Group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission and reception

Abstract

Systems and methods for group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission and reception are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) comprises receiving a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node, the downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first group of reference signal resources and a second group of reference signal resources, each group of reference signal resources comprising two or more reference signal resources. The method further comprises performing measurements on reference signals within the groups of reference signal resources, and transmitting, based thereon, a group-based beam report comprising information for the M beam groups to the network node. For each beam group, information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource and a second reference signal resource from a first resource group and a second resource group, respectively, where the first resource group and the second reference signal resource are associated with a first spatial filter and a second spatial filter, respectively. And the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, or both.

Description

Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63 / 396,039 filed on August 8, 2022, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to cellular communication networks, and more particularly, to beam reporting in cellular communication networks. Background Art Beam management

[0003] At millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, concepts for handling mobility between beams within and between transmission and reception points (TRPs) have been specified in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR). At these frequencies where high-gain beamforming is used, each beam is optimal only within a small area, and the link budget outside the optimal beam deteriorates rapidly. Therefore, frequent and fast beam switching may be required to maintain high performance. To support such beam switching, a beam indication framework has been specified in NR. For example, for downlink data transmission (i.e., physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission), the downlink control information (DCI) contains a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) field that informs the user equipment (UE) which beam to use so that the UE can adjust its receive beam accordingly. This is beneficial for the case of analog receive (Rx) beamforming, where the UE needs to determine and apply the Rx beamforming weights before the UE can receive the PDSCH.

[0004] As used herein, the term "spatial filter weights" or "spatial filter configuration" is used to refer to the antenna weights applied at the transmitter (i.e., next-generation Node B (gNB) for downlink or UE for uplink) and receiver (i.e., UE for downlink or gNB for uplink) for data / control transmission / reception. This term is more general because different propagation environments result in different spatial filter weights that match the transmission / reception of the signal to the channel. The spatial filter weights may not always result in beams in the strict sense.

[0005] Before data transmission, a training phase is required to determine the gNB and UE spatial filter configurations. Figure 1 In NR, two types of reference signals (RS) are used for DL ​​beam management operations, namely, channel state information RS (CSI-RS) and synchronization signal / physical broadcast control channel (SS / PBCH) blocks, or SSBs for short. Figure 1An example of CSI-RS being used to find a suitable beam pair link (BPL) is shown, which means a suitable gNB transmit spatial filtering configuration (gNB transmit (Tx) beam) plus a suitable UE receive spatial filtering configuration (UE Rx beam) to produce a good enough link budget. More specifically, Figure 1 An example is shown where the beam training phase is followed by a data transmission phase. For downlink data / control transmission, the gNB indicates to the UE that the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) / PDSCH demodulation RS (DMRS) is spatially quasi-co-located (QCL) with RS6 (the RS on which the UE performs measurements during UE beam scanning in the beam training phase). At least for uplink control channel transmission, the gNB indicates to the UE that RS6 is the spatial relationship for PUCCH.

[0006] exist Figure 1 In the example of , in a gNB Tx beam scan, the gNB configures the UE to measure a set of five CSI-RS resources (RS1...RS5) that are transmitted using five different spatial filtering configurations (Tx beams). The UE is also configured to report back the RS identifier (ID) and the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the CSI-RS corresponding to the maximum measured RSRP. In this example, the maximum measured RSRP corresponds to RS4. This allows the gNB to understand the preferred Tx beam from the UE's perspective. In a subsequent UE Rx beam scan, the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in different orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, all with the same spatial filtering configuration (Tx beam) as previously used to transmit RS4. The UE then tests different Rx spatial filtering configurations (Rx beams) in each OFDM symbol to maximize the received RSRP. The UE remembers the RS ID (RS ID 6 in this example) and the corresponding spatial filtering configuration that resulted in the maximum RSRP. The network can then refer to this RS ID in the future when DL data is scheduled to the UE, allowing the UE to adjust its Rx spatial filtering configuration (Rx beam) to receive the PDSCH. As mentioned above, the RS ID is included in the transmission configuration indicator (TCI), which is carried in a field in the DCI that schedules the PDSCH. Data transmission via multiple transmission points (TRPs) or panels

[0007] PDSCH can be sent to the UE from multiple TRPs. Since different TRPs can be located at different physical locations and have different beams, the propagation channels may be different. In order to facilitate the reception of PDSCH data from different TRPs or beams, the UE can be configured with multiple TCI states through radio resource control (RRC). The TCI state contains quasi-colocation (QCL) information between the DMRS for PDSCH and one or two DL reference signals (e.g., non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS or SSB). Different NZP CSI-RS or SSBs can be associated with different TRPs or beams. The UE is able to use the QCL information to apply large-scale channel properties associated with the DL reference signal (NZP CSI-RS or SSB) to the DMRS of the PDSCH for channel estimation and PDSCH reception.

[0008] The QCL information types supported in NR are: ●'QCL-TypeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread} ●'QCL-TypeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread} ●'QCL-TypeC': {Doppler shift, average delay} 'QCL-TypeD': {Spatial Rx parameters}

[0009] A subset of the RRC-configured TCI states can be activated by the media access control (MAC) control element (CE) for PDSCH. From the activated TCI states, one or two of the TCI states can be dynamically selected and indicated in the DCI that schedules the PDSCH, depending on which / those TRPs or beams the PDSCH is sent on. Each code point of the TCI field in the DCI can indicate one TCI state or two TCI states. A TCI field code point indicating one TCI state can be used to send PDSCH from a single TRP or a single beam. If the TCI field code point indicates two TCI states, PDSCH can be sent from two TRPs or two beams. Group-based beam reporting in NR

[0010] Simultaneous multi-TRP transmission and multi-panel reception can enable non-coherent joint transmission (NC-JT) in frequency range 2 (FR2). Figure 2 An example is shown in FIG, where PDSCH is sent to the UE via two TRPs, with each TRP sending two layers. In this case, by sending PDSCH to the UE on two TRPs, the peak data rate to the UE can be increased because the UE can receive up to four aggregated layers from the two TRPs.

[0011] In NR Rel-15, when the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter groupBasedBeamReporting set to "enabled", the UE shall report two different CSI-RS resource indicators (CRI) or two different SS / PBCH resource indicators (SSBRI) in a single reporting instance for each reporting setting. The two CRIs or two SSBRIs are selected so that the UE can receive the corresponding CSI-RS and / or SSB resources simultaneously.

[0012] Figure 3 An example scenario is shown illustrating simultaneous multi-TRP transmission and multi-panel reception at a UE. In this example, NZP CSI-RS resources #1 and #2 are transmitted from TRP1, and NZP CSI-RS resources #3 and #4 are transmitted from TRP2. The UE is equipped with two panels.

[0013] exist Figure 3 In the example of FIG. 1 , if the UE uses the existing group-based beam reporting in NR (i.e., when groupBasedBeamReporting is enabled), the UE may select the two CRIs to be reported in one of the following ways: ● Case 1: Two CRIs correspond to TRP1 (e.g., UE selects NZP CSI-RS resources #1 and #2) ● Case 2: Two CRIs correspond to TRP2 (e.g., UE selects NZP CSI-RS resources #3 and #4) ● Case 3: One CRI corresponds to TRP1 and the other CRI corresponds to TRP2 (eg, NZP CSI-RS resources #1 and #3)

[0014] If the UE reports two CRIs according to Case 1 or Case 2, the two reported beams correspond to the same TRP. In Cases 1 and 2, simultaneous multi-TRP transmission is not possible. Case 3 allows simultaneous multi-TRP transmission because the two reported beams correspond to different TRPs.

[0015] To address this issue, group-based beam reporting is enhanced in NR Rel-17, where the UE can be configured to report N beam groups in a single CSI report (where N is RRC configured and can be up to Nmax, where Nmax = {1, 2, 3, 4} is the UE capability), where each beam group consists of two beams (i.e., two SSBRI / CRI values ​​and corresponding L1-RSRPs), and where the UE can receive the two beams simultaneously. To ensure that each beam in a beam group is associated with a different TRP, the UE can be configured with two channel measurement resource (CMR) sets, where each CMR set is associated with a TRP, and where the UE selects a CMR (i.e., one SSBRI / CRI) from each CMR set in each beam group. For periodic / semi-persistent CMR, two CMR resource sets are configured according to the periodic / semi-persistent CMR resource settings. For non-periodic CMR, the existing RRC parameter CSI-AssociatedReportConfigInfo is extended to be configured with two CMR resource sets.

[0016] When the gNB configures the UE to report Rel-17 group-based beam reporting, the supported reporting formats are as shown in Table 1 [see, e.g., 3GPP TS 38.212]. In the table, a 1-bit resource set indicator is used to indicate whether the strongest beam (i.e., CRI or SSBRI#1 of the 1st resource group) belongs to the 1st CMR set or the 2nd CMR set. For the strongest beam, the absolute RSRP (7 bits) is reported, and for the remaining beams, the differential RSRP (4 bits) is reported. The bit width of each SSBRI / CRI is determined based on the number of SSB / CSI-RS resources in the associated CMR resource set. Table 1: Supported reporting formats for Rel-17 group-based beam reporting Simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP)

[0017] In NR up to Rel-17, the discussion on uplink (UL) transmissions for frequency range 2 (FR2) has been mainly for UEs with single-panel transmissions, i.e. transmissions from a single UE panel at each time instance. In NR-Rel 18, it has been agreed to study up to two UE panels transmitting simultaneously and to specify support for them if required. A UE panel can be a group of antenna elements, where separate UE panels can be used for separate Tx or Rx beams at the UE. In the first Rel-18 3GPP meeting (RAN1#109-e), it was agreed that several candidate single DCI UL multi-panel transmission schemes should be considered, as can be seen from the following agreement: For STxMP PUSCH in a single DCI based mTRP system, the following schemes for PUSCH are studied and evaluated: ●SDM scheme: Different layers / DMRS ports of a PUSCH are precoded separately and sent from different UE panels simultaneously. ■Study and evaluate whether to support 2 CWs sent in SDM mode and simultaneously from two different panels. ● FDM-B scheme: two PUSCH transmission opportunities with the same / different RV of the same TB are sent from different UE panels on non-overlapping frequency domain resources and the same time domain resources. ●FDM-A scheme: Different parts of the frequency domain resources of a PUSCH transmission opportunity are sent from different UE panels. ● SFN-based transmission scheme: All the same layers / DMRS ports of a PUSCH are sent from two different UE panels simultaneously. ● SDM repetition scheme: Two PUSCH transmission opportunities with different RVs for the same TB are sent simultaneously from two different UE panels. Summary of the invention

[0018] A system and method for group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission and reception is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving a downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group from a network node, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group includes two or more reference signal resources. The method further includes performing measurements on reference signals within the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group. The method further includes sending a group-based beam report including information for M beam groups to the network node based on the measurements. For each of the M beam groups, the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter, and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter, and the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are capable of being used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, or both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception. In this way, the network is enabled to determine whether the beam reported from the UE during the beam management process can be used for simultaneous multi-panel UL transmission.

[0019] In one embodiment, the first spatial filter is associated with a first UE panel and the second spatial filter is associated with a second UE panel.

[0020] In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving a reporting configuration associated with a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node, the reporting configuration including a field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP). In response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP, the UE assumes that, for each of the M beam groups, the UE will only include first reference signal resources and second reference signal resources associated with first spatial filters and second spatial filters, respectively, that can be used for simultaneous transmission.

[0021] In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving a reporting configuration associated with a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node, the reporting configuration including a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP. In response to the field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP, for each of the M beam groups, a first spatial filter and a second spatial filter for a first reference signal resource and a second reference signal resource, respectively, indicated by the beam group can be used for simultaneous transmission.

[0022] In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving a reporting configuration associated with a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node, the reporting configuration including a field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP. In response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP, the UE assumes that, for each of the M beam groups, the UE will only include first reference signal resources and second reference signal resources associated with first spatial filters and second spatial filters, respectively, that can be used for both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

[0023] In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving a reporting configuration associated with a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node, the reporting configuration including a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP. In response to the field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP, for each of the M beam groups, a first spatial filter and a second spatial filter respectively used for a first reference signal resource and a second reference signal resource indicated by the beam group can be used for both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

[0024] In one embodiment, the method further comprises sending capability information to the network node, the capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel uplink transmission.

[0025] In one embodiment, the capability information further includes: (a) information indicating the number of UE panels at the UE, (b) information indicating which UE panels are capable of being used for simultaneous uplink transmission, (c) information indicating which UE panels are capable of being used for simultaneous downlink reception, (d) information indicating which UE panels are capable of being used for simultaneous uplink transmission and simultaneous downlink reception, or (e) a combination of any two or more of (a)-(c).

[0026] In one embodiment, for each UE panel of two or more UE panels of the UE, the capability information further includes: (a) information indicating which other UE panel / s can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous uplink transmission, (b) information indicating which other UE panel / s can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous downlink reception, (c) information indicating which other UE panel / s can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous uplink transmission and simultaneous downlink reception, or (d) a combination of any two or more of (a)-(c).

[0027] In one embodiment, the capability information comprises a bit field indicating which UE panels are capable of simultaneous uplink transmission and / or simultaneous downlink reception, wherein each bit of the bit field is associated with a group of UE panels.

[0028] In one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration from the network node. In one embodiment, the reporting configuration comprises a reporting settings field. In one embodiment, the reporting configuration indicates that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP.

[0029] In one embodiment, for reference signal resource groups from a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, the reporting configuration includes the following indications: the UE will use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in the first reference signal resource group, and the UE will use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the second reference signal resource group.

[0030] In another embodiment, for reference signal resource groups from a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, the reporting configuration includes the following indications: the UE will use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in the first reference signal resource group, and the UE will use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the second reference signal resource group, and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are not associated with the same UE panel.

[0031] In another embodiment, for reference signal resource groups from a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, the reporting configuration includes the following indications: the UE will use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in the first reference signal resource group, and the UE will use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the second reference signal resource group, and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are associated with different UE panels, and wherein two different UE panels can be used to transmit simultaneously.

[0032] In another embodiment, the reporting configuration includes information configuring the UE to include in a group-based beam report an indication of the UE panel associated with each reference signal resource reported in each of the M beam groups.

[0033] In another embodiment, the reporting configuration includes an indication that the UE will report information indicating whether a first UE panel associated with a first reported reference signal resource in a reported beam group and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal resource in the same reported beam group are capable of being used for simultaneous transmission.

[0034] In another embodiment, the reporting configuration includes an indication that the UE is to report information indicating whether a first UE panel associated with a first reported reference signal resource in a reported beam group and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal resource in the same reported beam group can be used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception, or neither simultaneous transmission nor simultaneous transmission.

[0035] In another embodiment, the reporting configuration includes indicating which of a plurality of candidate options the UE should assume for group-based beam reporting. In one embodiment, the plurality of candidate options include: (a) UE panels associated with spatial filters for reference signal resources indicated by the same beam group are capable of simultaneous transmission, (b) UE panels associated with spatial filters for reference signal resources indicated by the same beam group are capable of simultaneous reception, or (c) UE panels associated with spatial filters for reference signal resources indicated by the same beam group are capable of simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception.

[0036] In one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving a trigger message initiating performing measurements according to the reporting configuration.

[0037] In one embodiment, the group-based beam report further includes a performance indicator for each reported reference signal resource for each of the M beam groups. In one embodiment, the performance indicator indicates uplink performance. In another embodiment, the performance indicator indicates a downlink reference signal received power plus an uplink power factor. In one embodiment, the uplink power factor is associated with a UE panel for receiving the associated reference signal. In one embodiment, the uplink power factor takes into account one or both of: (i) a power management maximum power reduction (P-MPR) associated with the UE panel and (ii) a maximum available output power associated with the UE panel.

[0038] In one embodiment, the group-based beam report further includes information indicating a UE panel associated with each reported reference signal resource for each of the M beam groups.

[0039] In one embodiment, the group-based beam reporting further comprises: for each reported reference signal resource set for each beam group in the M beam groups, information indicating that a different spatial filter is used to receive an associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set.

[0040] In one embodiment, the report further includes: for each reported reference signal resource set for each of the M beam groups, indicating that a different spatial filter is used to receive the associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set, and information that the associated UE panel can use for simultaneous uplink transmissions.

[0041] In one embodiment, the report further includes: for each reported reference signal resource set for each of the M beam groups, information indicating that a different spatial filter is used to receive the associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set and the associated UE panel is capable of simultaneous downlink reception.

[0042] Corresponding embodiments of the UE are also disclosed. In one embodiment, the UE is adapted to receive a downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group from a network node, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group includes two or more reference signal resources. The UE is also adapted to perform measurements on reference signals within the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group. The UE is also adapted to send a group-based beam report including information for M beam groups to the network node based on the measurements. For each of the M beam groups, the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter, and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter, and the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, or both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

[0043] In one embodiment, the UE includes a communication interface and a processing circuit associated with the communication interface. The processing circuit is configured to enable the UE to receive a downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group from a network node, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group includes two or more reference signal resources. The processing circuit is also configured to enable the UE to perform measurements on reference signals within the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group. The processing circuit is also configured to enable the UE to send a group-based beam report including information for M beam groups to the network node based on the measurements. For each of the M beam groups, the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter, and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter, and the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, or both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

[0044] An embodiment of a method performed by a network node is also disclosed. In one embodiment, the method performed by the network node includes sending a downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group to a UE, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group includes two or more reference signal resources. The method further includes receiving a group-based beam report from the UE, the report including information for M beam groups. For each of the M beam groups, the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter, and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter, and the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, or both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

[0045] Corresponding embodiments of the network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, the network node is adapted to send a downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group to a UE, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group includes two or more reference signal resources. The network node is also adapted to receive a group-based beam report from the UE, the report including information for M beam groups. For each of the M beam groups, the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter, and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter, and the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, or both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

[0046] In one embodiment, the network node includes a communication interface and a processing circuit associated with the communication interface. The processing circuit is configured to cause the network node to send a downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group to a UE, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group includes two or more reference signal resources. The processing circuit is also configured to cause the network node to receive a group-based beam report from the UE, the report including information for M beam groups. For each of the M beam groups, the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter, and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter, and the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, or both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0048] Figure 1 New Radio (NR) downlink (DL) beam management is shown.

[0049] Figure 2 An example of non-coherent joint transmission (NC-JT) enabled by simultaneous multiple transmit and receive point (TRP) transmission and multi-panel reception is shown.

[0050] Figure 3 An example scenario of simultaneous multi-TRP transmission and multi-panel reception at a user equipment (UE) is shown.

[0051] Figure 4 An example of a switching transmit (TX) / receive (RX) panel switching network is shown.

[0052] Figure 5 An embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, in which a new field ("groupBasedBeamReporting-STxMP") is introduced in the reporting setting (as specified in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.331, see, for example, V17.0.0, CSI-ReportConfig Information Element (IE)).

[0053] Figure 6 An embodiment is shown in which a UE may be configured to consider simultaneous downlink (DL) reception ("DL only"), simultaneous uplink (UL) transmission ("UL only"), or simultaneous DL reception and simultaneous UL transmission (DL_and_UL) for the beams reported in each beam pair (or beam group).

[0054] Figure 7 An embodiment is shown wherein the UE may be configured to take into account whether two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group) are received with different or the same UE panels.

[0055] Figure 8 An embodiment is shown in which a UE may be configured to consider whether two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group) may be transmitted simultaneously.

[0056] Fig. 9An example embodiment is shown in which the parameter "simultaneous-Tx" is introduced in the field "groupBasedBeamReporting-v1710" (as specified in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.331) and is used to indicate Rel-17 group-based beam reporting for the UE.

[0057] Fig.10 An example is shown where the UE indicates during UE capability signaling those UE panels that are capable of simultaneous UL transmission and / or simultaneous DL reception.

[0058] Fig.11 An example embodiment is shown in which a single bit field is used to indicate those UE panels (UE capability value sets) that are capable of simultaneous UL transmission and / or DL ​​reception.

[0059] Fig.12 An example embodiment is shown in which more than two reference signal resource sets may be configured for a UE, wherein the more than two reference signal resource sets correspond to more than two TRPs or more than two UE panels. Each reference signal resource set includes multiple reference signals corresponding to multiple beams. When a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) resource indicator (SSBRI) is reported in a beam group, the UE reports a corresponding reference signal resource set identifier (ID) for each reported CRI or SSBRI in the beam group.

[0060] Fig.13 An example embodiment with two TRPs and a UE equipped with three UE panels is shown.

[0061] Fig.14 Example signaling between a UE and a network for an embodiment related to reporting associated sounding reference signal (SRS) resources is shown.

[0062] Fig.15 Operation of a UE and a network node in accordance with at least some of the embodiments described herein is illustrated.

[0063] FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0064] FIG. 17 illustrates a UE according to some embodiments.

[0065] FIG. 18 illustrates a network node according to some embodiments.

[0066] 19 is a block diagram of a host according to various aspects described herein, which may be an embodiment of the host of FIG. 16 .

[0067] FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0068] Figure 21 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating with a UE over a partial wireless connection through a network node according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] The embodiments set forth below represent information that enables those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best way to practice the embodiments. After reading the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the present disclosure and will recognize the applications of these concepts not specifically described herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0070] In the present disclosure, the term "beam" is used, which can be represented by uplink spatial filter coefficients / configuration, downlink spatial filter coefficients / configuration, or uplink and downlink spatial filter coefficients / configuration. When a user equipment (UE) reports a beam, the UE can report a reference signal index representing the beam (i.e., the UE uses the beam to receive or transmit a reference signal corresponding to the reference signal index). The reference signal can be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), in which case the UE reports the CSI-RS resource index (CRI), or can be a synchronization signal block (SSB), in which case the UE reports the SSB resource index (SSB RI).

[0071] Note that a "UE panel" may be represented by a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource set ID or an SRS resource ID.

[0072] There is currently one or more challenges. In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) Rel-18, it was agreed to specify support for simultaneous multi-panel uplink (UL) transmissions. In addition, for the fifth generation (5G) advanced and sixth generation (6G), the interest in multi-panel / multiple transmission and reception point (TRP) / distributed multiple input multiple output (D-MIMO) transmission schemes is expected to increase even further; therefore, in the absence of it being specified in Rel-18, this is an area that will most likely be considered in subsequent releases of NR and / or 6G. In 6G, D-MIMO is expected to occur and the UE may be connected to more than two TRPs, so simultaneous UL transmissions from more than two UE panels (e.g., up to four UE panels) may be specified. How to implement and report beams to enable simultaneous UL multi-panel transmissions using up to four UE panels is an open question.

[0073] One issue with simultaneous multi-panel UL transmissions is that the network may not know which UE panels can be used for simultaneous transmission and which panels cannot be used for simultaneous transmission. In the current NR specification, the network can configure group-based beam reporting to the UE, where the UE reports a pair of beams that can be received by the UE simultaneously. However, currently the network has no way of knowing whether the reported beam pair can be received with the same or different UE panels, and if the beams can be received with different UE panels, there is no way of knowing whether the UE can transmit from two UE panels simultaneously.

[0074] Since the number of transmit (TX) chains and receive (RX) chains may be different for different UEs and have different circuit designs (including different TX / RX switching circuits), even if the network manages to determine which UE panels can receive at the same time, the network may not know which UE panels can transmit at the same time.

[0075] Another related issue is that, depending on the UE's TX / RX panel switching network, the UE panels capable of simultaneous multi-panel transmission or simultaneous multi-panel reception may be different for different UEs. Figure 4 An example of what a switching TX / RX panel switching network might look like is shown schematically in FIG. Figure 4 In the example, UE panel P1 cannot be used with UE panel P2 for simultaneous downlink (DL) / UL transmission / reception, and similarly, UE panel P3 cannot be used with UE panel P4 for simultaneous DL / UL transmission / reception. All other UE panel combinations support simultaneous DL / UL transmission / reception. In this example, the same number of receiver chains and transmitter chains are used, and the same antenna switching network is used for the transmitter side and the receiver side. However, this may not always be the case. For example, a UE may be able to receive on 3 or 4 UE panels simultaneously, but can only transmit on 1 or 2 UE panels simultaneously.

[0076] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to the above and / or other challenges. Systems and methods are disclosed herein that enable a UE to indicate in a beam report whether up to four reported beams in a beam group can be used for simultaneous DL reception and / or simultaneous UL transmission. Note that while the example embodiments disclosed herein focus primarily on examples with up to four reported beams in a beam group, the number of beams reported in a beam group may alternatively be at most N, where N is greater than or equal to 4.

[0077] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows. However, note that not all embodiments disclosed herein are captured in the following examples.

[0078] Embodiment 1: A method in a user equipment (UE) for reporting a beam whose target is a simultaneous multi-panel uplink transmission, the method comprising at least one of the following steps: a. Sending an indication to the network node that group-based beam reporting capability is supported for simultaneous multi-panel uplink transmissions b. Receive a message containing a field DL reference signal configuration, where the DL reference signal configuration configures two (or more) groups of reference signal resources c. receiving a message containing a field channel state information (CSI) report configuration, wherein the CSI report configuration is associated with a DL reference signal configuration; and d. (Optional) receiving a trigger message to perform measurements according to the CSI reporting configuration; and e. performing measurements on reference signals on reference signal resources in two or more sets of reference signal resources, wherein each reference signal is received using a spatial filter, and wherein each spatial filter is associated with a UE panel (e.g., a virtual UE panel ID, a set of UE capability values) f. Reporting M beam groups, wherein each beam group contains information indicating one reference signal resource for each reference signal group from a subset or the full set of reference signal groups, and wherein the UE panel associated with the spatial filter for receiving reference signals on the reference signal resources indicated in the beam group can be one of the following: i. For simultaneous (e.g., uplink) transmission ii. for simultaneous (eg, downlink) reception, or iii. For both simultaneous sending and simultaneous receiving.

[0079] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, and wherein the network node indicates support for group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel uplink transmission (1a), and the capability may also indicate one or more of the following: a. Number of UE panels (UE capability value sets) b. Indicates which UE panels (UE capability value sets) can be used for simultaneous UL transmission c. Indicates which UE panels (UE capability value sets) are capable of simultaneous DL reception.

[0080] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 2, and wherein a field (UE capability value set) of a UE panel indicates which / which other UE panels (UE capability value sets) can be used for UL transmission and / or DL ​​reception simultaneously with the UE panel.

[0081] Embodiment 4: The method of Embodiment 2, and wherein a single bit field is used to indicate which UE panels (UE capability value sets) are capable of simultaneous UL transmission and / or DL ​​reception, and wherein each bit of the bit field is associated with a pair of UE panels (UE capability value sets) (e.g., the first bit is associated with UE panel 1 and UE panel 2, the second bit is associated with UE panel 1 and UE panel 3, and so on).

[0082] Embodiment 5: The method of embodiment 1, and wherein the CSI report configuration includes field report settings.

[0083] Embodiment 6: The method of embodiments 1 and 5, and wherein a field in the report setting is used to indicate that the UE should perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP).

[0084] Embodiment 7: The method of embodiments 5 and 6, and wherein a field is configured in the reporting setting to indicate that the UE should use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair, and should use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the same reported reference signal pair, and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be associated with the same or different UE panels (UE capability value sets).

[0085] Embodiment 8: The method of embodiments 5 and 6, and wherein a field is configured in the reporting setting to indicate that the UE should use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair, and should use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the same reported reference signal pair, and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter should not be associated with the same UE panel (UE capability value set).

[0086] Embodiment 9: The method of embodiments 5 and 6, and wherein a field is configured in the reporting setting to indicate that the UE should use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair, and should use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the same reported reference signal pair, and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter should not be associated with the same UE panel (UE capability value set), and wherein two different UE panels can be used for simultaneous transmission.

[0087] Embodiment 10: The method of Embodiments 5 and 6, and wherein a field is configured in the reporting setting to indicate that the UE should include in the report the UE panel (UE panel ID, virtual UE panel ID, UE capability value set) associated with each of the two reported reference signals in the reported reference signal pair.

[0088] Embodiment 11: The method of Embodiments 5 and 6, and wherein a field is configured in the reporting setting to indicate whether the UE should report whether a first UE panel (UE capability value set) associated with a first reported reference signal in a reported reference signal pair and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal in the same reported reference signal pair can be used for simultaneous UL transmission.

[0089] Embodiment 12: The method of Embodiments 5 and 6, and wherein a field is configured in the reporting setting to indicate whether the UE should report a first UE panel (UE capability value set) associated with a first reported reference signal in a reported reference signal pair and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal in the same reported reference signal pair can be used for simultaneous UL transmission, simultaneous DL reception, simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception, or neither for simultaneous UL transmission nor for simultaneous DL transmission.

[0090] Embodiment 13: The method of embodiments 5 and 6, and wherein a field is configured in the report setting to indicate which of the three candidate options (1f) the UE should assume for the report, i.e., the UE can be configured to follow one of the following: a. The beams in the group in this report can be used for simultaneous UL transmission b. The beams in the group in this report can be used for simultaneous DL reception c. The beams in the group in this report can be used for simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception.

[0091] Embodiment 14: The method of embodiment 1, and wherein the UE includes in the report (1f) a performance indicator for each of the reported reference signals.

[0092] Embodiment 15: The method of Embodiment 14, and wherein the performance indicator indicates UL performance.

[0093] Embodiment 16: The method of embodiment 15, and wherein the performance indicator indicates DL RSRP+UL power factor according to the reference signal.

[0094] Embodiment 17: The method of embodiment 16, and wherein the UL power factor is associated with a UE panel (UE capability value set) for receiving an associated reference signal.

[0095] Embodiment 18: The method of embodiment 17, and wherein the UL power factor considers one or more of the following: a. Power Management Maximum Power Reduction (P-MPR) associated with the UE panel b. The maximum available output power associated with the UE panel.

[0096] Embodiment 19: The method of embodiment 1, and wherein the UE includes in the report (1f) a UE panel (UE capability value set) associated with each reported reference signal.

[0097] Embodiment 20: The method of embodiment 1, and wherein the UE includes in a report (1f) a field associated with each reported reference signal pair, wherein the field indicates that a first spatial filter for receiving a first reference signal in the reference signal pair is associated with a different UE panel than a second spatial filter for receiving a second reference signal in the reference signal pair.

[0098] Embodiment 21: The method of embodiment 1, and wherein the UE includes a field in a report (1f) associated with each reported reference signal pair, wherein the field indicates that a first spatial filter for receiving a first reference signal in the reference signal pair is associated with a different UE panel than a second spatial filter for receiving a second reference signal in the reference signal pair, and wherein the two UE panels are capable of being used for simultaneous UL transmissions.

[0099] Embodiment 22: The method of embodiment 1, and wherein the UE includes a field in a report (1f) associated with each reported reference signal pair, wherein the field indicates that a first spatial filter for receiving a first reference signal in the reference signal pair is associated with a different UE panel than a second spatial filter for receiving a second reference signal in the reference signal pair, and wherein the two UE panels are capable of being used for simultaneous DL transmissions.

[0100] Note that although the example embodiments described herein focus on supporting simultaneous transmission from two UE panels to up to two different TRPs, several embodiments are also disclosed herein that involve extending one or more of the solutions described herein with simultaneous transmission from up to four UE panels to up to four TRPs.

[0101] Note that the beam report mentioned herein is referred to as a "group-based beam report". However, in 6G, the report may be called something else. The embodiments disclosed herein are applicable to any type of beam report that indicates that a group of reported beams can be used for simultaneous UL transmissions.

[0102] Note that although the term "UE panel" or "UE capability value set" is used herein, in 6G, the UE panel may be represented by other names, such as, for example, an explicit UE panel ID (associated with a physical UE panel), a virtual UE panel ID (not explicitly associated with a physical UE panel, i.e., the UE itself can establish an association between the virtual UE panel ID and the physical UE panel), some other UE panel-related RRC field, etc. Note that the naming may be different from the naming in the examples in this article.

[0103] Note that we have used the term "reporting settings" in the description provided in this article; however, it may be called something else in 6G. When we say "reporting settings", we generally refer to the Radio Resource Control (RRC) fields that can be used to indicate CSI reporting information / configuration to the UE.

[0104] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Embodiments of the present disclosure may enable the network to determine whether a next-generation NodeB (gNB) beam reported from a UE during a beam management process can be used for simultaneous multi-panel UL transmissions, which will improve performance in multiple TRPs and distributed multiple-input multiple-output (D-MIMO) systems, where more than one TRP / access point (AP) will typically be used for UL communications. In addition, for the embodiments disclosed herein, the number of panels for simultaneous reception of group-based beam reporting has been increased from 2 to 4, which may be useful in advanced 5G and 6G, where multiple TRPs and D-MIMO deployments are expected to be more common.

[0105] Figure 5 An embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, in which a new field ("groupBasedBeamReporting-STxMP") is introduced in the reporting settings (CSI-ReportConfig information element (IE), as specified in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.331, see, e.g., V17.0.0). In one embodiment, when the parameter "nrofReportedGroups" in the field "groupBasedBeamReporting-STxMP" is configured, the UE shall apply the STxMP described herein. The parameter "nrofReportedGroups" indicates the number of beam pairs (or beam groups) that the UE should include in the report.

[0106] In one embodiment, when the field "groupBasedBeamReporting-STxMP" is configured, the UE assumes that for each beam group, the UE should only include beams associated with the UE panel that can be used for simultaneous UL transmission (or simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL transmission (i.e., simultaneous DL reception of simultaneous DL transmissions from the network)).

[0107] In one embodiment, when the field "groupBasedBeamReporting-STxMP" is configured, the UE should include in the report for each beam pair (or each beam of multiple beams included in a beam group) whether the two (or more) reported beams are associated with a UE panel capable of simultaneous UL transmission (or simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL transmission).

[0108] In one embodiment, Figure 6 As shown, the UE may be configured to consider simultaneous DL reception ("DL only"), simultaneous UL transmission ("UL only"), or simultaneous DL reception and UL transmission (DL_and_UL) for the beams reported in each beam pair (or beam group). Note that only a subset of these three options may be included in the specification. For example, it may be possible to configure the UE with one of these three options, "UL only" or "DL and UL" (but not "DL only"), or any other combination.

[0109] In one embodiment, if the parameter "simultaneous_DL_and_or_UL" is configured to "UL only", the UE should ensure to receive both beams in a beam pair (or multiple beams included in a beam group) using two (or more) UE panels capable of simultaneous UL transmission.

[0110] In one embodiment, if the parameter "simultaneous_DL_and_or_UL" is configured to "DL_and_UL", the UE should ensure that both beams in a beam pair (or multiple beams included in a beam group) are received by two (or more) UE panels capable of simultaneous DL reception and simultaneous UL transmission.

[0111] In one embodiment, if the parameter "simultaneous_DL_and_or_UL" is configured to "UL only", the UE should include in the reporting information for each reported beam pair (or beam group) whether the two (or more) UE panels for receiving two (or more) beams can be used for simultaneous UL transmission.

[0112] In one embodiment, if the parameter "simultaneous_DL_and_or_UL" is configured as "DL_and_UL", the UE shall include in the reporting information for each reported beam pair (or beam group) whether the two (or more) UE panels for receiving two (or more) beams can be used for simultaneous DL transmission and simultaneous UL transmission (a single-bit bit field is required, where, for example, "1" can be used to indicate that it is possible and "0" can be used to indicate that it is not possible). In one embodiment, the UE includes in the reporting information for the reported beam pair (or beam group) whether the two (or more) UE panels for receiving two (or more) beams can be used for one of the following candidates (please note that it may not be possible to indicate all four options in the report, but only a subset of them may be indicated): ● No simultaneous DL reception nor UL transmission ● Simultaneous DL reception but no simultaneous UL transmission ● Simultaneous UL transmission but no simultaneous DL reception ● Simultaneous DL reception and simultaneous UL transmission

[0113] In one embodiment, 1 or 2 bits will be required in the bit field per beam pair (or beam group), depending on the number of options to be selected.

[0114] exist Figure 7 In one embodiment shown, the UE may be configured to consider whether two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group) are received using different or the same UE panels. Note that if the beams are received using different UE panels, there is no guarantee that the two UE panels can be used for simultaneous DL reception and / or UL transmission. However, for example, if the network is interested in a multi-TRP reliability scheme based on time division multiplexing (TDM) (e.g., using different beams for different TRPs in a time division multiplexing manner), the only thing the network wants to know is whether different UE panels are used for two (or more) beams in the beam group (because using different UE panels will increase the robustness to UE panel blocking).

[0115] In one embodiment, if the parameter "Different UE Panels" is configured to "Enabled", the UE shall ensure that the two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group) are received with two (or more) different UE panels. In one embodiment, if this parameter is not configured, the UE shall ensure that the two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group) are received with two (or more) UE panels that can be used for simultaneous DL reception and / or simultaneous UL transmission. In one embodiment, if this parameter is not configured, the UE may use any UE panel for the two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group).

[0116] In one embodiment, if the parameter "Different UE panels" is configured to "Enabled", the UE should include in the reporting information for each reported beam pair (or beam group) whether the two (or more) UE panels used to receive two (or more) beams are the same UE panel or different UE panels.

[0117] exist Figure 8 In one embodiment shown in , the UE may be configured to consider whether two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group) may be transmitted simultaneously.

[0118] In one embodiment, if the parameter "simultaneous-Tx" is configured to "enabled", the UE should ensure that two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group) are received by two (or more) UE panels that can be used for simultaneous UL transmission.

[0119] In one embodiment, if the parameter "simultaneous-Tx" is configured to "enabled", the UE should include in the reporting information for each reported beam pair (or beam group) whether the two (or more) UE panels for receiving two (or more) beams can be used for simultaneous UL transmission.

[0120] exist Fig. 9 In one embodiment schematically shown in , the parameter "simultaneous-Tx" is introduced into the field "groupBasedBeamReporting-v1710" as specified in TS38.331 and is used to indicate Rel-17 group-based beam reporting for the UE. If the new parameter "simultaneous-Tx" is configured in "groupBasedBeamReporting-v1710", the UE shall ensure that two (or more) beams in a beam pair (or beam group) are received by two (or more) UE panels that can be used for simultaneous DL reception and simultaneous UL transmission.

[0121] In another embodiment, different beam groups may be used to indicate beams that can be used for one of the three purposes given by the gNB as follows: 1) A beam in a beam group that can be used for simultaneous DL reception with multiple UE panels; for example, when there are N>1 (where N is an integer) beams in the beam group, simultaneous DL reception using N UE panels is possible; 2) a beam in a second beam group, which beam can be used for simultaneous UL transmission with multiple UE panels; for example, when there are Q>1 (where Q is an integer) beams in the beam group, simultaneous UL transmission using Q UE panels is possible; 3) a beam in a third beam group, which beam can be used for simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception with multiple UE panels; for example, when there are P>1 (where P is an integer) beams in the beam group, simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous reception using P UE panels is possible;

[0122] In some cases, beam groups may be reported for any combination of 1), 2) and 3) above. The values ​​of N, Q and P may be the same or different.

[0123] In one embodiment, the UE indicates during UE capability signaling those UE panels that can be used for simultaneous UL transmission and / or simultaneous DL reception. In one embodiment, the field is reported per UE panel (e.g., UE capability value set), and wherein the field indicates other UE panels (e.g., UE capability value sets) that can be used for simultaneous UL transmission and / or DL ​​reception with the UE panel. Fig.10 A schematic example is shown in FIG.

[0124] In one embodiment, a single bit field is used to indicate those UE panels (UE capability value sets) that can be used for simultaneous UL transmission and / or DL ​​reception. In one embodiment, each bit of the bit field is associated with a pair of UE panels (UE capability value sets), and a "1" indicates that both associated UE panels can be used for UL transmission and / or DL ​​reception, and a "0" indicates that both associated UE panels cannot be used for UL transmission and / or DL ​​reception.

[0125] Fig.11 An example is shown in which the first bit is associated with UE panel 1 (UE capability value set 1) and UE panel 2 (UE capability value set 2), the second bit is associated with UE panel 1 (UE capability value set 1) and UE panel 3 (UE capability value set 3), and so on, until all combinations of UE panels (UE capability value sets) are completed.

[0126] In one embodiment, the UE reports one bit field for simultaneous DL reception and another separate bit field for simultaneous UL transmission. In one embodiment, a single bit field is used to indicate simultaneous DL reception and simultaneous UL transmission.

[0127] In an alternative embodiment, instead of a bit field, an integer value or an enumeration value may also be reported instead of a bit field. For example, as part of a UE capability value set, the UE may report an integer or enumeration value representing another UE panel (e.g., another UE capability value set) with which simultaneous UL transmission and / or simultaneous DL reception may be achieved. Let us consider the following example: UE Capability Value Set 1 (associated with UE Panel 1): integer value 3 or enumeration value "capvalset3" is reported as part of UE Capability Value Set 1; UE Capability Value Set 2 (associated with UE Capability Value Set 2): integer value 4 or enumeration value "capvalset4" is reported as part of UE Capability Value Set 2; UE Capability Value Set 3 (associated with UE Panel 3); UE capability value set 4;

[0128] In the above example, by reporting the integer value 3 or the enumeration value "capvalset3" as part of the capability report for UE capability value set 1, the UE signals to the gNB that UE panel 1 and UE panel 3 are capable of simultaneous UL transmission and / or simultaneous DL reception. Similarly, by reporting the integer value 4 or the enumeration value "capvalset4" as part of the capability report for UE capability value set 2, the UE signals to the gNB that UE panel 2 and UE panel 4 are capable of simultaneous UL transmission and / or simultaneous DL reception. Note that in some embodiments, other information (e.g., the maximum number of SRS ports supported) may be included as part of the UE capability value set. In some further embodiments, such a capability value set as shown in the above example may be reported separately for simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception.

[0129] In another embodiment, more than two reference signal resource sets may be configured for the UE, wherein the more than two reference signal resource sets correspond to more than two TRPs or more than two UE panels. Each reference signal resource set contains multiple reference signals (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) corresponding to multiple beams. Therefore, when reporting a CRI or SSBRI in a beam group, the UE should also report the corresponding reference signal resource set ID for each reported CRI or SSBRI in the beam group. Fig.12An example of this embodiment is shown in , where the CSI reporting format for up to four beam groups is shown. The reference signal set ID in the figure is given by csi-SSB-ResourceSetId. Using this embodiment, when more than two reference signal sets are configured (for example, more than two TRPs or two UE panels), the UE can select a subset of resource sets to select the CRI or SSBRI in each group. For example, the UE may select CRI / SSBRI#1 in the first beam group (or resource group) from the 1st reference signal resource set, and select CRI / SSBRI#2 in the first beam group (or resource group) from the 4th reference signal resource set. Alternatively, the UE may report the TRP ID instead of reporting the csi-SSB-ResourceSetId, where each csi-SSB-ResourceSetId is associated with a TRP ID.

[0130] For each UE panel capable of UL transmission, it can be associated with a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource or SRS resource set. To facilitate UL transmission, the SRS resource or resource set associated with each reported beam can be included in the group-based beam report. If a pair of reported beams can be received by the same UE panel, the same associated SRS resource or resource set for the two beams will be included. If a pair of reported beams can be received by two different UE panels, two different associated SRS resources or resource sets for the two beams will be included. In this way, the network will know whether a pair of reported beams is received by the same UE panel or by different UE panels. In addition, when indicating UL simultaneous transmission capability for a pair of reported beams, the network will know the two associated SRS resources or resource sets for UL channel measurement and data transmission. For example, the network can trigger the UE to send two SRS resources and resource sets simultaneously, and measure the UL channel at the two TRPs where the corresponding DL beams are sent. The network can then determine the UL channel quality at each TRP by considering interference from unexpected SRS resources or resource sets. The network may then schedule UL simultaneous PUSCH transmissions from two UE panels associated with the SRS resources or resource sets by indicating the SRS resources or resource sets associated with each UE panel and other scheduling parameters (e.g., modulation and coding scheme, antenna precoding matrix, etc.).

[0131] Fig.13An example is shown where there are two TRPs and one UE. The UE is equipped with three UE panels. In order to determine which two beams from the two TRPs the UE can receive simultaneously, the network may request a group-based beam report from the UE where three DL beams from each of the two TRPs are configured. The UE will measure all configured beams and determine the best beam pair that can be received on its three UE panels. In this case, beam B on panel 1 and beam E on panel 3 will be reported along with their received powers. In addition, the UE will also report the associated SRS resources or resource sets used for each of the two beams and whether simultaneous UL transmission is supported on the associated UE panel. Fig.14 An example of signaling between the UE and the network is shown.

[0132] about Fig.14 Please note that this flowchart is applicable to embodiments related to SRS resources associated with reporting (i.e., this flowchart is not applicable to other embodiments covered in this disclosure). Fig.14 As shown in FIG. 1 , the first TRP (TRP1) sends a group-based beam report request to the UE (step 1400). Fig.13 For example, the network may request a group-based beam report from the UE, where three DL beams from each of the two TRPs are configured. TRP1 and the second TRP (TRP2) transmit DL reference signals in multiple beams (step 1402). As described above, the UE measures all configured beams and determines the best beam pair that can be received on its UE panel. The UE sends a group-based beam report to TRP1, where the group-based beam report includes associated SRS resources and simultaneous Tx capabilities (step 1404). Fig.13 In the example of , beam B on panel 1 and beam E on panel 3 will be reported along with their received powers. In addition, the UE will also report the associated SRS resource or resource set for each of the two beams, and whether simultaneous UL transmission is supported on the associated UE panel. TRP1 can then trigger simultaneous SRS transmission in the SRS resource (step 1406). In response, the UE sends SRS in the SRS resource (step 1408). TRP1 measures the corresponding UL channel between the UE and TRP1 (step 1410), and TRP measures the corresponding UL channel between the UE and TRP2 (step 1412). TRP1 can then schedule the UE to perform simultaneous UL transmission on the two UE panels associated with the SRS resources (step 1414). The UE can then perform simultaneous UL transmission to the two TRPs on the two indicated UE panels (step 1416).

[0133] Fig.1515 shows the operation of a UE 1500 and a network node 1502 (e.g., a base station, such as, for example, a gNB) according to at least some of the above-described embodiments. Fig.15 In the description of the present invention, not all the details provided above are repeated. However, it should be understood that the above details also apply here Fig.15 process. Fig.15 The steps of the process are as follows.

[0134] Step 1504 (optional): UE 1500 sends capability information to network node 1502, the capability information including an indication that the UE supports group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel uplink transmission. In one embodiment, the capability information further includes: information indicating the number of UE panels at the UE, information indicating which UE panels can be used for simultaneous uplink transmission, information indicating which UE panels can be used for simultaneous downlink reception, information indicating which UE panels can be used for simultaneous uplink transmission and simultaneous downlink reception, or any combination of two or more thereof. In one embodiment, for each of the two or more UE panels of the UE, the capability information further includes: information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous uplink transmission, information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous downlink reception, information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous uplink transmission and simultaneous downlink reception, or any combination of two or more thereof. In one embodiment, the capability information includes a bit field indicating which UE panels are capable of simultaneous uplink transmission and / or simultaneous downlink reception, wherein each bit of the bit field is associated with a group (eg, a pair) of UE panels.

[0135] Step 1506: UE 1500 receives a downlink reference signal configuration (e.g., DL CSI-RS configuration) configuring two or more reference signal resource groups from network node 1502, wherein each of the two or more reference signal resource groups includes two or more reference signal resources. For example, the two or more reference signal resource groups may include a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group.

[0136] Step 1508 (optional): UE 1500 receives a reporting configuration associated with a downlink reference signal configuration from network node 1502. In one embodiment, the reporting configuration includes a reporting setting field. In one embodiment, the reporting configuration (e.g., the reporting setting field) indicates that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP. In one embodiment, the reporting configuration (e.g., the reporting setting field) includes an indication that the UE is to use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair (i.e., when receiving a first reference signal in a first reference signal resource in a reference signal resource group (e.g., a pair)), and is to use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in a reported reference signal pair (i.e., when receiving a second reference signal in a second reference signal resource in a reference signal resource group (e.g., a pair)), and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are associated with the same or different UE panels. In another embodiment, the reporting configuration (e.g., a reporting setting field) includes an indication that the UE is to use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair (i.e., when receiving a first reference signal in a first reference signal resource in a reference signal resource group (e.g., a pair)), and is to use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the reported reference signal pair (i.e., when receiving a second reference signal in a second reference signal resource in a reference signal resource group (e.g., a pair)), and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are not associated with the same UE panel. In another embodiment, the reporting configuration (e.g., the reporting settings field) includes an indication that the UE is to use a first spatial filter (associated with a first UE panel) when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair (i.e., receiving a first reference signal in a first reference signal resource in a reference signal resource group (e.g., a pair)), and is to use a second spatial filter (associated with a second UE panel) when receiving a second reference signal in a reported reference signal pair (i.e., receiving a second reference signal in a second reference signal resource in a reference signal resource group (e.g., a pair)), and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are not associated with the same UE panel, and wherein two different UE panels (the first UE panel and the second UE panel) are capable of transmitting simultaneously. In another embodiment, the reporting configuration (e.g., the reporting settings field) includes information that configures the UE to include in the report an indication of the UE panel (e.g., UE panel ID, virtual UE panel ID, UE capability value set, SRS resource set ID, SRS resource ID) associated with each reported reference signal resource in each of the M beam groups.In another embodiment, the reporting configuration (e.g., the reporting settings field) includes an indication of whether the UE is to report a first UE panel associated with a first reported reference signal in a reported beam group (i.e., associated with a first reference signal resource in a reference signal resource group) and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal in the same reported beam group (i.e., associated with a second reference signal resource in a reference signal resource group) as being capable of simultaneous UL transmission. In another embodiment, the reporting configuration (e.g., the reporting settings field) includes an indication of whether the UE is to report a first UE panel associated with a first reported reference signal resource in a reported beam group and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal resource in the same reported beam pair as being capable of simultaneous UL transmission, simultaneous DL reception, simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception, or neither for simultaneous UL transmission nor for simultaneous DL transmission. In another embodiment, the report configuration (e.g., a report setting field) includes an indication of which of three candidate options the UE should assume for the report, i.e., the UE can be configured to follow one of the following: (a) the UE panel associated with the Rx beam for the reference signal resources indicated by the beam group can be used for simultaneous UL transmission, (b) the UE panel associated with the Rx beam for the reference signal resources indicated by the beam group can be used for simultaneous DL reception, or (c) the UE panel associated with the Rx beam for the reference signal resources indicated by the beam group can be used for simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception.

[0137] Step 1510 (optional): In one embodiment, UE 1500 receives a trigger message that initiates the execution of measurements according to the reporting configuration.

[0138] Step 1512: UE 1500 performs measurements on reference signals within two or more reference signal resource groups. For each of the two or more reference signal resource groups, a different receive (Rx) beam is used for two or more reference signal resources included in the reference signal resource group, and each of the different Rx beams for the two or more reference signal resources included in the reference signal resource group is associated with one UE panel of two or more UE panels of the UE.

[0139] Step 1514: Based on the measurement, the UE 1500 reports the M beam groups to the network node 1502. In other words, the UE 1500 sends information for the M beam groups to the network node 1502, wherein, in one embodiment, the information is included in a report (e.g., a group-based beam report). For each of the M beam groups, the beam group (i.e., the information reported for the beam group) indicates one reference signal resource for each reference signal resource group from at least a subset of two or more reference signal resource groups, and the UE panel associated with the Rx beam for the reference signal resource indicated by the beam group is capable of: simultaneous transmission (e.g., for simultaneous multi-TRP uplink transmission), simultaneous reception (e.g., for simultaneous multi-TRP downlink reception), or both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception (e.g., according to any embodiment described herein).

[0140] In one embodiment, reporting the M beam groups includes sending a corresponding report to a network node. In one embodiment, the report further includes a performance indicator for each reported reference signal resource for each of the M beam groups. In one embodiment, the performance indicator indicates uplink performance. In one embodiment, the performance indicator indicates downlink reference signal received power+uplink power factor. In one embodiment, the uplink power factor is associated with a UE panel for receiving the associated reference signal. In one embodiment, the uplink power factor takes into account any one or both of the following: (i) a power management maximum power reduction (P-MPR) associated with the UE panel and (ii) a maximum available output power associated with the UE panel.

[0141] In one embodiment, the report further includes information indicating a UE panel associated with each reported reference signal resource for each of the M beam groups.

[0142] In one embodiment, the report further includes: for each reported reference signal resource set for each of the M beam groups, information indicating that a different Rx beam is used to receive an associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set.

[0143] In one embodiment, the report further includes: for each reported reference signal resource set for each of the M beam groups, indicating that a different Rx beam is used to receive the associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set, and information that the associated UE panel can use for simultaneous uplink transmission.

[0144] In one embodiment, the report further includes: for each reported reference signal resource set for each of the M beam groups, an indication that a different Rx beam is used to receive the associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set, and information that the associated UE panel can be used for simultaneous downlink reception.

[0145] Step 1516: The network node 1502 performs one or more actions based on the reported M beam groups. The one or more actions may include, for example, scheduling simultaneous downlink reception to the UE 1500 and / or simultaneous uplink transmission from the UE 1500 according to the received report.

[0146] FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a communication system 1600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0147] In this example, the communication system 1600 includes a telecommunications network 1602, which includes an access network 1604 (e.g., a radio access network (RAN)) and a core network 1606, which includes one or more core network nodes 1608. The access network 1604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1610A and 1610B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1610), or any other similar third generation partnership project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). The network nodes 1610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as connecting UEs 1612A, 1612B, 1612C, and 1612D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1612) to the core network 1606 via one or more wireless connections.

[0148] Example wireless communications over wireless connections include sending and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transferring information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. In addition, in various embodiments, the communication system 1600 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether over a wired or wireless connection. The communication system 1600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0149] UE 1612 may be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 1610 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 1610 is arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 1612 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 1602 to enable and / or provide network access (e.g., wireless network access) and / or perform other functions (e.g., management in telecommunication network 1602).

[0150] In the depicted example, the core network 1606 connects the network node 1610 to one or more hosts (e.g., host 1616). These connections can be direct or indirect connections through one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node can be directly coupled to the host. The core network 1606 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1608), which are composed of hardware and software components. The features of these components can be substantially similar to those described for the UE, network node and / or host, so that their description is generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1608. Example core network nodes include one or more of the following: 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 proxy (SEPP), a network open function (NEF) and / or a user plane function (UPF).

[0151] The host 1616 may be owned or controlled by a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network 1604 and / or the telecommunications network 1602, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1616 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieval and compilation of data of various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analytical functions, 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.

[0152] In general, the communication system 1600 of Figure 16 enables connections between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system 1600 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 second, third, fourth or fifth generation (2G, 3G, 4G or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., sixth generation (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 appropriate 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.

[0153] In some examples, telecommunication network 1602 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Thus, telecommunication network 1602 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to telecommunication network 1602. For example, telecommunication network 1602 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 Internet of Things (IoT) services to more UEs.

[0154] In some examples, UE 1612 is configured to send and / or receive information without direct human-machine interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to send information to access network 1604 according to a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from access network 1604. In addition, the UE may be configured to operate in a single or multiple radio access technologies (RATs) or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate using any one or a combination of WiFi, new radio (NR), and LTE, i.e., configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0155] In this example, the hub 1614 communicates with the access network 1604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1612C and / or 1612D) and a network node (e.g., network node 1610B). In some examples, the hub 1614 may be a controller, a router, a content source and an analyzer, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 1614 may be a broadband router that enables the UE to access the core network 1606. As another example, the hub 1614 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The command or instruction may be received from the UE, the network node 1610, or received by an executable code, a script, a process, or other instructions in the hub 1614. As another example, the hub 1614 may be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage for UE data, and in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1614 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a virtual reality (VR) headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 1614 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and then the hub 1614 provides it to the UE directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In another example, the hub 1614 acts as a proxy server or coordinator for the UE, especially when one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0156] Hub 1614 can have constant / persistent or intermittent connection with network node 1610B. Hub 1614 can also allow different communication schemes and / or scheduling between hub 1614 and UE (e.g., UE 1612C and / or 1612D) and between hub 1614 and core network 1606. In other examples, hub 1614 is connected to core network 1606 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. In addition, hub 1614 can be configured to be connected to a machine-to-machine (M2M) service provider and / or to another UE via a direct connection via access network 1604. In some scenarios, UE can establish a wireless connection with network node 1610 while still being connected via hub 1614 via a wired connection or a wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 1614 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose primary function is to route communications from a UE to network node 1610B and / or from network node 1610B to a UE. In other embodiments, hub 1614 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device that is operable to route communications between a UE and network node 1610B, but that is additionally operable as a communications origin and / or destination for certain data channels.

[0157] FIG. 17 shows a UE 1700 according to some embodiments. As used herein, UE refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over Internet protocol (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, laptops, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted or vehicle-mounted embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by 3GPP, including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communications (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0158] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Rather, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but may not be associated with a particular human user, or may not initially be associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a 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).

[0159] UE 1700 includes processing circuit 1702, which is operably coupled to input / output interface 1706, power supply 1708, memory 1710, communication interface 1712 and / or any other component, or any combination thereof, via bus 1704. Some UEs may use all or part of the components shown in Figure 17. The degree of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. In addition, some UEs may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0160] The processing circuit 1702 is configured to process instructions and data, and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored in the memory 1710 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit 1702 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs)) together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 1702 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0161] In this example, the input / output interface 1706 can be configured to provide one or more 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 1700. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, web cameras, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, direction pads, trackpads, 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, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biosensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device can use an interface port of the same type as an input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port can be used to provide input devices and output devices.

[0162] In some embodiments, the power supply 1708 is configured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies may be used, such as an external power supply (e.g., a power outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The power supply 1708 may also include a power supply circuit for delivering power from the power supply 1708 itself and / or an external power supply to the various components of the UE 1700 via an input circuit or interface (e.g., a power cable). The delivered power may be used, for example, to charge the power supply 1708. The power supply circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power supply 1708 so that the power is suitable for the various components of the UE 1700 being powered.

[0163] The memory 1710 may be a memory or be configured to include a memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge, a flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory 1710 includes one or more application programs 1714, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1716. The memory 1710 may store any of a variety of operating systems or operating system combinations for use by the UE 1700.

[0164] The memory 1710 may be configured to include a plurality of physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external micro dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (e.g., a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a universal SIM (USIM) and / or an Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM)), other memories, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a “SIM card”. The memory 1710 may allow the UE 1700 to access instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary memory medium to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture (eg, an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system) may be tangibly embodied as or located in memory 1710, which may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0165] The processing circuit 1702 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface 1712. The communication interface 1712 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include or may be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1722. The communication interface 1712 may include one or more transceivers for communication, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or network node in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1718 and / or a receiver 1720 suitable for providing network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 1718 and the receiver 1720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1722) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or may alternatively be implemented separately.

[0166] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functionality of the communication interface 1712 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication (e.g., Bluetooth, NFC), location-based communication (e.g., using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location), another similar communication functionality, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, code division multiplexing access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical network (SONET), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), fast user datagram protocol Internet connection (QUIC), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0167] Regardless of the sensor type, the UE may provide an output of the data captured by its sensor through its communication interface 1712 or via a wireless connection to a network node. The data captured by the UE's sensor may be transmitted to the network node via another UE over a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., every 15 minutes if it reports a sensed temperature), random (e.g., to load balance reports from multiple 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).

[0168] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface that is 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 can change. For example, the UE can include a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight based on the received input, or adjusts a robotic arm performing a medical procedure based on the received input.

[0169] When the UE is in the form of an IoT device, it can be a device for one or more application areas, including but not limited to urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices include or are embedded in the following devices: connected refrigerators or freezers, televisions, connected lighting devices, electricity meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / humidity sensors, electric door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems (such as heat pumps), self-driving cars, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smart watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or VR, wearable devices for tactile enhancement or sensory enhancement, sprinklers, animal or item tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any type of medical equipment (such as heart rate monitors or teleoperated surgical robots). A UE in the form of an IoT device includes, in addition to other components described in relation to the UE 1700 shown in FIG. 17 , circuits and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0170] As another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. In this case, the UE 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, airplane, or other device capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions related to its operation.

[0171] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together for a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or integrated into a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller that operates the drone. When a 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 drone's speed. The first UE and / or the second UE may also include more than one of the above functions. For example, the UE may include sensors and actuators, and handle communications for data from the speed sensors and actuators.

[0172] Figure 18 shows a network node 1800 according to some embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

[0173] A BS may be classified according to the coverage it provides (or in other words, its transmit power level), and therefore, depending on the coverage provided, a BS may be referred to as a femto BS, a pico BS, a micro BS, or a macro BS. A BS 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 BS, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such an RRU may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. The parts of a distributed radio BS may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0174] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (e.g., MSRBS), network controllers (e.g., radio network controllers (RNC) or BS controllers (BSC)), base transceiver stations (BTS), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), operations and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operations support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., evolved serving mobile positioning center (E-SMLC)) and / or minimization of drive tests (MDT).

[0175] The network node 1800 includes a processing circuit 1802, a memory 1804, a communication interface 1806, and a power supply 1808. The network node 1800 may be composed of multiple physically independent components (e.g., a node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own components. In certain scenarios where the network node 1800 includes multiple independent components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the independent components may be shared between multiple network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple node Bs. In this case, each unique node B and RNC pair may be considered a single independent network node in some cases. In some embodiments, the network node 1800 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be repeated (e.g., separate memories 1804 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., antennas 1810 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1800 may also include various illustrated components for multiple groups of different wireless technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies, integrated into the network node 1800. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 1800.

[0176] The processing circuit 1802 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, which may be used alone or in combination with other network node 1800 components (e.g., memory 1804) to provide network node 1800 functionality.

[0177] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1802 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1802 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1812 and baseband processing circuitry 1814. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1812 and baseband processing circuitry 1814 may be located on separate chips (or chipsets), circuit boards, or units (e.g., a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1812 and baseband processing circuitry 1814 may be located on the same chip or a set of chips, boards, or units.

[0178] The memory 1804 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to persistent memory, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, 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 for storing information, data and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 1802. The memory 1804 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including computer programs, software, applications, including one or more of the following: logic, rules, codes, tables and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 1802 and utilized by the network node 1800. The memory 1804 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 1802 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1806. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1802 and the memory 1804 are integrated.

[0179] The communication interface 1806 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 1806 includes a port / terminal 1816 for sending data to the network and receiving data from the network, for example, via a wired connection. The communication interface 1806 also includes a radio front-end circuit 1818, which may be coupled to an antenna 1810, or in some embodiments may be coupled to a portion of the antenna 1810. The radio front-end circuit 1818 includes a filter 1820 and an amplifier 1822. The radio front-end circuit 1818 may be connected to the antenna 1810 and the processing circuit 1802. The radio front-end circuit 1818 may be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 1810 and the processing circuit 1802. The radio front-end circuit 1818 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1818 may convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of a filter 1820 and / or an amplifier 1822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1810. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1810 may collect the radio signal, which may then be converted to digital data by radio front end circuit 1818. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 1802. In other embodiments, communication interface 1806 may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0180] In some alternative embodiments, the network node 1800 does not include a separate radio front end circuit 1818; instead, the processing circuit 1802 includes the radio front end circuit and is connected to the antenna 1810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or part of the RF transceiver circuit 1812 is part of the communication interface 1806. In other embodiments, the communication interface 1806 includes one or more ports or terminals 1816, the radio front end circuit 1818, and the RF transceiver circuit 1812 as part of the radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1806 communicates with the baseband processing circuit 1814, which is part of the digital unit (not shown).

[0181] Antenna 1810 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1810 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 1818 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly sending and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1810 is separate from network node 1800 and may be connected to network node 1800 via an interface or port.

[0182] Antenna 1810, communication interface 1806 and / or processing circuit 1802 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain acquisition operations performed by network node 1800 as described herein. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from UE, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1810, communication interface 1806 and / or processing circuit 1802 may be configured to perform any sending operation performed by network node 1800 as described herein. Any information, data and / or signal may be sent to UE, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0183] The power supply 1808 provides power to the various components of the network node 1800 in a form suitable for the various components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each of the various components). The power supply 1808 may also include or be coupled to a power management circuit to provide power to the components of the network node 1800 for performing the functions described herein. For example, the network node 1800 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power grid or a power outlet) via an input circuit or an interface such as a cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit of the power supply 1808. As a further example, the power supply 1808 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack that is connected to the power circuit or integrated in the power circuit. If the external power source fails, the battery can provide backup power.

[0184] Embodiments of the network node 1800 may include additional components in addition to those shown in FIG. 18 to provide certain aspects of the network node functionality, including any functionality described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1800 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 1800 and to allow information to be output from the network node 1800. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on the network node 1800.

[0185] FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a host 1900, which may be an embodiment of the host 1616 of FIG. 16, according to various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1900 may be or include a combination of various 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 1900 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0186] The host 1900 includes a processing circuit 1902, which is operably coupled to an input / output interface 1906, a network interface 1908, a power supply 1910, and a memory 1912 via a bus 1904. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to the features described for the devices in the previous figures (e.g., Figures 17 and 18), so that the description thereof is generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 1900.

[0187] The memory 1912 may store one or more computer programs (including one or more host applications 1914) and data 1916, which may include user data, such as data generated by a UE for the host 1900 or data generated by the host 1900 for the UE. An embodiment of the host 1900 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application 1914 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for a variety of different categories, types, or implementations of UE (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and heads-up display systems). The host application 1914 may also provide user authentication and license checks, and may periodically report health status, routing, and content availability to a central node (e.g., a device in a core network or on the edge). Thus, the host 1900 can select and / or indicate different hosts for over-the-top (OTT) services for the UE. The host application 1914 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 (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0188] Figure 20 is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment 2000, wherein the functions implemented by certain embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or equipment, which may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage device, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to any device or component thereof described herein, and relates to the realization that at least a portion of functions are implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components performed by one or more virtual machines (VMs), which are implemented in one or more virtual environments 2000 hosted by one or more hardware nodes (e.g., hardware computing devices running as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hosts). In addition, in embodiments where a virtual node does not require a radio connection (e.g., a core network node or host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0189] Application 2002 (which may also be referred to as a software instance, a virtual device, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) runs in a virtualized environment 2000 to implement some features, functions and / or advantages of some embodiments disclosed herein.

[0190] Hardware 2004 includes processing circuits, memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuits, and / or other hardware devices described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc. The software can be executed by the processing circuits to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 2006 (also referred to as virtual machine hypervisors or VM monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 2008A and 2008B (one or more of which may be collectively referred to as VMs 2008), and / or perform any functions, features, and / or advantages associated with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 2006 can present a virtual operating platform to VM 2008 that looks like networked hardware.

[0191] VM 2008 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual network or interface and virtual storage device, and can be operated by corresponding virtualization layer 2006. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual device 2002 can be implemented on one or more VM 2008, and can be implemented in different ways. Virtualization of hardware is sometimes referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to integrate many network device types onto industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and client devices.

[0192] In the context of NFV, VM 2008 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 2008 and the portion of hardware 2004 on which the VM runs (whether it is hardware dedicated to the VM or hardware shared by the VM and other VMs 2008) form a separate 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 2008 on top of hardware 2004 and corresponds to an application 2002.

[0193] Hardware 2004 can be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. Hardware 2004 can implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 2004 can be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or CPE), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 2010, which, among other things, oversees the life cycle management of application 2002. In some embodiments, hardware 2004 is coupled to one or more radio units, each of which includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers, which can be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio unit can communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and can be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to virtual nodes (e.g., RAN or BS). In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided using a control system 2012, which can be used alternatively for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0194] 21 shows a communication diagram of a host 2102 communicating with a UE 2106 over a partial wireless connection via a network node 2104 in accordance with some embodiments. According to various embodiments, an example implementation of a UE (e.g., UE 1612A of FIG. 16 and / or UE 1700 of FIG. 17 ), a network node (e.g., network node 1610A of FIG. 16 and / or network node 1800 of FIG. 18 ), and a host (e.g., host 1616 of FIG. 16 and / or host 1900 of FIG. 19 ) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 21 .

[0195] As with the host 1900, embodiments of the host 2102 include hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and a memory. The host 2102 also includes software that is stored in or accessible by the host 2102 and can be executed by the processing circuit. The software includes a host application that is operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 2106 connected via an OTT connection 2150 extending between the UE 2106 and the host 2102. In providing services to the remote user, the host application can provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection 2150.

[0196] The network node 2104 includes hardware that enables the network node 2104 to communicate with the host 2102 and the UE 2106 via a connection 2160. The connection 2160 can be direct, or through a core network (such as the core network 1606 of Figure 16) and / or one or more other intermediate networks (e.g., one or more public, private, or managed networks). For example, the intermediate network can be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0197] UE 2106 includes hardware and software, the software is stored in UE 2106 or accessible by UE 2106, 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 "application", which is operable to provide services to human users or non-human users via UE 2106 with the support of host 2102. In host 2102, the executing host application can communicate with the executing client application via an OTT connection 2150 terminated at UE 2106 and host 2102. When providing services to the user, 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 2150 can transmit both request data and user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate user data, which is provided to the host application via the OTT connection 2150.

[0198] The OTT connection 2150 may extend via a connection 2160 between the host 2102 and the network node 2104 and via a wireless connection 2170 between the network node 2104 and the UE 2106 to provide connectivity between the host 2102 and the UE 2106. The connection 2160 and the wireless connection 2170 (via which the OTT connection 2150 may be provided) have been drawn abstractly to illustrate communications between the host 2102 and the UE 2106 via the network node 2104, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via those devices.

[0199] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 2150, in step 2108, the host 2102 provides user data, which can be performed by running a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with the UE 2106. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with the UE 2106 that shares data with the host 2102 without explicit human interaction. In step 2110, the host 2102 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE 2106. The host 2102 may initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by the UE 2106. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 2106, or by the operation of a client application running on the UE 2106. According to the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the transmission may be delivered via the network node 2104. Therefore, in step 2112, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the network node 2104 sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host 2102 to the UE 2106. In step 2114 , UE 2106 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application running on UE 2106 , which is associated with a host application running on host 2102 .

[0200] In some examples, UE 2106 runs a client application that provides user data to host 2102. The user data may be provided as a reaction or response to data received from host 2102. Thus, in step 2116, UE 2106 may provide the user data, which may be performed by running a client application. In providing the user data, the client application may also take into account user input received from a user via an input / output interface of UE 2106. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, UE 2106 initiates transmission of the user data to host 2102 via network node 2104 in step 2118. In step 2120, network node 2104 receives user data from UE 2106 and initiates transmission of the received user data to host 2102 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. In step 2122, host 2102 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 2106.

[0201] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 2106 using OTT connection 2150, where wireless connection 2170 forms the last leg.

[0202] In an example scenario, host 2102 may collect and analyze plant status information. As another example, host 2102 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating a map. As another example, host 2102 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, host 2102 may store surveillance videos uploaded by a UE. As another example, host 2102 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR that may be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to a UE. As other examples, host 2102 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads to balance power generation demand, location services, presentation services (compiling, for example, charts of data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other function for collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0203] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for monitoring data rates, delays, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve. There may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2150 between the host 2102 and the UE 2106 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or the network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2150 may be implemented in the software and hardware of the host 2102 and / or the UE 2106. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other devices through which the OTT connection 2150 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing the values ​​of the monitoring quantities exemplified above or by providing the values ​​of other physical quantities, and the software may calculate or estimate the monitoring quantities based on the values ​​of the other physical quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 2150 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not require direct changes to the operation of the network node 2104. Such processes and functions are known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling, which helps the host 2102 measure throughput, propagation time, delay, etc. Measurements may be accomplished by software causing a message (particularly a null or "dummy" message) to be transmitted using the OTT connection 2150 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0204] Although the computing devices (e.g., UE, network node, host) described herein may include the hardware component combinations shown, other embodiments may include computing devices with different component combinations. It will be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable hardware and / or software combination 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, and making a determination based on the result of the processing. In addition, although the components are depicted as being located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a computing device may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component, and functions may be divided between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any component described herein, and / or the functions of a component may be divided between a processing circuit and a communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, while the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0205] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in a memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-temporary 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 a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of these specific embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functionality, regardless of whether instructions stored on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuits alone or to other components of a computing device, but may generally be enjoyed by the entire computing device and / or end users and wireless networks. Group A Embodiment

[0206] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: ● receiving (1506) from a network node a downlink reference signal configuration configuring two or more reference signal resource groups, wherein each of the two or more reference signal resource groups includes two or more reference signal resources; • performing (1512) measurements on reference signals within two or more reference signal resource groups, wherein for each reference signal resource group of the two or more reference signal resource groups: o Different reception Rx beams are used for two or more reference signal resources included in a reference signal resource group; and o Each of the different Rx beams for two or more reference signal resources included in the reference signal resource group is associated with one UE panel of two or more UE panels of the UE; Based on the measurements, reporting (1514) M beam groups to a network node, wherein for each of the M beam groups: o a beam group indicates one reference signal resource from each reference signal resource group from at least a subset of two or more reference signal resource groups; and o The UE panel associated with the Rx beam used for the reference signal resources indicated by the beam group can be used to: ■Simultaneous transmission (e.g., for simultaneous multiple TRP uplink transmissions), ■simultaneous reception (e.g., for simultaneous multi-TRP downlink reception), or ■Send and receive both simultaneously.

[0207] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1 further comprises sending (1504) capability information to a network node, the capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel uplink transmission.

[0208] Embodiment 3: The method of any one of Embodiment 2, wherein the capability information further includes: (a) information indicating the number of UE panels at the UE; (b) information indicating which UE panels can be used for simultaneous uplink transmission, (c) information indicating which UE panels can be used for simultaneous downlink reception, (d) information indicating which UE panels are capable of simultaneous uplink transmission and simultaneous downlink reception, or (e) A combination of any two or more of (a) to (c).

[0209] Embodiment 4: The method of any one of Embodiments 2 or 3, wherein the capability information further includes, for each UE panel of the two or more UE panels of the UE, (a) information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous uplink transmission, (b) information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous downlink reception, (c) information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous uplink transmission and simultaneous downlink reception, or (d) A combination of any two or more of (a) to (c).

[0210] Embodiment 5: The method described in any one of Embodiments 2 to 4, wherein the capability information comprises a bit field indicating which UE panels are capable of being used for simultaneous uplink transmission and / or simultaneous downlink reception, wherein each bit of the bit field is associated with a group (e.g., a pair) of UE panels.

[0211] Embodiment 6: The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 5 further comprises receiving (1508) a reporting configuration associated with a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node.

[0212] Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 6, wherein the report configuration includes a report setting field.

[0213] Embodiment 8: The method of embodiment 6 or 7, wherein the reporting configuration (eg, reporting setting field) indicates that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP.

[0214] Embodiment 9: A method as described in any one of Embodiments 6 to 8, wherein the reporting configuration (e.g., a reporting setting field) includes an indication that the UE will use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair, and will use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the reported reference signal pair, and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are associated with the same or different UE panels.

[0215] Embodiment 10: A method as described in any one of Embodiments 6 to 8, wherein the reporting configuration (e.g., a reporting setting field) includes an indication that the UE will use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair, and will use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the reported reference signal pair, and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are not associated with the same UE panel.

[0216] Embodiment 11: A method as described in any one of Embodiments 6 to 8, wherein the reporting configuration (e.g., a reporting setting field) includes an indication that the UE will use a first spatial filter when receiving a first reference signal in a reported reference signal pair, and will use a second spatial filter when receiving a second reference signal in the reported reference signal pair, and wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are not associated with the same UE panel, and wherein two different UE panels can be used to transmit simultaneously.

[0217] Embodiment 12: The method described in any one of Embodiments 6 to 8, wherein the report configuration (e.g., a report setting field) includes information that configures the UE to include in the report an indication of a UE panel (e.g., a UE panel ID, a virtual UE panel ID, a set of UE capability values) associated with the reference signal resources reported in each of the M beam groups.

[0218] Embodiment 13: A method described in any one of Embodiments 6 to 8, wherein the reporting configuration (e.g., a reporting setting field) includes an indication as to whether a first UE panel associated with a first reported reference signal in a reported beam group and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal in the same reported beam group are capable of being used for simultaneous UL transmissions.

[0219] Embodiment 14: The method described in any one of Embodiments 6 to 8, wherein the reporting configuration (e.g., the reporting setting field) includes an indication as follows: whether the UE will report a first UE panel associated with a first reported reference signal resource in a reported beam group and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal resource in the same reported beam pair can be used for simultaneous UL transmission, simultaneous DL reception, simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception, or neither for simultaneous UL transmission nor for simultaneous DL transmission.

[0220] Embodiment 15: A method described in any one of Embodiments 6 to 8, wherein the report configuration (e.g., a report setting field) includes an indication of which of three candidate options the UE should assume for the report, i.e., the UE can be configured to follow one of the following: (a) the UE panel associated with the Rx beam for the reference signal resources indicated by the beam group is capable of being used for simultaneous UL transmission, (b) the UE panel associated with the Rx beam for the reference signal resources indicated by the beam group is capable of being used for simultaneous DL reception, or (c) the UE panel associated with the Rx beam for the reference signal resources indicated by the beam group is capable of being used for simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception.

[0221] Embodiment 16: The method of any one of Embodiments 6 to 15, further comprising receiving (1510) a trigger message that initiates performing (1512) measurements according to a reporting configuration.

[0222] Embodiment 17: The method of any one of Embodiments 1 to 16, wherein reporting (1514) the M beam groups includes sending a corresponding report to a network node.

[0223] Embodiment 18: The method of Embodiment 17, wherein the report further comprises a performance indicator for each reported reference signal resource for each of the M beam groups.

[0224] Embodiment 19: The method of embodiment 18, wherein the performance indicator indicates uplink performance.

[0225] Embodiment 20: The method of embodiment 18, wherein the performance indicator indicates downlink reference signal received power + uplink power factor.

[0226] Embodiment 21: The method of embodiment 20, wherein the uplink power factor is associated with a UE panel used to receive an associated reference signal.

[0227] Embodiment 22: The method of embodiment 21, wherein the uplink power factor takes into account either or both of: (i) a P-MPR associated with the UE panel and (ii) a maximum available output power associated with the UE panel.

[0228] Embodiment 23: The method of any one of Embodiment 17, wherein the report further includes information indicating a UE panel associated with each reported reference signal resource for each of the M beam groups.

[0229] Embodiment 24: A method according to any one of Embodiment 17, wherein the report further comprises: for each reported reference signal resource set for each beam group in the M beam groups, information indicating that a different Rx beam is used to receive the associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set.

[0230] Embodiment 25: A method according to any one of Embodiment 17, wherein the report further comprises: for each reported reference signal resource set for each beam group in the M beam groups, indicating that a different Rx beam is used to receive the associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set, and information that the associated UE panel can use for simultaneous uplink transmission.

[0231] Embodiment 26: A method according to any one of Embodiment 17, wherein the report further comprises: for each reported reference signal resource set for each beam group in the M beam groups, indicating that a different Rx beam is used to receive the associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set, and information that the associated UE panel can be used for simultaneous downlink reception.

[0232] Embodiment 27: The method of any of the preceding embodiments further comprises: providing user data and forwarding the user data to the host via transmission to a network node. Group B Example

[0233] Embodiment 28: A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: ● sending (1506) to the UE a downlink reference signal configuration configuring two or more reference signal resource groups, wherein each of the two or more reference signal resource groups includes two or more reference signal resources; ● Receive (1514) a report of M beam groups from the UE, wherein for each of the M beam groups: o a beam group indicates one reference signal resource from each reference signal resource group from at least a subset of two or more reference signal resource groups; and o The UE panel associated with the Rx beam used for the reference signal resources indicated by the beam group can be used to: ■Simultaneous transmission (e.g., for simultaneous multiple TRP uplink transmissions), ■simultaneous reception (e.g., for simultaneous multi-TRP downlink reception), or ■Send and receive both simultaneously.

[0234] Embodiment 29: Method embodiment 28 further comprises performing one or more actions based on the report.

[0235] Embodiment 30: The method described in any of the foregoing embodiments further comprises: obtaining user data and forwarding the user data to a host or a user device. Group C Example

[0236] Embodiment 31: A user equipment, comprising: ● a processing circuit configured to perform any step of any embodiment in Group A of embodiments; and • A power supply circuit configured to provide power to the processing circuit.

[0237] Embodiment 32: A network node, the network node comprising: ● A processing circuit configured to perform any step of any embodiment in Group B of embodiments; and ● A power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0238] Embodiment 33: A user equipment (UE) includes: An antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a radio front end circuit connected to the antenna and the processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit; ● a processing circuit configured to perform any step of any embodiment 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 connected to the processing circuit and configured to provide power to the UE.

[0239] Embodiment 34: 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), ●Wherein, 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 step of any embodiment in Group A to receive user data from the host.

[0240] Embodiment 35: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit user data from the host to the UE.

[0241] Embodiment 36: The host of the first two embodiments, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application to provide user data; and • The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0242] Embodiment 37: A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: ● providing user data for the UE; and ● Initiating a transmission carrying user data to a UE via a cellular network including a network node, wherein the UE performs any operation of any embodiment in Group A to receive user data from a host.

[0243] Embodiment 38: The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: at a host, running a host application associated with a client application running on a UE to receive user data from the UE.

[0244] Embodiment 39: The method according to the previous embodiment further comprises: ● at the host, sending input data to the client application running on the UE, the input data being provided by running the host application, - Wherein user data is provided by a client application in response to input data from a host application.

[0245] Embodiment 40: 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), ●Wherein, 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 step of any embodiment in any Group A embodiments to send user data to the host.

[0246] Embodiment 41: The host of the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to send user data from the UE to the host.

[0247] Embodiment 42: The host of the first two embodiments, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application to provide user data; and • The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0248] Embodiment 43: A method implemented by a host, the host being configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data sent by the UE to the host via the network node, wherein the UE performs any step of any embodiment in Group A embodiments to send the user data to the host.

[0249] Embodiment 44: The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: at a host, running a host application associated with a client application running on a UE to receive user data from the UE.

[0250] Embodiment 45: The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: ● At the host, the input data is sent to the client application running on the UE, by running the host application to provide the input data, - Wherein user data is provided by a client application in response to input data from a host application.

[0251] Embodiment 46: 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 sending user data to a network node in a cellular network for sending 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 operation of any of the embodiments of Group B to send user data from a host to a UE.

[0252] Embodiment 47: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application that provides user data; and • The UE comprises processing circuitry configured to run a client application associated with a host application to receive a transmission of user data from the host.

[0253] Embodiment 48: 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 for the UE; and • Initiating a transmission carrying user data to the UE via a cellular network including a network node, wherein the network node performs any operation of any of the embodiments in Group B to send the user data from the host to the UE.

[0254] Embodiment 49: The method of the previous embodiment further comprises sending user data for the UE provided by the host at the network node.

[0255] Embodiment 50: The method of any of the first two embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by running a host application that interacts with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0256] Embodiment 51: A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising: ●Host, the host includes: ● processing circuitry 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 sending user data to a cellular network node for sending to a UE, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any operation of any embodiment in Group B to send user data from a host to a UE.

[0257] Embodiment 52: The communication system of the previous embodiment further comprises: ● Network nodes; and / or ●User equipment.

[0258] Embodiment 53: 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 reception of user data; and ●A network interface 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 operation of any embodiment in Group B embodiments to receive user data for a host from a user equipment (UE).

[0259] Embodiment 54: The host in the first two embodiments, wherein: The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application to provide user data; and • The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0260] Embodiment 55: The host of any one of the preceding two embodiments, wherein initiating reception of user data includes requesting user data.

[0261] Embodiment 56: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating reception of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission already received by the network node from the UE, wherein the network node performs any steps of any embodiment of Group B embodiments to receive user data for the host from the UE.

[0262] Embodiment 57: The method of the previous embodiment further comprises: at the network node, sending the received user data to the host.

[0263] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered to be within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: ● receiving (1506) a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node, the downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group comprises two or more reference signal resources; - performing (1512) measurements on reference signals within the first reference signal resource set and the second reference signal resource set; Based on the measurement, sending (1514) a group-based beam report to the network node, the group-based beam report comprising information for M beam groups, wherein for each of the M beam groups: o the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter; and o The first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used to: ■Send at the same time, ■Receiving at the same time, or ■Send and receive both simultaneously.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first spatial filter is associated with a first UE panel and the second spatial filter is associated with a second UE panel.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving (1508) a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration from the network node, the reporting configuration comprising a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP); Wherein, in response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP, the UE assumes that for each of the M beam groups, the UE will only include the first reference signal resources and the second reference signal resources associated with the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter, respectively, that can be used for simultaneous transmission.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving (1508) a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration from the network node, the reporting configuration comprising a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP); wherein, in response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP: For each of the M beam groups, the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter respectively used for the first reference signal resource and the second reference signal resource indicated by the beam group can be used for simultaneous transmission.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving (1508) a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration from the network node, the reporting configuration comprising a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP); Wherein, in response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP, the UE assumes that for each of the M beam groups, the UE will only include the first reference signal resources and the second reference signal resources associated with the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter, respectively, that can be used for both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving (1508) a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration from the network node, the reporting configuration comprising a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP); wherein, in response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP: For each of the M beam groups, the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter respectively used for the first reference signal resource and the second reference signal resource indicated by the beam group can be used for both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: Capability information is sent (1504) to the network node, the capability information including an indication that the UE supports group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel uplink transmissions.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The capability information further includes: (a) information indicating the number of UE panels at the UE; (b) information indicating which UE panels can be used for simultaneous uplink transmission, (c) information indicating which UE panels can be used for simultaneous downlink reception, (d) information indicating which UE panels are capable of simultaneous uplink transmission and simultaneous downlink reception, or (e) A combination of any two or more of (a) to (c).

9. The method according to any one of claims 7 or 8, wherein: The capability information further includes: for each UE panel of the two or more UE panels of the UE, (a) information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous uplink transmission, (b) information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous downlink reception, (c) information indicating which other UE panels can be used together with the UE panel for simultaneous uplink transmission and simultaneous downlink reception, or (d) A combination of any two or more of (a) to (c).

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: The capability information comprises a bit field indicating which UE panels are capable of simultaneous uplink transmission and / or simultaneous downlink reception, wherein each bit of the bit field is associated with a group of UE panels.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising: A reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration is received (1508) from the network node.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The report configuration includes report settings fields.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein: The reporting configuration indicates that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: For a reference signal resource group from the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group, the reporting configuration includes the following indication: the UE will use the first spatial filter when receiving the first reference signal in the first reference signal resource group, and will use the second spatial filter when receiving the second reference signal in the second reference signal resource group.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: For reference signal resource groups from the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group, the reporting configuration includes the following indication: the UE will use the first spatial filter when receiving the first reference signal in the first reference signal resource group, and will use the second spatial filter when receiving the second reference signal in the second reference signal resource group, wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are not associated with the same UE panel.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: For reference signal resource groups from the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group, the reporting configuration includes the following indication: the UE will use the first spatial filter when receiving the first reference signal in the first reference signal resource group, and will use the second spatial filter when receiving the second reference signal in the second reference signal resource group, wherein the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter are associated with different UE panels, and wherein two different UE panels can be used for simultaneous transmission.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: The reporting configuration comprises information configuring the UE to include in the group-based beam report an indication of a UE panel associated with each reference signal resource reported in each of the M beam groups.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: The reporting configuration includes an indication that the UE will report information indicating whether a first UE panel associated with a first reported reference signal resource in a reported beam group and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal resource in the same reported beam group can be used for simultaneous transmission.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: The reporting configuration includes an indication that the UE will report information indicating whether a first UE panel associated with a first reported reference signal resource in a reported beam group and a second UE panel associated with a second reported reference signal resource in the same reported beam group can be used for simultaneous transmission, simultaneous reception, both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception, or neither simultaneous transmission nor simultaneous transmission.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: The reporting configuration comprises an indication of which candidate option of a plurality of candidate options the UE should assume for the group-based beam reporting.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein: The multiple candidate options include: (a) the UE panel associated with the spatial filter for the reference signal resources indicated by the same beam group can be used for simultaneous transmission, (b) the UE panel associated with the spatial filter for the reference signal resources indicated by the same beam group can be used for simultaneous reception, or (c) the UE panel associated with the spatial filter for the reference signal resources indicated by the same beam group can be used for both simultaneous UL transmission and simultaneous DL reception.

22. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 20, further comprising: A trigger message is received (1510), the trigger message initiating execution (1512) of the measurements according to the reporting configuration.

23. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein: The group-based beam report further includes a performance indicator for each reported reference signal resource for each of the M beam groups.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein: The performance indicator indicates uplink performance.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein: The performance indicator indicates the downlink reference signal received power plus the uplink power factor.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein: The uplink power factor is associated with a UE panel for receiving an associated reference signal.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein: The uplink power factor takes into account either or both of: (i) a power management maximum power reduction P-MPR associated with the UE panel, and (ii) a maximum available output power associated with the UE panel.

28. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 27, wherein: The group-based beam report further includes information indicating a UE panel associated with each reported reference signal resource for each of the M beam groups.

29. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein: The group-based beam reporting further includes, for each reported reference signal resource set for each of the M beam groups, information indicating a different spatial filter to use for receiving an associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set.

30. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein: The report further includes: for each reported reference signal resource set for each of the M beam groups, indicating a different spatial filter to be used to receive an associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set and information that an associated UE panel can use for simultaneous uplink transmission.

31. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein: The report further includes: for each reported reference signal resource set for each of the M beam groups, indicating a different spatial filter to be used to receive an associated reference signal for each reference signal resource in the reference signal resource set and information that an associated UE panel can use for simultaneous downlink reception.

32. A user equipment UE, suitable for: ● receiving (1506) a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node, the downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, wherein: Each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group includes two or more reference signal resources; - performing (1512) measurements on reference signals within the first reference signal resource set and the second reference signal resource set; Based on the measurement, sending (1514) a group-based beam report to the network node, the group-based beam report comprising information for M beam groups, wherein for each of the M beam groups: o the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter; and o The first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used to: ■Send at the same time, ■Receiving at the same time, or ■Send and receive both simultaneously.

33. The UE according to claim 32, further adapted to perform the method of any one of claims 2 to 31.

34. A user equipment UE, comprising: ●Communication interface; and a processing circuit associated with the communication interface, the processing circuit being configured to cause the UE to: o receiving (1506) a downlink reference signal configuration from a network node, the downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group comprises two or more reference signal resources; o performing (1512) measurements on reference signals within the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group; o Based on the measurement, sending (1514) a group-based beam report to the network node, the group-based beam report comprising information for M beam groups, wherein for each of the M beam groups: ■ the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter; and ■The first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used for: ●Send at the same time, ● Simultaneous reception, or ●Send and receive both simultaneously.

35. The UE according to claim 34, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to cause the UE to perform the method of any one of claims 2 to 31.

36. A method performed by a network node (1502), the method comprising: ● sending (1506) a downlink reference signal configuration to a user equipment UE (1500), the downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group comprises two or more reference signal resources; Receiving (1514) a group-based beam report from the UE (1500), the group-based beam report comprising information for M beam groups, wherein for each of the M beam groups: o the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter; and o The first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used to: ■Send at the same time, ■Receiving at the same time, or ■Send and receive both simultaneously.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising: Based on the group-based beam report, one or more actions are performed.

38. The method according to claim 36 or 37, further comprising: sending (1508) a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration to the UE (1500), the reporting configuration comprising a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP); Wherein, in response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP, the UE will assume that for each of the M beam groups, the UE will only include the first reference signal resources and the second reference signal resources associated with the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter, respectively, that can be used for simultaneous transmission.

39. The method according to claim 36 or 37, further comprising: sending (1508) a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration to the UE (1500), the reporting configuration comprising a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP); wherein, in response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP: For each of the M beam groups, the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter respectively used for the first reference signal resource and the second reference signal resource indicated by the beam group can be used for simultaneous transmission.

40. The method of claim 36 or 37, further comprising: sending (1508) a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration to the UE (1500), the reporting configuration comprising a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP); Wherein, in response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP, the UE will assume that for each beam group in the M beam groups, the UE will only include the first reference signal resources and the second reference signal resources associated with the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter, respectively, that can be used for both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

41. The method of claim 36 or 37, further comprising: sending (1508) a reporting configuration associated with the downlink reference signal configuration to the UE (1500), the reporting configuration comprising a field indicating that the UE is to perform group-based beam reporting for simultaneous multi-panel transmission (STxMP); wherein, in response to the field indicating that the UE will perform group-based beam reporting for STxMP: For each of the M beam groups, the first spatial filter and the second spatial filter respectively used for the first reference signal resource and the second reference signal resource indicated by the beam group can be used for both simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception.

42. A network node (1502), adapted to: ● sending (1506) a downlink reference signal configuration to a user equipment UE (1500), the downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, wherein: Each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group includes two or more reference signal resources; Receiving (1514) a group-based beam report from the UE (1500), the group-based beam report comprising information for M beam groups, wherein for each of the M beam groups: o the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter; and o The first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used to: ■Send at the same time, ■Receiving at the same time, or ■Send and receive both simultaneously.

43. The network node (1502) according to claim 42, further adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 37 to 41.

44. A network node (1502), comprising: ●Communication interface; as well as a processing circuit associated with the communication interface, the processing circuit being configured to cause the network node to: o sending (1506) a downlink reference signal configuration to a user equipment UE (1500), the downlink reference signal configuration configuring a first reference signal resource group and a second reference signal resource group, wherein each of the first reference signal resource group and the second reference signal resource group comprises two or more reference signal resources; o Receiving (1514) a group-based beam report from the UE (1500), the group-based beam report comprising information for M beam groups, wherein for each of the M beam groups: ■ the information for the beam group indicates a first reference signal resource from the first resource group and a second reference signal resource from the second resource group, wherein the first reference signal is associated with a first spatial filter and the second reference signal is associated with a second spatial filter; and ■The first spatial filter and the second spatial filter can be used for: ●Send at the same time, ● Simultaneous reception, or ●Send and receive both simultaneously.

45. The network node (1502) of claim 44, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to cause the network node to perform the method of any one of claims 37 to 41.

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