Wireless communication between relaying terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices are described for wireless communication to support wireless communication for user equipments (UEs) outside a coverage area of a terrestrial network. The UE can send a request to a relay node of the NTN instructing the relay node to relay one or more messages between the UE and a network entity of the terrestrial network. The relay node can output an indication of the request to the network entity indicating that the UE has requested the relay communication. The relay node can output, for the UE, an indication of one or more resources to be used for relay communication with the terrestrial network. The UE can use one or more resources for communicating one or more messages with a terrestrial network entity via a relay node.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The following relates to wireless communications, including managing relay communications.

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems (such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced LTE (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems) and fifth generation (5G) systems (which may be referred to as new radio (NR) systems). These systems may employ techniques such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include one or more base stations, each of which supports wireless communication of a communication device, which may be referred to as a user equipment (UE). Summary of the invention

[0003] A method for wireless communication at a UE is described. The method may include: sending a request to a relay node associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN) to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; receiving a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network from the relay node associated with the NTN based on sending the request to relay communications; and communicating one or more messages with the network entity associated with the terrestrial network via the relay node associated with the NTN using the resources.

[0004] An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to: send a request to a relay node associated with an NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; receive a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network from the relay node associated with the NTN based on sending the request to relay communications; and communicate one or more messages with the network entity associated with the terrestrial network via the relay node associated with the NTN using the resources.

[0005] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include: means for sending a request to a relay node associated with an NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; means for receiving, from the relay node associated with the NTN, a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network based on sending the request to relay communications; and means for communicating one or more messages with the network entity associated with the terrestrial network via the relay node associated with the NTN using the resources.

[0006] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: send a request to a relay node associated with an NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; receive a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network from the relay node associated with the NTN based on sending the request to relay communications; and communicate one or more messages with the network entity associated with the terrestrial network via the relay node associated with the NTN using the resources.

[0007] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: failing to detect a synchronization signal block associated with the terrestrial network within a duration; and after the duration and based on failing to detect the synchronization signal block associated with the terrestrial network, monitoring a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or one of a discovery signal associated with the NTN, the request to relay communications being based on receipt of one of the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal.

[0008] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for monitoring one of the synchronization signal blocks associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN using time resources that may be based on timing associated with a global satellite system.

[0009] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: using resources configured by a second network entity associated with the terrestrial network to monitor one of the synchronization signal blocks associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN.

[0010] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for monitoring one of the synchronization signal blocks associated with the NTN or the discovery signals associated with the NTN using one or more resources including a monitoring window having a time offset and a Doppler shift.

[0011] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the request to relay the communication according to the timing advance.

[0012] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the timing advance may be based on a time for receiving an indication of one of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN and a time at which the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN may be received.

[0013] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the request to relay the communication without a timing advance.

[0014] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the request to relay communications using one or more resources including a window having a time offset and a Doppler shift, the request to relay communications being sent via a preamble and a message associated with the preamble.

[0015] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: detecting a synchronization signal block associated with the ground network after communicating the one or more messages via the relay node; and avoiding communicating one or more additional messages with the network entity associated with the ground network via the relay node associated with the NTN based on detecting the synchronization signal block associated with the ground network.

[0016] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a second indication of resources for sending the request to relay communications from the relay node associated with the NTN or from a second network entity associated with the terrestrial network.

[0017] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving feedback from the relay node regarding the request to relay communications, and communicating the one or more messages via the relay node based at least in part on receiving the feedback.

[0018] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the one or more messages communicated via the relay node include one or more uplink messages, one or more downlink messages, or both.

[0019] A method for wireless communication at a relay node associated with an NTN is described. The method may include: obtaining a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; outputting, for the terrestrial network, a first indication of the request to relay communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network based on the request to relay communications; outputting, based on the request to relay communications, a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network; and relaying one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network using the resources.

[0020] An apparatus for wireless communication at a relay node associated with an NTN is described. The apparatus may include: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the processor configured to: obtain a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a ground network; output, for the ground network, a first indication of the request to relay communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network based on the request to relay communications; output, based on the request to relay communications, a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network; and use the resources to relay one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network.

[0021] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a relay node associated with an NTN is described. The apparatus may include: means for obtaining a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; means for outputting, for the terrestrial network, a first indication of the request to relay communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network based on the request to relay communications; means for outputting, based on the request to relay communications, a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network; and means for relaying one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network using the resources.

[0022] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a relay node associated with an NTN is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: obtain a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a ground network; output, for the ground network, a first indication of the request to relay communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network based on the request to relay communications; output, based on the request to relay communications, a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network; and relay one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network using the resources.

[0023] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting one of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN, the request to relay communications being based on the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal.

[0024] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting one of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN using time resources that may be based on timing associated with a global satellite system.

[0025] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: using resources configured by the network entity associated with the terrestrial network to output one of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN.

[0026] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: using one or more resources including a time window with a time offset and a Doppler shift to output one of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN.

[0027] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for obtaining a third indication from the network entity associated with the ground network that the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is to be sent, and the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is based on the third indication.

[0028] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: outputting to the UE a fourth indication for the UE to apply a timing advance to the sending of the request to relay communications; and obtaining the request to relay communications according to the timing advance based on the fourth indication.

[0029] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: outputting to the UE a fifth indication for the UE to send the request to relay communication without timing advance; and obtaining the request to relay communication without timing advance based on the fifth indication.

[0030] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for obtaining the request to relay communications using one or more resources including a monitoring window having a time offset and a Doppler shift, the request to relay communications being obtained via a preamble and a message associated with the preamble.

[0031] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting a sixth indication of a resource for communicating the request to relay communications, the request to relay communications being based on the sixth indication of the resource.

[0032] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for obtaining, from the network entity associated with the ground network, a seventh indication of resources for communicating the request to relay communications, the request to relay communications being based on the seventh indication of the resources.

[0033] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting feedback regarding the request to relay communications, and relaying the one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network based on the feedback.

[0034] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the one or more messages communicated via the relay node include one or more uplink messages, one or more downlink messages, or both.

[0035] A method for wireless communication at a network entity associated with a terrestrial network is described. The method may include: obtaining a first indication from an NTN of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between a UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network; and communicating one or more messages with the UE via the relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of the request to relay communications.

[0036] An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity associated with a terrestrial network is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: obtain a first indication from an NTN of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between a UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network; and communicate one or more messages with the UE via the relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of the request to relay communications.

[0037] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity associated with a terrestrial network is described. The apparatus may include: means for obtaining, from an NTN, a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between a UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network; and means for communicating one or more messages with the UE via the relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of the request to relay communications.

[0038] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a network entity associated with a terrestrial network is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: obtain a first indication from an NTN of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between a UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network; and communicate one or more messages to the UE via the relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of the request to relay communications.

[0039] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting a second indication of one or more resources for communicating one of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN, the one or more resources comprising a time window having a time offset and a Doppler shift, the request to relay communications being based on the second indication of the one or more resources.

[0040] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting a third indication of a resource for communicating the request to relay communications, the request to relay communications being based on the third indication of the resource. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system supporting wireless communication between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0042] Figure 2 An example of a network architecture supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0043] Figure 3 An example of a wireless communication system supporting wireless communication between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0044] Figure 4A and Figure 4B An example timing diagram is illustrated to support wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0045] Figure 5A and Figure 5B An example timing diagram is illustrated to support wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 6 An example of a process flow for supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0047] Figure 7 and Figure 8 A block diagram of a device supporting wireless communication between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0048] Fig. 9 A block diagram of a communication manager supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN is shown according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0049] Fig.10 A diagram of a system including a device supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN is shown in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0050] Fig.11 and Fig.12A block diagram of a device supporting wireless communication between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0051] Fig.13 A block diagram of a communication manager supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN is shown according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0052] Fig.14 A diagram of a system including a device supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN is shown in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0053] Fig.15 and Fig.16 A block diagram of a device supporting wireless communication between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0054] Fig.17 A block diagram of a communication manager supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN is shown according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0055] Fig.18 A diagram of a system including a device supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN is shown in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0056] Figures 19 to 24 A flow chart illustrating a method of supporting wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] Some wireless devices may communicate via NTN or form part of NTN. As described herein, NTN may be a wireless communication network including one or more network nodes (e.g., wireless devices, UEs, network entities participating in a wireless communication network) that are not located on the ground (e.g., not located on the ground surface). For example, NTN may include nodes such as aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), zeppelins, etc., or any combination thereof. In some cases, a UE (e.g., a ground or ground-based UE) may be in a position where the UE is not within a coverage area (e.g., an area within a range for receiving signals) supported by a ground network (e.g., a wireless communication network with network nodes located on the ground or on the ground surface). For example, a UE may be outside the range of one or more network entities of a ground network and may therefore be unable to send or receive information via wireless communication (e.g., with a ground network). In some cases, such as in an emergency situation (e.g., a hiker is in a dangerous environment, a user is outside without a weather forecast), the lack of information available at the UE may generate increased risk, damage, etc. for the user of the UE.

[0058] The present disclosure provides a technology for supporting wireless communications (e.g., uplink or downlink signals, transmissions, messages) for UEs outside the coverage area of ​​a ground network. For example, a relay node of an NTN may relay one or more messages (e.g., wireless communications, signals, transmissions) between a UE and a network entity of a ground network. A relay node may represent a device (e.g., UAV, aircraft, satellite) that is a network node of an NTN and has the ability to perform wireless communications with a ground network and a UE (e.g., the relay node has the ability to relay messages). As described herein, relaying a message or communication may include obtaining a message or communication from a first wireless device (e.g., UE, network entity) and outputting the message or communication (e.g., as received) to a second wireless device (e.g., network entity, UE). The message or communication may be an uplink message, a downlink message, or a sidelink message.

[0059] In some examples, if the UE is outside the coverage area supported by the ground network, the UE may monitor a synchronization signal block (SSB) or discovery signal from a relay node such as an aircraft or UAV. If an SSB or discovery signal is detected, the UE may request the relay node to relay one or more messages between the UE and the network entity of the ground network. For example, if the UE is outside the coverage area supported by the ground network, the UE may request to communicate with the ground network via a relay node. In one or more examples, after receiving the request, the relay node may indicate to the network entity of the ground network that the UE has made a request to communicate with the ground network via a relay node. The network entity of the ground network may authorize the relay communication via the relay node by sending an indication to the relay node. Once approved, the relay node may allocate resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, and space resources for wireless signaling) used by the UE to send messages to the ground network entity or receive messages (e.g., uplink or downlink messages) from the ground network entity via the relay node.

[0060] Such techniques can improve wireless communication coverage for UEs operating outside the coverage area supported by the ground network. For example, a relay node can relay communications from a ground network entity to a UE or from a UE to a ground network entity to provide wireless communications and services to the UE, which can improve wireless communication efficiency and increase the likelihood of successful transmission and reception of messages (e.g., emergency messages, push services, downlink data messages, uplink data messages) between the UE and the ground network.

[0061] Aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of wireless communication systems and network architectures. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described by and with reference to timing diagrams, process flows, device diagrams, system diagrams, and flow charts related to wireless communications between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN.

[0062] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting wireless communication between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a long term evolution (LTE) network, an advanced LTE (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, a new radio (NR) network, or a network operating according to other systems and radio technologies (including future systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein).

[0063] The network entities 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communication system 100, and may include devices in different forms or with different capabilities. In various examples, the network entities 105 may be referred to as network elements, mobility elements, radio access network (RAN) nodes, or network equipment, among other nomenclature. In some examples, the network entities 105 and the UE 115 may communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., radio frequency (RF) access links). For example, the network entity 105 may support a coverage area 110 (e.g., a geographic coverage area) within which the UE 115 and the network entity 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area within which the network entity 105 and the UE 115 may support signal communications according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs).

[0064] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile, or stationary and mobile at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of supporting communication with various types of devices, such as Figure 1 Communicate with other UEs 115 or network entities 105) as shown.

[0065] As described herein, a node of the wireless communication system 100 (which may be referred to as a network node or a wireless node) may be a network entity 105 (e.g., any network entity described herein), a UE 115 (e.g., any UE described herein), a network controller, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, one or more components, or another suitable processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, the node may be a UE 115. As another example, the node may be a network entity 105. As another example, a first node may be configured to communicate with a second node or a third node. In one aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a UE 115. In another aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a network entity 105. In other aspects of this example, the first node, the second node, and the third node may be different relative to these examples. Similarly, references to UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, etc. may include disclosure of UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, etc. as nodes. For example, a disclosure that UE 115 is configured to receive information from network entity 105 also discloses that the first node is configured to receive information from a second node.

[0066] In some examples, the network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130, or with each other, or both. For example, the network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130 via one or more backhaul communication links 120 (e.g., according to S1, N2, N3, or other interface protocols). In some examples, the network entities 105 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between the network entities 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) via the backhaul communication links 120 (e.g., according to X2, Xn, or other interface protocols). In some examples, the network entities 105 may communicate with each other via midhaul communication links 162 (e.g., according to a midhaul interface protocol) or fronthaul communication links 168 (e.g., according to a fronthaul interface protocol) or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication links 120, midhaul communication links 162, or fronthaul communication links 168 may be or include one or more wired links (e.g., electrical links, optical fiber links), one or more wireless links (e.g., radio links, wireless optical links), etc. or various combinations thereof. UE 115 may communicate with core network 130 via communication link 155 .

[0067] One or more of the network entities 105 described herein may include or may be referred to as a base station 140 (e.g., a transceiver base station, a radio base station, an NR base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation Node B, or a gigabit Node B (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a 5G NB, a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), a home Node B, a home evolved Node B, or other suitable terms). In some examples, the network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may be implemented in an aggregated (e.g., monolithic, stand-alone) base station architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single network entity 105 (e.g., a single RAN node, such as a base station 140).

[0068] In some examples, the network entity 105 may be implemented in a disaggregated architecture (e.g., a disaggregated base station architecture, a disaggregated RAN architecture) that may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more network entities 105, 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 105 may include one or more of the following: a central unit (CU) 160, a distributed unit (DU) 165, a radio unit (RU) 170, a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 175 (e.g., a near real-time RIC (near RT RIC), a non-real-time RIC (non-RT RIC)), a service management and orchestration (SMO) 180 system, or any combination thereof. RU 170 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 the network entity 105 in the decomposed RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entity 105 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations). In some examples, one or more network entities 105 of the decomposed RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., virtual CU (VCU), virtual DU (VDU), virtual RU (VRU)).

[0069] The functional split between CU 160, DU 165, and RU 170 is flexible and may support different functionalities depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, and any combination thereof) are performed at CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between CU 160 and DU 165 such that CU 160 may support one or more layers of a protocol stack and DU 165 may support one or more different layers of a protocol stack. In some examples, CU 160 may host higher protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3), layer 2 (L2)) functionality and signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)). The CU 160 may be connected to one or more DUs 165 or RUs 170, and the one or more DUs 165 or RUs 170 may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU 160. Additionally or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between the DU 165 and the RU 170, such that the DU 165 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack, and the RU 170 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU 165 may support one or more different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs 170). In some cases, the functional split between CU 160 and DU 165 or between DU 165 and RU 170 may be within the protocol layer (e.g., some functions of the protocol layer may be performed by one of CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by different ones of CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170). CU 160 may be further functionally split into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. CU 160 may be connected to one or more DUs 165 via midhaul communication links 162 (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u), and DU 165 may be connected to one or more RUs 170 via fronthaul communication links 168 (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface). In some examples, midhaul communication link 162 or fronthaul communication link 168 may be implemented based on interfaces (eg, channels) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities 105 that communicate via those communication links.

[0070] In some wireless communication systems (e.g., wireless communication system 100), infrastructure and spectrum resources for radio access may support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement wired backhaul connections, thereby providing an IAB network architecture (e.g., to core network 130). In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more network entities 105 (e.g., IAB nodes 104) may be partially controlled by each other. One or more IAB nodes 104 may be referred to as donor entities or IAB donors. One or more DUs 165 or one or more RUs 170 may be controlled in part by one or more CUs 160 associated with a donor network entity 105 (e.g., a donor base station 140). One or more donor network entities 105 (e.g., IAB donors) may communicate with one or more other network entities 105 (e.g., IAB nodes 104) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication links 120). The IAB node 104 may include an IAB mobile terminal (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by a DU 165 of a coupled IAB donor. The IAB-MT may include a collection of independent antennas for relaying communications with the UE 115, or may share the same antenna of the IAB node 104 (e.g., of the RU 170) for access via the DU 165 of the IAB node 104 (e.g., referred to as a virtual IAB-MT (vIAB-MT)). In some examples, the IAB node 104 may include a DU 165 that supports a communication link with another entity (e.g., IAB node 104, UE 115) within a relay chain or configuration (e.g., downstream) of the access network. In such cases, one or more components of the decomposed RAN architecture (e.g., one or more IAB nodes 104 or components of the IAB node 104) may be configured to operate according to the techniques described herein.

[0071] For example, an access network (AN) or RAN may include an access node (e.g., an IAB donor), communications between an IAB node 104, and one or more UEs 115. The IAB donor may facilitate connectivity between the core network 130 and the AN (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130). That is, the IAB donor may refer to a RAN node that has a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130. The IAB donor may include a CU 160 and at least one DU 165 (e.g., and RU 170), in which case the CU 160 may communicate with the core network 130 via an interface (e.g., a backhaul link). The IAB donor and the IAB node 104 may communicate via an F1 interface according to a protocol that defines signaling messages (e.g., an F1 AP protocol). Additionally or alternatively, CU 160 may communicate with the core network via an interface (which may be an example of a portion of a backhaul link) and may communicate with other CUs 160 (e.g., CUs 160 associated with alternative IAB donors) via an Xn-C interface (which may be an example of a portion of a backhaul link).

[0072] An IAB node 104 may refer to a RAN node that provides IAB functionality (e.g., access for UE 115, wireless self-backhaul capabilities, etc.). DU 165 may act as a distributed scheduling node toward child nodes associated with IAB node 104, and IAB-MT may act as a scheduled node toward a parent node associated with IAB node 104. That is, an IAB donor may be referred to as a parent node that communicates with one or more child nodes (e.g., an IAB donor may relay for UE transmissions through one or more other IAB nodes 104). Additionally or alternatively, depending on the relay chain or configuration of the AN, an IAB node 104 may also be referred to as a parent node or child node of other IAB nodes 104. Thus, the IAB-MT entity of the IAB node 104 may provide a Uu interface for the child IAB node 104 to receive signaling from the parent IAB node 104, and a DU interface (eg, DU 165) may provide a Uu interface for the parent IAB node 104 to signal the child IAB node 104 or the UE 115.

[0073] For example, the IAB node 104 may be referred to as a parent node supporting communications for a child IAB node or as a child node associated with an IAB donor, or both. The IAB donor may include a CU 160 having a wired or wireless connection (e.g., backhaul communication link 120) to the core network 130, and may act as a parent node of the IAB node 104. For example, the DU 165 of the IAB donor may relay the transmission to the UE 115 through the IAB node 104, or may directly signal the transmission to the UE 115, or both. The CU 160 of the IAB donor may signal the IAB node 104 via the F1 interface that the communication link is established, and the IAB node 104 may schedule the transmission (e.g., the transmission relayed from the IAB donor to the UE 115) through the DU 165. That is, data may be relayed to and from the IAB node 104 via signaling via the NR Uu interface of the MT to the IAB node 104. Communications with the IAB node 104 may be scheduled by the DU 165 of the IAB donor, and communications with the IAB node 104 may be scheduled by the DU 165 of the IAB node 104 .

[0074] Where the techniques described herein are applied in the context of a decomposed RAN architecture, one or more components of the decomposed RAN architecture may be configured to support wireless communications between the relay ground network and the NTN as described herein. For example, some operations described as being performed by the UE 115 or the network entity 105 (e.g., the base station 140) may additionally or alternatively be performed by one or more components of the decomposed RAN architecture (e.g., the IAB node 104, the DU 165, the CU 160, the RU 170, the RIC 175, the SMO 180).

[0075] UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable term, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, etc. UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communication (MTC) device, etc., which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances or vehicles, meters, etc.

[0076] The UE 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, which may sometimes act as relays, as well as network entities 105 and network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, etc. Figure 1shown.

[0077] The UE 115 and the network entity 105 may use resources associated with one or more carriers to wirelessly communicate with each other via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., access links). The term "carrier" may refer to a collection of RF spectrum resources having a physical layer structure defined to support the communication link 125. For example, a carrier for the communication link 125 may include a portion of an RF spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth portion (BWP)) that operates according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling for coordinating carrier operations, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communication system 100 may support communications with the UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, the UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation may be used for both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers. Communication between the network entity 105 and other devices may refer to communication between a device and any portion (e.g., entity, sub-entity) of the network entity 105. For example, the terms "send," "receive," or "communicate" when referring to the network entity 105 may refer to any portion of a network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, CU 160, DU 165, RU 170) of a RAN communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities 105).

[0078] The signal waveform transmitted via the carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may refer to a resource of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and the subcarrier spacing may be inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both), so that a relatively high number of resource elements (e.g., in a transmission duration) and a relatively high order modulation scheme may correspond to a relatively high communication rate. Wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of RF spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers, beams), and the use of multiple spatial resources may increase the data rate or data integrity used for communication with UE 115.

[0079] The time interval for the network entity 105 or the UE 115 may be expressed as a multiple of a basic time unit, which may be, for example, a sampling period Ts =1 / (Δf max ·N f ) seconds, for which Δf max It can represent the supported subcarrier spacing, and N f The supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size may be indicated. The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each radio frame having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0080] Each frame may include a plurality of consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided into subframes (e.g., in the time domain), and each subframe may be further divided into a certain number of time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include a certain number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix appended in front of each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, the time slot may be further divided into a plurality of micro time slots associated with one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may be associated with one or more (e.g., N f The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band.

[0081] A subframe, a time slot, a mini-time slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of a shortened TTI (sTTI)).

[0082] Physical channels may be multiplexed according to various techniques in order to communicate using a carrier. For example, physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed using one or more of a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, or a hybrid TDM-FDM technique to signal via a downlink carrier. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) of a physical control channel may be defined by a set of symbol periods and may extend across a system bandwidth of a carrier or a subset of that system bandwidth. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of UEs 115. For example, one or more UEs in UE115 may monitor or search a control region to obtain control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or more control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level of a control channel candidate may refer to the amount of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with coded information for a control information format having a given payload size. The search space sets may include a common search space set configured for transmitting control information to a plurality of UEs 115 , and a UE-specific search space set for transmitting control information to a specific UE 115 .

[0083] The network entity 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells (e.g., macro cells, small cells, hot spots, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof). The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with the network entity 105 (e.g., using a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID), or other identifier) ​​used to distinguish adjacent cells. In some examples, a cell may also refer to a coverage area 110 or a portion of a coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) on which the logical communication entity operates. Depending on various factors such as the capabilities of the network entity 105, such cells may range from smaller areas (e.g., structures, subsets of structures) to larger areas. For example, a cell may be or may include a building, a subset of a building, or an external space between or overlapping coverage areas 110, etc.

[0084] A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access to a UE 115 through a service subscription with a network provider that supports the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a lower power network entity 105 (e.g., a lower power base station 140) (compared to a macro cell), and the small cell may operate using the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency band as the macro cell. A small cell may provide unrestricted access to a UE 115 that has a service subscription with a network provider, or may provide restricted access to a UE 115 associated with a small cell (e.g., a UE 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), a UE 115 associated with a user in a home or office). A network entity 105 may support one or more cells, and may also use one or more component carriers to support communications via one or more cells.

[0085] In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)) that may provide access to different types of devices.

[0086] In some examples, the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140, RUs 170) may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for mobile coverage areas 110. In some examples, different coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same network entity 105. In some other examples, overlapping coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different network entities 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of network entities 105 provide coverage for various coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

[0087] The wireless communication system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). The UE 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communication may include private communication or group communication, and may be supported by one or more services (such as push-to-talk, video or data). Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions may include prioritization of services, and such services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency and ultra-reliable low-latency are used interchangeably herein.

[0088] In some examples, the UE 115 may be configured to support communication directly with other UEs 115 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., according to a peer-to-peer (P2P), D2D, or sidelink protocol). In some examples, one or more UEs 115 in a group that are performing D2D communication may be within a coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, a RU 170), which may support aspects of such D2D communication configured (e.g., scheduled) by the network entity 105. In some examples, one or more UEs 115 in such a group may be outside of the coverage area 110 of the network entity 105, or may otherwise be unable or not configured to receive transmissions from the network entity 105. In some examples, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may support a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to each of the other UEs 115 in the group. In some examples, network entity 105 may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In some other examples, D2D communications may be performed between UEs 115 without involving network entity 105.

[0089] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 can be an example of a communication channel (such as a sidelink communication channel) between vehicles (e.g., UE 115). In some examples, the vehicles can communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or some combination of these items. The vehicles can signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergency situations, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in the V2X system can communicate with roadside infrastructure (such as roadside units), or communicate with the network using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication via one or more network nodes (e.g., network entity 105, base station 140, RU 170), or both.

[0090] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity for managing access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and at least one user plane entity for routing packets or interconnecting to an external network (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW)), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) or a user plane function (UPF)). The control plane entity may manage non-access layer (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management of UE 115 served by a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be delivered through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to the IP service 150 of one or more network operators. IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or packet-switched streaming services.

[0091] The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands that may be in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). The region of 300 MHz to 3 GHz may be referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths are in the range of from about 1 decimeter to 1 meter long. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features (which may be referred to as clusters), but these waves may be sufficient to penetrate structures so that macro cells provide services to UEs 115 located indoors. Communications using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) than communications using the lower frequencies and longer wavelengths of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0092] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0093] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25GHz). The frequency bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and therefore the features of FR1 and / or FR2 can be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations to more than 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6GHz-71 GHz), FR4 (52.6GHz-114.25GHz) and FR5 (114.25GHz-300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0094] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, the term "below 6 GHz" and the like can be broadly referred to as frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can be broadly referred to as frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF band.

[0095] The wireless communication system 100 may utilize licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ licensed assisted access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology using unlicensed bands (such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band). When operating using unlicensed RF spectrum bands, devices such as network entities 105 and UE 115 may employ carrier sensing for conflict detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations using unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration combined with component carriers operating using licensed bands (e.g., LAA). Operations performed using unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among others.

[0096] The network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170) or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which can be used to employ technologies such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. The antennas of the network entity 105 or UE 115 may be located in one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with the network entity 105 may be located at different geographical locations. The network entity 105 may include an antenna array having a collection of multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that the network entity 105 can use to support beamforming for communication with the UE 115. Similarly, the UE 115 may include one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panel may support RF beamforming for signals sent via the antenna ports.

[0097] Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that may be used at a sender device or a receiver device (e.g., network entity 105, UE 115) to shape or direct an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the sender device and the receiver device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals conveyed via antenna elements of an antenna array so that some signals propagating in a particular direction relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals conveyed via antenna elements may include the sender device or the receiver device applying an amplitude offset, a phase offset, or both to signals carried via antenna elements associated with the device. Adjustments associated with each of these antenna elements may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular direction (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the sender device or the receiver device or relative to some other direction).

[0098] As described herein, a node, which may be referred to as a node, a network node, a network entity 105 (e.g., any network entity 105 described herein), or a wireless node, may be a base station 140, a UE 115 (e.g., any UE 115 described herein), a network controller, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, one or more components, and / or another suitable processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, the network node may be a UE 115. As another example, the network node may be a network entity 105. As another example, a first network node may be configured to communicate with a second network node or a third network node. In one aspect of this example, the first network node may be a UE 115, the second network node may be a network entity 105, and the third network node may be a UE 115. In another aspect of this example, the first network node may be a UE 115, the second network node may be a network entity 105, and the third network node may be a network entity 105. In yet other aspects of this example, the first network node, the second network node, and the third network node may be different with respect to these examples. Similarly, references to UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, etc. may include disclosure of UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, etc. as network nodes.

[0099] For example, the disclosure that the UE 115 is configured to receive information from the network entity 105 also discloses that the first network node is configured to receive information from the second network node. Consistent with the present disclosure, once a specific example is expanded according to the present disclosure (e.g., the UE 115 is configured to receive information from the network entity 105 also discloses that the first network node is configured to receive information from the second network node), the broader example of the narrower example can be interpreted in reverse, but in a broad, open-ended manner. In the above example that the UE 115 is configured to receive information from the network entity 105 also discloses that the first network node is configured to receive information from the second network node, the first network node may refer to the first UE 115 configured to receive information, the first network entity 105, the first device, the first equipment, the first computing system, the first one or more components, or the first processing entity, etc.; and the second network node may refer to the second UE 115, the second network entity 105, the second device, the second equipment, the second computing system, the second one or more components, the second processing entity, etc.

[0100] As described herein, different terms may be used in various aspects to describe the communication of information (e.g., any information, signal, etc.). Disclosure of one communication term includes disclosure of other communication terms. For example, a first network node may be described as being configured to send information to a second network node. In this example and consistent with the present disclosure, disclosure that the first network node is configured to send information to the second network node includes disclosure that the first network node is configured to provide, transmit, output, communicate, or send information to the second network node. Similarly, in this example and consistent with the present disclosure, disclosure that the first network node is configured to send information to the second network node includes disclosure that the second network node is configured to receive, obtain, or decode information provided, transmitted, output, communicated, or sent by the first network node.

[0101] The wireless communication system 100 may support NTN communications between network nodes of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may be an example of an NTN that supports communications between NTN nodes and terrestrial network nodes. As described herein, the network entity 105 may refer to a terrestrial communication device (such as a base station 140) or a non-terrestrial communication device (such as a UAV, a satellite 185, a balloon, a drone, a high altitude platform (HAP) station, or another non-terrestrial device). The NTN network entity 105 may be connected to (e.g., communicate with) the terrestrial network entity 105 via a gateway 190.

[0102] UE 115 may send a request to a relay node 180 of the NTN, thereby instructing the relay node 180 to relay one or more messages between UE 115 and the network entity 105 of the ground network. Relay node 180 may output an indication of the request to the network entity 105, thereby indicating that UE 115 has requested relay communication. Relay node 180 may output an indication of one or more resources to be used for relay communication with the ground network for UE 115. UE 115 may use the one or more resources to communicate one or more messages with the ground network entity 105 via relay node 180.

[0103] According to examples as disclosed herein, UE 115 may include communication manager 101, network entity 105 may include communication manager 102, and relay node 180 may include communication manager 103. Communication manager 101 may be as described in reference Figures 7 to 10 Examples of various aspects of the communication manager described herein. The communication manager 103 may be as described in reference Figures 11 to 14 Examples of various aspects of the communication manager described herein. The communication manager 102 may be as described in reference Figures 15 to 18 Examples of aspects of the communications manager are described.

[0104] The communication manager 101 may output or send a request to relay communications between the UE 115 and the network entity 105 associated with the ground network, and the communication manager 103 may receive or obtain the request. Based on the request to relay communications, the communication manager 103 may output or send a first indication of the request to relay communications between the UE 115 and the network entity 105 associated with the ground network, and the communication manager 102 may receive or obtain the first indication. Based on the request to relay communications, the communication manager 103 may output or send a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE 115 and the network entity 105 associated with the ground network, and the communication manager 101 may receive or obtain the second indication. The communication manager 102 and the communication manager 101 may communicate one or more messages via the communication manager 103 (e.g., relaying communications) using the resources. Based on the information provided via the one or more messages, the communication manager 101 and the communication manager 102 may exchange further signaling so that the UE 115 can effectively communicate with the network entity 105 or other communication device in the wireless communication system 100 as described herein.

[0105] Figure 2 An example of a network architecture 200 (e.g., a decomposed base station architecture, a decomposed RAN architecture) supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The network architecture 200 may illustrate an example for implementing one or more aspects of the wireless communication system 100. The network architecture 200 may include one or more CUs 160-a, which may communicate directly with a core network 130-a via a backhaul communication link 120-a, or indirectly communicate with the core network 130-a through one or more decomposed network entities 105 (e.g., a near RT RIC 175-b via an E2 link or a non-RT RIC 175-a associated with an SMO 180-a (e.g., an SMO framework), or both. The CU 160-a may communicate with one or more DUs 165-a via corresponding midhaul communication links 162-a (e.g., an F1 interface). The DU 165-a may communicate with one or more RUs 170-a via corresponding fronthaul communication links 168-a. The RU 170-a may be associated with a respective coverage area 110-a and may communicate with the UE 115-a via one or more communication links 125-a. In some implementations, the UE 115-a may be served by multiple RUs 170-a simultaneously.

[0106] Each of the network entities 105 of the network architecture 200 (e.g., CU 160-a, DU 165-a, RU 170-a, non-RT RIC 175-a, near-RT RIC 175-b, SMO 180-a, open cloud (O-Cloud) 205, open eNB (O-eNB) 210) may include one or more interfaces or may be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals (e.g., data, information) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each network entity 105 or an associated processor (e.g., a controller) that provides instructions to an interface of the network entity 105 may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other network entities 105 via a transmission medium. For example, these network entities 105 may include a wired interface that is configured to receive signals on a wired transmission medium or to send signals to one or more of the other network entities 105 on a wired transmission medium. Additionally or alternatively, the network entity 105 may include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (e.g., an RF transceiver) configured to receive signals on a wireless transmission medium, or to send signals to one or more of the other network entities 105 on a wireless transmission medium, or both.

[0107] In some examples, CU 160-a may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include RRC, PDCP, SDAP, etc. Each control function may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals using other control functions hosted by CU 160-a. CU 160-a may be configured to process user plane functions (e.g., CU-UP), control plane functions (e.g., CU-CP), or a combination thereof. In some examples, CU 160-a may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). CU 160-a may be implemented to communicate with DU 165-a for network control and signaling.

[0108] DU 165-a may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more functions (e.g., base station functions, RAN functions) for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 170-a. In some examples, DU 165-a may at least partially host one or more of the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and one or more aspects of the PHY layer (e.g., a high PHY layer, such as modules for FEC encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.), which depends at least in part on functional divisions, such as those defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some examples, DU 165-a may also host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers hosted by DU 165-a or with control functions hosted by CU160-a.

[0109] In some examples, lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs 170-a. For example, a RU 170-a controlled by a DU 165-a may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (e.g., performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.) or both based at least in part on functional splitting (such as lower layer functional splitting). In this architecture, RU 170-a may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 115-a. In some specific implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with RU 170-a may be controlled by the corresponding DU 165-a. In some examples, this configuration may enable DU 165-a and CU 160-a to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0110] The SMO 180-a may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network entities 105. For non-virtualized network entities 105, the SMO 180-a may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (e.g., an O1 interface). For virtualized network entities 105, the SMO 180-a may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (e.g., O-Cloud 205) via a cloud computing platform interface (e.g., an O2 interface) to perform network entity lifecycle management (e.g., to instantiate virtualized network entities 105). Such virtualized network entities 105 may include, but are not limited to, CU 160-a, DU 165-a, RU 170-a, and near-RT RIC 175-b. In some specific implementations, the SMO 180-a may communicate with components configured according to a 4G RAN (e.g., via an O1 interface). Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, the SMO 180-a may communicate directly with one or more RUs 170-a via an O1 interface. The SMO 180-a may also include a non-RT RIC 175-a configured to support the functionality of the SMO 180-a.

[0111] The non-RT RIC 175-a may be configured to include logic functions that implement non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) workflows (including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 175-b). The non-RT RIC 175-a may be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 175-b (e.g., via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 175-b may be configured to include logic functions that implement near real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions on an interface connecting one or more CUs 160-a, one or more DUs 165-a, or both, and the O-eNB 210 to the near-RT RIC 175-b (e.g., via an E2 interface).

[0112] In some examples, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 175-b, the non-RT RIC 175-a may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 175-b and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO 180-a or the non-RT RIC 175. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 175-a or the near-RT RIC 175-b may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 175-a may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ an AI model or ML model to perform corrective actions through the SMO 180-a (e.g., via reconfiguration of O1) or via the generation of a RAN management policy (such as an A1 policy).

[0113] Figure 3 An example of a wireless communication system 300 that supports wireless communication between a relay terrestrial network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 300 may implement or be implemented by one or more aspects of the wireless communication system 100 or the network architecture 200. For example, the wireless communication system 300 may include a UE 115-a and network entities 105-a and 105-b, which may be reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 Depicted are examples of UE 115 and network entity 105. Wireless communication system 300 may also include relay node 305, which may be an example of an NTN node (eg, a network entity of an NTN).

[0114] The NTN may include one or more network nodes that are not located on the ground (e.g., not located on the ground surface). For example, the NTN may include nodes such as one or more UAVs, one or more HAPs, one or more satellites (e.g., low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellites), or any combination thereof. In some cases, the NTN may support, implement, or be implemented by eMBB services, IoT services (e.g., narrowband IoT, MTC), or a combination thereof. In some cases, the NTN may support synchronization, scheduling, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, mobility, etc. In some cases, the NTN may be or include a three-dimensional network (e.g., a heterogeneous network of different types of devices), in which the ground infrastructure (e.g., the network entity 105 and related devices or components) may be implemented or supplemented by the nodes of the NTN.

[0115] In some cases, UE 115-a may be in a location where UE 115-a is not within coverage area 110-a of ground network entity 105-a. For example, UE 115-a may be out of range of one or more network entities 105-a and 105-b of the ground network and may therefore be unable to send or receive information via wireless communications. In some cases, such as in emergency situations (e.g., hikers in dangerous environments, users outside without weather forecasts), the lack of information available at UE 115-a may create increased risk, damage, or other problems.

[0116] The present disclosure provides a technology for supporting wireless communication for UE 115-a outside the coverage area 110-a supported by the ground network entity 105-a. For example, the relay node 305 of the NTN can relay one or more messages between the UE 115-a and the network entity 105-a of the ground network. The NTN can support air-to-ground (ATG) networks (e.g., communication between ground nodes and non-ground nodes), such as for relaying (e.g., UAV relay, aircraft relay) in areas without cellular coverage. The ATG network can coexist with the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) network and can support increased communication capacity (e.g., based on the capacity of the relay node 305 to support increased terminal capacity). The ATG network can also support a relatively larger site-to-site distance between the nodes of the associated ground network or NTN (or both), for example, based on relay communication between the nodes of different networks.

[0117] Using or based on the ATG network, the UE 115-a may communicate with a network entity 105-a (e.g., a node of a ground network) via a relay node 305 of the NTN. For example, the UE 115-a may transmit one or more SOS messages in an area without cellular coverage, may convey data (e.g., uplink or downlink data, weather data, emergency data) in an area without cellular coverage, or may have coverage in a wider range of locations supported by the ATG network (e.g., universal coverage in almost any location).

[0118] For example, in some cases (e.g., based on the location of UE 115-a), if UE 115-a determines to request data communication 340 (e.g., uplink or downlink data) with a terrestrial network, UE 115-a may fail to detect SSB 310 from network entity 105, such as SSB 310-a from network entity 105-b. In such cases, UE 115-a may monitor SSB 310 from relay node 305 (e.g., SSB 310-b if relay node 305 is acting as network entity 105) or discovery signal 355 (e.g., if relay node 305 is acting as UE 115, such as relay UE 115).

[0119] One or more resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, space resources) for monitoring SSB 310-b or discovery signals 355 may be based on (e.g., dependent on) absolute time, such as time associated with a global satellite system (e.g., a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)). In some cases, one or more resources for monitoring SSB 310-b or discovery signals 355 may be configured by a network entity 105 (e.g., network entity 105-b) that was last connected to UE 115-a (e.g., the last RRC_connected network entity 105). For example, network entity 105-b may send an indication 315 of one or more resources for monitoring SSB 310-b or discovery signals 355 when connected to UE 115-a. In some cases, one or more resources for monitoring SSB 310-b or discovery signals 355 may be defined by a wireless communication standard and may be stored or otherwise configured at UE 115-a.

[0120] The resources used to monitor the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 may be different from other resources or monitoring opportunities used for other SSBs 310 (e.g., for ground networks) so that the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 may not be confused with other SSBs 310, which indicates to the UE 115-a that the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 is associated with the relay node 305, and as such, the UE 115-a may transmit a request to the relay node 305 to relay communications between the UE 115-a and the ground network entity. In some cases, the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 may indicate that the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 is associated with the relay node 305 of the NTN. For example, the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 may indicate this via the resources used to convey the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 or via an indication included in the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355.

[0121] UE 115-a may monitor SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 using a time window, such as a monitoring window. The monitoring window may include or be based on a timing offset (e.g., in the time domain) and a Doppler frequency offset (e.g., in the frequency domain) to account for propagation delays caused by the distance between UE 115-a and relay node 305 and to account for the speed at which relay node 305 may be traveling. In some examples, the monitoring window may be based on the capabilities of UE 115-a. In some cases (e.g., if UE 115-a supports greater transmit power), a larger timing offset may be used for the monitoring window.

[0122] In some cases, the relay node 305 may indicate (e.g., via the SSB 310-b or via one or more indications 320) whether the UE 115-a will apply TA when sending a request 325 to relay communications 340 between the UE 115-a and a network entity 105 associated with a ground network (e.g., the network entity 105-a). For example, the relay node 305 may indicate whether TA is enabled or disabled. If TA is enabled, the UE 115-a may be instructed to apply TA compensation (e.g., to account for propagation delays between the UE 115-a and the relay node 305) to send the request 325, and the relay node 305 may monitor the request 325 in the configured resources. In some cases, the SSB 310-b or the indication 320 may further indicate to the UE 115-a information related to the speed and direction of travel 355 associated with the relay node 305 (e.g., for gradual timing adjustments). Further examples related to applying TA to the request 325 are described herein with reference to FIG. 4. If TA is disabled, UE 115-a may be instructed not to apply TA compensation to send request 325. In such cases, UE 115-a may use a preamble and a data pattern (e.g., a structure) for sending request 325, and the relay node may monitor the preamble within a monitoring window, where the preamble may be followed by or otherwise associated with request 325 (e.g., the data pattern following the preamble may include or be associated with request 325). Further examples related to sending request 325 without TA are described herein with reference to FIG. 5.

[0123] Based on monitoring the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 (e.g., from the relay node 305 of the NTN), the UE 115-b may receive (e.g., detect) the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355. Based on detecting the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355, the UE 115-a may send a request 325 to relay communications 340 between the UE 115-a and a network entity 105 associated with a terrestrial network (e.g., the network entity 105-a) (e.g., for the relay node 305 to relay the communications). In some cases, the UE 115-a may send the request 325 based on one or more indications received via the SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355 that may indicate that the relay node 305 may support such relaying.

[0124] The resources used by UE 115-a to send request 325 may be indicated via SSB 310-b or discovery signal 355, may be indicated via another indication (e.g., indication 320), or may be defined in a wireless communication standard and may be stored or configured at UE 115-a. In some cases, the resources used by UE 115-a to send request 325 may be indicated or configured by a previously connected network entity 105 (e.g., network entity 105-b).

[0125] Based on receiving the request 325 from the UE 115-a, the relay node 305 may send an indication 330 of one or more resources (e.g., unicast resources) to be used for relaying communications 340 between the UE 115-a and the ground network (e.g., the network entity 105-a) to the UE 115-a. In some cases, the relay node 305 may also send feedback 335 associated with the receipt of the request 325 to the UE 115-a, wherein the feedback 335 may be sent together with the indication 330 or in a different transmission. Based on the indication 330 of the resources for relaying the communication 340, the UE 115-a may monitor the resources for downlink transmissions, or may send uplink transmissions via the resources. The requested communication 340 between the UE 115-a and the ground network may include push-like services, emergency message notifications, downlink data, or a combination thereof, etc.

[0126] In some cases, if UE 115-a detects SSB 310 from a terrestrial network (e.g., SSB 310-a), UE 115-a may refrain from relaying communications via relay node 305 (e.g., via NTN) and may attempt to establish a connection with the terrestrial network (e.g., or restore a connection with the terrestrial network). For example, UE 115-a may stop sending or receiving communications via the relay node and, in some cases, may send to or receive from a network entity 105-a associated with the terrestrial network.

[0127] A ground network entity 105, such as the network entity 105-a, may indicate that the relay node 305 is to transmit the SSB 310 or the discovery signal 355, or may indicate that the relay node 305 is not to transmit the SSB 310 or the discovery signal 355. For example, the network entity 105-a may send one or more indications 345 to the relay node 305, wherein the one or more indications may indicate whether the relay node 305 is to transmit or not transmit the SSB 310 or the discovery signal 355. In one example, the network entity 105-a may indicate whether the relay node 305 is to transmit or not transmit the SSB 310 or the discovery signal 355 based on a positioning of the relay node 305 (e.g., a GNSS positioning).

[0128] In some cases, the resources used to send the SSB 310 or the discovery signal 355, or both, may be based on absolute time (e.g., related to GNSS). The resources used to send the SSB 310 or the discovery signal 355, or both, may be configured by the network entity 105-a (e.g., via the indication 345) or may be defined by a wireless communication standard.

[0129] Based on sending the SSB 310 or the discovery signal 355, the relay node 305 may receive a request 325 from the UE 115-a and may relay (e.g., forward) the request 325 (e.g., an indication 350 of the request 325) to the network entity 105-a (e.g., via an ATG link). Based on the request 325 and the indication 350 of the request 325, the relay node 305 may receive data (e.g., communications) from the network entity 105-a or the UE 115-a for forwarding to the UE 115-a or the network entity 105-a, respectively. For example, the relay node 305 may receive some data (e.g., communications 340) to be sent to the UE 115-a from the network entity 105-a, and the relay node 305 may send the data (e.g., communications 340) to the UE 115-a via the resources indicated to the UE 115-a (e.g., unicast resources). Based on the techniques described herein, if UE 115 - a is located outside of the coverage area of ​​the terrestrial network, UE 115 - a may communicate with the terrestrial network via the NTN.

[0130] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Example timing diagrams 400-a and 400-b are illustrated to support wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The timing diagrams 400-a and 400-b may implement or be implemented by one or more aspects of the wireless communication system 300. For example, the timing diagrams 400-a and 400-b may be implemented by a UE 115 and a relay node, which may be as described with reference to at least Figure 3 Examples of corresponding devices described.

[0131] exist Figure 4A 4, the timing diagram 400-a may, for example, support receiving an SSB 405 or a discovery signal 405 from a relay node of an NTN at a UE 115. For example, the UE 115 may monitor the SSB 405 or the discovery signal 405 within a monitoring window 410 (e.g., a monitoring resource in time and frequency), wherein the monitoring window may be based on or may include a Doppler shift 415 and a propagation delay offset 420 (e.g., a maximum propagation delay in time). The relay node may send (e.g., broadcast) the SSB 405 or the discovery signal 405 at a time 425 (e.g., T1) relative to the GNSS. At a time 430 (e.g., relative to the GNSS), the UE 115 may receive the SSB 405 or the discovery signal 405. For example, the timing of 430 relative to the GNSS (e.g., T2) may be obtained by measurements of the UE 115. There may be a time difference 435 between the transmission of the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 at 425 (eg, by a relay node) and the reception of the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 at 430 (eg, by a UE 115).

[0132] In some cases, a frequency difference may occur between the transmission of the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 at time 425 (e.g., by a relay node) and the reception of the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 at time 430 (e.g., by a UE). For example, a Doppler shift may occur (e.g., based on the movement of the relay node, such as an aircraft or UAV movement), which shifts the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 in the frequency domain to be received using the resource 460. The resource 460 may be shifted in the frequency domain relative to the frequency used to transmit the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405. In some examples, the resource 460 may be shifted in the frequency domain to be higher or lower in frequency relative to the frequency used to transmit the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405. The Doppler shift 415 of the monitoring window 410 may be configured so that the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 shifted in the frequency domain falls within the monitoring window 410.

[0133] The resources (e.g., broadcast resources) used to send the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 may be configured by the network entity 105 of the ground network (such as the last RRC_connected network entity) for the UE 115 (e.g., with respect to GNSS). Additionally or alternatively, the resources used to send the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 may be defined by a wireless communication standard. In this way, the UE 115 may know the time 425 when the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405 is sent.

[0134] After detecting the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405, the relay node may instruct (e.g., in the SSB 405 or discovery signal 405, in another signal) or command the UE 115 to apply TA compensation when sending a request to relay communications. Figure 4B As shown in timing diagram 400-b of , UE 115 may use TA 455 to send a request via resource 445. If UE 115 is instructed to use TA 455, UE 115 may determine (e.g., initially determine) a value (e.g., a time value) of TA 455 as a timing difference (which may be represented as T2-T1) between expected arrival time 430 and transmission time 425 of the SSB / discovery signal. In this way, UE 115 may send a request to the relay node at time 440 so that the request may be received at the relay node at time 450 (e.g., aligned with one or more other signals), wherein time 450 may be aligned with the beginning of resource 445 (e.g., configured or defined resource 445) used to send the request.

[0135] In some cases, the UE 115 may adjust the TA 455 by an additional time (e.g., T3), where T3 may be a gradual timing adjustment that may be obtained based on direction and speed information associated with the relay node (e.g., aircraft speed and direction). For example, the TA 455 may be determined to be equal to T2-T1+T3. The direction and speed information may be sent by the relay node to the UE 115, such as via an SSB 405 or a discovery signal 405, or via another signal (e.g., sent after the SSB 405 or the discovery signal 405). The UE 115 may, for example, use the direction and speed information to determine T3 and may use T3 to adjust the TA 455.

[0136] Figure 5A and Figure 5B Example timing diagrams 500-a and 500-b are illustrated to support wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The timing diagrams 500-a and 500-b may implement or be implemented by one or more aspects of the wireless communication system 300. For example, the timing diagrams 500-a and 500-b may be implemented by a UE 115 and a relay node, which may be as described with reference to at least Figure 3 Examples of corresponding devices described.

[0137] exist Figure 5A500 may, for example, support receiving an SSB 505 or a discovery signal 505 at a UE 115 from a relay node of an NTN. For example, the UE 115 may monitor the SSB 505 or the discovery signal 505 within a time window, which may be a monitoring window 510 (e.g., a monitoring resource in time and frequency). The monitoring window may be based on or may include a Doppler shift 515 and a propagation delay shift 520 (e.g., a maximum propagation delay in time). The relay node may send (e.g., broadcast) the SSB 505 or the discovery signal 505 at a time 525 (e.g., T1) relative to the GNSS, and the UE 115 may receive the SSB 505 or the discovery signal 505 at a time 527.

[0138] The resources (e.g., broadcast resources) used to send the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505 may be configured by the network entity 105 of the ground network (such as the last RRC_connected network entity) for the UE 115 (e.g., with respect to GNSS). Additionally or alternatively, the resources used to send the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505 may be defined by a wireless communication standard. In this way, the UE 115 may know the time 525 when the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505 is sent and may monitor the monitoring window 510 based on the time 525.

[0139] In some cases, a frequency difference may occur between the transmission of the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505 at 525 (e.g., by a relay node) and the reception of the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505 (e.g., by a UE 115). For example, a Doppler shift may occur (e.g., based on the movement of the relay node, such as an aircraft or UAV movement), which shifts the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505 in the frequency domain to be received using the resource 555. The resource 555 may be shifted in the frequency domain relative to the frequency used to transmit the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505. In some examples, the resource 555 may be shifted in the frequency domain to be higher or lower in frequency relative to the frequency used to transmit the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505. The Doppler shift 515 of the monitoring window 510 may be configured so that the SSB 505 or discovery signal 505 at 555 (e.g., or another frequency position) falls within the monitoring window 510.

[0140] After detecting an SSB or discovery signal, the relay node may instruct UE 115 to send a request for relay communication without a TA. Figure 5BIn timing diagram 500-b of FIG. 1 , the relay node may indicate (e.g., via SSB 505 or discovery signal 505, via another signal) that UE 115 will not apply TA compensation to send the request. In such a case, UE 115 may send the request using resources 530 (e.g., configured resources 530, defined resources 530), which may have a start time 540 (e.g., a time dimension) defined relative to an absolute time (e.g., related to GNSS). UE 115 may send the request at time 540, for example, using a preamble and data message (e.g., a preamble and data pattern), where the preamble may precede the data (e.g., and may indicate the sending of the data) and the data may include the request.

[0141] The relay node may monitor for transmission of the request within a monitoring window 535 (e.g., monitoring resources in time and frequency), where the monitoring window 535 may be based on or may include a Doppler shift 545 and a propagation delay offset 550 (e.g., a maximum propagation delay in time). The UE 115 may send (e.g., broadcast) the request at a time 540 relative to the GNSS and the relay node may receive the request at a time 542. As described in reference Figure 3 As described, the resources 530 used to send the request may be configured by the relay node for the UE 115 (eg, with respect to GNSS) or may be defined by a wireless communication standard. Thus, the relay node may know the time 540 when the request is sent and may monitor the monitoring window 535 based on the time 540.

[0142] In some cases, there may be a frequency difference between the sending of request 530 at 540 (e.g., by UE 115) and the receiving of request 530 (e.g., by a relay node). For example, a Doppler shift may occur (e.g., based on the movement of the relay node, such as an aircraft or UAV movement) that shifts request 530 in the frequency domain to be received using resource 560. Resource 560 may be shifted in the frequency domain relative to the frequency used to send request 530. In some examples, resource 560 may be shifted in the frequency domain to be higher or lower in frequency relative to the frequency used to send request 530. The Doppler shift 545 of monitoring window 535 may be configured so that request 530 at 560 (e.g., or another frequency location) falls within monitoring window 535.

[0143] In some cases, UE 115 and relay nodes may be in a TA-enabled scheme (e.g., as in Figure 4A and Figure 4B ) and TA disabled (e.g., as in Figure 5A and Figure 5B535). For example, based on one or more conditions (e.g., identified by the relay node, by the UE 115, or by both), the UE 115 and the relay node may switch between a TA-enabled scheme and a TA-disabled scheme (e.g., as indicated by the relay node to the UE 115). In some cases, the TA-disabled scheme may be more reliable, but the TA-disabled scheme may also be associated with increased overhead (e.g., based on the preamble, based on the resources using the monitoring window 535).

[0144] In one example, the UE 115, the relay node, or both may identify that the number of missed transmissions (e.g., NACKs) has met a threshold number in a TA-enabled scheme, which may indicate that the TA offset error may be relatively large. In such a case, the UE 115 and the relay node may switch from a TA-enabled scheme to a TA-disabled scheme. In another example, if a threshold number of times has passed without receiving a request from the UE 115, the relay node may switch from a TA-enabled scheme to a TA-disabled scheme. Additionally or alternatively, if the UE 115 sends a request and does not receive a response from the relay node within a threshold number of times, the UE 115 may switch from a TA-enabled scheme to a TA-disabled scheme.

[0145] Figure 6 An example of a process flow 600 for supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the process flow 600 may implement or be implemented by one or more aspects of the wireless communication system 100 or 300, one or more aspects of the network architecture 200, or one or more aspects of the timing diagram 400 or 500. For example, the process flow 600 may be implemented by a UE 115-b, a network entity 105, and a relay node 605, which may be as described in reference to Figure 1 -5 described examples of UE 115, network entity 105 and relay node. Figure 3 As described in FIG. 5 , the network entity 105 - c may be associated with a terrestrial network and the relay node 605 may be associated with the NTN. In some cases, the UE 115 - b may request relaying from the terrestrial network via the NTN (eg, if the UE 115 - b is outside the coverage area of ​​the terrestrial network).

[0146] In the following description of process flow 600, operations may be performed in a different order than shown, or operations performed by UE 115-b, network entity 105-c, and relay node 605 may be performed in a different order or at a different time. For example, some operations may also be excluded from process flow 600, or other operations may be added to process flow 600. Although UE 115-b, network entity 105-c, and relay node 605 are shown as performing operations of process flow 600, some aspects of some operations may also be performed by one or more other wireless devices. For example, some actions shown as being performed by network entity 105-a or relay node 605 may be performed by another network entity 105 (e.g., ground network entity 105).

[0147] At 610, the network entity 105-c (e.g., or another network entity 105) may send (e.g., broadcast) an SSB. The SSB may be associated with a terrestrial network and may be received by the UE 115-b, for example, when the UE 115-b is within a coverage area of ​​the terrestrial network.

[0148] At 615, the network entity 105-c (eg, or another network entity 105) may send one or more indications to the relay node 605. For example, as described in reference Figure 3 As described, the network entity 105-c may send an indication of whether the relay node 605 will send an SSB or a discovery signal. Additionally or alternatively, the network entity 105-c may send an indication of resources for sending the SSB or discovery signal, an indication of resources for communicating a request to relay communications between the network entity 105-c and the UE 115-b, or any combination thereof.

[0149] At 620, in some cases, UE 115-b may fail to detect SSB from the terrestrial network. Figure 3 As described, UE 115-b may be located (e.g., temporarily located) outside of a coverage area of ​​a terrestrial network (e.g., based on movement of UE 115-b) and may fail to detect an SSB based on the location of UE 115-b. For example, UE 115-b may fail to detect an SSB within a duration (e.g., a configured or defined duration) from detection of a previous SSB, from a previous communication, or from a configured or defined time.

[0150] At 625, the relay node 605 may send (e.g., broadcast) an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN. For example, the relay node 605 may send the SSB or discovery signal based on an indication from the network entity 105-c of whether to send the SSB or discovery signal. Based on the failure to detect the SSB at 620, the UE 115-b may monitor the SSB or discovery signal. For example, the UE 115-b may monitor the SSB or discovery signal using resources (e.g., a monitoring window) configured by the last connected network entity 105 (e.g., network entity 105-c or another network entity 105) or resources defined by a wireless communication standard (e.g., and stored at the UE 115-b).

[0151] Based on the monitoring, the UE 115-b may receive the SSB or discovery signal from the relay node 605. For example, at 630, the UE 115-b may detect the SSB or discovery signal from the relay node 605 (eg, based on monitoring using a monitoring window).

[0152] At 635, UE 115-b may send a request to a relay node 605 (e.g., associated with an NTN) to relay communications between UE 115-c and a network entity 105 associated with a terrestrial network (e.g., network entity 105-c). UE 115-b may send the request using resources configured by the last connected network entity 105 (e.g., network entity 105-c or another network entity 105) indicated by relay node 605 (e.g., via an SSB or discovery signal) or defined by a wireless communication standard (e.g., and stored at UE 115-b). As referred to herein, Figure 3 -5, UE 115-b may send a request using a TA or without a TA (e.g., as indicated by relay node 605, such as via an SSB or a discovery signal). Relay node 605 may monitor for requests using resources (e.g., a monitoring window) configured by network entity 105-c (e.g., or another network entity 105) indicated by relay node 605 (e.g., via an SSB or a discovery signal) or using resources defined by a wireless communication standard (e.g., and stored at relay node 605). Based on the monitoring, relay node 605 may obtain the request.

[0153] At 640, based on obtaining the request to relay the communication, the relay node 605 may output an indication of the request to relay the communication to the ground network (e.g., to the network entity 105-c of the ground network). The relay node 605 may output the request, and the network entity 105-c may monitor the request using resources configured by the network entity 105-c (e.g., or another network entity 105) or defined by the wireless communication standard as indicated by the relay node 605.

[0154] Based on obtaining the request to relay communications, at 645, the relay node 605 may output (eg, may send to the UE 115-b) an indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE 115-b and the network entity 105-c.

[0155] At 650, the relay node 605 may output feedback for the request to relay the communication for the UE 115-b. For example, the feedback may indicate whether the relay node 605 has received the request, and the UE 115-b may engage in communications with the relay node 605 and the network entity 105-c based on the feedback. In some cases, the feedback may be included in the same message or transmission as the indication of the resources to use for relaying the communication. In some cases, the feedback may be included in a different message or transmission.

[0156] At 655, the UE 115-b and the network entity 105-c may communicate one or more messages (e.g., uplink messages, downlink messages) via the relay node 605 using resources for relay communications. For example, the relay node 605 may relay one or more messages (e.g., uplink messages, downlink messages) between the UE 115-b and the network entity 105-c, as described with reference to Figure 3 as described.

[0157] At 660, in some cases, UE 115-b may detect an SSB associated with a terrestrial network (e.g., an SSB from network entity 105-c or another network entity 105) after communicating one or more messages. Based on detecting the SSB, UE 115-b may refrain from communicating one or more additional messages with network entity 105-c via relay node 605. For example, UE 115-b may reestablish connection with the terrestrial network (e.g., with network entity 105-c or another network entity 105) based on detecting the SSB and cease communicating via relay node 605 (e.g., UE 115-b may not send or receive messages via relay node 605).

[0158] Figure 7 A block diagram 700 of a device 705 supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 705 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 705 may include a receiver 710, a transmitter 715, and a communication manager 720. The device 705 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0159] The receiver 710 may provide means for receiving information such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels associated with wireless communications between the relay terrestrial network and the NTN), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. The information may be passed to other components of the device 705. The receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0160] The transmitter 715 may provide means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 705. For example, the transmitter 715 may transmit information such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to wireless communications between the relay ground network and the NTN), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 715 may be co-located with the receiver 710 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 715 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0161] The communication manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of wireless communications between the relay ground network and the NTN as described herein. For example, the communication manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations thereof or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0162] In some examples, the communication manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, 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), a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof that is configured as or otherwise supports components for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and a memory coupled to the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing instructions stored in the memory by the processor).

[0163] Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communication manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code executed by a processor (e.g., as communication management software or firmware). If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured or otherwise supported to perform the functions described in the present disclosure).

[0164] In some examples, the communication manager 720 can be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, send) using or otherwise cooperating with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both. For example, the communication manager 720 can receive information from the receiver 710, transmit information to the transmitter 715, or integrate with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0165] According to examples as disclosed herein, the communication manager 720 may support wireless communications at the UE. For example, the communication manager 720 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for sending a request to a relay node associated with the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The communication manager 720 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for receiving a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network from a relay node associated with the NTN based on sending a request to relay communications. The communication manager 720 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for communicating one or more messages with a network entity associated with the ground network via a relay node associated with the NTN using resources.

[0166] By including or configuring the communication manager 720 according to examples as described herein, the device 705 (e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled to the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, the communication manager 720, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for relaying communications between the UE 115 and the network entity 105 when the UE 115 is outside of a coverage area of ​​the network entity 105. For example, the UE 115 may experience coverage for wireless communications outside of a coverage area of ​​a terrestrial network associated with the network entity 105.

[0167] Figure 8A block diagram 800 of a device 805 supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 805 may be an example of aspects of the device 705 or UE 115 as described herein. The device 805 may include a receiver 810, a transmitter 815, and a communication manager 820. The device 805 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0168] The receiver 810 may provide means for receiving information such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels associated with wireless communications between the relay terrestrial network and the NTN), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. The information may be passed to other components of the device 805. The receiver 810 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0169] The transmitter 815 may provide means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 805. For example, the transmitter 815 may transmit information such as packets associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to wireless communications between the relay ground network and the NTN), user data, control information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 815 may be co-located with the receiver 810 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 815 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0170] Device 805 or its various components may be examples of components for performing various aspects of wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN as described herein. For example, communication manager 820 may include a relay request component 825, a resource indication component 830, a relay communication component 835, or any combination thereof. Communication manager 820 may be an example of various aspects of communication manager 720 as described herein. In some examples, communication manager 820 or its various components may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, send) using or otherwise in conjunction with receiver 810, transmitter 815, or both. For example, communication manager 820 may receive information from receiver 810, transmit information to transmitter 815, or integrate with receiver 810, transmitter 815, or both in combination to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0171] According to examples as disclosed herein, the communication manager 820 may support wireless communications at the UE. The relay request component 825 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for sending a request to a relay node associated with the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The resource indication component 830 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for receiving a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network from a relay node associated with the NTN based on sending a request to relay communications. The relay communication component 835 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for communicating one or more messages with a network entity associated with the ground network via a relay node associated with the NTN using resources.

[0172] Fig. 9 A block diagram 900 of a communication manager 920 supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication manager 920 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 720, the communication manager 820, or both as described herein. The communication manager 920 or its various components may be examples of components for performing various aspects of wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN as described herein. For example, the communication manager 920 may include a relay request component 925, a resource indication component 930, a relay communication component 935, an SSB monitoring component 940, a device discovery monitoring component 945, a feedback receiving component 950, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0173] According to examples as disclosed herein, the communication manager 920 may support wireless communications at the UE. The relay request component 925 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for sending a request to a relay node associated with the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The resource indication component 930 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for receiving a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network from a relay node associated with the NTN based on sending a request to relay communications. The relay communication component 935 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for communicating one or more messages with a network entity associated with the ground network via a relay node associated with the NTN using resources.

[0174] In some examples, SSB monitoring component 940 can be configured or otherwise support components for failing to detect an SSB associated with a terrestrial network for a duration. In some examples, device discovery monitoring component 945 can be configured or otherwise support components for monitoring an SSB or discovery signal associated with an NTN after a duration and based on failing to detect an SSB associated with a terrestrial network, sending a request to relay communications based on receiving an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN.

[0175] In some examples, device discovery monitoring component 945 can be configured or otherwise support components for monitoring SSB or discovery signals associated with the NTN using time resources based on timing associated with a global satellite system.

[0176] In some examples, device discovery monitoring component 945 may be configured or otherwise support components for monitoring SSB or discovery signals associated with the NTN using resources configured by a second network entity associated with the terrestrial network.

[0177] In some examples, device discovery monitoring component 945 can be configured or otherwise support components for monitoring SSB or discovery signals associated with the NTN using one or more resources including a monitoring window having a time offset and a Doppler shift.

[0178] In some examples, relay request component 925 can be configured or otherwise support components for sending a request to relay communications according to the TA.

[0179] In some examples, the TA is based on a time for receiving an indication of an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN and a time at which the SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN was received.

[0180] In some examples, relay request component 925 can be configured or otherwise support components for sending a request to relay communications without a TA.

[0181] In some examples, relay request component 925 may be configured or otherwise support components for sending a request to relay communications using one or more resources including a window with a time offset and a Doppler shift, the request to relay communications being sent via a preamble and a message associated with the preamble.

[0182] In some examples, device discovery monitoring component 945 can be configured or otherwise support components for detecting an SSB associated with a terrestrial network after communicating one or more messages via a relay node. In some examples, relay communication component 935 can be configured or otherwise support components for avoiding communicating one or more additional messages with a network entity associated with a terrestrial network via a relay node associated with an NTN based on detecting an SSB associated with a terrestrial network.

[0183] In some examples, resource indication component 930 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving a second indication of resources for sending a request to relay communications from a relay node associated with the NTN or from a second network entity associated with a terrestrial network.

[0184] In some examples, feedback receiving component 950 can be configured or otherwise support means for receiving feedback from a relay node in response to a request to relay communications, communicating one or more messages via the relay node based on receiving the feedback.

[0185] Fig.10 A diagram of a system 1000 including a device 1005 supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1005 may be an example of a device 705, a device 805, or a UE 115 as described herein or include a component of these devices or UEs. The device 1005 may communicate with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof (e.g., wirelessly). The device 1005 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, such as a communication manager 1020, an input / output (I / O) controller 1010, a transceiver 1015, an antenna 1025, a memory 1030, a code 1035, and a processor 1040. These components may be electronically communicated or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1045).

[0186] I / O controller 1010 can manage input signals and output signals of device 1005. I / O controller 1010 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 1005. In some cases, I / O controller 1010 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 1010 can utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. Additionally or alternatively, I / O controller 1010 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I / O controller 1010 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as processor 1040. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1005 via I / O controller 1010 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 1010.

[0187] In some cases, the device 1005 may include a single antenna 1025. However, in some other cases, the device 1005 may have more than one antenna 1025, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1015 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas 1025, a wired or wireless link, as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1015 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1015 may also include a modem for: modulating packets; providing the modulated packets to one or more antennas 1025 for transmission; and demodulating packets received from one or more antennas 1025. The transceiver 1015 or the transceiver 1015 and one or more antennas 1025 may be examples of transmitters 715, transmitters 815, receivers 710, receivers 810, or any combination thereof or components thereof as described herein.

[0188] The memory 1030 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 1030 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1035 including instructions that, when executed by the processor 1040, cause the device 1005 to perform various functions described herein. The code 1035 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 1035 may not be directly executable by the processor 1040, but may (e.g., when compiled and executed) cause the computer to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1030 may also include, among other things, a basic I / O system (BIOS), etc., which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0189] The processor 1040 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, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 1040 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1040. The processor 1040 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1030) so that the device 1005 performs various functions (e.g., various functions or tasks of supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN). For example, the device 1005 or a component of the device 1005 may include a processor 1040 and a memory 1030 coupled to or coupled to the processor 1040, and the processor 1040 and the memory 1030 are configured to perform the various functions described herein.

[0190] According to examples as disclosed herein, the communication manager 1020 may support wireless communications at the UE. For example, the communication manager 1020 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for sending a request to a relay node associated with the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The communication manager 1020 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for receiving a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network from a relay node associated with the NTN based on sending a request to relay communications. The communication manager 1020 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for communicating one or more messages with a network entity associated with the ground network via a relay node associated with the NTN using resources.

[0191] By including or configuring the communication manager 1020 according to examples as described herein, the device 1005 may support techniques for relaying communications between the UE 115 and the network entity 105 when the UE 115 is outside of the coverage area of ​​the network entity 105. For example, the UE 115 may experience coverage for wireless communications outside of the coverage area of ​​a terrestrial network associated with the network entity 105.

[0192] In some examples, the communication manager 1020 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, monitor, transmit) using or otherwise cooperating with the transceiver 1015, one or more antennas 1025, or any combination thereof. Although the communication manager 1020 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 1020 may be supported or performed by the processor 1040, the memory 1030, the code 1035, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 1035 may include instructions that are executable by the processor 1040 to cause the device 1005 to perform various aspects of relaying wireless communications between the ground network and the NTN as described herein, or the processor 1040 and the memory 1030 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

[0193] Fig.11 A block diagram 1100 of a device 1105 supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1105 may be an example of aspects of a relay node as described herein. The device 1105 may include a receiver 1110, a transmitter 1115, and a communication manager 1120. The device 1105 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0194] Receiver 1110 may provide means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack), such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units). The information may be passed to other components of device 1105. In some examples, receiver 1110 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, receiver 1110 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.

[0195] The transmitter 1115 may provide means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, transmitting) information generated by other components of the device 1105. For example, the transmitter 1115 may output information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) (such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units)). In some examples, the transmitter 1115 may support outputting information by sending signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitter 1115 may support outputting information by sending signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 1115 and the receiver 1110 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include a modem or be coupled to a modem.

[0196] The communication manager 1120, the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of relaying wireless communications between a terrestrial network and an NTN as described herein. For example, the communication manager 1120, the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or various combinations thereof or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0197] In some examples, the communication manager 1120, the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, 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 DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof that is configured as or otherwise supports components for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and a memory coupled to the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing instructions stored in the memory by the processor).

[0198] Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communication manager 1120, the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code executed by a processor (e.g., as communication management software or firmware). If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 1120, the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured or otherwise supported to perform the functions described in the present disclosure).

[0199] In some examples, communication manager 1120 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, send) using or otherwise cooperating with receiver 1110, transmitter 1115, or both. For example, communication manager 1120 may receive information from receiver 1110, transmit information to transmitter 1115, or be integrated in conjunction with receiver 1110, transmitter 1115, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0200] According to examples as disclosed herein, the communication manager 1120 may support wireless communications at a relay node associated with the NTN. For example, the communication manager 1120 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for obtaining a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a ground network. The communication manager 1120 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting a first indication of a request to relay communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network for the ground network based on the request to relay communications. The communication manager 1120 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network based on the request to relay communications. The communication manager 1120 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for using resources to relay one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network.

[0201] By including or configuring the communication manager 1120 according to examples as described herein, the device 1105 (e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled to the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, the communication manager 1120, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for relaying communications between the UE 115 and the network entity 105 when the UE 115 is outside of a coverage area of ​​the network entity 105. For example, the UE 115 may experience coverage for wireless communications outside of a coverage area of ​​a terrestrial network associated with the network entity 105.

[0202] Fig.12 A block diagram 1200 of a device 1205 supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1205 may be an example of aspects of the device 1105 or relay node as described herein. The device 1205 may include a receiver 1210, a transmitter 1215, and a communication manager 1220. The device 1205 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0203] Receiver 1210 may provide means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack), such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units). The information may be passed to other components of device 1205. In some examples, receiver 1210 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, receiver 1210 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.

[0204] The transmitter 1215 may provide means for outputting (e.g., sending, providing, conveying, transmitting) information generated by other components of the device 1205. For example, the transmitter 1215 may output information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) (such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units)). In some examples, the transmitter 1215 may support outputting information by sending signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitter 1215 may support outputting information by sending signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 1215 and the receiver 1210 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include a modem or be coupled to a modem.

[0205] Device 1205 or its various components may be examples of components for performing various aspects of relaying wireless communications between a ground network and an NTN as described herein. For example, communication manager 1220 may include a relay request component 1225, a relay indication component 1230, a resource indication component 1235, a relay component 1240, or any combination thereof. Communication manager 1220 may be an example of various aspects of communication manager 1120 as described herein. In some examples, communication manager 1220 or its various components may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, send) using or otherwise cooperating with receiver 1210, transmitter 1215, or both. For example, communication manager 1220 may receive information from receiver 1210, transmit information to transmitter 1215, or be integrated with receiver 1210, transmitter 1215, or both in combination to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0206] According to examples as disclosed herein, the communication manager 1220 may support wireless communications at a relay node associated with the NTN. The relay request component 1225 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for obtaining a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a ground network. The relay indication component 1230 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting a first indication of a request to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network for a ground network based on the request to relay communications. The resource indication component 1235 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network based on the request to relay communications. The relay component 1240 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for using resources to relay one or more messages between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network.

[0207] Fig.13 A block diagram 1300 of a communication manager 1320 supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication manager 1320 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1120, the communication manager 1220, or both as described herein. The communication manager 1320 or its various components may be examples of components for performing various aspects of wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN as described herein. For example, the communication manager 1320 may include a relay request component 1325, a relay indication component 1330, a resource indication component 1335, a relay component 1340, a device discovery component 1345, a TA component 1350, a feedback component 1355, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0208] According to examples as disclosed herein, the communication manager 1320 may support wireless communications at a relay node associated with the NTN. The relay request component 1325 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for obtaining a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a ground network. The relay indication component 1330 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting a first indication of a request to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network for a ground network based on the request to relay communications. The resource indication component 1335 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network based on the request to relay communications. The relay component 1340 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for using resources to relay one or more messages between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network.

[0209] In some examples, device discovery component 1345 can be configured or otherwise support means for outputting an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN based on which the request to relay communications is based.

[0210] In some examples, device discovery component 1345 can be configured or otherwise support components for outputting SSB or discovery signals associated with the NTN using time resources based on timing associated with a global satellite system.

[0211] In some examples, device discovery component 1345 may be configured or otherwise support components for outputting SSB or discovery signals associated with the NTN using resources configured by a network entity associated with the terrestrial network.

[0212] In some examples, device discovery component 1345 can be configured or otherwise support components for outputting an SSB or discovery signal associated with an NTN using one or more resources including a window having a time offset and a Doppler shift.

[0213] In some examples, device discovery component 1345 may be configured or otherwise support components for obtaining a third indication from a network entity associated with a terrestrial network to send an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN, the SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN being based on the third indication.

[0214] In some examples, the TA component 1350 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting to the UE a fourth indication for the UE to apply the TA to the transmission of the request to relay the communication. In some examples, the TA component 1350 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for obtaining the request to relay the communication according to the TA based on the fourth indication.

[0215] In some examples, the TA component 1350 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting to the UE a fifth indication for the UE to send a request to relay communications without the TA. In some examples, the TA component 1350 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for obtaining a request to relay communications without the TA based on the fifth indication.

[0216] In some examples, the TA component 1350 may be configured or otherwise support components for using one or more resources including a monitoring window with a time offset and a Doppler shift to obtain a request to relay a communication, the request to relay a communication sent via a preamble and a message associated with the preamble.

[0217] In some examples, resource indication component 1335 can be configured or otherwise support means for outputting a sixth indication of resources for communicating the request to relay the communication, the request to relay the communication being based on the sixth indication of resources.

[0218] In some examples, resource indication component 1335 may be configured as or otherwise support means for obtaining, from a network entity associated with the ground network, a seventh indication of resources for communicating a request to relay communications, the request to relay communications being based on the seventh indication of resources.

[0219] In some examples, feedback component 1355 may be configured or otherwise support means for outputting feedback for a request to relay communications, relaying one or more messages between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network based on the feedback.

[0220] Fig.14 A diagram of a system 1400 including a device 1405 supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1405 may be an example of a device 1105, a device 1205, or a relay node as described herein or include components of these devices. The device 1405 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, such as a communication manager 1420, a transceiver 1410, an antenna 1415, a memory 1425, a code 1430, and a processor 1435. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1440).

[0221] The transceiver 1410 may support bidirectional communication via a wired link, a wireless link, or both, as described herein. In some examples, the transceiver 1410 may include a wired transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wired transceiver. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the transceiver 1410 may include a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. In some examples, the device 1405 may include one or more antennas 1415, which may be capable of (e.g., concurrently) sending or receiving wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1410 may also include a modem for modulating a signal, providing the modulated signal for transmission (e.g., via one or more antennas 1415, via a wired transmitter), receiving the modulated signal (e.g., from one or more antennas 1415, from a wired receiver), and demodulating the signal. In some implementations, the transceiver 1410 may include one or more interfaces, such as one or more interfaces coupled to one or more antennas 1415 configured to support various receiving or obtaining operations, or one or more interfaces coupled to one or more antennas 1415 configured to support various sending or outputting operations, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 1410 may include or be configured to be coupled to one or more processors or memory components, which are operable to perform or support operations based on received or obtained information or signals, or to generate information or other signals for transmission or other output, or any combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 1410, or the transceiver 1410 and one or more antennas 1415, or the transceiver 1410 and one or more antennas 1415 and one or more processors or memory components (e.g., processor 1435 or memory 1425 or both) may be included in a chip or chip assembly installed in the device 1405. In some examples, the transceiver may be operable to support communications via one or more communication links (eg, communication link 125, backhaul communication link 120, midhaul communication link 162, fronthaul communication link 168).

[0222] Memory 1425 may include RAM and ROM. Memory 1425 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1430 including instructions that, when executed by processor 1435, cause device 1405 to perform various functions described herein. Code 1430 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, code 1430 may not be directly executable by processor 1435, but may (e.g., when compiled and executed) cause a computer to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1425 may also include, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0223] The processor 1435 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 1435 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1435. The processor 1435 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., a memory 1425) so that the device 1405 performs various functions (e.g., various functions or tasks of supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN). For example, the device 1405 or a component of the device 1405 may include a processor 1435 and a memory 1425 coupled to the processor 1435, and the processor 1435 and the memory 1425 are configured to perform the various functions described herein. Processor 1435 may be an example of a cloud computing platform (e.g., one or more physical nodes and supporting software such as an operating system, virtual machine, or container instance) that can host functions to perform functions of device 1405 (e.g., by executing code 1430). Processor 1435 may be any one or more suitable processors capable of executing scripts or instructions of one or more software programs stored in device 1405 (such as in memory 1425). In some specific implementations, processor 1435 may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may refer to a system or a series of machines or components that receive inputs and process these inputs to produce a set of outputs that can be passed to other systems or components (e.g., device 1405). For example, a processing system of device 1405 may refer to a system including various other components or subcomponents of device 1405 (such as processor 1435, or transceiver 1410, or communication manager 1420, or other components or combinations of components of device 1405). The processing system of device 1405 may interface with other components of device 1405 and may process information (such as input or signals) received from other components or output information to other components. For example, a chip or modem of device 1405 may include a processing system and one or more interfaces for outputting information or for obtaining information or both. One or more interfaces may be implemented as or otherwise include a first interface configured to output information and a second interface configured to obtain information, or the same interface configured to output information and obtain information, as well as other specific implementations. In some specific implementations, one or more interfaces may refer to an interface between a processing system of a chip or modem and a transmitter, so that device 1405 can send information output from the chip or modem.Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, one or more interfaces may refer to an interface between a processing system of a chip or modem and a receiver, such that the device 1405 may obtain information or signal input, and the information may be passed to the processing system. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that a first interface may also obtain information or signal input, and a second interface may also output information or signal output.

[0224] In some examples, bus 1440 may support communications within a protocol layer (e.g., within a protocol layer) of a protocol stack. In some examples, bus 1440 may support communications associated with a logical channel of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack), which may include communications performed within a component of device 1405, or communications performed between different components of device 1405 that may be co-located or located in different locations (e.g., where device 1405 may refer to a system in which one or more of communication manager 1420, transceiver 1410, memory 1425, code 1430, and processor 1435 may be located in one of the different components or divided between the different components).

[0225] In some examples, the communication manager 1420 may manage aspects of communications with the core network 130 (e.g., via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links). For example, the communication manager 1420 may manage the delivery of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115. In some examples, the communication manager 1420 may manage communications with other network entities 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with the UE 115 in coordination with the other network entities 105. In some examples, the communication manager 1420 may support an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communications between network entities 105.

[0226] According to examples as disclosed herein, the communication manager 1420 may support wireless communications at a relay node associated with the NTN. For example, the communication manager 1420 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for obtaining a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a ground network. The communication manager 1420 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting a first indication of a request to relay communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network for the ground network based on the request to relay communications. The communication manager 1420 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for outputting a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network based on the request to relay communications. The communication manager 1420 may be configured to or otherwise support a component for using resources to relay one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network.

[0227] By including or configuring a communications manager 1420 according to examples as described herein, device 1405 may support techniques for relaying communications between UE 115 and network entity 105 when UE 115 is outside of a coverage area of ​​network entity 105. For example, UE 115 may experience coverage for wireless communications outside of a coverage area of ​​a terrestrial network associated with network entity 105.

[0228] In some examples, the communication manager 1420 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, transmit) using or otherwise cooperating with the transceiver 1410, one or more antennas 1415 (e.g., where applicable), or any combination thereof. Although the communication manager 1420 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 1420 may be supported or performed by the transceiver 1410, the processor 1435, the memory 1425, the code 1430, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 1430 may include instructions that are executable by the processor 1435 to cause the device 1405 to perform various aspects of wireless communications between the relay ground network and the NTN as described herein, or the processor 1435 and the memory 1425 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

[0229] Fig.15 A block diagram 1500 of a device 1505 supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1505 may be an example of aspects of the network entity 105 as described herein. The device 1505 may include a receiver 1510, a transmitter 1515, and a communication manager 1520. The device 1505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0230] Receiver 1510 may provide means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack), such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units). The information may be passed to other components of device 1505. In some examples, receiver 1510 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, receiver 1510 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.

[0231] The transmitter 1515 may provide means for outputting (e.g., sending, providing, conveying, transmitting) information generated by other components of the device 1505. For example, the transmitter 1515 may output information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) (such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units)). In some examples, the transmitter 1515 may support outputting information by sending signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitter 1515 may support outputting information by sending signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 1515 and the receiver 1510 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include a modem or be coupled to a modem.

[0232] The communication manager 1520, the receiver 1510, the transmitter 1515, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of relaying wireless communications between a ground network and an NTN as described herein. For example, the communication manager 1520, the receiver 1510, the transmitter 1515, or various combinations thereof or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0233] In some examples, the communication manager 1520, the receiver 1510, the transmitter 1515, 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 DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof that is configured as or otherwise supports components for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and a memory coupled to the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing instructions stored in the memory by the processor).

[0234] Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communication manager 1520, receiver 1510, transmitter 1515, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code executed by a processor (e.g., as communication management software or firmware). If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 1520, receiver 1510, transmitter 1515, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general purpose processor, DSP, CPU, ASIC, FPGA, microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured or otherwise supported to perform the functions described in the present disclosure).

[0235] In some examples, communication manager 1520 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, send) using or otherwise cooperating with receiver 1510, transmitter 1515, or both. For example, communication manager 1520 may receive information from receiver 1510, transmit information to transmitter 1515, or be integrated in conjunction with receiver 1510, transmitter 1515, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0236] The communication manager 1520 may support wireless communications at a network entity associated with a ground network according to examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 1520 may be configured to or otherwise support components for obtaining, from the NTN, a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The communication manager 1520 may be configured to or otherwise support components for communicating one or more messages with the UE via a relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of a request to relay communications.

[0237] By including or configuring the communication manager 1520 according to examples as described herein, the device 1505 (e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled to the receiver 1510, the transmitter 1515, the communication manager 1520, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for relaying communications between the UE 115 and the network entity 105 when the UE 115 is outside of a coverage area of ​​the network entity 105. For example, the UE 115 may experience coverage for wireless communications outside of a coverage area of ​​a terrestrial network associated with the network entity 105.

[0238] Fig.16 A block diagram 1600 of a device 1605 supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1605 may be an example of aspects of the device 1505 or network entity 105 as described herein. The device 1605 may include a receiver 1610, a transmitter 1615, and a communication manager 1620. The device 1605 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0239] Receiver 1610 may provide means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack), such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units). The information may be passed to other components of device 1605. In some examples, receiver 1610 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, receiver 1610 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.

[0240] Transmitter 1615 may provide means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, transmitting) information generated by other components of device 1605. For example, transmitter 1615 may output information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) (such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units)). In some examples, transmitter 1615 may support outputting information by sending signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, transmitter 1615 may support outputting information by sending signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, transmitter 1615 and receiver 1610 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include or be coupled to a modem.

[0241] Device 1605 or its various components may be examples of components for performing various aspects of wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN as described herein. For example, communication manager 1620 may include relay indication component 1625, relay communication component 1630, or any combination thereof. Communication manager 1620 may be an example of various aspects of communication manager 1520 as described herein. In some examples, communication manager 1620 or its various components may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, send) using or otherwise in conjunction with receiver 1610, transmitter 1615, or both. For example, communication manager 1620 may receive information from receiver 1610, transmit information to transmitter 1615, or be integrated with receiver 1610, transmitter 1615, or both in combination to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0242] The communication manager 1620 may support wireless communications at a network entity associated with a ground network according to examples as disclosed herein. The relay indication component 1625 may be configured as or otherwise support means for obtaining, from the NTN, a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The relay communication component 1630 may be configured as or otherwise support means for communicating one or more messages with the UE via a relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of a request to relay communications.

[0243] Fig.17 A block diagram 1700 of a communication manager 1720 supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication manager 1720 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1520, the communication manager 1620, or both as described herein. The communication manager 1720 or its various components may be examples of components for performing various aspects of wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN as described herein. For example, the communication manager 1720 may include a relay indication component 1725, a relay communication component 1730, a resource indication component 1735, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses), which communication may include communication within a protocol layer of a protocol stack, communication associated with a logical channel of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack, within a device, component, or virtualized component associated with a network entity 105, between devices, components, or virtualized components associated with a network entity 105), or any combination thereof.

[0244] The communication manager 1720 may support wireless communications at a network entity associated with a ground network according to examples as disclosed herein. The relay indication component 1725 may be configured as or otherwise support means for obtaining, from the NTN, a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The relay communication component 1730 may be configured as or otherwise support means for communicating one or more messages with the UE via a relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of a request to relay communications.

[0245] In some examples, resource indication component 1735 may be configured to or otherwise support components for outputting a second indication of one or more resources for communicating an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN, the one or more resources comprising a window having a time offset and a Doppler shift, and the request to relay communications is based on the second indication of the one or more resources.

[0246] In some examples, resource indication component 1735 may be configured or otherwise support means for outputting a third indication of resources for communicating a request to relay communications, the request to relay communications being based on the third indication of resources.

[0247] Fig.18 A diagram of a system 1800 including a device 1805 supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1805 may be an example of a device 1505, a device 1605, or a network entity 105 as described herein or include a component of these devices or network entities. The device 1805 may communicate with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof, which may include communication through one or more wired interfaces, through one or more wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. The device 1805 may include components that support output and acquisition of communications, such as a communication manager 1820, a transceiver 1810, an antenna 1815, a memory 1825, a code 1830, and a processor 1835. These components may be electronically communicated or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1840).

[0248] The transceiver 1810 may support bidirectional communication via a wired link, a wireless link, or both, as described herein. In some examples, the transceiver 1810 may include a wired transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wired transceiver. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the transceiver 1810 may include a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. In some examples, the device 1805 may include one or more antennas 1815, which may be capable of (e.g., concurrently) sending or receiving wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1810 may also include a modem for modulating a signal, providing the modulated signal for transmission (e.g., via one or more antennas 1815, via a wired transmitter), receiving the modulated signal (e.g., from one or more antennas 1815, from a wired receiver), and demodulating the signal. In some implementations, the transceiver 1810 may include one or more interfaces, such as one or more interfaces coupled to one or more antennas 1815 configured to support various receiving or obtaining operations, or one or more interfaces coupled to one or more antennas 1815 configured to support various sending or output operations, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 1810 may include or be configured to be coupled to one or more processors or memory components, which are operable to perform or support operations based on received or obtained information or signals, or to generate information or other signals for transmission or other output, or any combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 1810, or the transceiver 1810 and one or more antennas 1815, or the transceiver 1810 and one or more antennas 1815 and one or more processors or memory components (e.g., processor 1835 or memory 1825 or both) may be included in a chip or chip assembly installed in the device 1805. In some examples, the transceiver may be operable to support communications via one or more communication links (eg, communication link 125, backhaul communication link 120, midhaul communication link 162, fronthaul communication link 168).

[0249] Memory 1825 may include RAM and ROM. Memory 1825 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1830 including instructions that, when executed by processor 1835, cause device 1805 to perform various functions described herein. Code 1830 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, code 1830 may not be directly executable by processor 1835, but may (e.g., when compiled and executed) cause a computer to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1825 may also include, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0250] The processor 1835 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 1835 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1835. The processor 1835 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., a memory 1825) so that the device 1805 performs various functions (e.g., various functions or tasks of supporting wireless communications between a relay ground network and an NTN). For example, the device 1805 or a component of the device 1805 may include a processor 1835 and a memory 1825 coupled to the processor 1835, and the processor 1835 and the memory 1825 are configured to perform the various functions described herein. The processor 1835 may be an example of a cloud computing platform (e.g., one or more physical nodes and supporting software such as an operating system, a virtual machine, or a container instance) that can host functions to perform functions of the device 1805 (e.g., by executing code 1830). The processor 1835 may be any one or more suitable processors capable of executing scripts or instructions of one or more software programs stored in the device 1805 (such as in the memory 1825). In some specific implementations, the processor 1835 may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may refer to a system or a series of machines or components that receive inputs and process these inputs to produce a set of outputs that can be passed to other systems or components (e.g., the device 1805). For example, the processing system of the device 1805 may refer to a system including various other components or subcomponents of the device 1805 (such as the processor 1835, or the transceiver 1810, or the communication manager 1820, or other components or combinations of components of the device 1805). The processing system of device 1805 may interface with other components of device 1805, and may process information (such as input or signals) received from other components or output information to other components. For example, a chip or modem of device 1805 may include a processing system and one or more interfaces for outputting information or for obtaining information or both. One or more interfaces may be implemented as or otherwise include a first interface configured to output information and a second interface configured to obtain information, or the same interface configured to output information and obtain information, as well as other specific implementations. In some specific implementations, one or more interfaces may refer to an interface between a processing system of a chip or modem and a transmitter, so that device 1805 can send information output from the chip or modem.Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, one or more interfaces may refer to an interface between a processing system of a chip or modem and a receiver, such that the device 1805 may obtain information or signal input, and the information may be passed to the processing system. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that a first interface may also obtain information or signal input, and a second interface may also output information or signal output.

[0251] In some examples, bus 1840 may support communications within a protocol layer (e.g., within a protocol layer) of a protocol stack. In some examples, bus 1840 may support communications associated with a logical channel of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack), which may include communications performed within a component of device 1805, or communications performed between different components of device 1805 that may be co-located or located in different locations (e.g., where device 1805 may refer to a system in which one or more of communication manager 1820, transceiver 1810, memory 1825, code 1830, and processor 1835 may be located in one of the different components or divided between the different components).

[0252] In some examples, the communication manager 1820 may manage aspects of communications with the core network 130 (e.g., via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links). For example, the communication manager 1820 may manage the delivery of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115. In some examples, the communication manager 1820 may manage communications with other network entities 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with the UE 115 in coordination with the other network entities 105. In some examples, the communication manager 1820 may support an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communications between network entities 105.

[0253] The communication manager 1820 may support wireless communications at a network entity associated with a ground network according to examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 1820 may be configured to or otherwise support components for obtaining, from the NTN, a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The communication manager 1820 may be configured to or otherwise support components for communicating one or more messages with the UE via a relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of a request to relay communications.

[0254] By including or configuring a communications manager 1820 according to examples as described herein, device 1805 may support techniques for relaying communications between UE 115 and network entity 105 when UE 115 is outside of a coverage area of ​​network entity 105. For example, UE 115 may experience coverage for wireless communications outside of a coverage area of ​​a terrestrial network associated with network entity 105.

[0255] In some examples, the communication manager 1820 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, transmit) using or otherwise cooperating with the transceiver 1810, one or more antennas 1815 (e.g., where applicable), or any combination thereof. Although the communication manager 1820 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 1820 may be supported or performed by the transceiver 1810, the processor 1835, the memory 1825, the code 1830, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 1830 may include instructions that are executable by the processor 1835 to cause the device 1805 to perform various aspects of wireless communications between the relay ground network and the NTN as described herein, or the processor 1835 and the memory 1825 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

[0256] Fig.19 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1900 for supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1900 may be implemented by a UE or a component thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1900 may be implemented by a UE 115 as described in reference to Figures 1 to 10 In some examples, the UE may execute instruction sets to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0257] At 1905, the method may include sending a request to a relay node associated with the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The operations of 1905 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1905 may be described with reference to Fig. 9 The described relay request component 925 is executed.

[0258] At 1910, the method may include receiving, from a relay node associated with the NTN, a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the terrestrial network based on sending a request to relay communications. The operations of 1910 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1910 may be performed as described in reference to Fig. 9 The resource indication component 930 is executed.

[0259] At 1915, the method may include using the resource to communicate one or more messages with a network entity associated with the ground network via a relay node associated with the NTN. The operations of 1915 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1915 may be performed as described in reference to Fig. 9 The described relay communication component 935 is executed.

[0260] Fig. 20 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method 2000 for supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2000 may be implemented by a UE or a component thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2000 may be implemented by a UE 115 as described in reference to Figures 1 to 10 In some examples, the UE may execute instruction sets to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0261] At 2005, the method may include failing to detect an SSB associated with a terrestrial network for a duration. The operations of 2005 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2005 may be performed as described in reference to Fig. 9 The described SSB monitoring component 940 is performed.

[0262] At 2010, the method may include, after the duration and based on failure to detect an SSB associated with a terrestrial network, monitoring an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN, sending a request to relay communications based on receipt of an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN. The operations of 2010 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2010 may be performed as described in reference to Fig. 9 The described device discovery monitoring component 945 is performed.

[0263] At 2015, the method may include sending a request to a relay node associated with the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the terrestrial network. The operations of 2015 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2015 may be performed by reference to Fig. 9 The described relay request component 925 is executed.

[0264] At 2020, the method may include receiving, from a relay node associated with the NTN, a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the terrestrial network based on sending a request to relay communications. The operations of 2020 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2020 may be performed as described in reference to Fig. 9 The resource indication component 930 is executed.

[0265] At 2025, the method may include using the resource to communicate one or more messages with a network entity associated with the ground network via a relay node associated with the NTN. The operations of 2025 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2025 may be performed as described in reference to Fig. 9 The described relay communication component 935 is executed.

[0266] Fig.21 A flowchart illustrating a method 2100 for supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2100 may be implemented by a relay node or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2100 may be implemented by a relay node or components thereof as described in reference to Figures 1 to 6 and Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, the relay node may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the relay node to perform the functions. Additionally or alternatively, the relay node may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0267] At 2105, the method may include obtaining a request to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network. The operations of 2105 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2105 may be described with reference to Fig.13 The described relay request component 1325 is executed.

[0268] At 2110, the method may include outputting, for the ground network, a first indication of a request to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network based on the request to relay communications. The operations of 2110 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2110 may be described with reference to Fig.13 The relay instruction component 1330 is described to perform.

[0269] At 2115, the method may include outputting a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the terrestrial network based on the request to relay communications. The operations of 2115 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2115 may be performed as described in reference to Fig.13 The resource indication component 1335 is executed.

[0270] At 2120, the method may include using resources to relay one or more messages between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The operations of 2120 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2120 may be performed as described in reference to Fig.13 The relay component 1340 described is executed.

[0271] Fig. 22 A flow chart illustrating a method 2200 for supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2200 may be implemented by a relay node or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2200 may be implemented by a relay node or components thereof as described in reference to Figures 1 to 6 and Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, the relay node may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the relay node to perform the functions. Additionally or alternatively, the relay node may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0272] At 2205, the method may include outputting an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN, the request to relay the communication based on the SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN. The operations of 2205 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2205 may be performed as described in reference Fig.13 The described device discovery component 1345 is performed.

[0273] At 2210, the method may include obtaining a request to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network. The operations of 2210 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2210 may be described with reference to Fig.13 The described relay request component 1325 is executed.

[0274] At 2215, the method may include outputting, to the ground network, a first indication of a request to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network based on the request to relay communications. The operations of 2215 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2215 may be described with reference to Fig.13 The relay instruction component 1330 is described to perform.

[0275] At 2220, the method may include outputting a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and a network entity associated with the terrestrial network based on the request to relay communications. The operations of 2220 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2220 may be performed as described in reference to Fig.13 The resource indication component 1335 is executed.

[0276] At 2225, the method may include using resources to relay one or more messages between the UE and a network entity associated with the ground network. The operations of 2225 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2225 may be performed as described in reference to Fig.13 The relay component 1340 described is executed.

[0277] Fig.23 A flowchart illustrating a method 2300 for supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2300 may be implemented by a network entity or a component thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2300 may be implemented by a network entity or a component thereof as described in reference to Figures 1 to 6 as well as Figures 15 to 18 In some examples, the network entity may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the network entity to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the network entity may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0278] At 2305, the method may include obtaining, from the NTN, a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network. The operations of 2305 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2305 may be described with reference to Fig.17 The relay instruction component 1725 is described to perform.

[0279] At 2310, the method may include communicating one or more messages to the UE via a relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of a request to relay communications. The operations of 2310 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2310 may be performed as described in reference to Fig.17 The described relay communication component 1730 is executed.

[0280] Fig.24 A flowchart illustrating a method 2400 for supporting wireless communication between a relay ground network and an NTN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2400 may be implemented by a network entity or a component thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2400 may be implemented by a network entity or a component thereof as described in reference to Figures 1 to 6 as well as Figures 15 to 18 In some examples, the network entity may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the network entity to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the network entity may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0281] At 2405, the method may include outputting a second indication of one or more resources for communicating an SSB or discovery signal associated with the NTN, the one or more resources including a window having a time offset and a Doppler shift, the request to relay the communication being based on the second indication of the one or more resources. The operations of 2405 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2405 may be performed as described in reference to Fig.17 The resource indication component 1735 is executed.

[0282] At 2410, the method may include obtaining, from the NTN, a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network. The operations of 2410 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2410 may be performed by reference to Fig.17 The relay instruction component 1725 is described to perform.

[0283] At 2415, the method may include communicating one or more messages to the UE via a relay node associated with the NTN based on the first indication of the request to relay the communication. The operations of 2415 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2415 may be performed as described in reference to Fig.17 The described relay communication component 1730 is executed.

[0284] The following provides an overview of various aspects of the disclosure:

[0285] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication at a UE, the method comprising: sending a request to a relay node associated with an NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; receiving a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network from the relay node associated with the NTN based at least in part on sending the request to relay communications; and communicating one or more messages with the network entity associated with the terrestrial network via the relay node associated with the NTN using the resources.

[0286] Aspect 2: According to the method of Aspect 1, the method also includes: failing to detect a synchronization signal block associated with the ground network within a duration; and after the duration and at least partially based on failing to detect the synchronization signal block associated with the ground network, monitoring a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or one of the discovery signals associated with the NTN, the request to relay communication being at least partially based on reception of one of the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal.

[0287] Aspect 3: According to the method of aspect 2, the monitoring includes: using time resources based at least in part on timing associated with a global satellite system to monitor one of the synchronization signal blocks associated with the NTN or the discovery signals associated with the NTN.

[0288] Aspect 4: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 2 to 3, the monitoring includes: using resources configured by a second network entity associated with the ground network to monitor one of the synchronization signal blocks associated with the NTN or the discovery signals associated with the NTN.

[0289] Aspect 5: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 2 to 4, the monitoring includes: using one or more resources including a monitoring window with a time offset and a Doppler offset to monitor one of the synchronization signal blocks associated with the NTN or the discovery signals associated with the NTN.

[0290] Aspect 6: According to the method of any one of aspects 1 to 5, sending the request to relay communication includes: sending the request to relay communication according to timing advance.

[0291] Aspect 7: A method according to Aspect 6, wherein the timing advance is based at least in part on a time for receiving an indication of one of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN and a time for receiving the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN.

[0292] Aspect 8: According to the method of any one of aspects 1 to 7, sending the request to relay communication includes: sending the request to relay communication without timing advance.

[0293] Aspect 9: According to the method described in Aspect 8, sending the request to relay communication also includes: using one or more resources including a window with a time offset and a Doppler shift to send the request to relay communication, and the request to relay communication is sent via a preamble code and a message associated with the preamble code.

[0294] Aspect 10: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 1 to 9, the method further includes: detecting a synchronization signal block associated with the ground network after communicating the one or more messages via the relay node; and avoiding communicating one or more additional messages with the network entity associated with the ground network via the relay node associated with the NTN based at least in part on detecting the synchronization signal block associated with the ground network.

[0295] Aspect 11: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 1 to 10, the method further includes: receiving a second indication of resources for sending the request to relay communication from the relay node associated with the NTN or from a second network entity associated with the ground network.

[0296] Aspect 12: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 11, the method further comprising: receiving feedback from the relay node regarding the request to relay communication, and communicating the one or more messages via the relay node is at least partially based on receiving the feedback.

[0297] Aspect 13: According to the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 12, the one or more messages communicated via the relay node include one or more uplink messages, one or more downlink messages, or both.

[0298] Aspect 14: A method for performing wireless communications at a relay node associated with an NTN, the method comprising: obtaining a request to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with a ground network; outputting a first indication of the request to relay communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network to the ground network based at least in part on the request to relay communications; outputting a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network based at least in part on the request to relay communications; and using the resources to relay one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network.

[0299] Aspect 15: The method according to Aspect 14 further comprises: outputting one of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN, the request to relay communication being based at least in part on the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal.

[0300] Aspect 16: According to the method of Aspect 15, outputting the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal includes: using time resources based at least in part on the timing associated with the global satellite system to output one of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN.

[0301] Aspect 17: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 15 to 16, outputting the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal includes: using resources configured by the network entity associated with the ground network to output one of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN.

[0302] Aspect 18: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 15 to 17, outputting the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal includes: using one or more resources including a time window with a time offset and a Doppler offset to output one of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN.

[0303] Aspect 19: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 15 to 18, the method further includes: obtaining a third indication from the network entity associated with the ground network to send the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal associated with the NTN, and the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is at least partially based on the third indication.

[0304] Aspect 20: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 14 to 19, obtaining the request to relay communication includes: outputting a fourth indication to the UE for the UE to apply a timing advance to the sending of the request to relay communication; and obtaining the request to relay communication according to the timing advance based at least in part on the fourth indication.

[0305] Aspect 21: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 14 to 20, obtaining the request to relay communication includes: outputting to the UE a fifth indication for the UE to send the request to relay communication without timing advance; and obtaining the request to relay communication without timing advance based at least in part on the fifth indication.

[0306] Aspect 22: According to the method described in Aspect 21, obtaining the request to relay communication also includes: using one or more resources including a monitoring window with a time offset and a Doppler shift to obtain the request to relay communication, and the request to relay communication is obtained via a preamble code and a message associated with the preamble code.

[0307] Aspect 23: The method according to any one of aspects 14 to 22, the method further comprising: outputting a sixth indication of resources for communicating the request to relay communications, the request to relay communications being based at least in part on the sixth indication of the resources.

[0308] Aspect 24: According to the method described in any one of Aspects 14 to 23, the method also includes: obtaining a seventh indication of resources for conveying the request to relay communication from the network entity associated with the ground network, and the request to relay communication is at least partially based on the seventh indication of the resources.

[0309] Aspect 25: According to any one of Aspects 14 to 24, the method also includes: outputting feedback for the request to relay communication, and relaying the one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network is at least partially based on the feedback.

[0310] Aspect 26: According to the method according to any one of aspects 14 to 25, the one or more messages relayed between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network include one or more uplink messages, one or more downlink messages, or both.

[0311] Aspect 27: A method for wireless communications at a network entity associated with a terrestrial network, the method comprising: obtaining from an NTN a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between a UE and a network entity associated with the terrestrial network; and communicating one or more messages to the UE via the relay node associated with the NTN based at least in part on the first indication of the request to relay communications.

[0312] Aspect 28: According to the method according to Aspect 27, the method also includes: outputting a second indication of one or more resources for conveying one of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN, the one or more resources including a time window with a time offset and a Doppler shift, and the request to relay communication is at least partially based on the second indication of the one or more resources.

[0313] Aspect 29: The method according to any one of aspects 27 to 28, the method further comprising: outputting a third indication of resources for communicating the request to relay communications, the request to relay communications being based at least in part on the third indication of the resources.

[0314] Aspect 30: According to the method of any one of aspects 27 to 29, the one or more messages communicated between the UE and the network entity associated with the ground network include one or more uplink messages, one or more downlink messages, or both.

[0315] Aspect 31: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: a processor; and a memory, the memory being coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 13.

[0316] Aspect 32: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, the apparatus comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 13.

[0317] Aspect 33: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a code for wireless communication at a UE, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 13.

[0318] Aspect 34: An apparatus for wireless communication at a relay node associated with an NTN, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to perform a method according to any one of aspects 14 to 26.

[0319] Aspect 35: An apparatus for wireless communication at a relay node associated with an NTN, the apparatus comprising at least one component for performing a method according to any one of aspects 14 to 26.

[0320] Aspect 36: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a relay node associated with an NTN, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to any one of aspects 14 to 26.

[0321] Aspect 37: An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity associated with a ground network, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute a method according to any one of Aspects 27 to 30.

[0322] Aspect 38: An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity associated with a terrestrial network, the apparatus comprising at least one component for performing a method according to any one of aspects 27 to 30.

[0323] Aspect 39: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a network entity associated with a terrestrial network, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of aspects 27 to 30.

[0324] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the various operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and other implementations are possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

[0325] Although aspects of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR systems may be described for example purposes, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein may also be applicable to networks other than LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the techniques described may be applicable to various other wireless communication systems, such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, and other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0326] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout the specification may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0327] The various illustrative blocks and components described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, CPU, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The 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 combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0328] The functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes of a computer-readable medium, or sent using one or more instructions or codes of a computer-readable medium. Other examples and specific implementations are within the scope of this 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 processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or a combination of any of these items. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located at different locations, including being distributed so that the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0329] Computer-readable medium includes both non-transient computer storage medium and communication medium, and the communication medium includes any medium that promotes computer program to be transferred from one position to another position.Non-transient storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer.By way of example and not limitation, non-transient computer-readable medium can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc (CD) ROM or other optical disc storage device, disk storage device or other magnetic storage device, or can be used for carrying or storing desired program code parts and can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer or general or special-purpose processor in the form of instruction or data structure Any other non-transient medium.Moreover, any connection is appropriately referred to as computer-readable medium.For example, if software is sent from website, server or other remote source using coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave, then coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. As used herein, disks and optical disks include CDs, laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks. Disks can reproduce data magnetically, and optical disks can reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0330] As used herein (including in the claims), "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items followed by 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). In addition, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" can be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 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."

[0331] The term "determining" encompasses a variety of actions, and thus, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, database or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Furthermore, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in a memory), etc. Additionally, "determining" may include parsing, obtaining, selecting, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.

[0332] In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference label. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a dash and a second label to distinguish between the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description may apply to any of the similar components having the same first reference label, regardless of the second or other subsequent reference labels.

[0333] The descriptions set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describe example configurations and 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 "having advantages over other examples." The specific embodiments include specific details to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0334] The description herein is provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to implement or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, 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. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: sending a request to a relay node associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN) to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; receiving, from the relay node associated with the NTN, a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network based at least in part on sending the request to relay communications; as well as One or more messages are communicated with the network entity associated with the terrestrial network via the relay node associated with the NTN using the resources.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: failing to detect a synchronization signal block associated with the terrestrial network for a duration; and After the duration and based at least in part on a failure to detect the synchronization signal block associated with the terrestrial network, monitoring a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or one of a discovery signal associated with the NTN, the request to relay communications being based at least in part on receipt of one of the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: One of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is monitored using a time resource based at least in part on timing associated with a global satellite system.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: One of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is monitored using resources configured by a second network entity associated with the terrestrial network.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: One of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is monitored using one or more resources including a monitoring window having a time offset and a Doppler shift.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: The request to relay the communication is sent via the antenna according to the timing advance.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the timing advance is based at least in part on a time for receiving an indication of one of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN and a time at which the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is received.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: The request to relay the communication is sent via the antenna without a timing advance.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to: The request to relay a communication is sent using one or more resources including a time window having a time offset and a Doppler shift, the request to relay a communication being sent via a preamble and a message associated with the preamble.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: detecting a synchronization signal block associated with the terrestrial network after communicating the one or more messages via the relay node; and Communicating one or more additional messages with the network entity associated with the terrestrial network via the relay node associated with the NTN is avoided based at least in part on detecting the synchronization signal block associated with the terrestrial network.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: A second indication of resources for sending the request to relay communications is received from the relay node associated with the NTN or from a second network entity associated with the terrestrial network.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: Feedback is received from the relay node in response to the request to relay communications, and communicating the one or more messages via the relay node is based at least in part on receiving the feedback.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, the one or more messages communicated via the relay node comprising one or more uplink messages, one or more downlink messages, or both.

14. An apparatus for wireless communication at a relay node associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN), the apparatus comprising: processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: obtaining a request to relay communications between a user equipment (UE) and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; outputting, to the terrestrial network, a first indication of the request to relay communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network based at least in part on the request to relay communications; outputting, based at least in part on the request to relay communications, a second indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network; as well as The resources are used to relay one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to: One of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN is output via an antenna, the request to relay communications being based at least in part on the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to: One of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is output using a time resource based at least in part on timing associated with a global satellite system.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to: One of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is output using resources configured by the network entity associated with the terrestrial network.

18. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to: One of the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN is output using one or more resources including a time window having a time offset and a Doppler shift.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to: A third indication is obtained from the network entity associated with the terrestrial network to transmit the synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or the discovery signal associated with the NTN, the synchronization signal block or the discovery signal being based at least in part on the third indication.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to: outputting to the UE a fourth indication for the UE to apply a timing advance to the sending of the request to relay communications; and The request to relay communications is obtained according to the timing advance based at least in part on the fourth indication.

21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to: outputting to the UE a fifth indication for the UE to send the request to relay communications without a timing advance; and The request to relay communications without a timing advance is obtained based at least in part on the fifth indication.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the processor is further configured to: The request to relay communications is obtained using one or more resources including a monitoring window having a time offset and a Doppler shift, the request to relay communications being obtained via a preamble and a message associated with the preamble.

23. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to: A sixth indication of a resource for communicating the request to relay communications is output, the request to relay communications being based at least in part on the sixth indication of the resource.

24. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to: A seventh indication of resources for communicating the request to relay communications is obtained from the network entity associated with the terrestrial network, the request to relay communications being based at least in part on the seventh indication of the resources.

25. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to: Feedback is output for the request to relay communications, and relaying the one or more messages between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network is based at least in part on the feedback.

26. The apparatus of claim 14, the one or more messages relayed between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network comprising one or more uplink messages, one or more downlink messages, or both.

27. An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity associated with a terrestrial network, the apparatus comprising: processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: obtaining, from a non-terrestrial network (NTN), a first indication of a request for a relay node of the NTN to relay communications between a user equipment (UE) and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network; as well as One or more messages are communicated with the UE via the relay node associated with the NTN based at least in part on the first indication of the request to relay communications.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the processor is further configured to: A second indication of one or more resources for communicating one of a synchronization signal block associated with the NTN or a discovery signal associated with the NTN is output via an antenna, the one or more resources comprising a time window having a time offset and a Doppler shift, and the request to relay communication is based at least in part on the second indication of the one or more resources.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the processor is further configured to: A third indication of resources for communicating the request to relay communications is output, the request to relay communications being based at least in part on the third indication of the resources.

30. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: sending a request to a relay node associated with the NTN to relay communications between the UE and a network entity associated with a terrestrial network; receiving, from the relay node associated with the NTN, a first indication of resources for relaying communications between the UE and the network entity associated with the terrestrial network based at least in part on sending the request to relay communications; as well as One or more messages are communicated with the network entity associated with the terrestrial network via the relay node associated with the NTN using the resources.

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