Random access channel reporting enhancements

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for random access channel (RACH) reporting enhancements are disclosed. In one example embodiment, a user equipment (UE) may be configured to implement operations including: receiving a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from a network; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and transmitting the selected preamble to initiate random access with the network using the RACH partition to use the feature.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for implementing Random Access Channel (RACH) reporting enhancement in a communication network. Background Art

[0002] In a wireless communication network, a user equipment (UE) can communicate with a base station of the network by establishing a radio link between the UE and the base station. In a 5G (New Radio or NR) or 4G (LTE) wireless network, the UE can receive signaling and data from a serving base station in a downlink transmission direction or send signaling and data to a serving base station in an uplink transmission direction.

[0003] As part of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a random access (RA) procedure can be performed for a UE to access a network. In 3GPP, a random access channel (RACH) used for a random access (RA) procedure can be used by a UE accessing a network. The RACH is in turn mapped to a physical RACH (PRACH) including preamble resources. Currently, when the RA procedure is completed successfully or unsuccessfully, the UE typically records the RA related information in a RA report variable. Later, after a radio resource control (RRC) connection has been established with the UE, the network can request the UE to transmit a RA report by sending a UE information request to the UE. If requested and there is available information in the RA report, the UE transmits the information to the network by including a RA report list in a UE information response message. Typically, each entry in the RA report list includes information about a specific RA attempt.

[0004] With the development and definition of new features in the new versions of 4G and 5G, for 3GPP, self-organizing networks need to be enhanced to cope with and solve these new features. However, new features developed and defined in new versions of 4G, 5G, etc., such as random address channel (RACH) partitioning features, slice-based RACH features, small data transmission (SDT) features, reduced capability (RedCap) features, non-terrestrial network (NTN) features, etc., are not currently effectively utilized and reported. It should be understood that these are only a few of the many new features introduced by the new version. Although the existing protocol describes that the network can send system information to the UE indicating that it supports RACH partitioning, there is no suitable method for the UE to successfully establish a RA connection using RACH partitioning for these new features and report them.

[0005] It would be beneficial to implement a method that allows the UE to provide the network with a report very early in the process of the characteristics of the UE's successful establishment in a RA connection using RACH splitting. Summary of the invention

[0006] Disclosed are methods and apparatus for implementing random access channel (RACH) report enhancement in a communication network. In an example embodiment, a user equipment (UE) for connecting to a network is described, the user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, wherein the at least one radio component is configured to communicate with the network including a base station using the at least one antenna; and at least one processor, the at least one processor coupled to the at least one radio component. The at least one processor of the UE is configured to perform operations, the operations including: receiving a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from the network; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and sending the selected preamble to initiate a random access with the network using a random access channel (RACH) partition to use the feature. In one embodiment, the preamble configuration of the feature may be sent to the UE in a system information block (SIB). In one embodiment, the feature may include at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature. In one embodiment, when a random access for connecting to the network is unsuccessful, the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support may be recorded. In one embodiment, information about features that the UE requested to use but does not support is sent in a UERACH report in a UE Information Response to the network. In one embodiment, information about features that the UE requested to use but does not support is sent in a new predefined Information Element (IE) created for an existing UE Information Response to the network.

[0007] In another example embodiment, a baseband processor of a wireless user equipment (UE) of a network is disclosed, the baseband processor: receiving a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from the network; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and sending the selected preamble to initiate a random access with the network using a random access channel (RACH) partition to use the feature. In one embodiment, the preamble configuration of the feature can be sent to the UE in a system information block (SIB). In one embodiment, the feature can include at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature. In one embodiment, when the random access for connecting to the network is unsuccessful, the feature that the UE requested to use but did not support can be recorded. In one embodiment, information about the feature that the UE requested to use but did not support is sent in a UE RACH report in a UE information response to the network. In one embodiment, information about the feature that the UE requested to use but did not support is sent in a new predefined information element (IE) created for an existing UE information response to the network.

[0008] In another example embodiment, a base station of a communication network is disclosed, the base station comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, wherein the at least one radio component is configured to communicate with the communication network using the at least one antenna; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to the at least one radio component. In addition, at least one processor of the base station is configured to perform operations, the operations including: sending a set of preamble configurations associated with features from the communication network; receiving the selected preamble from a user equipment (UE) that initiates random access using a random access channel (RACH) partition; and when the random access connection is successful, receiving an indication that the UE intends to use the selected feature. In one embodiment, the preamble configuration of the feature is sent to the UE in a system information block (SIB). In addition, in one embodiment, the feature includes at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature. In one embodiment, when the random access to the network is unsuccessful, the base station further receives the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support to the base station. In an additional embodiment, the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is received in a UE RACH report in a UE information response to the base station. In another embodiment, information about features that the UE requests to use but does not support is received in a new predefined information element (IE) created for an existing UE Information Response to the base station.

[0009] In another exemplary embodiment, a baseband processor of a base station of a network is disclosed, the baseband processor being configured to perform operations including: sending a set of preamble configurations associated with features from a communication network; receiving a selected preamble from a user equipment (UE) that initiates random access using a random access channel (RACH) partition; and receiving an indication that the UE intends to use the selected feature when the random access connection is successful. In one embodiment, the preamble configuration of the feature is sent to the UE in a system information block (SIB). In addition, in one embodiment, the feature includes at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature. In one embodiment, when the random access connected to the network is unsuccessful, the base station further receives the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support to the base station. In an additional embodiment, the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is received in a UE RACH report in a UE information response to the base station. In another embodiment, information about the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is received in a new predefined information element (IE) created for an existing UE information response to the base station.

[0010] In yet another additional example embodiment, a method for enabling a user equipment (UE) in a network to use a feature is disclosed, the method comprising the following operations: receiving a set of preamble configurations associated with the feature from the network; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and sending the selected preamble to initiate random access with the network using random access channel (RACH) partitioning to use the feature. In one embodiment, the preamble configuration of the feature is sent to the UE in a system information block (SIB). In addition, in one embodiment, the feature includes at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature. In addition, in one embodiment, when the random access to the network is unsuccessful, the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is recorded. In one embodiment, information about the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is sent in a UE RACH report in a UE information response to the network. In addition, in one embodiment, information about the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is sent in a new predefined information element (IE) created for an existing UE information response to the network.

[0011] Other methods and apparatus are also described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.

[0013] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0014] Figure 2 A user equipment directly communicating with a base station (BS) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a UE according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 4 An example block diagram of a BS according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0017] Figure 5 An example block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 6 The invention illustrates a process in which a UE implements RACH report enhancement with a base station in a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 7The process of a UE reporting a feature or a fallback of an unsupported requested feature to a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 8 A block diagram illustrating UE logging and reporting according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0021] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the creation of an existing UERACH report including the optional features described previously according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating creation of a new UE RACH report according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Methods and apparatus for implementing random access channel (RACH) reporting enhancements in a communication network are disclosed. In an example embodiment, a user equipment (UE) may be configured to implement operations including: receiving a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from a network; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and sending the selected preamble to initiate a random access (RA) with the network using RACH partitioning to use the feature. In addition, in an example embodiment, a method is disclosed that allows a UE to provide a communication network with a report of features that the UE successfully established in an RA connection using RACH partitioning very early in the process, as well as reporting features that were attempted but not implemented by the network.

[0024] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough explanation of embodiments of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be implemented without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail to avoid obscuring an understanding of this description.

[0025] Reference to "some embodiments" or "embodiments" in this specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The phrase "in some embodiments" appearing in various places in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0026] In the following description and claims, the terms "coupled" and "connected" and their derivatives may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended to be synonymous with each other. "Coupled" is used to indicate that two or more elements that may or may not be in direct physical or electrical contact with each other cooperate or interact with each other. "Connected" is used to indicate the establishment of communication between two or more elements that are coupled to each other.

[0027] The processes shown in the following figures are performed by processing logic, which includes hardware (e.g., circuits, dedicated logic, etc.), software (such as software running on a general-purpose computer system or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both. Although the following describes these processes as certain sequential operations, it should be understood that certain operations described may be performed in a different order. In addition, certain operations may also be performed in parallel rather than in sequence.

[0028] The terms "server," "client," and "device" are intended to refer generally to data processing systems rather than specifically to a particular form factor of a server, client, and / or device.

[0029] Figure 1 A simplified example wireless communication system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of possible systems, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0030] As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B to user equipment 106N, etc. through a transmission medium. Each user equipment in the user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0031] The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware that enables wireless communications with the UEs 106A-106N.

[0032] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), and the like. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0033] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Specifically, cellular base station 102A may provide UE 106 with various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0034] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore provide a network as a cell that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0035] Thus, although base station 102A may function as Figure 1 106A-N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any various other granularity of service area size. For example, in Figure 1 The base stations 102A-B illustrated in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0036] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0037] It should be noted that the UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). If desired, the UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocols. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0038] Figure 2 A UE 106 is illustrated that directly communicates with a base station 102 through uplink and downlink communications according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or a tablet computer, or in fact any type of wireless device. The UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE 106 may perform any method implementation in the method implementation described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method implementations described herein or any part of any of the method implementations described herein.

[0039] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog RF signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies (such as those discussed above).

[0040] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using any one of LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0041] Figure 3 An example simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to one aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated. Note that Figure 3The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to the embodiment, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or a mobile station, a wireless device or a wireless station, a desktop computer or a computing device, a mobile computing device (such as a laptop computer, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer and / or a combination of devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 may be implemented as independent components or component groups for various purposes. This group of components 300 may be (for example, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0042] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; an input device such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; an output device such as a speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device, and cellular communication circuits 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuits 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TM In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0043] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336 as shown. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338 as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 335 and 336 in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 337 and 338. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0044] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component can be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that can be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and can communicate with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0045] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0046] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 , such as one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (UICC) 345 , having Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) functionality.

[0047] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)) and / or to other circuits or devices (such as display circuit 304, short-range wireless communication circuit 229, cellular communication circuit 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0048] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. The communication device 106 may also be configured to determine physical downlink shared channel scheduling resources for user equipment devices and base stations. In addition, the communication device 106 may be configured to select and group CCs (component carriers) from the wireless link, and determine virtual CCs from the selected CC group. The wireless device may also be configured to perform physical downlink resource mapping based on the aggregated resource matching pattern of the CC group.

[0049] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features for determining physical downlink shared channel scheduling resources for the communication device 106 and the base station. The processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0050] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0051] In addition, as described herein, both the cellular communication circuit 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuit 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 230. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 32. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329.

[0052] Figure 4 An example block diagram of a base station 102 according to one aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated. Note that, Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0053] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Multiple devices such as UE 106 of the telephone network described in.

[0054] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UEs served by the cellular service provider).

[0055] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0056] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE 106 via the radio 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5GNR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0057] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, base station 102 may include multiple radio components that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communications according to 5GNR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of a plurality of wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0058] As further described later herein, BS102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting a specific implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the BS102 may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

[0059] In addition, as described herein, processor 404 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 404. Therefore, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0060] In addition, as described herein, radio 430 may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio 430. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0061] Figure 5An example simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to one aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of is only one example of possible cellular communication circuitry. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0062] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 3 In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a modem 510 and a modem 520. The modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0063] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for sending and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0064] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for sending and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0065] In some embodiments, the switch 570 can couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. Additionally, the switch 570 can couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 can include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 510, the switch 570 can be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 520, the switch 570 can be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0066] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features or for selecting periodic resource portions for user equipment devices and base stations and for various other technologies described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature portions described herein.

[0067] In addition, as described herein, processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 512.

[0068] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features or for selecting a periodic resource portion on a wireless link between a UE and a base station and for various other technologies described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0069] In addition, as described herein, the processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 522.

[0070] Figure 6 The invention illustrates a process of implementing random access channel (RACH) reporting enhancement between UE 106 and base station 102 in a wireless communication network. Figure 7 The process of UE 106 reporting a feature or fallback of an unsupported requested feature to base station 102 is illustrated. In the following description, the terms "base station" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0071] Reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 , in an example embodiment, a user equipment (UE) 106 for connecting to a network through a base station 102 is described. As previously described, the UE 106 includes: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, wherein the at least one radio component is configured to communicate with the network including the base station 102 using the at least one antenna; and at least one processor, the at least one processor coupled to the at least one radio component. The at least one processor of the UE 106 is configured to perform operations including: receiving a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from the base station 102 702; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and sending the selected preamble to initiate a random access (RA) 610 with the base station 102 using RACH partitioning to use the feature.

[0072] In addition, as will be described, the UE 106 provides the base station 102 with a report of features that the UE 106 successfully established in the RA connection 610 using RACH partitioning, as well as reporting features that were attempted but not implemented by the network (fallback). As will be described, these features can be reported in the UE information response 630.

[0073] In one example embodiment, as part of 3GPP, a random access (RA) 610 procedure may be performed for a UE 106 to access a network through a base station 102. In 3GPP, a random access channel (RACH) for the random access (RA) procedure may be used by a UE accessing a network. In this example embodiment, as part of the RA 610, the UE 106 receives a set of preamble configurations 702 associated with a feature from the base station 102, selects a preamble from the set of preamble configurations, and sends the selected preamble to initiate a random access (RA) 610 with the base station 102 to use the feature using RACH partitioning. It should be understood that by using a feature preamble information element (IE), the base station 102 may assign RACH resources to a specific feature or feature combination. When the UE 106 initiating the RA intends to use a connection of one of the features or feature combinations signaled by the base station 102 in the feature preamble IE, it may use the RACH resources associated with the feature or feature combination. Thus, the network may configure UE 106 for initial connection establishment, including resource configuration for a random access channel (RACH) procedure.

[0074] In a particular embodiment, the preamble configuration may be associated with new feature resources (e.g., developed in 4G, 5G, etc.), and may include a preamble configuration that specifies the new feature resources, which include at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature (e.g., msg3 repetition), a slice grouping feature (e.g., a network slice AS group (NSAG)), or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature. It should be understood that these are only example features, and any RACH feature resource that can be placed in the preamble configuration can be implemented. In one embodiment, the preamble configuration 702 of the feature resource can be sent to the UE 106 in a system information block (SIB). In addition, the network can send system information to the UE 106 through the base station 102 indicating that it supports RACH splitting, and the network can use a feature combination preamble information element (IE) to assign RACH resources to a specific feature or feature combination. The UE 106 can utilize these resources associated with the feature or feature combination during the RA 610 process.

[0075] When the RA procedure 610 is successfully or unsuccessfully completed, the UE 106 records the RA related information in the RA report variable 615. A radio resource control (RRC) establishment request 617 may be sent from the UE 106 to the base station 102. An RRC connection 620 may be established between the UE 106 and the base station 102. As part of the RRC connection establishment procedure 620, an indication of the availability of RA related report information may be transmitted. Specifically, the RRC connection establishment procedure 620 may include three messages: RRCSetupRequest (UE to network), RRCSetup (network to UE), and RRCSetupComplete (UE to network). The RRCSetupComplete message carries an availability indication. In other examples, the availability indication may also be transmitted in the RRCReestablishmentComplete, RRCResumeComplete, and RRCReconfigurationComplete messages. Later, the base station 102 may request the UE 106 to transmit the RA report by sending a UE information request 625 to the UE 106 after a radio resource control (RRC) connection 620 has been established with the UE 106. If requested and there is information available in the RA report, the UE 106 transmits the information to the base station 102 by including the RA report in a UE information response message 630. In general, each entry in the RA report list includes common information about the RA attempt and a per-RA information list about a specific RA attempt.

[0076] As described above, with the development and definition of new features in new versions of 4G, 5G, etc., self-organizing networks need to be enhanced to cope with and address these new features. However, new features developed and defined in new versions of 4G, 5G, etc., such as reduced capability (RedCap) features, small data transmission (SDT) features, coverage enhancement features (e.g., msg3 repetition), slice grouping features (e.g., network slice AS group (NSAG)) or non-terrestrial network (NTN) features, are not currently effectively utilized and reported.

[0077] In one embodiment, in the UE information response 630 to the base station 102 and the network, the UE 106 reports not only the RA common information, but also the requested features or feature combinations that the UE 106 successfully used in the RA 610, or the enhanced features or feature combinations that the UE 106 requested but failed in the RA 610.

[0078] Also briefly refer to Figure 8 , Figure 8A block diagram 800 of UE logs and reports is illustrated. As shown, UE 106 logs and reports: RA common information 802, request features or feature combinations 804, fallback preferred features or feature combinations 810. Fallback Boolean 812 may also be used to indicate that fallback has occurred. Thus, UE 106 reports to base station 102 in request features 804 the features or feature combinations that UE 106 successfully used in RA 610. In addition, UE 106 reports in fallback preferred features 810 the features or feature combinations that UE 106 requested but did not succeed in RA 610. It should be understood that features or feature combinations refer to new features as described above. It should be understood that this can be logged and reported per RA report or per RA attempt. If the network requests, the UE should only log and report these additional features.

[0079] Thus, as previously described, in one embodiment, the UE information response 630 including the RA common information element (IE) 802 may be extended with additional elements. For example, a request feature information element (IE) 804 may be added. The request feature information element (IE) 804 is added to indicate which feature or feature combination triggers the RA 610. Such new features or feature combinations may include: reduced capability (RedCap) features, small data transmission (SDT) features, coverage enhancement features (e.g., msg3 repetitions), slice grouping features (e.g., network slice AS groups (NSAGs)), or non-terrestrial network (NTN) features. It should be understood that these are merely example features. Of course, when new features are added, the same process will be performed to include the new features. In addition, a fallback preferred feature information element (IE) 810 may be added to indicate which feature or feature combination was requested by the UE but was unsuccessful. In addition, as previously described, a fallback Boolean information element (IE) 812 may be added to indicate that a fallback has occurred.

[0080] Fig. 9 6 is a flowchart illustrating the creation of an existing UE RACH report including the optional features described previously according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the new enhancements described previously may be optional features as part of the existing RACH report (e.g., UE information response 630). As already described, if the UE 106 supports RACH splitting and RACH reporting enhancements, the UE 106 records the above information (e.g., Figure 8 ) (block 910). UE 106 also indicates RACH reporting availability (block 920). In addition, base station 102 requests RACH reporting in a UE information request (e.g., UE information request 625) (block 930). Based on this, UE 106, having the above-mentioned new information (e.g., Figure 8) (e.g., UE information response 630) (block 940).

[0081] Fig.10 1 is a flow chart illustrating the creation of a new UE RACH report. In one embodiment, the new RACH report for RACH splitting is defined as an independent report. As already described, if UE 106 supports RACH splitting and RACH reporting enhancement, UE 106 records the above information (e.g., Figure 8 ) (Block 1010). UE 106 also indicates RACH report availability separately from the traditional RACH report availability (Block 1020). In addition, base station 102 requests RACH split reporting in a newly defined information element (IE) in the UE information request (Block 1030). Based on this, UE 106, having the above-mentioned new information (e.g., Figure 8 ) in a newly defined information element (IE) included in the UE information response of the UE-NR-Capability IE (block 1040). It should be understood that the previously described reporting options for the UE may be optional. One way to define such a capability may be to add a new parameter to the SON Parameters IE (which is included in the UE-NR-Capability IE). Alternatively, the RACH split reporting capability parameter may be added separately, for example, directly included in the UE-NR-Capability IE.

[0082] In an additional example embodiment, the previously described features can be illustrated from the perspective of a base station 102. As previously described, a base station 102 of a communication network is disclosed, the base station comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, wherein the at least one radio component is configured to communicate with the communication network using the at least one antenna; and at least one processor, the at least one processor coupled to the at least one radio component.

[0083] Reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 , at least one processor of the base station 102 is configured to perform operations including: sending a set of preamble configurations 702 associated with a feature from a communication network; receiving a selected preamble from a UE 106 that initiates a random access 610 using a random access channel (RACH) partition; and when the random access connection is successful, receiving an indication that the UE intends to use the selected feature. In one embodiment, the preamble configuration 702 of the feature is sent to the UE in a system information block (SIB). In addition, in one embodiment, the feature includes at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature.

[0084] As has been previously described, in one embodiment, the UE 106 provides the base station 102 very early in the process with a report of the features that the UE 106 successfully established in the RA connection 610 using RACH partitioning, as well as reporting features that were attempted but not implemented by the network (fallback). These features may be reported in the UE information response 630. In one embodiment, in the UE information response 630 to the base station 102 and the network, the UE 106 reports not only the RA common information, but also the requested features or feature combinations that the UE 106 successfully used in the RA 610, or the enhanced features or feature combinations that the UE 106 requested but was not successful in the RA 610. Previously referenced Figures 8 to 10 These enhanced reporting features are described in detail.

[0085] The baseband processors of the UE and the base station have been described previously. It should also be understood that the baseband processor of the UE and the baseband processor of the base station can implement the functions described previously.

[0086] As has been described, with the development and definition of new features in new versions of 4G, 5G, etc., self-organizing networks need to be enhanced to cope with and address these new features. However, new features developed and defined in new versions of 4G, 5G, etc., such as random address channel (RACH) partitioning features, slice-based RACH features, small data transmission (SDT) features, reduced capability (RedCap) features, non-terrestrial network (NTN) features, etc., are currently not effectively utilized and reported by existing technology implementations.

[0087] As has been previously described, features of the previously described embodiments allow the UE to provide a report to the base station and the network very early in the process of features that the UE has successfully established in an RA connection using RACH splits. Specifically, the previously described embodiments describe that the UE can successfully establish an RA connection using RACH splits for these new features and report them early in the process. It should also be noted that because the amount of RACH resources used for these new features is limited, it is important for the network to assign RACH resources to the features to be used early in the process. This helps the network to appropriately allocate resources and handle connection and data usage in the most efficient manner. In addition, the previously described embodiments describe not only new features for reporting successful access, but also new features for reporting unsuccessful access.

[0088] In addition, the previously described embodiments can be used to enhance network behavior. As previously described, the network can collect RACH reports for RACH partitioning from multiple UEs over time before making changes to its configuration (i.e., the assignment of RACH resources for features and feature combinations). This includes features that were successfully accessed and features that were requested but not successfully accessed. The network can use this collected data to update its assignment of RACH resources for features and feature combinations. For example, if certain features and feature combinations are rarely requested, the network can remove them from RACH partitioning. On the other hand, if certain features or feature combinations do not have dedicated RACH resources and they are indicated as preferred by a sufficiently large number of UEs, the network can assign dedicated RACH resources to such features and feature combinations. This process can occur at the base station (gNB) itself or in a centralized entity (e.g., a SON server).

[0089] As has been described, a method and apparatus for implementing random access channel (RACH) report enhancement in a communication network are disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, a user equipment (UE) for connecting to a network is described, the user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, wherein the at least one radio component is configured to communicate with the network including a base station using the at least one antenna; and at least one processor, the at least one processor coupled to the at least one radio component. At least one processor of the UE is configured to perform operations, which include: receiving a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from the network; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and sending the selected preamble to initiate a random access with the network using a random access channel (RACH) partition to use the feature. In one embodiment, the preamble configuration of the feature can be sent to the UE in a system information block (SIB). In one embodiment, the feature can include at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature. In one embodiment, when the random access for connecting to the network is unsuccessful, the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support can be recorded. In one embodiment, information about features that the UE requests to use but does not support is sent in a UE RACH report in a UE Information Response to the network. In one embodiment, information about features that the UE requests to use but does not support is sent in a new predefined Information Element (IE) created for an existing UE Information Response to the network.

[0090] Part of the above content can be realized by utilizing logic circuits such as special logic circuits or by utilizing a processing core of a microcontroller or other forms of execution program code instructions. Thus, program code such as machine executable instructions can be utilized to perform the process taught by the above discussion, and the machine executable instructions make the machine execute these instructions to perform certain functions. In this context, "machine" can be a machine that converts intermediate form (or "abstract") instructions into processor-specific instructions (for example, abstract execution environments such as "virtual machines" (for example, Java virtual machines), interpreters, common language runtimes, high-level language virtual machines, etc.), and / or an electronic circuit that is arranged on a semiconductor chip (for example, "logic circuits" implemented using transistors), and the electronic circuit is designed to execute instructions, and the processor is such as a general-purpose processor and / or a special-purpose processor. The process taught by the above discussion can also be performed by (as a substitute for a machine or in combination with a machine) an electronic circuit, and the electronic circuit is designed to perform a process (or a part thereof) without executing program code.

[0091] For example, the described operations may be stored as instructions on a non-transitory computer readable medium for execution by a computer. The computer may execute the instructions to: receive a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from a network; select a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and send the selected preamble to initiate random access with the network using a random access channel (RACH) partition to use the feature.

[0092] The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations described herein. The apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or may include a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk, including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs and magneto-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each is coupled to a computer system bus.

[0093] A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, machine-readable media include read-only memory ("ROM"); random access memory ("RAM"); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; and the like.

[0094] Articles of manufacture can be used to store program code. Articles of manufacture storing program code can be implemented as, but not limited to, one or more memories (e.g., one or more flash memories, random access memories (static, dynamic or other)), optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or other types of machine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions. Program code can also be downloaded from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by means of a data signal contained in a propagation medium (e.g., via a communication link (e.g., a network connection).

[0095] The foregoing detailed description has been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are tools used by those skilled in the art of data processing, and these tools can also most effectively convey the substance of their work to other technicians in the field. An algorithm is here and generally refers to a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. These operations are those that require physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, these quantities are in the form of electrical or magnetic signals that can be stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, etc., primarily for general reasons.

[0096] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless otherwise specifically stated, it will be apparent from the above discussion that discussions throughout this specification using terms such as "select," "determine," "receive," "form," "group," "aggregate," "generate," "remove," etc., will be understood to refer to actions and processes on computer systems or similar electronic computing devices that manipulate data represented as physical (electronic) quantities in the computer system's registers and memories and convert them into other data similarly represented as physical quantities in the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission, or display devices.

[0097] The process presented herein and display are not inherently relevant to any particular computer or other device. According to the teaching content of this paper, various general-purpose systems can be used together with programs, or it can be proved that it is convenient to construct a more special-purpose device for performing the operation. According to the description below, the required structure for various these systems will be apparent. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any specific programming language. It should be appreciated that multiple programming languages ​​can be used to realize the teaching content of the present invention as described herein.

[0098] The foregoing discussion describes only some exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from these discussions, drawings and claims that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE) for connecting to a network, the user equipment (UE) include: at least one antenna; at least one radio, wherein the at least one radio is configured to communicate with the network including a base station using the at least one antenna; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform operations comprising: receiving, from the network, a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; and The selected preamble is sent to initiate random access with the network using a random access channel (RACH) partition to use a feature.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the preamble configuration of the feature is transmitted to the UE in a system information block (SIB).

3. The UE according to claim 3, wherein the feature comprises at least one of the following: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature.

4. The UE according to claim 1, wherein when the random access for connecting to the network is unsuccessful, the UE further include: The features that the UE requests to use but does not support are recorded.

5. The UE of claim 4, wherein information about the features that the UE requests to use but does not support is sent in a UE RACH report in a UE information response to the network.

6. The UE of claim 4, wherein the information about the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is sent in a new predefined information element (IE) created for an existing UE information response to the network.

7. A baseband processor of a wireless user equipment (UE) of a network, the baseband processor include: receiving, from the network, a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; as well as The selected preamble is sent to initiate random access with the network using a random access channel (RACH) partition to use a feature.

8. The baseband processor of claim 7, wherein the preamble configuration of a feature is transmitted to the UE in a system information block (SIB).

9. The baseband processor of claim 8, wherein the feature comprises at least one of: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature.

10. The baseband processor according to claim 7, wherein when the random access for connecting to the network is unsuccessful, the baseband processor further include: The features that the UE requests to use but does not support are recorded.

11. The baseband processor of claim 10, wherein information about the features that the UE requested to use but does not support is sent in a UE RACH report in a UE information response to the network.

12. The baseband processor of claim 10, wherein the information about the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is sent in a new predefined information element (IE) created for an existing UE information response to the network.

13. A base station of a communication network, the base station include: at least one antenna; at least one radio, wherein the at least one radio is configured to communicate with a communication network using the at least one antenna; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform operations comprising: transmitting a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from the communication network; receiving a selected preamble from a user equipment (UE) initiating random access using a random access channel (RACH) partition; and When the random access connection is successful, receiving an indication that the UE intends to use the selected feature.

14. The base station of claim 13, wherein the characteristic preamble configuration is transmitted to the UE in a system information block (SIB).

15. The base station of claim 14, wherein the feature comprises at least one of: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature.

16. The base station according to claim 13, wherein when the random access for connecting to the network is unsuccessful, the base station further include: The feature requested by the UE but not supported is received to the base station.

17. The base station of claim 16, wherein the feature requested to be used by the UE but not supported is received in a UE RACH report in a UE information response to the base station.

18. The base station of claim 16, wherein the information about the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is received in a new predefined information element (IE) created for an existing UE information response to the base station.

19. A baseband processor of a base station of a network, the baseband processor being configured to perform an operation, the operation include: transmitting a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature from the communication network; receiving a selected preamble from a user equipment (UE) initiating random access using a random access channel (RACH) partition; as well as When the random access connection is successful, receiving an indication that the UE intends to use the selected feature.

20. The baseband processor of claim 19, wherein the preamble configuration of a feature is transmitted to the UE in a system information block (SIB).

21. The baseband processor of claim 20, wherein the feature comprises at least one of: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature.

22. The baseband processor of claim 19, wherein when the random access for connecting to the network is unsuccessful, the baseband processor further include: The feature requested by the UE but not supported is received to the base station.

23. The baseband processor of claim 22, wherein the features requested for use by the UE but not supported are received in a UE RACH report in a UE Information Response to the base station.

24. The baseband processor of claim 22, wherein the information about the feature requested to be used by the UE but not supported is received in a new predefined information element (IE) created for an existing UE information response to the base station.

25. A method for enabling a user equipment (UE) in a network to use a feature, the method include: receiving, from the network, a set of preamble configurations associated with a feature; selecting a preamble from the set of preamble configurations; as well as The selected preamble is sent to initiate random access with the network using a random access channel (RACH) partition to use a feature.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the preamble configuration of a feature is sent to the UE in a system information block (SIB).

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the feature comprises at least one of: a reduced capability (RedCap) feature, a small data transmission (SDT) feature, a coverage enhancement feature, a slice grouping feature, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) feature.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein when the random access for connecting to the network is unsuccessful, the method further include: The features that the UE requests to use but does not support are recorded.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein information about the features that the UE requested to use but does not support is sent in a UE RACH report in a UE Information Response to the network.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein information about the feature that the UE requests to use but does not support is sent in a new predefined Information Element (IE) created for an existing UE Information Response to the network.

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