User equipment reporting of quality of experience measurements for multicast broadcast services in inactive states

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to devices and methods for wireless communication for enhanced quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting when a device is in an inactive state. User equipment (UE), using small data transmission (SDT) reporting in an uplink message, is limited to a first list of a portion of the QoE measurement reports for a first allocation of uplink resources for SDT. In response to determining that the buffer contains an unreported portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports, the UE receives a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT, and when at least a transceiver of the UE is in an inactive state, the UE receives a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT. Using SDT reporting in a second uplink message is limited to a second list of a second portion of the QoE measurement reports for the second allocation of uplink resources for SDT.

Description

[0001] Priority application

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 377,515, filed on September 28, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to communication devices, and more particularly to communication devices that report quality of experience measurements. Background Art

[0004] A wireless communication system may include one or more network communication devices, including a base station, which may be further referred to as an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), or other suitable terms. Each network communication device (e.g., a base station) may support wireless communication of one or more user communication devices, which may also be referred to as user equipment (UE) or other suitable terms. A wireless communication system may support wireless communication with one or more user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, time slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers). In addition, a wireless communication system may support wireless communication across various radio access technologies, including third generation (3G) radio access technologies, fourth generation (4G) radio access technologies, fifth generation (5G) radio access technologies, and other suitable radio access technologies above 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G)).

[0005] Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement is an important metric for the design and operation of wireless communication systems, especially for video services with high traffic demands. Poor network performance can significantly affect the user's experience. QoE metrics are usually measured at the terminal device and can be conceptually considered as the remaining quality after distortions are introduced during content preparation and delivery through the network until it reaches the decoder at the terminal device. QoE needs to be reported by the terminal device to the network entity that manages QoE to identify and mitigate degradations in transmission that reduce QoE. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present disclosure relates to methods, apparatus and systems for wireless communication with reporting of quality of experience (QoE) measurements of a multicast broadcast service (MBS) in an inactive state. Small data transmission (SDT) is used by a device to enable the device to maintain power consumption efficiency in an inactive state in relation to communication with a network device of a radio access network (RAN). When reporting a buffer data size to the network, the device does not include the size of the QoE measurement report in the buffer. Instead, the device is able to control the transmission of the QoE report and avoid discarding the QoE report.

[0007] Some implementations of the methods and apparatus described herein may include a method for wireless communication at a user device. In one or more embodiments, the method includes receiving one or more control messages from a network device via a transceiver of the user device. The user device determines that the one or more control messages implement a small data transmission using a first allocation of uplink resources when at least the transceiver of the device is in an inactive state. The user device further determines that the one or more control messages implement the generation and transmission of QoE measurement reports. In response, the method includes measuring QoE at the user device and storing one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer. The method includes using SDT to report a first list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports of the first allocation of uplink resources limited to SDT in at least one first uplink message when at least the transceiver of the device is in an inactive state. In response to determining that the buffer contains an unreported portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports, the method may further include receiving a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT. The method may further include reporting a second list of a second portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports in at least one second uplink message. The method includes reporting the second list using SDT when at least the transceiver of the device is in an inactive state. The method includes reporting the second list limited to the second allocation of uplink resources for SDT.

[0008] Some implementations of the methods and apparatus described herein may include a method for wireless communication at a network device. In one or more embodiments, the method may include transmitting one or more control messages to a user device via a transceiver of the network device to implement: (i) performing SDT using a first allocation and a subsequent second allocation of uplink resources for SDT when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state; and (ii) generating a QoE measurement report. The one or more control messages are intended to prompt the user device to measure QoE and store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The method may include receiving a first list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports limited to the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT from the user device in at least one first uplink message when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state. The method may include receiving a second list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports limited to the second allocation of uplink resources for SDT from the user device in at least one other uplink message when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state. The method may include communicating the first list and the second list to a measurement collection entity (MCE). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system implementing wireless communication supporting quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting for multicast and broadcast services (MBS) in an inactive state according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 2 is a state diagram of user device states and state transitions according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 3 is an exemplary message flow diagram of signaling-based initiated QoE Measurement Collection (QMC) activation and deactivation according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 4 is an exemplary uplink access stratum protocol layer configuration when configuring QoE measurement reporting according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 5 is a diagram of a communication environment for a multicast / broadcast service according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 6 is a signaling diagram of a communication environment between a user device and a network for receiving an MBS broadcast service according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 7 is an exemplary message flow diagram of a communication environment between a UE and a base node for performing random access (RA) based small data transmission (SDT) using a contention-based 2-step random access channel (RACH) procedure with subsequent data transmission according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 8 is a diagram of an example measurement report application layer message according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Fig. 9 is a diagram of a Measurement Report Application Layer ("MeasurementReportAppLayer") message whose contents are segmented for uplink transmissions according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Fig.10 is an ASN.1 signaling structure for configuring QoE measurement reporting in SDT according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Fig.11 is a flow chart presenting a method for QoE measurement reporting when a device is in an inactive state according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Fig.12is a message flow diagram of a communication network of a UE and a gNB for performing an embodiment of reporting QoE in an inactive state using SDT according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Fig.13 is a diagram of a radio resource control (RRC) buffer for storing QoE measurement reports according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Fig.14 An example of a block diagram illustrating an apparatus supporting wireless communication with QoE measurement reporting in an RRC inactive state according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Fig.15 A flow chart illustrating a method performed by a user device supporting wireless communication with QoE measurement reporting in an inactive state according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig.16 A flow chart illustrating a method performed by a network device that supports wireless communications that prompt QoE measurement reporting by a user device in an inactive state according to aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] New Radio (NR) Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement information enables operators of streaming multimedia telephony services and virtual reality (VR) services of the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (MTSI) to better understand the user experience and optimize their NR networks for related services. The user equipment (UE) receives the QoE measurement configuration from the communication network. The application layer of the UE collects the QoE measurements of the configured services. The access stratum (AS) layer of the UE reports the collected QoE measurements to the communication network.

[0026] The well-known QoE Measurement Set (QMC) is only supported in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) Connected ("RRC_CONNECTED") state. When the UE is transitioned by the network from RRC_CONNECTED to RRC Idle ("RRC_IDLE") state, the UE releases all QoE measurement configurations. When the UE is transitioned by the network from the RRC Connected state to the RRC Inactive ("RRC_INACTIVE") state, the UE keeps the QoE measurement configuration without making measurements, and reuses the same configuration when transitioning from the RRC Inactive state back to the RRC Connected state.

[0027] Multicast and Broadcast Services (MBS) are specified for NR radio access technology (RAT) to allow resource-efficient and reliable transmission of MBS service data to multiple UEs in a specific service area simultaneously in a radio access network (RAN). For broadcast services, the same service data content is transmitted to all UEs located in a specific service area. For multicast services, the same service data content is transmitted to a group of UEs located in a specific service area. MBS multicast services are specified to be supported only in the RRC connected state, while MBS broadcast services are specified to be supported in all RRC states (i.e., RRC connected state, RRC inactive state, and RRC idle state).

[0028] Small Data Transmission (SDT) has been specified for NR RATs to support efficient transmission of small and infrequent data packets for mobile originated (MO) data services in the RRC Inactive state without transitioning to the RRC Connected state. SDT in the RRC Inactive state can be performed by an SDT capable UE when SDT resources have been configured by the NR base node ("gNB") via broadcast and / or dedicated signaling, and when the amount of uplink (UL) data across all SDT enabled radio bearers is below a configured data volume threshold (DVT). If the amount of UL data across all SDT enabled radio bearers is greater than the configured data volume threshold, the UE initiates a legacy RRC Connection Recovery procedure to resume UL data transmission in the RRC Connected state. The well-known SDT procedure does not support reporting of collected QoE measurements.

[0029] Enhanced NR QoE is specified to support other advanced services such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and MBS. In particular, for MBS, in addition to the RRC connected state, QoE measurement collection will be extended to the RRC inactive and idle states to enable the network to verify and optimize the performance of the MBS at a given location and regardless of the UE RRC state. Regarding the configuration, release, collection and reporting of QoE measurements for MBS, the UE is configured with QoE measurements in the RRC inactive and idle states of the MBS via RRC. Whenever the AS layer of the UE receives a QoE report from the application layer of the UE, the UE buffers the QoE report generated when it is in the RRC inactive and idle states to ensure that the UE does not initiate the RRC connection establishment process when it is in the RRC idle state, or does not initiate the RRC connection recovery process for the QoE measurement report when it is in the RRC inactive state. In one or more embodiments, the buffer for storing the QoE measurement report when the device is in the inactive state may be located in the access stratum (AS) layer (i.e., the RRC layer) or the application layer.

[0030] When the UE moves to the RRC connected state, the UE sends a QoE measurement availability indication to the base node. Regarding the reporting of QoE measurements collected in the RRC inactive state, when both the UE and the base node support SDT, the UE does not need to report QoE measurements in the RRC connected state. Instead, during the SDT process, the UE performs QoE measurement reporting in the RRC inactive state, allowing efficient transmission of QoE measurements from the UE to the base node in terms of signaling overhead and UE power consumption.

[0031] To achieve this capability of performing QoE measurements in the RRC inactive state, the present disclosure addresses the handling of oversized QoE reports and UL RRC messages in SDT. The size of each buffered QoE report varies depending on the configured service type (e.g., for MBS multicast or broadcast services) and the reporting interval. The size of a single QoE report may be less than or greater than 9 kilobytes. The total amount of buffered QoE reports may exceed 9 kilobytes, which is equivalent to the maximum Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU) size limit.

[0032] The QoE report needs to be sent by the UE AS layer to the base node in an UL RRC message (e.g., RRC MeasurementReportAppLayer message). The UL RRC message can carry a single or multiple QoE reports. However, if the size of the UL RRC message exceeds the maximum RRC packet data unit (PDU) size of 9 kilobytes, the RRC message needs to be discarded or segmented by the UE. Segmentation can only be performed if both the UE and the base node support UL RRC segmentation and SDT segmentation has been enabled by the base node. The present disclosure provides UL RRC segmentation for SDT.

[0033] In order to achieve this ability to perform QoE measurements in the RRC inactive state, the present disclosure also addresses the processing of buffered QoE reports in SDT, specifically, how buffered QoE reports should be considered in the calculation of data volume. One option is to extend the data volume calculation to the buffer in the RRC layer or application layer. Another option is to perform data volume calculation based on the buffers in the PDCP and RLC entities. When triggered to report a QoE report, the UE RRC processes the buffered QoE report and sends the QoE report to the lower layer for transmission via the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. However, both options have a high risk that the resulting calculated data volume will exceed the configured threshold. When this occurs, the UE will not perform SDT, and instead will initiate a traditional RRC connection recovery process to resume UL data transmission in the connected state, giving up the gain of SDT.

[0034] The present disclosure solves these and other problems by enhancing the SDT and QoE application layer measurement reporting procedures for efficient reporting of collected QoE measurements for MBS in an inactive state. The base node indicates to the user device in the RRC release ("RRCRelease") message whether SRB4 and UL RRC segmentation are enabled for the UE. The QoE reports generated in the inactive state are buffered in the RRC layer and the RRC buffering is not considered in the calculation of the data amount. The QoE measurement reporting procedure in RRC is enhanced for SDT by controlling the reporting of the buffered QoE reports in the inactive state according to the actual data amount of the buffers in the PDCP and RLC entities and whether the UL RRC segmentation has been enabled.

[0035] In one or more embodiments, an apparatus and method for transmitting a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report by a communication device in a communication network in an RRC inactive state is provided. The communication device receives a first message from the communication network, the first message enabling QoE measurement collection and transmission of the QoE measurement report in the RRC inactive state. The communication device performs and collects QoE measurements according to the received first message. The communication device stores the QoE measurement report in a buffer of a communication device memory located in the RRC. The communication device determines a list of QoE measurement reports buffered for transmission in the RRC buffer of the device. The communication device transmits a second message to the communication network, the second message containing the determined list of QoE measurement reports and using radio resources allocated for transmitting UL data in the RRC inactive state.

[0036] In one or more embodiments, the first message contains information whether signaling radio bearer 4 (SRB4) and UL RRC segmentation are enabled. In one or more embodiments, the list of QoE measurement reports to be transmitted is determined based on the amount of available data in the layer 2 buffer and whether UL RRC segmentation is enabled.

[0037] Figure 1An example of a wireless communication system 100 that implements wireless communication supporting enhanced QoE measurement reporting according to aspects of the present disclosure is described. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more network devices 102, one or more UEs 104, a core network 106, and a packet data network 109. The wireless communication system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communication system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an Advanced LTE (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communication system 100 may be a 5G network, such as a New Radio (NR) network. In other implementations, the wireless communication system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network. The wireless communication system 100 may support radio access technologies above 5G, or other suitable radio access technologies, including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20. Additionally, the wireless communication system 100 may support technologies such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA).

[0038] One or more network devices 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form a wireless communication system 100. One or more of the network devices 102 described herein may be, may include, or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a radio access network (RAN), a base transceiver station, an access point, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a network device, or other suitable terms. The network device 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via a communication link 108, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, the network device 102 and the UE 104 may wirelessly communicate (e.g., receive signaling, transmit signaling) over an air (Uu) interface.

[0039] The network device 102 may provide a geographic coverage area 112 for which the network device 102 may support services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area 112. For example, the network device 102 and the UE 104 may support wireless communications of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) according to one or more radio access technologies. In some implementations, the network device 102 may be mobile, for example, a satellite 103 associated with a non-terrestrial network that communicates with the network device 102 via a link 105. In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas 112 associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but different geographic coverage areas 112 may be associated with different network devices 102. The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0040] One or more UEs 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographical area of ​​the wireless communication system 100. UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a remote unit, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable term. In some implementations, UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, etc. Additionally or alternatively, UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, etc. In some implementations, UE 104 may be stationary in the wireless communication system 100. In some other implementations, UE 104 may be mobile in the wireless communication system 100.

[0041] One or more UEs 104 may be devices in different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 Some examples of UE 104 are described in Figure 1 , UE 104 may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as network devices 102, other UEs 104, or network equipment (e.g., core network 106, packet data network 109, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or another network equipment). Additionally, or alternatively, UE 104 may support communication with other network devices 102 or UEs 104 that may act as relays in wireless communication system 100.

[0042] UE 104 may also be capable of supporting wireless communications directly with other UEs 104 via a communication link 113. For example, UE 104 may support wireless communications directly with another UE 104 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some embodiments, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular V2X deployments, communication link 113 may be referred to as a side link. For example, UE 104 may support wireless communications directly with another UE 104 via a PC5 interface. PC5 refers to a reference point where a UE 104 communicates directly with another UE 104 via a direct channel without communicating with network device 102.

[0043] The network device 102 may support communication with the core network 106 or another network device 102 or both. For example, the network device 102 may interface with the core network 106 via one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via S1, N2, or another network interface). The network devices 102 may communicate with each other via backhaul links 116 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or another network interface). In some implementations, the network devices 102 may communicate directly with each other via links 117 (e.g., between network devices 102). In some other implementations, the network devices 102 may communicate with each other indirectly (e.g., via the core network 106). In some implementations, one or more network devices 102 may include subcomponents, such as access network entities, which may be instances of access node controllers (ANCs). The ANC may communicate with one or more UEs 104 via one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmit receive points (TRPs).

[0044] In some implementations, the network entity or network device 102 may be configured into a disaggregated architecture that may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed across two or more network entities or network devices 102, such as an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN)). For example, the network entity or network device 102 may include one or more of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) (e.g., a near real-time RIC (near RTRIC), a non-real-time RIC (non-RT RIC)), a service management and orchestration (SMO) system, or any combination thereof.

[0045] A RU may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio unit (RRU), or a transmit receive point (TRP). One or more components of a network entity or network device 102 in a decomposed RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of a network entity or network device 102 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations). In some implementations, one or more network entities or network devices 102 of a decomposed RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., virtual CUs (VCUs), virtual DUs (VDUs), and / or virtual RUs (VRUs)).

[0046] The functional division between CU, DU and RU may be flexible and may support different functions depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, radio frequency functions and any combination thereof) are performed at the CU, DU or RU. For example, a functional division of the protocol stack may be adopted between the CU and the DU so that the CU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some implementations, the CU may host upper protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3), layer 2 (L2)) functions and signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)). The CU may be connected to one or more DUs or RUs, and one or more DUs or RUs may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer) functions and signaling, and each may be at least partially controlled by the CU.

[0047] Additionally or alternatively, a functional division of the protocol stack may be employed between the DU and the RU such that the DU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU may support one or more different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs). In some implementations, the functional division between the CU and the DU or between the DU and the RU may be within the protocol layer (e.g., some functions of the protocol layer may be performed by one of the CU, DU, or RU, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by different ones of the CU, DU, or RU).

[0048] The CU may be further functionally divided into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. The CU may be connected to one or more DUs via a medium-range communication link (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u), and the DU may be connected to one or more RUs via a front-haul communication link (e.g., an open front-haul (FH) interface). In some implementations, the medium-range communication link or the front-haul communication link may be implemented according to an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by a corresponding network entity or network device 102 communicating via such a communication link.

[0049] The core network 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connection, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include control plane entities that manage access and mobility (e.g., mobility management entity (MME), access and mobility management function (AMF)) and user plane entities that route packets or interconnections to external networks (e.g., serving gateway (S-GW), packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or user plane function (UPF)). In some implementations, the control plane entities may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management of one or more UEs 104 served by one or more network devices 102 associated with the core network 106.

[0050] The core network 106 may communicate with the packet data network 109 via one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via S1, N2, N2, or another network interface). The packet data network 109 may include an application server 118. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server 118. The UE 104 may establish a session (e.g., a protocol data unit (PDU) session or the like) with the core network 106 via a network entity or network device 102. The core network 106 may use the established session (e.g., an established PDU session) to route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and the like) between the UE 104 and the application server 118. A PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between a UE 104 and the core network 106 (e.g., one or more network functions of the core network 106).

[0051] In the wireless communication system 100, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may use the resources of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, time slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers)) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communication). In some implementations, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support various frame structures (i.e., multi-frame structures). The network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more parameter sets (numerology).

[0052] One or more parameter sets may be supported in the wireless communication system 100, and the parameter sets may include subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefixes. A first parameter set (e.g., μ=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, a first parameter set (e.g., μ=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second parameter set (e.g., μ=1) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third parameter set (e.g., μ=2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth parameter set (e.g., μ=3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth parameter set (e.g., μ=4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

[0053] The time intervals of resources (e.g., communication resources) may be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames). Each frame may have a duration, such as a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some embodiments, each frame may include a plurality of subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration, such as a 1 ms duration. In some embodiments, each frame may have the same duration. In some embodiments, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

[0054] In addition, or alternatively, the time intervals of resources (e.g., communication resources) may be organized according to time slots. For example, a subframe may include a certain number (e.g., quantity) of time slots. The number of time slots in each subframe may also depend on one or more parameter sets supported in the wireless communication system 100. For example, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth parameter sets (i.e., μ=0, μ=1, μ=2, μ=3, μ=4) associated with respective subcarrier spacings of 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and 240kHz may utilize a single time slot per subframe, two time slots per subframe, four time slots per subframe, eight time slots per subframe, and 16 time slots per subframe, respectively. Each time slot may include a certain number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols). In some implementations, the number (e.g., quantity) of time slots of a subframe may depend on the parameter set. For a conventional cyclic prefix, a time slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable to a 60kHz subcarrier spacing), a time slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for the normal cyclic prefix and the extended cyclic prefix may depend on the parameter set. It should be understood that references to a first parameter set (e.g., μ=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots.

[0055] In the wireless communication system 100, the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be divided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency or wavelength. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may support one or more operating bands, such as the frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz to 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). In some implementations, the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 may perform wireless communications on one or more of the operating bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by the network entity or network device 102 and the UE 104 as well as other equipment or devices for cellular communication services (e.g., control information, data). In some implementations, FR2 may be used by network entities or network devices 102 and UEs 104 and other equipment or devices for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

[0056] FR1 may be associated with one or more parameter sets (e.g., at least three parameter sets). For example, FR1 may be associated with a first parameter set (e.g., μ=0) including 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second parameter set (e.g., μ=1) including 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third parameter set (e.g., μ=2) including 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or more parameter sets (e.g., at least 2 parameter sets). For example, FR2 may be associated with a third parameter set (e.g., μ=2) including 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth parameter set (e.g., μ=3) including 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

[0057] Figure 2 2 is a state diagram of UE states and state transitions in an NR RAT. To better understand the solutions proposed in the present disclosure, certain features and functions, such as UE states and state transitions, are described. The NR RRC idle state ("RRC_IDLE") 210 can transition to the NR RRC connected ("RRC_CONNECTED") state 230. The NR RRC inactive state 220 can transition to the NR RRC idle state 210 or the NR RRC connected state 230. As specified, when an RRC connection is established, the UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) is in RRC_CONNECTED state 230, or in RRC_INACTIVE state 220. If this is not the case, i.e. no RRC connection is established, the UE is in RRC_IDLE state 210. The RRC states can be further characterized as follows:

[0058] In the RRC_IDLE state, the UE:

[0059] (i) monitoring short messages transmitted via downlink control information (DCI) using a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI);

[0060] (ii) Use the NR System Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (5G-S-TMSI) to monitor the paging channel for core network (CN) paging;

[0061] (iii) If configured by upper layers for MBS multicast reception, use the Temporary Mobile Group Identity (TMGI) to monitor the Paging Channel for CN paging;

[0062] (iv) performing neighbor cell measurements and cell (re)selection;

[0063] (v) obtain system information and when configured to do so by the base node, may send a system information (SI) request;

[0064] (vi) the location and time of the UE performing the logging of available measurements and the logged measurement configurations;

[0065] (v) performing idle / inactive measurements for the UE configured for idle / inactive measurements; and

[0066] (vi) When configured by upper layers for MBS broadcast reception, obtain MBS Control Channel (MCCH) change notification and MBS broadcast control information and data.

[0067] In RRC_INACTIVE, the UE:

[0068] (i) monitor short messages transmitted via DCI using P-RNTI;

[0069] (ii) during a small data transmission (SDT) procedure, monitoring a control channel associated with a shared data channel to determine whether data is scheduled for the shared data channel;

[0070] (iii) When the SDT procedure is not in progress, the paging channel for CN paging is monitored using the 5G-S-TMSI and the paging channel for RAN paging is monitored using the full I-RNTI;

[0071] (iv) when configured by upper layers for MBS multicast reception, monitoring the paging channel for paging using TMGI;

[0072] (v) performing neighbor cell measurements and cell (re)selection;

[0073] (vi) performing RAN-based notification area updates periodically and when moving outside of the configured RAN-based notification area;

[0074] (vii) Acquire system information when the SDT process is not in progress and send SI requests when configured;

[0075] (viii) when the SDT process is not in progress, logging of available measurements and the location and time of the UE for which the measurements were logged;

[0076] (ix) when the SDT process is not in progress, performing idle / inactive measurements for the UE configured for idle / inactive measurements;

[0077] (x) when configured by upper layers for MBS broadcast reception, obtaining MCCH change notification and MBS broadcast control information and data; and

[0078] (xi) transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning;

[0079] In the RRC_CONNECTED state, the UE:

[0080] (i) transmitting or receiving unicast data;

[0081] (ii) receiving MBS multicast data;

[0082] (iii) when configured, monitoring short messages transmitted via DCI using P-RNTI;

[0083] (iv) monitoring a control channel associated with the shared data channel to determine when data is scheduled for the shared data channel;

[0084] (v) provide channel quality and feedback information;

[0085] (vi) Perform neighbor cell measurements and measurement reporting;

[0086] (vii) obtain system information;

[0087] (viii) performing immediate MDT measurements and available location reporting; and

[0088] (ix) When configured by upper layers for MBS broadcast reception, obtain MCCH change notification and MBS broadcast control information and data.

[0089] Figure 3 3 is an exemplary message flow diagram of signaling-based initiated QoE measurement collection (QMC) activation and deactivation. The communication environment 300 includes a measurement collection entity (MCE) 302, an operation and maintenance (OAM) 304, a core network (CN) 306, a radio access network (RAN) 308, a UE access stratum (AS) 310 of a UE 104, and a UE application layer (AL) 312. The communication environment 300 can perform QMC for streaming, MTSI, and VR services on the RAN 308, including OAM-initiated QMC activation / deactivation (via signaling-based and management-based initiation). The signaling-based method is a C-plane method, in which the CN 306 is involved, and the CN 306 determines the qualified UE 104 to send the QoE measurement configuration. According to this method, the OAM 304-initiated QMC triggers the CN 306 to activate QMC towards the RAN 308. In contrast, the management-based approach is one in which the CN 306 is not involved, and the OAM 304 directly activates / deactivates the QoE measurement configuration towards the RAN 308 .

[0090] At 320 ("step 0"), the RAN 308 receives UE capability information from the UE AS layer 310. The UE capability information indicates whether the UE 104 supports QMC. At 321 ("step 1"), the OAM 304 is interested in receiving QoE measurements of certain services from the UE 104 served in the public land mobile network (PLMN) and sends a "Configure QoE Measurement" message to the CN. The "Configure QoE Measurement" message may include, for example, information of service type, area scope (cell list or tracking area (TA) list), QoE collection entity address (IPv4 or IPv6 address of the MCE 302 to which the QoE measurement report will be delivered), QoE reference (QoE measurement collection session identifier in the network), and QoE measurement configuration container (i.e., QoE measurement configuration relevant to the UE AL 312 and encapsulated in the container). At 322 ("step 2"), based on the received QoE measurement configuration from OAM 304, CN 306 starts the QoE measurement configuration for the qualified UE 104 and forwards the QoE measurement configuration to RAN 308 using a "start QoE measurement" message. At 323, ("step 3"), RAN 308 sends the QoE measurement configuration in a DL RRC message to UE AS layer 310. At 324 ("step 4"), UE AS layer 310 sends the received QoE measurement configuration to UE AL 312 using an AT command, where "AT" stands for ATtention.

[0091] At 325 ("step 5"), UE AL 312 starts QoE measurement collection according to the received QoE measurement configuration. The QoE measurement configuration may include parameters such as PLMN target, session to record application, service type, area scope (cell list or TA list), QoE metrics for relevant service types, and reporting interval. For example, QoE metrics for streaming services include average throughput, initial playout delay, buffer level, playlist, and device information, among others. At 326 ("step 6"), if QoE measurements have been collected according to the configuration parameters, UE AL sends the collected QoE measurement results to its AS layer in a QoE measurement report container using AT commands. At 327 ("step 7"), UE AS layer 310 sends the QoE measurement report container to RAN 308 in a UL RRC message. At 328 ("step 8"), RAN 308 forwards the received QoE measurement report container to MCE 302. The RRC message in step 3 may be a "RRCReconfiguration" message, and the RRC message in step 7 may be a "MeasurementReportAppLayer" message. The RRCReconfiguration message is sent on signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1) and may contain one or more QoE measurement configurations. The MeasurementReportAppLayer message is sent on signaling radio bearer 4 (SRB4) and may contain one or more QoE measurement reports.

[0092] If OAM 304 is no longer interested in receiving QoE measurements for specific services from UE 104, e.g., when OAM 304 has sufficient QoE information for those services, then OAM 304 initiates QMC deactivation. At 329 ("step 9"), OAM 304 sends a "configuration deactivation" message to CN 306, which includes an indication of the relevant services. At 330 ("step 10"), based on the received "configuration deactivation" message from OAM 304, CN 306 sends a "deactivation QoE measurement" message to RAN 308, which has an indication of which UE 104 the relevant QoE measurement configuration should be deactivated for. At 331 ("step 11"), RAN 308 sends a deactivation indication to UE AS layer 310 in a DL RRC message to release the relevant QoE measurement configuration. The RRC message may be an RRCReconfiguration message. At 332 ("Step 12"), the UE AS layer 310 sends the received deactivation indication using an AT command to the UE AL 312. The UE AL 312 stops recording and reporting relevant QoE measurements.

[0093] Figure 44 is an exemplary UL AS protocol layer configuration 400 when configuring NR QoE. In the C-plane 402, three (3) SRBs are configured for transmitting data from the RRC sublayer 404 of the network layer or layer 3 (L3) 406: SRB1 408a for transmitting high priority RRC messages; SRB2 408b for transmitting NAS messages and SRB4 408d for transmitting lower priority MeasurementReportAppLayer messages. In the U-plane 410, two (2) data radio bearers (DRBs) are configured for transmitting data from the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) sublayer 412: DRB1 414a for transmitting data for MTSI services; and DRB2 414b for transmitting data for VR services.

[0094] In the PDCP sublayer 416, each RB (SRB or DRB) is associated with one PDCP entity 418a, 418b, 418d, 420a, and 420b. Based on the configuration received from the gNB, each PDCP entity performs header compression and / or security (e.g., integrity protection and ciphering) on ​​the UL data to be transmitted, in addition to other functions (e.g., reordering, timer-based discarding, duplication). For security, SRB1 408a is received by PDCP entity 418a. For security, SRB2 408b is received by PDCP entity 418b. For security, SRB4 408d is received by PDCP entity 418d. For header compression and security, DRB1 414a is received by PDCP entity 420a. For header compression and security, DRB2 414b is received by PDCP entity 420b.

[0095] In the RLC sublayer 422, each PDCP entity 418a, 418b, and 418d is associated with a corresponding acknowledgement mode (AM) of a transmitting RLC entity 424a, 424b, and 424d. The PDCP entity 420a is associated with an unacknowledged mode (UM) of a transmitting RLC entity 426. The PDCP entity 420b is associated with an AM mode RLC entity 424e. Each RLC entity 424a, 424b, 424d, 424e, and 426 receives UL data from the associated PDCP entity 418a, 418b, 418d, 420a, and 420b and sends the UL data to the MAC sublayer 432 via a dedicated control channel 1 (DCCH1) 428a, DCCH2 428b, DCCH4 428d, a dedicated traffic channel 5 (DTCH5) 430a, and DTCH6 430b, respectively. The MAC sublayer 432 includes a scheduling / priority handling function 434, followed by a multiplexing function 436, and then a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) function 438, which communicates with a physical (PHY) layer 442 via an uplink shared channel 440 for transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) 444. In the MAC sublayer 432, the UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) creates a single MAC PDU to be transmitted on PUSCH 444 in PHY layer 442 (non-Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) case). MAC PDU refers to a transport block and contains UL data from different logical channels, which is also called Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) process. UE 104 ( Figure 1 ) according to the network entity or network device 102 ( Figure 1 ) (e.g. gNB) receives the configuration that performs scheduling and priority processing of UL data from different logical channels.

[0096] The network controls the scheduling and priority of UL data through the following main parameters:

[0097] (i) A priority in the range of 1 to 16, where a value of 1 is the highest priority and a value of 16 is the lowest priority. The parameter is set for each configured logical channel.

[0098] (ii) "prioritisedBitRate", which sets the prioritized bit rate (PBR) in the value range of {0kBps, 8kBps, 16kBps, 32kBps, 64kBps, 128kBps, 256kBps, 512kBps, 1024kBps, 2048kBps, 4096kBps, 8192kBps, 16384kBps, 32768kBps, 65536kBps, infinity}. For SRB, the PBR is set to infinity. The PBR corresponds to the guaranteed minimum bit rate.

[0099] (iii) "bucketSizeDuration" sets the bucket size duration (BSD) in the value range {5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 50ms, 100ms, 150ms, 300ms, 500ms, 1000ms}. The bucket size duration indicates the time until the uplink data of the logical channel is transmitted by using the priority bit rate until the bucket size (i.e., PBR×BSD) is reached.

[0100] The above parameters ensure that the UE transmits UL data according to the QoS and allocated radio resources for each configured radio bearer. According to the currently specified LCP procedure, the UE shares the UL resources among the configured LCHs based on the LCH priority and the priority bit rate configured for the LCH. The idea behind the priority bit rate is to provide support for each logical channel, including low priority non-GBR (guaranteed bit rate) bearers, minimum bit rate to avoid potential resource starvation. Table 1 provides an exemplary configuration of MAC scheduling and priority handling:

[0101] RB Logical channel identifier Priority Priority bit rate Bucket Size Duration SRB1 1 1 infinity 50ms SRB2 2 2 infinity 50ms SRB4 4 5 infinity 50ms DRB1 5 3 8kBps 100ms DRB2 6 4 256 kBps 100ms

[0102] Table 1.

[0103] In another aspect of the present disclosure, Figure 5 5 is a diagram of a communication environment 501 for multicast / broadcast services in NR. NR CN 505 receives MBS service 510. NR CN 505 establishes a PDU session 515 for MBS service 510 with UE 104a, 104b, and 104c in point-to-multipoint (PTM) 525 via RAN 520. NR CN 505 establishes a PDU session 530 for MBS service 510 with UE 104d in point-to-point (PTP) 535 via RAN 520. NR CN 505 performs a duplication process 540 with MBS service 510 to support PDU sessions 515 and 530.

[0104] MBS has been specified for NR RAT to allow resource efficient and reliable transmission of MBS service data to multiple UEs in a specific service area simultaneously in the RAN. For broadcast services, the same content of service data will be transmitted to all UEs, while in case of multicast services, the same content of service data will be transmitted to a group of UEs located in a specific service area. Target applications / services of MBS include: (i) Internet Protocol Television (IPTV); (ii) Linear TV; (iii) Radio; (iv) Voice, Data and Video Group Communications; (v) Internet of Things (IoT) applications; (vi) V2X applications; and (vii) Software Delivery.

[0105] MBS multicast service is supported only in RRC_CONNECTED state, while MBS broadcast service is supported in all RRC states, i.e., RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_CONNECTED. The MBS service area consists of one or more cells and MBS traffic data can be delivered to the UE in each of those cells according to PTM (point-to-multipoint) or PTP (point-to-point) (see Figure 5 ). In the case of PTM, the 5G CN receives a single copy of the MBS data packets and delivers a single copy of those MBS packets to the RAN, which then delivers the packets to multiple UEs. In the case of PTP, the 5G CN receives a single copy of the MBS data packets and delivers separate copies of those MBS packets to the RAN, which then delivers the packets individually to the UEs. Typically, the use of the MBS delivery method depends on, for example, the type of service (broadcast or multicast), the number of MBS-capable UEs located in the service area cell, the cell load situation, and the QoS requirements. For example, in the case of a multicast service, when the cell load is high and there are many MBS-capable UEs located in the cell that are receiving or interested in receiving the relevant multicast service, the gNB may decide to deliver the service data of the multicast service to the UE according to PTM. Otherwise, the gNB may decide to deliver the service data of the multicast service to the UE individually according to PTP.

[0106] Figure 66 is a signaling diagram of a communication environment 601 between a UE 605 and a network 610 for receiving an MBS broadcast service. With respect to providing an MBS broadcast service in a cell of an MBS service area, the network 610 broadcasts the following specified information, which is specified as follows: (i) an MBSBroadcastConfiguration message 615 contains information about broadcast services transmitted in a current cell and neighboring cells; (ii) SIB20 in a SystemInformation message 620 contains information about an AS layer configuration for receiving an MBS broadcast service; and (iii) SIB21 in a SystemInformation message 625 contains information about mapping between frequencies and MBS broadcast services. Using the above broadcast information, an MBS-capable UE in RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE that is receiving or interested in receiving an MBS broadcast service can perform cell reselection for a cell that provides these MBS broadcast services.

[0107] Regarding small data transmission (SDT) in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the current specification provides support for any unicast uplink / downlink (UL / DL) data transmission only in the RRC_CONNECTED state. Therefore, a UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state must resume a suspended RRC connection with the network in the connected state for any unicast mobile terminated (MT) DL and mobile originated (MO) UL data transmission. The need to connect is inefficient for small and infrequent data packets in terms of signaling overhead and UE power consumption. Therefore, the SDT feature in the inactive state is specified to support efficient transmission of small and infrequent data packets for MO data services without transitioning to the connected state. Examples of small and infrequent data services include the following use cases:

[0108] (i) Smartphone applications;

[0109] (a) Traffic from instant messaging (IM) services (e.g. Whatsapp, QQ, WeChat);

[0110] (b) Heartbeat / keep-alive traffic from IM / email clients and other applications;

[0111] (c) push notifications from various applications;

[0112] (ii) Non-smartphone applications:

[0113] (a) Services from wearable devices (e.g., periodic location information);

[0114] (b) sensors (e.g. industrial wireless sensor networks that transmit temperature or pressure readings periodically or in an event-triggered manner); and

[0115] (c) Smart meters and smart meter networks that send periodic meter readings.

[0116] When SDT resources (Random Access Channel (RACH) and / or Configuration Grant (CG) resources) have been configured by the base node (gNB) via broadcast and / or dedicated signaling, and when the UL data volume across all radio bearers with SDT enabled is below the configured data volume threshold (DVT), SDT in the inactive state can be performed by the SDT-capable UE. When the UL data volume across all radio bearers with SDT enabled is greater than the configured data volume threshold, the UE initiates the conventional RRC connection recovery procedure to resume UL data transmission in the connected state.

[0117] When the UE has valid uplink timing alignment (TA), UL data transmission in the inactive state can be initiated by the UE using contention-based 2-step or 4-step RACH resources (called random access-small data transmission (RA-SDT) resources) or type 1 configuration grant-small data transmission (CG-SDT) resources, that is, pre-configured physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources. RA-SDT resources are configured by the gNB supporting SDT via system information (SIB1), while CG-SDT resources are configured by the gNB via dedicated signaling in the RRCRelease message. In addition, if both the UE and the network support SUL, UL data transmission can be performed by the UE on a normal uplink (NUL) carrier or a supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier. This means that RA-SDT and CG-SDT resources can be configured on two UL carriers, and the configured resources for RA-SDT and CG-SDT on the UL carrier can be the same or different.

[0118] After the initial PUSCH transmission during the SDT procedure (via contention-based RACH or CG), subsequent UL transmissions are handled differently depending on the resource type used to initiate the SDT procedure:

[0119] (i) When using CG resources, the gNB may use dynamic grants to schedule subsequent UL transmissions or the transmission may occur at the next CG resource opportunity. Use dynamic allocation to schedule DL transmissions. The UE may initiate subsequent UL transmissions only after receiving an acknowledgment of the initial PUSCH transmission from the gNB.

[0120] (ii) When using RACH resources, the gNB may use dynamic UL grant and DL allocation to schedule subsequent UL and DL transmissions, respectively, after the completion of the RA procedure.

[0121] SDT is enabled by the gNB on a radio bearer basis: (i) SRB1 for carrying RRC messages is enabled by default; (ii) SRB2 for carrying NAS messages is enabled by explicit configuration using the RRCRelease message; and (iii) one or more DRBs for carrying user data are enabled by explicit configuration using the RRCRelease message.

[0122] In order for the UE to determine whether SDT can be performed, the gNB configures the parameter sdt-DataVolumeThreshold as part of the common SDT configuration in SIB1. The data volume threshold can be set in the value range {32, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, 9000, 10000, 12000, 24000, 48000, 96000} in bytes. If the total amount of UL data across all radio bearers for which SDT is enabled is below the configured data volume threshold, the UE starts SDT. The UE MAC entity performs the data volume calculation taking into account all data packets of the SDT radio bearers buffered in the transmit buffers of the PDCP and RLC entities at the time of data volume calculation.

[0123] Figure 7 is an exemplary message flow diagram of a communication environment 701 between a UE 705 and a base node (gNB) 710 performing RA-based SDT using a contention-based 2-step RACH procedure 715 with subsequent data transmission. At 720, step 0: the SDT-capable UE 705 is in a connected state.

[0124] At 725, step 1: Due to low UE activity in the connected state, the gNB 710 sends a RRCRelease message to transition the UE 705 to the inactive state. The RRCRelease message includes a suspension configuration, which includes the NCC value (for generating security keys to be used for SDT) and the SDT configuration. The SDT configuration includes the radio bearers (SRB / DRB) enabled for SDT, CG-SDT resources, and the corresponding TA timer configuration for CG-based SDT.

[0125] At 730, step 2: UE 705 is inactive. At 735, step 3: MO data appears in UE 705 and the size of the MO data is below the configured data amount threshold. Because UE 705 does not have a valid TA, UE 705 initiates RA-SDT by using the 2-step RACH resources (i.e., preamble and RACH opportunity) configured for SDT in SIB1. The MsgA MAC PDU contains the RRCResumeRequest message and the UL data from the DRB configured for SDT.

[0126] At 740, step 4: After successfully receiving the MsgA MAC PDU, the gNB sends MsgB to the UE to indicate successful contention resolution. At 745, step 5: After the initial UL transmission in step 3, subsequent UL / DL transmissions are performed using dynamic grant (DG).

[0127] At 750, step 6: gNB 710 sends a RRCRelease message to UE 705 to reconfigure the NCC value and SDT configuration. Alternatively, gNB 710 may send a RRCRelease message to UE 705 to terminate the SDT process and transition UE 705 to an idle state.

[0128] As currently specified, the NR QoE measurement procedure requires that a UE capable of application layer measurement reporting under RRC_CONNECTED may initiate the procedure when application layer measurements are configured, i.e. when appLayerMeasConfig and SRB4 have been configured by the network. Once the procedure is initiated, the UE shall:

[0129] 1>For each measConfigAppLayerId:

[0130] 2> If the UE AS has received an application layer measurement report from the upper layer that has not yet been transmitted; and

[0131] 2> If application layer measurement reporting has not been suspended for the measConfigAppLayerId associated with the application layer measurement reporting according to clause 5.3.5.13d:

[0132] 3> Set the measReportAppLayerContainer in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the received value in the application layer measurement report;

[0133] 2> Set the measConfigAppLayerId in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the value of measConfigAppLayerId received with the application layer measurement report information;

[0134] 2> If a session start or stop message has been received from the upper layer for measConfigAppLayerId:

[0135] 3> Set appLayerSessionStatus to the received value of the application layer measurement information;

[0136] 2> If a RAN visible application layer measurement report has been received from upper layers:

[0137] 3> For each appLayerBufferLevel value in the received RAN visible application layer measurement report:

[0138] 4> Set the appLayerBufferLevel values ​​in appLayerBufferLevelList to the buffer level values ​​received from the upper layer, in the order of the first appLayerBufferLevel value to the most recently received buffer level value, the second appLayerBufferLevel value to the second most recently received buffer level value, and so on, until all buffer level values ​​received from the upper layer have been allocated or the maximum number of values ​​has been set according to appLayerBufferLevel (if configured);

[0139] 3> Set playoutDelayForMediaStartup to the received value in the RAN visible application layer measurement report (if any);

[0140] 3> For each PDU Session ID value indicated in the received RAN Visible Application Layer Measurement Report (if any):

[0141] 4> Set the PDU-Session ID field in pdu-SessionIdList to the indicated PDU session ID value;

[0142] 2> If the encoded RRC message is larger than the maximum supported size of a PDCP SDU as specified in TS 38.323 [5]:

[0143] 3> If RRC message segmentation is enabled based on the field rrc-SegAllowed received in appLayerMeasConfig:

[0144] 4> Start the UL message segment transmission process as specified in clause 5.7.7;

[0145] 3> Otherwise:

[0146] 4>Discard the RRC message;

[0147] 2> Otherwise:

[0148] 3> Submit the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the lower layer for transmission, and the process ends.

[0149] The present disclosure modifies the NR QoE application layer measurement reporting process to operate when UE 705 is in an inactive state.

[0150] Figure 8 It is the ASN.1 structure 800 of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message according to the specified procedure. When there are QoE reports (e.g., regular QoE measurement reports, QoE measurement session status indications, and RVQoE measurement reports) available for transmission in the RRC sublayer, the UE AS layer initiates the reporting procedure. Next, the UE AS layer creates the MeasurementReportAppLayer message and submits it to the lower layer as follows:

[0151] (i) For each QoE measurement configuration identifier (measConfigAppLayerId in ASN.1), the UE AS layer creates an IE MeasReportAppLayer and includes the available QoE report corresponding to this QoE measurement configuration identifier into the IE.

[0152] (ii) Each created IE MeasReportAppLayer is then concatenated into the MeasurementReportAppLayerList and the UE AS layer determines the resulting size of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message.

[0153] (iii) If the size of the RRC message is greater than the maximum size of an RRC message of 9000 bytes and ULRRC segmentation is enabled by the network, the UE AS layer performs segmentation of the message. The UE AS layer ensures that the size of each segment is less than or equal to the RRC message size limit. Each segment is then included in a ULDedicatedMessageSegment message and submitted to the lower layers.

[0154] (iv) If the size of the RRC message is larger than the maximum size of an RRC message of 9000 bytes and UL RRC segmentation is not enabled by the network, the UE AS layer discards the RRC message.

[0155] (v) If the size of the RRC message is less than the maximum size of the RRC message of 9000 bytes, the UE AS layer submits the RRC message to the lower layer.

[0156] Aspects of the present disclosure modify the ASN.1 structure for use in UE 705 ( Figure 7 ) is inactive.

[0157] Fig. 9 is a diagram 900 of a Measurement Report Application Layer ("MeasurementReportAppLayer") message 902 whose contents are segmented for uplink transmission. Fig. 9An example of creating and transmitting multiple QoE reports in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message is shown if the size of the RRC message exceeds the 9000 byte size limit and UL segmentation is enabled by the network. In the example, it is assumed that the MeasurementReportAppLayer message carries N QoE reports (QoE Reports #1 to #N). The RRC message is segmented into L segments and each segment is contained in a ULDedicatedMessageSegment message and submitted to the lower layers. The ULDedicatedMessageSegment message supports the transmission of up to L=64 segments, which corresponds to the maximum size of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message of 144 kilobytes.

[0158] Referring to the figure, with segmentation enabled, the user device is able to create and transmit multiple QoE reports, which may exceed the 9 kilobyte (9000 byte) size limit for RRC messages. In the example, the measurement report application layer message 902 carries N QoE reports (QoE reports #1, #2 to #N) 904a, 904b, ... 904n. The RRC message is segmented into L segments (UL dedicated message segments) (#1, #2, ... #L 906a, 906b, ... 906L) and each segment is included in a UL dedicated message segment ("ULDedicatedMessageSegment") message 908a, 908b, ... 908L, respectively, and submitted to the lower layer. QoE reports (#1, #2 to #N) 904a, 904b, ... 904n that exceed the maximum message size are not discarded before segmentation. According to aspects of the present disclosure, as described below, when segmentation is not enabled, discarding of QoE reports is reduced or avoided.

[0159] Aspects of the present disclosure efficiently support reporting of collected QoE measurements for MBS in inactive state during SDT process. As part of dedicated SDT configuration, the gNB indicates in the RRCRelease message whether SRB4 and UL RRC segmentation are enabled for the UE. The parameter "sdt-SRB4-Indication-r18" indicates that SRB4 is enabled for SDT in inactive state. The parameter "sdt-rrc-SegAllowed-r18" indicates that UL RRC segmentation for QoE measurement reporting is enabled for SDT in inactive state.

[0160] Fig.10is the ASN.1 signaling structure 1000 for configuring QoE measurement reports in SDT. New parameters are marked in bold text. QoE reports generated in the inactive state are buffered in the RRC layer. In addition, the RRC buffers are not considered in the calculation of the data volume. Instead, the UE controls the reporting of the buffered QoE reports in the inactive state based on the actual data volume of the buffers in the PDCP and RLC entities.

[0161] Fig.11 is a flow chart presenting a method 1100 for QoE measurement reporting in an inactive state. In the flow chart, the term "RRC message" refers to the MeasurementReportAppLayer message and the term "lower layer" refers to the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY) sublayers. The UE RRC initiates the reporting process when a QoE report is available in the RRC buffer and when the amount of available data is sufficient to transmit at least one QoE report to the gNB. The phrase "amount of available data" means the amount of data remaining after the configured threshold is taken into account for data available for transmission in PDCP and RLC. The UE RRC creates a MeasurementReportAppLayer message and submits it to the lower layer as follows:

[0162] At 1102, step 1: UE RRC determines the actual amount of data in the buffers in the PDCP and RLC entities for the RBs configured for SDT. The UE RRC may trigger the MAC entity to provide this information.

[0163] At 1104, step 2: UE RRC determines the amount of available data based on the actual amount of data and the configured data amount threshold (given by the gNB via SIB1). If the amount of available data is insufficient to transmit one or more of the buffered QoE reports, the reporting process stops. If the amount of available data is sufficient, the method 1100 continues with the enhanced QoE measurement reporting process for SDT by the UE RRC at step 3.

[0164] At 1106, step 3: the UE RRC checks if UL RRC segmentation has been enabled by the gNB. At 1108, step 4B: if UL RRC segmentation has not been enabled by the gNB, the UE RRC compiles a list of QoE measurement reports to be transmitted, taking into account the amount of available data and the maximum RRC PDU size of 9 kilobytes. At 1110, step 5B: the UE RRC includes the QoE report from the compiled list in the RRC message. At 1112, step 8B: if the size of the RRC message is less than 9000 bytes, the UE RRC directly submits the RRC message to the lower layers. If after step 8B, there are still buffered QoE reports in the RRC, the UE RRC initiates a new reporting process to transmit the remaining reports to the network (not depicted). If after step 8B, there are no buffered QoE reports in the RRC, the method 1100 ends.

[0165] At 1116, step 4A: If UL RRC segmentation has been enabled by the gNB in ​​step 3, the UE RRC compiles a list of QoE reports to be transmitted, taking into account the amount of available data. At 1118, step 5A: The UE RRC includes the QoE reports from the compiled list in the RRC message. At 1120, step 6: The UE RRC determines the size of the RRC message. At 1122, step 7: The UE RRC checks whether the size of the RRC message is greater than 9000 bytes. At 1124, step 8A: If the size of the RRC message is greater than 9000 bytes, the UE RRC segments the RRC message and submits the message segments to the lower layers. At 1126, step 8B: If the size of the RRC message is less than 9000 bytes, the UE RRC directly submits the RRC message to the lower layers. After 1124 or 1126, if there are still buffered QoE reports in the RRC, the UE RRC initiates a new reporting process to transmit them to the network (not depicted).

[0166] As an alternative solution, the UE only considers the data buffered in the PDCP / RLC entity for initiating the SDT process and then the buffered QoE report is considered as the subsequent UL SDT data. Therefore, UL RRC segmentation (if enabled) can be performed without considering the (remaining) data amount / threshold. This is a solution where the implementation determines when to move the QoE report to the PDCP layer (after SDT has been initiated).

[0167] The proposed solution has the following advantages: (i) the UE can control the reporting of buffered QoE reports in the inactive state during the SDT process so that the total data amount does not exceed the configured data amount threshold; and (ii) the UE can transmit the buffered QoE report during the SDT process and does not need to initiate the traditional RRC connection recovery process to resume the QoE measurement report in the connected state.

[0168] Fig.12 is a message flow diagram of a communication network 1200 of a UE 1205 and a gNB 1210 implementing one embodiment of the proposed solution based on the following assumptions:

[0169] (i) Both gNB and UE support QMC for MBS and SDT.

[0170] (ii) OAM is interested in receiving QoE measurements of MBS multicast services and MBS broadcast services from UEs being served in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and OAM sends a "Configure QoE Measurement" message to the CN, which includes the QoE measurement configuration for the relevant MBS services.

[0171] (iii) Based on the received QoE measurement configuration from OAM, the CN sends a “Start QoE Measurement” message to the gNB, which contains the QoE measurement configuration for the relevant MBS service.

[0172] At 1215, step 0: the UE is in connected state and is receiving unicast services and MBS multicast and broadcast services. At 1220, step 1: the gNB determines that the UE is eligible for QoE measurement collection for the relevant MBS services and sends an RRCReconfiguration message containing the corresponding QoE measurement configuration (i.e., QoE configuration identifier #1 for MBS multicast services and QoE configuration identifier #2 for MBS broadcast services).

[0173] At 1225, step 2: the UE AS layer sends the received QoE measurement configuration to its AL, and the AL starts QoE measurement collection according to the received QoE measurement configuration and the received MBS service.

[0174] At 1230, step 3: According to the configured reporting interval in the QoE measurement configuration, the UE AL sends the first collected measurement result to the UE AS layer in a QoE measurement report. The UE AS layer sends the QoE measurement report to the gNB via a MeasurementReportAppLayer message, and the gNB forwards the received QoE measurement report to the Measurement Collection Entity (MCE) ( Fig.12 not shown).

[0175] At 1235, step 4: Due to low UE activity of transmitting / receiving unicast data in connected state, the gNB sends a RRCRelease message including a suspend configuration to transition the UE to inactive state. The suspend configuration includes the Next Hop Chain Counter (NCC) value (for generating security keys to be used for SDT) and the SDT configuration. The SDT configuration includes the Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) and Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) enabled for SDT, CG-SDT resources, and the corresponding TA timer configuration for CG-based SDT. In the example, both SRB4 and UL RRC segmentation have been enabled in the SDT configuration. Therefore, the UE AS layer applies the UL AS protocol layer configuration, such as Figure 4 As shown in .

[0176] At 1240, step 5: UE is in inactive state. At 1245, step 6: UE continues to receive MBS service and continues QoE measurement collection. The gNB has not released the QoE measurement configuration for MBS in the RRCRelease message. The QoE reports generated in the inactive state are buffered in the RRC layer. The size of the RRC buffer is 64 kilobytes.

[0177] At 1250, step 7: the UE receives SIB1, which contains the configuration of RA-SDT resources and the data volume threshold set to 96 kilobytes. At 1255, step 8: UL data appears in the layer 2 buffer of the RB enabled for SDT. Therefore, the UE MAC initiates SDT and performs UL / DL data transmission between the UE and the gNB in ​​the inactive state. To report the buffered QoE report, the UE initiates the enhanced QoE measurement reporting procedure for SDT, such as Fig.11 As shown in .

[0178] Fig.13 1300. In summary, six (6) QoE reports totaling 44 kilobytes are buffered for transmission (i.e., four (4) QoE reports for QoE configuration identifier #1 and two (2) QoE reports for QoE configuration identifier #2). The actual amount of data in the buffers in the PDCP and RLC entities is 32 kilobytes (i.e., data available for transmission in PDCP / RLC). The amount of available / remaining data is 64 kilobytes, which is sufficient to transmit all buffered QoE reports per segmented RRC message to lower layers and gNB. Therefore, according to Fig.11 , UE RRC executes steps 1, 2, 3, 4A, 5A, 6, 7 and 8A.

[0179] In the second embodiment, reference Fig.11, the assumptions and message flows are almost the same as the first embodiment described above, except for the following: At 1116, step 4: In the SDT configuration, UL RRC segmentation has not been enabled by the gNB. At 1122, step 7: In SIB1, the data amount threshold has been set to 48 kilobytes. In other respects, the assumptions are the same as in the first described embodiment. In this embodiment, the actual data amount of the buffers in the PDCP and RLC entities is 32 kilobytes (i.e., data available for transmission in PDCP / RLC). This means that the amount of available / remaining data is 16 kilobytes, which is not enough to transmit all buffered QoE reports to the gNB. Therefore, the UE RRC sends the QoE report based on Fig.11 Steps 1, 2, 3, 4B, 5B and 8B are performed to transmit four (4) QoE reports for QoE configuration identifier #1 to lower layers and gNB via a single MeasurementReportAppLayer message. This means that the UE creates one RRC message of size 8 kilobytes and sends the RRC message to the layers so that the total data amount is not greater than 48 kilobytes and SDT can be initiated by the UE MAC. The remaining buffered QoE reports are sent by the UE RRC in subsequent QoE measurement reporting procedures.

[0180] Fig.14 An example of a block diagram 1400 illustrating a device 1402 that supports wireless communication with enhanced QoE measurement reporting according to aspects of the present disclosure. As described herein, the device 1402 may be a network entity or a network device 102 or a UE 104 ( Figure 1 ). Device 1402 may support wireless communications with one or more network entities or network devices 102, UE 104, or any combination thereof. Device 1402 may include components for bidirectional communications, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as processor 1404, memory 1406, transceiver 1408, and I / O controller 1410. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[0181] The processor 1404, the memory 1406, the transceiver 1408, or various combinations thereof, or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure described herein. For example, the processor 1404, the memory 1406, the transceiver 1408, or various combinations thereof, or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more operations described herein.

[0182] In some implementations, the processor 1404, memory 1406, transceiver 1408, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in a communication management circuit system). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, which is configured as or otherwise supports means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. The controller 1407 includes the processor 1404 and configures the device 1402 to perform the functions of the present disclosure. The controller 1407 is communicatively coupled to the memory 1406 to execute program code. The controller 1407 may include a dedicated memory accessible only by the processor 1404, which is a part of the memory 1406. In some implementations, the processor 1404 and the memory 1406 coupled to the processor 1404 may be configured to perform one or more functions of the controller 1407 as described herein (e.g., executing instructions stored in the memory 1406 by the processor 1404).

[0183] The processor 1404 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 1404 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other implementations, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1404. The processor 1404 may be configured to execute computer readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1406) to cause the device 1402 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0184] The memory 1406 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 1406 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 1404, cause the device 1402 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or another type of memory. In some implementations, the code may not be directly executable by the processor 1404, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. In some implementations, the memory 1406 may include, among other things, a basic I / O system (BIOS), which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0185] In an example, according to examples as disclosed herein, the controller 1407 can support wireless communication at the device 1402. In one or more embodiments, the memory 1406 stores a QoE measurement report application 1409, which, when executed by the processor 1404, configures the device 1402 to process and transmit the QoE measurement report 1411 in the RRC transmit buffer 1413 in the memory 1406. The RRC transmit buffer 1413 is associated with a signaling radio bearer for transmitting an RRC message carrying a QoE measurement report.

[0186] I / O controller 1410 can manage input and output signals of device 1402. I / O controller 1410 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 1402. In some embodiments, I / O controller 1410 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some embodiments, I / O controller 1410 can utilize an operating system, such as Or other known operating systems. In some embodiments, I / O controller 1410 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as processor 1404. In some embodiments, a user may interact with device 1402 via I / O controller 1410 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 1410.

[0187] In some implementations, the device 1402 may include a single antenna 1412. However, in some other implementations, the device 1402 may have more than one antenna 1412 (i.e., multiple antennas), including multiple antenna panels or antenna arrays, which are capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously. The transceiver 1408 may use one or more receivers 1415 and one or more transmitters 1417 to communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas 1412, wired or wireless links, as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1408 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1408 may also include a modem to modulate packets, provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 1412 for transmission, and demodulate packets received from one or more antennas 1412.

[0188] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the device 1402 may be used as a user device, such as UE 104 ( Figure 1 Device 1402 includes a transceiver 1408 that includes a signaling module that enables device 1402 to communicate with network device 102 ( Figure 1) and at least one receiver 1415 and at least one transmitter 1417 for communication. Device 1402 includes a memory 1406 having a buffer 1413. A controller 1407 of device 1402 is communicatively coupled to memory 1406 and transceiver 1408. Controller 1407 receives data from network device 102 ( Figure 1 ) receives one or more control messages. Controller 1407 determines that the one or more control messages enable small data transmission using a first allocation of uplink resources when at least a transceiver 1408 of device 1402 is in an inactive state, and enables generation and transmission of a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report. In response, controller 1407 measures QoE at device 1402 and stores one or more QoE measurement reports 1411 in a buffer. When at least the transceiver 1408 of device 1402 is in an inactive state, controller 1407 reports a first list of a portion of one or more QoE measurement reports 1411 of the first allocation of uplink resources limited to SDT using a small data transmission (SDT) in at least one first uplink message. Then, the buffer may contain an unreported portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports 1411. Device 1402 may then receive a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT. Alternatively, the device 1402 may designate an unused portion of the first allocation as a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT.While remaining in the inactive state, the device 1402 reports a second portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports 1411 in a second list using SDT.

[0189] In one or more embodiments, the one or more control messages include a first allocation of uplink resources for SDT and a second allocation of SDT configuration, the uplink resources including random access (RA) SDT resources and configuration grant (CG) SDT resources. In one or more embodiments, the controller 1407 performs radio resource control (RRC) and medium access control (MAC) of the device 1402. The first allocation and the second allocation are part of the amount of data received by the RRC from the MAC of the device 1402, which is used to determine the first and second lists of one or more QoE measurement reports 1411, respectively.

[0190] In one or more embodiments, in response to determining that the one or more control messages further implement segmentation of the uplink message, the controller 1407 segments any of the one or more uplink messages having an identified message size that exceeds the maximum message size limit. In one or more embodiments, the QoE measurement report is based on the QoE measurement report generated by the network device 102 ( Figure 1 ) to transmit Multicast and Broadcast Services (MBS).

[0191] In one or more embodiments, in response to determining that the one or more control messages do not implement segmentation of an uplink message for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports 1411, the controller 1407 identifies a message size for each of the one or more QoE measurement reports 1411 in the buffer 1413. The controller 1407 removes any of the one or more QoE measurement reports 1411 having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit from the buffer 1413. The controller 1407 allocates the one or more QoE measurement reports 1411 that remain in the buffer 1413 to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit. The controller 1407 sends a message to the network device 102 ( Figure 1 ) transmits one or more uplink messages.

[0192] In one or more embodiments, buffer 1413 is a radio resource control (RRC) transmit buffer associated with a signaling radio bearer used to transmit an RRC message carrying QoE measurement report 1411. In one or more embodiments, controller 1407 discards each of the QoE measurement reports transmitted in the one or more uplink messages from buffer 1413. In one or more embodiments, controller 1407 discards each of the QoE measurement reports transmitted in the one or more uplink messages from network device 102 ( Figure 1 ) receives multicast and broadcast services (MBS) and generates a QoE measurement report 1411 based on the MBS.

[0193] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the device 1402 is configured to communicate with at least one user device (e.g., UE 104 ( Figure 1)) A network device for wireless communication. In one or more embodiments, the device 1402 includes a transceiver 1408, the transceiver 1408 including at least one receiver 1415 and at least one transmitter 1417 that enable the device 1402 to communicate with a user device. The controller 1407 of the device 1402 is communicatively coupled to the transceiver 1408. The controller 1407 sends one or more control messages to the user device via the transceiver 1408 to implement: (i) when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state, a small data transmission (SDT) is performed using a first allocation and a subsequent second allocation of uplink resources for SDT; and (ii) generation of a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report, prompting the user device to measure QoE and store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. When at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state, the controller 1407 receives from the user device in at least one first uplink message a first list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports limited to the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT. When at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state, the controller 1407 receives from the user device in at least one other uplink message a second list of a portion of one or more QoE measurement reports limited to a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT. The controller 1407 transmits the first list and the second list to the measurement collection entity (MCE) 302 ( Figure 3 ).

[0194] In one or more embodiments, the one or more control messages further include an indication to enable segmentation of uplink messages, and the transceiver 1408 de-segmentates any of the one or more uplink messages having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. In one or more embodiments, the controller 1407 transmits a multicast and broadcast service (MBS) to the user device via the transceiver 1408. The QoE measurement report is based on the MBS.

[0195] In one or more embodiments, the first allocation and the second allocation define signaling radio bearers for transmitting radio resource control (RRC) messages carrying QoE measurement reports. In one or more embodiments, the one or more control messages prompt the user device to transition to an inactive state.

[0196] Fig.15 1. A flowchart illustrating a method 1500 for supporting wireless communication between a user device and a network device, particularly with enhanced QoE measurement reporting, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1500 may be performed by a user device or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1500 may be performed by a user device or components thereof as described herein. Figure 1 and 14The described UE 104 or device 1402 may be performed. In some embodiments, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0197] At 1505, method 1500 may include receiving one or more control messages from a network device via a transceiver of a user device. The operations of 1505 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 1 Or the device described in 14 is implemented.

[0198] At 1510, method 1500 may include determining one or more control messages to enable small data transmission using a first allocation of uplink resources when at least a transceiver of the device is in an inactive state and to enable generation and transmission of a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report. The operations of 1510 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be as described in reference to Figure 1 Or the device described in 14 is implemented.

[0199] At 1515, method 1500 may include measuring QoE at the user device and storing one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The operations of 1515 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1515 may be as described in reference to Figure 1 Or the device described in 14 is implemented.

[0200] At 1520, method 1500 may include transmitting, in at least one first uplink message, reporting a first list of a portion of one or more QoE measurement reports limited to a first allocation of uplink resources for SDT using small data when at least a transceiver of the device is in an inactive state. The operations of 1520 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1520 may be as described in reference to Figure 1 Or the device described in 14 is implemented.

[0201] At 1525, method 1500 may include determining that the buffer contains an unreported portion of one or more QoE measurement reports. The operations of 1525 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1525 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 1 Or the device described in 14 is implemented.

[0202] At 1530, method 1500 may include receiving a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT. The operations of 1530 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1530 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 1 Or the device described in 14 is implemented.

[0203] At 1535, method 1500 may include reporting, in at least one second uplink message, a second list of a second portion of one or more QoE measurement reports limited to a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT using SDT when at least the transceiver of the device is in an inactive state. The operations of 1535 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1535 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 1 Or the device described in 14 is implemented.

[0204] In one or more embodiments, the method 1500 may further include segmenting any of the one or more uplink messages having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit in response to determining that the one or more control messages further enable segmentation of the uplink message. In one or more embodiments, the method 1500 may further include receiving a multicast and broadcast service (MBS) transmitted by a network device. The method 1500 may further include generating one or more QoE measurement reports based on the MBS.

[0205] In one or more embodiments, the method 1500 may further include determining that the one or more control messages do not implement segmentation of an uplink message for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports. The method 1500 may further include determining a message size for each of the one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer. The method 1500 may further include removing from the buffer any of the one or more QoE measurement reports having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. The method 1500 may further include allocating the one or more QoE measurement reports retained in the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit. The method 1500 may further include transmitting the one or more uplink messages to the network device via the transceiver.

[0206] In one or more embodiments, the method 1500 may further include storing the one or more QoE reports in a buffer including a radio resource control (RRC) transmit buffer associated with a signaling radio bearer for transmitting an RRC message carrying the QoE measurement report. In one or more embodiments, the method 1500 may further include discarding each of the QoE measurement reports transmitted in the one or more uplink messages from the buffer. In one or more embodiments, the method 1500 may further include receiving a multicast and broadcast service (MBS) from a network device via a transceiver; and generating the QoE measurement report based on the MBS.

[0207] Fig.16 1600 for supporting wireless communication with enhanced QoE measurement reporting by a network device and a user device according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1600 may be implemented by an apparatus or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1600 may be implemented by an apparatus or components thereof as described herein. Figure 1 and 14 The network device, base node or network device 102 or device 1402 described herein may be executed. In some embodiments, the network device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the network device to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the network device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0208] At 1605, the method may include transmitting one or more control messages to a user device via a transceiver of a network device to implement: (i) performing small data transmission (SDT) using a first allocation of uplink resources and a subsequent second allocation of uplink resources for SDT when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state; and (ii) generating a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report, prompting the user device to measure QoE and store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The operations of 1605 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1605 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 1 and 14 The described device is used to perform.

[0209] At 1610, the method may include receiving, from a user device in at least one first uplink message, a first list of a portion of one or more QoE measurement reports limited to a first allocation of uplink resources for SDT when at least a transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state. The operations of 1610 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 1 and 14 The described device is used to perform.

[0210] At 1615, the method may include receiving, from the user device in at least one other uplink message, a second list of a portion of one or more QoE measurement reports limited to a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state. The operations of 1615 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1615 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 1 and 14 The described device is used to perform.

[0211] At 1620, the method may include transmitting the first list and the second list to a measurement collection entity (MCE). The operations of 1620 may be performed according to examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1620 may be as described in reference to Figure 1 Or the device described in 14 is implemented.

[0212] In one or more embodiments, method 1600 may include transmitting one or more control messages, the one or more control messages further including an indication of enabling segmentation of uplink messages; and canceling segmentation of any of the one or more uplink messages having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit.

[0213] In one or more embodiments, the method 1600 may further include transmitting a multicast and broadcast service (MBS) to the user device, wherein the QoE measurement report is based on the MBS. In one or more embodiments, the first allocation and the second allocation define a signaling radio bearer for transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) message carrying the QoE measurement report. In one or more embodiments, the one or more control messages prompt the user device to transition to an inactive state.

[0214] The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0215] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented as software executed by a processing system, the functions may be stored on or transmitted by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processing system, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or a combination of any of these. Features implementing the functions may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed so that portions of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0216] Computer-readable media include both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. Non-transitory storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage, or any other non-transitory media that can be used to carry or store desired program code components in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor.

[0217] Any connection may be properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves are included in the definition of computer-readable media. Disks and optical discs as used herein include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0218] As used herein (including in the claims), "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items beginning with a phrase such as "at least one of..." or "one or more of...") indicates an inclusive list, so that (for example) a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Moreover, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as referring to a set of closed conditions. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, an example step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on". In addition, as used herein (including in the claims), a "group" may include one or more elements.

[0219] When referring to a network entity, the terms "transmit," "receive," or "communicate" may refer to any part of a network entity of a RAN (e.g., base station, CU, DU, RU) that communicates with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities).

[0220] The descriptions set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describe example configurations but do not represent all examples that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "example" as used herein means "used as an example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "better than other examples." The detailed description contains specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some examples, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid confusing the concepts of the described examples.

[0221] The description herein is provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the present disclosure. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the various modifications of the present disclosure, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A user equipment UE for wireless communication, the UE comprising: a transceiver comprising at least one transmitter and at least one receiver that enables the device to communicate with a network device; a memory having a buffer; and a controller that is communicatively coupled to the memory and the transceiver and that: receiving, via the transceiver, one or more control messages from the network device; and In response to determining that the one or more control messages enable small data transmission using a first allocation of uplink resources when at least the transceiver of the device is in an inactive state and enable generation and transmission of a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report: measuring QoE at the user equipment and storing one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer; transmitting, in at least one first uplink message, using small data, when the transceiver of the user equipment is in an inactive state, a first list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports that SDT reports limited to the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT; In response to determining that the buffer contains an unreported portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports: receiving a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT; and A second list of a second portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports limited to the second allocation of uplink resources for SDT is reported in at least one second uplink message using SDT while the transceiver is in the inactive state.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the one or more control messages include the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT and the second allocation of SDT configuration, and the uplink resources include random access RA SDT resources and configuration grant CG SDT resources.

3. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the controller executes the radio resource control RRC and the medium access control MAC of the UE, and wherein the first allocation and the second allocation are part of the amount of data received by the RRC from the MAC of the UE and are used to determine the first list and the second list of the one or more QoE measurement reports, respectively.

4. The UE of claim 1 , wherein in response to determining that the one or more control messages further implement segmentation of uplink messages, the transceiver segments any one of the one or more uplink messages having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit.

5. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the controller: In response to determining that the one or more control messages do not enable segmentation of an uplink message for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports: identifying a message size for each of the one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer; removing from the buffer any one of the one or more QoE measurement reports having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit; allocating the one or more QoE measurement reports retained in the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit; and The one or more uplink messages are transmitted via the transceiver to the network device.

6. The UE of claim 1, wherein the buffer comprises a radio resource control (RRC) transmit buffer associated with a signaling radio bearer for transmitting an RRC message carrying a QoE measurement report.

7. The UE of claim 1, wherein the controller discards from the buffer each of the QoE measurement reports transmitted in one or more uplink messages.

8. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the controller: receiving a multicast and broadcast service MBS from the network device; and The QoE measurement report is generated based on the MBS.

9. A controller for wireless communication of a user equipment UE, the controller comprising: a memory having (i) program code for enabling quality of experience transmission during an inactive state of a transceiver of the user equipment and (ii) a radio resource control (RRC) transmit buffer associated with a signaling radio bearer for transmitting an RRC message carrying a QoE measurement report; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor processing the program code, the program code configuring the controller to: receiving, via the transceiver, one or more control messages from a network device; and In response to determining that the one or more control messages enable small data transmission using a first allocation of uplink resources when at least the transceiver of the device is in an inactive state and enable generation and transmission of a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report: measuring QoE at the user equipment and storing one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer; transmitting, in at least one first uplink message, using small data, when the transceiver of the user equipment is in an inactive state, a first list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports that SDT reports limited to the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT; In response to determining that the buffer contains an unreported portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports: receiving a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT; and A second list of a second portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports limited to the second allocation of uplink resources for SDT is reported in at least one second uplink message using SDT while the transceiver is in the inactive state.

10. The controller of claim 9, wherein the one or more control messages include the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT and the second allocation of SDT configuration, the uplink resources including random access RASDT resources and configuration grant CG SDT resources.

11. A controller according to claim 9, wherein the controller executes radio resource control RRC and medium access control MAC of the UE, and wherein the first allocation and the second allocation are part of the amount of data received by the RRC from the MAC of the UE and are used to determine the first list and the second list of the one or more QoE measurement reports, respectively.

12. The controller of claim 9, wherein the processor: responsive to determining that the one or more control messages further enable segmentation of uplink messages, segmenting any of the one or more uplink messages having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit; and In response to determining that the one or more control messages do not enable segmentation of an uplink message for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports: identifying a message size for each of the one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer; removing from the buffer any one of the one or more QoE measurement reports having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit; allocating the one or more QoE measurement reports retained in the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit; and The one or more uplink messages are transmitted via the transceiver to the network device.

13. The controller of claim 9, wherein the processor: receiving a multicast and broadcast service MBS from the network device; and The QoE measurement report is generated based on the MBS.

14. A method for wireless communication at a user device, the method comprising: receiving one or more control messages from a network device via a transceiver of a user device; and In response to determining that the one or more control messages enable small data transmission using a first allocation of uplink resources when at least the transceiver of the device is in an inactive state and enable generation and transmission of a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report: measuring QoE at the user device and storing one or more QoE measurement reports in a radio resource control (RRC) transmit buffer associated with a signaling radio bearer used to transmit an RRC message carrying the QoE measurement reports; transmitting, in at least one first uplink message, using small data, when at least the transceiver of the apparatus is in an inactive state, a first list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports that SDT reports limited to the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT; and In response to determining that the buffer contains an unreported portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports: receiving a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT; and reporting, in at least one second uplink message, a second list of a second portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports limited to the second allocation of uplink resources for SDT using SDT when at least the transceiver of the apparatus is in an inactive state, wherein the one or more control messages include the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT and the second allocation of SDT configuration, the uplink resources including random access RA SDT resources and configuration grant CG SDT resources; and The one or more control messages configure the radio resource control RRC and the medium access control MAC of the user device, wherein the first allocation and the second allocation are part of the amount of data received by the RRC from the MAC of the device, which are used to determine the first list and the second list of the one or more QoE measurement reports, respectively.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: responsive to determining that the one or more control messages further enable segmentation of uplink messages, segmenting any of the one or more uplink messages having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit; and In response to determining that the one or more control messages do not enable segmentation of an uplink message for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports: identifying a message size for each of the one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer; removing from the buffer any one of the one or more QoE measurement reports having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit; allocating the one or more QoE measurement reports retained in the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit; and The one or more uplink messages are transmitted via the transceiver to the network device.

16. A network device for wireless communication, the network device comprising: a transceiver comprising at least one transmitter and at least one receiver that enables the network device to communicate with a user device; and a controller that is communicatively coupled to the transceiver and that: transmitting, via the transceiver, one or more control messages to the user device to implement: (i) performing SDT using a first allocation and a subsequent second allocation of uplink resources for small data transmission (SDT) when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state; and (ii) generating a quality of experience (QoE) measurement report, prompting the user device to measure QoE and store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer; receiving, from the user device in at least one first uplink message, a first list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports limited to a first allocation of uplink resources for SDT, when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state; receiving, from the user device in at least one other uplink message, a second list of a portion of the one or more QoE measurement reports limited to a second allocation of uplink resources for SDT when at least the transceiver of the user device is in an inactive state; and The first list and the second list are transmitted to a measurement collection entity MCE.

17. The network device according to claim 16, wherein: The one or more control messages include the first allocation of uplink resources for SDT and the second allocation of SDT configuration, the uplink resources including random access RASDT resources and configuration grant CGSDT resources; and The one or more control messages configure the radio resource control RRC and the medium access control MAC of the user device, wherein the first allocation and the second allocation are part of the amount of data received by the RRC from the MAC of the device, which are used to determine the first list and the second list of the one or more QoE measurement reports, respectively.

18. The network device of claim 16, wherein the one or more control messages further include an indication to enable segmentation of uplink messages, and the transceiver desegmentates any of the one or more uplink messages having an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit.

19. The network device of claim 16, wherein the controller transmits a multicast and broadcast service (MBS) to the user device via the transceiver, wherein the QoE measurement report is based on the MBS.

20. The network device of claim 16, wherein the one or more control messages define a signaling radio bearer for transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) message carrying a QoE measurement report and prompts the user device to transition to the inactive state.

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