Efficient early measurements for reporting during connection setup

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to techniques for performing a measurement procedure in a wireless communication system (e.g., during a connection setup procedure). In some embodiments, a user equipment device (UE) is configured to perform a measurement procedure on at least one carrier during a connection setup procedure on a first cell based on a first configuration, where the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by a network device. The UE is further configured to perform the measurement procedure to obtain a measurement result for the at least one carrier, and send a measurement report containing the measurement result for the at least one carrier to the network device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including wireless communication systems in which early measurements may be efficiently performed for reporting to network equipment, such as during a connection setup process. Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to send data between base stations and wireless communication devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include, for example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) (commonly referred to within industry organizations as WLANs). ).

[0003] As envisioned by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols may use various radio access networks (RANs) to communicate between base stations of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to as RAN nodes, network nodes, or simply nodes) and wireless communication devices referred to as user equipment (UE). 3GPP RANs may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0004] Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communications between base stations and UEs. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to herein as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or NR). In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In some deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT.

[0005] The base stations used by the RAN may correspond to the RAN. An example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). An example of an NG-RAN base station is a Next Generation Node B (also sometimes referred to as a gNodeB or gNB).

[0006] The RAN provides communication services together with external entities through its connection with the Core Network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN may utilize the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and NG-RAN may utilize the 5G Core Network (5GC).

[0007] The frequency bands of 5G NR may be divided into two or more different frequency ranges. For example, frequency range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands operating at frequencies below 6 GHz, some of which may be used by previous standards and may potentially be expanded to cover new spectrum products from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. Frequency range 2 (FR2) may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequency bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 may have a smaller range but potentially higher available bandwidth than the frequency bands in FR1. The skilled person will recognize that these frequency ranges, provided by way of example, may vary over time or from region to region. Summary of the invention

[0008] According to a first aspect, a user equipment device (UE) including one or more antennas, a transceiver and a processor and a method performed by the UE are disclosed. In some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the UE to perform a method, the method comprising: performing a measurement process on at least one carrier during a connection establishment process on a first cell based on a first configuration, wherein the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by a network device; performing the measurement process to obtain a measurement result for the at least one carrier; and sending a measurement report containing the measurement result for the at least one carrier to the network device.

[0009] According to a second aspect, a network device including one or more antennas, a transceiver and a processor and a method performed by the network device are disclosed. In some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the network device to perform a method, the method comprising: including a first indication in a first configuration to configure a user equipment device (UE) to perform a measurement process on at least one carrier during a connection establishment process on a first cell, wherein the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by the network device; sending a message including the first configuration to the UE; and receiving a measurement report including a measurement result for at least one carrier from the UE.

[0010] According to a third aspect, a network device including one or more antennas, a transceiver and a processor and a method performed by the network device are disclosed. In some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the network device to perform a method, the method comprising: configuring a timer for a user equipment device (UE) to perform early measurement on a carrier; receiving a corresponding early measurement report; determining a time period between a first time when the early measurement report is received and a second time when the timer expires; determining an accuracy degradation of the early measurement report based on the time period; and adjusting a measurement result included in the early measurement report based on the accuracy degradation.

[0011] According to a fourth aspect, an apparatus for operating a user equipment device (UE) is disclosed. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises a processor configured to cause the UE to perform the method disclosed herein.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect, an apparatus for operating a network device is disclosed. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a processor configured to cause the network device to perform the method disclosed herein.

[0013] According to a sixth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions is disclosed. In some embodiments, when executed by a computer system, the instructions cause the method disclosed herein to be implemented.

[0014] According to a seventh aspect, a computer program product comprising program instructions is disclosed. In some embodiments, when executed by a computer system, the instructions cause the method disclosed herein to be implemented.

[0015] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or action, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0017] Figure 1 An example architecture of a wireless communication system according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 2 A system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0019] Figure 3AAn example flow chart of a measurement process performed during a connection setup process according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 3B The present invention illustrates the embodiment according to the present invention. Figure 3A An example timeline of a paging-based measurement process in FIG.

[0021] Figure 4A An example flow chart of a measurement process performed during a connection setup process according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0022] Figure 4B The present invention illustrates the embodiment according to the present invention. Figure 4A An example timeline of a random access based measurement process in FIG.

[0023] Figure 5 An example process for determining the type of measurement to perform based on a threshold in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0024] Fig. 6A An example flow diagram of a measurement process performed during idle mode according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 6B The present invention illustrates the embodiment according to the present invention. Fig. 6A Example timeline of the measurement process in .

[0026] Figures 7 to 9 Example methods for communicating according to embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated.

[0027] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Acronyms

[0029] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. Definitions of the most commonly used acronyms that may appear throughout this disclosure are provided below:

[0030] CA: Carrier Aggregation

[0031] CSI-RS: Channel State Information Reference Signal

[0032] DC: Dual Connect

[0033] EMR: Early Measurement Report

[0034] FR: Frequency range

[0035] L1: Layer 1

[0036] L3: Layer 3

[0037] NR: New Radio

[0038] NW: Network

[0039] PRACH: Physical Random Access Channel

[0040] RACH: Random Access Channel

[0041] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0042] RAR: Random Access Response

[0043] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0044] RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0045] RS: Reference signal

[0046] RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power

[0047] RSRQ: Reference Signal Received Quality

[0048] RX: Receive

[0049] SINR: Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio

[0050] SIB: System Information Block

[0051] SSB: Synchronization Signal Block

[0052] TCI: Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0053] UE: User Equipment

[0054] Various embodiments are described with respect to UE. However, reference to UE is provided for illustrative purposes only. The example embodiments may be used with any electronic component that can establish a connection with a network and is configured with hardware, software, and / or firmware for exchanging information and data with the network. Therefore, UE as described herein is used to represent any suitable electronic component.

[0055] Figure 1 An example architecture of a wireless communication system 100 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein. The description provided below is for an example wireless communication system 100 operating in conjunction with the LTE system standard and / or the 5G or NR system standard provided in the 3GPP technical specifications.

[0056] like Figure 1 As shown, wireless communication system 100 includes UE 102 and UE 104 (although any number of UEs may be used). In this example, UE 102 and UE 104 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

[0057] UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to RAN 106. In an embodiment, RAN 106 may be NG-RAN, E-UTRAN, etc. UE 102 and UE 104 utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection 108 and connection 110, respectively) with RAN 106, where each connection (or channel) includes a physical communication interface. RAN 106 may include one or more base stations, such as base station 112 and base station 114, to implement connection 108 and connection 110.

[0058] In this example, connections 108 and 110 are air interfaces that enable such communicative coupling and may conform to the RAT used by the RAN 106 , such as, for example, LTE and / or NR.

[0059] In some embodiments, UE 102 and UE 104 may also directly exchange communication data via side link interface 116. UE 104 is shown as being configured to access an access point (shown as AP 118) via connection 120. By way of example, connection 120 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 118 may include In this example, AP 118 may be connected to another network (eg, the Internet) without going through CN 124.

[0060] In an embodiment, UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to communicate with each other or with base station 112 and / or base station 114 over a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as but not limited to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communication) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), although the scope of the embodiment is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0061] In some embodiments, all or part of base station 112 or base station 114 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network. In addition, or in other embodiments, base station 112 or base station 114 may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 122. In an embodiment where wireless communication system 100 is an LTE system (e.g., when CN124 is EPC), interface 122 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to EPC and / or between two eNBs connected to EPC. In an embodiment where wireless communication system 100 is an NR system (e.g., when CN 124 is 5GC), interface 122 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to 5GC, between base station 112 (e.g., gNB) and eNB connected to 5GC, and / or between two eNBs connected to 5GC (e.g., CN 124).

[0062] The RAN 106 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the CN 124. The CN 124 may include one or more network elements 126 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., UE 102 and users of UE 104) connected to the CN 124 via the RAN 106. The components of the CN 124 may be implemented in one physical device or separate physical devices including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0063] In an embodiment, CN 124 may be an EPC, and RAN 106 may be connected to CN 124 via an S1 interface 128. In an embodiment, S1 interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface that carries traffic data between base station 112 or base station 114 and a serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1-MME interface that is a signaling interface between base station 112 or base station 114 and a mobility management entity (MME).

[0064] In an embodiment, CN 124 may be a 5GC, and RAN 106 may be connected to CN 124 via an NG interface 128. In an embodiment, NG interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface that carries service data between base station 112 or base station 114 and a user plane function (UPF); and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface that is a signaling interface between base station 112 or base station 114 and an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0065] Generally speaking, application server 130 may be an element that provides applications (e.g., packet-switched data services) that use Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources with CN 124. Application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for UE 102 and UE 104 via CN 124. Application server 130 may communicate with CN 124 via IP communication interface 132.

[0066] Figure 2 A system 200 for performing signaling 234 between a wireless device 202 and a network device 218 according to embodiments disclosed herein is shown. The system 200 may be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. The wireless device 202 may be, for example, a UE of a wireless communication system. The network device 218 may be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) of a wireless communication system.

[0067] The wireless device 202 may include one or more processors 204. The processor 204 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the wireless device 202, as described herein. The processor 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0068] The wireless device 202 may include a memory 206. The memory 206 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 208 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 204). The instructions 208 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 206 may also store data used by the processor 204 and results calculated by the processor.

[0069] The wireless device 202 may include one or more transceivers 210 that may use radio frequency (RF) transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses an antenna 212 of the wireless device 202 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the wireless device 202 with other devices (e.g., network device 218) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0070] The wireless device 202 may include one or more antennas 212 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). For embodiments with multiple antennas 212, the wireless device 202 may utilize the spatial diversity of such multiple antennas 212 to transmit and / or receive multiple different data streams on the same time-frequency resource. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting device and the receiving device to implement this aspect). MIMO transmission by the wireless device 202 may be implemented based on precoding (or digital beamforming) applied at the wireless device 202, which multiplexes the data streams across the antennas 212 based on known or assumed channel characteristics, so that each data stream is received at an appropriate signal strength relative to the other streams and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of the receiver associated with the data stream). Certain embodiments may use a single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) approach (where the data streams are all directed to a single receiver) and / or a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) approach (where separate data streams may be directed to separate (different) receivers in different locations in the spatial domain).

[0071] In certain embodiments with multiple antennas, the wireless device 202 may implement analog beamforming techniques whereby the phases of signals transmitted by the antennas 212 are relatively adjusted so that the (joint) transmissions of the antennas 212 can be directed (this is sometimes referred to as beam steering).

[0072] The wireless device 202 may include one or more interfaces 214. The interfaces 214 may be used to provide input to the wireless device 202 or output from the wireless device. For example, a wireless device 202 that is a UE may include an interface 214, such as a microphone, a speaker, a touch screen, buttons, etc., to allow a user of the UE to input and / or output to the UE. Other interfaces of such a UE may be composed of transmitters, receivers, and other circuits that allow communication between the UE and other devices (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 210 / antenna 212 described above), and may be based on known protocols (e.g., etc.) to perform the operation.

[0073] The network device 218 may include one or more processors 220. The processor 220 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the network device 218, as described herein. The processor 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0074] The network device 218 may include a memory 222. The memory 222 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 224 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 220). The instructions 224 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 222 may also store data used by the processor 220 and results calculated by the processor.

[0075] The network device 218 may include one or more transceivers 226, which may include RF transmitter and / or receiver circuits that use an antenna 228 of the network device 218 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the network device 218 with other devices (e.g., wireless device 202) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0076] The network device 218 may include one or more antennas 228 (eg, one, two, four, or more). In embodiments with multiple antennas 228, the network device 218 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beamsteering, etc. as described.

[0077] The network device 218 may include one or more interfaces 230. The interface 230 may be used to provide input to or output from the network device 218. For example, the network device 218 as a base station may include an interface 230 composed of a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuits (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 226 / antenna 228 described above), which enables the base station to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or enables the base station to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., in order to achieve the purpose of performing operations, management, and maintenance of the base station or other equipment operably connected to the base station.

[0078] Measurement process during connection establishment

[0079] Figure 3A An example flow chart of a measurement process performed during a connection setup process (eg, a connection establishment process) according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. Figure 3A In the example of , the measurement process may be performed by UE 301 in conjunction with the paging process. Therefore, the measurement process may be referred to as a paging-based measurement process. Figure 3A , UE 301 may correspond to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network device 303 may correspond to any of the UE and the wireless device. Figure 1 and Figure 2The network device 303 may serve the UE 301 on one or more carriers. In the present disclosure, a carrier may refer to a specific radio carrier frequency or a radio channel that may be used by the UE and the network device for communication (eg, for carrying data and data exchange).

[0080] like Figure 3A As shown, at 311, the network device 303 provides the first configuration to the UE 301 (e.g., in a message). For example, the first configuration may be included in an appropriate SIB (e.g., SIB1), or the first configuration may be sent to the UE 301 in an RRC release message. In some embodiments, operation 311 may be optional in the sense that the first configuration may be predefined at both the UE 301 and the network device 303 (e.g., predefined in a corresponding technical specification).

[0081] At 313, UE 301 is paged by the network (specifically, by network device 303), for example, when there is upcoming traffic for UE 301 on the network side.

[0082] At 315, based on the first configuration, UE 301 starts a paging-based measurement process on one or more carriers of network device 303 to obtain measurement results for one or more carriers. In one embodiment, UE 301 starts the measurement process during the paging process. In another embodiment, UE 301 starts the measurement process after successful paging reception.

[0083] In some embodiments, based on the first configuration, UE 301 may also perform a measurement process on one or more carriers provided by more than one network device (ie, a parallel measurement process). Figure 3A As shown, at 317 and 319, based on the first configuration, UE 301 further starts a measurement process on carrier A 305 and carrier B 307 provided by some other network devices to obtain measurement results for these carriers. These measurement results are useful for network device 305 to make decisions in operations involving multiple cells or carriers (such as handover, CA and / or DC operations).

[0084] At 321, UE 301 sends a measurement report containing measurement results for the measured carrier to network device 303. Network device 303 can utilize the measurement report when configuring UE 301 for communication or data transmission. In some embodiments, network device 303 uses the measurement report to configure UE 301 with CA and / or DC, or to trigger a handover to another cell.

[0085] Figure 3B The present invention illustrates the embodiment according to the present invention. Figure 3A An example timeline of the paging-based measurement process in FIG. Figure 3B As shown, with the initiation of paging, at 361, a period corresponding to connection establishment is entered. At this time, the paging process can be combined to start Figure 3A The measurement process in the paging-based measurement process and the measurement results can be obtained to be reported to the network device 303 during the connection establishment period (e.g., at 391). Therefore, the network device 303 can configure the UE 301 with CA and / or DC, or make a handover decision based on the connection measurement configuration and the measurement report trigger without waiting for the measurement results performed after entering the connection mode. In this sense, the paging-based measurement process is an early measurement.

[0086] In some implementations, the network device 303 may configure the UE 301 to perform a conventional measurement process for EMR. Figure 3B As shown, at 351, the network device 303 may configure the EMR with an RRC release message to the UE 301. Based on the configuration, the measurement process starts at 351 and ends at 353 when the relevant T331 timer expires. The UE 301 may maintain the measurement results until requested by the network device 305 during the connection establishment period. It should be understood that although the measurement process is performed earlier to ensure early reporting of the measurement results, the accuracy of the report may be lower due to the long gap between the end of the measurement process and the report. For example, the report based on the measurement before 353 may not accurately reflect the wireless conditions at 391. Compared with the traditional EMR, Figure 3A The measurement process in is a "delayed" early measurement, in the sense that it starts later than the traditional early measurement. Therefore, the paging-based measurement process can reflect the current radio conditions with higher accuracy.

[0087] Figure 4A An example flow chart of a measurement process performed during a connection setup process (eg, a connection establishment process) according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. Figure 4A In the example of , the measurement process can be performed by UE 401 during the connection establishment and random access process. Therefore, the measurement process can be called a random access-based measurement process. Figure 4A , UE 401 may correspond to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network device 403 may correspond to any of the UE and the wireless device. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network device 403 may serve the UE 401 on one or more carriers.

[0088] like Figure 4AAs shown, at 411, the network device 403 provides the second configuration to the UE 401 (e.g., in a message). For example, the first configuration may be included in an appropriate SIB (e.g., SIB1), or the first configuration may be sent to the UE 401 in a message during the RRC release procedure. In some embodiments, operation 411 may be optional in the sense that the second configuration may be predefined at both the UE 401 and the network device 403 (e.g., predefined in a corresponding technical specification).

[0089] At 413, UE 401 initiates a random access procedure. For example, the random access procedure may be initiated by UE 401 from an RRC idle state or an inactive state during an RRC reestablishment procedure or during a handover procedure. In addition, UE 401 may initiate a random access procedure when uplink data arrives.

[0090] At 415, based on the second configuration, UE 401 starts a random access-based measurement process on one or more carriers of network device 403 to obtain measurement results for these carriers. In an implementation scheme, as option 4a), at 415a, UE 401 starts the measurement process after the first RACH preamble code is sent (or after the sending of Msg.1). In an implementation scheme, as option 4b), at 415b, UE 401 starts the measurement process after successful RAR reception (or after the reception of Msg.2). In an implementation scheme, as option 4c), at 415c, UE 401 starts the measurement process after a successful RRC connection request is sent (or after the sending of Msg.3). In an implementation scheme, as option 4d), at 415d, UE 401 starts the measurement process after a successful connection establishment reception (or after the reception of Msg.4).

[0091] In some embodiments, based on the second configuration, UE 401 may also perform a measurement process on one or more carriers provided by more than one network device (i.e., a parallel measurement process). For example, at 415, a measurement process may be further performed on carrier A 405 and carrier B 407 provided by some other network devices to obtain measurement results for these carriers.

[0092] At 417, UE 401 sends a measurement report containing the measurement results for the measured carrier to network device 403. Network device 403 can utilize the measurement report when configuring UE 401 for communication or data transmission. In some embodiments, network device 403 uses the measurement report to configure UE 401 with CA and / or DC, or to trigger a handover to another cell.

[0093] Figure 4BThe present invention illustrates the embodiment according to the present invention. Figure 4A An example timeline of the random access based measurement process in FIG. Figure 4B As shown, at 361, a period corresponding to connection establishment is entered. Later, a random access process may be started. Figure 4A The measurement process in random access can be performed, and the measurement results can be obtained to be reported to the network device 403 during the connection establishment period (e.g., at 391). Therefore, the network device 403 can configure the UE 401 with CA and / or DC, or make a handover decision without waiting for the measurement results performed after entering the connection mode or based on the connection measurement configuration and the measurement report trigger. In this sense, the measurement process based on random access is an early measurement.

[0094] In some implementations, the network device 403 may configure the UE 401 to perform a conventional measurement process for EMR. Figure 4B As shown, at 351, the network device 403 may configure the EMR with an RRC release message to the UE 401. Based on the configuration, the measurement process starts at 351 and ends at 353 when the relevant T331 timer expires. The UE 401 may maintain the measurement results until requested by the network device 405 during the connection establishment period. It should be understood that although the measurement process is performed earlier to ensure early reporting of the measurement results, the accuracy of the report may be lower due to the long gap between the end of the measurement process and the report. For example, the report based on the measurement before 353 may not accurately reflect the wireless conditions at 391. Compared with the traditional EMR, Figure 4A The measurement process in is a "delayed" early measurement, in the sense that it starts later than the traditional early measurement. Therefore, the random access-based measurement process can reflect the current radio conditions with higher accuracy.

[0095] In some embodiments, these measurement processes may be based on at least one measurement quantity selected from the group consisting of: RSRP based on SSB; RSRQ based on SSB; SINR based on SSB; RSRP based on CSI-RS; RSRQ based on CSI-RS; or SINR based on CSI-RS. It should be understood that the above-mentioned paging-based measurement process or random access-based measurement process can be performed in association with initial access to a cell of a network device, or in association with connection reconstruction with a first cell, without being limited to a connection establishment process. For the connection reconstruction process, the UE may have more time to perform measurements because the entire process is relatively long. Therefore, the UE can initiate the measurement process slightly earlier than discussed above (for example, before PRACH). As long as the delay (or duration) for the connection reconstruction process is longer than the periodicity of the measurement, the UE can report the measurement results in a timely manner.

[0096] L1 measurement / L3 measurement

[0097] In some embodiments, both L1 measurement and L3 measurement may be applied to a paging-based measurement procedure or a random access-based measurement procedure.L1 measurement may be referred to as a fast measurement compared to a conventional L3 measurement in terms of not involving processing / filtering at a higher layer.

[0098] For L1 measurements on each carrier, the UE may perform one measurement (i.e., based on one sample) in both FR1 and FR2. In some examples, the periodicity of the measurement process based on L1 measurements may be configured based on the periodicity of the target reference signal. For example, the periodicity based on L1 measurements may be set equal to the target reference signal periodicity. In some implementations, beam scanning may be enabled for FR2 (or FR1) communications. Thus, the periodicity may be multiplied by the assumed number of RX beams at the UE (e.g., M). For example, for UEs of power class 1 (e.g., PC1), the assumed number is eight (8), while for UEs of other power classes, the assumed number is five (5).

[0099] For L3 measurements on each carrier, in FR1 and FR2, the UE may perform regular measurements based on N samples. In some examples, the periodicity of the measurement process based on the L3 measurements may be configured based on the periodicity of the target reference signal and the number of samples N. For example, the periodicity based on the L1 measurements may be set equal to the target reference signal periodicity multiplied by the number N. In some implementations, beam scanning may be enabled for FR2 (or FR1) communications. Thus, the above periodicity may be further multiplied by the assumed number of RX beams at the UE (e.g., measurements) (e.g., eight (8) or five (5)).

[0100] In some implementations, a first capability may be defined for the UE, indicating the number of carriers that the UE may measure simultaneously for a measurement procedure. For example, the number may be set equal to the number of independent searchers (e.g., X) used for simultaneous measurements by the UE. The capability may be the same or different for L1 and L3 measurements. In some embodiments, the periodicity of the measurement procedure will further depend on the number of carriers to be measured by the UE (e.g., K) and the first capability.

[0101] For example, when performing a measurement procedure on K carriers, if the first capability indicates that the UE does not support simultaneous measurements on multiple carriers, the periodicity of the measurement procedure will be multiplied by the number of carriers K. If the first capability indicates that the UE supports X simultaneous L1 measurements on multiple carriers, the periodicity of the measurement procedure will be multiplied by the number K and divided by X. The following table shows some example periodicities of measurements under different conditions.

[0102] Table 1. Measurement periodicity, K carriers, one searcher (N=5, PC1)

[0103]

[0104]

[0105] Table 2. Measurement period, K carriers, X searchers (N=5, PC1)

[0106]

[0107] In some embodiments, the network device may include an indication in the first configuration 311 or the second configuration 411 (or any reporting configuration for measurement) to configure the UE to perform L1 measurements or L3 measurements during the measurement process. If the indication explicitly corresponds to L1 measurements (e.g., a flag for L1 measurements), the UE will perform paging-based measurements or random access-based measurements by performing simple L1 measurements. This first option will be useful for quickly obtaining measurement results and will be desirable, for example, when handover is expected based on the measurement results. If the indication explicitly corresponds to L3 measurements (e.g., a flag for L3 measurements), the UE will perform paging-based measurements or random access-based measurements by performing conventional L3 measurements. This second option will be useful for obtaining measurement results with higher accuracy.

[0108] In addition to the above explicit indication or as an alternative, the UE may be configured to determine whether to perform L1 measurement or L3 measurement based on a threshold. For example, the threshold may correspond to the quality of the L1 measurement that has been performed. The quality may be evaluated based on any measurement quantity, such as SSB-based RSRQ, SSB-based SINR, CSI-RS-based RSRP, CSI-RS-based RSRQ, or CSI-RS-based SINR. In some embodiments, the threshold may be configured as an indication in the first configuration 311 or the second configuration 411 (or any reporting configuration for measurement), or the threshold may be predefined for the UE in the corresponding technical specification.

[0109] Figure 5 An example process 500 for determining the type of measurement to be performed based on a threshold according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated. Process 500 may be performed by a UE, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 Any of the UE and wireless device.

[0110] like Figure 5As shown, at 501, the UE determines the quality of the L1 measurement that has been performed. It should be understood that even when the L3 measurement is configured first, the UE can obtain the L1 measurement result by using the L1 processing involved in the L3 measurement. The quality can be evaluated based on any measurement quantity, such as RSRQ based on SSB, SINR based on SSB, RSRP based on CSI-RS, RSRQ based on CSI-RS, or SINR based on CSI-RS.

[0111] At 503, the UE determines whether the first condition or the second condition is met based on the quality of the L1 measurement that has been performed. In some examples, the first condition corresponds to the quality of the L1 measurement not being lower than a first threshold, which means that the quality of the L1 measurement is good enough and it may not be necessary to perform a conventional L3 measurement. In contrast, the second condition corresponds to the quality of the L1 measurement being lower than a second threshold, which means that the quality of the L1 measurement is not good enough and a conventional L3 measurement is necessary to evaluate the communication quality on the corresponding carrier. In some implementations, the first threshold may be higher than or equal to the second threshold.

[0112] Therefore, at 505, the UE determines to perform L1 measurement in response to the fact that the first condition is satisfied. At 507, the UE determines to perform L3 measurement in response to the fact that the second condition is satisfied.

[0113] Conflict Management

[0114] During a paging-based or random access-based measurement process, there may be traffic or data on other channels for reception by the UE. In some implementations, there may be a conflict between the measurement performed by the UE and the UE's reception on any of the other channels (e.g., the first channel). For example, during a random access process, the SSB for UE measurement and the Msg.4 for UE reception may overlap with each other. The SSB and Msg.4 may be carried with different subcarrier spacings or sent on different beams (e.g., in FR2). When the UE does not support simultaneousRxDataSSB-DiffNumerology or independent beam management (IBM), it is expected that conflicts between the measurement process and other channels are properly handled.

[0115] In some embodiments, the network device may include an indication of a measurement gap for the measurement process in the first configuration 311 or the second configuration 411 (or any reporting configuration for the measurement). For example, the measurement gap is reflected in some measurement modes. Therefore, for a measurement process and a first channel configured with different subcarrier spacings or corresponding to different beams, when the UE detects a conflict between the measurement process and a communication on the first channel, the UE may determine to prioritize the measurement process over the first channel. In this example, the configured measurement gap is used by the UE as an implicit indication that the measurement process takes precedence over the first channel. In some examples, the UE may monitor the first channel to detect communications thereon, and a conflict is detected when the detected communications overlap on the configured measurement gap.

[0116] In some embodiments, the network device may include the corresponding priorities of the measurement process and the first channel in the first configuration 311 or the second configuration 411 (or any reporting configuration for the measurement). Therefore, for the measurement process and the first channel configured with different subcarrier spacings or corresponding to different beams, when the UE detects a conflict between the measurement process and the communication on the first channel, based on the corresponding priorities of the measurement process and the first channel, the UE may execute the one with a higher priority, while the other is suspended, delayed or missed.

[0117] In some embodiments, when both the priority and the measurement gap are configured, the configured priority will override the measurement gap or the configured measurement gap will override the configured priority, which may be predefined based on some technical specifications.

[0118] Improved EMR

[0119] Fig. 6A An example flow chart of a measurement process performed during idle mode according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. Fig. 6A In the example of , the measurement process can be based on traditional measurements for EMR. The following will discuss in detail the improvements according to some embodiments of the present invention. Fig. 6A , UE 601 may correspond to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network device 603 may correspond to any of the UE and the wireless device. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network device 603 may serve the UE 601 on one or more carriers.

[0120] like Fig. 6A As shown, at 611, the network device 603 sends a connection release message to the UE 601. For example, during the connection release, the network device 603 may configure the UE 601 to perform measurements (or early measurements) for EMR on one or more carriers.

[0121] At 613, UE 601 enters idle mode and performs early measurements as configured by network device 603. For example, when a timer (e.g., T331 timer) is running, the UE may perform measurements on the configured carriers to obtain measurement results for EMR. In some examples, the configured carriers include one or more carriers provided by network device 603, or also include carrier A 605 and carrier B 607 provided by some other network devices.

[0122] At 615, the idle mode may end with a random access procedure initiated by UE 601. The random access procedure triggers UE 601 to enter a connection establishment procedure. At 617, UE 601 may provide EMR to network device 603 by itself or at the request of network device 603 during the connection establishment procedure.

[0123] Figure 6B The present invention illustrates the embodiment according to the present invention. Fig. 6A An example timeline of the measurement process in Figure 6B As shown, the time at 351 may correspond to the UE 601 starting early measurements during idle mode. The time at 353 may correspond to the expiration of the T331 timer. In some embodiments, as option 1), the UE 601 may continue early measurements even after the T331 timer expires. In this way, the UE 601 can obtain newer measurement results for reporting during the connection establishment process. It should be understood that this benefit comes at the expense of the power consumption of the UE 601 during the extended measurement period after the T331 timer expires. In some examples, the measurement can be extended to the time at 355 when the connection establishment begins. At 391, the UE 601 can provide a measurement report to the network device 603.

[0124] In some embodiments, as option 2), UE 601 may stop early measurement at 353 when the T331 timer expires, and may provide a measurement report to network device 603 at 391, where the measurement process is not extended. After receiving the EMR from UE 601, network device 603 may determine the time period between the first time when the EMR is received and the second time when the T331 timer expires. The relationship or mapping between the time period and the accuracy degradation of the measurement report may be predefined. An example can be seen in Table 3 below. The accuracy degradation of the EMR may be determined based on the time period, and the measurement results included in the EMR may be adjusted based on the accuracy degradation. For example, when the EMR is received after the T331 timer expires 1,000ms, the network device 603 will assume that the accuracy of the measurement report is degraded by 2dB. In this example, the default accuracy of the measurement report is ±3dB, and the adjusted accuracy considering the 2dB degradation will be ±5dB.

[0125] Table 3

[0126] Time period (ms) Degradation(dB) 500 1 1,000 2 2,000 4

[0127] Example Methods for UE

[0128] Figure 7 An example method 700 for communication according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. The method 700 may be performed by a UE having a network device. Figure 7 In the example, the UE can correspond to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network device may correspond to any of the UE and the wireless device. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Any of a base station or a network device. The network device can serve the UE on one or more carriers.

[0129] like Figure 7 As shown, at 701, based on the first configuration, the UE may start a measurement process on at least one carrier in conjunction with a paging process or a random access process on a first cell. In some examples, the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by a network device. At 703, the UE may perform a measurement process to obtain a measurement result for at least one carrier. At 705, the UE may send a measurement report containing the measurement result for at least one carrier to the network device.

[0130] In some embodiments, performing the measurement procedure during the connection setup procedure includes starting the measurement procedure in conjunction with a paging procedure or a random access procedure on the first cell.

[0131] In some embodiments, starting the measurement procedure in conjunction with a paging procedure on the first cell includes starting the measurement procedure during the paging procedure or after a successful paging reception. In some embodiments, starting the measurement procedure in conjunction with a random access procedure on the first cell includes starting the measurement procedure in the following cases: after a first RACH preamble is sent; after a successful RAR is received; after a successful RRC connection request is sent; or after a successful connection setup is received.

[0132] In some embodiments, the at least one carrier includes both a first carrier associated with the first cell and a second carrier, or includes the first carrier associated with the first cell and a third carrier associated with the second cell. In some embodiments, performing the measurement process on the at least one carrier includes performing a parallel measurement process on the first carrier and the second carrier, or on the first carrier and the third carrier.

[0133] In some embodiments, the paging procedure or the random access procedure is performed in association with the following operations: initial access to the first cell, a connection establishment procedure with the first cell, or a connection re-establishment with the first cell.

[0134] In some embodiments, the method further includes performing a measurement process based on at least one measurement quantity selected from the group consisting of: RSRP based on SSB; RSRQ based on SSB; SINR based on SSB; RSRP based on CSI-RS; RSRQ based on CSI-RS; or SINR based on CSI-RS.

[0135] In some embodiments, the measurement process includes at least one of L1 measurement or L3 measurement, and the processor is further configured to cause the UE to: perform L1 measurement or L3 measurement based on an indication of the first configuration; perform L1 measurement if the first condition is met; or perform L3 measurement if the second condition is met.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first condition includes that the measured quantity of the L1 measurement is not lower than a first threshold, and the second condition includes that the measured quantity of the L1 measurement is lower than the first threshold.

[0137] In some embodiments, the method further includes: detecting a conflict between the measurement process and the first channel at least in response to determining that the measurement process is and the first channel is configured with different subcarrier spacings or corresponds to different beams; and when a measurement gap is configured for the measurement process through the first configuration, determining to prioritize the measurement process over the first channel, or determining the corresponding priorities of the measurement process and the first channel based on an indication in the first configuration.

[0138] In some embodiments, the first configuration is carried in a message during an RRC release procedure or in a SIB and received by the UE, or the first configuration is predefined for the UE and the network device.

[0139] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method 700. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0140] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of method 700. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a UE (such as memory 206 of wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0141] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method 700. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0142] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of the method 700. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0143] Embodiments contemplated herein include a signal as described in or in connection with one or more elements of method 700 .

[0144] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product including instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processor causes the processor to perform one or more elements of the method 700. The processor may be a processor of a UE (such as the processor 204 of the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, in a processor and / or on a memory of a UE (such as the memory 206 of the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0145] Example method for a network device

[0146] Figure 8An example method 800 for communication according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. The method 800 may be performed by a network device having a UE. Figure 8 In the network device can correspond to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Any of the base stations or network devices of the UE. The UE may correspond to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Any of a UE and a wireless device. The network device can serve the UE on one or more carriers.

[0147] like Figure 8 As shown, at 801, the network device may include a first indication in a first configuration to configure the UE to perform a measurement process on at least one carrier during a connection establishment process on a first cell, wherein the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by the network device. At 803, the network device may send a message including the first configuration to the UE. At 805, the network device may receive a measurement report including a measurement result for at least one carrier from the UE.

[0148] In some embodiments, performing the measurement procedure during the connection setup procedure includes starting the measurement procedure in conjunction with a paging procedure or a random access procedure on the first cell.

[0149] In some embodiments, the first indication configures the UE to: start the measurement process during the paging process or after successful paging reception; or start the measurement process in the following cases: after the first RACH preamble code is sent; after a successful RAR reception; after a successful RRC connection request is sent; or after a successful connection establishment reception.

[0150] In some embodiments, the at least one carrier includes a first carrier associated with the first cell and a second carrier, or includes a first carrier associated with the first cell and a third carrier associated with the second cell, and the first indication configures the UE to perform a parallel measurement process on the first carrier and the second carrier, or on the first carrier and the third carrier.

[0151] In some embodiments, the first indication configures the UE to perform a paging procedure or a random access procedure in association with the following operations: initial access to the first cell, a connection establishment procedure with the first cell, or a connection reestablishment with the first cell.

[0152] In some embodiments, the first indication configures the UE to perform a measurement process based on at least one measurement quantity selected from the group consisting of: RSRP based on SSB; RSRQ based on SSB; SINR based on SSB; RSRP based on CSI-RS; RSRQ based on CSI-RS; or SINR based on CSI-RS.

[0153] In some embodiments, the measurement process includes at least one of L1 measurement or L3 measurement, and the method further includes: including a second indication in the first configuration to configure the UE to perform L1 measurement or L3 measurement; or including a first threshold in the first configuration to configure the UE to perform L1 measurement if the first condition is met, or to perform L3 measurement if the second condition is met.

[0154] In some embodiments, the first condition includes that the measured quantity of the L1 measurement is not lower than a first threshold, and the second condition includes that the measured quantity of the L1 measurement is lower than the first threshold.

[0155] In some embodiments, the method further includes, for measurement processes and first channels configured with different subcarrier spacings or corresponding to different beams, including in the first configuration a third indication of a measurement gap of the measurement process or a corresponding priority of the measurement process and the first channel.

[0156] In some embodiments, the method also includes sending the first message during an RRC release procedure or in a SIB.

[0157] Fig. 9 An example method 900 for communication according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. The method 900 may be performed by a network device having a UE. Fig. 9 In the network device can correspond to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Any of the base stations or network devices of the UE. The UE may correspond to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Any of a UE and a wireless device. The network device can serve the UE on one or more carriers.

[0158] like Fig. 9 As shown, at 901, the network device may configure a timer for the UE to perform early measurement on the carrier. At 903, the network device may receive a corresponding early measurement report. At 905, the network device may determine a time period between a first time when the early measurement report is received and a second time when the timer expires, that is, determine a time period that has passed since the timer expires. At 907, the network device may determine the accuracy degradation of the early measurement report based on the time period. At 909, the network device may adjust the measurement result included in the early measurement report based on the accuracy degradation.

[0159] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus including means for performing one or more elements of methods 800 and 900. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein).

[0160] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of methods 800 and 900. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a base station (such as memory 222 of network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0161] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logical components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of methods 800 and 900. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0162] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of methods 800 and 900. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein).

[0163] Embodiments contemplated herein include signals as described in or associated with one or more elements of method 800 and method 900 .

[0164] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product including instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform one or more elements of methods 800 and 900. The processor may be a processor of a base station (such as processor 220 of network device 218 as a base station, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, in a processor and / or on a memory of a UE (such as memory 222 of network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0165] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein. For another example, a circuit system associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc. as described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein.

[0166] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In view of the above teachings, modifications and variations are possible or can be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0167] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations; or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0168] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, separated into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment may be used in one embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be appreciated that these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment unless expressly stated herein.

[0169] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0170] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for the sake of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A user equipment device (UE), the user equipment device (UE) comprising: one or more antennas configured to perform wireless communications; a transceiver coupled to the one or more antennas; and a processor, the processor being coupled to the transceiver and configured to cause the UE to: performing a measurement procedure on at least one carrier during a connection setup procedure on a first cell based on a first configuration, wherein the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by a network device; Performing the measurement process to obtain a measurement result for the at least one carrier; as well as A measurement report including the measurement result for the at least one carrier is sent to the network device. 2 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein performing the measurement procedure during the connection establishment procedure comprises starting the measurement procedure in conjunction with a paging procedure or a random access procedure on the first cell.

3. The UE according to claim 2, wherein starting the measurement procedure in conjunction with the paging procedure on the first cell comprises starting the measurement procedure during the paging procedure or after successful paging reception; and Wherein starting the measurement process in conjunction with the random access process on the first cell includes starting the measurement process in the following circumstances: After the first RACH preamble is sent; After successful RAR reception; After a successful RRC Connection Request is sent; or After successful connection establishment is received.

4. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one carrier includes a first carrier and a second carrier both associated with the first cell, or includes a first carrier associated with the first cell and a third carrier associated with the second cell, and performing the measurement process on the at least one carrier includes performing a parallel measurement process on the first carrier and the second carrier or on the first carrier and the third carrier. 5 . The UE according to claim 2 , wherein the paging procedure or the random access procedure is performed in association with the following operations: initial access to the first cell, a connection establishment procedure with the first cell, or a connection reestablishment with the first cell.

6. The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to perform the measurement process based on at least one measurement amount selected from the group consisting of: SSB-based RSRP; RSRQ based on SSB; SINR based on SSB; RSRP based on CSI-RS; RSRQ based on CSI-RS; or SINR based on CSI-RS.

7. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the measurement process comprises at least one of L1 measurement or L3 measurement, and wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to: performing the L1 measurement or the L3 measurement based on an indication of the first configuration; If the first condition is met, performing the L1 measurement; or If the second condition is met, the L3 measurement is performed. 8 . The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the first condition includes that a measurement amount of the L1 measurement is not lower than a first threshold, and the second condition includes that the measurement amount of the L1 measurement is lower than the first threshold.

9. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the UE to: In response to at least determining that the measurement process and the first channel are configured with different subcarrier spacings or correspond to different beams, detecting a conflict between the measurement process and the first channel; and When a measurement gap is configured for the measurement process through the first configuration, it is determined to give priority to the measurement process over the first channel, or the respective priorities of the measurement process and the first channel are determined based on an indication in the first configuration.

10. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the first configuration is carried in a message during an RRC release procedure or in a SIB and received by the UE, or the first configuration is predefined for the UE and the network device.

11. A network device, comprising: one or more antennas configured to perform wireless communications; a transceiver coupled to the one or more antennas; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to cause the network device to: including a first indication in a first configuration to configure a user equipment device (UE) to perform a measurement procedure on at least one carrier during a connection establishment procedure on a first cell, wherein the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by the network device; Sending a message including the first configuration to the UE; as well as A measurement report including the measurement result for the at least one carrier is received from the UE. 12 . The network device of claim 11 , wherein performing the measurement procedure during the connection establishment procedure comprises starting the measurement procedure in conjunction with a paging procedure or a random access procedure on the first cell.

13. The network device according to claim 12, wherein the first indication configures the UE to: The measurement procedure is started during the paging procedure or after successful paging reception; or The measurement process is started in the following cases: after the first RACH preamble is sent; after a successful RAR is received; after a successful RRC connection request is sent; or after a successful connection setup is received.

14. The network device according to claim 11, wherein the at least one carrier includes a first carrier associated with the first cell and a second carrier, or includes a first carrier associated with the first cell and a third carrier associated with the second cell, and the first indication configures the UE to perform a parallel measurement process on the first carrier and the second carrier or on the first carrier and the third carrier.

15. The network device according to claim 12, wherein the first indication configures the UE to perform the paging procedure or the random access procedure in association with the following operations: initial access to the first cell, a connection establishment procedure with the first cell, or a connection reestablishment with the first cell.

16. The network device of claim 11, wherein the first indication configures the UE to perform the measurement procedure based on at least one measurement quantity selected from the group consisting of: SSB-based RSRP; RSRQ based on SSB; SINR based on SSB; RSRP based on CSI-RS; RSRQ based on CSI-RS; or SINR based on CSI-RS.

17. The network device of claim 11, wherein the measurement process comprises at least one of an L1 measurement or an L3 measurement, and wherein the processor is further configured to cause the network device to: including a second indication in the first configuration to configure the UE to perform the L1 measurement or the L3 measurement; or A first threshold is included in the first configuration to configure the UE to perform the L1 measurement if a first condition is met, or to perform the L3 measurement if a second condition is met. 18 . The network device according to claim 11 , wherein the first condition includes that a measurement amount of the L1 measurement is not lower than a first threshold, and the second condition includes that the measurement amount of the L1 measurement is lower than the first threshold.

19. The network device according to claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the network device to: For the measurement process and the first channel configured with different subcarrier spacings or corresponding to different beams, the first configuration includes a third indication of the corresponding priorities of the measurement process and the first channel or the measurement gap of the measurement process.

20. The network device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the network device to: The first message is sent during an RRC release procedure or in a SIB.

21. A network device, comprising: one or more antennas configured to perform wireless communications; a transceiver coupled to the one or more antennas; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to cause the network device to: configuring a timer for a user equipment device (UE) to perform early measurements on a carrier; receiving corresponding early measurement reports; determining a time period between a first time when the early measurement report is received and a second time when the timer expires; determining a degradation in accuracy of the earlier measurement reports based on the time period; as well as Measurement results included in the earlier measurement report are adjusted based on the degradation in accuracy.

22. A method for communication, the method comprising: By User Equipment (UE): performing a measurement procedure on at least one carrier during a connection setup procedure on a first cell based on a first configuration, wherein the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by a network device; Performing the measurement process to obtain a measurement result for the at least one carrier; as well as A measurement report including the measurement result for the at least one carrier is sent to the network device.

23. A method for communication, the method comprising: By network device: including a first indication in a first configuration to configure a user equipment device (UE) to perform a measurement procedure on at least one carrier during a connection establishment procedure on a first cell, wherein the at least one carrier is associated with one or more cells including the first cell, and the first cell is provided by the network device; Sending a message including the first configuration to the UE; as well as A measurement report including the measurement result for the at least one carrier is received from the UE.

24. A method for communication, the method comprising: By network device: configuring a timer for a user equipment device (UE) to perform early measurements on a carrier; receiving corresponding early measurement reports; determining a time period between a first time when the early measurement report is received and a second time when the timer expires; determining a degradation in accuracy of the early measurement reports based on the time period; as well as Measurement results included in the earlier measurement report are adjusted based on the degradation in accuracy.

25. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the method according to any one of claims 22 to 24 to be implemented.

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