RRCConnectionReconfiguration / RRCReconfiguration message for each of those candidates may be different, not only with respect to the target cell, but also with respect to, for example, the HO execution conditions (RS to be measured and thresholds to be exceeded) and with respect to the RA preamble to be sent when the conditions are met.

[0013] When the UE evaluates the condition, it continues to operate as per its current RRC configuration, i.e., no conditional HO command is applied. When the UE determines that the condition is met, it disconnects from the serving cell, applies the conditional HO command and connects to the target cell. These steps are equivalent to a conventional handover execution.

[0014] When the UE has successfully performed a random access procedure towards a target cell during a conditional handover or a normal handover, it releases all conditional reconfigurations it has stored. The target cell may then configure a new conditional reconfiguration to the UE if it deems it useful.

[0015] Conditional PSCell Change (CPC) in 3GPP Rel-16

[0016] A solution for the conditional PSCell change (CPC) procedure has also been standardized in Rel-16. Therein, a UE operating in multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) receives one or more RRC reconfigurations (e.g. RRCReconfiguration messages) containing an SCG configuration (e.g. secondaryCellGroup of IECellGroupConfig) in a conditional reconfiguration, with a reconfigurationWithSync stored and associated to an execution condition (e.g. like a condition of an A3 / A5 event configuration), so that one of the stored messages is only applied when an execution condition associated with, for example, the serving PSCell is met, at which time the UE will perform a PSCell change (provided it finds a better neighboring cell than the current SpCell of the SCG). In 3GPP Rel-16, only intra-SN CPC without MN participation is standardized, i.e. for the case where the (candidate) target PSCell is located in the current serving SN.

[0017] Similar to conditional handover, provided that random access is performed to the target PSCell and the UE is configured with CPC, the UE releases all conditional reconfigurations it has stored.

[0018] CPA and inter-SN CPC in 3GPP Rel-17

[0019] In 3GPP Rel-17, solutions for Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA) and Inter-SN CPC are being discussed and introduced. The CPA procedure is used to add a PSCell / SCG to the configuration of a UE that is currently only configured with an MCG when the associated execution conditions are met. CPA is initiated by the MN by requesting the SCG configuration (to be provided to the UE as part of the conditional reconfiguration) from the (candidate) target SN (T-SN), and then sending it to the UE in the conditional reconfiguration together with the associated execution conditions.

[0020] Inter-SN CPC can be initiated either by the MN or by the source SN (S-SN), wherein in both cases the signaling towards the source SN and (candidate) target SNs as well as towards the UE is handled by the MN. Figure 5 One of the possible signaling sequences for configuration of Inter-SN CPC initiated by the source SN can be seen in the signaling flow in .

[0021] Also for Rel-17 Conditional PSCell Change (CPC) / Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA), a UE configured with CPC / CPA releases the CPC / CPA configuration upon completion of random access towards the target PSCell.

[0022] NR-DC in 3GPP Rel-18, where cell groups are selectively activated via L3 enhancement (at least for SCG)

[0023] 3GPP Rel-18 introduces enhancements for different mobility procedures, the work item description is found in RP-213565, New WI: Further NR Mobility Enhancements, MediaTek, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #94e, December 6-17, 2021. One of the current goals is to "specify mechanisms and procedures for NR-DC, where cell groups are selectively activated via L3 enhancements (at least for SCG), which includes "allowing subsequent cell group changes after changing CG without reconfiguration and re-initiating CPC / CPA."

[0024] Therefore, it should be possible to perform subsequent cell group changes after the first cell group change without reconfiguring or re-initiating a conditional PSCell change (CPC) or conditional PSCell addition (CPA). This is done to reduce the interruption time and signaling overhead for SCG changes, especially in the case of frequent SCG changes when operating in FR2 in NR, compared to releasing these configurations when the UE completes random access towards the target PSCell (as in previous releases).

[0025] Full configuration vs. incremental configuration

[0026] As part of the mobility preparation to the target node, the source node sends the current UE configuration to the target node. The target node prepares a target configuration for the UE based on the current configuration and the capabilities of the target node and the capabilities of the UE. The target configuration is sent from the target node to the source node and then to the UE in an RRCReconfiguration. As a simplified option, the target configuration can be provided as a so-called incremental configuration, which only indicates the difference from the current configuration of the UE in the source cell.

[0027] However, in some cases, for example, if the target node does not recognize something in the current configuration of the UE, for example because the target node does not support certain features supported by the source node, the target node will trigger a full configuration. A full configuration means that the UE will clear the current configuration and start a new configuration from scratch. This is further described in Section 5.3.5.11 of TS 38.331 V16.7.0 and is referred to as "full configuration" or "fullConfig". A full configuration may include parameter values ​​for each type in a parameter type set.

[0028] The full configuration may also be used in mobility if the network would rather signal the entire UE target configuration towards the source cell instead of signaling an incremental configuration (eg if the incremental configuration is complex to build).

[0029] Default Configuration

[0030] In the past, default configurations have been used in some cases. A default configuration is a configuration that specifies parameters and values ​​for these parameters, usually together with an identification of the configuration. The network may signal only the identification of the configuration and the UE will apply the values ​​of the parameters defined for that particular default configuration. In the past, such default configurations have been defined, for example, in the RRC specifications TS 25.331, 36.331 and 38.331 for UTRAN, LTE and NR.

[0031] Retrievable configuration

[0032] In UTRAN, retrievable configurations are defined in RRC. When the network indicates an identification of the retrievable configuration and an indication for storage, the UE stores the current values ​​of the defined parameter set in UE variables. When the network indicates an identification of the retrievable configuration and an indication for revocation, the UE applies the stored values ​​of the defined parameter set. Retrievable configurations may also be preconfigured, i.e., explicitly signaled in advance by the network. The procedure text for retrievable configurations in TS 25.331 (Rel-17, v.17.0.0) is as follows: 8.6.4.16 Retrievable Configuration Information If the reconfiguration message includes the IE "Retrievable Configuration Information": 1> Perform the following actions, and then act upon all other received information elements, as specified in subclause 8.6. If the reconfiguration message includes the IE "Retrievable Configuration to be called": 1> Treat IE "the retrievable configuration to be called" as the called id; 1> Act as if all parameters stored in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION for the called id have been received in the reconfiguration message; 1> If any of those parameters stored in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION for the call id are also included in the reconfiguration message, or if the parameter has not been assigned a value in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION: 2> For those parameters in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION act according to the values ​​received in the reconfiguration message. If the reconfiguration message includes the IE "Retrievable Configuration to Store": 1> Treat IE "retrievable configuration to be stored" as the stored id; 1> After the above has been acted upon according to the IE "retrievable configuration to be called" (if that IE is included): 2> Store the values ​​of the parameters of the resulting configuration with the stored id in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION, replacing or clearing any previously stored information in this entry. If the reconfiguration message includes the IE "Retrievable Configuration to Remove": 1> Remove the retrievable configuration identified by IE's "Retrievable Configuration Identifier". If the IE "Retrievable configuration to call" is included in the reconfiguration message and the retrievable configuration with the received identification is not stored in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION: 1>Set the variable INVALID_CONFIGURATION to TRUE. If the message also includes other IEs besides the IE "Preconfigured Retrievable Configuration", the UE shall act first according to those IEs and then according to the IE "Preconfigured Retrievable Configuration". For each occurrence of the IE "Preconfigured Retrievable Configuration": 1> Treat IE "Retrievable Configuration Identifier" as the stored id; 1> Store all values ​​of the parameters in IE "retrievable configuration" with the stored id in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION; 1> If the same retrievable configuration identifier has already been stored in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION: 2> If any of those parameters stored in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION for the IE "Retrievable Configuration Identification" is also included in the IE "Retrievable Configuration" in the reconfiguration message, or if the parameter has not been assigned a value in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION: 3> Overwrite the stored value with the value received in IE "Retrievable Configuration" and store the new value in the variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION.

[0033] The UE variable RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION defines which parameters the UE should store: 13.4.74 RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION This variable indicates the content of the retrievable configuration. The UE shall only store parameters obtained via dedicated signalling into this variable. For actions related to the setting of this variable, see subclause 8.6.4.16. This variable shall be cleared when leaving UTRARRC connected mode and on successful SRNS relocation. Note 1: Not available. NOTE 2: IE "MAC-hs queue list to be deleted" should not be stored as part of RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION. Note 3: Values ​​should only be stored for "new configuration" or "new operation" or "start". NOTE 4: IE "MAC-es / e Reset Indicator" SHOULD NOT be stored as part of the RETRIEVABLE_CONFIGURATION. Summary of the invention

[0034] There is currently a challenge or challenges. In rel-16 and rel-17, the UE releases the conditional reconfiguration (e.g. CHO, CPC, CPA) once any conditional reconfiguration is performed (once the execution condition monitored by the UE is met) or once reconfigurationWithSync is performed, i.e. upon handover or PSCell change (once a handover command is received). This is a simple solution, but one problem is that after the UE is in the new cell (e.g. after PSCell execution), the network may want to configure the UE again with new CPC candidates and may end up configuring a cell that was previously configured and whose configuration has been deleted.

[0035] In rel-18, once CHO / CPC / CPA and / or reconfiguration with synchronization is performed, the conditional reconfiguration (i.e., the (one or more) target candidate configurations denoted as RRCReconfiguration*(k) for the kth candidate, which are to be applied once the execution condition is met) should no longer always be deleted; therefore, when the UE moves from one cell to another, the CPC / CHO / CPA configurations of the target candidates (e.g., RRCReconfiguration*(1), ..., RRCReconfiguration*(K)) are not deleted and may be applied later after the UE has moved to another cell. The solution in which the UE maintains the configuration of the target candidates stored during reconfiguration with synchronization and / or conditional reconfiguration execution reduces signaling and potentially improves reliability, but a problem arises: the so-called delta problem (the delta problem refers to "delta signaling", which includes a set of parameter types to be modified in a given configuration, while the parameter types that the UE knows as part of the message structure but are missing when the message is received indicate to the UE that the value of the same parameter type in the UE's current configuration should be maintained (for further details, see Required Code M in 3GPP TS 38.331 (Rel-17, v.17.0.0)).

[0036] The incremental problem arises because: the target candidate node (such as the target candidate SN in the case of CPC) receives a request to configure the UE using conditional reconfiguration (such as CPC, where the request is an SN add request message on Xn from the MN to the SN), where the request includes the UE's current SCG configuration (e.g., RRC parameters, fields, IEs). It is based on the UE's current SCG configuration that the target candidate node generates a target candidate configuration of the SCG to be applied when the execution condition is met (this is incremental signaling with the UE's current SCG configuration as a reference, that is, only the parameters to be modified are added, and missing parameters mean that the UE uses the current parameters). This incremental signaling is the target candidate configuration of the SCG provided to the UE. If the UE performs CPC or reconfiguration with synchronization for the first time, there is no problem: the UE applies the target candidate configuration of the SCG (incremental signaling) on ​​top of the UE's current SCG configuration, and has generated a target candidate configuration of the SCG (incremental signaling) with the UE's current SCG configuration as a reference for incremental signaling. However, after the UE is in a new cell and attempts to apply one of the stored (one or more) target candidate configurations, for example once the execution conditions are met, a reconfiguration failure may occur because the stored (one or more) target candidate configurations that the UE will apply have been designed with incremental signaling having the UE's previous SCG configuration as a reference, rather than the UE's current SCG configuration (after the first execution).

[0037] Figure 6 An example of how the incremental configuration problem (or simply the incremental problem) may occur is shown in . When the UE is in cell A (i.e., the UE's current configuration is equivalent to RRCReconfiguration(A)), the UE is configured with a CPC for the target candidate cell B (i.e., the UE has stored RRCReconfiguration(B)) and a CPC for the candidate cell C (i.e., the UE has stored RRCReconfiguration(C)). -When the target candidate SN of cell B is requested to configure CPC, it already has RRCReconfiguration(A) as a reference and generates RRCReconfiguration(B) as incremental signaling, i.e., those parameters that the target candidate SN wishes to keep the same as in RRCReconfiguration(A) are already missing in the generated RRCReconfiguration(B) message. -When the target candidate SN of cell C is requested to configure CPC, it already has RRCReconfiguration(A) as a reference and generates RRCReconfiguration(A) as incremental signaling, i.e., those parameters that the target candidate SN wishes to keep the same as in RRCReconfiguration(A) are already missing in the generated RRCReconfiguration(C) message.

[0038] When in cell A, the UE determines that the execution condition has been met for cell B and selects this cell, i.e., the UE performs CPC towards cell B by applying RRCReconfiguration(B) and maintains the stored CPC configuration for cell C (RRCReconfiguration(C)). The configuration for cell C is an incremental configuration (or incremental signaling) generated by the target candidate SN responsible for cell C (e.g., a gNodeB operating as an SN), with the UE's current configuration at the time of configuration as a reference for the increment (i.e., RRCReconfiguration(A)). However, if the UE maintains the stored RRCReconfiguration(C) while in cell B, and the CPC execution condition for cell C is met while in cell B, this incremental configuration is applied while in cell B. Then, the final configuration will be incorrect because the source configuration to which the increment is applied is not the expected source configuration. This may result in an RRC reconfiguration failure, which may trigger an SCG failure report instead of a successful CPC execution.

[0039] The problem is further compounded if the UE performs multiple CPCs one after another, as then it is unclear to which configuration the increment is indicated. The network does not know in advance (i.e. when signaling the conditional reconfiguration to the UE) in which order the conditional reconfigurations will be performed, and therefore cannot know which will be the current configuration for the UE when the conditional reconfiguration is applied.

[0040] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0041] The examples herein include different methods for a UE to determine a reference configuration (e.g., by receiving an indication of, or by selection of, reference configuration(s),), store the reference configuration(s), and use the reference configuration(s) when applying an incremental configuration on top of a source configuration.

[0042] Examples herein also include a solution in which, when a UE is configured with a candidate configuration, the UE generates a complete configuration for each incremental configuration based on a reference configuration and stores the complete configuration for each candidate cell.

[0043] Examples herein also include different methods for a network node, such as a node acting as a master node (MN), to determine a reference configuration and signal the reference configuration or an indication of the reference configuration or how to generate the reference configuration to a UE.

[0044] Examples herein also include methods for a network node (e.g., a node acting as a master node (MN) or a secondary node (SN)) to signal a reference configuration or an indication of a reference configuration or how to generate a reference configuration between network nodes (such as between a MN and a SN).

[0045] Methods according to examples of the present disclosure are described below.

[0046] A1. A method at a user equipment (UE), the UE operating in multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) and connected to at least a master node (MN) and having a current SCG configuration of the UE, the method comprising: - receiving an RRC reconfiguration message including one or more target candidate configurations from the MN, each target candidate configuration being associated with a target candidate cell for conditional reconfiguration; - wherein at least one of the target candidate configuration(s) includes delta signaling; - The method further comprises the UE determining a reference configuration for incremental signaling of at least one target candidate configuration; and - once one of the target candidate cells for the conditional reconfiguration satisfies the execution condition, selecting one of the cells for which the execution condition is satisfied; and - Applying the target candidate configuration(s) of the selected cell to the determined reference configuration.

[0047] A2. The method according to A1 further comprises: the UE determines the reference configuration for incremental signaling of at least one target candidate configuration as the SCG configuration of the UE when the UE has received the RRC reconfiguration message from the MN.

[0048] A3. According to the method of A1, further comprising: the UE determines the reference configuration for incremental signaling of at least one target candidate configuration as a default configuration that the UE has in its memory.

[0049] A4. The method according to A1 further comprises: the UE determines the reference configuration for incremental signaling of at least one target candidate configuration as the configuration included in the RRC reconfiguration message and designated as the reference configuration.

[0050] A5. The method according to A1, wherein the determined reference configuration is stored, and before the target candidate configuration of the selected cell is applied, the SCG configuration of the UE is restored to the reference configuration, and then the target candidate configuration of the selected cell is applied.

[0051] A6. According to the method of A1, a complete configuration version is generated for at least one target candidate configuration based on the determined reference configuration, and the complete configuration version is stored.

[0052] A6b. According to the method of A6, once a cell is selected, the generated complete configuration version associated to the target candidate configuration is applied.

[0053] A7. The method according to A6 further comprises: releasing the reference configuration when the complete configuration version is generated.

[0054] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. An advantage of this solution is that it clearly indicates which configuration the UE should apply the incremental configuration towards. This also reduces the amount of signaling because the incremental configuration can be used in more cases and the full configuration does not have to be used in cases where multiple conditional reconfigurations are stored and not deleted after performing other conditional reconfigurations or reconfigurationWithSync.

[0055] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment UE is provided. The method includes: determining a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell. The method further includes: generating a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell based on the determined reference configuration and the target candidate configuration.

[0056] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a network node is provided. The method includes signaling to a UE or a network node at least one of the following: a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, an indication of the reference configuration for incremental signaling of the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, and an indication of how to generate the reference configuration for incremental signaling of the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell. The UE may use the target candidate configuration and the reference configuration to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell.

[0057] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment for reconfiguration in a network is provided. The user equipment includes a processing circuit configured to cause the user equipment to determine a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell. The processing circuit is further configured to cause the user equipment to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell based on the determined reference configuration and the target candidate configuration. The user equipment further includes a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0058] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment for reconfiguration in a network is provided, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell. The user equipment is further configured to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell based on the determined reference configuration and the target candidate configuration.

[0059] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node for reconfiguration in a network is provided. The network node includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is configured to cause the network node to signal to a UE or a network node at least one of the following: a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, an indication of the reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, and an indication of how to generate a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell. The UE can use the target candidate configuration and the reference configuration to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell. The network node further includes a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0060] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node for reconfiguration in a network is provided. The network node is configured to signal at least one of the following to a UE or a network node: a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, an indication of the reference configuration for incremental signaling of the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, and an indication of how to generate the reference configuration for incremental signaling of the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell. The UE may use the target candidate configuration and the reference configuration to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] For a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and in order to show how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0062] Figure 1 Dual connectivity combined with carrier aggregation in MR-DC is shown;

[0063] Figure 2 EN-DC is shown;

[0064] Figure 3 NR-DC is shown;

[0065] Figure 4 Shows conditional switch execution;

[0066] Figure 5 shows the inter-SN CPC in 3GPP Rel-17;

[0067] Figure 6 shows the incremental configuration problem when conditional reconfiguration is maintained;

[0068] Figure 7 A method in a UE according to an example is shown;

[0069] Figure 8 A method in a network node according to an example is shown;

[0070] Fig. 9 A method in a network node according to an example is shown;

[0071] Fig.10 A method in a network node according to an example is shown;

[0072] Fig.11 A method in a network node according to an example is shown;

[0073] Fig.12 shows the disposition of the reference configuration;

[0074] Fig.13 A communication system according to an example is shown;

[0075] Fig.14 A UE according to an example is shown;

[0076] Fig.15 shows a network node according to an example;

[0077] Fig.16 showing a host according to an example;

[0078] Fig.17 illustrates a virtualized environment according to an example; and

[0079] Fig.18 A communication network according to an example is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0080] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.The embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0081] Figure 7 Method 7 may be performed by a UE or a wireless device (eg, as described later in detail in detail in the accompanying drawings). Fig.13 and Fig.14 The method may further include storing the current configuration of the UE as a reference configuration. The method may further include receiving an indication that the current configuration of the UE is stored as a reference configuration. The indication may be received together with an instruction for reconfiguration, and wherein the indication may indicate that the configuration to be stored is the configuration of the UE before applying these instructions or the configuration of the UE after applying these instructions. The method may further include applying the target candidate configuration to the determined reference configuration. The method may further include: before applying the target candidate configuration, if the configuration of the UE is not the reference condition, restoring the configuration of the UE to the reference configuration, and then applying the target candidate configuration. The method may further include receiving information from a network node, the information including at least one of the following: a reference configuration; an indication of the reference configuration; an indication of how to generate the reference configuration; an indication of which configuration among the UE source configuration or at least one UE target candidate configuration is the reference configuration; an indication that the current UE configuration can be used as a reference configuration.

[0082] Figure 8 Describes a method according to a specific embodiment. Method 8 may be performed by a network node (eg, as later referred to, respectively Fig.13 and Fig.15 The method may be performed by the network node 1310 or the network node 1500 described in the description). The method starts from step 802, wherein at least one of the following is signaled to the UE or the network node: a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; an indication of a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; an indication of how to generate a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the UE may use the target candidate configuration and the reference configuration to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell. For example, the method may include signaling at least one of the following to the UE or the network node: a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; an indication of a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; an indication of how to generate a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell. The method may further include determining a reference configuration.

[0083] Fig. 9 Describes a method according to a specific embodiment. Method 9 may be performed by a network node (a first network node) (eg, as later referred to in Fig.13 and Fig.15 The method starts from step 902, wherein, for a network operating with multi-radio dual connectivity MR-DC, indicating to a second network node that a current secondary cell group configuration can be used as a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell; or signaling a reference configuration to the second network node or indicating a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. For example, the method may include: indicating to the second network node that the current secondary cell group configuration can be used as a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; and / or signaling a reference configuration to the second network node or indicating a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell. The method may further include: determining that a conditional cell change is to be configured; and transmitting a request for a conditional cell change to the second network node, the request including a conditional cell change candidate and the current secondary cell group configuration. The first network node may be a source secondary node S-SN. The second network node may be a master node.

[0084] Fig.10The method 10 may be performed by a network node (a second network node) (eg, as described later in detail in detail in the accompanying drawings). Fig.13 and Fig.15 The method may be performed by the network node 1310 or the network node 1500 described in the embodiment of the present invention. The method starts from step 1002, wherein information is transmitted to the UE for the UE to determine a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. For example, the method may include transmitting information to the UE for the UE to determine a reference configuration for the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell. The second network node may be a master node. The information may be included in the reconfiguration message. The method may further include: before transmitting, receiving at least one of the following from a third network node: a target secondary cell group configuration; a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell; an indication of a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell. The method may further include: receiving a request for a conditional cell change, the request including a conditional cell change candidate and a current conditional cell change confirmation; transmitting a request message for a conditional cell change to a third network node, the message including a conditional cell change candidate and a current conditional cell change configuration; or transmitting a reference configuration or a current secondary cell group configuration and a reference configuration to the third network node. The third network node may include a target candidate secondary node.

[0085] Fig.11 Describes a method according to a specific embodiment. The method 11 may be performed by a network node (third network node) (eg, as later referred to in Fig.13 and Fig.15The method starts from step 1102, wherein at least one of the following is transmitted to the second network node: a target secondary cell group configuration for conditional cell change; a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell; an indication of the reference configuration for the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. For example, the method may include transmitting at least one of the following to the second network node: a target secondary cell group configuration for conditional cell change; a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; an indication of the reference configuration for the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell. The method may further include receiving a request message for conditional cell change from the second network node before transmitting, the message including at least one of the following: a conditional cell change candidate and a current secondary cell group configuration; a reference configuration, or a current secondary cell group configuration and a reference configuration. The method may further comprise receiving a message from the second network node, the message comprising information that the UE has performed a conditional cell change and for which cell the UE has performed the conditional cell change.

[0086] Initial Disclaimer

[0087] The examples herein refer to a first network node operating as a master node (MN), which for example has a master cell group (MCG) configured to a UE; the MN may be a gNodeB, or a central unit gNodeB (CU-gNB), or an eNodeB, or a central unit eNodeB (CU-eNB), or any network node and / or network function. The examples herein also refer to a second network node operating as a secondary node (SN) or a source secondary node (S-SN), which for example has a secondary cell group (SCG) preconfigured to (i.e., not connected to) a UE; the SN may be a gNodeB, or a central unit gNodeB (CU-gNB), or an eNodeB, or a central unit eNodeB (CU-eNB), or any network node and / or network function. Note that the MN, S-SN, and T-SN may be from the same or different radio access technologies (and may be associated to different core network nodes).

[0088] The text often refers to a "Secondary Node (SN)" or target SN. This is equivalent to saying that this is the target candidate SN, or the network node associated to the target candidate PSCell being configured. If the UE is connected to that cell, if the cell is associated to that node, then transmission and reception with the UE will be handled by that node.

[0089] The text says that the cell resides in a node, for example, the target candidate cell resides in an S-SN or a t-SN. This is equivalent to saying that the cell is managed by the node, or is associated to the node, or is associated with the node, or the cell belongs to the node, or the cell is of the node.

[0090] "SN initiated CPC" corresponds to a process in which a source SN for a UE configured with MR-DC determines the CPC to be configured. Once determined, the source SN selects one or more target candidate cells ((one or more) target candidate PSCells), for example based on the reported measurement results, wherein at least one cell is associated to the source SN and at least another cell is associated to a neighboring SN. It can be said that if all target candidate cells are associated to the source SN, the CPC is "SN initiated intra-SN CPC". It can be said that if at least one target candidate cell is associated to a neighboring SN, the CPC is "SN initiated inter-SN CPC".

[0091] The present disclosure refers to a candidate SN or SN candidate or SN as a network node (e.g., gNodeB) that is prepared during the CPA process and can create an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration**) with an SCG configuration to be provided to the UE, which is stored together with an execution condition, wherein the UE applies the message only when the execution condition is met. The candidate SN is associated with one or more PSCell candidate cells that can be configured for the UE. The UE can then execute the condition and access one of these candidate cells associated with the candidate SN, and the candidate SN becomes a SN or SN for short after execution (i.e., once the execution condition is met).

[0092] The present disclosure mentions conditional PSCell change (CPC) configuration and procedures (such as CPC execution), and most of the time the procedure is mentioned from the perspective of the UE. Other terms can be considered synonyms, such as conditional reconfiguration or conditional configuration (because the message stored and applied when the condition is met is RRCReconfiguration or RRCConnectionReconfiguration). In terms of terminology, we can also interpret conditional handover (CHO) in a broader sense, also covering the CPA (conditional PSCell change) procedure. The document mentions conditional SN change, generally referring to the process from the perspective of the UE, referring to the process between network nodes, in which the node requests a target candidate SN (which may be the same as the source SN or a neighboring SN) to configure a conditional PSCell change (CPC) for at least one of its associated cells (cells associated to the target candidate SN).

[0093] This disclosure refers to CPAC as a way of referring to either Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA) or Conditional PSCell Change (CPC).

[0094] This disclosure mentions neighbor SNs and source SNs as different entities, however, both may be target candidate SNs for CPC.

[0095] Configuration of CPC can be done using the same IE as conditional switching, which is sometimes referred to as conditional configuration or conditional reconfiguration. The principles used for this configuration are the same as configuring the trigger / (one or more) execution conditions and the reconfiguration message to be applied when the (one or more) trigger conditions are met. Configuration IE from TS 38.331 (Rel-17, v.17.0.0): –ConditionalReconfiguration The IE ConditionalReconfiguration is used to add, modify, and release conditional configurations. ConditionalReconfiguration Information Elements The IE CondConfigId is used to identify the CHO or CPC configuration. CondConfigId Information Element The IE CHO-ConfigToAddModList refers to a list of conditional configurations to be added or modified, with for each entry a cho-ConfigId and associated condExecutionCond and condRRCReconfig. CondConfigToAddModList Information Element

[0096] In different embodiments, these IEs are used differently, for example, sometimes the MN generates these IEs, sometimes the source SN generates these IEs, and sometimes the target candidate SN generates these IEs.

[0097] In various embodiments, when the CPC configuration is not configured as an MR-DC configuration in an mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup (as defined in TS 38.331 (Rel-17, v.17.0.0)), the CPC is said to be in MN format. In other words, (e.g., if the UE is also configured with SCG MeasConfig for inter-SN CPC) the UE receives an RRCReconfiguration from the MN that may contain an mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup, but the CPC is not in that container. That means that those IEs listed above (e.g., IE ConditionalReconfiguration) are not included in the mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup.

[0098] In various embodiments, when the CPC configuration is configured as an MR-DC configuration in an mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup (as defined in TS 38.331 (Rel-17, v.17.0.0)), the CPC is said to be in SN format. In other words, the UE receives an RRCReconfiguration from the MN that may contain an mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup and the CPC is within that container. That means that those IEs listed above (e.g., IE ConditionalReconfiguration) are included in the mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup (e.g., within a series of other nested IEs).

[0099] The examples in this document refer to reference configuration and incremental signaling.

[0100] In one set of embodiments, a reference configuration includes a set of parameter values ​​for a set of parameter types, such as in the reference configuration: - parameter type 1 = 'value_1'; - parameter type 2 = 'value_2'; - parameter type 3 = 'value_3'; - parameter type 4 = 'value_4';

[0101] The parameter type may correspond to a parameter within the RRC reconfiguration message, such as a field and an information element (IE), each of which has a specific value when the UE receives the message. Thus, the reference configuration may be represented as RRCReconfiguration to indicate that the reference configuration includes one or more parameters, fields and / or IEs of the RRCReconfiguration message.

[0102] In one set of embodiments, the incremental signaling (or incremental signaling message) includes a set of parameter values ​​for a set of parameter types, and a set of parameter types whose values ​​are missing. Those parameter types whose values ​​are set indicate to the UE receiving the incremental signaling message that these new values ​​should replace the existing values ​​for the same parameter types. Those parameter types whose values ​​are missing indicate to the UE receiving the message that the UE should use the values ​​for these parameter types set in the reference configuration. To illustrate the concept, let us assume the following incremental signaling, which is generated with the reference configuration in the previous example as the reference configuration: -param type 1 = 'value_7'; -param type 2 = 'value_5'; -Parameter type 3 = "; -Parameter type 4 = ";

[0103] The UE that receives this incremental signaling has the reference configuration (1) as the reference configuration, and applies the incremental signaling to the current reference configuration (1), obtaining the following configuration: - Parameter type 1 = 'value_7' (i.e., 'value_1' is replaced with 'value_7') - Parameter type 2 = 'value_5' (i.e., 'value_2' is replaced with 'value_5') - Parameter type 3 = 'value_3' (ie, 'value_3' is reserved because the value is missing in incremental signaling) - Parameter type 4 = 'value_4' (ie, 'value_4' is reserved because the value is missing in incremental signaling)

[0104] Embodiments of the present disclosure

[0105] Disposal of reference configuration

[0106] Reference configurations can be used in different use cases. Fig.12 A reference configuration used when configuring and executing a conditional PSCell change CPC is shown.

[0107] Examples herein include a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an RRC reconfiguration message, such as RRCReconfiguration, which includes one or more target candidate cell configurations such as (one or more) PSCell configurations and / or SCG configurations (e.g., RRCReconfiguration* in MN format including at least SCG RRC reconfiguration), based on which the UE determines a reference configuration, wherein the (one or more) reference configurations are used as configurations to which incremental configurations are applied (which may be referred to as "source configurations").

[0108] In one set of embodiments, the UE determines the reference configuration as a reference configuration indicated by the network, for example by different means. The reference configuration may have different contents.

[0109] In one set of embodiments, the reference configuration comprises a current UE configuration, such as the UE's configuration when the UE receives the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0110] The current UE configuration may include the configuration in which the UE is operating when the UE receives the RRC reconfiguration message from the MN, such as the current SCG configuration of the UE.

[0111] The reference configuration (or an indication of the reference configuration, such as a pointer, an identifier) ​​may be explicitly signaled to the UE, based on which the UE may store the current configuration as the reference configuration.

[0112] It may be standardized that the UE is aware that the current configuration is to be considered as the reference configuration; either the UE knows this because it is hardcoded, or it is in the UE memory, or implicitly indicates that the current configuration is the reference configuration when configuring, e.g. by the absence of an explicit field and / or IE.

[0113] What is considered the current configuration includes the configuration that the UE had before applying an RRC reconfiguration message including one or more target candidate cell configurations (for CPC) or after applying an RRC reconfiguration message. The RRC reconfiguration message applied may be the message signaled at that point in time, or an earlier received message that is stored.

[0114] In one option, the reference configuration includes an MCG part and / or an SCG part. The need for the MCG part is attributable to the fact that the messages to be applied at CPC execution are in MN format (RRCReconfiguration*), including the SCG RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration**) generated by the target candidate SN.

[0115] In another option, the UE stores two separate reference configurations, one for the MCG and one for the SCG. That way, for example in case of a procedure to update only the SCG reference configuration, it is possible to update the reference configuration separately for the MCG and for the SCG.

[0116] In one option, the reference configuration comprises the current configuration, for example, the UE stores the current configuration in UE variables, either when the UE is configured with CPC or when the UE is first configured with RRC reconfiguration when returning from RRC_IDLE.

[0117] In one set of embodiments, the UE determines that the reference configuration is the configuration of one of the target candidates for conditional reconfiguration, where the UE has been configured with, for example, one of the full configurations.

[0118] In one set of embodiments, the UE determines that the reference configuration is a default configuration, for example stored in a memory of the UE. That may be a configuration that is standardized and known to the UE.

[0119] In one set of embodiments, the UE receives an indication of which configuration is the reference configuration. For example, the UE source configuration or one of the UE target candidate configuration(s) is indicated as being indicated as the reference configuration.

[0120] The indication of the reference configuration may be a separate indication referring to the reference configuration.

[0121] The indication may be an identification of a configuration serving as a reference configuration.

[0122] In a first option, the target candidate configuration indicated as reference is a complete configuration, i.e., the complete configuration is stored and used as reference, so if the UE needs to apply another target candidate configuration, it is applied on top of that indicated configuration (which is the complete configuration).

[0123] In the second option, the target candidate configuration indicated as the reference configuration is also an incremental signaling (or an incremental configuration, i.e., may contain some parameter types whose values ​​are missing). Upon receiving the configuration, the UE first needs to generate a complete configuration version of the configuration (without the missing parameter types) as an actual reference, i.e., the UE generates the complete configuration version by applying the incremental on top of its current configuration and storing the result.

[0124] In one alternative, the target candidate configuration designated as a reference for a delta configuration (delta_config_X) is also a delta configuration (delta_config_1) on top of another reference configuration (reference_config_1), but the UE stores these configurations separately and applies the delta configuration (delta_config_X) in multiple steps, such as reference_config_1+delta_config_1+delta_config_X.

[0125] In one set of embodiments, the entire reference configuration may be explicitly signaled, separate from and / or from the current configuration.One or more reference configurations may be signaled, and each reference configuration may have an identification.

[0126] In one set of embodiments, different target candidate configuration(s) signaled as incremental may have different reference configuration(s).The UE may store multiple reference configurations for the different target candidate configuration(s) also stored.

[0127] In one set of embodiments, a subset of the target candidate configurations (one or more) as incremental signaling may have a first reference configuration, while another subset of the target candidate configurations (one or more) may have a second reference configuration. This may be interesting if each target candidate SN can determine its reference configuration.

[0128] In one set of embodiments, the reference configuration is determined to be a configuration associated with the occurrence of certain events (e.g., state transitions), such that the UE stores the configuration as a reference configuration, e.g., when transitioning to RRC_CONNECTED. The occurrence of an event may determine that the UE should store the reference configuration.

[0129] In one option, the reference configuration is the resulting RRC configuration that the UE has after receiving and applying the RRCSetup message (for configuring SRB1) when the UE transitions from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED. Note that DRBs and security are not part of this RRC setup message, so this configuration will be limited and the target candidate may need to be taken into account when generating its incremental configuration(s). Alternatively, the MN signals the reference configuration to the target candidate.

[0130] In one option, the reference configuration is the resulting RRC configuration that the UE has after receiving and applying the first RRC reconfiguration message (for configuring SRB1) when the UE transitions from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED. This allows the reference configuration to have DRBs configured, but also security (because that is after the initial security activation).

[0131] In one option, in case the UE transitions from RRC_INACTIVE to RRC_CONNECTED, the reference configuration is the resulting RRC configuration the UE has after receiving and applying the RRCResume message.In one option, the reference configuration is the resulting RRC configuration the UE has after receiving and applying the first RRC reconfiguration message after receiving the RRCResume message.

[0132] In one option, the event is the first RRC reconfiguration after reestablishment.The resulting configuration after applying the RRC reconfiguration may be determined as the reference configuration.

[0133] In one option, the event is a reconfiguration with synchronization, eg, the reference configuration is the resulting configuration after a handover and / or a PSCell change and / or a PSCell addition.

[0134] In one option, the UE maintains the reference configuration(s) stored when transitioning from RRC_CONNECTED to RRC_INACTIVE, and then restores it / them when returning to RRC_CONNECTED again. In an alternative, the network indicates to the UE, for example in an RRCResume message or in a subsequent RRC reconfiguration message, what reference configuration(s) to maintain when the UE resumes connection. In an alternative, the RRCResume message (and / or a subsequent RRC reconfiguration message) is an incremental configuration for one of the stored reference configurations. The network then provides a configuration in the RRCResume message (and / or a subsequent RRC reconfiguration message) that is an incremental configuration on top of the stored reference configuration, wherein the UE then applies the received configuration on top of the corresponding stored reference configuration. In one example, the UE receives from the network in the RRCResume message (and / or a subsequent RRC reconfiguration message) an indication of what stored reference configuration the included configuration should be applied to, for example, as an identifier of the corresponding stored reference configuration.

[0135] The reference configuration may be a complete configuration, ie including all parameters of the UE configuration, or it may be a part of the configuration. If the reference configuration is not a complete configuration, the network may indicate in signaling the values ​​of those parameters that are not part of the reference configuration.

[0136] In one set of embodiments, the UE receives an indication to first apply a reference configuration and then apply incremental configurations on top of it. This may be explicitly indicated in signaling. This may be implicitly indicated or standardized so that if the UE has received or has stored a reference configuration, the UE first applies the reference configuration before applying incremental configurations. In one option, the UE receives an indication that it should apply a specific reference configuration, e.g. as indicated by an identification of the reference configuration, and then apply incremental configurations on top of that configuration.

[0137] The method may include transmitting a response message, such as RRCReconfigurationComplete, to the network indicating successful configuration.

[0138] When the condition(s) for conditional reconfiguration are met (eg, some time after the UE receives the CPC configuration), the reference configuration is applied or used as the source configuration, and the delta configuration is added on top of the source configuration.

[0139] In one set of embodiments, the UE determines a reference configuration before it needs to use it together with incremental signaling of the selected cell for performing CPC. In one option, the UE determines the reference configuration and generates a full configuration version by applying incremental signaling on top of the reference configuration, i.e., what is stored is a full configuration version of each target candidate, and that is the configuration that is applied to the UE (rather than applied on top of the UE's current configuration).

[0140] In one set of embodiments, when the UE needs to use a reference configuration together with incremental signaling of a selected cell for performing CPC, for example as part of a procedure for performing CPC, the UE determines the reference configuration before applying the incremental signaling.

[0141] The method may further include transmitting a response message of successful execution to the network, such as RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0142] In one set of embodiments, the reference configuration is a configuration generated by the MN. This may be a configuration that the MN indicates, for example in an SN Add Request, to each target candidate SN (TC-SN) that wants to generate incremental signaling for the target candidate configuration. That may be transparent to the TC-SN, as the TC-SN may interpret the signaled reference configuration as the current configuration of the UE. Different TC-SNs may receive different reference configurations.

[0143] In one set of embodiments, the reference configuration is a configuration generated by the S-SN. That is the configuration that the S-SN indicates to the MN, for example in the SN modification required for the request CPC (SN initiated CPC). The MN indicates the reference configuration to the TC-SN that wants to generate incremental signaling for the target candidate configuration, for example in an SN add request. This can be transparent to the TC-SN because the TC-SN can interpret the signaled reference configuration as the current configuration of the UE. It can also be transparent to the MN. Different TC-SNs may receive different reference configurations. The MN may receive different reference configurations for different target candidate cells and / or TC-SNs.

[0144] In one set of embodiments, the reference configuration is a configuration generated by the TC-SN. That is the configuration with the target candidate configuration that the TC-SN indicates to the MN, for example in the SN Add Request Ack. The MN may receive different reference configurations for different target candidate cells and / or TC-SNs. In one option, the TC-SN indicates that one of its (one or more) complete configurations for the target candidate is a reference configuration of other incremental configurations, i.e., other target candidate cells.

[0145] In an example, there is a method performed by a source secondary node (S-SN), the method comprising: In case of SN initiated CPC, determine the configured CPC. In the case of SN initiated CPC, a request for CPC is transmitted to the MN, including CPC candidates and current SCG configuration as part of the request for CPC. In one option, the source SN indicates to the MN that the current SCG configuration can be used as a reference configuration.

[0146] In one option, the source SN (also) signals a reference configuration as part of the request for CPC, or indicates a reference configuration.

[0147] In an example, there is a method performed by a Master Node (MN), the method comprising: In the case of SN initiated CPC, a request for CPC is received including CPC candidates and current SCG configuration as part of the request for CPC. Transmitting (one or more) request messages for CPC to (one or more) TC-SNs, the (one or more) The messages include: CPC candidates and current SCG configuration. Alternatively, reference configuration(s) or both current SCG configuration and reference configuration(s) are transmitted to the T-SN. Reference configuration(s) may include SCG configuration, or alternatively, may include both MCG and SCG configurations, or only MCG configuration.

[0148] The method may further include receiving (one or more) response messages from (one or more) TC-SNs. The (one or more) messages include: A target SCG configuration, such as that for CPC. Reference configuration(s) or indication of reference configuration(s), see Further methods for UE regarding options for reference configuration(s).

[0149] It is possible to add MCG related information to the reference configuration(s).

[0150] The method may further include transmitting an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, such as RRCReconfiguration, which includes one or more target candidate cell configurations such as (one or more) PSCell configurations and / or SCG configurations (e.g., RRCReconfiguration* in MN format including at least SCG RRC reconfiguration), based on which the UE determines a reference configuration, wherein the (one or more) reference configurations are used as the configuration to which the incremental configuration is applied (which may be referred to as the "source configuration").

[0151] In a set of embodiments, the reference configuration may be determined as a reference configuration specified by the network, for example by different means. The reference configuration may have different contents.

[0152] In one set of embodiments, the reference configuration comprises a current UE configuration, such as the UE's configuration when the UE receives the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0153] The current UE configuration may include the configuration in which the UE is operating when the RRC reconfiguration message is transmitted from the MN, such as the current SCG configuration of the UE.

[0154] The reference configuration (or an indication of the reference configuration, eg, a pointer, an identifier) ​​may be explicitly signaled to the UE.

[0155] It may be standardized that the UE is aware that the current configuration is to be considered as the reference configuration; either the UE knows this because it is hardcoded, or it is in the UE memory, or implicitly indicates that the current configuration is the reference configuration when configuring, e.g. by the absence of an explicit field and / or IE.

[0156] What is considered to be the current configuration may include the configuration that the UE had before applying an RRC reconfiguration message including one or more target candidate cell configurations (for CPC) or after applying an RRC reconfiguration message. The RRC reconfiguration message applied may be the message signaled at that point in time, or an earlier received message that is stored.

[0157] In one option, the reference configuration includes an MCG part and / or an SCG part. The need for the MCG part is attributable to the fact that the messages to be applied at CPC execution are in MN format (RRCReconfiguration*), including the SCG RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration**) generated by the target candidate SN.

[0158] In another option, two separate reference configurations are signaled, one for the MCG and one for the SCG. That way, for example in case of a procedure where only the SCG reference configuration is to be updated, it is possible to update the reference configuration separately for the MCG and for the SCG.

[0159] In one option, the reference configuration comprises the current configuration, for example, the UE stores the current configuration in UE variables, either when the UE is configured with CPC or when the UE is first configured with RRC reconfiguration when returning from RRC_IDLE.

[0160] In one set of embodiments, the UE determines that the reference configuration is the configuration of one of the target candidates for conditional reconfiguration, where the UE has been configured with, for example, one of the full configurations.

[0161] In one set of embodiments, the UE determines that the reference configuration is a default configuration, for example stored in a memory of the UE. That may be a configuration that is standardized and known to the UE.

[0162] In one set of embodiments, the MN signals an indication of which configuration is the reference configuration, for example, one of the UE source configuration or (one or more) UE target candidate configurations is designated as being designated as the reference configuration.

[0163] The indication of the reference configuration may be a separate indication referring to the reference configuration.

[0164] The indication may be an identification of a configuration serving as a reference configuration.

[0165] In a first option, the target candidate configuration indicated as reference is a complete configuration, i.e., the complete configuration is stored and used as reference, so if the UE needs to apply another target candidate configuration, it is applied on top of that indicated configuration (which is the complete configuration).

[0166] In the second option, the target candidate configuration indicated as the reference configuration is also an incremental signaling (or an incremental configuration, i.e., may contain some parameter types whose values ​​are missing). Upon receiving the configuration, the UE first needs to generate a complete configuration version of the configuration (without the missing parameter types) as an actual reference, i.e., the UE generates the complete configuration version by applying the incremental on top of its current configuration and storing the result.

[0167] In one alternative, the target candidate configuration designated as a reference for a delta configuration (delta_config_X) is also a delta configuration (delta_config_1) on top of another reference configuration (reference_config_1), but the UE stores these configurations separately and applies the delta configuration (delta_config_X) in multiple steps, such as reference_config_1+delta_config_1+delta_config_X.

[0168] In one set of embodiments, the entire reference configuration may be explicitly signaled, separate from and / or from the current configuration.One or more reference configurations may be signaled, and each reference configuration may have an identification.

[0169] In one set of embodiments, different target candidate configuration(s) signaled as incremental may have different reference configuration(s).The UE may store multiple reference configurations for the different target candidate configuration(s) also stored.

[0170] In one set of embodiments, a subset of the target candidate configurations (one or more) as incremental signaling may have a first reference configuration, while another subset of the target candidate configurations (one or more) may have a second reference configuration. This may be interesting if each target candidate SN can determine its reference configuration.

[0171] In one set of embodiments, the reference configuration is determined to be a configuration associated with the occurrence of certain events (e.g., state transitions), such that the UE stores the configuration as a reference configuration, e.g., when transitioning to RRC_CONNECTED. The occurrence of an event may determine that the UE should store the reference configuration.

[0172] In one option, the reference configuration is the resulting RRC configuration that the UE has after receiving and applying the RRCSetup message (for configuring SRB1) when the UE transitions from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED. Note that DRBs and security are not part of this RRC setup message, so this configuration will be limited and the target candidate needs to take that aspect into account when generating its incremental configuration(s). Alternatively, the MN signals the reference configuration to the target candidate.

[0173] In one option, the reference configuration is the resulting RRC configuration that the UE has after receiving and applying the first RRC reconfiguration message (for configuring SRB1) when the UE transitions from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED. That allows the reference configuration to have DRBs configured, but also security (because that is after the initial security activation).

[0174] In one option, in case the UE transitions from RRC_INACTIVE to RRC_CONNECTED, the reference configuration is the resulting RRC configuration the UE has after receiving and applying the RRCResume message.In one option, the reference configuration is the resulting RRC configuration the UE has after receiving and applying the first RRC reconfiguration message after receiving the RRCResume message.

[0175] In one option, the event is the first RRC reconfiguration after reestablishment.The resulting configuration after applying the RRC reconfiguration is determined as the reference configuration.

[0176] In one option, the event is a reconfiguration with synchronization, eg, the reference configuration is the resulting configuration after a handover and / or a PSCell change and / or a PSCell addition.

[0177] In one option, the UE maintains the reference configuration(s) stored when transitioning from RRC_CONNECTED to RRC_INACTIVE, and then restores it / them when returning to RRC_CONNECTED again. In an alternative, the network indicates to the UE, for example in an RRCResume message or in a subsequent RRC reconfiguration message, what reference configuration(s) to maintain when the UE resumes connection. In an alternative, the RRCResume message (and / or a subsequent RRC reconfiguration message) is an incremental configuration for one of the stored reference configurations. The network then provides a configuration in the RRCResume message (and / or a subsequent RRC reconfiguration message) that is an incremental configuration on top of the stored reference configuration, wherein the UE then applies the received configuration on top of the corresponding stored reference configuration. In one example, the network transmits in the RRCResume message (and / or a subsequent RRC reconfiguration message) an indication of what stored reference configuration the included configuration should be applied to, for example, as an identifier of the corresponding stored reference configuration.

[0178] The reference configuration may be a complete configuration, ie including all parameters of the UE configuration, or it may be a part of the configuration. If the reference configuration is not a complete configuration, the network shall indicate in the signaling the values ​​of those parameters that are not part of the reference configuration.

[0179] In one set of embodiments, the network signals an indication to apply the reference configuration first and then apply the delta configuration on top of it.

[0180] This may be explicitly indicated in the signaling.

[0181] This may be implicitly specified or standardized such that if the UE has received or has stored a reference configuration, the UE first applies the reference configuration before applying the delta configuration.

[0182] In one option, the UE receives an indication that it should apply a specific reference configuration, for example as indicated by an identification of the reference configuration, and then apply a delta configuration on top of that configuration.

[0183] In an example, the method further comprises receiving a response message, such as RRCReconfigurationComplete, from the UE indicating successful configuration.

[0184] In an example, the method further includes receiving a response message of successful execution of CPC from the UE, such as RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0185] In an example, the method further comprises transmitting a message to a target SN (T-SN) to inform the T-SN that the UE has performed CPC and to which cell the UE has performed CPC.

[0186] The MN may transmit message(s) with updates of CPC configuration(s) and / or reference configuration(s) to the UE at any time.

[0187] In an example, a method performed by a target candidate secondary node (TC-SN) is provided, the method comprising:

[0188] Receive (one or more) request messages for CPC from the MN, the message (one or more) including CPC candidates and the current SCG configuration. Alternatively, receive (one or more) reference configurations or both the current SCG configuration and (one or more) reference configurations. The (one or more) reference configurations may include the SCG configuration, or alternatively, may include both the MCG and SCG configurations, or only the MCG configuration.

[0189] In an example, the method further comprises determining whether reference configuration(s) are defined for use by the UE.

[0190] In an example, the method further comprises: transmitting (one or more) response messages to the MN. The (one or more) messages may include: a target SCG configuration, such as a target SCG configuration for CPC; (one or more) reference configurations or an indication of (one or more) reference configurations, see further methods for UE regarding options for (one or more) reference configurations.

[0191] In an example, the method further comprises: receiving a message from the MN, the message including information that the UE has performed CPC and to which cell the UE has performed CPC.

[0192] Example Implementation

[0193] The following is an example implementation of adding a reference configuration list in the RRC specification TS 38.331. It also shows an example of using a reference configuration when performing a conditional reconfiguration. Changes compared to the existing specification v 16.7.0 are in bold font and highlighted in grey. 5.3.5RRC Reconfiguration [..] 5.3.5.13.5 Conditional Reconfiguration Execution The UE shall: 1> If there is more than one triggered cell: 2> Select one of the triggered cells as the selected cell for conditional reconfiguration execution; 1> For the selected cell where conditional reconfiguration is performed: 2> If referenceConfigId is specified for the selected cell in the applied message: 3> first apply the referenceConfig for the indicated referenceConfigId, then apply the stored condRRCReconfig for the selected cell, and perform the actions as specified in 5.3.5.3; 1> Otherwise: 2> Apply the stored condRRCReconfig of the selected cell and perform the actions as specified in 5.3.5.3; Note: If multiple NR cells are triggered in the conditional reconfiguration execution, which one is selected depends on the UE implementation, for example, the UE considers the beam and beam quality to select one of the triggered cells for execution. 5.3.5.X Reference Configuration Additions / Modifications For each referenceConfigId received in the referenceConfigToAddModList IE, the UE shall: 1> If there is an entry with a matching referenceConfigId in referenceConfigToAddModList within VarReferenceConfig: 2>Replace the referenceConfig in VarReferenceConfig with the value received for this referenceConfigId; 1> Otherwise: 2>Add a new entry for this referenceConfigId in VarReferenceConfig; Or, alternatively for 5.3.5.X, where the reference configuration is a stored configuration: 5.3.5.3 UE receives RRCReconfiguration Upon receiving RRCReconfiguration or upon performing a conditional reconfiguration (CHO, CPA or CPC), the UE shall perform the following actions: [..] 1> Otherwise: 2> If RRCReconfiguration includes fullConfig: 3>Perform the complete configuration process as specified in 5.3.5.11; 1> If RRCReconfiguration includes storeCurrentConfiguration set to true: 2>Store the current configuration in referenceConfig within VarReferenceConfig; 6.3.2 Radio Resource Control Information Elements [..] –CellGroupConfig The CellGroupConfig IE is used to configure a Master Cell Group (MCG) or a Secondary Cell Group (SCG). A cell group includes a MAC entity, a set of logical channels with associated RLC entities, a primary cell (SpCell), and one or more secondary cells (SCells). CellGroupConfig Information Element The IE ReferenceConfigToAddModList refers to a list of reference configurations to be added or modified, with for each entry a referenceConfigId and an associated referenceConfig. ReferenceConfigToAddModList Information Element 7.4UE variables [..] –VarReferenceConfig The UE variable VarReferenceConfig includes the accumulated configuration of the reference configuration. VarReferenceConfig UE variable

[0194] Fig.13 An example of a communication system 1300 is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0195] In the example, the communication system 1300 includes a telecommunications network 1302, which includes an access network 1304 such as a radio access network (RAN) and a core network 1306 including one or more core network nodes 1308. The access network 1304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1310a and 1310b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1310), or any other similar third generation partnership project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network node 1310 facilitates direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UE 1312a, 1312b, 1312c, and 1312d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UE 1312) to the core network 1306 via one or more wireless connections.

[0196] Example wireless communications via wireless connections include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without using wires, cables, or other material conductors. In addition, in different embodiments, the communication system 1300 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via a wired connection or a wireless connection). The communication system 1300 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0197] UE 1312 may be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with network node 1310 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 1310 is arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 1312 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 1302 to enable and / or provide network access (such as wireless network access) and / or perform other functions (such as management in telecommunication network 1302).

[0198] In the depicted example, the core network 1306 connects the network node 1310 to one or more hosts, such as the host 1316. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node may be directly coupled to the host. The core network 1306 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1308) composed of hardware and software components. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UE, network nodes, and / or hosts, so that their descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1308. The example core network node includes the functions of one or more of a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier unhiding function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection proxy (SEPP), a network open function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF).

[0199] The host 1316 may be owned or controlled by a service provider that is different from the operator or provider of the access network 1304 and / or the telecommunications network 1302, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1316 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and / or pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieving and compiling data about various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analysis functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0200] Overall, Fig.13 The communication system 1300 can enable connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures such as specific standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards (such as LoRa and Sigfox).

[0201] In some examples, telecommunication network 1302 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Thus, telecommunication network 1302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to telecommunication network 1302. For example, telecommunication network 1302 may provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to yet other UEs.

[0202] In some examples, UE 1312 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 1304 on a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from access network 1304. In addition, the UE may be configured to operate in a single RAT or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate using any one of Wi-Fi, NR (new air interface) and LTE, or a combination thereof, i.e., configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Air Interface-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0203] exist Fig.13In the example shown in , the hub 1314 communicates with the access network 1304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1312c and / or 1312d) and a network node (e.g., network node 1310b). In some examples, the hub 1314 can be any of a controller, a router, a content source and an analysis node, or other communication devices described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 1314 can be a broadband router that enables the UE to access the core network 1306. As another example, the hub 1314 can be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The command or instruction can be received from the UE, the network node 1310, or received through an executable code, script, process, or other instruction in the hub 1314. As another example, the hub 1314 can be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage device for UE data, and in some embodiments, analysis or other processing of the data can be performed. As another example, the hub 1314 can be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 1314 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and then the hub 1314 provides it to the UE after performing local processing or directly and / or after adding additional local content. In another example, especially when one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices, the hub 1314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE.

[0204] Hub 1314 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to network node 1310b. Hub 1314 may also allow different communication schemes and / or scheduling between hub 1314 and UE (e.g., UE 1312c and / or 1312d) and hub 1314 and core network 1306. In other examples, hub 1314 is connected to core network 1306 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. In addition, hub 1314 may be configured to be connected to an M2M service provider and / or to another UE via a direct connection via access network 1304. In some scenarios, UE may establish a wireless connection with network node 1310, while still being connected via hub 1314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 1314 may be a dedicated hub, that is, a hub whose main function is to route communications from UE to network node 1310b or from network node 1310b to UE. In other embodiments, the hub 1314 may be a non-dedicated hub - ie, a device operable to route communications between UEs and network node 1310b, but otherwise capable of operating as a communications start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0205] Fig.14 UE 1400 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, UE refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client equipment (CPEs), vehicle mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communications (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0206] The UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for direct link communications, dedicated short range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, the UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, the UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but may not or may not initially be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user, but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0207] UE 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402, which is operatively coupled to input / output interface 1406, power supply 1408, memory 1410, communication interface 1412, and / or any other components or any combination thereof via bus 1404. Some UEs may utilize Fig.14 All components shown in the UE or a subset of these components. The degree of integration between components may vary from one UE to another UE. In addition, some UEs may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0208] The processing circuit 1402 is configured to process instructions and data, and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine that is operable to execute instructions stored in the memory 1410 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit 1402 may be implemented as: one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 1402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuit 1402 may be operable to provide UE 1400 functionality either alone or in combination with other UE 1400 components (such as memory 1410). For example, the processing circuit 1402 may be configured to cause the UE 1402 to perform as described in reference Figure 7 The method described.

[0209] In this example, the input / output interface 1406 may be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, transmitters, smart cards, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1400. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive displays or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, web cameras, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional pads, trackpads, rollers, smart cards, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port may be used to provide input devices and output devices.

[0210] In some embodiments, the power supply 1408 is configured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power supplies may be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power battery. The power supply 1408 may further include a power circuit for delivering power from the power supply 1408 itself and / or an external power source to various parts of the UE 1400 via an input circuit or interface such as a power cable. The delivered power may be used, for example, for charging the power supply 1408. The power circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power supply 1408 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components of the UE 1400 to which the power is supplied.

[0211] The memory 1410 may be or be configured to include a memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge, a flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory 1410 includes: one or more application programs 1414, such as an operating system, a World Wide Web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other application; and corresponding data 1416. The memory 1410 may store any one of a variety of operating systems or a combination of operating systems for use by the UE 1400.

[0212] The memory 1410 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, an internal hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro-DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (such as a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs) (such as USIM and / or ISIM)), other memories, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a 'SIM card'. The memory 1410 may allow the UE 1400 to access instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary memory medium to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in memory 1410 , which may be or may include a device-readable storage medium.

[0213] The processing circuit 1402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface 1412. The communication interface 1412 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1422. The communication interface 1412 may include one or more transceivers for communicating, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1418 and / or a receiver 1420 suitable for providing network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 1418 and the receiver 1420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or may be implemented separately as an alternative.

[0214] In some embodiments, the communication functionality of the communication interface 1412 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near field communication, location-based communication such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication functionality, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, new radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), QUIC, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0215] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide an output of the data captured by its sensor via a wireless connection to a network node through its communication interface 1412. The data captured by a sensor of a certain UE may be delivered to a network node via another UE via a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., every 15 minutes if it reports a sensed temperature), random (e.g., to load balance reports from several sensors), in response to a trigger event (e.g., sending an alarm when moisture is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0216] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface that is configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change. For example, the UE may include a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight based on the received input, or controls a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure based on the received input.

[0217] When a UE takes the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, it can be a device used in one or more application areas, including but not limited to urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are devices that are or are embedded in connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting devices, electric meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, overflow / moisture sensors, electrical door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smart watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearable devices for tactile enhancement or sensory enhancement, sprinklers, animal or item tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any kind of medical device (such as a heart rate monitor or a remotely controlled surgical robot). A UE in the form of an IoT device includes circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device, plus information about Fig.14 Other components described for UE 1400 shown in .

[0218] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or a network node. In this case, the UE may be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, a UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle such as a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane, or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0219] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together for a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or may be integrated into a drone, and may provide speed information of the drone (obtained by a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first and / or second UE may also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, the UE may include a sensor and an actuator, and handle the communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0220] Fig.15A network node 1500 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

[0221] Base stations may be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or in other words, their transmit power level), and therefore, depending on the amount of coverage provided, they may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Portions of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0222] Other examples of network nodes include a multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access node, a multi-standard radio (MSR) device (such as an MSR BS), a network controller (such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC)), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)) and / or a minimization of drive tests (MDT).

[0223] The network node 1500 includes a processing circuit 1502, a memory 1504, a communication interface 1506, and a power supply 1508, and / or any other components, or any combination of the above. The network node 1500 may be composed of multiple physically separated components (e.g., a node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where the network node 1500 includes multiple separated components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more of the separated components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple node Bs. In such scenarios, each unique node B and RNC pair may be considered as a single separated network node in some instances. In some embodiments, the network node 1500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 1504 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1500 may also include multiple sets of various illustrated components for different wireless technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies, integrated into the network node 1500. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 1500.

[0224] The processing circuit 1502 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide the functionality of the network node 1500, either alone or in combination with other network node 1500 components (such as memory 1504). For example, the processing circuit 1502 may be configured to cause the network node to perform as described in reference Fig. 9 , 10 , 11 and / or 12 described methods.

[0225] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (such as a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0226] The memory 1504 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to: a persistent storage device, a solid-state memory, a remotely mounted memory, a magnetic medium, an optical medium, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a mass storage medium (e.g., a hard disk), a removable storage medium (e.g., a flash drive, a compact disk (CD) or a digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 1502. The memory 1504 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, etc.) and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 1502 and utilized by the network node 1500. The memory 1504 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 1502 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1506. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1502 and the memory 1504 are integrated.

[0227] The communication interface 1506 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 1506 includes (one or more) ports / (one or more) terminals 1516, for example, to send data to the network and receive data from the network via a wired connection. The communication interface 1506 also includes a radio front-end circuit 1518, which can be coupled to the antenna 1510, or as a part of the antenna 1510 in some embodiments. The radio front-end circuit 1518 includes a filter 1520 and an amplifier 1522. The radio front-end circuit 1518 can be connected to the antenna 1510 and the processing circuit 1502. The radio front-end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 1510 and the processing circuit 1502. The radio front-end circuit 1518 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1518 can use a combination of a filter 1520 and / or an amplifier 1522 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1510. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1510 may collect the radio signal, which may then be converted into digital data by radio front end circuit 1518. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 1502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0228] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1500 does not include a separate radio front end circuit 1518, but rather, the processing circuit 1502 includes the radio front end circuit and is connected to the antenna 1510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or part of the RF transceiver circuit 1512 is part of the communication interface 1506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1506 includes one or more ports or terminals 1516, the radio front end circuit 1518, and the RF transceiver circuit 1512 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1506 communicates with the baseband processing circuit 1514 as part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0229] Antenna 1510 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1510 may be coupled to radio front end circuit 1518 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1510 is separate from network node 1500 and may be connected to network node 1500 via an interface or port.

[0230] Antenna 1510, communication interface 1506 and / or processing circuit 1502 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1510, communication interface 1506 and / or processing circuit 1502 may be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0231] The power supply 1508 provides power to the various components of the network node 1500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). The power supply 1508 may further include or be coupled to a power management circuit to power the components of the network node 1500 for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1500 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface (such as a cable), whereby the external power source provides power to the power circuit of the power supply 1508. As a further example, the power supply 1508 may include a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated in the power circuit. If the external power source fails, the battery may provide backup power.

[0232] Apart from Fig.15Embodiments of the network node 1500 may include additional components in addition to those components shown in Figure 1 to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1500 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 1500 and to allow information to be output from the network node 1500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node 1500.

[0233] Fig.16 is a block diagram of a host 1600 according to various aspects described herein, and the host 1600 may be Fig.13 1316 of the embodiment of the host. As used herein, the host 1600 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software, including a stand-alone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1600 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0234] Host 1600 includes processing circuitry 1602, which is operatively coupled to input / output interface 1606, network interface 1608, power supply 1610, and memory 1612 via bus 1604. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to previous figures (such as Figure 14-15 ) so that its description is generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 1600.

[0235] The memory 1612 may include one or more computer programs, including one or more host applications 1614 and data 1616, which may include user data, such as data generated by the UE for the host 1600 or data generated by the host 1600 for the UE. An embodiment of the host 1600 may utilize only a subset of the components shown or utilize all of the components shown. The host application 1614 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different categories, types or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). The host application 1614 may also provide user authentication and permission checks, and may periodically report health, routing, and content availability to a central node (such as a device in a core network or on its edge). Thus, the host 1600 may select and / or indicate to the UE a different host for the over-the-top service. The host application 1614 may support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0236] Fig.17 1700 is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment 1700 in which the functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include virtualizing a hardware platform, storage device, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device or component thereof described herein, and involves an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs), which are implemented in one or more virtual environments 1700 taken over by one or more hardware nodes in a hardware computing device such as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. In addition, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0237] Application 1702 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual appliance, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) runs in a virtualized environment Q400 to implement some features, functions and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein.

[0238] The hardware 1704 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, and the like. The software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1708a and 1708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1708), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to be networked hardware to the VMs 1708.

[0239] VM 1708 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1706. Different embodiments of instances of virtual appliances 1702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1708, and these implementations may be performed in different ways. In some contexts, virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network device types onto industry standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage devices, which may be located in data centers as well as client devices.

[0240] In the context of NFV, VM 1708 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of VM 1708 and the portion of hardware 1704 that executes the VM (whether it is hardware dedicated to the VM and / or hardware shared by the VM with other VMs) form a separate virtual network element. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more VMs 1708 on hardware 1704 and corresponds to application 1702.

[0241] The hardware 1704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specialized components. The hardware 1704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 1704 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) in which many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1710, which, among other things, oversees the lifecycle management of the application 1702. In some embodiments, the hardware 1704 is coupled to one or more radio units, each of which includes one or more receivers and one or more transmitters that may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio unit may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or base station. In some embodiments, some signaling may be provided by using a control system 1712, which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0242] Fig.18 A communication diagram showing a host 1802 communicating with a UE 1806 via a network node 1804 over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. Fig.18 Describe the UE discussed in the previous paragraph (such as Fig.13 UE 1312a and / or Fig.14 UE 1400), network nodes (such as Fig.13 The network node 1310a and / or Fig.15 network nodes 1500) and hosts (such as Fig.13 Host 1316 and / or Fig.16 Host 1600) according to various embodiments of the example implementation.

[0243] Similar to the host 1600, an embodiment of the host 1802 includes hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and a memory. The host 1802 also includes software that is stored in or accessible by the host 1802 and can be executed by the processing circuit. The software includes a host application that can be operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 1806 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1850 extending between the UE 1806 and the host 1802. During the provision of services to the remote user, the host application can provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection 1850.

[0244] The network node 1804 includes hardware that enables it to communicate with the host 1802 and the UE 1806. The connection 1860 can be direct or through a core network (such as Fig.13The core network 1306 of the present invention) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, proprietary or managed networks. For example, the intermediate network can be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0245] UE 1806 includes hardware and software, the software is stored in UE 1806 or accessible by UE 1806, and can be executed by the processing circuit of UE. The software includes a client application, such as a World Wide Web browser or an operator-specific "app", which can be operable to provide services to human or non-human users via UE 1806 with the support of host 1802. In host 1802, the executed host application can communicate with the executed client application via an OTT connection 1850 terminated at UE 1806 and host 1802. During the provision of services to the user, the client application of the UE can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1850 can transmit both the request data and the user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate user data, which it provides to the host application via the OTT connection 1850.

[0246] The OTT connection 1850 may extend via a connection 1860 between the host 1802 and the network node 1804 and via a wireless connection 1870 between the network node 1804 and the UE 1806 to provide a connection between the host 1802 and the UE 1806. The connection 1860 and the wireless connection 1870 over which the OTT connection 1850 may be provided have been drawn abstractly to illustrate communication between the host 1802 and the UE 1806 via the network node 1804 without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the exact routing of messages via these devices.

[0247] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1850, in step 1808, the host 1802 provides user data, which can be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with the UE 1806. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with the UE 1806, which shares data with the host 1802 without explicit human interaction. In step 1810, the host 1802 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE 1806. The host 1802 may initiate the transmission in response to a request issued by the UE 1806. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1806, or by the operation of a client application executed on the UE 1806. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may pass through the network node 1804. Therefore, in step 1812, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the network node 1804 transmits to the UE 1806 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1802 initiated. In step 1814 , UE 1806 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executing on UE 1806 associated with a host application executed by host 1802 .

[0248] In some examples, UE 1806 executes a client application, which provides user data to host 1802. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to data received from host 1802. Therefore, in step 1816, UE 1806 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. During the provision of user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via the input / output interface of UE 1806. Regardless of the specific manner of providing user data, in step 1818, UE 1806 initiates the transmission of user data to host 1802 via network node 1804. In step 1820, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node 1804 receives user data from UE 1806 and initiates the transmission of the received user data to host 1802. In step 1822, host 1802 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 1806.

[0249] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1806 using OTT connection 1850 (wherein wireless connection 1870 forms the last leg). More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve the efficiency of signaling in the network (e.g., by reducing the amount of signaling in the network), and thereby reduce errors in the network and reduce user waiting time.

[0250] In an example scenario, plant status information may be collected and analyzed by host 1802. As another example, host 1802 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from UE for use in creating maps. As another example, host 1802 may collect and analyze real-time data to help control vehicle congestion (e.g., control traffic lights). As another example, host 1802 may store surveillance videos uploaded by UE. As another example, host 1802 may store media content such as video, audio, VR or AR that it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UE, or control access to media content. As other examples, host 1802 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical electrical loads to balance power generation demand, location services, presentation services (such as compiling charts based on data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0251] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors to be improved by one or more embodiments. In order to reconfigure the OTT connection 1850 between the host 1802 and the UE 1806 in response to changes in the measurement results, there may also be optional network functionality. The measurement process and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of the host 1802 and / or the UE 1806. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in other devices or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by supplying the values ​​of the monitoring quantities exemplified above or supplying the values ​​of other physical quantities (based on these values, the software may calculate or estimate the monitoring quantities). The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1850 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing selection, etc.; the reconfiguration does not require direct changes to the operation of the network node 1804. Such processes and functionality may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling, which facilitates the host 1802 to measure throughput, propagation time, latency, and the like. The measurements can be achieved because the software causes messages (particularly empty or 'dummy' messages) to be transmitted using the OTT connection 1850 while monitoring propagation times, errors etc.

[0252] Although the computing devices (e.g., UE, network node, host) described herein may include a combination of the hardware components shown, other embodiments may include computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may include any appropriate combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, acquisition, or similar operations described herein may be performed by a processing circuit, which may process information by, for example, the following operations: converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with the information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making a determination as a result of the processing. In addition, although the components are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the computing device may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component, and functionality may be divided between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of these components may be divided between a processing circuit and a communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0253] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in a memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by a processing circuit, such as in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of those specific embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functionality, regardless of whether instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to separate processing circuits or other components of a computing device, but are generally enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or by end users and wireless networks.

[0254] The following paragraphs set forth example embodiments of the present disclosure. Group A Embodiment 1. A method for reconfiguration in a network performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: A reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell is determined, wherein the target candidate configuration may be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. 2. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the target candidate cell is a target candidate cell for conditional reconfiguration. 3. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the reference configuration is a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration. 4. The method of embodiment 4, wherein the incremental signaling includes a set of parameter values ​​for a first subset of the parameter type set and does not include parameter values ​​for a remaining second subset of the parameter type set. 5. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the reference configuration comprises a set of parameter values ​​for a set of parameter types. 6. The method of embodiment 5, wherein the parameter type corresponds to a parameter within the reconfiguration message. 7. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the method further comprises: storing the current configuration of the UE as a reference configuration. 8. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the method further comprises: receiving an indication to store the current configuration of the UE as a reference configuration. 9. The method of embodiment 8, wherein the indication is received together with an instruction for reconfiguration, and wherein the indication specifies that the configuration to be stored is the configuration of the UE before applying the instruction or the configuration of the UE after applying the instruction. 10. The method of any preceding embodiment further comprises: applying the target candidate configuration to the determined reference configuration. 11. The method of embodiment 10, wherein the application further comprises: replacing the parameter value of the reference configuration with a parameter value in the incremental signaling of the target candidate configuration corresponding to the same parameter type as the parameter value of the reference configuration. 12. The method of embodiment 10 or 11, wherein the method further comprises: before applying the target candidate configuration, if the configuration of the UE is not a reference condition, restoring the configuration of the UE to the reference configuration, and then applying the target candidate configuration. 13. The method of embodiments 10 to 12, wherein once the execution condition of the target candidate cell is met, the target candidate configuration is applied to the determined reference configuration. 14. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein different target candidate configurations correspond to different reference configurations. 15. A method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the method is performed for at least one target candidate configuration each associated with a target candidate cell, and wherein, once an execution condition of one of the target candidate cells is met, the method further comprises: selecting one of the target candidate cells that meets the execution condition, and applying the target candidate configuration of the selected cell to the determined reference configuration. 15a. The method of any of the preceding embodiments further comprises: storing the reference configuration as a default configuration of the UE. 16. The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising: generating a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell based on the determined reference configuration and the target candidate configuration, and storing the complete configuration version. 17. The method of embodiment 16, wherein the method further comprises: applying the generated complete configuration version associated with the target candidate configuration once the corresponding target candidate cell is selected. 18. The method of embodiment 16 or 17, wherein the method further comprises: releasing the reference configuration when a complete configuration version is generated. 19. A method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the method further comprises receiving information from a network node, the information comprising at least one of the following: a reference configuration; an indication of the reference configuration; an indication of how to generate the reference configuration; an indication of which configuration among the UE source configuration or at least one UE target candidate configuration is the reference configuration; an indication that the current UE configuration can be used as a reference configuration. 20. The method of embodiment 19, wherein the information is received as part of a conditional cell change operation. 21. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the determining is performed by receiving an indication of a reference configuration associated with a target candidate cell and / or selecting an indication of a reference configuration associated with a target candidate cell. 22. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the UE operates in Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC). 23. The method of embodiment 22, wherein the reference configuration includes at least one of the following: a primary cell portion corresponding to a primary cell group; a secondary cell portion corresponding to a secondary cell group. 24. The method of embodiment 22 or 23, wherein the reference configuration includes at least one of the following: a primary cell reference configuration corresponding to a primary cell group; a secondary cell reference configuration corresponding to a secondary cell group. 25. The method of embodiments 22 to 24, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a reconfiguration message including one or more target candidate configurations from a network node. 26. The method of embodiment 25, wherein the method further comprises: determining the reference configuration as the configuration included in the reconfiguration message. 27. The method of embodiment 25 or 26, wherein the network node is a master node. 28. The method of embodiments 25 to 27, wherein the reconfiguration message is an RRC reconfiguration message. 29. The method of embodiments 25 to 28, wherein upon receiving a reconfiguration message, determining a reference configuration of a target candidate configuration is performed. 30. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the reference configuration comprises a current UE configuration. 31. The method of embodiment 30, wherein the current UE configuration is a configuration used by the UE to communicate with the network. 32. The method of embodiment 30 or 31, wherein the current UE reference configuration includes the configuration used in the operation of the UE when the UE receives the reconfiguration message. 33. The method of embodiments 30 to 32, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a current UE reference configuration or an indication of a current reference configuration; and storing the current UE reference configuration. 34. The method of embodiments 30 to 33, wherein the current UE reference configuration includes a configuration used in UE operation before applying the target candidate configuration to the determined reference configuration or after applying the target candidate configuration to the determined reference configuration. 35. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the method further comprises: determining that the reference configuration is a configuration of the target candidate that the UE has been configured for. 36. The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising: receiving an indication of which configuration among a plurality of target candidate configurations is a reference configuration. 37. The method of embodiment 36, wherein the target candidate configuration designated as the reference configuration is a complete configuration. 38. The method of embodiment 36 or 37, wherein the target candidate configuration designated as the reference configuration is incremental signaling, and wherein the method further comprises generating a complete configuration version based on the incremental signaling as the reference configuration 39. The method of embodiment 38, wherein the target candidate configuration designated as a reference for delta signaling is delta signaling on top of another reference configuration, and wherein the delta signaling is stored separately from the another reference configuration. 40. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein different target candidate configurations have different reference configurations, and wherein the method further comprises storing the different target candidate configurations and the corresponding different reference configurations. 41. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein a subset of target candidate configurations has a first reference configuration and another subset of target candidate configurations has a second reference configuration. 42. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the method further comprises: determining whether the reference configuration is a configuration associated with the occurrence of a predefined event. 43. The method of embodiment 42, wherein the method further comprises: storing the reference configuration when it is determined that the reference configuration is associated with the occurrence of a predefined event. 44. The method of embodiment 42 or 43, wherein the reference configuration is the configuration of the UE obtained after receiving and applying a reconfiguration message when the UE transitions from an idle state to a connected state. 45. The method of embodiments 42 to 44, wherein the reference configuration is the configuration of the UE obtained after receiving and applying a reconfiguration message after receiving a recovery message. 46. ​​The method of embodiments 42 to 45, wherein if the UE transitions from an inactive state to a connected state, the reference configuration is the configuration of the UE obtained after receiving and applying the resume message. 47. The method of embodiments 42 to 46, wherein, if the UE transitions from an inactive state to a connected state, the reference configuration is the configuration of the UE obtained after receiving and applying the first reconfiguration message after receiving the recovery message. 48. The method of embodiments 42 to 47, wherein the event is at least one of: the first RRC reconfiguration after reconstruction; reconfiguration with synchronization. 49. The method according to any preceding embodiment, further comprising: storing a reference configuration for one connection type when switching to another connection type. 50. The method according to any preceding embodiment, further comprising: receiving an indication of which reference configuration to maintain when the UE resumes the connection. 51. A method according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the reference configuration is a complete configuration including all parameters configured by the UE, or a partial configuration. 52. The method of embodiment 51, wherein if the reference configuration is a partial configuration, the method further comprises: receiving an indication of values ​​of those parameters that are not part of the reference configuration. 53. A method according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the method further comprises: receiving an indication of incremental signaling to apply a reference configuration and then apply a target candidate configuration. 54. A method according to embodiment 53, wherein the indication of applying the reference configuration and incremental signaling is at least one of the following: explicitly specified; explicitly specified; standardized. 55. A method according to embodiment 54, wherein the indication of applying the reference configuration and the incremental signaling includes an indication of applying a specific reference configuration. 56. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting a response message indicating that the configuration is successful. 57. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: Provide user data; and User data is forwarded to the host via a transmission to a network node. Group B Example 58. A method for reconfiguration in a network performed by a network node, the method comprising: Signaling to a UE or a network node at least one of: a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; an indication of the reference configuration for the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell; an indication of how to generate the reference configuration for the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. 59. The method of embodiment 58, wherein the method further comprises determining a reference configuration. 60. A method for reconfiguration in a network, performed by a first network node, the method comprising: for a network operating with multi-radio dual connectivity MR-DC, indicating to the second network node that the current secondary cell group configuration may be used as a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration may be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell; or A reference configuration is signaled to the second network node, or a reference configuration is specified for a target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration may be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. 61. The method of embodiment 60, further comprising: Determining that a conditional cell change is to be configured; and A request for a conditional cell change is transmitted to the second network node, the request including the conditional cell change candidate and the current secondary cell group configuration. 62. The method of embodiment 60 or 61, wherein the first network node is a source secondary node S-SN. 63. The method of embodiments 60 to 62, wherein the second network node is a master node. 64. A method for reconfiguration in a network, performed by a second network node, the method comprising: Information is transmitted to the UE for the UE to determine a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration may be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. 65. The method of embodiment 64, wherein the second network node is a master node. 66. The method of embodiment 64 or 65, wherein the information is included in a reconfiguration message. 67. The method of embodiments 64 to 66 further includes: before transmitting, receiving at least one of the following from a third network node: a target secondary cell group configuration; a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell; an indication of the reference configuration for the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. 68. The method of embodiments 64 to 67, further comprising: receiving a request for a conditional cell change, the request including a conditional cell change candidate and a current conditional cell change confirmation; transmitting a request message for a conditional cell change to a third network node, the message including the conditional cell change candidate and the current conditional cell change configuration; or The reference configuration or the current secondary cell group configuration and the reference configuration are transmitted to the third network node. 69. The method of embodiments 64 to 68, wherein the reference configuration includes at least one of the following: a secondary cell group configuration; a primary cell group and a secondary cell group configuration; a primary cell group configuration. 70. The method of embodiments 64 to 69, wherein the reference configuration is determined as a reference configuration specified by a network. 71. The method of embodiments 64 to 71, wherein the method further comprises: signaling an indication of which configuration among the UE source configuration or at least one UE target candidate configuration is a reference configuration. 72. The method of embodiments 64 to 71, wherein the information is sent separately from, together with, or as part of a reconfiguration message. 73. The method of embodiments 64 to 72, wherein the information includes an identification of a configuration serving as a reference configuration. 74. The method of embodiments 64 to 73, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a response message indicating successful configuration from the UE. 75. The method of embodiments 64 to 74, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a response message from the UE indicating successful execution of the conditional cell change. 76. The method of embodiments 64 to 75, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting to a third network node an indication that the UE has performed a conditional cell change and to which cell the UE has performed the conditional cell change. 77. The method of embodiments 64 to 76, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting an updated message with a reference configuration and / or a conditional cell change configuration to the UE. 78. A method for reconfiguration in a network in a third network node, the method comprising: Transmitting at least one of the following to the second network node: a target secondary cell group configuration for a conditional cell change; a reference configuration for a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell; an indication of the reference configuration for the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration can be applied to the reference configuration to configure the UE for the target candidate cell. 79. The method of embodiment 78, wherein the method further comprises: before transmission, receiving a request message for a conditional cell change from a second network node, the message comprising at least one of the following: conditional cell change candidates and a current secondary cell group configuration; a reference configuration, or a current secondary cell group configuration and a reference configuration. 80. The method of embodiment 78 or 79, wherein the reference configuration includes a secondary cell group configuration, or a primary cell group configuration and a secondary cell group configuration, or a primary cell group configuration. 81. The method of embodiments 78 to 80, wherein the method further comprises: determining whether to define a reference configuration for use by the UE. 82. The method of embodiments 78 to 81, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a message from the second network node, the message comprising information that the UE has performed a conditional cell change and for which cell the UE has performed the conditional cell change. 83. The method of embodiments 58 to 81, wherein the third network node is a target candidate secondary node. 84. The method of any one of embodiments 58 to 81, wherein the UE is a UE of Group A embodiments. 85. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtain user data; and Forwards user data to the host or user device. Group C Example 86. A user equipment for reconfiguration in a network, comprising: A processing circuit configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A; and A power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit. 87. A network node for reconfiguration in a network, the network node comprising: a processing circuit configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments of Group B; A power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit. 88. A user equipment (UE) for reconfiguration in a network, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a radio front end circuit connected to the antenna and the processing circuit and configured to condition signals passed between the antenna and the processing circuit; A processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow information to be input into the UE for processing by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information that has been processed by the processing circuit from the UE; and A battery is connected to the processing circuit and is configured to supply power to the UE. 89. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), The UE includes a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the communication interface and the processing circuit of the UE are configured to perform any of the steps of any embodiment in Group A to receive user data from the host. 90. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transfer user data from the host to the UE. 91. The host of the previous two embodiments, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing user data; and The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 92. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system, the communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Providing user data to the UE; and A transmission carrying user data is initiated to a UE via a cellular network including a network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group A to receive the user data from the host. 93. The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: A host application is executed at the host in association with the client application executed on the UE to receive user data from the UE. 94. The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: The host transmits input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, The user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application. 95. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), The UE includes a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the communication interface and the processing circuit of the UE are configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A to transmit user data to the host. 96. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transfer user data from the UE to the host. 97. The host of the previous two embodiments, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing user data; and The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 98. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: The host receives user data transmitted by the UE to the host via the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A to transmit the user data to the host. 99. The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: A host application is executed at the host in association with the client application executed on the UE to receive user data from the UE. 100. The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: The host transmits input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, The user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application. 101. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and A network interface, the network interface is configured to initiate transmission of user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group B to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. 102. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, the host application providing user data; and The UE includes processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with a host application to receive a transmission of user data from the host. 103. A method implemented in a host, the host being configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Providing user data to the UE; and A transmission carrying user data is initiated to a UE via a cellular network including a network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group B to transfer the user data from a host to the UE. 104. The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: transmitting user data provided by the host for the UE at the network node. 105. The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 106. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising: A host, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with an over-the-top service; and A network interface, the network interface is configured to initiate transmission of user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to a UE, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group B to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. 107. The communication system of the previous embodiment further comprises: Network nodes; and / or User equipment. 108. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and A network interface, the network interface is configured to receive user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group B, thereby receiving user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host. 109. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing user data; and The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 110. The host of any of the previous two embodiments, wherein initiating receipt of user data includes requesting user data. 111. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: The host initiates reception of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission that the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group B to receive user data from the UE for the host. 112. The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: transmitting the received user data to the host at the network node.

[0255] Abbreviations

[0256] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between an abbreviation, then how it is used above should take precedence. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should take precedence over any subsequent listing(s). Abbreviations 5GC or 5GCN 5G Core Network ACK AGC Automatic Gain Control AMF Access and Mobility Management Function AP Application Protocol BSR Buffer Status Report BWP Bandwidth Part C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier CA Carrier Aggregation CE Control Elements CHO Condition Switch CN Core Network CPA Condition PSCell Added CPC Condition PSCell Change CP Control Plane CQI Channel Quality Indicator C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier CSI Channel State Information DC Dual Connectivity DCI Downlink Control Information DL Downlink DRB Data Radio Bearer eNB (EUTRAN) Base Station E-RAB EUTRAN Radio Access Bearer E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network FDD Frequency Division Duplex gNB NR Base Station GTP-U GPRS Tunneling Protocol - User Plane IE Information Elements IP Internet Protocol LTE Long Term Evolution MCG Master Cell Group MAC Media Access Control MAC CE MAC Control Element MeNB Master eNB MgNB Master gNB MN Master Node MR-DC Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity NACK Negative Acknowledgement NAS Non-Access Stratum NG-RAN Next Generation Radio Access Network Ng-eNB Next Generation Evolved Node B NR New Radio PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol PCell Main Residential Area PCI Physical Cell Identifier PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PHR Power Headroom Report PSCell (primary secondary cell in LTE) or primary SCG cell in NR PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RACH Random Access Channel RAT Radio Access Technology RB Radio Bearer RLC Radio Link Control RLF Radio Link Failure RRC Radio Resource Control SCell Secondary Cell SCG Secondary Cell Group SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol SeNB Secondary eNB SgNB SINR Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio SN Secondary Node SR Scheduling Request SRB Signalling Radio Bearer S-SN Source Secondary Node SUL Supplementary Uplink SpCell Special cell, the main cell of the main or auxiliary cell group TAT Time Alignment Timer TDD Time Division Duplex TEID Tunnel End Point Identifier TNL Transport Network Layer T-SN Target Secondary Node UCI Uplink Control Information UDP User Datagram Protocol UPF User Plane Function UE User Equipment UL Uplink UL-SCH Uplink Shared Channel UP User Plane URLLC Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications X2 Interface between base stations 1x RTT CDMA2000 1x Radio Transmission Technology 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project 5G Fifth Generation 6G Sixth Generation ABS Almost Blank Subframe ARQ Automatic Repeat Request AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise BCCH Broadcast Control Channel BCH Broadcast Channel CA Carrier Aggregation CC Carrier Component CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU CDMA Code Division Multiple Access CGI Cell Global Identifier CIR Channel Impulse Response CP Cyclic Prefix CPICH Common Pilot Channel CPICH Ec / No The received energy per CPICH chip divided by the power density in the frequency band CQI Channel Quality Information C-RNTI Cell RNTI CSI Channel State Information DCCH Dedicated Control Channel DL Downlink DM Demodulation DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal DRX Discontinuous Reception DTX Discontinuous Transmission DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel DUT Device Under Test E-CID Enhanced Cell ID (positioning method) eMBMS Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service E-SMLC Evolution - Service Mobile Location Center ECGI Evolution CGI eNB E-UTRAN Node B ePDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel E-SMLC Evolved Service Mobile Location Center E-UTRA Evolved UTRA E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN FDD Frequency Division Duplex FFS for further study Base stations in gNB NR GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HO Handover HSPA High Speed ​​Packet Access HRPD High Rate Packet Data LOS Line of Sight LPP LTE Positioning Protocol LTE Long Term Evolution MAC Media Access Control MAC Message Authentication Code MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe MDT Minimized Drive Test MIB Master Information Block MME Mobility Management Entity MSC Mobile Switching Center NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel NR New Radio OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OSS Operation Support System OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival O&M Operation and Maintenance PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel PCell Main Residential Area PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDP Distribution Delay Distribution PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel PGW Packet Gateway PHICH Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel PLMN Public Land Mobile Network PMI Precoder Matrix Indicator PRACH Physical Random Access Channel PRS Positioning Reference Signal PSS Primary Sync Signal PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RACH Random Access Channel QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation RAN Radio Access Network RAT Radio Access Technology RLC Radio Link Control RLM Radio Link Management RNC Radio Network Controller RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier RRC Radio Resource Control RRM Radio Resource Management RS reference signal RSCP Received Signal Code Power RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power or Reference Signal Received Power RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality or Reference Symbol Received Quality RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference SCH Synchronization Channel SCell Secondary Cell SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol SDU Service Data Unit SFN System Frame Number SGW Service Gateway SI System Information SIB System Information Block SNR Signal to Noise Ratio SON Self-Optimizing Network SS Sync Signal SSS Secondary synchronization signal TDD Time Division Duplex TDOA Time Difference of Arrival TOA Time of Arrival TSS third-level synchronization signal TTI Transmission Time Interval UE User Equipment UL Uplink USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival WCDMA Wide CDMA WLAN Wide Area Network

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment UE (1312, 1400), the method comprising: determining (702) a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; as well as A complete configuration version for the target candidate cell is generated (704) based on the determined reference configuration and the target candidate configuration.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Generating (704) the complete configuration version includes applying the delta signaling on top of the reference configuration.

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein: The incremental signaling includes a set of parameter values ​​for a first subset of a set of parameter types and does not include parameter values ​​for a remaining second subset of the set of parameter types.

4. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The reference configuration includes a set of parameter values ​​for a set of parameter types.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The parameter type corresponds to a parameter within a reconfiguration message.

6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The method further comprises storing at least one of: the determined reference configuration; and the complete configuration version.

7. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising: The target candidate configuration is applied to the determined reference configuration.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The applying further includes: replacing the parameter value of the reference configuration with a parameter value in the incremental signaling of the target candidate configuration corresponding to the same parameter type as the parameter value of the reference configuration.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein: The method further includes: before applying the target candidate configuration, if the configuration of the UE is not a reference condition, restoring the configuration of the UE to the reference configuration, and then applying the target candidate configuration.

10. The method according to claims 7 to 9, wherein: Once the execution condition of the target candidate cell is met, the target candidate configuration is applied to the determined reference configuration.

11. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: Different target candidate configurations correspond to different reference configurations.

12. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The method is performed for at least one target candidate configuration each associated with a target candidate cell, and wherein, once an execution condition of one of the target candidate cells is met, the method further comprises: selecting one of the target candidate cells that meets the execution condition, and applying a full configuration version of the selected target candidate cell to the determined reference configuration.

13. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising: The reference configuration is stored as a default configuration of the UE.

14. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The method further comprises applying the generated complete configuration version associated with the target candidate configuration once the corresponding target candidate cell is selected.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: The method further comprises releasing the reference configuration when the complete configuration version is generated.

16. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The method further includes receiving information from a network node, the information including at least one of the following: a reference configuration; an indication of the reference configuration; an indication of how to generate the reference configuration; an indication of which configuration among a UE source configuration or at least one UE target candidate configuration is the reference configuration; an indication that a current UE configuration can be used as the reference configuration.

17. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The determining is performed by receiving an indication of the reference configuration associated with the target candidate cell, selecting a reference configuration, and / or selecting an indication of the reference configuration associated with the target candidate cell.

18. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The UE operates in Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity MR-DC.

19. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The method further includes receiving a reconfiguration message including one or more target candidate configurations from a network node.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The method further comprises determining the reference configuration as a configuration included in the reconfiguration message.

21. The method of claim 19 or claim 20, wherein: The network node is a master node.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein: The reconfiguration message is an RRC reconfiguration message.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein: Upon receiving the reconfiguration message, determining the reference configuration of the target candidate configuration is performed.

24. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The reference configuration includes the current UE configuration.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein: The current UE configuration is a configuration used by the UE to communicate with the network.

26. A method according to claim 24 or claim 25, wherein: The current UE reference configuration comprises a configuration used in operation of the UE when the UE receives a reconfiguration message.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein: The method further comprises: receiving the current UE reference configuration or an indication of the current reference configuration; and storing the current UE reference configuration.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein: The current UE reference configuration includes a configuration that was used in the UE operation before applying the target candidate configuration to the determined reference configuration or after applying the target candidate configuration to the determined reference configuration.

29. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The method further includes determining that the reference configuration is a configuration of a target candidate for which the UE has been configured.

30. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: Different target candidate configurations have different reference configurations, and wherein the method further comprises storing the different target candidate configurations and the corresponding different reference configurations.

31. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: A subset of the target candidate configurations has a first reference configuration, and another subset of the target candidate configurations has a second reference configuration.

32. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The method further includes determining whether the reference configuration is a configuration associated with an occurrence of a predefined event.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein: The method further includes storing the reference configuration when it is determined that the reference configuration is associated with the occurrence of a predefined event.

34. A method according to claim 32 or claim 33, wherein: The reference configuration is the configuration of the UE obtained after receiving and applying a reconfiguration message, either when the UE transitions from an idle state to a connected state or after receiving a resume message.

35. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 34, wherein: The event is at least one of: a first RRC reconfiguration after reestablishment; a reconfiguration with synchronization.

36. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The reference configuration is a complete configuration version including all parameters of the UE configuration, or a partial configuration.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein: If the reference configuration is a partial configuration, the method further comprises receiving an indication of the values ​​of those parameters that are not part of the reference configuration.

38. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein: The method further includes receiving an indication of the incremental signaling of applying the reference configuration and then applying the target candidate configuration.

39. A method performed by a network node (1310, 1500), the method comprising: signaling (802) to a UE or a network node at least one of: a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; An indication of a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; and an indication of how to generate a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration and the reference configuration can be used by the UE to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell.

40. The method of claim 35, wherein: The method further comprises determining the reference configuration.

41. The method of claim 39 or claim 40, further comprising: receiving a request for a conditional cell change, the request including a conditional cell change candidate and a current conditional cell change confirmation; transmitting a request message for a conditional cell change to a second network node, the message comprising the conditional cell change candidate and the current conditional cell change configuration; or A reference configuration or a current secondary cell group configuration and the reference configuration is transmitted to the second network node.

42. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 41, wherein: The indication of how to generate the reference configuration is sent separately from, together with, or as part of a reconfiguration message.

43. A method according to any one of claims 39 to 42, wherein: The indication of how to generate a reference configuration comprises an identification of a configuration serving as the reference configuration.

44. A user equipment (1312, 1400) for reconfiguration in a network, comprising: A processing circuit (1402) configured to cause the user equipment to: determining (702) a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; as well as generating (704) a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell based on the determined reference configuration and the target candidate configuration; as well as A power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

45. A user equipment for reconfiguration in a network, comprising: a processing circuit configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps according to any of claims 2 to 38; as well as A power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

46. ​​A user equipment (1312, 1400) for reconfiguration in a network, the user equipment being configured to: determining (702) a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; and A complete configuration version for the target candidate cell is generated (704) based on the determined reference configuration and the target candidate configuration.

47. A user equipment (1312, 1400) for reconfiguration in a network, the user equipment being configured to: Perform any of the steps according to any of claims 2 to 38.

48. A network node (1310, 1500) for reconfiguration in a network, the network node comprising: A processing circuit (1502) configured to cause the network node to signal to a UE or a network node at least one of: a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; an indication of a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; and an indication of how to generate a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell, wherein the target candidate configuration and the reference configuration can be used by the UE to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell; as well as A power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

49. A network node (1310, 1500) for reconfiguration in a network, the network node comprising: a processing circuit (1502) configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 39 to 43; as well as A power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

50. A network node (1310, 1500) for reconfiguration in a network, the network node being configured to: Signaling (802) to a UE or a network node at least one of: a reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with a target candidate cell; an indication of the reference configuration for incremental signaling of a target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell; and an indication of how to generate the reference configuration for incremental signaling of the target candidate configuration associated with the target candidate cell, wherein The target candidate configuration and the reference configuration can be used by the UE to generate a complete configuration version for the target candidate cell.

51. A network node (1310, 1500) for reconfiguration in a network, the network node being configured to: Perform any of the steps according to any of claims 39 to 43.

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