Techniques for cell selection and reselection in network energy saving network

Abstract

The application relates to devices and components, including apparatuses, systems, and methods for cell selection and reselection in a network energy saving network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present patent application relates generally to wireless communications, and in particular to techniques for cell selection and reselection in network energy efficient networks. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is working hard to achieve network energy saving. These efforts include efforts to study and determine technologies on the network side and the user equipment (UE) side to improve network energy saving in base station transmission and reception. Consider how to dynamically or semi-statically achieve more efficient operation and achieve finer granularity adaptation of transmission or reception in network energy saving technologies in the time, frequency, space and power domains. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Figure 1 A network environment according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0004] Figure 2 An operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0005] Figure 3 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0006] Figure 4 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0007] Figure 5 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0008] Figure 6 User equipment according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0009] Figure 7 A base station according to some embodiments is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The following specific embodiments relate to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces and / or technologies, are set forth for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of some embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that various aspects of the various aspects may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the descriptions of various aspects due to unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B) or (A and B); and the phrase "based on A" refers to "based at least in part on A", for example, it may be "based only on A" or it may be "based in part on A".

[0011] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0012] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functionality, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system on chip (SoC)), and / or a digital signal processor (DSP). In some aspects, a circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and a program code for performing the functions of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these aspects, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0013] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes: a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations; or recording, storing, or transferring digital data. The term "processor circuit" may refer to an application processor; a baseband processor; a central processing unit (CPU); a graphics processing unit; a single-core processor; a dual-core processor; a triple-core processor; a quad-core processor; or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code); a software module; or a functional process.

[0014] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to, is a part of, or includes a circuit that enables information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces; for example, a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, etc.

[0015] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. In addition, the terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. In addition, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0016] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to one another. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to one another and configured to share computing resources or networked resources.

[0017] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, a memory space, a processor / CPU time, a processor / CPU usage, a processor and accelerator load, a hardware time or usage, a power supply, an input / output operation, a port or a network socket, a channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, a network, a database and an application, a unit of work, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computer, storage or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computer, storage or network resources provided by a virtualized infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The term "network resource" or "communication resource" may refer to a resource that a computer device / system can access via a communication network. The term "system resource" may refer to any kind of shared entity that provides a service, and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services that can be accessed through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0018] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for conveying data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent to "communication channel", "data communication channel", "transmission channel", "data transmission channel", "access channel", "data access channel", "link", "data link", "carrier", "radio frequency carrier" or any other similar term representing a path or medium through which data is transmitted. In addition, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection made between two devices for sending and receiving information.

[0019] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0020] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0021] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure for providing wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, virtualized network function, etc.

[0022] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to a single content of an information element or a data element that contains content. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0023] Figure 1 A network environment 100 according to some embodiments is illustrated. The network environment 100 may include a UE 104 and a base station 108. The base station 108 may provide a serving cell (SC) 110 through which the UE 104 may communicate with the base station 108. In some embodiments, the base station 108 is a next generation node B (gNB) that provides one or more 3GPP new radio (NR) cells. In other embodiments, the base station 108 is an evolved node B (eNB) that provides one or more long term evolution (LTE) cells. The air interface via which the UE 104 and the base station 108 communicate may be compatible with 3GPP technical specifications, such as those defining the fifth generation (5G) NR system standard or subsequent system standards.

[0024] Network environment 100 may also include one or more neighboring base stations providing non-serving cells. For example, network environment 100 may include base station 116 providing non-serving cell (NSC) 112. Base station 116 may use the same radio access technology as base station 108 or a different radio access technology.

[0025] As part of an initial cell selection process or a cell reselection process, the UE 104 may perform various cell measurements. Generally speaking, the cell selection process may be performed when the UE 104 is not currently associated with a serving cell, while the cell reselection process may be performed when the UE 104 is camped on a serving cell. For example, if the UE 104 is camped on a serving cell 110 that is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle or inactive state, it may measure the NSC 112 as a candidate for cell reselection. For reselection, the UE 104 may compare neighbor cell measurements to a cell selection reception level threshold (Srxlev) or a cell selection quality level threshold (Squal). These comparisons may be based on parameters provided by the serving cell or a target neighbor cell.

[0026] One or more base stations of network environment 100 may be configured to provide a network energy saving (NES) cell. The NES cell may be configured to provide one or more of the following NES technologies.

[0027] In the first NES technology, NES cells can reduce the transmission of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or system information blocks 1 (SIB1) to save power. For example, base stations supporting NES may be allowed to use SSBs with relatively long periodicity, and may not even transmit SIB1, or may transmit SIB1 on demand.

[0028] In the second NES technology, the NES cell may perform cell discontinuous reception (DRX) or discontinuous transmission (DTX), wherein the base station enters a sleep mode / state during the DRX / DTX off duration. During the sleep mode / state, the base station may not send or receive some signals or channels.

[0029] In the third NES technology, NES cells can perform dynamic cell on / off. This dynamic on / off can be a fast transition using, for example, layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) signaling.

[0030] In a fourth NES technique, the NES cell may rely on an uplink wake-up signal (WUS). The uplink WUS may be an L1 signal from the UE to notify the base station to wake up from a sleep mode / state.

[0031] While these NES techniques can be used to save energy at the network level, they may also increase the latency experienced by the UE upon initial access. For example, when the SSB periodicity is large or non-existent or when cell DRX is running, the UE may experience a significant increase in initial access latency. This is particularly true for legacy UEs that may assume a default SSB periodicity of 20ms. These NES techniques may also degrade the UE's radio resource management (RRM) performance and impact quality of service (QoS) performance, especially for legacy UEs that do not have tools for enhanced performance. Therefore, it may be beneficial for NES-capable UEs to reside on NES cells as much as possible, while legacy UEs should avoid residing on these cells. For the purposes of this description, UE104 may be considered to be a NES-capable UE.

[0032] Embodiments of the present disclosure describe how a NES-capable UE, such as UE 104, can prioritize cells for camping on during cell selection or reselection, and how a legacy UE can avoid camping on a NES cell.

[0033] In the initial cell selection, the UE can obtain the desired information from the serving or non-serving cell in real time. In some instances, the UE may be able to use previously stored cell information for initial cell selection. In the traditional cell selection process, the UE will determine the cell to reside in based solely on radio conditions. Priorities between different frequencies or radio access technologies may not be used. On each frequency, the UE may search only for the strongest cell, except for operations using shared spectrum channel access, where the UE may search for the next strongest cell. Once a suitable cell is found, it may be selected for resident.

[0034] With respect to initial access, it may be desirable for NES-capable UEs to camp on non-NES cells as much as possible. This may avoid the scenario where the strongest cell in one of the frequencies is in a NES cell and the UE has to wait a long time for its SSB to complete initial access. If a NES-capable UE utilizes a non-NES cell for initial access, the impact on the access delay key performance indicator (KPI) may be reduced or eliminated.

[0035] To allow NES-capable UEs the option of selecting a non-NES cell for initial access, some embodiments provide that NES-capable UEs are allowed to search for the top N strongest cells during initial cell selection. The value N may be an integer greater than one, which may be broadcast in a SIB, predefined by a 3GPP Technical Specification (TS), or preconfigured as part of the UE's subscription.

[0036] UE 104 may be configured with RRM requirements, which will be used to evaluate cells for initial cell selection or cell reselection. RRM requirements may provide instructions for which cells or resources to be measured, the type of measurement to be performed, the number or frequency of measurements to be performed to support RRM operations, etc. Generally speaking, RRM requirements may be similar to those described in 3GPP TS38.133v17.6.0 (2022-06). UE 104 may be configured with two groups of RRM requirements. The first group may be referred to as strict (unrelaxed) RRM requirements, which may be configured for general use. The second group may be referred to as relaxed (relaxed) RRM requirements, which may be configured to be used in certain scenarios, such as when the UE is in a low mobility state or is not located at the edge of a cell. In some embodiments, UE 104 may utilize strict RRM requirements when performing measurements on non-NES cells, and may utilize relaxed RRM requirements when performing measurements on NES cells. Therefore, for initial cell selection, UE 104 may use strict RRM requirements since it may target non-NES cells.

[0037] In order to distinguish between NES cells and non-NES cells, UE 104 may need to reliably determine whether a candidate cell is an NES cell or a non-NES cell in order to perform initial cell selection or cell reselection. In some embodiments, UE 104 may identify whether a specific candidate cell is an NES cell or a non-NES cell based on one or more of the following options.

[0038] In the first option, the base station may set an explicit bit in a broadcast message indicating whether its cell is a NES cell. For example, the base station may send a SIB message in which a bit of the NES cell indication field is set to indicate whether its cell is a NES cell. In some embodiments, the base station may set a bit to "1" to indicate that its cell is a NES cell, and may set a bit to "0" to indicate that its cell is a non-NES cell.

[0039] In a second option, UE 104 may determine whether a candidate cell is an NES cell based on the periodicity of the SSB of the candidate cell. For example, UE 104 may detect the SSB to determine its periodicity. If the periodicity is greater than a predetermined threshold, UE 104 may determine that the cell is an NES cell.

[0040] In a third option, UE 104 may determine whether a candidate cell is an NES cell based on whether an SSB is present. For example, UE 104 may decode SIB1 to obtain one or more parameters indicating whether an SSB is transmitted by a cell. If an SSB is not transmitted by the cell, UE 104 may determine that the cell is an NES cell.

[0041] In a fourth option, UE 104 may determine whether a candidate cell is an NES cell based on whether SIB1 is broadcast. For example, UE 104 may determine whether SIB1 is broadcast by a cell by attempting to find / decode SIB1. If SIB1 is not broadcast by the cell, UE 104 may determine that the cell is an NES cell.

[0042] In a fifth option, UE 104 may determine whether a candidate cell is an NES cell based on whether cell DRX / DTX is configured. The cell DRX / DTX configuration may be provided in the SIB transmission of the cell. If cell DRX / DTX is configured, UE 104 may determine that the cell is an NES cell.

[0043] In the sixth option, UE 104 may determine whether the candidate cell is a NES cell based on whether uplink WUS is configured. The uplink WUS configuration of the cell may be provided by the SIB sent by the cell. If there is an uplink WUS configuration in the SIB, UE 104 may determine that the cell is a NES cell.

[0044] In the seventh option, the UE 104 may determine whether the candidate cell is a NES cell based on whether a discovery reference signal (RS) is detected. The discovery RS may be configured to enable fast cell switching. If the discovery RS is detected, the UE 104 may determine that the cell is a NES cell.

[0045] In an eighth option, the UE 104 may determine whether the candidate cell is an NES cell based on the periodicity associated with the SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC). The UE 104 may decode SIB1 to detect the SMTC parameters. If the SMTC has a periodicity longer than a predetermined threshold, the UE 104 may determine that the cell is an NES cell.

[0046] In some embodiments, UE 104 may determine whether a candidate cell is in a NES cell based on a serving cell transmission. For example, UE 104 may receive a SIB including a list of neighboring NES cells from serving cell 110. The list of neighboring NES cells may include a list of cells near serving cell 110 that are NES cells. For example, in some embodiments, NSC 112 may be a NES cell included in a list of neighboring NES cells transmitted by base station 108. A list of neighboring NES cells for intra-frequency cell reselection may be provided in a SIB3 transmission. A list of neighboring NES cells for inter-frequency cell reselection may be provided in a SIB4 transmission.

[0047] In some embodiments, UE 104 may prioritize NES cells when performing cell reselection. Prioritization may occur in one or more of the following ways.

[0048] Embodiments include at least four options for prioritizing NES cells for reselection relative to inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0049] In a first option, NES cells and their frequencies may be associated with a relatively higher priority than non-NES cells and their frequencies. UE 104 may rely on the relative priorities when selecting candidate cells for reselection.

[0050] In a second option, NES-capable UE-specific frequency priority values ​​may be broadcast in the SIB or RRC release message. NES-capable UEs may then use these priority values ​​for cell reselection and may ignore the legacy frequency priority values ​​sent in the SIB or RRC release message. The legacy priority values ​​remain accessible for cell reselection operations of legacy UEs. Legacy UEs will ignore NES-capable UE-specific frequency priority values.

[0051] In the third option, a scaling factor or offset can be configured. The scaling factor or offset can be used according to the first sub-option or the second sub-option.

[0052] In the first sub-option, when the UE 104 is in the RRC idle state, the UE 104 may apply a scaling factor or bias to measurements performed on the NES cell. In some embodiments, the measurement may be a reception level measurement (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP)) or a reception quality measurement (e.g., reference signal received quality (RSRQ)). In some embodiments, the scaling factor or bias may be applied to a parameter associated with the measurement. For example, the scaling factor or bias may be applied to: a trigger time parameter (e.g., Treselection RAT ) or hysteresis bias (Qhyst). Treselection RAT The Qhyst parameter and hysteresis bias can be used to allow cell reselection to occur faster or slower, depending on how the scaling factor or bias is applied.

[0053] In a second sub-option, the UE 104 may apply a scaling factor or offset to one or more cell reselection thresholds for the identified NES cell and its frequency. The threshold may be a reception level threshold (eg, Srxlev threshold) or a reception quality threshold (eg, Squal threshold). For example, the UE 104 may apply a scaling factor or bias to: an Srxlev threshold (in decibels) for NR inter-frequency and inter-RAT measurements (S_nonIntraSearchP); an Squal threshold (in decibels) for NR inter-frequency and inter-RAT measurements (S_nonIntraSearchQ); an Srxlev threshold (in decibels) for reselecting to a RAT / frequency with a higher priority than the current serving frequency (Thresh_X,HighP); an Srxlev threshold (in decibels) for reselecting to a RAT / frequency with a lower priority than the current serving frequency (Thresh_X,LowP); an Squal threshold (in decibels) for reselecting to a RAT / frequency with a higher priority than the current serving frequency (Thresh_X,HighQ); or an Squal threshold (in decibels) for reselecting to a RAT / frequency with a lower priority than the current serving frequency (Thresh_X,LowQ).

[0054] In various embodiments, when performing cell reselection, UE 104 may perform cell ranking in the target frequency relative to any of the above options for prioritizing NES cells. Ranking may allow NES cells to be prioritized over non-NES cells, and may also provide relative priority between the NES cells themselves.

[0055] The UE 104 may use one or more of the following options to prioritize NES cells during intra-frequency cell reselection or inter-frequency cell reselection with the same priority.

[0056] The first option may be applied when the rangeToBestCell parameter is configured in SIB2. rangeToBestCell specifies a range of R values. If the rangeToBestCell parameter is configured, the UE 104 may perform cell reselection to a NES cell having the shortest SSB periodicity among cells whose R values ​​are within the R value range of the R value of the highest ranking cell. If more than one cell shares the shortest SSB periodicity among cells whose R values ​​are within the R value range of the R value of the highest ranking cell, the UE 104 may perform cell reselection to the highest ranking cell among the more than one cells.

[0057] The R value of the neighboring cell can be a cell ranking criterion, which is expressed as: R = Q_meas + Qoffset - Qoffset_temp: where Q_meas is the RSRP measurement used in cell reselection; if the specified offset (Qoffset_s,n) between the serving cell and the neighboring cell is valid, the intra-frequency Qoffset is equal to Qofset_s,n, otherwise it is equal to zero; if Qoffset_s,n is valid, the inter-frequency Qoffset is equal to Qoffset_s,n plus the frequency-specific offset (Qoffset_frequency) for equal priority frequencies, otherwise it is equal to zero.

[0058] In a second option for intra-frequency cell reselection or inter-frequency cell reselection with the same priority, the UE 104 may access the NES cell-specific Qoffset provided in the SIB / RRC release message. The UE 104 may use the NES cell-specific Qoffset to generate a cell ranking criterion R, similar to the cell ranking criterion described above. In this way, NES cells may be ranked higher than non-NES cells.

[0059] In some instances, if UE 104 is camped in or served by an NES cell, the measurements performed on the cell may not be sufficient to meet the RRM / radio link monitoring (RLM) requirements. Therefore, in these instances, UE 104 may apply relaxed RRM / RLM requirements when determining whether the measurements are met. This may prevent UE 104 from being forced to move from the NES cell prematurely.

[0060] While some embodiments allow NES-capable UEs to identify non-NES cells for initial cell selection and NES cells for cell reselection, some aspects of the disclosure may also be designed in a way that enables legacy UEs to avoid camping in NES cells. One or more of the following options may be used to facilitate this goal.

[0061] In a first option, a NES-capable UE-specific frequency priority value may be broadcast in the SIB. This may be similar to the second option described above regarding prioritizing NES cells for reselection relative to inter-frequency cell reselection. As discussed above, a NES-capable UE may apply a NES-capable UE-specific frequency priority value and ignore the legacy priority value in the SIB or RRC release message. Conversely, a legacy UE may apply a legacy priority value from the SIB or RRC release message. The legacy priority value may be lower than the NES-capable UE-specific frequency priority value.

[0062] In a second option, the UE 104 may provide an early indication to the network that it is a UE with NES capabilities. The early indication may be sent in one or more messages of a random access channel (RACH) procedure. For example, the UE 104 may access a preamble that is reserved specifically to indicate that the UE is a UE with NES capabilities. The reserved preamble may be sent to the network in a message 1 (Msg 1) transmission. For another example, the UE 104 may access a message 3 (Msg 3) logical channel identifier (LCID) that is reserved specifically to indicate that the UE is a UE with NES capabilities. The reserved Msg 3 LCID may be sent to the network in a Msg 3 transmission.

[0063] In the third option, the NES cell can perform cell barring in a way that prevents traditional UEs from connecting to the NES cell. For example, the NES cell may set a reservation parameter (e.g., cellReservedForOtherUse or cellReservedForFutureUse) to true. The reservation parameter may be in a cell access related information element within SIB1 sent by the NES cell. The NES cell may also provide a new indication that the cell is performing NES barring. The new indication may be in SIB1 or another SIB. Traditional UEs may access the reservation parameter and consider themselves to be barred by the NES cell. On the other hand, a UE with NES capability will determine that it can reside on the NES cell based on the indication in the SIB that the cell is "performing NES barring".

[0064] Figure 2 2 is an example of an operational flow / algorithm structure 200 for cell selection or reselection according to some aspects. The operational flow / algorithm structure 200 may be performed or implemented by a UE such as UE 104 or 600 or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 604A).

[0065] The operational flow / algorithm structure 200 may include detecting M candidate cells at 204. In some embodiments, the M candidate cells may be the N strongest cells that are candidates for initial cell selection. The strength may be based on one or more measurements of a channel metric including received power or received quality. In other embodiments, other selection criteria may be used to select the M candidate cells. These measurements may be performed on SSB or other discovery reference signals.

[0066] The operational flow / algorithm structure 200 may also include sorting the cells from highest to lowest at 208. For example, a physical cell identifier (PCI) associated with the most desired measurement may be indicated as PCI_1, a PCI associated with the second most desired measurement may be indicated as PCI_2, ..., and a PCI of the M PCIs associated with the least desired measurement may be indicated as PCI_M.

[0067] The operational flow / algorithm structure 200 may also include, at 212 , setting the index m equal to one.

[0068] The operational flow / algorithm structure 200 may also include determining, at 216, whether the UE is performing initial cell selection or cell reselection.

[0069] If it is determined at 216 that the UE is performing cell reselection, the operational flow / algorithm structure 200 may proceed to determine whether the PCI_m cell is a NES cell at 220. This determination may be based on any of the embodiments described herein.

[0070] In some embodiments, the ranking of cells 208 may provide a relatively higher ranking for NES cells compared to non-NES cells. In these embodiments, for the purpose of reselection, the UE may not explicitly determine whether the cell is a NES cell at 220. In these embodiments, this determination may be covered by the ranking process.

[0071] If it is determined at 220 that PCI_m is an NES cell, the UE may select the PCI_m cell for reselection at 224 .

[0072] If it is determined at 220 that PCI_m is not a NES cell, the UE may increment index m at 228 and check the next PCI_m. This process may be repeated until a NES cell is found. In some embodiments, if no NES cell is found, index m may be reset to 1, and the process may select a non-NES cell for reselection.

[0073] If it is determined at 216 that the UE is performing initial cell selection, the operational flow / algorithm structure 200 may proceed to determine whether the PCI_m cell is a non-NES cell at 232. This determination may be based on any of the embodiments described herein.

[0074] If it is determined at 232 that PCI_m is a non-NES cell, the UE may select the PCI_m cell at 236 for initial cell selection.

[0075] If it is determined at 232 that PCI_m is not a non-NES cell, the UE may increment index m at 232 and check the next PCI_m. This process may be repeated until a non-NES cell is found. In some embodiments, if a non-NES cell is not found, index m may be reset to 1, and the process may select a NES cell for initial cell selection.

[0076] Figure 3An operational flow / algorithm structure 300 is illustrated in accordance with some aspects. The operational flow / algorithm structure 300 may be performed or implemented by a UE such as UE 104 or 600 or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 604A).

[0077] The operational flow / algorithm structure 300 may include determining an integer N greater than one at 304. The integer may be determined by accessing the integer from a memory of the UE. The integer may be predefined, associated with subscription information of the UE, or signaled in a SIB transmission.

[0078] The operation flow / algorithm structure 300 may also include selecting a plurality of cells for the cell selection process at 308. The selected cells may be considered candidate cells that meet a set of selection criteria. Unless otherwise described herein, the selection criteria may be similar to the selection criteria described in 3GPP TS 38.304v17.1.0 (2022-06). In some embodiments, the UE may use strict RRM requirements in the selection of candidate cells.

[0079] The operation flow / algorithm structure 300 may also include selecting a non-NES cell from a plurality of candidate cells at 312. In some embodiments, the candidate cells may be ranked based on a ranking criterion. Unless otherwise described herein, the ranking criterion may be similar to the ranking criterion described in 3GPP TS 38.304.

[0080] In some embodiments, selection of non-NES cells may be ensured or encouraged by incorporating the NES type into the selection or ranking criteria. For example, the selection criteria may additionally include a requirement that the candidate cell is a non-NES cell. For another example, the ranking criteria may prioritize non-NES cells for initial cell selection. In this way, if no suitable non-NES cell is available, the UE may be able to select an NES cell for camping, even if it is less preferred for reasons discussed elsewhere herein.

[0081] The operational flow / algorithm structure 300 may also include, at 316 , residing on a non-NES cell.

[0082] Figure 4 An operational flow / algorithm structure 400 is illustrated in accordance with some aspects. The operational flow / algorithm structure 400 may be performed or implemented by a UE such as UE 104 or 600 or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 604A).

[0083] The operation flow / algorithm structure 400 may include camping on a first cell at 404. The first cell may be a NES cell or a non-NES cell. The UE may camp on the first cell in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state.

[0084] When camped, the UE may detect a trigger to initiate a cell reselection procedure. In some embodiments, the trigger may be related to an RRM or RLM procedure performed when camped on the first cell. If the first cell is an NES cell, the UE may apply relaxed RRM / RLM requirements. If the first cell is a non-NES cell, the UE may apply strict RRM / RLM requirements.

[0085] The operational flow / algorithm structure 400 may also include determining that the second cell is a NES cell at 408. In some embodiments, the UE may make this determination based on: a bit value in the SIB; a detected periodicity of the SSB; a SIB1 parameter indicating whether an SSB exists or whether SIB1 is broadcast; whether a cell DRX / DTX configuration exists in the SIB; whether a discovery reference signal is detected; or SMTC periodicity.

[0086] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that the second cell is a NES cell based on the presence of the second cell in a neighboring NES cell list provided by the first cell. The neighboring NES cell list may be sent in a SIB3 transmission if the UE is performing intra-frequency reselection, or in a SIB4 transmission if the UE is performing inter-frequency reselection.

[0087] The operational flow / algorithm structure 400 may also include selecting a second cell from the plurality of candidate cells at 412. The selection of the second cell may be based on a ranking criterion that sets the second cell as the most preferred target for reselection. In some embodiments, the plurality of candidate cells may include both non-NES cells and NES cells. The NES cell may be associated with a higher reselection priority than a reselection priority associated with the non-NES cell. Prioritization may occur as described elsewhere herein. For example,

[0088] The operational flow / algorithm structure 400 may also include, at 416, performing a cell reselection process to transition from the first cell to the second cell.

[0089] Figure 5 An operational flow / algorithm structure 500 is illustrated in accordance with some aspects. The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may be performed or implemented by a base station, such as base station 108 or 700, or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 704A).

[0090] The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may include providing NES cells at 504. The NES cells may be provided by employing one or more of the NES techniques described herein.

[0091] The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may also include, at 508, barring non-NES capable (e.g., legacy) UEs from the NES cell. In some embodiments, the barring of legacy UEs may be performed by determining that there is no early indication in the RACH process and rejecting the UE that is attempting to connect to the NES cell. In other embodiments, the barring of legacy UEs may be performed by setting a reservation parameter to true in SIB1 in conjunction with providing a new indication that the NES cell is "performing NES barring". The new indication may be provided in SIB1 or another SIB.

[0092] Figure 6 UE 600 according to some embodiments is illustrated. UE 600 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 104 and is substantially interchangeable therewith.

[0093] UE 600 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an XR device, glasses, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, or an actuator), a video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., a camera or a camcorder), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), or an IoT device.

[0094] UE 600 may include processor 604, RF interface circuit 608, memory / storage 612, user interface 616, sensor 620, driver circuit 622, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 624, antenna structures 626, and battery 628. The components of UE 600 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logical components, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Figure 6 The block diagram of UE 600 is intended to show a high-level view of certain of the components of UE 600. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0095] Components of UE 600 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 632, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, or optical connection that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0096] The processor 604 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 604A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 604B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 604C. The processor 604 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program codes, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 612) to cause the UE 600 to perform operations as described herein.

[0097] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 604A can access the communication protocol stack 636 in the memory / storage device 612 to communicate through a 3GPP compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 604A can access the communication protocol stack 636 to: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC sublayer, PDCP sublayer, SDAP sublayer and upper layers; and perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC sublayer, PDCP sublayer, RRC layer and NAS layer. In some embodiments, the PHY layer operations can be additionally / alternatively performed by components of the RF interface circuit 608.

[0098] The baseband processor circuit 604A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compatible network. In some embodiments, the waveforms used for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0099] The memory / storage 612 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 636) that may be executed by one or more processors in the processor 604 to enable the UE 600 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 612 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 600. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 612 may be located on the processor 604 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 612 is located outside the processor 604 but can be accessed via a memory interface. The memory / storage 612 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0100] The RF interface circuit 608 may include a transceiver circuit and a radio frequency front end module (RFEM) that allows the UE 600 to communicate with other devices through a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 608 may include various elements arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, and control circuits.

[0101] In the receive path, the RFEM may receive the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 626 and proceed to filter and amplify the signal (using a low noise amplifier). The signal may be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processor 604.

[0102] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via the antenna 626.

[0103] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 608 may be configured to send / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0104] Antenna 626 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 626 may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple input / multiple output communications. Antenna 626 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, or a phased array antenna. Antenna 626 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band (including a frequency band in FR1 or FR2).

[0105] The user interface circuit 616 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable the user to interact with the UE 600. The user interface 616 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual components for accepting input, especially including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., reset button), physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touch pad, touch screen, microphone, scanner, headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual components for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuit may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, especially including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (such as light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, and projectors), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 600.

[0106] Sensor 620 may include a device, module, or subsystem that is designed to detect events or changes in its environment and send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, or subsystem. Examples of such sensors include: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, or a magnetometer; a liquid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; and a microphone or other similar audio capture device.

[0107] The driver circuit 622 may include software elements and hardware elements that operate to control a specific device embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 600. The driver circuit 622 may include separate drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various I / O devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 600. For example, the driver circuit 612 may include circuits that facilitate coupling a UICC (e.g., UICC 68) to the UE 600. For another example, the driver circuit 622 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuit 620 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 620, a driver for obtaining actuator positioning of an electromechanical component or controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0108] The PMIC 624 may manage the power provided to various components of the UE 600. Specifically, with respect to the processor 604, the PMIC 624 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0109] In some embodiments, the PMIC 624 may control or otherwise be a part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 600, including DRX, as discussed herein.

[0110] The battery 628 can power the UE 600, but in some examples, the UE 600 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 628 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 628 can be a typical lead-acid automobile battery.

[0111] Figure 7 Illustrated is a base station 700 according to some embodiments. The base station 700 may be similar to the base stations 108 or 116 and may be substantially interchangeable therewith.

[0112] Base station 700 may include a processor 704 , RF interface circuitry 708 (if implemented as an access node), core network (CN) interface circuitry 712 , memory / storage circuitry 716 , and antenna structures 726 .

[0113] Components of base station 700 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 728 .

[0114] The processor 704, RF interface circuit 708, memory / storage circuit 716 (including communication protocol stack 710), antenna structure 726 and interconnect 728 may be similar to those of reference Figure 6 Like named elements are shown and described.

[0115] The CN interface circuit 712 may provide a connection to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a 5th generation core network (5GC) compatible network interface protocol such as a carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol). The network connection may be provided to / from the base station 700 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 712 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit 712 may include multiple controllers for providing connections to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0116] In some embodiments, the base station 700 may be coupled to a transmit receive point (TRP) using antenna structures 726, CN interface circuits, or other interface circuits.

[0117] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0118] For one or more aspects, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the following embodiments section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. For another example, the circuits associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the examples section.

[0119] Example

[0120] In the following sections, additional exemplary aspects are provided.

[0121] Embodiment 1 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: determining an integer greater than one; selecting a certain number of cells for a cell selection process, the number being equal to or less than the integer; selecting a non-network energy saving (NES) cell from the number of cells; and camping on the non-NES cell.

[0122] Embodiment 2 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the UE is a NES-capable UE.

[0123] Embodiment 3 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein determining the integer includes: accessing the integer from a memory of the UE, wherein the integer is predefined, associated with subscription information of the UE, or signaled by a system information block (SIB).

[0124] Embodiment 4 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the method further comprises: storing a set of relaxed radio resource management (RRM) requirements and a set of strict RRM requirements; and using the set of strict RRM requirements in the cell selection process.

[0125] Embodiment 5 includes the method according to embodiment 4 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: performing a cell reselection procedure using the set of relaxed RRM requirements.

[0126] Embodiment 6 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: camping on a first cell; determining that a second cell is a network energy saving (NES) cell; based on the determination that the second cell is an NES cell, selecting the second cell from a plurality of candidate cells; and based on the selection of the second cell, performing a cell reselection process to transition from the first cell to the second cell.

[0127] Embodiment 7 includes the method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: storing a set of relaxed radio resource management (RRM) requirements and a set of strict RRM requirements; and performing the cell reselection process based on the set of relaxed RRM requirements.

[0128] Embodiment 8 includes the method according to embodiment 7 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: while camping on the second cell, performing an RRM or radio link monitoring procedure using the set of relaxed RRM requirements.

[0129] Embodiment 9 includes the method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, wherein determining that the second cell is a NES cell includes: determining that the second cell is a NES cell based on: a bit value in a system information block (SIB); a detected periodicity of a synchronization signal block (SSB); a system information block 1 (SIB1) parameter indicating whether an SSB exists; whether SIB1 is broadcast; whether an uplink wake-up signal (WUS) configuration exists in the SIB; whether a cell discontinuous reception (DRX) or discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration exists in the SIB, whether a reference signal is detected; or an SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC) periodicity.

[0130] Embodiment 10 includes the method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, wherein determining that the second cell is a NES cell includes: receiving a neighboring NES cell list from the first cell, the neighboring NES cell list indicating that the second cell is a NES cell.

[0131] Embodiment 11 includes a method according to embodiment 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein: the neighbor NES cell list is used for intra-frequency cell reselection and is provided in a system information block 3 (SIB3) transmission; or is used for inter-frequency cell reselection and is provided in a system information block 4 (SIB4) transmission.

[0132] Embodiment 12 includes a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: determining that an NES cell is associated with a first reselection priority; determining that a non-NES cell is associated with a second reselection priority; and selecting the second cell from the multiple candidate cells based on the first reselection priority being greater than the second reselection priority.

[0133] Embodiment 13 includes a method according to embodiment 12 or some other embodiment herein, wherein determining that a NES cell is associated with a first reselection priority includes: receiving a first set of frequency priority values ​​associated with the NES cell, the first set of frequency priority values ​​corresponding to the first reselection priority; and receiving a second set of frequency priority values ​​associated with a non-NES cell, the second set of frequency priority values ​​corresponding to the second reselection priority.

[0134] Embodiment 14 includes a method according to embodiment 12 or some other embodiment herein, wherein selecting the second cell from the multiple candidate cells further includes: identifying a scaling factor or bias; and based on the scaling factor or bias, comparing the measurement of the second cell with a cell reselection criterion associated with the cell reselection process.

[0135] Embodiment 15 includes a method according to embodiment 14 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: applying the scaling factor or bias to: a parameter applied to the measurement of the second cell, the measurement of the second cell, or the cell reselection criterion.

[0136] Embodiment 16 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the scaling factor or offset is applied to a parameter used to obtain the measurement of the second cell, the parameter being a trigger time parameter or a hysteresis offset.

[0137] Embodiment 17 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the scaling factor or bias is applied to the measurement of the second cell, and the measurement is a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) measurement.

[0138] Embodiment 18 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the scaling factor or bias is applied to the cell reselection criterion, and the cell reselection criterion is a cell selection reception level value threshold; or a cell selection quality level threshold for inter-frequency or inter-RAT measurements.

[0139] Embodiment 19 includes the method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: performing cell ranking in the target frequency; and selecting the second cell based on the cell ranking.

[0140] Embodiment 20 includes a method according to embodiment 19 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: determining a range parameter to the best cell providing a value range; selecting a plurality of NES cells having neighboring cell ranking criterion (R) values ​​within the value range; and performing the cell ranking on the plurality of NES cells.

[0141] Embodiment 21 includes the method according to embodiment 20 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the method further includes: determining that the second cell has the shortest synchronization signal block (SSB) periodicity of the multiple NES cells; and selecting the second cell based on the determination that the second cell has the shortest SSB periodicity.

[0142] Embodiment 22 includes a method according to embodiment 20 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: receiving a NES cell-specific Qoffset in a system information block or a radio resource control release message; and determining the R value based on the NES cell-specific Qoffset.

[0143] Embodiment 23 includes a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: sending an indication that the UE is a UE with NES capability in message 1 or message 3 of a random access channel (RACH) procedure.

[0144] Embodiment 24 includes a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: detecting an indication in a system information block 1 (SIB1) transmission that the second cell is a cell reserved for other purposes or a cell reserved for future purposes; and detecting an indication in a broadcast message that the second cell is performing NES prohibition.

[0145] Embodiment 25 comprises a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: providing a network energy saving (NES) cell; and prohibiting a UE without NES capability from camping on the NES cell.

[0146] Embodiment 26 includes a method according to embodiment 25 or some other embodiment herein, wherein prohibiting a UE without NES capability from residing on the NES service cell includes: determining that the first UE is a UE without NES capability based on the absence of an early indication in a random access channel (RACH) process with the first UE; and denying access to the first UE based on the determination that the first UE is a UE without NES capability.

[0147] Embodiment 27 includes a method according to embodiment 25 or some other embodiment herein, wherein prohibiting a UE without NES capability from camping on the NES serving cell includes: sending an indication that the NES serving cell is a cell reserved for other purposes or a cell reserved for future purposes in a system information block 1 (SIB1) transmission; and sending an indication that the NES serving cell is performing NES prohibition in a broadcast message. Another embodiment may include an apparatus including components for performing one or more elements of a method according to or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 27 or any other method or process described herein.

[0148] Another embodiment may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 27 or any other method or process described herein.

[0149] Another embodiment may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of a method as described or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 27, or any other method or process described herein.

[0150] Another embodiment may include a method, technique or process as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 27 or a portion or component thereof.

[0151] Another embodiment may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 27 or a portion thereof.

[0152] Another embodiment may include a signal as described or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 27, or parts or components thereof.

[0153] Another embodiment may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 27 or parts or components thereof or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0154] Another embodiment may include a signal encoded with data as described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 27, or parts or components thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0155] Another embodiment may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message as described or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 27 or parts or components thereof or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0156] Another embodiment may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of these computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described or related to any one or part of Embodiments 1 to 27.

[0157] Another embodiment may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described or related to any one or part of Embodiments 1 to 27.

[0158] Another embodiment may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0159]

[0013] Another embodiment may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0160]

[0013] Another embodiment may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0161]

[0013] Another embodiment may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0162] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the various aspects to the precise form disclosed. In view of the above teachings, modifications and variations are possible or can be obtained from the practice of various aspects.

[0163] Although the above aspects have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Determine an integer greater than one; selecting a number of cells for a cell selection process, the number being equal to or less than the integer; selecting a non-network energy saving (NES) cell from the number of cells; and Resides on the non-NES cell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is a UE with NES capability.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the integer comprises: accessing the integer from a memory of the UE, The integer is predefined, associated with subscription information of the UE, or signaled by a system information block (SIB).

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: storing a set of relaxed radio resource management (RRM) requirements and a set of strict RRM requirements; The set of strict RRM requirements is used in the cell selection process.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: A cell reselection procedure is performed using the relaxed set of RRM requirements.

6. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Reside on the first cell; Determining that the second cell is a network energy saving (NES) cell; Based on the determination that the second cell is an NES cell, selecting the second cell from a plurality of candidate cells; as well as Based on the selecting the second cell, a cell reselection procedure is performed to transition from the first cell to the second cell.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: storing a set of relaxed radio resource management (RRM) requirements and a set of strict RRM requirements; as well as The cell reselection procedure is performed based on the relaxed set of RRM requirements.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: While camping on the second cell, an RRM or radio link monitoring procedure is performed using the relaxed set of RRM requirements.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein determining that the second cell is a NES cell comprises: determining that the second cell is a NES cell based on: a bit value in a system information block (SIB); The detected periodicity of the synchronization signal block (SSB); the system information block 1 (SIB1) parameter indicating whether the SSB exists; whether SIB1 is broadcast; whether there is an uplink wake-up signal (WUS) configuration in the SIB; whether there is a cell discontinuous reception (DRX) or discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration in the SIB, whether the reference signal is detected; or the SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC) periodicity.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein determining that the second cell is a NES cell comprises: A neighboring NES cell list is received from the first cell, the neighboring NES cell list indicating that the second cell is a NES cell.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The neighbor NES cell list is used for intra-frequency cell reselection and is provided in a system information block 3 (SIB3) transmission; or Used for inter-frequency cell reselection and provided in System Information Block 4 (SIB4) transmission.

12. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: determining that a NES cell is associated with a first reselection priority; determining that a non-NES cell is associated with a second reselection priority; as well as Based on the first reselection priority being greater than the second reselection priority, the second cell is selected from the plurality of candidate cells.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining that the NES cell is associated with the first reselection priority comprises: receiving a first set of frequency priority values ​​associated with a NES cell, the first set of frequency priority values ​​corresponding to the first reselection priority; as well as A second set of frequency priority values ​​associated with non-NES cells is received, the second set of frequency priority values ​​corresponding to the second reselection priority level.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein selecting the second cell from the plurality of candidate cells further comprises: Identify the scaling factor or bias; as well as Based on the scaling factor or offset, the measurement of the second cell is compared to a cell reselection criterion associated with the cell reselection procedure.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: The scaling factor or offset is applied to: a parameter applied to the measurement of the second cell, the measurement of the second cell, or the cell reselection criterion.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the scaling factor or offset is applied to a parameter used to obtain the measurement of the second cell, the parameter being a time to trigger parameter or a hysteresis offset.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the scaling factor or offset is applied to the measurement of the second cell, and the measurement is a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) measurement.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the scaling factor or offset is applied to the cell reselection criterion, and the cell reselection criterion is a cell selection reception level value threshold; or a cell selection quality level threshold for inter-frequency or inter-RAT measurement.

19. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: performing cell sorting in the target frequency; as well as The second cell is selected based on the cell ranking.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: determining a range parameter to an optimal cell providing a range of values; selecting a plurality of NES cells having neighbor cell ranking criterion (R) values ​​within the value range; as well as The cell ranking is performed on the plurality of NES cells.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising: Determining that the second cell has the shortest synchronization signal block (SSB) periodicity of the plurality of NES cells; as well as Based on the determination that the second cell has the shortest SSB periodicity, the second cell is selected.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising: Receiving a NES cell specific Qoffset in a system information block or a radio resource control release message; as well as The R value is determined based on the NES cell-specific Qoffset.

23. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: An indication that the UE is a NES capable UE is sent in message 1 or message 3 of a random access channel (RACH) procedure.

24. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: detecting, in a system information block 1 (SIB1) transmission, an indication that the second cell is a cell reserved for other purposes or a cell reserved for future purposes; as well as An indication that the second cell is performing NES barring is detected in a broadcast message.

25. A method of operating a base station, the method comprising: Provide Network Energy Saving (NES) cells; as well as UEs without NES capabilities are prohibited from camping on the NES cell.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein prohibiting a non-NES capable UE from camping on the NES serving cell comprises: determining that the first UE is a non-NES capable UE based on the absence of an early indication in a random access channel (RACH) procedure with the first UE; as well as Based on the determination that the first UE is a UE without NES capability, access to the first UE is denied.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein prohibiting a non-NES capable UE from camping on the NES serving cell comprises: sending, in a system information block 1 (SIB1) transmission, an indication that the NES serving cell is a cell reserved for other purposes or a cell reserved for future purposes; as well as An indication that the NES serving cell is performing NES barring is sent in a broadcast message.

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