Reported mobile device location assessment

Abstract

A method of evaluating a reported UE location includes receiving, at a network entity, a reported UE location; obtaining a first signal frequency difference at the network entity, the first signal frequency difference indicates a reception frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmission signal of a first transmission frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node and a second transmission received by the UE of a second transmission frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node a first difference between reception frequencies of second signals corresponding to the signals; and providing, by the network entity, a UE location assessment indication based on the first signal frequency difference and a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE location and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE location.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application serial number 17 / 876,805, filed on July 29, 2022, entitled “REPORTED MOBILE DEVICE LOCATION ASSESSMENT,” which application is assigned to the assignee of the present application, and the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high-speed data wireless service with Internet capabilities, fourth generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or ), fifth generation (5G) services (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR), etc. There are many different types of wireless communication systems currently in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), global system for mobile access (GSM) TDMA variants, etc.

[0004] The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with a data rate of 1 gigabit per second provided to dozens of workers on an office floor. In order to support large sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectrum efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard. Summary of the invention

[0005] An example method for evaluating a reported UE position includes: receiving the reported UE position at a network entity; obtaining a first signal frequency difference at the network entity, the first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a received frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmitted signal of a first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node and a received frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmitted signal of a second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and providing, by the network entity, a UE position evaluation indication based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

[0006] An example network entity includes: a memory; and a processor, the processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to: receive a reported UE position; obtain a first signal frequency difference, the first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a received frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmitted signal of a first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node and a received frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmitted signal of a second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and provide a UE position assessment indication based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

[0007] Another example network entity includes: a component for receiving a reported UE position; a component for obtaining a first signal frequency difference, the first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a received frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmitted signal of a first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node and a received frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmitted signal of a second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and a component for providing a UE position assessment indication based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

[0008] A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions that cause one or more processors of a network entity to perform the following operations: receive a reported UE position; obtain a first signal frequency difference that indicates a first difference between a received frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmitted signal of a first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node and a received frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmitted signal of a second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and provide a UE position assessment indication based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference that is a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

[0009] An example UE includes: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor, the processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the transceiver and configured to: receive, via the transceiver, a first received signal having a first received signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmitted signal of the first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node; receive, via the transceiver, a second received signal having a second received signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmitted signal of the second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separated from the first non-terrestrial network node; and send, via the transceiver, to a network entity a signal frequency difference indicating a difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency.

[0010] An example method for reporting a received signal frequency difference includes: receiving, at a UE, a first received signal having a first received signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmitted signal of the first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node; receiving, at the UE, a second received signal having a second received signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmitted signal of the second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separated from the first non-terrestrial network node; and sending, from the UE to a network entity, a signal frequency difference indicating a difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency.

[0011] Another example UE includes: a component for receiving a first received signal having a first received signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmitted signal of the first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node; a component for receiving a second received signal having a second received signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmitted signal of the second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separated from the first non-terrestrial network node; and a component for sending a signal frequency difference indicating a difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency to a network entity.

[0012] Another example non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions that cause one or more processors of a UE to perform the following operations: receive a first received signal having a first received signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmitted signal of the first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node; receive a second received signal having a second received signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmitted signal of the second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and send a signal frequency difference indicating a difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency to a network entity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0014] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A block diagram of components of an example user equipment is shown.

[0015] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the components of an example send / receive point.

[0016] Figure 4 is a block diagram of components of an example server, various implementations of which are described in Figure 1 Shown in.

[0017] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an example non-terrestrial network node.

[0018] Figure 6 is a block diagram of example network entities.

[0019] Figure 7 is an illustration of an example wireless communication environment.

[0020] Figure 8 is a signaling and process flow diagram for reported mobile device location evaluation.

[0021] Fig. 9 is another signaling and process flow diagram for reported mobile device location evaluation.

[0022] Fig.10 is a flow chart of a method for evaluating a reported user equipment position.

[0023] Fig.11 is a block diagram of an example user equipment.

[0024] Fig.12 is a flow chart of a method for reporting received signal frequency difference. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] This article discusses techniques for determining whether the reported mobile device position is accurate. For example, multiple non-terrestrial network (NTN) nodes send signals received by a mobile device. The mobile device measures the carrier frequency of each received signal in the received signal. The mobile device reports the difference between the carrier frequencies of the received signals and reports the position of the mobile device. The network entity receives the reported mobile device position and the reported carrier frequency difference from the mobile device. The network entity also calculates the expected carrier frequency difference of the signal from the NTN node for the reported UE position. The network entity determines whether the reported carrier frequency difference and the calculated expected carrier frequency difference indicate that the reported mobile device position is accurate (e.g., the actual and expected carrier frequency differences are within a threshold proximity to each other) or inaccurate (e.g., wrong) (e.g., not within a threshold proximity to each other). However, other specific implementations other than these examples may be used.

[0026] The items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities as well as other capabilities not mentioned. The reported location of the mobile device may be determined to be inaccurate or accurate. Other capabilities may be provided, and not every specific implementation according to the present disclosure must provide any of the capabilities discussed, let alone all of the capabilities.

[0027] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be used for many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, locating friends or family members, etc. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and ground-based radio sources such as base stations and access points in wireless networks. It is expected that standardization for 5G wireless networks will include support for various positioning methods, which can utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations for positioning determination in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently utilize positioning reference signals (PRS) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRS).

[0028] The description herein may refer to a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, an element of a computing device. Each action described herein may be performed by a dedicated circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. The sequence of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-transient computer-readable medium having a corresponding set of computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed, will cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, each example described herein may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0029] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not dedicated to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset tracking device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used to communicate on a wireless communication network. A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", a "client device", a "wireless device", a "subscriber device", a "subscriber terminal", a "subscriber station", a "user terminal" or UT, a "mobile terminal", a "mobile station", a "mobile device", or variations thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through a wired access network, A network (for example, based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.) and the like.

[0030] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, the base station may operate according to one of several RATs when communicating with the UE. Examples of base stations include access points (APs), network nodes, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), or generalized Node Bs (gNodeBs, gNBs). In addition, in some systems, the base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, the base station may provide additional control functions and / or network management functions.

[0031] The UE may be implemented by any of a variety of types of devices, including but not limited to a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wired phone, a smart phone, a tablet device, a consumer asset tracking device, an asset tag, etc. The communication link through which the UE may transmit signals to the RAN is referred to as an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN may transmit signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0032] As used herein, depending on the context, the term "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of a plurality of cells of a base station or to the base station itself. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which the logical entity operates.

[0033] refer to Figure 1 , an example of a communication system 100 includes a UE 105, a UE 106, a radio access network (RAN) (here, a fifth generation (5G) next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 135), a 5G core network (5GC) 140, and a server 150. The UE 105 and / or the UE 106 may be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular phone, a vehicle (e.g., a car, a truck, a bus, a ship, etc.), or another device. A 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; the NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN; and the 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). Standardization of the NG-RAN and the 5GC is being conducted in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Therefore, the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may follow current standards or future standards for 5G support from the 3GPP. The NG-RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, for example, a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE 106 may be configured and coupled similarly to UE 105 to transmit and / or receive signals to and / or from similar other entities in system 100, but for simplicity of the drawings, UE 106 is not shown in FIG. Figure 1105. Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on UE 105. The communication system 100 may utilize information from a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 of a satellite positioning system (SPS), such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONAS S), Galileo, or BeiDou or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR Node Bs (gNBs) 110a, 110b and a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, a session management function (SMF) 117, a location management function (LMF) 120, and a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured to perform bidirectional wireless communication with the UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to the AMF 115 and configured to perform bidirectional communication with the AMF. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs). The AMF 115, the SMF 117, the LMF 120, and the GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to the external client 130. SMF 117 may serve as an initial contact point for a service control function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. A base station (such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) may be a macro cell (e.g., a high-power cellular base station), or a small cell (e.g., a low-power cellular base station), or an access point (e.g., a short-range base station configured to use a short-range technology (such as a Direct connection Low power consumption (BLE), One or more base stations (e.g., one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) may be configured to communicate with UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (e.g., a cell). Each cell may be divided into multiple sectors according to base station antennas.

[0035] Figure 1A generalized illustration of various components is provided, wherein any or all of the components may be utilized as appropriate, and each of the components may be repeated or omitted as desired. Specifically, although one UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, tens of thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or less than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. In addition, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0036] Although Figure 1 A 5G-based network is illustrated, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The implementations described herein (which are used for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to send (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to UE 105 (via GMLC 125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the position of UE 105 at a device with positioning capabilities such as UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120 based on measurement parameters received at UE 105 for such directional transmitted signals. The gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125, location management function (LMF) 120, access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114 and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include various other location server functionalities and / or base station functionalities, respectively, in various embodiments.

[0037] The system 100 is capable of wireless communication because the components of the system 100 can communicate with each other (at least sometimes using wireless connections), directly or indirectly, for example, via gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 and / or 5GC 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other transceiver base stations). For indirect communication, the communication can be modified during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to change header information of a data packet, change the format, etc. The UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly as well as via a wired connection. The UE 105 may be any of a variety of devices, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., but these are merely examples, as the UE 105 need not be any of these configurations, and other configurations of UEs may be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headphones, etc.). Other UEs may also be used, whether currently existing or developed in the future. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within the system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with the UE 105, the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, the 5GC 140, and / or the external clients 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. The 5GC 140 may communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow the external client 130 (e.g., via the GMLC 125) to request and / or receive location information about the UE 105.

[0038] UE 105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Communications, Multi-Frequency Communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (Vehicle to Vehicle, e.g., V2P (Vehicle to Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle to Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle)), etc.), IEEE802.11p, etc.). V2X communication can be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connection)). System 100 can support operations on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can simultaneously transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal can be a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, a time division multiple access (TDMA) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signal, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry a pilot, overhead information, data, etc. The UEs 105, 106 may communicate with each other through UE-to-UE SL communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink (SL) channels, such as a physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), or a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). Direct wireless device-to-wireless device communication (not through a network) may generally be referred to as sidelink communication, without limiting the communication to a particular protocol.

[0039] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a secure user plane location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or some other name. In addition, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet device, a PDA, a consumer asset tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not necessarily, UE 105 may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to support wireless communications, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 (Also known as ), (BT), Global Interoperability for Microwave Access 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. UE 105 may use a wireless local area network (WLAN) to support wireless communications, and the wireless local area network may use, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable to connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet). Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 105 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140 ( Figure 1 125) or possibly via GMLC 125) to communicate with external client 130 and / or allow external client 130 to receive location information about UE 105 (eg, via GMLC 125).

[0040] UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where users may employ audio, video and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. The estimate of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position fix, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) about UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level; height above or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., expressed as a postal address or a designation of a point or smaller area in a building (such as a specific room or floor)). The location of UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (geographically or municipally defined) within which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a relative location including, for example, a distance and direction relative to a known location. The relative location may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to a certain origin at a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, in municipal form, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variants unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, the local x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and possibly z-coordinate are typically solved, and the local coordinates are then converted (if necessary) into absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0041] UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. UE 105 may be configured to be indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links may be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), Direct connection Etc. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be located within a geographic coverage area of ​​a transmit / receive point (TRP), such as one or more of gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from a base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from a base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP.

[0042] Figure 1 The base stations (Bv) in the NG-RAN 135 shown include NR Node Bs (referred to as gNB 110a and gNB 110b). Each pair of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communications between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, which may provide wireless communications access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G. Figure 1 , it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) may serve as the serving gNB if UE 105 moves to another location, or may serve as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0043] Figure 1The base stations (BSs) in the illustrated NG-RAN 135 may include ng-eNB 114, also referred to as next generation evolved Node Bs. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of gNBs 110a, gNB 110b in the NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as a positioning-only beacon that may transmit signals to assist in determining the location of the UE 105, but may not be able to receive signals from the UE 105 or other UEs.

[0044] The gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 may each include one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of the BS may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., a shared processor but with separate antennas). The system 100 may include only a macro TRP, or the system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as a macro TRP, a pico TRP, and / or a femto TRP, among others. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals associated with the femto cell (e.g., terminals of users in a home).

[0045] Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 may include a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), and a central unit (CU). For example, the gNB 110b includes a RU 111, a DU 112, and a CU 113. The RU 111, the DU 112, and the CU 113 divide the functionality of the gNB 110b. Although the gNB 110b is shown as having a single RU, a single DU, and a single CU, the gNB may include one or more RUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more CUs. The interface between the CU 113 and the DU 112 is referred to as the F1 interface. The RU 111 is configured to perform digital front end (DFE) functions (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion, filtering, power amplification, transmission / reception) and digital beamforming, and includes a portion of the physical (PHY) layer. The RU 111 may perform DFE using massive multiple input / multiple output (MIMO) and may be integrated with one or more antennas of the gNB 110b. DU 112 hosts the radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical layers of gNB 110b. One DU may support one or more cells, and each cell is supported by a single DU. The operation of DU 112 is controlled by CU 113. CU 113 is configured to perform functions for delivering user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., although some functions are only assigned to DU 112. CU 113 hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 110b. UE 105 can communicate with CU 113 via RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, communicate with DU 112 via RLC, MAC, and PHY layers, and communicate with RU 111 via the PHY layer.

[0046] As noted, although Figure 1 Nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, an LTE protocol or an IEEE 802.11x protocol) may also be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) that provides LTE wireless access to UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations with evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 1 The NG-RAN 135 in the figure and the EPC correspond to the 5GC 140 in the figure.

[0047] The gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and ng-eNB 114 may communicate with AMF 115; for positioning functionality, the AMF communicates with LMF 120. AMF 115 may support mobility of UE 105, including cell change and handover, and may participate in supporting signaling connections with UE 105 and possibly data bearers and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 120 may communicate directly with UE 105, or directly with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, for example, via wireless communications. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135, and may support various positioning procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., downlink (DL) OTDOA or uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF 120 may process a location service request for the UE 105 received from, for example, the AMF 115 or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and / or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names, such as a Location Manager (LM), a Location Function (LF), a Commercial LMF (CLMF), or a Value-Added LMF (VLMF). A node / system implementing LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the location of UE 105) may be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 105 for signals sent by wireless nodes (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114), and / or assistance data provided to UE 105 by LMF 120, for example). AMF 115 may serve as a control node for processing signaling between UE 105 and 5GC 140, and may provide QoS (quality of service) flow and session management. AMF 115 may support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handovers), and may participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105.

[0048] The server 150 (e.g., a cloud server) is configured to obtain a location estimate for the UE 105 and provide the location estimate to the external client 130. The server 150 may, for example, be configured to run a microservice / service that obtains a location estimate for the UE 105. The server 150 may, for example, obtain a location estimate from (e.g., by transmitting a location request) the UE 105, one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b (e.g., via the RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113), and / or the ng-eNB 114, and / or the LMF 120. As another example, the UE 105, one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b (e.g., via the RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113), and / or the LMF 120 may push the location estimate of the UE 105 to the server 150.

[0049] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 via the server 150, and may forward such location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120, or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 120. A location response (e.g., containing a location estimate of the UE 105) from the LMF 120 may be returned to the GMLC 125 directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130 via the server 150. The GMLC 125 is shown as being connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, but may not be connected to either the AMF 115 or the LMF 120 in some implementations.

[0050] like Figure 1 As further illustrated in FIG. 1 , LMF 120 may communicate with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 using a new radio positioning protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, wherein NRPPa messages are transmitted between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and LMF 120 and / or between ng-eNB 114 and LMF 120 via AMF 115. Figure 1As further illustrated, the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. The LMF 120 and the UE 105 may additionally or alternatively communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LPP. Here, LPP messages and / or NPP messages may be communicated between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b or the serving ng-eNB 114 of the UE 105. For example, the LPP messages and / or NPP messages may be communicated between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using the 5G Location Service Application Protocol (LCS AP), and may be communicated between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP protocol and / or the NPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using a network-based positioning method such as E-CID (e.g., in conjunction with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional SS or PRS transmissions from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may be co-located or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or may be located remotely from the gNB and / or TRP and configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0051] Using UE-assisted positioning methods, UE 105 may obtain location measurements and transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating a location estimate for UE 105. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of received signal strength indication (RSSI), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) of gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN APs. The location measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudoranges, code phases, and / or carrier phases of SVs 190-193.

[0052] Using the UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain a position measurement (e.g., which can be the same or similar to a position measurement for a UE-assisted positioning method), and can calculate the position of UE 105 (e.g., with the aid of auxiliary data received from a location server (such as LMF 120) or broadcast by gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base station or AP).

[0053] With network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or time of arrival (ToA) of signals sent by UE 105) and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs may transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating a location estimate for UE 105.

[0054] The information provided to LMF 120 by gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information and location coordinates for directional SS or PRS transmission. LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to UE 105 as assistance data in an LPP message and / or an NPP message via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0055] The LPP message or NPP message transmitted from LMF 120 to UE 105 may instruct UE 105 to do any of a variety of things depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP message or NPP message may include instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct UE 105 to obtain measurements supported by one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or by some other type of base station (such as eNB or The UE 105 may transmit one or more measurement parameters (e.g., beam ID, beam width, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurement) of a directional signal transmitted within a specific cell (supported by the UE AP) of the UE 105. The UE 105 may transmit these measurement parameters back to the LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., in a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

[0056] As noted, while the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such as UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionality). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, Figure 1 140 to a WLAN. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 for UE 105. access, and may include one or more AP. Here, the N3IWF may be connected to the WLAN and other elements in the 5GC 140, such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in the EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN including an eNB, and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by an EPC including a mobility management entity (MME) instead of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC instead of the LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to transmit location information to and receive location information from the eNB in ​​the E-UTRAN, and may use LPP to support positioning of the UE 105. In these other embodiments, positioning of UE 105 using directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, except that the functions and processes described herein for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 may in some cases be applied alternatively to other network elements, such as eNB, AP, MME and E-SMLC.

[0057] As noted, in some embodiments, positioning functionality may be implemented, at least in part, using directional SS beams or directional PRS beams transmitted by a base station (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) at a UE (e.g., Figure 1 In some instances, the UE may use directional SS or PRS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the positioning of the UE.

[0058] Also refer to Figure 2UE 200 may be an example of one of UEs 105, 106, and may include a computing platform including a processor 210, a memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (which includes a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, the sensor 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, and the positioning device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (which may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., one or more of the camera 218, the positioning device 219, and / or the sensor 213, etc.) may be omitted from the UE 200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may include, for example, a processor for RF (radio frequency) sensing (wherein one or more (cellular) wireless signals and reflections transmitted are used to identify, map and / or track objects) and / or ultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, a SIM (subscriber identity module or subscriber identity module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by a terminal user of the UE 200 to obtain connectivity. The memory 211 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a disk memory, and / or a read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 211 may store software 212, which may be a processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that may be configured to cause the processor 210 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause the processor 210 to perform functions. The description herein may refer to the processor 210 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations in which the processor 210 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 210 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more of the processors 230 to 234 performing the function.The description herein may refer to UE 200 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of UE 200 performing that function. Processor 210 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or in lieu of memory 211. The functionality of processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0059] Figure 2 The configuration of UE 200 shown is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure (including claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of UE may include one or more of processors 230 to 234 in processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations may include one or more of processors 230 to 234 in processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver, and one or more of the following: sensor 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver.

[0060] UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 that may be capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and down-converted by transceiver 215 and / or SPS receiver 217. Modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing of signals to be up-converted for transmission by transceiver 215. Additionally or alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by general / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0061] UE 200 may include sensor 213, which may include, for example, one or more of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors, etc. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., collectively responsive to acceleration of UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes (e.g., to support one or more compass applications). Environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more air pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones, etc. The sensor 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals, indications of which may be stored in the memory 211 and processed by the DSP 231 and / or the general / application processor 230 to support one or more applications (such as, for example, applications involving positioning operations and / or navigation operations). The sensor 213 may include one or more other various types of sensors, such as one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors, etc.

[0062] The sensor 213 may be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. The information detected by the sensor 213 may be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. The sensor 213 may be used to determine whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or moving and / or whether to report certain useful information related to the mobility of the UE 200 to the LMF 120. For example, based on the information obtained / measured by the sensor 213, the UE 200 may notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or that the UE 200 has moved, and report the relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning implemented by the sensor 213, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU may be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of another device relative to the UE 200, etc.

[0063] The IMU may be configured to provide measurements of the direction of motion and / or speed of motion of the UE 200, which may be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may detect the linear acceleration and rotational speed of the UE 200, respectively. The linear acceleration measurements and rotational speed measurements of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine the transient direction of motion and displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement may be integrated to track the position of the UE 200. For example, the reference position of the UE 200 at a certain moment may be determined, for example, using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and the measurements obtained from the accelerometers and gyroscopes after that moment may be used for dead reckoning to determine the current position of the UE 200 based on the movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference position.

[0064] The magnetometer may determine the magnetic field strength in different directions, which may be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation may be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions and provide an indication of the magnetic field strength. The magnetometer may include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions and provide an indication of the magnetic field strength. The magnetometer may provide a component for sensing a magnetic field and providing an indication of the magnetic field, for example, to the processor 210.

[0065] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to an antenna 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and converting signals from the wireless signals 248 to wired signals (e.g., electrical signals and / or optical signals) and from wired signals (e.g., electrical signals and / or optical signals) to the wireless signals 248. The wireless transmitter 242 includes appropriate components (e.g., a power amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter). The wireless receiver 244 includes appropriate components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and an analog-to-digital converter). The wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the TRP and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE802.11p), Direct connection Etc. The new radio may use millimeter wave frequencies and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies. The wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that may be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to transmit communications to the NG-RAN 135 and receive communications from the NG-RAN. The wired transmitter 252 may include a plurality of transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include a plurality of receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, for example, via an optical connection and / or an electrical connection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215. Wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244 and / or antenna 246 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers and / or multiple antennas, respectively, for transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0066] The user interface 216 may include one or more devices such as, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a display device, a vibration device, a keyboard, a touch screen, etc. The user interface 216 may include any device more than one of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store an indication of an analog signal and / or a digital signal in the memory 211 in response to an action from the user to be processed by the DSP 231 and / or the general / application processor 230. Similarly, an application hosted on the UE 200 may store an indication of an analog signal and / or a digital signal in the memory 211 to present an output signal to the user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input / output (I / O) device, which includes, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a digital-to-analog circuit, an analog-to-digital circuit, an amplifier, and / or a gain control circuit (including any device more than one of these devices). Other configurations of audio I / O devices may be used. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure on, for example, a keyboard and / or a touch screen of the user interface 216 .

[0067] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring the SPS signal 260 via the SPS antenna 262. The SPS antenna 262 is configured to convert the SPS signal 260 from a wireless signal to a wired signal (e.g., an electrical signal or an optical signal) and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260 in whole or in part to estimate the position of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 200 by performing trilateration using the SPS signal 260. The general / application processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be utilized in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217 to process the acquired SPS signal in whole or in part and / or calculate the estimated position of the UE 200. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signals 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals obtained from the wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioning operations. The general / application processor 230, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors and / or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for processing measurements to estimate the location of the UE 200.

[0068] UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. Camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge coupled device or a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuits, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of signals representing captured images may be performed by general / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231. Additionally or alternatively, video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of signals representing captured images. Video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown) (e.g., of user interface 216).

[0069] Positioning device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200, the movement of UE 200, and / or the relative location of UE 200, and / or time. For example, PD 219 may communicate with SPS receiver 217 and / or include some or all of the SPS receivers. PD 219 may work appropriately with processor 210 and memory 211 to perform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, but the description herein may refer to PD 219 being configured to perform according to the positioning method or the PD performing according to the positioning method. PD 219 may be additionally or alternatively configured to: use ground-based signals (e.g., at least some of the wireless signals 248) for trilateration, assist in obtaining and use SPS signals 260, or both to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200 based on the cell of the serving base station (e.g., cell center) and / or another technology (such as E-CID). The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using one or more images from the camera 218 and image recognition combined with known locations of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks (such as mountains) and / or artificial landmarks (such as buildings, bridges, streets), etc.). The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using one or more other technologies (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's location beacon)), and may use a combination of technologies (e.g., SPS and ground positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may include one or more sensors (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.) in the sensor 213, which may sense the orientation and / or movement of the UE 200 and provide an indication of the orientation and / or movement, and the processor 210 (e.g., the general / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231) may be configured to use the indication to determine the movement of the UE 200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). PD 219 may be configured to provide an indication of uncertainty and / or error in the determined position and / or motion. The functionality of PD 219 may be provided in a variety of ways and / or configurations, such as by general / application processor 230, transceiver 215, SPS receiver 217, and / or another component of UE 200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0070] Also refer to Figure 3, an example of a TRP 300 for a gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 includes a computing platform including a processor 310, a memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, the memory 311, and the transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to one another via a bus 320 (which may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may include a plurality of processors (e.g., including a general / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, such as Figure 2 310). The memory 311 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a disk memory, and / or a read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 311 may store software 312, which may be a processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause the processor 310 to perform functions.

[0071] The description herein may refer to processor 310 performing a function, but this includes other specific implementations, such as a specific implementation in which processor 310 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to processor 310 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors included in processor 310 performing the function. The description herein may refer to TRP 300 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., processor 310 and memory 311) of TRP 300 (and therefore one of gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) performing the function. Processor 310 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or in lieu of memory 311. The functionality of processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0072] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 and converting signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired signals (e.g., electrical signals and / or optical signals) and from wired signals (e.g., electrical signals and / or optical signals) to the wireless signals 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate in accordance with a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), Direct connection The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that may be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to transmit communications to, for example, the LMF 120 and / or one or more other network entities and receive communications therefrom. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0073] Figure 3 The configuration of the TRP 300 shown is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that the TRP 300 may be configured to perform several functions or that the TRP performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0074] Also refer to Figure 4 , the server 400 (LMF 120 may be an example thereof) may include: a computing platform including a processor 410, a memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 420 (the bus may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may include a plurality of processors (e.g., including a general / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, such as Figure 2 410). The memory 411 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a disk memory, and / or a read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 411 may store software 412, which may be a processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410, but may be configured to cause the processor 410 to perform the function, for example, when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations of the processor 410 executing software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more of the processors included in the processor 410 performing the function. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 performing the function. The processor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions as a supplement and / or alternative to the memory 411. The functionality of processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0075] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and converting signals from the wireless signals 448 to wired signals (e.g., electrical signals and / or optical signals) and from wired signals (e.g., electrical signals and / or optical signals) to the wireless signals 448. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to operate in accordance with a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE802.11p), Direct connection The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to transmit communications to, for example, the TRP 300 and / or one or more other network entities and receive communications therefrom. The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0076] The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as implementations in which processor 410 executes software (stored in memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of server 400 (e.g., processor 410 and memory 411) performing that function.

[0077] Figure 4The configuration of the server 400 shown is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, the description herein discusses that the server 400 is configured to perform several functions or that the server performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0078] refer to Figure 5 , NTN node 500 (non-terrestrial network node) includes a processor 510, a transceiver 520, and a memory 530 that are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 540. NTN node 500 may include Figure 5 Components shown, and may include one or more other components. For example, the transceiver 520 may include a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and an antenna configured for wireless communication with one or more other devices such as a UE. Therefore, the NTN node 500 may be similar to the TRP 300, but does not include a wired transmitter or a wired receiver (although the NTN node 500 may include such devices). The transceiver 520 is configured to send one or more positioning signals to the UE (e.g., one or more GNSS signals in the case where the NTN node 500 is part of a satellite, and / or one or more other positioning signals (e.g., having a specific carrier frequency and having a specific pattern)). The carrier frequency and / or pattern (e.g., a pattern of binary 0s and 1s) of the positioning signal sent by the NTN node 500 may be selected by the processor 510, or indicated by another entity in an instruction received by the transceiver 520. The NTN node 500 may receive the positioning signal, and amplify and forward the received positioning signal, so that the NTN node 500 neither selects the carrier frequency of the positioning signal nor the pattern of the positioning signal. NTN node 500 may take various forms or be part of any of a variety of devices such as a satellite, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an aircraft, and the like.

[0079] The description herein may refer only to the processor 510 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as implementations in which the processor 510 executes software and / or firmware (stored in the memory 530). The description herein may refer to the NTN node 500 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the NTN node 500 (e.g., the processor 510 and the memory 530) performing the function. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530 and, where appropriate, the transceiver 520) may include a positioning signal unit 550. The positioning signal unit 550 is discussed further below, and the description may refer generally to the processor 510 or generally to the NTN node 500 performing any of the functions of the positioning signal unit 550, where the NTN node 500 is configured to perform the function.

[0080] refer to Figure 6 , the network entity 600 includes a processor 610 and a memory 630 that are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 640. The network entity 600 may include a transceiver 620 that is communicatively coupled to the processor 610 and the memory 630 via the bus 640. The network entity 600 may include Figure 6 Components shown, and may include one or more other components, such as one or more other components. For example, transceiver 620 may include one or more components of the components of transceiver 415, such as antenna 446 and wireless transmitter 442 and / or wireless receiver 444. Additionally or alternatively, transceiver 620 may include wired transmitter 452 and / or wired receiver 454. Memory 630 may include software with processor-readable instructions configured to enable processor 610 to perform functions. Network entity 600 may be an independent device, or may be part of another device such as NTN node 500, or integrated with the other device. Network entity 600 may be part of NTN or TN (ground network), and in either case may be configured to communicate with NTN and / or TN. Network entity 600 may be partially in each of two or more devices, such as partially in NTN node and partially in TN node. Network entity 600 may implement LMF and / or other functionality.

[0081] The description herein may refer only to the processor 610 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as implementations in which the processor 610 executes software and / or firmware (stored in the memory 630). The description herein may refer to the network entity 600 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the network entity 600 (e.g., the processor 610 and the memory 630) performing that function. The processor 610 (possibly in combination with the memory 630, and where appropriate, with the transceiver 620) may include a positioning signal unit 650 and a UE position evaluation unit 660. The positioning signal unit 650 and the UE position evaluation unit 660 are discussed further below, and this specification may generally refer to the processor 610 or generally refer to the network entity 600 performing any functions of the positioning signal unit 650 and / or the UE position evaluation unit 660, where the network entity 600 is configured to perform those functions.

[0082] refer to Figure 7 , further reference Figures 1 to 6 , the wireless communication environment 700 includes a UE 710, NTN nodes 720, 730, a gateway 740, and possibly another UE 750. The UE 710 may be an example of the UE 200 (which may include Figure 2 200) or may include less than all components of UE 200 (but may include Figure 2 740). The UE 710 may be referred to as a target UE (i.e., a UE whose location is desired to be determined and / or evaluated (e.g., determined to be valid (verified) or invalid (inaccurate))). In the case of an NTN (e.g., including NTN nodes 720, 730), the UE 710 may communicate with the TN via an NTN node such as the NTN node 720, which is a service node for the UE 710 in this example, wherein the NTN node 720 communicates with the TN via the gateway 740. For example, when the UE 710 cannot communicate directly with the TRP of the TN, such as when the UE 710 is in a rural area, the UE 710 may communicate with the TN via the NTN node 720. Each of the NTN nodes 720, 730 may be an example of the NTN node 500.

[0083] UE 710 may be configured to determine the location of the UE (i.e., UE location), and report the UE location to the network (e.g., a serving NTN node, in this example, NTN node 720) and / or to the TN via NTN node 720. For example, UE 710 may be configured to use an SPS receiver (e.g., SPS receiver 217) to determine the UE location. UE 710 may report the UE location to a service provider or other entity (e.g., TN entity) such as a law enforcement entity. UE 710 may report the UE location in response to a request and / or autonomously upon request.

[0084] However, the UE 710 may report an erroneous UE location (e.g., at the instruction of a user of the UE 710, e.g., to deceive law enforcement and / or another entity receiving the reported UE location). For example, instead of reporting the actual, true UE location of the UE 710, the UE 710 may report an erroneous location 760 as if the erroneous location 760 was the actual location of the UE 710. The erroneous location 760 may be within a beam footprint 770 of the NTN node 720 (e.g., a satellite beam footprint), and the beam footprint 770 may span tens or hundreds of kilometers (e.g., where the NTN node 720 is a satellite), which may be too large to verify the reported UE location by itself. That is, having the UE 710 within the beam footprint 770 may not be sufficient to verify that the reported UE location within the beam footprint is accurate (to the desired degree of accuracy).

[0085] However, the techniques discussed herein may help (the network) evaluate whether the reported UE location is the actual UE location (or at least within a threshold accuracy of the actual UE location). One or more techniques discussed herein may be used together with one or more other techniques to help determine whether the reported UE location is an accurate UE location.

[0086] like Figure 7As shown, the NTN node 720 may transmit a first signal 722 to the UE 710, wherein the first signal 722 has a transmit carrier frequency of X Hz. The UE 710 (e.g., the processor 210) may measure the first signal 722 and determine a receive carrier frequency of the first signal 722. Due to a Doppler shift of the first signal 722 caused by the relative motion between the NTN node 720 and the UE 710 (e.g., due to the motion of the NTN node 720 relative to the earth and / or the motion of the UE 710 relative to the earth), the receive carrier frequency of the first signal 722 may be different from the transmit carrier frequency of the first signal 722. Due to the motion of the NTN node 720 (due to different Doppler shifts in different directions), the carrier frequency of the first signal may be different in different directions from the NTN node 720. The UE 710 may know the motion of the NTN node 720 (e.g., based on satellite ephemeris data). Knowledge of the relative motion of the UE 710 and the NTN node 720 (e.g., based on satellite ephemeris data), the UE position, and the received carrier frequency may be used (e.g., by the UE 710) to derive a reference frequency, and the UE 710 may use the reference frequency to calibrate the oscillator of the UE 710. For example, the NTN node 720 may transmit an SSB (synchronization signal block) signal to the UE 710, and the UE 710 may use the SSB and the calculated Doppler shift of the SSB to calibrate the oscillator of the UE 710. The motion of the UE 710 relative to the earth may also be used to determine the Doppler shift, but the motion of the UE relative to the earth may not significantly affect the motion of the UE relative to the NTN node compared to the motion of the NTN node (e.g., satellite) relative to the earth. Therefore, when determining the Doppler shift due to the relative motion of the UE and the NTN node, the motion of the UE relative to the earth may or may not be considered.

[0087] The NTN node 730 (e.g., the positioning signal unit 550) may transmit a second signal 732 to the UE 710, wherein the second signal 732 has a transmit carrier frequency of Y Hz. The UE 710 (e.g., the processor 210) may measure the second signal 732 and determine a receive carrier frequency of the second signal 732. As with the first signal 722, the receive carrier frequency of the second signal 732 may be different from the transmit carrier frequency of the second signal 732 due to a Doppler shift of the second signal 732 caused by the relative motion between the NTN node 730 and the UE 710 (and if the second signal 732 originates from the NTN node 720, due to the relative motion of the NTN node 720 and the NTN node 730, as discussed further below). The NTN node 730 may be, for example, a non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) satellite, which may not be a serving NTN node for the UE 710. UE 710 should not know the motion information (e.g., satellite ephemeris data) for NTN node 730 in order to prohibit UE 710 from being able to calculate and report an erroneous frequency difference that accurately corresponds to an erroneous UE position reported by UE 710. However, NTN node 730 may be a serving node for one or more other UEs, such as UE 750, which knows the motion information of NTN node 730 and is able to calibrate an oscillator of UE 750 based on second signal 732.

[0088] UE 710 determines and reports the UE position (for UE 710) and the frequency difference between the received carrier frequency of the first signal 722 and the received carrier frequency of the second signal 732. UE 710 may, for example, report the UE position as determined by SPS receiver 217. UE 710 may also calculate and report a frequency difference signal 712 indicating a reported frequency difference Δf between the received carrier frequency of the first signal 722 and the received carrier frequency of the second signal 732. For example, the reported frequency difference may be the result of subtracting two received carrier frequencies. As another example, the reported frequency difference may be a ratio of two received frequencies.

[0089] The network entity determines whether the reported UE position is accurate based on the reported UE position and the reported frequency difference. The network entity may be arranged in one or more locations, for example, as shown in the figure, the network entity 725 is arranged in the NTN node 720, or arranged in a TN that communicates with the NTN node 720 via a gateway 740 (for example, in another device in the TN or as a separate device in the TN). The network entity (for example, the UE position evaluation unit 660) can use the motion information (for example, satellite ephemeris data) of each of the NTN nodes 720 and 730, the reported UE position, and the transmitted carrier frequency of the signal 722 and 732 to calculate the expected frequency difference of the received carrier frequency. The network entity will know the transmitted carrier frequency by communicating with the NTN nodes 720 and 730, including possibly instructing one or more of the NTN nodes 720 and 730 to use which frequency as the corresponding transmission carrier frequency. The network entity (e.g., UE position evaluation unit 660) determines whether the reported UE position is accurate based on whether the reported frequency difference is within a threshold proximity of an expected frequency difference determined by the network entity. The threshold proximity may be, for example, a frequency magnitude difference, or a percentage (e.g., + / -10%), or a ratio threshold (e.g., + / -0.1), although another other form of threshold may be used.

[0090] refer to Figure 8 , and further reference Figures 1 to 7 , signaling and process flow 800 for reported UE location evaluation for UE 801 includes the stages shown. Flow 800 is an example of interaction between UE 801, network entity 802, first NTN node 803 and second NTN node 804, as stages may be added, rearranged and / or removed. UE 801 may be an example of UE 200 (which may include Figure 2 200) or may include less than all components of UE 200 (but may include Figure 2804). The first NTN node 803 and the second NTN node 804 may each be an example of the NTN node 500. The network entity 802 is an example of the network entity 600. The first NTN node 803 and the network entity 802 may, for example, be arranged in a single physical device 805 (e.g., a satellite or another NTN device (e.g., an aircraft, UAV, etc.)), which may help reduce or avoid delays in the reported UE location assessment (e.g., due to information transmission to the ground network, for example, for one or more calculations discussed herein). As another example, a portion of the network entity 802 may be arranged in a single physical device, wherein the first NTN node 803 and one or more other portions of the network entity 802 are arranged elsewhere, for example, in one or more ground-based devices. As another example, the network entity 802 may be arranged in one or more ground-based devices.

[0091] At stage 820, the first NTN node 803 sends a first signal 822 to the UE 801. The first signal 822 may be a positioning signal having a modulation sequence (of binary 0 and 1) and a carrier frequency. The first NTN node 803 sends the first signal 822 at a transmit carrier frequency of X Hz. The received carrier frequency of the first signal 822 may vary based on the direction from the first NTN node 803 and the movement of the first NTN node 803 relative to the UE 801. The received carrier frequency of the first signal as received by the UE 801 has a frequency of (X+a) Hz, where a Hz is due to Doppler shift. The first NTN node 803 may send an indication of the transmit frequency (X) to the UE 801 in system information and / or dedicated signaling, and / or the UE 801 may obtain the transmit frequency of the first signal 822 in one or more other ways (e.g., the memory 211 is programmed according to an industry standard during manufacturing, by receiving an indication of the transmit signal from the TRP 300 when within the TN range, etc.).

[0092] At sub-stage 821, the network entity 802 may transmit one or more instructions to the first NTN node 803, the second NTN node 804, and / or the UE 801. The network entity 802 may determine a node to be used as the first NTN node 803 and / or the second NTN node 804, and / or a time and / or frequency resource to be used by the first NTN node 803 and / or the second NTN node 804 for signal transmission. For example, the network entity 600 may transmit one or more instructions to the first NTN node 803, for example, in response to selecting the first NTN node 803 to transmit the first signal 822 or in response to the first NTN node 803 being a serving NTN node for the UE 801. The instruction may indicate a signal configuration including a transmission frequency (and / or one or more other parameters, such as a modulation sequence) for the first NTN node 803 to use to transmit the first signal 822. The network entity 600 may also additionally or alternatively transmit one or more instructions to the second NTN node 804, for example, in response to selecting the second NTN node 804 to transmit the second signal 844. The instructions may indicate a transmission frequency (and / or one or more other parameters, such as a modulation sequence) for the second NTN node 804 to use to transmit the second signal 844, or indicate information for the second NTN node 804 to receive, amplify, and forward the relay signal 842 as the second signal 844. The network entity 600 may also additionally or alternatively transmit one or more instructions to the UE 801, for example, using a measurement gap configuration (e.g., a time window and / or a frequency range) to schedule a measurement gap for the UE 801 to receive and measure the first signal 822 and / or the second signal 844. The measurement gap may ensure that the UE 801 does not transmit a signal during the measurement gap that will significantly hinder the accurate measurement of the carrier frequency of the first signal 822 and / or the second signal 844. The instructions sent at the sub-stage 821 may be sent to the UE 801 via, for example, the AMF and / or the NG-RAN.

[0093] At stage 830, UE 801 determines the received carrier frequency, and may determine a reference frequency based on the received carrier frequency. At sub-stage 832, UE 801 measures the first signal 822 and determines the received carrier frequency ((X+a) Hz) of the first signal 822. Optionally, at stage 834, UE 801 may determine a reference frequency, e.g., for calibrating an oscillator of UE 801. For example, UE 801 may determine a transmit frequency of the first signal 822 based on the received frequency and the calculated Doppler shift of the first signal 822 (based on knowledge of the position and movement of the first NTN node 803 and the position (and possibly movement) of UE 801). UE 801 may determine the reference frequency, e.g., by removing the Doppler component from the received frequency.

[0094] At stage 840, the second NTN node 804 sends a second signal 844 to the UE 801. The second NTN node 804 (e.g., the positioning signal unit 550) may generate the second signal 844 and send the second signal 844 to the UE 801 via the transceiver 520. The second NTN node 804 may send the second signal 844 using a transmission carrier frequency of Y Hz. The received carrier frequency of the second signal 844 may vary based on the direction from the second NTN node 804 and the movement of the second NTN node 804 relative to the UE 801. The received carrier frequency of the first signal received by the UE 801 has a frequency of (Y+b) Hz, where b Hz is due to Doppler shift. The network entity 802 may transmit an instruction message 841 to the second NTN node 804 (e.g., transmitting the second signal 844 in response to selecting the second NTN node 804). The instruction message 841 may indicate a transmission frequency (and / or one or more other parameters, such as a modulation sequence) for the second NTN node 804 to use to transmit the second signal 844. Alternatively, the instruction message 841 may instruct the second NTN node 804 to receive and amplify the relay signal 842 and forward the amplified relay signal 842 as the second signal 844. In this case, the first NTN node 803 transmits the relay signal 842 to the second NTN node 804 at a transmission frequency of Y Hz (e.g., via an inter-satellite link). The received second signal frequency (Y+b) Hz includes a Doppler shift due to the relative motion of the second NTN node 804 and the UE 801 and the relative motion of the first NTN node 803 and the second NTN node 804. If the second signal 844 is based on the repeating signal 842, the expected frequency difference between the received first signal 822 and the received second signal 844 can be accurately calculated without synchronizing the respective oscillators of the first NTN node 803 and the second NTN node 804, and without knowing the offsets of these oscillators if these oscillators are not synchronized.

[0095] At stage 850, UE 801 determines the carrier frequency of the received second signal 844 and provides the UE position and the frequency difference to the network entity 802. At sub-stage 852, UE 801 measures the received second signal 844, which has a carrier frequency of (Y+b) Hz, where b Hz is the Doppler shift caused by the relative motion of the second NTN node 804 and UE 801 (and the relative motion of the first NTN node 803 and the second NTN node 804 if the second signal 844 is a forwarded version of the relay signal 842). UE 801 determines (e.g., calculates) the frequency difference Δf (e.g., ((X+a)-(Y+b)) Hz) between the carrier frequency of the received first signal 822 and the carrier frequency of the received second signal 844. UE 801 sends a frequency difference message 854 with the frequency difference to the network entity 802. UE 801 also sends a location message 856 with the UE location (e.g., as determined by GNSS and / or other means). Messages 854, 856 may be parts of a single message. One or more of messages 854, 856 may be sent from the NG-RAN to a network entity via, for example, the AMF.

[0096] At stage 860, the network entity 802 determines the expected frequency difference between the first signal 822 and the second signal 844 for the UE position reported by the UE 801 in the location message 856. Since the second NTN node 804 is not a serving node for the UE 801, the UE 801 does not know the ephemeris data of the second NTN node 804, and therefore cannot calculate the transmission frequency Y from the carrier frequency of the received second signal 844. Therefore, the UE 801 cannot calculate the carrier frequency of the second signal 844 at the position chosen by the UE 801 (e.g., the false position to be reported in the location message 856 (i.e., not the actual position of the UE 801)). In order to determine the expected frequency difference, the network entity 600 (e.g., the UE position evaluation unit 660) calculates the carrier frequency of the first signal 822 for the reported position of the UE 801 included in the location message 856. The network entity 600 uses knowledge of the position and motion of the first NTN node 803 (e.g., ephemeris data), the reported position of the UE 801, the transmit frequency X Hz of the first signal 822, and possibly the motion of the UE 801 to calculate an expected carrier frequency of the first signal 822 as received by the UE 801. The network entity 600 also uses knowledge of the position and motion of the second NTN node 804 (e.g., ephemeris data), the reported position of the UE 801, the transmit frequency Y Hz of the second signal 844, and possibly the motion of the UE 801 to calculate an expected carrier frequency of the second signal 844 as received by the UE 801. The network entity 600 calculates the difference between the expected carrier frequencies of the signals 822, 844 received by the UE 801 for the reported position of the UE 801 (e.g., by subtracting one expected frequency from the other, or by determining a ratio of the expected frequencies, etc.).

[0097] At stage 870, the network entity 600 determines whether the reported UE position is accurate based on the difference in the expected carrier frequencies of the signals 822 and 844 and the reported frequency difference of the carrier frequencies of the signals 822 and 844 actually received by the UE 801. The network entity 600 (e.g., the UE position evaluation unit 660) determines whether the frequency difference Δf reported in the frequency difference message 854 and the expected frequency difference calculated at stage 860 are close (e.g., the same). If the expected difference and the actual difference are close enough, such as within a threshold value (e.g., an amplitude threshold value, a percentage threshold value, etc.), the network entity 600 can verify the reported UE position, that is, infer that the reported UE position is accurate (i.e., true). The network entity 600 can therefore determine whether the reported UE position is accurate or inaccurate (wrong). The threshold for determining whether the actual frequency difference and the expected frequency difference are close may depend on one or more factors. For example, the threshold may depend on one or more position accuracy requirements. The threshold may be less stringent (e.g., larger) than the threshold for verifying the UE position reported to the ground network. To determine whether the reported UE position is accurate, the network entity 600 may input the proximity of the calculated and reported frequency differences, and possibly one or more other factors, to an artificial intelligence / machine learning / neural network algorithm that is configured to output an indication of whether the reported UE position is accurate. The artificial intelligence / machine learning / neural network algorithm may adapt and improve the reliability of the position estimate indication over time. The one or more other factors may include, for example, measured received signal power (e.g., RSRP) and / or channel state information (CSI).

[0098] At stage 880, the network entity 600 provides an indication of whether the reported UE location is verified. For example, the processor 610 may provide one or more indications internally to the network entity 600 and / or provide one or more indications externally to the network entity 600. The processor 610 may, for example, provide an internal indication that the location verification failed, and the processor 610 may act on the indication, for example, by ignoring the reported location, by de-weighting the reported location, by noting that the reported location is erroneous, etc. As another example, the processor 610 may send a report to an interested entity (e.g., a law enforcement agency) that the reported location of the UE 801 is erroneous. The network entity 600 may act as a service provider for entities interested in the location verification of the UE 801.

[0099] refer to Fig. 9 , and further reference Figures 1 to 8, signaling and process flow 900 for reported UE location evaluation for UE 801 includes the stages shown. Flow 900 is an example of interaction between UE 801, network entity 902, first NTN node 803 and second NTN node 804, and stages may be added, rearranged and / or removed. Stages 920, 930, 940, 960, 970 and 980 are similar to stages 820, 830, 840, 860, 870 and 880, and therefore are not discussed further. Stage 950 is similar to stage 850, but UE 801 reports the location of UE 801 in stage 910 instead of stage 950 (although UE 801 may report the location of UE 801 outside of stage 850 in flow 800 (e.g., earlier than stage 850)). Network entity 902 is an example of network entity 600.

[0100] At stage 910, the network entity 902 determines whether to use the reported carrier frequency difference and the calculated carrier frequency difference to implement the reported UE position estimate. The UE 801 sends the location of the UE 801 (i.e., an indication of the UE location) to the network entity 902 in a location message 912. At sub-stage 914, the network entity 902 determines whether to trigger the UE position estimate in accordance with stages 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 970, 980 in response to the location message 912. For example, the UE position estimate unit 660 may trigger further stages of the process 900 based on one or more other techniques implemented by the network entity 600 that fail to verify the reported UE location (e.g., with a desired confidence level). Additionally or alternatively, the UE position estimate unit 660 may trigger further stages of the process 900 based on a history of the UE 801 reporting erroneous locations, and / or the reported location is unexpected (e.g., is a deviation from the scheduled location), and / or one or more other factors.

[0101] At sub-stage 921 of stage 920, configuration information for sending and / or receiving (e.g., including measuring) the first signal 822 and / or the second signal 844 may depend on the reported UE position. For example, the network entity 902 (e.g., a positioning signal unit) may determine the configuration information based on the reported UE position. For example, the time window for receiving the signals 822, 844 may be based on the reported UE position and the distance between the reported UE position and the nodes 803, 804. Even an inaccurate (e.g., erroneous) reported UE position may not be so far away from the accurate UE position that the calculated time window is unusable (e.g., causing one or both of the signals 822, 844 to arrive at the UE 801 outside the time window). If one or both of the signals 822, 844 arrive at the UE 801 outside the time window, this information may be used to infer that the reported UE position is erroneous. As another example, the network entity 600 may select which NTN node is the second NTN node 804 and / or the transmission frequency of the second signal based on the reported UE location, e.g., to help ensure that the signals 822 , 844 have sufficient frequency difference at the reported location to make a reliable conclusion at stage 970 .

[0102] At sub-stage 921, the network entity 600 may instruct the UE 801 to report the motion (e.g., speed (including speed and direction)) of the UE 801. For example, the network entity 600 may determine that the relative motion between the UE 801 and one or more of the nodes 803, 804 may be sufficiently affected by the motion of the UE 801 relative to the earth to consider the motion of the UE 801 relative to the earth when calculating the expected frequency difference at stage 960. The network entity 600 may determine that the UE 801 may move along or near the respective propagation directions of the first signal 822 and / or the second signal 844, and in response thereto, instruct the UE 801 to report the UE motion. For example, if the node is close to the horizon relative to the UE 801, the network entity 600 may instruct the UE 801 to report the motion. As another example, if both nodes 803, 804 are high in the sky relative to UE 801 (e.g., directly above UE 801 or nearly so), network entity 600 may not instruct UE 801 to report UE motion, or may even instruct UE 801 not to report UE motion.

[0103] refer to Fig.10 , and further reference Figures 1 to 9 , the method 1000 for accessing the reported UE location includes the stages shown. However, the method 1000 is an example and not a limitation. The method 1000 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing concurrently, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages.

[0104] At stage 1010, method 1000 includes receiving a reported UE location at a network entity. For example, network entity 802 receives the reported UE location in location message 856, or network entity 902 receives the reported UE location in location message 912. Processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630, possibly in combination with transceiver 620 (e.g., wireless receiver and antenna)) may include means for receiving the reported UE location.

[0105] At stage 1020, method 1000 includes obtaining, at a network entity, a first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a received frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmitted signal of a first transmitted frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node and a received frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmitted signal of a second transmitted frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node. For example, processor 610 may receive (e.g., from UE 801 via first NTN node 803, or from UE 801 via transceiver 620 in frequency difference message 854) the first signal frequency difference. As another example, processor 610 may calculate the first signal frequency difference based on a received report of a measured frequency of first signal 822 and a measured frequency of second signal 844. Processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630, possibly in combination with transceiver 620 (e.g., wireless receiver and antenna)) may include means for obtaining the first signal frequency difference.

[0106] At stage 1030, method 1000 includes providing, by the network entity, a UE location assessment indication based on the first signal frequency difference and based on the second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE location and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE location. For example, at stage 880, the UE location assessment unit 660 of the network entity 802 (or at stage 980, the UE location assessment unit 660 of the network entity 902) may transmit an indication of whether the reported UE location is verified or determined to be inaccurate to another portion of the network entity 600 (e.g., an application) and / or to an entity external to the network entity 600 (e.g., to an NTN node, where the NTN node and the network entity may be part of the same physical device or may be in separate physical devices). The assessment of the accuracy of the reported UE location is based on the actual and estimated frequency differences of the first signal 822 and the second signal 844. The location assessment indication may be provided to any entity that is interested in whether the reported UE location is accurate. The location assessment indication may indicate a failure to verify the reported UE location or a successful verification of the reported UE location. For example, inaccurate reported UE locations may be ignored when determining the location of the UE, which may improve the positioning of the UE 801. As another example, inaccurate reports of location may be flagged and / or trigger one or more actions, such as law enforcement personnel confirming whether a person associated with the UE 801 has violated geographic restrictions. The processor 610 (possibly in combination with the memory 630, possibly in combination with the transceiver 620 (e.g., a wireless transmitter and antenna)) may include components for providing a location assessment indication.

[0107] Implementations of method 1000 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, the UE position assessment indication is a UE position verification failure indication, and is provided based on a first signal frequency difference and a second signal frequency difference differing by more than a threshold. In another example implementation, the method includes determining the second signal frequency difference in response to the reported UE position being a triggering position, and / or providing the UE position assessment indication is performed in response to the reported UE position being a triggering position. For example, an assessment of the reported UE position may be triggered based on the reported UE position, for example, as discussed above. In another example implementation, the method includes: obtaining an indication of a speed of the UE at a network entity; determining, at the network entity, an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position based on the indication of the speed of the UE; and determining, at the network entity, an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position based on the indication of the speed of the UE. For example, the network entity 802 may receive an indication of the speed of the UE 801 and use the speed to calculate the expected carrier frequency of the received signals 822, 844 based on the UE speed and the motion of the nodes 803, 804 (and thus the relative motion of the UE 801 relative to the nodes 803, 804). The processor 610 (possibly in combination with the memory 630, in combination with the transceiver 620 (e.g., a wireless receiver and antenna)) may include means for obtaining an indication of the speed of the UE. The processor 610 (possibly in combination with the memory 630) may include means for determining an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE location and means for determining an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE location. In another example implementation, the method includes sending a request from the network entity for the UE to report the motion of the UE, wherein the request is sent based on a Doppler shift that the predicted motion of the UE can cause at least a threshold Doppler shift in at least one of a received frequency of the first signal received by the UE or a received frequency of the second signal received by the UE. For example, the network entity 802 (or the network entity 902) may instruct the UE 801 to report the UE motion at the sub-stage 821 (or the sub-stage 921). The network entity 802 (or the network entity 902) may instruct the UE 801 based on determining that the motion of the UE 801 at the reported UE position may be along or close to the propagation direction from one or more of the NTN nodes 803, 804, so that such motion may have a significant effect on the Doppler shift of one or more of the signals 822, 844.

[0108] Additionally or alternatively, a specific implementation of method 1000 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, the method includes: sending an instruction from a network entity to have a second non-terrestrial network node send a second transmission signal. For example, at substage 821, network entity 802 may instruct second NTN node 804 to act as a node for evaluating the validity of the reported UE position by instructing second NTN node 804 to transmit a second signal 844. As another example, network entity 902 may instruct (e.g., at substage 921) second NTN node 804 to transmit a second signal to UE 801. In a further example implementation, the network entity selects a second non-terrestrial network node from a plurality of potential network entities based on the reported UE position. For example, network entity 902 may select second NTN node 804 for transmitting a second signal based on the reported UE position, for example, where the signal from second NTN node 804 may provide a desired received carrier frequency (e.g., with a significant frequency difference relative to the first signal) at the reported UE position.

[0109] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of method 1000 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, the method includes: performing, at a network entity and based on the reported UE location, at least one of: sending a first indication of a first transmit frequency to a first non-terrestrial network node; or sending a second indication of a second transmit frequency to a second non-terrestrial network node; or sending a third indication of at least one of a time window or a frequency window for the UE to receive at least one of the first transmit signal or the second transmit signal; or sending a fourth indication of a signal sequence of at least one of the first transmit signal or the second transmit signal; or sending a measurement gap configuration for the UE to measure at least one of the first transmit signal or the second transmit signal. For example, at substage 821 (or substage 921), network entity 802 (or network entity 902) may instruct first NTN node 803 which transmission frequency to use for first signal 822, and / or instruct second NTN node 804 which transmission frequency to use for second signal 844, and / or instruct UE 801 regarding time and / or frequency windows and / or measurement gaps for receiving and / or measuring first signal 822 and / or second signal 844. Instructing one or both of the transmission frequencies may help ensure successful evaluation of the reported UE position, for example, by helping to ensure that the carrier frequency difference at UE 801 has one or more desired qualities (e.g., at least a threshold difference). Instructing the signal sequence of first signal 822 and / or the signal sequence of second signal 844, and / or the time window and / or frequency window, and / or the measurement gap may help ensure that UE 801 is able to receive first signal 822 and / or second signal 844, and / or measure first signal 822 and / or second signal 844 (e.g., with at least a threshold accuracy). In another example implementation, the UE position assessment indication is provided based on the output of an artificial intelligence algorithm that uses as input the second signal frequency difference and at least one of the following: the first signal frequency difference; or an indication of the received power of at least one of the first signal or the second signal; or an indication of at least one channel state of at least one of the first channel between the first non-terrestrial network node and the UE or the second channel between the second non-terrestrial network node and the UE. For example, the UE position assessment unit 660 may implement an artificial intelligence algorithm that determines whether the reported UE position is accurate based on the calculated signal frequency difference and at least one of the following: the reported actual signal frequency difference; the indicated received power of the first signal 822 and / or the indicated received power of the second signal 844; and / or an indication of the channel state between the UE 801 and the NTN node 803, and / or between the UE 801 and the second NTN node 804. In another example implementation, both the network entity and the first non-terrestrial network node are part of a single physical device.For example, the network entity 802 and the first NTN node 803 may be parts of a device 805 (which may be considered as an NTN node).

[0110] refer to Fig.11 UE 1100 includes a processor 1110, a transceiver 1120, and a memory 1130 that are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 1140. UE 801 may be an example of UE 1100. UE 1100 may include Fig.11 The components shown, and may include one or more other components, such as Figure 2 1100. The UE 200 may be an example of the UE 1100. For example, the processor 1110 may include one or more of the components of the processor 210. The transceiver 1120 may include one or more of the components of the transceiver 215, for example, the wireless transmitter 242 and the antenna 246, or the wireless receiver 244 and the antenna 246, or the wireless transmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244 and the antenna 246. Additionally or alternatively, the transceiver 1120 may include a wired transmitter 252 and / or a wired receiver 254. The memory 1130 may be configured similarly to the memory 211, for example, including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 1110 to perform functions.

[0111] The description herein may refer only to the processor 1110 performing a function, but this includes other specific implementations, such as implementations in which the processor 1110 executes software and / or firmware (stored in the memory 1130). The description herein may refer to the UE 1100 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 1100 (e.g., the processor 1110 and the memory 1130) performing the function. The processor 1110 (possibly in conjunction with the memory 1130 and, where appropriate, the transceiver 1120) may include a discovery signal measurement unit 1150 and a frequency difference unit 1160. The signal measurement unit 1150 and the frequency difference unit 1160 are discussed further below, and the description may generally refer to the processor 1110 or generally refer to the UE 1100 performing any functions of the signal measurement unit 1150 and the frequency difference unit 1160, where the UE 1100 is configured to perform these functions.

[0112] The signal measurement unit 1150 is configured to measure the received signal, for example, to determine the received frequency of the received signal. For example, the signal measurement unit 1150 may receive configuration information (e.g., signal configuration (e.g., signal timing and / or signal frequency) and / or measurement gap configuration), for example, at sub-stage 821 or sub-stage 921. For example, at stage 820, sub-stage 832, and sub-stage 852, or at stage 920, stage 930, and stage 950, the signal measurement unit 1150 may use the configuration information to search for, receive, and possibly measure one or more received signals.

[0113] The frequency difference unit 1160 may determine and report the frequency difference of the received signal. For example, at stage 850, the frequency difference unit 1160 may report the frequency difference message 854 to the network entity 802, and / or at stage 950, the frequency difference unit 1160 may report the frequency difference message to the network entity 902.

[0114] refer to Fig.12 , and further reference Figures 1 to 9 , the method 1200 for reporting the received signal frequency difference includes the stages shown. However, the method 1200 is an example and not a limitation. The method 1200 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, executing concurrently, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages.

[0115] At stage 1210, method 1200 includes receiving a first received signal having a first received signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmitted signal at a first transmitted frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node. For example, at stage 820, UE 801 receives a first signal 822 from a first NTN node 803 (or at stage 920, UE 801 receives a first signal from a first NTN node 803). Processor 1110 (possibly in combination with memory 1130, in combination with transceiver 1120 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include components for receiving the first received signal.

[0116] At stage 1220, method 1200: receiving, at the UE, a second received signal having a second received signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmitted signal having a second transmitted frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node. For example, at stage 840, UE 801 receives second signal 844 from second NTN node 804 (or at stage 940, UE 801 receives second signal from second NTN node 804). Processor 1110 (possibly in combination with memory 1130, in combination with transceiver 1120 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include components for receiving the first received signal.

[0117] At stage 1230, method 1200 includes: sending a signal frequency difference indicating the difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency from the UE to the network entity. For example, at stage 850, UE 801 sends a frequency difference message 854 to network entity 802 (or at stage 950, UE 801 sends a frequency difference message 854 to network entity 902). UE 801 can calculate the frequency difference, or can provide the received frequency to another entity and then receive the frequency difference. Processor 1110 (possibly in combination with memory 1130, in combination with transceiver 1120 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246)) may include components for sending the signal frequency difference.

[0118] Implementations of method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, method 1200 includes sending an indication of a location of the UE corresponding to a signal frequency difference to a network entity. For example, UE 801 may send location message 856 to network entity 802, or send location message 912 to network entity 902. Processor 1110 (possibly in combination with memory 1130, in combination with transceiver 1120 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246)) may include components for sending an indication of the location of the UE. In another example implementation, method 1200 includes receiving configuration information for receiving at least one of a first received signal or a second received signal from a network entity, wherein receiving the first received signal and the second received signal is based on the configuration information. For example, at substage 821, UE 801 receives the configuration information, and UE 801 uses the configuration information to receive the first signal 822 and / or the second signal 844. As another example, at sub-stage 921, UE 801 receives configuration information, and UE 801 uses the configuration information to receive a first signal at stage 920 and / or to receive a second signal at stage 940. Processor 1110 (possibly in combination with memory 1130, in combination with transceiver 1120 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include means for receiving configuration information.

[0119] Specific implementation examples

[0120] Specific implementation examples are provided in the following numbered clauses.

[0121] Clause 1. A method of evaluating a reported user equipment (UE) location, the method comprising:

[0122] Receiving, at a network entity, a reported UE location;

[0123] A first signal frequency difference is obtained at the network entity, the first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a reception frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmission signal of a first transmission frequency sent from a first non-terrestrial network node and a reception frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmission signal of a second transmission frequency sent from a second non-terrestrial network node separated from the first non-terrestrial network node; and a UE position assessment indication is provided by the network entity based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

[0124] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the UE location assessment indication is a UE location verification failure indication and is provided based on the first signal frequency difference and the second signal frequency difference differing by more than a threshold.

[0125] Clause 3. The method of clause 1, wherein at least one of the following:

[0126] The method comprises: determining the second signal frequency difference in response to the reported UE position being a triggering position; or

[0127] Providing the UE position evaluation indication is performed in response to the reported UE position being the triggering position.

[0128] Clause 4. The method according to clause 1, further comprising:

[0129] obtaining, at the network entity, an indication of a speed of the UE;

[0130] determining, at the network entity, the expected frequency of the first signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE; and

[0131] The expected frequency of the second signal at a reported UE location is determined, at the network entity, based on the indication of the speed of the UE.

[0132] Clause 5. The method according to Clause 1 further includes: sending a request from the network entity for the UE to report the movement of the UE, wherein the request is sent based on the predicted movement of the UE being able to cause a Doppler drift of at least a threshold Doppler drift in at least one of the receiving frequency of the first signal received by the UE or the receiving frequency of the second signal received by the UE.

[0133] Clause 6. The method of clause 1, further comprising: sending, from the network entity, an instruction for the second non-terrestrial network node to send the second transmit signal.

[0134] Clause 7. The method of Clause 6, wherein the network entity selects the second non-terrestrial network node from a plurality of potential network entities based on the reported UE location.

[0135] Clause 8. The method of clause 1, further comprising: performing, at the network entity and based on the reported UE location, at least one of the following:

[0136] sending a first indication of the first transmission frequency to the first non-terrestrial network node; or

[0137] sending a second indication of the second transmission frequency to the second non-terrestrial network node; or

[0138] Sending a third indication of at least one of a time window or a frequency window for the UE to receive at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal; or

[0139] sending a fourth indication of a signal sequence of at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal; or

[0140] A measurement gap configuration is sent for the UE to measure at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal.

[0141] Clause 9. A method as described in clause 1, wherein the UE position estimate indication is provided based on an output of an artificial intelligence algorithm, the artificial intelligence algorithm using as input the second signal frequency difference and at least one of:

[0142] the first signal frequency difference; or

[0143] an indication of received power of at least one of the first signal or the second signal; or

[0144] An indication of at least one channel status of at least one of a first channel between the first non-terrestrial network node and the UE or a second channel between the second non-terrestrial network node and the UE.

[0145] Clause 10. The method of Clause 1, wherein the network entity and the first non-terrestrial network node are both part of a single physical device.

[0146] Clause 11. A network entity comprising:

[0147] Memory; and

[0148] a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to:

[0149] receiving a reported user equipment (UE) location;

[0150] obtaining a first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a reception frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmission signal of a first transmission frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node and a reception frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmission signal of a second transmission frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and

[0151] A UE position assessment indication is provided based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

[0152] Clause 12. A network entity according to clause 11, wherein the UE location assessment indication is a UE location verification failure indication, and the processor is configured to provide the UE location verification failure indication based on the first signal frequency difference and the second signal frequency difference differing by more than a threshold.

[0153] Clause 13. The network entity of clause 11, wherein the processor is configured to perform at least one of the following operations:

[0154] determining the second signal frequency difference in response to the reported UE position being a triggering position; or

[0155] The UE position evaluation indication is provided in response to the reported UE position being the triggering position.

[0156] Clause 14. The network entity of clause 11, wherein the processor is configured to:

[0157] obtaining an indication of a speed of the UE;

[0158] determining the expected frequency of the first signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE; and

[0159] The expected frequency of the second signal at a reported UE location is determined based on the indication of the speed of the UE.

[0160] Clause 15. A network entity according to clause 11, wherein the processor is configured to: send a request for the UE to report the movement of the UE, and send the request based on the predicted movement of the UE being able to cause a Doppler shift of at least a threshold Doppler shift in at least one of the receive frequency of the first signal received by the UE or the receive frequency of the second signal received by the UE.

[0161] Clause 16. The network entity of clause 11, wherein the processor is configured to send instructions for the second non-terrestrial network node to send the second transmit signal.

[0162] Clause 17. The network entity of Clause 16, wherein the processor is configured to select the second non-terrestrial network node from a plurality of potential network entities based on the reported UE location.

[0163] Clause 18. A network entity as described in clause 11, wherein the processor is configured to perform at least one of the following operations based on the reported UE location:

[0164] sending a first indication of the first transmission frequency; or

[0165] sending a second indication of the second transmission frequency; or

[0166] Sending a third indication of at least one of a time window or a frequency window for the UE to receive at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal; or

[0167] sending a fourth indication of a signal sequence of at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal; or

[0168] A measurement gap configuration is sent for the UE to measure at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal.

[0169] Clause 19. A network entity according to clause 11, wherein to provide the UE position estimate indication, the processor is configured to implement an artificial intelligence algorithm that uses as input the second signal frequency difference and at least one of:

[0170] the first signal frequency difference; or

[0171] an indication of received power of at least one of the first signal or the second signal; or

[0172] An indication of at least one channel status of at least one of a first channel between the first non-terrestrial network node and the UE or a second channel between the second non-terrestrial network node and the UE.

[0173] Clause 20. The network entity of Clause 11, wherein both the network entity and the first non-terrestrial network node are part of a single physical device.

[0174] Clause 21. A network entity comprising:

[0175] means for receiving a reported user equipment (UE) position;

[0176] means for obtaining a first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a reception frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmission signal of a first transmission frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node and a reception frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmission signal of a second transmission frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and

[0177] Means for providing a UE position assessment indication based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

[0178] Clause 22. The network entity of clause 21, wherein the means for providing the UE location assessment indication comprises means for providing a UE location verification failure indication based on the first signal frequency difference and the second signal frequency difference differing by more than a threshold.

[0179] Clause 23. The network entity of clause 21, wherein at least one of the following:

[0180] The network entity further comprises: means for determining the second signal frequency difference in response to the reported UE position being a triggering position; or

[0181] The means for providing the UE position assessment indication includes means for providing the UE position assessment indication in response to the reported UE position being the triggering location.

[0182] Clause 24. The network entity according to clause 21, further comprising:

[0183] means for obtaining an indication of a speed of the UE;

[0184] means for determining the expected frequency of the first signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE; and

[0185] Means for determining the expected frequency of the second signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE.

[0186] Clause 25. The network entity according to clause 21 further includes: a component for sending a request for the UE to report the movement of the UE, wherein the component for sending the request includes: a component for sending the request based on the predicted movement of the UE being able to cause a Doppler drift of at least a threshold Doppler drift in at least one of the receiving frequency of the first signal received by the UE or the receiving frequency of the second signal received by the UE.

[0187] Clause 26. The network entity of clause 21, further comprising means for sending an instruction for the second non-terrestrial network node to send the second transmit signal.

[0188] Clause 27. The network entity of Clause 26, further comprising means for selecting the second non-terrestrial network node from a plurality of potential network entities based on the reported UE location.

[0189] Clause 28. The network entity of clause 21, further comprising at least one of the following:

[0190] means for sending a first indication of the first transmit frequency to the first non-terrestrial network node based on the reported UE position; or

[0191] means for sending a second indication of the second transmit frequency to the second non-terrestrial network node based on the reported UE position; or

[0192] means for sending a third indication of at least one of a time window or a frequency window for the UE to receive at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal based on the reported UE position; or

[0193] means for transmitting a fourth indication of a signal sequence of at least one of the first transmit signal or the second transmit signal; or

[0194] Means for sending a measurement gap configuration for the UE to measure at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal based on the reported UE location.

[0195] Clause 29. A network entity as described in clause 21, wherein the means for providing the UE location estimate indication comprises: means for providing the UE location estimate indication based on an output of an artificial intelligence algorithm, the artificial intelligence algorithm using as input the second signal frequency difference and at least one of:

[0196] the first signal frequency difference; or

[0197] an indication of received power of at least one of the first signal or the second signal; or

[0198] An indication of at least one channel status of at least one of a first channel between the first non-terrestrial network node and the UE or a second channel between the second non-terrestrial network node and the UE.

[0199] Clause 30. The network entity of Clause 21, wherein both the network entity and the first non-terrestrial network node are part of a single physical device.

[0200] Clause 31. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions, the instructions causing one or more processors of a network entity to:

[0201] receiving a reported user equipment (UE) location;

[0202] obtaining a first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a reception frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmission signal of a first transmission frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node and a reception frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmission signal of a second transmission frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and

[0203] A UE position assessment indication is provided based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

[0204] Clause 32. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to clause 31, wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to provide the UE location assessment indication include: processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to provide a UE location verification failure indication based on the first signal frequency difference and the second signal frequency difference being greater than a threshold.

[0205] Clause 33. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 31, wherein at least one of the following:

[0206] The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further includes processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine the second signal frequency difference in response to the reported UE location being a triggering location; or

[0207] The processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to provide the UE position assessment indication include processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to provide the UE position assessment indication in response to the reported UE position being the triggering position.

[0208] Clause 34. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 31, further comprising processor-readable instructions for causing the one or more processors to:

[0209] obtaining an indication of a speed of the UE;

[0210] determining the expected frequency of the first signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE; and

[0211] The expected frequency of the second signal at a reported UE location is determined based on the indication of the speed of the UE.

[0212] Clause 35. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 31 further includes processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to perform the following operations: send a request for the UE to report the movement of the UE, wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to send the request include: processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to send the request based on a Doppler drift that the predicted movement of the UE can cause at least a threshold Doppler drift in at least one of the receiving frequency of the first signal received by the UE or the receiving frequency of the second signal received by the UE.

[0213] Clause 36. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of Clause 31, further comprising processor-readable instructions for causing the one or more processors to: send instructions for causing the second non-terrestrial network node to send the second transmit signal.

[0214] Clause 37. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 36, further comprising processor-readable instructions to cause the one or more processors to select the second non-terrestrial network node from a plurality of potential network entities based on the reported UE location.

[0215] Clause 38. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 31, further comprising at least one of:

[0216] Processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to send a first indication of the first transmit frequency to the first non-terrestrial network node based on the reported UE position; or processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to send a second indication of the second transmit frequency to the second non-terrestrial network node based on the reported UE position; or processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to send a third indication of at least one of a time window or a frequency window based on the reported UE position for the UE to receive at least one of the first transmit signal or the second transmit signal; or

[0217] processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to transmit a fourth indication of a signal sequence for at least one of the first transmit signal or the second transmit signal; or

[0218] Processor-readable instructions are provided to cause the one or more processors to send a measurement gap configuration for the UE to measure at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal based on the reported UE location.

[0219] Clause 39. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in clause 31, wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to provide the UE location estimate indication include: processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to provide the UE location estimate indication based on an output of an artificial intelligence algorithm, the artificial intelligence algorithm using as input the second signal frequency difference and at least one of:

[0220] the first signal frequency difference; or

[0221] an indication of received power of at least one of the first signal or the second signal; or

[0222] An indication of at least one channel status of at least one of a first channel between the first non-terrestrial network node and the UE or a second channel between the second non-terrestrial network node and the UE.

[0223] Clause 40. A UE (user equipment), comprising:

[0224] Memory;

[0225] transceiver; and

[0226] a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the transceiver and configured to:

[0227] receiving, via the transceiver, a first receive signal having a first receive signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmit signal of the first transmit frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node;

[0228] receiving, via the transceiver, a second receive signal having a second receive signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmit signal having a second transmit frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and

[0229] A signal frequency difference indicating a difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency is sent to a network entity via the transceiver.

[0230] Clause 41. The UE of clause 40, wherein the processor is configured to send, via the transceiver, to the network entity an indication of a position of the UE corresponding to the signal frequency difference.

[0231] Clause 42. A UE according to clause 40, wherein the processor is configured to: receive configuration information for receiving at least one of the first received signal or the second received signal from the network entity via the transceiver, wherein the processor is configured to: receive the first received signal and the second received signal based on the configuration information.

[0232] Clause 43. A method for reporting a received signal frequency difference, the method comprising:

[0233] receiving, at a UE (user equipment), a first receive signal having a first receive signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmit signal of the first transmit frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node;

[0234] receiving, at the UE, a second receive signal having a second receive signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmit signal having a second transmit frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and

[0235] A signal frequency difference indicating a difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency is sent from the UE to a network entity.

[0236] Clause 44. The method of reporting a received signal frequency difference according to Clause 43, further comprising: sending an indication of a position of the UE corresponding to the signal frequency difference to the network entity.

[0237] Clause 45. The method for reporting received signal frequency difference according to clause 43 further includes: receiving configuration information for receiving at least one of the first received signal or the second received signal from the network entity, wherein receiving the first received signal and the second received signal is based on the configuration information.

[0238] Clause 46. A UE (user equipment), comprising:

[0239] means for receiving a first receive signal having a first receive signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmit signal of the first transmit frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node;

[0240] means for receiving a second receive signal having a second receive signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmit signal having a second transmit frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and

[0241] Means for sending a signal frequency difference indicating a difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency to a network entity.

[0242] Clause 47. The UE of clause 46, further comprising means for sending an indication of a position of the UE corresponding to the signal frequency difference to the network entity.

[0243] Clause 48. The UE according to Clause 46 further includes: a component for receiving configuration information for receiving at least one of the first received signal or the second received signal from the network entity, wherein the component for receiving the first received signal and the second received signal includes: a component for receiving the first received signal and the second received signal based on the configuration information.

[0244] Clause 49. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising: processor-readable instructions for causing one or more processors of a UE (user equipment) to:

[0245] receiving a first receive signal having a first receive signal frequency and corresponding to a first transmit signal of the first transmit frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node;

[0246] receiving a second receive signal having a second receive signal frequency and corresponding to a second transmit signal having a second transmit frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and

[0247] A signal frequency difference indicating a difference between the first received signal frequency and the second received signal frequency is sent to a network entity.

[0248] Clause 50. The UE of clause 49, further comprising processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to: send an indication of an indication of a location of the UE corresponding to the signal frequency difference to the network entity.

[0249] Clause 51. The UE according to Clause 49 further includes processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors to perform the following operations: receive configuration information for receiving at least one of the first received signal or the second received signal from the network entity, wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors of the UE to receive the first received signal and the second received signal include: processor-readable instructions that cause the one or more processors of the UE to receive the first received signal and the second received signal based on the configuration information.

[0250] Other considerations

[0251] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination thereof. Features implementing a function may also be physically located at different locations, including being distributed so that portions of a function are implemented at different physical locations.

[0252] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Therefore, references to singular forms of devices included in the claims (e.g., "device", "the device") include one or more such devices (e.g., "processor" includes one or more processors, "the processor" includes one or more processors, "memory" includes one or more memories, "the memory" includes one or more memories, etc.). As used herein, the terms "comprising", "including" specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0253] In addition, as used herein, "or" used in a list of items (possibly followed by "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates a disjunctive list, so that, for example, the list of "at least one of A, B, or C", or the list of "one or more of A, B, or C", or the list of "A or B or C" means A or B or C or AB (A and B) or AC (A and C) or BC (B and C) or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination with more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Therefore, a statement that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform a function regarding at least one of A or B, or a statement that an item is configured to perform function A or function B means that the item can be configured to perform a function regarding A, or can be configured to perform a function regarding B, or can be configured to perform functions regarding A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or measure B" means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to select which one or both of A and B to measure). Similarly, a recitation of a component for measuring at least one of A or B includes a component for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or a component for measuring B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or a component for measuring A and B (which may be able to select which one or both of A and B to measure). As another example, a recitation of an item (e.g., a processor) being configured to perform at least one of function X or to perform function Y means that the item may be configured to perform function X, or may be configured to perform function Y, or may be configured to perform function X and perform function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of X or Y" means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and measure Y (and may be configured to select which one or both of X and Y to measure).

[0254] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the recited item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than the recited item or condition.

[0255] Substantial variations may be made as required. For example, customized hardware may also be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor (including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. In addition, connections to other computing devices (such as network input / output devices) may be employed. Unless otherwise indicated, components (functional or otherwise) shown in the figures and / or discussed herein as being connected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupled. That is, these components may be connected directly or indirectly to enable communication between them.

[0256] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may appropriately omit, replace, or add various processes or components. For example, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of a configuration may be combined in a similar manner. In addition, technology is constantly evolving, and therefore many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure or claims.

[0257] A wireless communication system is a system in which communications are transmitted wirelessly between wireless communication devices, i.e., by propagation of electromagnetic waves and / or sound waves through atmospheric space rather than by wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless communication network) may not have all communications transmitted wirelessly, but may be configured to have at least some communications transmitted wirelessly. In addition, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms does not require that the functionality of the device be used exclusively or even primarily for communication, does not require that communications using the wireless communication device be exclusively or even primarily wireless, nor does it require that the device be a mobile device, but rather indicates that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (unidirectional or bidirectional), for example, including at least one radio component (each radio component is part of a transmitter, receiver or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0258] Specific details are given in the description of this article to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations (including specific implementations). However, the configuration can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures and techniques have been shown without unnecessary details to avoid confusing the configuration. The description of this article provides example configurations without limiting the scope, applicability or configuration of the claims. On the contrary, the previous description of the configuration provides a description for implementing the technology. Various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of the elements.

[0259] As used herein, the terms "processor-readable medium," "machine-readable medium," and "computer-readable medium" refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to a processor for execution, and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many specific implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical disks and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0260] After describing several example configurations, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over the application of the present disclosure or otherwise modify the application of the present invention. In addition, several operations may be taken before, during, or after considering the above elements. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0261] Unless otherwise indicated, "about" and / or "approximately" as used herein in reference to a measurable value (such as an amount, a duration of time, etc.) encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other specific implementations described herein. Unless otherwise indicated, "substantially" as used herein in reference to a measurable value (such as an amount, a duration of time, a physical property (such as frequency), etc.) also encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other specific implementations described herein.

[0262] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or above) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is one value higher than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or within or below) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly less than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is one value lower than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating a reported user equipment (UE) location, the method comprising: Receiving, at a network entity, a reported UE location; obtaining, at the network entity, a first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a reception frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmission signal of a first transmission frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node and a reception frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmission signal of a second transmission frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; as well as A UE position assessment indication is provided by the network entity based on the first signal frequency difference and a second signal frequency difference, wherein the second signal frequency difference is a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE location assessment indication is a UE location verification failure indication and is provided based on the first signal frequency difference and the second signal frequency difference differing by more than a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following: The method comprises: determining the second signal frequency difference in response to the reported UE position being a triggering position; or Providing the UE position evaluation indication is performed in response to the reported UE position being the triggering position.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: obtaining, at the network entity, an indication of a speed of the UE; determining, at the network entity, the expected frequency of the first signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE; as well as The expected frequency of the second signal at a reported UE location is determined, at the network entity, based on the indication of the speed of the UE.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A request is sent from the network entity for the UE to report motion of the UE, wherein the request is sent based on a predicted motion of the UE being capable of causing at least a threshold Doppler shift in at least one of the receive frequency of the first signal received by the UE or the receive frequency of the second signal received by the UE.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An instruction is sent from the network entity to cause the second non-terrestrial network node to send the second transmission signal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the network entity selects the second non-terrestrial network node from a plurality of potential network entities based on the reported UE location.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: performing, at the network entity and based on the reported UE location, at least one of the following: sending a first indication of the first transmission frequency to the first non-terrestrial network node; or sending a second indication of the second transmission frequency to the second non-terrestrial network node; or Sending a third indication of at least one of a time window or a frequency window for the UE to receive at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal; or sending a fourth indication of a signal sequence of at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal; or A measurement gap configuration is sent for the UE to measure at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE position estimate indication is provided based on an output of an artificial intelligence algorithm that uses as input the second signal frequency difference and at least one of: the first signal frequency difference; or an indication of received power of at least one of the first signal or the second signal; or An indication of at least one channel status of at least one of a first channel between the first non-terrestrial network node and the UE or a second channel between the second non-terrestrial network node and the UE.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the network entity and the first non-terrestrial network node are both part of a single physical device.

11. A network entity, comprising: Memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to: receiving a reported user equipment (UE) location; obtaining a first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a reception frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmission signal of a first transmission frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node and a reception frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmission signal of a second transmission frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; as well as A UE position assessment indication is provided based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

12. The network entity of claim 11, wherein the UE location assessment indication is a UE location verification failure indication, and the processor is configured to provide the UE location verification failure indication based on the first signal frequency difference and the second signal frequency difference differing by more than a threshold.

13. The network entity of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to perform at least one of the following operations: determining the second signal frequency difference in response to the reported UE position being a triggering position; or The UE position evaluation indication is provided in response to the reported UE position being the triggering position.

14. The network entity according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to: obtaining an indication of a speed of the UE; determining the expected frequency of the first signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE; and The expected frequency of the second signal at a reported UE location is determined based on the indication of the speed of the UE.

15. The network entity of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to send a request for the UE to report the motion of the UE, and to send the request based on the predicted motion of the UE being able to cause a Doppler shift of at least a threshold Doppler shift in at least one of the receive frequency of the first signal received by the UE or the receive frequency of the second signal received by the UE.

16. The network entity of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to send an instruction for the second non-terrestrial network node to send the second transmit signal.

17. The network entity of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to select the second non-terrestrial network node from a plurality of potential network entities based on the reported UE location.

18. The network entity of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to perform at least one of the following operations based on the reported UE location: sending a first indication of the first transmission frequency; or sending a second indication of the second transmission frequency; or Sending a third indication of at least one of a time window or a frequency window for the UE to receive at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal; or sending a fourth indication of a signal sequence of at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal; or A measurement gap configuration is sent for the UE to measure at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal.

19. The network entity of claim 11, wherein to provide the UE position estimate indication, the processor is configured to implement an artificial intelligence algorithm that uses as input the second signal frequency difference and at least one of: the first signal frequency difference; or an indication of received power of at least one of the first signal or the second signal; or An indication of at least one channel status of at least one of a first channel between the first non-terrestrial network node and the UE or a second channel between the second non-terrestrial network node and the UE.

20. The network entity of claim 11, wherein both the network entity and the first non-terrestrial network node are part of a single physical device.

21. A network entity, comprising: means for receiving a reported user equipment (UE) position; means for obtaining a first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a received frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmit signal of a first transmit frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node and a received frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmit signal of a second transmit frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and Means for providing a UE position assessment indication based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

22. The network entity of claim 21, wherein the means for providing the UE location assessment indication comprises: A component for providing a UE location verification failure indication based on the first signal frequency difference and the second signal frequency difference differing by more than a threshold.

23. The network entity of claim 21, wherein at least one of the following: The network entity further includes: means for determining said second signal frequency difference in response to the reported UE position being a triggering position; or The means for providing the UE position assessment indication includes means for providing the UE position assessment indication in response to the reported UE position being the triggering location.

24. The network entity according to claim 21, further comprising: means for obtaining an indication of a speed of the UE; means for determining the expected frequency of the first signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE; and Means for determining the expected frequency of the second signal at a reported UE location based on the indication of the speed of the UE.

25. The network entity according to claim 21, further comprising: and means for sending a request for the UE to report the motion of the UE, wherein the means for sending the request comprises means for sending the request based on a predicted motion of the UE being capable of causing a Doppler shift of at least a threshold Doppler shift in at least one of the receive frequency of the first signal received by the UE or the receive frequency of the second signal received by the UE.

26. The network entity according to claim 21, further comprising: Means for sending an instruction for the second non-terrestrial network node to send the second transmit signal.

27. The network entity according to claim 26, further comprising: Means for selecting the second non-terrestrial network node from a plurality of potential network entities based on the reported UE location.

28. The network entity of claim 21, further comprising at least one of the following: means for sending, to the first non-terrestrial network node, a first indication of the first transmit frequency based on the reported UE location; or means for sending, to the second non-terrestrial network node, a second indication of the second transmission frequency based on the reported UE location; or means for transmitting, based on the reported UE location, a third indication of at least one of a time window or a frequency window for the UE to receive at least one of the first transmit signal or the second transmit signal; or means for transmitting a fourth indication of a signal sequence of at least one of the first transmit signal or the second transmit signal; or Means for sending a measurement gap configuration for the UE to measure at least one of the first transmitted signal or the second transmitted signal based on the reported UE location.

29. The network entity of claim 21, wherein the means for providing the UE location assessment indication comprises: means for providing the UE position estimate indication based on an output of an artificial intelligence algorithm, the artificial intelligence algorithm using as input the second signal frequency difference and at least one of: the first signal frequency difference; or an indication of received power of at least one of the first signal or the second signal; or An indication of at least one channel status of at least one of a first channel between the first non-terrestrial network node and the UE or a second channel between the second non-terrestrial network node and the UE.

30. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions, the instructions causing one or more processors of a network entity to: receiving a reported user equipment (UE) location; obtaining a first signal frequency difference indicating a first difference between a reception frequency of a first signal received by the UE corresponding to a first transmission signal of a first transmission frequency transmitted from a first non-terrestrial network node and a reception frequency of a second signal received by the UE corresponding to a second transmission signal of a second transmission frequency transmitted from a second non-terrestrial network node separate from the first non-terrestrial network node; and A UE position assessment indication is provided based on the first signal frequency difference and based on a second signal frequency difference, the second signal frequency difference being a second difference between an expected frequency of the first signal at the reported UE position and an expected frequency of the second signal at the reported UE position.

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