Small data transfer in wireless network

Abstract

A method performed by a user equipment. The method includes recording in a report information related to a small data transfer procedure performed by the user equipment. The method also includes transmitting the report to the network node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices, and computer-readable media related to wireless networks, and in particular, to small data transmission in wireless networks. Background Art Small data transfer

[0002] Small data solutions have been introduced earlier in Long Term Evolution (LTE), with the focus on Machine Type Communications (MTC). For example, Rel-15 Mobile Originated (MO) Early Data Transfer (EDT) and Rel-16 Mobile Terminated (MT) EDT as well as Pre-Configured Uplink Resources (PUR) have been standardized for LTE-M and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Unlike these features, Rel-17 Small Data Transfer (SDT) for New Radio (NR) does not directly target MTC use cases, and the work item description (WID) includes smartphone background services as a justification. In Rel-17, SDT covered MO services, i.e. uplink originated services, but in Rel-18, work is starting on MT-SDT to cover downlink originated services.

[0003] The Rel-17 SDT WI objectives outline two main objectives: a random access channel (RACH) based scheme (also known as random access SDT, RA-SDT) and pre-configured physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources (also known as configured-grant ST, CG-SDT). Compared to LTE-M and NB-IoT, for SDT, 4-step RACH and 2-step RACH schemes are supported. The 4-step RACH based scheme is similar to the Rel-15 user plane (UP)-EDT, and the pre-configured PUSCH resources are similar to the Rel-16 UP-PUR. In addition, Rel-17 SDT currently only involves data transmission in the inactive state, and therefore CP optimization of EDT and PUR is not currently relevant. 2-step RACH has not yet been specified for LTE, and therefore there is currently no LTE corresponding scheme for 2-step RACH based SDT. A 4-step RA type random access procedure is used

[0004] The 4-step RACH scheme has been used in 4G LTE and is also the baseline for 5G NR. The principles of this process in NR are described in Figure 1 Shown in.

[0005] Step 1: Preamble transmission

[0006] The UE randomly selects the RA preamble (PREAMBLE_INDEX) corresponding to the selected synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block of the contention / serving cell and transmits it on the PRACH opportunity mapped by the selected SS / PBCH block. When the gNB detects the preamble, it estimates the timing advance (TA) that the UE should use in order to obtain uplink (UL) synchronization at the gNB.

[0007] Step 2: RA Response (RAR)

[0008] The gNB sends a RA Response (RAR) that includes the TA, the TC-RNTI (temporary identifier) ​​to be used by the UE, the random access preamble identifier matching the transmitted PREAMBLE_INDEX, and the UL grant for Msg3. The UE expects a RAR and therefore monitors the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) addressed to the RA-RNTI to receive a RAR message from the gNB until the configured RAR window (ra-ResponseWindow) has expired or until the RAR has been successfully received.

[0009] From 3GPP TS38.321: "After successfully receiving a Random Access Response containing a Random Access Preamble identifier that matches the transmitted PREAMBLE_INDEX, the MAC entity may stop the ra-ResponseWindow (and thus monitor the Random Access Response(s))."

[0010] Step 3: “Msg3” (UE ID or UE-specific C-RNTI)

[0011] In Msg3, the UE transmits its identifier (UE ID, or more precisely, the initial part of the 5G-TMSI) for initial access, or if it is already in RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_INACTIVE mode and needs to, for example, resynchronize its UE-specific RNTI. If the gNB cannot decode Msg3 at the granted UL resources, it can send downlink control information (DCI) addressed to the TC-RNTI for retransmission of Msg3. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) retransmission is requested until the UE restarts the random access procedure from step 1 after reaching the maximum number of HARQ retransmissions, or until Msg3 can be successfully received by the gNB.

[0012] Step 4: “Msg4” (Content Resolution)

[0013] In Msg4, the gNB responds by confirming the UE ID or C-RNTI. Msg4 provides contention resolution, i.e., even if several UEs have used the same preamble (and the same grant for Msg3 transmission) at the same time, only one UE ID or C-RNTI will be transmitted.

[0014] For Msg4 reception, the UE monitors TC-RNTI (if it transmitted its UE ID in Msg3) or C-RNTI (if it transmitted its C-RNTI in Msg3). A 2-step RA type random access procedure is used

[0015] The 2-step RA type gives a much shorter latency compared to the 4-step RA. In 2-step RA, the message and preamble corresponding to Msg3 (msgAPUSCH) in 4-step RA can be transmitted in two consecutive time slots depending on the configuration. The msgAPUSCH is sent on resources dedicated to a specific preamble. This means that both the preamble and Msg3 face contention, but the contention resolution in this case means that either the preamble and Msg3 are sent without conflict, or both are sent in conflict. Figure 2 The 2-step RA process is depicted in FIG.

[0016] After successfully receiving msgA, the gNB shall respond with msgB. msgB can be "successRAR", "fallbackRAR" or "Back off". The content of msgB has been agreed (such as Figure 2 ). Note in particular that the fallbackRAR provides a grant for Msg3PUSCH, which identifies the resources in which the UE should transmit PUSCH, as well as other information.

[0017] NOTE: The notations "msgA" and "MsgA" are used interchangeably herein to refer to message A. Similarly, the notations "msgB" and "MsgB" are used interchangeably herein to refer to message B.

[0018] The possibility of replacing the 4-step message exchange by a 2-step message exchange will result in reduced RA latency. On the other hand, 2-step RA will consume more resources because it uses contention-based data transmission. This means that resources configured for data transmission may often go unused. Another difference is that 2-step RA operates without timing advance (TA) because there is no feedback from the gNB on how to adjust the uplink synchronization before transmitting the data payload in the MsgA PUSCH. Therefore, the UE applies TA=0 and the use of 2-step RACH is limited to cells of smaller size.

[0019] If both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured in a cell (and for a UE) on a shared PRACH resource, then the UE will select its preamble from one specific set if it wants to do a 4-step RA, and from another set if it wants to do a 2-step RA. Thus, when using a shared PRACH resource, preamble partitioning is done to distinguish between 4-step RA and 2-step RA. Alternatively, the PRACH configuration is different for the 2-step and 4-step RA procedures, in which case it can be inferred from the location where the preamble transmission is done if the UE is doing a 2-step or 4-step procedure.

[0020] In a 3GPP Rel-162 RA type procedure, UEs are informed of potential time-frequency resources where they can transmit MsgA PRACH and MsgAPUSCH via higher layer signaling from the network. PRACH is transmitted in periodically repeated RACH opportunities ("RO"), while PUSCH is transmitted in periodically repeated PUSCH opportunities ("PO"). PUSCH opportunities are described in an MsgA PUSCH configuration provided by higher layer signaling. Each MsgA PUSCH configuration defines the start time of the PUSCH opportunity, which is measured from the start of the corresponding RACH opportunity. In an MsgA PUSCH configuration, multiple PUSCH opportunities can be multiplexed in time and frequency, where the POs in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol occupy a given number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) and are adjacent in frequency, and where the POs occupy "L" consecutive OFDM symbols. The POs multiplexed in time in the MsgA PUSCH configuration can be separated by a configured gap of "G" symbols long. The start of the first occupied OFDM symbol in a PUSCH slot is indicated via a start and length indicator value ("SLIV"). A MsgAPUSCH configuration may include multiple consecutive PUSCH slots, each containing the same number of POs. The start of the first PRB relative to the first PRB in the bandwidth part (BWP) is also given by the MsgAPUSCH configuration. In addition, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for the MsgAPUSCH is also given by the MsgAPUSCH configuration.

[0021] Each PRACH preamble is mapped to a PUSCH opportunity and a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port and / or a DMRS port scrambling sequence combination according to the procedure given in 3GPP TS 38.213v17.2.0. This mapping allows the gNB to uniquely determine the location in time and frequency of the associated PUSCH and the DMRS port and / or scrambling based on the preamble selected by the UE. Small Data Transfer (SDT) Process

[0022] NR supports the RRC_INACTIVE (in Release 17) state, and UEs with infrequent (periodic and / or aperiodic) data transmissions (interchangeably referred to as small data transmissions, or SDT) are generally maintained by the network not in RRC_IDLE but in the RRC_INACTIVE state. Until Rel-16, the RRC_INACTIVE state did not support data transmission. Therefore, for any DL data reception and UL data transmission, the UE must resume the connection (i.e., move to the RRC_CONNECTED state). For each data transmission, connection establishment and subsequent release to the RRC_INACTIVE state occur. This results in unnecessary power consumption and signaling overhead. For this reason, support for UE transmissions in the RRC_INACTIVE state using a random access procedure, i.e., SDT, was introduced in Rel-17. SDT is the process of transmitting UL data from a UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0023] exist Figure 3 An example process is described in . Figure 3 An overview of the basic SDT procedure is provided when the network decides to resume the UE after an SDT session.

[0024] SDT is performed using either random access (RA-SDT) or configuration grant (CG-SDT). The case where the UE transmits UL data using random access may use both 4-step RA and 2-step RA (see above). If the UE uses the 4-step RA type for the SDT procedure, the UE transmits UL data in Msg3. If the UE uses the 2-step RA type for the SDT procedure, the UE transmits UL data in MsgAPUSCH.

[0025] Since Rel-15, two types of configuration grant (CG) UL transmission schemes have been supported in NR, referred to as CG Type 1 and CG Type 2 in the standard. The main difference between these two types of CG transmissions is that for CG Type 1, the uplink grant is provided by the radio resource control (RRC) configuration and automatically activated, while in the case of CG Type 2, the uplink grant is provided and activated via L1 signaling, i.e., provided and activated by a UL DCI with a cyclic reference check (CRC) scrambled by the CS-RNTI. In both cases, the spatial relationship for PUSCH transmission with configuration grant is indicated by the uplink grant, which is either configured by RRC or provided by the UL DCI.

[0026] The CG period is RRC configured and this is specified in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE. Different period values ​​are supported in NR depending on the subcarrier spacing.

[0027] For use in SDT, only configuration grant type 1 is supported and the gNB may configure the UE with a configuration grant and may also configure (one or more) reference signal received power (RSRP) thresholds for selecting the UL carrier. The configuration is given in a RRCRelease message sent to the UE when in the connected state (to move the UE into the inactive state), or alternatively, in another dedicated RRC message, for example when the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED. Alternatively, the configuration is given in a RRCRelease message after a small data transfer procedure, where the UE has started the procedure in RRC_INACTIVE and where the UE remains in RRC_INACTIVE after the procedure is completed. Using resources of the configuration grant type requires the UE to remain in a synchronized state because time alignment is maintained. If the UE is out of time alignment, a RA type procedure may be initiated instead (see above).

[0028] Step 0: The UE in RRC_INACTIVE has a stored UE AS inactive context, including the I-RNTI (received in the last RRCRelease message including suspendConfig) and the latest security keys (e.g. K RRCInt , K RRCenc , K UPInt , K UPenc ), and when camping on the cell of the target gNB, determine to perform SDT (i.e., start an SDT session).

[0029] Step 1: The UE reestablishes and resumes SRB1 and other radio bearers (RBs) configured for SDT configuration and derives a new KgNB for the target gNB based on the stored KgNB and the stored Next Hop Link Count (NCC) value (which has also been received in the last RRCRelease message including suspendConfig). a) This means that the UE will use the stored NCC value based on the current K gNB Key or NH to derive the target cell's K gNB Key b) Then, the UE will calculate K RRCenc Key, K RRCint Key, K UPint Key and K UPenc Key c) Configure the PDCP layer for SDT-RB to apply the new key derived above

[0030] Step 2: The UE transmits an RRC recovery request message including I-RNTI, recovery MAC-I, recovery reason + data on the SDT RB.

[0031] Step 3: As in the conventional recovery process, the network performs context acquisition with the last serving gNB identified by the I-RNTI in the recovery request. The last serving gNodeB (which may be referred to as the anchor gNB) has the UE AS inactive context stored and is able to identify this as a legitimate UE based on the recovery MAC-I, so the anchor gNodeB provides the context to the target gNodeB. This step is performed when the receiving gNB does not have the UE AS context.

[0032] Step 4: Upon receiving the UE AS Inactive Context, the target gNodeB establishes the UE context and processes the received SDT and forwards it to the CN.

[0033] Step 5: In case the UL data buffer is not emptied or there is more DL data than can be multiplexed using the RRCRelease message, subsequent UL / DL data on the SDT RB may be exchanged.

[0034] Step 6: In case the data arrives in DRB instead of SDT RB, the UE sends a non-SDT data indication.

[0035] Step 7: The UE receives RRCRelease, which includes the suspendConfig, new NCC parameters (for key derivation in the next resume request) and new I-RNTI, so the SDT session ends. Note that in the case where the UE has non-SDT data at step 6, the network can send a RRCResume message to put the UE into the RRC connected state.

[0036] In step 6, if applicable, the UE triggers the transmission of a dedicated control channel (DCCH) message to the network on SRB1, where the RRC message indicates the availability of data in the buffers of (one or more) SRBs / (one or more) DRBs that are not configured for SDT. The RRC message is transmitted as SDT data during the SDT process. Based on the RRC message, the NW can use the RRCResume response to put the UE into connected mode in step 7, or alternatively use the RRCRelease including suspendConfig to put the UE into idle mode. SDT initiated

[0037] like Figure 4 As shown in, which illustrates a flow chart of a method for initiating an SDT process, the UE needs to check some conditions and thresholds to decide whether to initiate SDT. According to RRC TS 38.331:

[0038] The UE in RRC_INACTIVE initiates the SDT recovery procedure when all of the following conditions are met:

[0039] 1> The upper layer requests to restore the RRC connection; and

[0040] 1>SIB1 includes SDT-configCommon; and

[0041] sdt-Config is configured; and

[0042] 1> All pending data in the UE is mapped to the radio bearer configured for SDT; and

[0043] 1> The lower layer indicates that the conditions for initiating SDT as specified in TS 38.321 [3] are met.

[0044] Figure 4 A flow chart of the thresholds checked by the UE during the SDT initiation procedure is shown in FIG.

[0045] As shown, in the first step of the method, the UE verifies whether the data amount is less than the configured SDT data amount. In addition, the UE verifies whether the RSRP value is greater than the configured SDT RSRP threshold.

[0046] There is a certain challenge(s) at the moment.

[0047] The SDT operation for inactive state UEs has been specified in Rel 17, see for example RRC specification 3GPP TS 38.331 v17.0.0. However, unless the UE provides the network with sufficient information about the SDT operation performed, the operation and its related configuration parameters cannot be optimized.

[0048] An example scenario where suboptimal operation may occur is that a cell may broadcast a suboptimal SDT monitoring timer (e.g., T319a according to the RRC specification). Figure 4 This timer may be initiated or started when the timer is running (determined in ). When the timer is running, SDT transmission may be performed; when the timer is not running, SDT transmission may not be performed. A timer that is too short may result in an unsuccessful SDT operation, for example, abort of the SDT without complete transmission of all SDT-related data mapped to the SDT radio bearer. This increases the RACH load and transmission latency because the UE needs to initiate an additional RACH process to complete the SDT operation.

[0049] Another example may be a situation where the network suboptimally sets the SDT-related RSRP thresholds, such that the UE in the cell cannot perform SDT operations even though the RACH resources are allocated by the RAN node for the UE to perform SDT operations. This problem may have even more serious consequences, for example, the thresholds may have been correctly set by the RAN node, but coverage issues at the cell (e.g., uplink coverage issues or downlink coverage differences) do not allow the UE to perform SDT operations.

[0050] Another example could be where the UE has failed multiple times using 2-step RACH before later succeeding (using either 4-step RA or legacy RA), in which case the gNB, or the network more generally, would be interested in finding out more about these failed attempts. Summary of the invention

[0051] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0052] One aspect provides a method performed by a user equipment. The method includes: recording information related to a small data transfer (SDT) procedure performed by the user equipment in a report; and transmitting the report to a network node.

[0053] Another aspect provides a method performed by a distributed unit (DU) of a base station. The method includes: recording information related to a small data transfer (SDT) procedure performed by a user equipment to the DU in a report; and transmitting the report to a central unit (CU) of the base station.

[0054] Another aspect provides a method performed by a network node, the method comprising: receiving one or more reports including information related to one or more SDT processes, the one or more reports including one or more of the following: a first report, the first report being received from a user device and including information related to one or more SDT processes performed by the user device; and a second report, the second report being received from a distributed unit coupled to the network node and including information related to one or more SDT processes performed by the distributed unit. The method also includes adapting one or more parameters for the SDT process based on the information.

[0055] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages.

[0056] The method and solution of the present disclosure allows a wireless terminal (so-called UE) to record and report additional information about SDT operation, which helps the network optimize the configuration related to SDT operation. For example: A network node that knows the data volume compared to the SDT data volume (eg, how much larger the data volume is than a configured threshold (sdt-DataVolumeThreshold)) can optimize its SDT data volume threshold, thereby guiding the UE to perform SDT operations. • A network node that knows that the RSRP values ​​of some UEs that want to perform SDT operations are not above the SDT RSRP threshold (sdt-RSRP-Threshold) can take this information into account for coverage optimization, so that the optimized coverage enables the UEs to perform more SDT operations when needed. When initiating the RA procedure, know whether the UE is configured with a Medium Access Control (MAC) and physical (PHY) resources (sdt-MAC-PHY-CG-Config) can optimize the MAC and PHY resource allocation for SDT operation, i.e., if there are many UEs that discard their MAC and PHY SDT resources, the gNB can avoid configuring such resources for the UEs. • The network node knows the number of failed 2-step RA-SDT attempts before a successful attempt and can reconfigure the number of 2-step RA-SDT preambles (ie change the size of the PRACH partitions) to reduce the collision rate. The network node knows the reason for RRC recovery failure when T319a timer is running. For example, the UE may indicate that the failure is due to "receiving integrity check failure indication from lower layers when T319 or T319a", or due to "maximum number of MCG RLC retransmissions reached when T319a is running", or due to random access problem when T319a is running, or due to cg-SDT-TimeAlignmentTimer expiration when T319a is running, etc. The network node knows whether the UE has data mapped to non-SDT bearers on the UL buffer at the moment of initiating the random access procedure (in which case the UE may also indicate a specific non-SDT DRB), or the UE has received non-SDT bearers in the UL buffer while the SDT RA procedure is ongoing (i.e. the T319a timer is running) (in which case the UE may also indicate a specific non-SDT DRB). • Network nodes know more specific reasons why RA-SDT or CG-SDT failed. • Network nodes are aware of the cause of SDT failure during HD-FDD operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] For a better understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure, and in order to show how the present disclosure may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0058] Figure 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating a four-step random access procedure;

[0059] Figure 2 is a signaling diagram illustrating a two-step random access procedure;

[0060] Figure 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating a basic SDT procedure;

[0061] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for initiating an SDT transmission;

[0062] Figure 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating communication between a UE and a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0063] Figure 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating communication between a distributed unit of a base station and a central unit of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0064] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating communication between a UE, a distributed unit of a base station, and a central unit of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0065] Figure 8 is a flow chart of a method performed by a UE;

[0066] Fig. 9 is a flow chart of a method performed by a distributed unit of a base station;

[0067] Fig.10 is a flow chart of a method performed by a network node such as a base station or a central unit of a base station;

[0068] Fig.11 An example of a communication system according to some embodiments is shown;

[0069] Fig.12 A UE according to some embodiments is shown;

[0070] Fig.13 illustrates a network node according to some embodiments;

[0071] Fig.14 is a block diagram of a host computer according to various aspects described herein;

[0072] Fig.15 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; and

[0073] Fig.16 A communication diagram is shown in which a host communicates with a UE via a network node over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0075] The solution proposed in this disclosure enables UE to log and report information and measurements about successful or failed small data transfer (SDT) operations. A method disclosed in this document is performed by a wireless terminal, see Figure 5 , which illustrates the building blocks of SON reporting signaling between a UE and a radio access network (RAN) node. The method comprises: When performing a random access based or configuration grant based procedure for the purpose of small data transfer (RA-SDT, CG-SDT), either failed or successful operation: UE records information and measurements about SDT operations in reports • The UE transmits a report including information and measurements about the SDT operation to the Radio Access Network (RAN) node.

[0076] The network node optimizes SDT-related configuration parameters upon receiving a report (or a set of reports) including information about the SDT operation.

[0077] The method may also include signaling between RAN node elements in a split RAN architecture between the DU and the CU. In this method, the DU provides information and measurements about SDT operation to the CU, and the CU performs optimization in response to the information provided by the DU and the UE reports, and optionally sends the optimal configuration and information about SDT operation to the DU. Figure 6 , which illustrates the building blocks of SON reporting and configuration signaling between CU and DU for SDT operation.

[0078] The solution proposed in this document enables the UE to log and report information and measurements about successful or failed Small Data Transfer (SDT) operations.

[0079] A method disclosed in this document is performed by a wireless terminal, a so-called user equipment.

[0080] When performing a random access (RA) procedure for small data transfer (SDT) purposes, for example, upon successful completion of the RA or when declaring the RA unsuccessful, the UE records one or more of the following information in a report: An indication whether the data volume is above / below a preconfigured SDT data volume threshold (sdt-DataVolumeThreshold). This information can be used by the RAN node to optimize the data volume threshold for small data transfers. In one embodiment, the data volume is the sum of the data volume at the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and Radio Link Control (RLC) layers before initiating the RA procedure An indication of the absolute amount of data before initiating the RA procedure An indication of the configured data volume threshold (e.g., sdt-DataVolumeThreshold) • An indication of the additional data volume compared to a configured data volume threshold (eg, actual data volume value - (minus) sdt-DataVolumeThreshold). An indication of how much the data volume is below a data volume threshold (eg, sdt-DataVolumeThreshold - data volume value). • An indication whether the RSRP value before the RA procedure is initiated (as part of SDT initiation) is above / below or below a pre-configured SDT RSRP threshold (sdt-RSRP-Threshold). An indication of the RSRP measured when initiating the RA procedure An indication of the configured RSRP threshold (e.g., sdt-RSRP-Threshold) An indication of the difference between the measured RSRP and the configured RSRP threshold An indication of whether a monitoring timer (e.g., T319a SDT monitoring timer) expires in the middle of an SDT operation (i.e., before the end of the SDT operation) An indication of the time between the arrival time of MO data in the UE's PDCP upper layer SAP and the time of availability of the next CG-SDT for RRCResumeRequest message transmission. This provides information to the network as to whether the density granted by the configuration is sufficient or whether the UE has to wait a long time before transmitting actual data starting from the time of arrival of its PDCP upper layer SAP. An indication indicating whether the UE is configured with MAC and PHY resources (sdt-MAC-PHY-CG-Config) when initiating the RA procedure. In one embodiment, the indication indicates that the RA procedure is triggered when the UE discards the MAC and PHY resources configured for SDT. An indication indicating that the RA procedure is performed due to SDT operation. In one embodiment, the UE sets the ra-purpose to SDT operation. • An indication indicating that the UE wants to perform an SDT operation but cannot perform a RA procedure for the SDT operation because the SDT RSRP threshold is not satisfied, so the UE performs a conventional RRC resume request (or RRC establishment request) procedure. An indication of the number of failed SDT attempts before a successful attempt, using 2-step RA-SDT, 4-step RA-SDT or CG-SDT. Additional information of the failed attempts may be appended and may be, for example, any of the following: failure in preamble transmission, failure in MsgA PUSCH transmission, failure in Msg3 transmission, lost contention resolution, T319a expiration, failure due to cell change, etc. ο In the CG-SDT specific log, there can be the number of failed CG-SDT transmissions, and in which CG-SDT occasions they occurred (the gNB cannot distinguish between lost transmissions in the UL and transmission occasions not used by the UE). o In the Rel-18 MT-SDT specific log, the UE may additionally indicate that the failure occurred during the MT-SDT procedure. An indication of the amount of data associated with non-SDT data radio bearers (DRBs) received when performing a RA for the purpose of small data transfer (SDT), and an indication of how much data may have been received. For example, when terminating the RA procedure, the UE may also include an indication of the amount of non-SDT DRB data available at the buffer. In case of failure of the RA procedure, the UE may include the cause of such failure and an indication that the T319a timer was running when the failure occurred. For example, the UE may include an indication that the RA procedure failed due to a maximum number of RLC retransmissions performed while the T319a timer was running, or a random access problem occurred while the T319a timer was running, or a cg-SDT-TimeAlignmentTimer expired while the T319a timer was running. In one embodiment, such information about failed RAs is included in the RLF report. In another embodiment is included in the RA report.

[0081] In another embodiment, when performing a conventional RA procedure (i.e., a non-SDT related procedure), the UE may include an indication of whether SDT data is available in the buffer size at the time of initiating the RA procedure, and may include an indication of the amount of SDT data available for transmission.

[0082] In one embodiment, upon completion of the SDT procedure, e.g., including the RA procedure and possible (one or more) subsequent transmissions after the initial SDT transmission, the UE records (any of) the following information in a report: • An indication of whether subsequent data transmissions were used during the SDT process. For example, the UE may indicate whether a subsequently configured Grant CG SDT opportunity was used, or how much remained unused when no SDT data is left on the UL buffer. • An indication indicating the number or amount of subsequent data packets transmitted after the initial SDT transmission. An indication of the total amount of data transferred during the SDT process o In one embodiment, transmitted uplink and received downlink data for SDT are reported separately. o In one embodiment, the data amount is the sum of the data amounts calculated at the PDCP and RLC layers. ・Indication indicating whether to use CG-SDT An indication of the time interval between initiating a random access procedure associated with an SDT and transmitting an initial SDT. • An indication of the time interval between the transmission of a resume request for SDT purposes (ie triggering T319a) and the first SDT transmission after the transmission of the resume request.

[0083] In one embodiment, when a monitoring timer (eg, timer T319a) expires, or when a maximum number of random access attempts is reached, the UE records SDR-related measurements and information even if the SDT monitoring timer (eg, timer T319a) is running.

[0084] In another embodiment, the UE is configured (e.g., by a network node or based on one or more rules) to log and report information associated with a time alignment (TA) verification procedure performed by the UE for transmitting data using the CG-SDT method. Examples of information that the UE may log and report to the network include one or more of the following: Signal measurement results (e.g., a first RSRP measurement (RSRP1) value) obtained by the UE around a first time instance (T1) when the UE is configured or reconfigured with a TA by a network node (e.g., a serving BS). The configured TA may be used for UE transmit timing adjustment for transmitting data using, for example, a CG-SDT mechanism. When the UE verifies the configured or reconfigured TA, a signal measurement result (e.g., a second RSRP measurement (RSRP2) value) obtained by the UE around a second time instance (T2). In one example, if the magnitude of the difference between RSRP1 and RSRP2 is below a certain threshold, the TA is configured to be valid. The UE may verify the TA before transmitting data in the serving cell, for example, using the CG-SDT mechanism. Information indicating that the UE has been unable to transmit data using SDT, even if the UE intended to transmit data (e.g., data available in a buffer). The indication may also include information related to the type of SDT mechanism that failed to successfully transmit data, such as CG-SDT. The information may also include the reason why the data transmission using the SDT mechanism was unsuccessful. For example, the reason for the failure (or unsuccessful attempt) may include one or more of the following: TA is invalid, RSRP1 is invalid, RSRP2 is invalid, the time alignment timer (TAT) has expired, the CG-SDT opportunity (e.g., the resource in which the SDT can be transmitted) occurs more than X1 time units after the time instance, T2, etc. Examples of X1 time units are X2 milliseconds, X3 time resources, etc. Examples of time resources are symbols, time slots, subframes, frames, SFN cycles, super SFN cycles, etc. For example, if RSRP1 is measured within a certain time range and around time instance T1, it is considered valid; otherwise RSRP2 is considered invalid. In another example, if RSRP2 is measured within a certain time range and around time instance T2, it is considered valid; otherwise RSRP2 is considered invalid. If the SDT resources configured in the serving cell overlap at least partially in time with one or more measurement resources (MRs) used to perform the measurement, information indicating that the UE has been unable to perform one or more radio measurements. The indication may also indicate the type of measurement that the UE cannot perform due to the SDT resources at least partially overlapping in time with the MRs. Examples of measurement resources are reference signals (RS) or RS opportunities (RSOs) for measurement, etc. An RSO, which may include a time opportunity or a time window, may include one or more RSs. Examples of RSs used for measurement are synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), channel state information RSs (CSI-RSs), positioning reference signals (PRSs), etc. Examples of RSOs are SS / PBCH measurement timing configuration (SMTC) opportunities or SMTC durations or SMTC windows, PRS resources, PRS resource sets, etc. Examples of measurements are RSRP, reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), measurement of propagation delay compensation (PDC) (e.g., UE Rx-Tx time difference, etc.), positioning measurements (e.g., PRS-RSRP, PRS reference signal received path power (PRS-RSRPP), reference signal time difference (RSTD), UE Rx-Tx time difference, etc.), etc. The measurements may be performed by the UE on one or more cells, such as a serving cell, a neighboring cell, a reference cell (e.g., used in positioning measurements, RSTD), etc. The cell on which the measurements are performed may belong to a serving carrier frequency (e.g., an intra-frequency carrier), a non-serving carrier frequency (e.g., an inter-frequency carrier, an inter-radio access technology (RAT) carrier frequency (such as an LTE carrier frequency, etc.)), a positioning frequency layer, etc. In one example, if at least one measurement resource (MR) overlaps with an SDT resource allocated or configured for a subsequent SDT transmission in the serving cell, the UE may not be able to perform the measurement. The subsequent SDT transmission occurs after the first or initial SDT transmission. In one specific example, the indication may include information that the UE cannot perform inter-frequency measurements on one or more cells on a certain carrier frequency (e.g., F2) because at least one subsequent SDT transmission overlaps at least partially in time with at least one SMTC opportunity on F2. The frequency information may be recorded in terms of frequency channel numbers, such as absolute radio frequency channel numbers (ARFCNs), NR ARFCNs (NR-ARFCNs), EUTRA ARFCNs (EARFCNs), etc. In another specific example, the indication may include information that the UE delays reception of PRS resources until the SDT session is completed because measurements using the PRS resources (e.g., for PDC, for positioning, etc.) overlap with the SDT resources.

[0085] In any of the above examples of recording and reporting, the UE may also use one or more positioning methods (e.g., global navigation satellite system (GNSS), enhanced cell ID, observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA), etc.) to record information about the UE's geographic location (e.g., UE geographic coordinates). When the UE records any of the above information, the UE may also record timing information (e.g., timestamp, UTC time, relative time wrt reference time, etc.). In yet another embodiment, the UE is configured (e.g., by a network node or based on one or more rules) to record and report information associated with a UE synchronization process performed by the UE for transmitting data using the CG-SDT method. Examples of information that the UE may record and report to the network include one or more of the following: Whether the UE has failed one or more CG-SDT transmissions due to the UE failing to synchronize towards the serving cell. In this case, the log information may also include the N used. TA values, the number of times the synchronization procedure failed, whether an expected transmission was dropped or postponed, and whether the UE used any fallback procedure (such as RA-SDT) to perform the transmission.

[0086] In yet another embodiment related to half-duplex (HD) operation, the UE is configured (e.g., by a network node or based on one or more rules) to log and report information related to procedures associated with CG-SDT and RA-SDT, as described below: In one example, due to HD-Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD) operation, the UE logs and reports to the network information related to prioritization between uplink and downlink. More specifically, since HD-FDD UEs cannot perform simultaneous reception and transmission, the logged information includes whether one or more SDT transmissions (e.g., CG-SDT or RA-SDT) are dropped, postponed, or suspended due to SDT transmissions overlapping paging receptions. Since SDT transmissions have a lower priority than paging receptions, by reporting this information, the network (NW) The reason for the failure is known, and its current SDT configuration (such as RSRP threshold, data threshold) may still be valid. In another example, information related to RA-SDT is logged and reported to the network. The information includes the reason for the RA-SDT transmission failure, which may be due to HD-FDD operation, the UE failed to receive at least one SSB associated with the PRACH resource during the last Tp period in the cell, where Tp = 160ms, for example.

[0087] In another embodiment, the UE includes an identifier of the SDT DRB where the UE received data that caused the SDT to be performed. Based on this, the network will gradually understand which SDT DRB is more likely to perform more frequent SDT. This will help the network determine the relevant configuration of the SDT resources. Signalling of reports from UE to network

[0088] In one embodiment, the UE records information and measurements about the SDT operation in a connection establishment failure (CEF) report and sends it to the network as part of a connection establishment failure report list. In one sub-embodiment, information and measurements about SDT operations are recorded in the CEF report only if an SDT operation fails.

[0089] In one embodiment, the UE records information and measurements about the SDT operation in a random access (RA) report and sends it to the network as part of the RA report list. - In one sub-embodiment, information and measurements about the SDT operation are recorded in the RA report only if it is a successful SDT operation.

[0090] In one embodiment, the UE records information and measurements about the SDT operation in a dedicated report designed for the SDT operation and sends it to the network. In one sub-embodiment, information and measurements about SDT operations are recorded in a dedicated new report only on successful SDT operations In a sub-embodiment, information and measurements about SDT operations are recorded in a dedicated new report only in case of failed SDT operations In one sub-embodiment, information and measurements about SDT operations are recorded in a dedicated new report upon successful or failed SDT operations Network Example Collection and reporting of SDT related information and measurements from DU to CU

[0091] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a distributed unit (DU) of a cell in which a camped UE is allowed to perform SDT operation sends information and measurements about the SDT operation to a central unit (CU), where SDT configuration parameters can be optimized.

[0092] Figure 7 The collection of information and measurements regarding SDT operations (set) from DU to CU performed by (set of UEs) is described.

[0093] The further methods disclosed in this document are performed by a distributed unit (DU) of a base station.

[0094] Upon receiving a random access preamble dedicated to SDT, corresponding to SDT operation performed by a UE camping in a cell served by the DU, the DU starts collecting measurements and information about the SDT operation performed by the UE.

[0095] The method includes recording one or more of the following information and measurements: • Buffer level reported by the UE for SDT operation. • Power headroom for SDT operation reported by the UE. • Modulation and coding scheme used for SDT operation. • HARQ retransmission performance including the number or ratio of retransmissions for SDT operation. When the RAN node sends an RRC release or RRC resume message to the UE changing the UE RRC connection state, whether the UE has more SDT data.

[0096] The method includes collecting information and measurements about the SDT operation in reports / signals to be sent to the CU. • In one embodiment, SDT related information and measurements are sent from the DU to the CU as part of a UE associated signal including a UE identity. • In another embodiment, SDT related information and measurements are sent from the CU to the DU as part of non-UE associated signals. - In yet another embodiment, information and measurements regarding SDT operations are sent to the CU as either a single or multiple reports (eg, as a list of SDT-related reports).

[0097] Another method includes signaling from the CU to the DU, which includes auxiliary information and configuration for SDT operation.

[0098] In one embodiment, the CU sends configuration parameters to the DU to be used for SDT operation.

[0099] In another embodiment, the CU sends to the DU whether MAC and PHY resources are configured for SDT operation.

[0100] In yet another embodiment, the CU sends an indication to the DU indicating the type of SDT operation allowed, either RA-based SDT only, or SDT based on pre-configured grants, or both of them.

[0101] In yet another embodiment, the CU sends an indication to the DU indicating the UE types (eg, UE categories) that are allowed to be configured with the pre-configured grant.

[0102] Figure 8Method 8 may be performed by a UE or a wireless device (eg, as described later in detail in detail in the accompanying drawings). Fig.11 and Fig.12 The described UE 1112 or UE 1200) is used to perform.

[0103] The method begins at step 802, where the UE performs an SDT procedure. Note that this procedure may be successful (e.g., data or all data available for transmission by the UE to the network node is successfully transmitted) or unsuccessful (e.g., some or all data available for transmission by the UE to the network node is not transmitted). The SDT procedure may include an uplink transmission of an amount of data less than a threshold when in an inactive state (e.g., RRC_Inactive). The uplink transmission may use a configuration grant of resources (e.g., CG-SDT) or follow a random access procedure (e.g., RA-SDT).

[0104] In step 804, the UE records information related to the SDT process in a report. For example, the information may be recorded in response to a failure of the SDT process, or in response to a success of the SDT process. The report may include one of: a random access report; and a connection establishment failure report. The information related to the SDT process may include information related to a failed SDT process (e.g., where the process in step 802 fails) or a successful SDT process (e.g., where the process in step 802 succeeds).

[0105] In step 806, the UE transmits a report to the network node. Again, the report may be transmitted in response to a failure of the SDT process or in response to a success of the SDT process. The report may include information related to multiple SDT processes performed by the user equipment. Alternatively, the report may be transmitted to the network node as part of a set of multiple reports including information related to the SDT processes performed by the user equipment.

[0106] In step 808 , the UE receives one or more parameters for performing the SDT procedure (ie, the further SDT procedure) from the network node. The parameters are updated based on the information in the report recorded in step 804 and transmitted in step 806 .

[0107] Various embodiments of information related to (one or more) SDT processes recorded and reported by the UE are described above. For example, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the amount of data intended for transmission in the SDT process performed by the user equipment. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment for transmission; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment to the amount of data to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT process; and an indication of the difference between the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment for transmission and the threshold applied to the amount of data.

[0108] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the radio environment experienced during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of the received signal power when the SDT process is initiated or during the SDT process; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment to the received signal power to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT process; an indication of the difference between the received signal power and the threshold applied to the received signal power; and an indication of whether the received signal power is greater than or less than the threshold.

[0109] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the timing of transmission during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of whether a monitoring timer expires during the SDT process; an indication of the time between the arrival of data in one or more buffers for transmission by the user equipment during the SDT process and the configuration grant of resources for the SDT process.

[0110] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to a random access process performed during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of whether the user equipment is configured with MAC or PHY resources when the random access process is initiated; an indication of whether the random access process is triggered when the user equipment discards MAC or PHY resources; an indication of the purpose of the random access process; an indication of the number of failed random access attempts of the user equipment; an indication of whether the random access process is a two-step process or a four-step process.

[0111] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process; an indication of the amount of data remaining to be transmitted at the end of the SDT process; and an indication of the amount of data transmitted after the initial transmission during the SDT process.

[0112] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the geographic location of the user equipment during the SDT process.

[0113] Fig. 9 Methods according to certain embodiments are described. Method 9 may be performed by a network node (eg, as described later in Fig.11 and Fig.13 In certain embodiments, the method may be performed by a distributed unit (DU) of a base station having a split architecture.

[0114] The method begins at step 902, where the DU performs an SDT procedure with the UE. Note that this procedure may be successful (e.g., all data or data available for transmission from the UE to the DU is successfully transmitted) or unsuccessful (e.g., some or all data available for transmission from the UE to the DU is not transmitted). The SDT procedure may include an uplink transmission of an amount of data less than a threshold while in an inactive state (e.g., RRC_Inactive). The uplink transmission may use a configuration grant of resources (e.g., CG-SDT) or follow a random access procedure (e.g., RA-SDT).

[0115] In step 904, the DU records information related to the SDT process in the report. In response to the SDT process being started by the user equipment, for example, in response to receiving a random access preamble configured for the SDT process from the user equipment, the information related to the SDT process may be recorded.

[0116] Various embodiments of information related to (one or more) SDT processes recorded and reported by the DU are described above. For example, the information related to the SDT process may include one or more of the following: an indication of the power headroom reported by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of the buffer level reported by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of the modulation and coding scheme used by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of the HARQ performance of the user equipment for the SDT process; and an indication of whether the user equipment has more SDT data for transmission to the base station when the base station transmits a message to the user equipment to change its connection state.

[0117] In step 906, the DU transmits a report to the CU of the base station. The report may include information related to multiple SDT processes performed by one or more user equipments, or be transmitted to the CU as part of a set of multiple reports including information related to SDT processes performed by one or more user equipments.

[0118] In step 908 , the DU receives one or more parameters for performing the SDT process (ie, further SDT process) from the CU. The parameters are updated based on the information in the report recorded in step 904 and transmitted in step 906 .

[0119] Fig.10 A method according to a specific embodiment is depicted. The method 10 may be performed by a network node (eg, as described later in Fig.11 and Fig.13 The method may be performed by a network node 1110 or a network node 1300 described in the foregoing. In a specific embodiment, the method may be performed by a central unit (CU) of a base station having a split architecture. Alternatively, the method may be performed by a base station (eg, which may not have a split architecture).

[0120] The method starts at step 1002, where the CU receives one or more reports including information related to one or more small data transfer SDT processes. The one or more reports include one or more of the following: a first report, which is received from a user equipment and includes information related to one or more SDT processes performed by the user equipment; and a second report, which is received from a distributed unit coupled to a network node and includes information related to one or more SDT processes performed by the DU. Note that (one or more) SDT processes can be successful (e.g., all data available for transmission by the UE to the network node or data is successfully transmitted) or unsuccessful (e.g., some or all data available for transmission by the UE to the network node is not transmitted). The SDT process may include an uplink transmission of an amount of data less than a threshold when in an inactive state (e.g., RRC_Inactive). The uplink transmission may use a configuration grant of resources (e.g., CG-SDT) or follow a random access procedure (e.g., RA-SDT).

[0121] Various embodiments of information related to (one or more) SDT processes recorded and reported by the UE and DU are described above. For example, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the amount of data intended for transmission in the SDT process performed by the user equipment. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment for transmission; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment to the amount of data to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT process; and an indication of the difference between the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment for transmission and the threshold applied to the amount of data.

[0122] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the radio environment experienced during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of the received signal power when the SDT process is initiated or during the SDT process; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment to the received signal power to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT process; an indication of the difference between the received signal power and the threshold applied to the received signal power; and an indication of whether the received signal power is greater than or less than the threshold.

[0123] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the timing of transmission during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of whether a monitoring timer expires during the SDT process; an indication of the time between the arrival of data in one or more buffers for transmission by the user equipment during the SDT process and the configuration grant of resources for the SDT process.

[0124] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to a random access process performed during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of whether the user equipment is configured with MAC or PHY resources when the random access process is initiated; an indication of whether the random access process is triggered when the user equipment discards MAC or PHY resources; an indication of the purpose of the random access process; an indication of the number of failed random access attempts of the user equipment; an indication of whether the random access process is a two-step process or a four-step process.

[0125] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process. Such information may include, for example, one or more of the following: an indication of the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process; an indication of the amount of data remaining to be transmitted at the end of the SDT process; and an indication of the amount of data transmitted after the initial transmission during the SDT process.

[0126] Alternatively or additionally, the information related to the SDT process may include information related to the geographic location of the user equipment during the SDT process.

[0127] The information related to the SDT process may include one or more of the following: an indication of a power headroom reported by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of a buffer level reported by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of a modulation and coding scheme used by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of the HARQ performance of the user equipment for the SDT process; and an indication of whether the user equipment has more SDT data to transmit to the base station when the base station transmits a message to the user equipment to change its connection state.

[0128] In step 1004, the network node adapts one or more parameters for the SDT procedure based on information contained in the first and / or second report.

[0129] The one or more parameters may include one or more of the following: the length of a monitoring timer, the expiration of which causes the user equipment to cancel the SDT operation; a threshold amount of data transmitted by the user equipment, below which the user equipment is permitted to use the SDT operation; a threshold radio signal power, above which the user equipment is permitted to use the SDT operation. For example: A network node that knows the data volume compared to the SDT data volume (eg, how much larger the data volume is than a configured threshold (sdt-DataVolumeThreshold)) can optimize its SDT data volume threshold, thereby guiding the UE to perform SDT operations. • A network node that knows that the RSRP values ​​of some UEs that want to perform SDT operations are not above the SDT RSRP threshold (sdt-RSRP-Threshold) can take this information into account for coverage optimization, so that the optimized coverage enables the UEs to perform more SDT operations when needed. A network node that knows whether the UE is configured with MAC and PHY resources (sdt-MAC-PHY-CG-Config) when initiating the RA procedure can optimize the MAC and PHY resource allocation for SDT operation, i.e., if there are many UEs that discard their MAC and PHY SDT resources, the gNB can avoid configuring such resources for the UEs. • The network node knows the number of failed 2-step RA-SDT attempts before a successful attempt and can reconfigure the number of 2-step RA-SDT preambles (ie change the size of the PRACH partitions) to reduce the collision rate.

[0130] In step 1006, the CU transmits the one or more adapted parameters to the UE and / or DU. The one or more adapted parameters may be transmitted directly to the user equipment, or as part of a transmission to multiple user equipments (e.g., as a broadcast of system information, or multicast).

[0131] Fig.11 An example of a wireless communication network 1100 is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0132] In this example, the communication system 1100 includes a telecommunications network 1102, which includes an access network 1104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1106, which includes one or more core network nodes 1108. The access network 1104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1110a and 1110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1110) or any other similar third generation partnership project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. The network nodes 1110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1112a, 1112b, 1112c, and 1112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UE 1112) to the core network 1106 via one or more wireless connections.

[0133] Example wireless communications over wireless connections include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. In addition, in different embodiments, the communication system 1100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the transfer of data and / or signals, whether via a wired connection or a wireless connection. The communication system 1100 may include any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system and / or be connected to any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system via an interface.

[0134] UE 1112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 1110 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 1110 is arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 1112 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 1102 to enable and / or provide network access (such as wireless network access) and / or to perform other functions (such as management in telecommunication network 1102).

[0135] In the depicted example, the core network 1106 connects the network node 1110 to one or more hosts (such as the host 1116). These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node may be directly coupled to the host. The core network 1106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1108) constructed by hardware and software components. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to UE, network nodes, and / or hosts, so that their descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1108. The example core network node includes a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier de-hiding function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection agent (SEPP), a network open function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF) One or more functions.

[0136] The host 1116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of the telecommunications network 1102 and / or the access network 1104, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1116 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and / or pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieval and compilation of data about various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analysis functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0137] on the whole, Fig.11 The communication system 1100 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable next generation standards (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-wave, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0138] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1102 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, the telecommunication network 1102 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunication network 1102. For example, the telecommunication network 1102 can provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or provide massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to still other UEs.

[0139] In some examples, UE 1112 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 1104 on a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from access network 1104. In addition, the UE may be configured to operate in a single-RAT or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate with any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (new air interface), and LTE, i.e., be configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) new air interface dual connectivity (EN-DC).

[0140] exist Fig.11In the example illustrated in , the hub 1114 communicates with the access network 1104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d) and a network node (e.g., network node 1110b). In some examples, the hub 1114 can be a controller, a router, a content source and an analysis node, or any of the other communication devices described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 1114 can be a broadband router for the UE that enables access to the core network 1106. As another example, the hub 1114 can be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The command or instruction can be received from the UE, the network node 1110, or can be received through an executable code, script, process, or other instruction in the hub 1114. As another example, the hub 1114 can be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage device for UE data, and in some embodiments, analysis or other processing of the data can be performed. As another example, the hub 1114 can be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, hub 1114 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and hub 1114 then provides the VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, hub 1114 acts as a proxy server or coordinator for the UEs, particularly if one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0141] The hub 1114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1110b. The hub 1114 may also consider different communication schemes and / or scheduling between the hub 1114 and the UE (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d) and between the hub 1114 and the core network 1106. In other examples, the hub 1114 is connected to the core network 1106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. In addition, the hub 1114 may be configured to be connected to an M2M service provider via an access network 1104 and / or to another UE via a direct connection. In some scenarios, the UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 1110 while still being connected via the hub 1114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1114 may be a dedicated hub, that is, a hub whose main function is to route communications from the network node 1110b to the UE / route communications from the UE to the network node 1110b. In other embodiments, hub 1114 may be a non-dedicated hub, ie, a device operable to route communications between UEs and network node 1110b, but otherwise capable of operating as a communications origin and / or endpoint for certain data channels.

[0142] Fig.12 UE 1200 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, UE refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), vehicle mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communications (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0143] The UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for direct link communications, dedicated short range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, the UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, the UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not be, or may not be, initially associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart meter).

[0144] UE 1200 includes a processing circuit 1202 that is operatively coupled to an input / output interface 1206, a power supply 1208, a memory 1210, a communication interface 1212, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof, via a bus 1204. Some UEs may utilize Fig.12 All or a subset of the components shown in . The level of integration between components may vary from one UE to another UE. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0145] The processing circuit 1202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine that operates to execute instructions stored in the memory 1210 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit 1202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 1202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuit 1202 may be operable to provide functionality either alone or in combination with other UE 1200 components (such as memory 1210, UE 1200). For example, the processing circuit 1202 may be configured to cause the UE 1202 to perform as described in reference Figure 8 The methods described, and / or as referenced Figure 5 and Figure 7 Signaling and processing for a UE as described in any one of the above.

[0146] In this example, the input / output interface 1206 can be configured to provide an interface or multiple interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, transmitters, smart cards, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device can allow a user to capture information into the UE 1200. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional pads, track pads, rollers, smart cards, etc. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, a biosensor, etc., or any combination thereof. The output device can use an interface port of the same type as the input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port can be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0147] In some embodiments, the power supply 1208 is configured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies such as an external power supply (e.g., an electrical socket), a photovoltaic device, or a power cell may be used. The power supply 1208 may also include a power circuit for delivering power from the power supply 1208 itself and / or an external power supply to various parts of the UE 1200 via an interface or input circuit such as a power cable. The delivered power may be used, for example, for charging the power supply 1208. The power circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification to the power from the power supply 1208 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components of the UE 1200 to which the power is supplied.

[0148] The memory 1210 may be or be configured to include a memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge, a flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory 1210 includes one or more application programs 1214 (such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other application) and corresponding data 1216. The memory 1210 may store any of a variety of different operating systems or a combination of operating systems for use by the UE 1200.

[0149] The memory 1210 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, internal hard drive, Blu-ray optical drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, such as a smart card memory of a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) (including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) such as USIM and / or ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card". The memory 1210 may allow the UE 1200 to access instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary storage medium to unload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or contained in memory 1210 , which may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0150] The processing circuit 1202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface 1212. The communication interface 1212 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1222. The communication interface 1212 may include one or more transceivers for communicating, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., a network node in an access network or another UE). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1218 and / or a receiver 1220 adapted to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 1218 and the receiver 1220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1222) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, the transmitter 1218 and the receiver 1220 may be implemented separately.

[0151] In some embodiments, the communication functionality of the communication interface 1212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near field communication, location-based communication such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication functionality, or any combination thereof. The communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards such as IEEE 802.11, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, new radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), QUIC, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0152] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensor via its communication interface 1212, via a wireless connection to a network node. The data captured by the UE's sensor may be delivered via another UE, via a wireless connection to a network node. The output may be periodic (e.g., every 14 minutes if it reports a sensed temperature), random (e.g., balancing the load of reports from several sensors), in response to a trigger event (e.g., sending an alarm when moisture is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0153] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change. For example, the UE may include a motor that adjusts the control surface or rotor of an unmanned aircraft in flight based on the received input or controls a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure based on the received input.

[0154] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, including but not limited to urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are the following devices or devices embedded in the following: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electric meter, a robotic vacuum cleaner, a voice-controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electric door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a monitoring system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), a wearable device for tactile enhancement or sensory enhancement, a sprinkler, an animal or item tracking device, a sensor for monitoring plants or animals, an industrial robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device like a heart rate monitor or a remotely controlled surgical robot. In addition to the above, the present invention also provides a method for implementing a UE in a manner that is suitable for use in an IoT device. Fig.12 In addition to the other components described in the UE 1200 shown in FIG. 1 , a UE in the form of an IoT device includes circuits and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0155] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or a network node. The UE in this case may be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, a UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane, or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0156] In fact, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or may be integrated into a drone and provide speed information of the drone (obtained by a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller for operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first and / or second UE may also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE may include a sensor and an actuator and handle the transfer of data from both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0157] Fig.13A network node 1300 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NRNodeBs (gNBs)).

[0158] Base stations may be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power level), and thus, depending on the amount of coverage provided, a base station may be referred to as a femto base station, a pico base station, a micro base station, or a macro base station. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio device. Portions of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0159] Other examples of network nodes include a multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access node, a multi-standard radio (MSR) device such as an MSRBS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or a minimization of drive tests (MDT).

[0160] The network node 1300 includes a processing circuit 1302, a memory 1304, a communication interface 1306 and a power supply 1308, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. The network node 1300 may be composed of multiple physically separated components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), and the multiple physically separated components may each have their own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where the network node 1300 includes multiple separated components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more of the separated components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such scenarios, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered to be a single independent network node in some instances. In some embodiments, the network node 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., independent memories 1304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1300 may also include multiple sets of components for various illustrations of different wireless technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies, integrated into the network node 1300. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 1300.

[0161] The processing circuit 1302 may include one or more of a combination of a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide network node 1300 functionality either alone or in combination with other network node 1300 components such as memory 1304. For example, the processing circuit 1302 may be configured to cause the network node to perform operations as described in reference to FIG. Fig. 9 and Fig.10 Any of the methods described in, and / or as referenced Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 The signalling and processing of the RAN node, RAN node CU and / or RAN node DU as described in any one of the above.

[0162] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0163] The memory 1304 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, without limitation, permanent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 1302. The memory 1304 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including applications, software, computer programs including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 1302 and utilized by the network node 1300. The memory 1304 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 1302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1306. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1302 and the memory 1304 are integrated.

[0164] The communication interface 1306 is used in the wired or wireless transmission of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks and / or UEs. As illustrated, the communication interface 1306 includes (one or more) ports / (one or more) terminals 1316 used to send data to the network and receive data from the network, for example, via a wired connection. The communication interface 1306 also includes a radio front-end circuit 1318 that can be coupled to the antenna 1310 or is a part of the antenna 1310 in some embodiments. The radio front-end circuit 1318 includes a filter 1320 and an amplifier 1322. The radio front-end circuit 1318 can be connected to the antenna 1310 and the processing circuit 1302. The radio front-end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 1310 and the processing circuit 1302. The radio front-end circuit 1318 can receive digital data to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1318 can use a combination of filters 1320 and / or amplifiers 1322 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1310. Similarly, when data is received, antenna 1310 may collect the radio signal and then convert the radio signal into digital data via radio front end circuit 1318. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 1302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0165] In some alternative embodiments, the network node 1300 does not include a separate radio front end circuit 1318, instead the processing circuit 1302 includes the radio front end circuit and is connected to the antenna 1310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 1312 is part of the communication interface 1306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1306 includes one or more ports or terminals 1316, the radio front end circuit 1318, and the RF transceiver circuit 1312 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1306 communicates with the baseband processing circuit 1314, which is part of the digital unit (not shown).

[0166] Antenna 1310 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1310 may be coupled to radio front end circuit 1318 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1310 is separate from network node 1300 and connectable to network node 1300 via an interface or port.

[0167] Antenna 1310, communication interface 1306 and / or processing circuit 1302 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1310, communication interface 1306 and / or processing circuit 1302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0168] The power supply 1308 provides power to the various components of the network node 1300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). The power supply 1308 may also include or be coupled to a power management circuit to supply power to the components of the network node 1300 for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as a cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit of the power supply 1308. As another example, the power supply 1308 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack, connected to or integrated into the power circuit. If the external power source fails, the battery may provide backup power.

[0169] Embodiments of network node 1300 may include Fig.13 Additional components beyond those shown in the figure are used to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may include a user interface device to allow information to be entered into the network node 1300 and to allow information to be output from the network node 1300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node 1300.

[0170] Fig.14 According to various aspects described herein, it may be Fig.11 1400 of an embodiment of a host 1116 of the present invention. As used herein, the host 1400 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software, including processing resources in a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or a server farm. The host 1400 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0171] Host 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402, which is operatively coupled to input / output interface 1406, network interface 1408, power supply 1410, and memory 1412 via bus 1404. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to, for example, Fig.12 and Fig.13 Those features of the devices described in the previous figures make their description generally applicable to corresponding components of the host 1400.

[0172] The memory 1412 may include one or more computer programs, including one or more host applications 1414 and data 1416, which may include user data (e.g., data generated by the UE for the host 1400 or data generated by the host 1400 for the UE). An embodiment of the host 1400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application 1414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture, and the host application 1414 may provide support for video codecs (e.g., general video coding (VVC), high efficiency video coding (HEVC), advanced video coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, advanced audio coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including code conversion for multiple different categories, types or implementations of UE (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). The host application 1414 may also provide user authentication and permission checks and may periodically report health, routing, and content availability to a central node (such as a device in a core network or on the edge). Thus, the host 1400 can select and / or instruct different hosts for the UE to use for over-the-top services. The host application 1414 can support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0173] Fig.151500 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 1500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device that can include a virtualized hardware platform, storage device, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device or component thereof described herein and is related to the implementation in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein can be implemented as virtual components performed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1500 hosted by one or more hardware nodes (such as hardware computing devices operated as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hosts). In addition, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), the node can be fully virtualized.

[0174] Application 1502 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual appliance, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) is run in a virtualized environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0175] Hardware 1504 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, and the like. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1508a and 1508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1508), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to be networked hardware to VMs 1508.

[0176] VM 1508 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage devices, and can be run through a corresponding virtualization layer 1506. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device 1502 can be implemented on one or more of VMs 1508, and the implementation can be made in different ways. Virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) in some contexts. NFV can be used to integrate many network device types onto industry standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage devices that can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0177] In the context of NFV, VMs 1508 may be software implementations of physical machines that run programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of VMs 1508 and that portion of hardware 1504 on which that VM executes, whether it is hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with other VMs in the VM, forms an independent virtual network element. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling a specific network function running in one or more VMs 1508 on top of hardware 1504 and corresponds to an application 1502.

[0178] The hardware 1504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. The hardware 1504 may implement some functions with the aid of virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 1504 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1510, which in particular also oversees the lifecycle management of the application 1502. In some embodiments, the hardware 1504 is coupled to one or more radio units, each of which includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio unit may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to virtual nodes, such as radio access nodes or base stations. In some embodiments, a control system 1512 may be used to provide some signaling, which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0179] Fig.16 A communication diagram of a host 1602 communicating with a UE 1606 via a network node 1604 over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. Fig.16 To describe the UE discussed in the previous paragraphs (such as Fig.11 UE 1112a and / or Fig.12 UE 1200), network nodes (such as Fig.11 The network node 1110a and / or Fig.13 network nodes 1300) and hosts (such as Fig.11 Host 1116 and / or Fig.14 Host 1400) according to various embodiments of the example implementation.

[0180] Like the host 1400, embodiments of the host 1602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and a memory. The host 1602 also includes software that is stored in or accessible by the host 1602 and can be executed by the processing circuit. The software includes a host application that can be operable to provide services to a remote user such as a UE 1606 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1650 extending between the UE 1606 and the host 1602. When providing services to the remote user, the host application can provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection 1650.

[0181] The network node 1604 includes hardware that enables it to communicate with the host 1602 and the UE 1606. The connection 1660 can be direct or through a core network (such as Fig.11 The intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0182] UE 1606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in UE 1606 or accessible by UE 1606 and can be executed by the processing circuit of UE. The software includes a client application such as a web browser or an operator-specific "app" that can be operated to provide services to human or non-human users via UE 1606 under the support of host 1602. In the host 1602, the executing host application can communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1650 terminated at UE 1606 and host 1602. When providing services to users, the client application of the UE can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1650 can transmit both request data and user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1650.

[0183] The OTT connection 1650 may extend via a connection 1660 between the host 1602 and the network node 1604 and via a wireless connection 1670 between the network node 1604 and the UE 1606 to provide a connection between the host 1602 and the UE 1606. The connection 1660 and the wireless connection 1670 over which the OTT connection 1650 may be provided have been abstractly drawn to illustrate communications between the host 1602 and the UE 1606 via the network node 1604, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0184] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1650, in step 1608, the host 1602 provides user data, which can be executed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with the UE 1606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with the UE 1606, and the UE 1606 shares data with the host 1602 without explicit human interaction. In step 1610, the host 1602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data toward the UE 1606. The host 1602 may initiate the transmission in response to a request transmitted by the UE 1606. The request may be made by human interaction with the UE 1606 or by operation of a client application executed on the UE 1606. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may pass through the network node 1604. Therefore, in step 1612, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the network node 1604 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host 1602 to the UE 1606. In step 1614 , UE 1606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be executed by a client application executing on UE 1606 associated with a host application executed by host 1602 .

[0185] In some examples, the UE 1606 executes a client application that provides user data to the host 1602. The user data may be provided as a reaction to data received from the host 1602 or in response to data received from the host 1602. Thus, in step 1616, the UE 1606 may provide the user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may also take into account user input received from the user via the input / output interface of the UE 1606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE 1606 initiates a transmission of the user data toward the host 1602 via the network node 1604 in step 1618. In step 1620, the network node 1604 receives the user data from the UE 1606 and initiates a transmission of the received user data toward the host 1602 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. In step 1622, the host 1602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1606.

[0186] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1606 using OTT connection 1650, with wireless connection 1670 forming the last segment. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve data rate, latency and / or power consumption, and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restrictions on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness and / or extended battery life.

[0187] In an example scenario, plant status information may be collected and analyzed by host 1602. As another example, host 1602 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from the UE for creating a map. As another example, host 1602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling traffic congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, host 1602 may store surveillance videos uploaded by the UE. As another example, host 1602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR that it may broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. As other examples, host 1602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads for balancing power generation demand, location services, representation services (such as compiled graphs from data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other function for collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0188] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that are improved by one or more embodiments. In response to changes in the measurement results, there may also be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1650 between the host 1602 and the UE 1606. The measurement process and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of the host 1602 and / or the UE 1606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in other devices through which the OTT connection 1650 passes or may be associated with other devices through which the OTT connection 1650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing the values ​​of the monitoring quantities illustrated above or providing the values ​​of other physical quantities by which the software can calculate or estimate the monitoring quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1650 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing selections, etc.; the reconfiguration does not require direct changes to the operation of the network node 1604. Such processes and functionality may be known and implemented in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. by the host 1602. The measurements may be achieved because software uses the OTT connection 1650 to cause messages to be transmitted, particularly empty or "dummy" messages to be transmitted, while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0189] Although the computing devices (e.g., UE, network node, host) described herein may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may include computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, acquisition, or similar operations described herein may be performed by a processing circuit, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with the information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information to process the information and make a determination as a result of the processing. In addition, although the components are depicted as being located within a larger box or a single box nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the computing device may include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be divided between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be divided between a processing circuit and a communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0190] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by a processing circuit executing instructions stored in a memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by a processing circuit without executing instructions stored on an independent or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those specific embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functionality, regardless of whether instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to just the processing circuit or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or generally by end users and wireless networks.

[0191] For the avoidance of doubt, the following numbered statements set forth embodiments of the present disclosure: Group A Embodiment 1. A method performed by a user equipment, the method comprising: Recording information related to the small data transfer SDT process performed by the user equipment in the report; and Send reports to network nodes. 2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein in response to a failure of the SDT process, information related to the SDT process is recorded. 3. The method of embodiment 1, wherein in response to the success of the SDT process, information related to the SDT process is recorded. 4. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the report is transmitted in response to a failure of the SDT process. 5. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the report is transmitted in response to the success of the SDT process. 6. A method as described in any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the report includes information related to multiple SDT processes performed by the user equipment. 7. The method as in any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the report is transmitted to the network node as part of a set of multiple reports including information related to the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 8. A method as in any preceding embodiment, wherein the SDT process includes uplink transmission of an amount of data less than a threshold while in an inactive state. 9. The method of embodiment 8, wherein the uplink transmission uses a configuration grant of resources. 10. The method of embodiment 8, wherein the uplink transmission follows a random access procedure performed by the user equipment. 11. The method as described in any of the embodiments above, further includes receiving one or more parameters for performing another SDT process from a network node, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is adapted based on information related to the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 12. A method as described in any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to the amount of data intended to be transmitted during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 13. A method as described in Example 12, wherein the information related to the data amount includes one or more of the following: an indication of the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment for transmission; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment to the data amount to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT process; and an indication of the difference between the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment for transmission and the threshold applied to the data amount. 14. A method as described in any preceding embodiment, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to a radio environment experienced during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 15. A method as described in Example 14, wherein the information related to the radio environment includes one or more of the following: an indication of the received signal power when the SDT process is initiated or during the SDT process; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment to the received signal power to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT process; an indication of the difference between the received signal power and the threshold applied to the received signal power; and an indication of whether the received signal power is greater than or less than the threshold. 16. A method as described in any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to transmission timing during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 17. A method as described in Example 16, wherein the information related to the transmission timing includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether a monitoring timer expires during the SDT process; an indication of the time between the arrival of data in one or more buffers for transmission by the user equipment during the SDT process and the configuration grant of resources for the SDT process. 18. A method as described in any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to a random access process performed during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 19. A method as described in Example 18, wherein the information related to the random access process includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the user equipment is configured with MAC or PHY resources when the random access process is initiated; an indication of whether the random access process is triggered when the user equipment discards MAC or PHY resources; an indication of the purpose of the random access process; an indication of the number of failed random access attempts by the user equipment; an indication of whether the random access process is a two-step process or a four-step process. 20. A method as in any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process. 21. A method as described in Example 20, wherein the information related to the amount of data transmitted includes one or more of the following: an indication of the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process; an indication of the remaining amount of data to be transmitted at the end of the SDT process; and an indication of the amount of data transmitted after the initial transmission during the SDT process. 22. A method as described in any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to the geographic location of the user equipment during the SDT process. 23. A method as described in any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the report includes one of the following: a random access report; and a connection establishment failure report. 24. The method as described in any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: Provide user data; and User data is forwarded to the host via transmission to the network node. Group B Example 25. A method performed by a distributed unit DU of a base station, the method comprising: Recording information related to the small data transfer SDT process performed by the user equipment to the DU in the report; and The report is transmitted to the central unit CU of the base station. 26. The method of embodiment 25, wherein in response to the SDT process being initiated by the user equipment, information related to the SDT process is recorded. 27. The method of embodiment 26, wherein starting the SDT process by the user equipment comprises receiving a random access preamble configured for the SDT process from the user equipment. 28. The method of any one of embodiments 25 to 27, wherein the report includes information related to a plurality of SDT processes performed by one or more user equipment. 29. The method of any one of embodiments 25 to 27, wherein the report is transmitted to the CU as part of a set of multiple reports including information related to the SDT process performed by one or more user equipments. 30. The method as in any one of embodiments 25 to 29, wherein the SDT process includes uplink transmission of an amount of data less than a threshold by the user equipment while in an inactive state. 31. The method of embodiment 30, wherein the uplink transmission uses a configuration grant of resources. 32. The method of embodiment 30, wherein the uplink transmission follows a random access procedure performed by the user equipment. 33. The method as described in any one of embodiments 25 to 32 also includes receiving one or more parameters for performing another SDT process from the CU, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is adapted based on information related to the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 34. A method as described in any one of embodiments 25 to 33, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes one or more of the following: an indication of a power margin reported by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of a buffer level reported by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of a modulation and coding scheme used by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of the HARQ performance of the user equipment for the SDT process; and an indication of whether the user equipment has more SDT data to transmit to the base station when the base station transmits a message to the user equipment to change its connection state. 35. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: Receiving one or more reports including information related to one or more small data transfer (SDT) processes, the one or more reports including one or more of the following: a first report received from a user equipment and comprising information related to one or more SDT processes performed by the user equipment; and a second report received from a distributed unit coupled to the network node and comprising information related to one or more SDT procedures performed by the distributed unit; and One or more parameters for the SDT process are adapted based on the information. 36. The method of embodiment 35 further includes transmitting the one or more adapted parameters to a user equipment. 37. The method of embodiment 36, wherein the one or more adapted parameters are transmitted to the user equipment as part of a transmission to a plurality of user equipments. 38. The method as in any one of embodiments 35 to 37, wherein the SDT process includes uplink transmission of an amount of data less than a threshold while in an inactive state. 39. The method of embodiment 38, wherein the uplink transmission uses a configuration grant of resources. 40. The method of embodiment 38, wherein the uplink transmission follows a random access procedure performed by the user equipment. 41. The method of any one of embodiments 35 to 40, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to an amount of data intended for transmission during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 42. A method as described in embodiment 41, wherein the information related to the data amount includes one or more of the following: an indication of the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment for transmission; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment to the data amount to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT process; and an indication of the difference between the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment for transmission and the threshold applied to the data amount. 43. The method of any one of embodiments 35 to 42, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to a radio environment experienced during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 44. A method as described in embodiment 43, wherein the information related to the radio environment includes one or more of the following: an indication of the received signal power when the SDT process is initiated or during the SDT process; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment to the received signal power to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT process; an indication of the difference between the received signal power and the threshold applied to the received signal power; and an indication of whether the received signal power is greater than or less than the threshold. 45. The method of any one of embodiments 35 to 44, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to transmission timing during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 46. ​​A method as described in embodiment 45, wherein the information related to the transmission timing includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether a monitoring timer expires during the SDT process; an indication of the time between the arrival of data in one or more buffers for transmission by the user equipment during the SDT process and the configuration grant of resources for the SDT process. 47. A method as described in any one of embodiments 35 to 46, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to a random access process performed during the SDT process performed by the user equipment. 48. A method as described in Example 47, wherein the information related to the random access process includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the user equipment is configured with MAC or PHY resources when the random access process is initiated; an indication of whether the random access process is triggered when the user equipment discards MAC or PHY resources; an indication of the purpose of the random access process; an indication of the number of failed random access attempts by the user equipment; an indication of whether the random access process is a two-step process or a four-step process. 49. The method of any one of embodiments 35 to 48, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process. 50. A method as described in Example 49, wherein the information related to the amount of data transmitted includes one or more of the following: an indication of the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process; an indication of the remaining amount of data to be transmitted at the end of the SDT process; and an indication of the amount of data transmitted after the initial transmission during the SDT process. 51. The method of any one of embodiments 35 to 50, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes information related to the geographic location of the user equipment during the SDT process. 52. A method as described in any one of embodiments 35 to 51, wherein the information related to the SDT process includes one or more of the following: an indication of a power margin reported by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of a buffer level reported by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of a modulation and coding scheme used by the user equipment for the SDT process; an indication of the HARQ performance of the user equipment for the SDT process; and an indication of whether the user equipment has more SDT data to transmit to the base station when the base station transmits a message to the user equipment to change its connection state. 53. The method of any one of embodiments 35 to 52, wherein the report comprises one of: a random access report; and a connection establishment failure report. 54. A method as described in any of embodiments 35 to 53, wherein one or more parameters include one or more of the following: the length of a monitoring timer, the expiration of which causes the user equipment to cancel the SDT operation; a threshold amount of data transmitted by the user equipment, below which the user equipment is permitted to use the SDT operation; and a threshold radio signal power, above which the user equipment is permitted to use the SDT operation. 55. The method of any one of embodiments 35 to 54, wherein the network node is a central unit of a base station. 56. The method of any one of embodiments 35 to 54, wherein the network node is a base station. 57. The method as described in any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: Access user data; and Forwards user data to the host or user device. Group C Example 58. A user equipment comprising: A processing circuit configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A; and A power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit. 59. A network node, the network node comprising: a processing circuit configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments of Group B; A power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit. 60. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a radio front end circuit connected to the antenna and to the processing circuit and configured to condition signals passed between the antenna and the processing circuit; The processing circuit is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow information to be input into the UE for processing by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuit; and A battery is connected to the processing circuit and is configured to supply power to the UE. 61. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), The UE comprises a communication interface and a processing circuit, wherein the communication interface and the processing circuit of the UE are configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A to receive user data from the host. 62. The host as described in the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node, wherein the network node is configured to communicate with the UE to transmit user data from the host to the UE. 63. The host according to the above two embodiments, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 64. A method implemented by a host, the host operating in a communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Providing user data to the UE; and A transmission carrying user data is initiated to the UE via a cellular network including a network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the embodiments of Group A to receive the user data from the host. 65. The method according to the preceding embodiment further comprises: At the host, a host application associated with the client application executing on the UE is executed to receive user data from the UE. 66. The method according to the preceding embodiment further comprises: transmitting, at the host, input data to a client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, The user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application. 67. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), The UE includes a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the communication interface and the processing circuit of the UE are configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A to transmit user data to the host. 68. The host as described in the above embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node, and the network node is configured to communicate with the UE to transmit user data from the UE to the host. 69. The host according to the above two embodiments, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 70. A method implemented by a host, the host being configured to operate in a communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: At the host, user data transmitted by the UE to the host via the network node is received, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A to transmit the user data to the host. 71. The method according to the preceding embodiment further comprises: At the host, a host application associated with the client application executing on the UE is executed to receive user data from the UE. 72. The method according to the preceding embodiment further comprises: transmitting, at the host, input data to a client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, The user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application. 73. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and A network interface, the network interface being configured to initiate transmission of user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group B to transmit the user data from a host to the UE. 74. A host as described in the above embodiment, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides user data; and The UE includes processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with a host application to receive a transmission of user data from the host. 75. A method implemented in a host, the host being configured to operate in a communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Providing user data to the UE; and A transmission carrying user data to the UE is initiated via a cellular network including a network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group B to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. 76. The method as described in the previous embodiment also includes transmitting user data provided by the host for the UE at the network node. 77. A method according to any one of the preceding two embodiments, wherein user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executed on a UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 78. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising: The host comprises: a processing circuit configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with an over-the-top service; and A network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network node for transmission to a UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group B to transmit user data from a host to a UE. 79. The communication system as described in the above embodiment further includes: Network nodes; and / or User equipment. 80. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and A network interface, the network interface being configured to receive user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments in Group B to receive user data from a user equipment (UE) for a host. 81. The host of the preceding embodiment, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 82. A host according to any one of the preceding two embodiments, wherein initiating reception of user data includes requesting user data. 83. A method implemented by a host, the host being configured to operate in a communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: At the host, reception of user data from the UE is initiated, the user data originating from a transmission that the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group B to receive the user data from the UE for the host. 84. The method as described in the above embodiment also includes transmitting the received user data to the host at the network node.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user device (1200), the method comprising: Recording (804) information related to a small data transfer (SDT) process performed by the user equipment (1200) in a report; as well as The report is transmitted (806) to the network node (1300).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: In response to a failure or a success of the SDT process, the information related to the SDT process is recorded.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to a successful or failed SDT process.

4. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The SDT process includes uplink transmission of an amount of data less than a threshold.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein: The SDT process includes the uplink transmission of the amount of data less than the threshold while in an inactive state.

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, further comprising receiving (808) from the network node (1300) one or more parameters for performing a further SDT procedure, wherein At least one of the one or more parameters is adapted based on the information related to the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

7. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to the amount of data intended for transmission in the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: The information related to the amount of data comprises one or more of: an indication of the amount of data stored in one or more buffers of the user equipment (1200) for transmission; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment (1200) to the amount of data to determine whether to permit uplink transmission using the SDT procedure; and an indication of a difference between the amount of data stored in one or more buffers in the user equipment (1200) for transmission and the threshold applied to the amount of data.

9. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to a radio environment experienced during the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

10. The method of claim 9, wherein: The information related to the radio environment comprises one or more of: an indication of received signal power at the time of initiation of the SDT procedure or during the SDT procedure; an indication of a threshold applied by the user equipment (1200) to the received signal power to determine whether uplink transmission using the SDT procedure is permitted; an indication of a difference between the received signal power and the threshold applied to the received signal power; and an indication of whether the received signal power is greater than or less than the threshold.

11. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to transmission timing during the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

12. The method of claim 11, wherein: The information related to the transmission timing includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether a monitoring timer expires during the SDT process; an indication of the time between the arrival of data in one or more buffers for transmission by the user equipment (1200) during the SDT process and the configuration granting of resources for the SDT process.

13. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to a random access process performed during the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

14. The method of claim 13, wherein: The information related to the random access process includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the user equipment (1200) is configured with MAC or PHY resources when the random access process is initiated; an indication of whether the random access process is triggered when the user equipment (1200) discards MAC or PHY resources; an indication of the purpose of the random access process; an indication of the number of failed random access attempts of the user equipment (1200); an indication of whether the random access process is a two-step process or a four-step process.

15. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to an amount of data transmitted during the SDT process.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein: The information related to the amount of data transmitted includes one or more of: an indication of the amount of data transmitted during the SDT process; an indication of the remaining amount of data to be transmitted at the end of the SDT process; and an indication of the amount of data transmitted after the initial transmission during the SDT process.

17. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to the geographic location of the user equipment (1200) during the SDT process.

18. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The report includes one of the following: a random access report; and a connection establishment failure report.

19. A method performed by a distributed unit DU of a base station, the method comprising: recording (904) in a report information related to a small data transmission (SDT) process performed by the user equipment (1200) to the DU; as well as The report is transmitted (906) to a central unit CU of the base station.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: In response to the SDT process being started by the user equipment (1200), the information related to the SDT process is recorded.

21. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein: The report includes information related to a plurality of SDT processes performed by one or more user equipment (1200).

22. The method of any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein: The report is transmitted to the CU as part of a set of multiple reports including information related to SDT procedures performed by one or more user equipments (1200).

23. The method of any one of claims 19 to 22, further comprising receiving (908) from the CU one or more parameters for performing a further SDT process, wherein: At least one of the one or more parameters is adapted based on the information related to the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

24. The method of any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes one or more of the following: an indication of a power margin reported by the user equipment (1200) for the SDT process; an indication of a buffer level reported by the user equipment (1200) for the SDT process; an indication of a modulation and coding scheme used by the user equipment (1200) for the SDT process; an indication of the HARQ performance of the user equipment (1200) for the SDT process; and an indication of whether the user equipment (1200) has more SDT data to transmit to the base station when the base station transmits a message to the user equipment (1200) to change its connection state.

25. A method performed by a network node (1300), the method comprising: Receive (1002) one or more reports including information related to one or more small data transfer (SDT) processes, the one or more reports including one or more of the following: a first report received from a user equipment (1200) and comprising information related to one or more SDT procedures performed by the user equipment (1200); as well as a second report received from a distributed unit coupled to the network node (1300) and comprising information related to one or more SDT processes performed by the distributed unit; as well as One or more parameters for the SDT process are adapted (1004) based on the information.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to the amount of data intended for transmission in the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

27. The method of any one of claims 25 to 26, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to a radio environment experienced during the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

28. The method of any one of claims 25 to 27, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to transmission timing during the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

29. The method of any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to a random access process performed during the SDT process performed by the user equipment (1200).

30. The method of any one of claims 25 to 29, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to an amount of data transmitted during the SDT process.

31. The method of any one of claims 25 to 30, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes information related to the geographic location of the user equipment (1200) during the SDT process.

32. The method of any one of claims 25 to 31, wherein: The information related to the SDT process includes one or more of the following: an indication of a power margin reported by the user equipment (1200) for the SDT process; an indication of a buffer level reported by the user equipment (1200) for the SDT process; an indication of a modulation and coding scheme used by the user equipment (1200) for the SDT process; an indication of the HARQ performance of the user equipment (1200) for the SDT process; and an indication of whether the user equipment (1200) has more SDT data to transmit to the base station when the base station transmits a message to the user equipment (1200) to change its connection state.

33. The method of any one of claims 25 to 32, wherein: The report includes one of the following: a random access report; and a connection establishment failure report.

34. The method of any one of claims 25 to 33, wherein: The one or more parameters include one or more of the following: a length of a monitoring timer, the expiration of which causes the user equipment (1200) to cancel the SDT operation; A threshold amount of data for transmission by the user equipment (1200), below which the user equipment (1200) is permitted to operate using SDT; and a threshold radio signal power, above which the user equipment (1200) is permitted to operate using SDT.

35. The method of any one of claims 25 to 34, wherein: The network node (1300) is a base station or a central unit of the base station.

36. A user equipment (1200), comprising: A processing circuit (1202), the processing circuit (1202) being configured to cause the user equipment (1200): Recording (804) information related to a small data transfer (SDT) process performed by the user equipment (1200) in a report; as well as The report is transmitted (806) to the network node (1300).

37. The user equipment (1200) of claim 36, wherein: The processing circuit (1202) is further configured to cause the user equipment (1200) to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 18.

38. A distributed unit for a base station, the distributed unit comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the distributed unit to: recording (904) in a report information related to a small data transmission (SDT) process performed by the user equipment (1200) to the DU; as well as The report is transmitted (906) to a central unit CU of the base station.

39. A distributed unit as claimed in claim 38, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to cause the distributed unit to perform the method according to any one of claims 20 to 24.

40. A network node (1300), comprising: A processing circuit (1302) configured to cause the network node (1300): Receive (1002) one or more reports including information related to one or more small data transfer (SDT) processes, the one or more reports including one or more of the following: a first report received from a user equipment (1200) and comprising information related to one or more SDT procedures performed by the user equipment (1200); as well as a second report received from a distributed unit coupled to the network node (1300) and comprising information related to one or more SDT processes performed by the distributed unit; as well as One or more parameters for the SDT process are adapted (1004) based on the information.

41. The network node (1300) of claim 40, wherein: The processing circuit (1302) is further configured to cause the network node (1300) to perform a method according to any one of claims 26 to 35.

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