Differentiated transmission of QoE and RVQoE reports

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods relating to Quality of Experience (QoE) and Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE) measurements and reporting. In one embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving one or more messages from one or more network nodes, the one or more messages including one or more QoE configurations and one or more RVQoE configurations. The method further comprises receiving, for each QoE configuration or generally for one or more QoE configurations, an indication indicating the network node to which the respective QoE report is to be sent; and receiving, for each RVQoE configuration or generally for one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication indicating the network node to which the respective RVQoE report is to be sent. The method also includes performing QoE measurements and RVQoE measurements, and sending corresponding QoE and RVQoE reports according to the received indication.

Description

Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 420,337, filed on Oct. 28, 2022, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to quality of experience (QoE) and radio access network (RAN) visible QoE (RVQoE) reporting in cellular communication systems. Background Art Overview of QoE Framework and “Conventional QoE”

[0003] Quality of experience (QoE) (also known as “application layer measurement”) has been specified for 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), as well as for New Radio (NR) in 3GPP Release 17. The purpose of application layer measurement is to measure the end-user experience when using certain applications. QoE measurements for mobile phone services for streaming services and for Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) (MTSI) services are supported in LTE and UMTS, and for NR, virtual reality (VR) is also supported.

[0004] The scheme of conventional QoE is similar in NR, LTE, and UMTS, and the general principle is as follows. Quality of experience measurement collection (QMC) supports the configuration of application layer measurement in the user equipment (UE), and the transmission of the QoE measurement result file (commonly referred to as the QoE report) to the network via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The application layer measurement configuration (also known as QoE measurement configuration or QoE configuration) received by the radio access network (RAN) from the operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) system or from the core network (CN) is encapsulated in a transparent container and forwarded to the UE in a downlink RRC message. The application layer measurement report (also known as the QoE report) received by the UE access stratum (UE AS) or the UE RRC layer from the UE's upper layer (application layer) is encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message. The RAN then forwards the QoE report to the measurement collector entity (MCE).

[0005] Configuration data related to QoE measurement (which is usually referred to as application layer measurement in the standard specification) is received by a base station (e.g., a next-generation node B (gNB) for NR) from the OAM, and includes a service type indication, an indication of the area in which the measurement should be performed (expressed as an area range), the IP address of the entity to which the collected measurement results (i.e., QoE reports) should be sent (usually referred to as the MCE, written as the measurement collection entity or the measurement collection entity, but this entity can sometimes also be referred to as the trace collection entity), and an instruction set on what types of measurements should be performed and details on how to perform these measurements. These instructions are intended for the application layer in the UE and are placed in a "container" that cannot be interpreted and is not attempted to be read by the network entities that process it (e.g., forwarding it to the UE and the UE access stratum).

[0006] The container is forwarded to the UE together with the indicated service type in the RRC signaling. For measurements in RRC_CONNECTED, the area remains in the base station (e.g., the gNB in the case of NR), and the network ensures that the UE measures in the correct area by configuring the UE when to start and stop the measurement. The area range is defined according to the cell or network-related area. In UMTS, the area range is defined as a list of cells, a list of routing areas, or a list of tracking areas. In LTE and NR, the area range is defined as a list of cells or a list of tracking areas.

[0007] QoE, especially QoE configuration, has two types: management-based QoE configuration and signaling-based QoE configuration. In both cases, the QoE configuration originates from the OAM system or some other management entity, e.g., dealing with customer satisfaction. All these entities are referred to as the OAM system in this article (where the OAM system also contains other entities). With management-based QoE (m-based QoE), the OAM system is usually interested in the general QoE statistics from a certain area (which is configured as the area range). The m-based QoE configuration is directly sent from the OAM system to the RAN node that controls the cells within the area range. Then, each RAN node selects the UEs within the area range (and also meets any other relevant conditions, such as supporting the relevant application / service type), and sends the m-based QoE configuration to these UEs.

[0008] Using signaling-based QoE (s-based QoE), the OAM system is interested in collecting QoE measurement results from a specific UE, for example, because the user of the UE has filed a complaint. The OAM system sends the s-based QoE configuration to the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (in the Evolved Packet System (EPS) / LTE) or the Unified Data Management (UDM) (in the 5th Generation System (5GS) / NR). The HSS or UDM forwards the QoE configuration to the current Core Network (CN) node of the UE, such as the Mobility Management Entity (MME) in EPS / LTE or the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in 5G / NR. Then, the CN forwards the s-based QoE configuration to the RAN node serving the relevant UE, and that RAN node forwards it to the UE.

[0009] The service type indication and the container with the measurement instructions are forwarded to the UE. The UE does not know whether the received QoE configuration is m-based or s-based. In traditional systems, the QoE framework is integrated with the tracing function, and a tracing identifier (ID) is associated with each QoE configuration. In NR, the QoE function is logically separated from the tracing function, but it still partially reuses the tracing signaling mechanism. In NR and LTE, a globally unique QoE reference (formed by the Mobile Country Code (MCC) + Mobile Network Code (MNC) + QMC ID, where the QMC ID is a 24-bit string) will be associated with each QoE configuration. The QoE reference is included in the container with the measurement instructions and is also sent to the RAN (e.g., gNB in NR). For the communication between the gNB and the UE, the QoE reference is replaced by a shorter identifier denoted as measConfigAppLayerId, which is locally unique within the UE (i.e., there is a one-to-one mapping between the measConfigAppLayerId and the QoE reference for each QoE configuration provided to the UE). The measConfigAppLayerId is stored in the UE access stratum and is also forwarded in the AT command (which is a type of instruction for the communication between the modem part of the UE and the application layer of the UE) together with the service type indication and the container with the measurement instructions.

[0010] The report of the collected QoE measurement results (QoE report) is sent from the UE application layer to the UE access layer. The UE access layer forwards them to the RAN, and the RAN forwards them to the MCE. These QoE measurement results are placed in a "container" that is not interpretable by the UE access layer and the RAN. The QoE report can be configured to be periodic or sent only at the end of the application session. Additionally, the RAN can instruct the UE to suspend the QoE report, for example, in the case where the cell / gNB is in an overloaded state.

[0011] The RAN does not know when an application session with an associated QoE measurement session is in progress, and the UE access stratum cannot automatically know this either. To mitigate this issue, session start / stop indications have been introduced, which are sent from the application layer in the UE to the UE AS and from the UE AS to the RAN. The session end indication is sent when the application session and the associated QoE measurement session are complete.

[0012] As an implementation-based decision, the RAN can decide to release the QoE configuration in the UE at any time. Typically, this is done when the UE has moved outside the area configured for QoE measurement (commonly referred to as the zone scope) and the measurement session has ended. RAN Visible QoE (RVQoE)

[0013] An extension to the QoE framework that has been implemented in 3GPP Release 17 is the concept of RAN Visible QoE (RVQoE). Conventional QoE reports are intended for the MCE, which is an entity external to the RAN, such as being part of an OAM system, and the RAN cannot read the QoE reports (at least according to the specification, although gNB / eNB implementations do not prevent this). Instead, the reported RVQoE metrics are intended for the RAN and are delivered to the RAN in a format that the RAN understands. The RVQoE metrics are derived from the conventional QoE metrics, collected and compiled in a report by the UE application layer, and delivered to the RAN such that the RAN can use the report for various types of optimizations. As an example, when the RAN receives an RVQoE report during an ongoing application session, the RAN can perform adaptive actions to affect the QoE of the application session while it is in progress, such as changing various parameters related to the scheduling of the UE and the data flows related to the application session. End-to-End Description of QoE Measurement

[0014] The end-to-end signaling for the configuration of QoE measurement is described in Chapter 4 of 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 28.405 v.18.0.0. The activation of management-based QoE in NR is described in Section 4.5 of 3GPP TS28.405, as Figure 1 shown, Figure 1 is a reproduction of 3GPP TS28.405's Figure 4 .6.1.1-1 (QMC Activation and Reporting in NR after UE Registration). In Section 4.6 of 3GPP TS28.405, the activation of signaling-based QoE in NR is described, as Figure 2 shown. Configuration and Reporting of QoE and RVQoE Measurements in RRC

[0015] The configuration of QoE and RVQoE measurements is implemented by the RRC message RRCReconfiguration and the report is sent in the RRC message MeasurementReportAppLayer according to the Figure 3 signaling flow shown.

[0016] RRCReconfiguration contains the information element AppLayerMeasConfig which contains a configuration container for the configuration of regular QoE or RRC parameters for the configuration of RVQoE as follows: - AppLayerMeasConfig The IE AppLayerMeasConfig indicates the configuration of application layer measurements. The AppLayerMeasConfig information element

[0017] MeasurementReportAppLayer contains a report container for regular QoE or RRC parameters for RVQoE reporting as follows: - MeasurementReportAppLayer The MeasurementReportAppLayer message is used to send application layer measurement reports. Signaling Radio Bearer: SRB4 RLC - SAP: AM Logical Channel: DCCH Direction: UE to Network The MeasurementReportAppLayer message

[0018] In the existing specifications, if there is also a corresponding configuration of regular QoE in the UE, the network can only configure RVQoE. QoE metrics for streaming services

[0019] The specification of QoE metrics for progressive download and 3GPP Adaptive Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) streaming (referred to as 3GP-DASH) can be found in clause 10 of 3GPP TS 26.247.

[0020] The following metrics shall be supported by progressive download clients that support the QoE reporting function: - Average throughput, - Initial playout delay, - Buffer level, - Playlist, - Device information.

[0021] The following metrics shall be supported by 3GP-DASH clients that support the QoE reporting function: - List of representative exchange events, - Average throughput, - Initial playout delay, - Buffer level, - Playlist, - MPD information, - Device information. AT commands

[0022] AT commands are used for communication between the AS (radio) layer and the application layer in the UE. AT commands are defined in 3GPP TS 27.007 version 17.6.0. AT commands are used in QoE to transfer configurations from the RRC layer to the application and to transfer reports from the application layer to the RRC layer. 3GPP dual connectivity

[0023] In 3GPP Rel-12, the LTE feature dual connectivity (DC) was introduced to enable the UE to connect to two cell groups, each controlled by an LTE access node eNB labeled as the master eNB (MeNB) and the secondary eNB (SeNB). The UE still has only one RRC connection to the network. In 3GPP, the dual connectivity (DC) solution has since evolved and is now also specified for NR and between LTE and NR. Multi-connectivity (MC) is the case when more than two nodes are involved. With the introduction of 5G, the term MR-DC (Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity, see also 3GPP TS 37.340) was defined as a general term covering all dual connectivity options including at least one NR access node. By using the MR-DC general term, the UE is connected in a master cell group (MCG) controlled by a master node (MN) and a secondary cell group (SCG) controlled by a secondary node (SN).

[0024] In addition, in MR-DC, when dual connectivity is configured for a UE, carrier aggregation can also be used within each of the two cell groups, namely the MCG and the SCG. In this case, within the master cell group MCG controlled by the master node (MN), the UE can use one primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCell). And within the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the secondary node (SN), the UE can use one primary SCell (PSCell, also known as the primary SCG cell in NR) and one or more SCells. Figure 4 This combined situation is shown in Figure 4 . In NR, the primary cell of the master cell group or the secondary cell group is sometimes also referred to as a special cell (SpCell). Therefore, the SpCell in the MCG is the PCell, and the SpCell in the SCG is the PSCell.

[0025] In the case of interworking with LTE (also known as E-UTRA) and the evolved packet core (EPC) or without interworking with LTE and EPC, there are different ways to deploy the 5G network. In principle, NR and LTE can be deployed without any interworking, which is denoted as NR stand-alone (SA) operation, also known as Option 2, that is, the gNB in NR can be connected to the 5G core network (5GC), and the eNB in LTE can be connected to the EPC, without any interconnection between them, also known as Option 1.

[0026] On the other hand, the first supported NR release uses dual connectivity, denoted as EN-DC (E-UTRAN-NR dual connectivity), also known as Option 3, as shown in Figure 5 In such a deployment, dual connectivity between NR and LTE is applied, where the UE is connected to both the LTE radio interface to the LTE access node (LTE Uu in the figure) and the NR radio interface to the NR access node (NR Uu in the figure). In addition, in EN-DC, the LTE access node acts as the master node (in this case, called the master eNB or MeNB), which controls the master cell group MCG, and the NR access node acts as the secondary node (in this case, sometimes also called the secondary gNB or SgNB), which controls the secondary cell group SCG. The SgNB may not have a control plane connection to the core network (EPC), and the control plane connection to the EPC is provided by the MeNB, and this situation is for NR. This is also known as "non-standalone NR" or simply "NSA NR". Note that in this case, the functions of the NR cells are limited and will be used as boosters and / or diversity branches for connected-mode UEs, but RRC_IDLE UEs cannot camp on these NR cells.

[0027] With the introduction of 5GC, other options may also be valid. As mentioned above, Option 2 supports stand-alone NR deployment where the gNB is connected to the 5GC. Similarly, LTE can also be connected to the 5GC using Option 5 (also known as eLTE, E-UTRA / 5GC, or LTE / 5GC, and the node can be called ng-eNB). In these cases, both NR and LTE are considered part of the NG-RAN (and both ng-eNB and gNB can be called NG-RAN nodes).

[0028] It is worth noting that there are other variants of the dual connection between LTE and NR that have been standardized as part of the NG-RAN connected to the 5GC. Under the MR-DC framework, we have: · EN-DC (Option 3): LTE as the master node and NR as the secondary node (using EPC CN, as Figure 5 shown) · NE-DC (Option 4): NR as the master node and LTE as the secondary node (using 5G CN) · NGEN-DC (Option 7): LTE as the master node and NR as the secondary node (using 5G CN) · NR-DC (a variant of Option 2): Dual connection in the case where both the master node MN controlling the MCG and the secondary node SN controlling the SCG are NR (using 5G CN, as Figure 6 shown). Summary of the Invention

[0029] Disclosed are systems and methods related to Quality of Experience (QoE) and Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE) measurement and reporting. In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) includes receiving, from one or more network nodes, one or more messages that include one or more QoE configurations and one or more RVQoE configurations. The method further includes: for each QoE configuration or generally for one or more QoE configurations, receiving an indication of a network node to which a corresponding QoE report is to be sent. The method further includes, for each RVQoE configuration or generally for one or more RVQoE configurations, receiving an indication of a network node to which a corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent. The method further includes performing QoE measurements and RVQoE measurements based on one or more QoE configurations and one or more RVQoE configurations. The method further includes: for each QoE report among one or more QoE reports that include results of QoE measurements, transmitting the QoE report to the network node to which the QoE report is indicated to be sent. The method further includes: for each RVQoE report among one or more RVQoE reports that include results of QoE measurements, transmitting the RVQoE report to the network node to which the QoE report is indicated to be sent. In this way, QoE reports and RVQoE reports can be routed to different entities.

[0030] In one embodiment, a network node to which a QoE report for at least one QoE configuration among one or more QoE configurations is to be sent is different from a network node to which an RVQoE report for at least one RVQoE configuration among one or more RVQoE configurations is to be sent.

[0031] In one embodiment, the method includes: for each QoE configuration, receiving an indication of a network node to which a corresponding QoE report is to be sent.

[0032] In one embodiment, for at least one QoE configuration among one or more QoE configurations, an indication of a network node to which a corresponding QoE report is to be sent is an indication of a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB), and the corresponding QoE report is transmitted on the SRB.

[0033] In one embodiment, the method includes: for each RVQoE configuration, receiving an indication of a network node to which a corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

[0034] In one embodiment, for each RVQoE configuration among one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication of a network node to which a corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent is included in the RVQoE configuration or in a message(s) that includes the RVQoE configuration.

[0035] In one embodiment, for at least one RVQoE configuration among one or more RVQoE configurations, the indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent is the indication of the SRB, and the corresponding RVQoE report is transmitted on the SRB.

[0036] In one embodiment, the method includes generally receiving, for all QoE configurations among one or more QoE configurations, an indication of a common network node to which a QoE report is to be sent.

[0037] In one embodiment, the indication of the common network node to which a QoE report is to be sent is included in at least one QoE configuration among one or more QoE configurations, or is included in a (plural) message containing at least one QoE configuration among one or more QoE configurations.

[0038] In one embodiment, the method includes: generally receiving, for all RVQoE configurations among one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication of a common network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

[0039] In one embodiment, the indication of the common network node to which an RVQoE report is to be sent is included in at least one RVQoE configuration among one or more RVQoE configurations, or is included in a message containing at least one RVQoE configuration among one or more RVQoE configurations.

[0040] In one embodiment, the indication of the common network node to which an RVQoE report is to be sent is the indication of the SRB, and the RVQoE report is transmitted on the SRB.

[0041] Corresponding embodiments of the UE are also disclosed. In one embodiment, the UE is adapted to receive one or more messages from one or more network nodes, the one or more messages including one or more QoE configurations and one or more RVQoE configurations. The UE is also adapted to receive, for each QoE configuration or generally for one or more QoE configurations, an indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent. The UE is also adapted to receive, for each RVQoE configuration or generally for one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent. The UE is also adapted to perform QoE measurements and RVQoE measurements according to one or more QoE configurations and one or more RVQoE configurations. The UE is also adapted to transmit, for each QoE report among one or more QoE reports including the results of QoE measurements, the QoE report to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent. The UE is also adapted to transmit, for each RVQoE report among one or more RVQoE reports including the results of QoE measurements, the RVQoE report to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent.

[0042] In one embodiment, the UE includes a communication interface and processing circuitry associated with the communication interface. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to receive one or more messages from one or more network nodes, the one or more messages including one or more QoE configurations and one or more RVQoE configurations. The processing circuitry is also configured to cause the UE to receive, for each QoE configuration or generally for one or more QoE configurations, an indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent. The processing circuitry is also configured to cause the UE to receive, for each RVQoE configuration or generally for one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent. The processing circuitry is also configured to cause the UE to perform QoE measurements and RVQoE measurements according to one or more QoE configurations and one or more RVQoE configurations. The processing circuitry is also configured to cause the UE to transmit, for each QoE report among one or more QoE reports including the results of QoE measurements, the QoE report to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent. The processing circuitry is also configured to cause the UE to transmit, for each RVQoE report among one or more RVQoE reports including the results of QoE measurements, the RVQoE report to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent.

[0043] Embodiments of a method performed by a first network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, the method performed by the first network node includes transmitting one or more messages to a UE, the one or more messages including one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) configurations and one or more Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE) configurations. The one or more messages further include, for each QoE configuration or generally for the one or more QoE configurations, an indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent, and for each RVQoE configuration or generally for the one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

[0044] Corresponding embodiments of the first network node are also disclosed.

[0045] Embodiments of a method performed by a second network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, the method performed by the second network node includes receiving one or more messages from a UE, the one or more messages including one or more QoE reports associated with one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) configurations and one or more RVQoE reports associated with one or more Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE) configurations. For each QoE configuration or generally for the one or more QoE configurations, the UE is configured or determines the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent. For each RVQoE configuration or generally for the one or more RVQoE configurations, the UE is configured or determines the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

[0046] Corresponding embodiments of the second network node are also disclosed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

[0048] Figure 1 is a reproduction of Figure 4 .6.1.1-1 (Quality of Experience (QoE) Measurement Collector (QMC) Activation and Reporting in New Radio (NR) after User Equipment (UE) Registration) in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 28.405 V18.0.0;

[0049] Figure 2 shows the activation of signaling-based QoE in NR;

[0050] Figure 3 shows the configurations for QoE and Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE) measurement and reporting and the signaling flows for QoE and RVQoE reports;

[0051] Figure 4 An example showing a combination of dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) is presented;

[0052] Figure 5 An example of DC is presented;

[0053] Figure 6 Another variant of DC is presented;

[0054] Figure 7 It is a flowchart showing the operation of a wireless terminal (also known as a user equipment, UE) for QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration and reporting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] Figure 8 It shows the operation of a network node configured as a master node (MN) for a UE for QoE measurement configuration and reporting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] Figure 9 It shows the operation of a network node configured as a secondary node (SN) for a UE for QoE measurement configuration and reporting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0057] Figure 10 An example of a communication system according to some embodiments is presented;

[0058] Figure 11 A UE according to some embodiments is presented;

[0059] Figure 12 A network node according to some embodiments is presented;

[0060] Figure 13 It is a block diagram of a host according to various aspects described herein, and the host can be Figure 10 an embodiment of the host;

[0061] Figure 14 It is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized; and

[0062] Figure 15 It shows a communication diagram of a host communicating with a UE via a partial wireless connection through a network node according to some embodiments. Detailed Description

[0063] The embodiments set forth below represent information that enables those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and show the best mode of practicing the embodiments. After reading the following description with reference to the drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the present disclosure and will recognize these concepts in applications not specifically presented herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0064] There are certain challenges currently. Quality of Experience (QoE) reports and Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE) reports serve distinct purposes, i.e., the former is mainly application-level feedback for offline analysis and long-term adaptation, while the latter is real-time feedback from the application to the RAN for immediate adaptation of the ongoing application session's handling. In the current 3GPP specifications, QoE and RVQoE measurement reports are always reported in the same way according to the same configuration, e.g., reported to the same node in the case of New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (NR-DC). This is an unnecessary restriction, especially since the reports are for different purposes and the recipients are also different.

[0065] Certain aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure can provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein provide solutions for directing QoE reports and RVQoE reports to specific network nodes respectively, e.g., in a dual connectivity scenario (e.g., in an NR-DC scenario). This can be achieved by configuring the UE with an indication indicating the node or cell group to which the QoE report is to be transmitted or an indication indicating the node to which the RVQoE report is to be transmitted. The indication can include, for example, any one or more of the following indications: - An explicit indication of the node or cell group (e.g., Master Cell Group (MCG), Secondary Cell Group (SCG)), - An indication to send the report to the cell group carrying the (multiple) data streams of the application session to which the report belongs, - An indication of the Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) for transmission, - An indication (explicit or implicit) that the report should be sent to the node that sent the configuration, - An indication (explicit or implicit) that the report should be sent to the node that processes the (multiple) Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) of the (multiple) data streams of the application session to which the report belongs, - An indication (explicit or implicit) that the User Equipment (UE) can autonomously decide to which node or nodes to send the report.

[0066] When the UE has a QoE or RVQoE report to send, the UE transmits the report according to the indication included in the configuration. In one embodiment, if in the case of dual connectivity, the target of the report is the master node (MN), the UE may use the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to transmit the report to the MN. In one embodiment, if the report is for the secondary node (SN), the UE may use the ULInformationTransferMRDC message, which has a MeasurementReportAppLayer message encapsulated for the SN. In one embodiment, the encapsulated MeasurementReportAppLayer message may be forwarded from the MN to the SN in the XnAP RRC TRANSFER (XnAP RRC transfer) message. Alternatively, the UE may be configured with SRB3 or SRB5 for direct transmission to the SN. In both options, it is clearly distinguished which messages are for the MN and which messages are targeted at the SN. By configuring options for different nodes for QoE and RVQoE reports, the network can direct the reports to the node that is the preferred recipient of the report.

[0067] Some embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Embodiments of the present disclosure may achieve more flexibility regarding the transmission of QoE and RVQoE reports. In this scheme, the RVQoE report may be routed to the RAN node that is the intended recipient of the report, while the QoE report for operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) may be routed to a different RAN node. This is beneficial because QoE reports may be large, and it is beneficial if the network can configure the UE to send these reports to a node with less load, without having to also configure the shorter RVQoE reports to a node with less load, as these reports are intended for a specific node. 1. Notes and Terms

[0068] In several embodiments described below, the radio access network (RAN) sends a request for a (multiple) radio access network visible quality of experience (RVQoE) report to a user equipment (UE). Such a request may equivalently be referred to as an indication to the UE to send an RVQoE report or an indication of the RAN event (or multiple RAN events) that triggers the fulfillment of the RVQoE report.

[0069] Many of the field (i.e., parameter) names or information element (IE) names in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration for New Radio (NR) (3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.1.0) are referred to as names with a suffix indicating the 3GPP standard version (e.g., “-r17” indicating 3GPP version 17) or as the same name without a suffix. Then, the version with the suffix is used in the ASN.1 code, while the version without a suffix is used in other text in the specification. In this document, when applicable (i.e., when there are two versions of a field name in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.1.0), the two versions of the name are used interchangeably. For example, the names “AppLayerMeasConfig” and “AppLayerMeasConfig-r17” refer to the same IE.

[0070] The RAN node can be a Next Generation Node B (gNB), Evolved Node B (eNB), en-gNB, Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU), gNB-CU Control Plane part (gNB-CU-CP), gNB-CU User Plane part (gNB-CU-UP), eNB Central Unit (eNB-CU), eNB-CU Control Plane part (eNB-CU-CP), eNB-CU User Plane part (eNB-CU-UP), Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, IAB Donor Distributed Unit (DU), IAB Donor Central Unit (CU), IAB-DU, IAB Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT), Open RAN CU (O-CU), O-CU Control Plane part (O-CU-CP), O-CU User Plane part (O-CU-UP), Open RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU), Open RAN Radio Unit (O-RU), Open RAN eNB (O-eNB), Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC), Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (RT-RIC), etc.

[0071] The terms “Application Layer Measurement Configuration”, “Application Measurement Configuration”, “QoE Measurement Configuration”, “QoE Configuration”, “QoE Measurement and Reporting Configuration” and “QMC Configuration” are used interchangeably. Note, however, that “QMC Profile” is not an equivalent term, but refers to the part of the QoE configuration that includes an XML file containing instructions for the QoE metrics to be collected.

[0072] The solution(s) proposed in this document apply to both signaling-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and management-based QoE measurement (but can also optionally be limited to apply to only one of them).

[0073] The terms "QoE report" and "QoE measurement report" are used interchangeably. Similarly, the terms "RAN visible QoE report", "RAN visible QoE measurement report", "RVQoE report" and "RVQoE measurement report" are used interchangeably.

[0074] The terms "QoE configuration" and "QoE measurement configuration" are used interchangeably. Similarly, the terms "RVQoE configuration" and "RVQoE measurement configuration" are used interchangeably.

[0075] The terms "access stratum" and "radio stratum" are used interchangeably when referring to a UE.

[0076] The (multiple) solution(s) apply equally to QoE and RAN visible QoE measurement and reporting, which particularly means that the considerations for QoE configuration, QoE measurement and QoE reporting also apply to RVQoE configuration, RVQoE measurement and RVQoE reporting.

[0077] The (multiple) solution(s) are presented with a UE in a dual connection as an example, but can also apply to radio access technologies where the UE is served by more than two branches.

[0078] The (multiple) solution(s) proposed in this document apply to NR as well as future radio access technologies (RAT), such as 6G, where the IAB-MT is the parent backhaul termination function and the IAB-DU is the access service providing the relay node function.

[0079] "Sending a report to a node" can mean that the node is the consumer, i.e., the final destination of the report, or it can not mean that the node is the consumer.

[0080] The terms "node" and "network node" are used interchangeably in this document.

[0081] Transmission to the master node (MN) or to the secondary node (SN) means using the carrier in the master cell group (MCG) and the carrier in the secondary cell group (SCG) respectively. 2. Overview

[0082] As described above, the purposes of QoE reports and RVQoE reports are quite different. This reflects the fact that the RAN forwards QoE reports (uninterpreted) to the Measurement Collection Entity (MCE), while RVQoE reports are stored in the RAN, analyzed, and used as a basis for possible adaptation of the processing of the data stream of an ongoing application session. This is an existing example of the differential treatment of QoE reports and RVQoE reports. However, other aspects of the differential treatment of QoE reports and RVQoE reports may be beneficial, especially when the QoE / RVQoE framework is extended with new service types, scenarios, and functions. Embodiments of the proposed (multiple) solutions target such a specific example.

[0083] When the QoE / RVQoE framework in 3GPP Release 18 is extended to be applicable to the NR Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) scenario, the different purposes of QoE measurement / reporting and RVQoE measurement / reporting imply that different network nodes (i.e., the MN and the SN) can be the preferred recipients of QoE reports and RVQoE reports. In particular, it is preferred that the RVQoE report be sent to the node that can affect the processing of the data stream of the application session to which the RVQoE report belongs, i.e., the node that processes the data stream of the application session to which the RVQoE report belongs.

[0084] As an example, consider a UE in NR-DC mode, where different gNBs act as the MN and the SN, respectively. In addition, the MN has received a signaling-based QoE configuration from the Core Network (CN) (i.e., the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)) and forwarded it to the relevant UE, and the RAN (the MN, the SN, or both in cooperation) has also configured corresponding RVQoE measurements for the UE. If the data stream of an application session of the service type targeted by the QoE configuration and the RVQoE configuration is subsequently sent via the SN (i.e., on the SCG bearer), the network may want the QoE report to go to the MN and the RVQoE report to go to the SN.

[0085] This can be achieved in a number of ways:

[0086] One way is to utilize the traditional mechanism of embedding Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages in the transfer message from the UE to the SN via the MN. Through the Uu interface between the UE and the MN, this transfer message is the ULInformationTransferMRDCRRC message. On the Xn interface, this transfer message is the RRC TRANSFER XnAP message. Using this traditional mechanism, the UE can, for example, send a MeasurementReportAppLayerRRC message containing a QoE report to the MN as a regular RRC message, while the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message containing the RVQoE report can be encapsulated in the ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message sent to the MN. After that, the MN extracts the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message containing the RVQoE report from the ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message and forwards the extracted MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message to the SN in the RRC TRANSFER XnAP message. (SRB3 has been introduced in the standard (see the next paragraph) to allow the direct transfer of RRC messages from the UE to the SN, so the above encapsulation and forwarding mechanism is mainly intended to be used when SRB3 is not configured or implemented).

[0087] Another way is to utilize Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) inherently targeted at different nodes. As an example, the UE can send a QoE report to the MN on SRB4 and an RVQoE report to the SN on SRB3. Instead of SRB3, a new signaling radio bearer, denoted as SRB5, can be used to transmit QoE / RVQoE reports to the SN. What is currently being discussed in 3GPP is the introduction of this new signaling radio bearer (SRB5) for the purpose of sending QoE reports and RVQoE reports to the SN. In the current example, the UE can send a QoE report to the MN on SRB4 and an RVQoE report to the SN on SRB5.

[0088] Note that, as described above, the choice of sending a QoE report to the MN and an RVQoE report to the SN is merely an example. On the contrary, that is, sending a QoE report to the SN and an RVQoE report to the MN also conforms to the proposed solution, as does sending both the QoE report and the RVQoE report to the same node (i.e., to the MN or to the SN).

[0089] This differential handling of QoE reports and RVQoE reports requires new signaling possibilities to instruct the UE. For example, sending the QoE report to the MN on SRB4 and the RVQoE report to the SN on SRB3 or SRB5, or sending the QoE report to the MN but encapsulating the RVQoE report in the ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message (i.e., for sending the RVQoE report, including the relevant RVQoE report parameters in the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message, encapsulating the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message in the ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message, and sending the ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message to the MN). In such control signaling, the instruction to send a certain type of report to a certain node can take the form of any one or more of the following, for example: - An indication of the node (e.g., MN, SN), - An indication to send the report to the node carrying the data stream of the application session to which the report belongs, - An indication of the cell group (e.g., MCG, SCG), - An indication to send the report to the cell group carrying the data stream of the application session to which the report belongs, - An indication of the SRB on which to perform the transmission (e.g., SRB4 implies MN, SRB5 implies SN), - An indication that the MeasurementReportAppLayer message containing the specific report type should be included in the message (e.g., ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message) used to encapsulate the message to be forwarded from the MN to the SN (or vice versa), - The absence indication can be an implicit indication that the report should be sent to the node with the sending configuration, - The absence indication can be an implicit indication that the report should be sent to the node handling the DRB carrying the data stream of the application session to which the report belongs, - The absence indication can be an implicit indication that the UE can autonomously decide to which node to send the report.

[0090] With such instructions, the QoE / RVQoE report transmission behavior of the UE can be controlled according to the QoE / RVQoE configuration, or overall for all QoE / RVQoE configurations in the UE, depending on which IE level in the ASN.1 definition the control parameter is in (e.g., based on the ASN.1 definition in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.2.0), for example, in the AppLayerMeasConfig-r17 IE or in the MeasConfigAppLayer-r17 IE and / or in the RAN-VisibleParameters-r17 IE. Examples are provided in Section 3.2 below.

[0091] In Section 3, embodiments of the proposed solution will be further described in terms of methods / embodiments for the UE, MN, and SN, respectively. 3. Embodiments 3.1 Configuration and reporting of QoE and RVQoE measurements under options for transmitting QoE and RVQoE reports to different nodes

[0092] Note that in all the methods described in this section, the roles of the MN and SN can be interchanged. That is, the actions performed by the MN in the method description can be performed by the SN, and vice versa. Similarly, the interactions of the UE with the MN and SN, respectively, can be interchanged between the MN and SN. As described, these methods are generally applicable even after such an interchange. In addition, the configuration related to the QoE report and the configuration related to the RVQoE report can be interchanged such that any configuration is possible for QoE and RVQoE, respectively. In RRC TS 38.331, the terms MN and SN are not commonly used, but the UE is configured with an MCG (Master Cell Group) related to the MN and an SCG (Secondary Cell Group) related to the SN. 3.1.1 Embodiment for the UE

[0093] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of a wireless terminal (also referred to as a user equipment, UE) for QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration and reporting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, Figure 7 the process includes the following:

[0094] Step 700A: In a first alternative or option (Option A), a wireless terminal receives one or more messages from one or more network nodes (such as, MN or SN), for example, (multiple) RRCReconfiguration messages. The (multiple) messages may include one or more QoE configurations (for example, configurations of QoE measurements and configurations of RVQoE measurements), and each QoE / RVQoE configuration or at least one QoE / RVQoE configuration in the (multiple) QoE / RVQoE configurations may include an indication of the network node to which the UE should send a QoE report and / or an RVQoE report respectively, or each QoE / RVQoE configuration or at least one QoE / RVQoE configuration in the (multiple) QoE / RVQoE configurations is sent together with the indication (for example, in the same message). In one embodiment, the indication indicates that the UE may decide to which network node to send a QoE report and / or an RVQoE report (where the decision may or may not be based on a specified or configured procedure, or a specified or configured rule, or a specified or configured criterion and / or based on input data provided by the network node). o The indication of the node may be an explicit indication or an implicit indication. o Examples of explicit indications are indications of network nodes such as MN or SN or MCG or SCG for example. o In another option, the indication indicates the SRB that the UE should use to send the report. o In one version of this embodiment, if the UE can send a report to the MN or SN, then if there is no explicit indication, the UE interprets it as that the UE can send the report to either the MN or the SN. o As another option, the absence of an explicit indication may be an implicit indication that the UE should send the report (i.e., a QoE report or an RVQoE report, depending on whether the absent indication is associated with a QoE configuration or an RVQoE configuration) to the node from which it received the associated configuration (i.e., the QoE configuration or the RVQoE configuration). o As yet another option, the indication of the node to which the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report is sent may be applied to all QoE configurations and / or all RVQoE configurations in the UE. With this option, for example, the indication can be sent to the UE once in an RRCReconfiguration message instead of associating a separate indication with each QoE and / or RVQoE configuration. o The implicit indication may be, for example, the configuration of a certain SRB linked to the configuration of QoE or RVQoE measurements, where the SRB will be used to send the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report. o The implicit indication may also depend on which part of the RRC message the configuration is included in. For example, If the configuration is included in the MN part of the message, the UE shall send a report to the MN, and if the configuration is included in the SN part of the message, the UE shall send a report to the SN. o Another implicit indication may be that the UE shall send the QoE report to the node from which it receives the QoE configuration, and send the RVQoE report to the node from which it receives the RVQoE configuration. o Alternatively, the implicit indication may be, for example, the configuration of certain identifiers (e.g., measConfigAppLayerId) associated with the QoE / RVQoE configuration, where a first set of identifiers is reserved for the MN, and another set of identifiers is reserved for the SN. For example, the first set of identifiers may be represented by all possible values of the measConfigAppLayerId-r17 IE and is reserved for the QoE / RVQoE configurations that the MN can configure for the UE, and the second set of identifiers may be represented by all possible values of another IE (e.g., measConfigAppLayerId-r18) and is reserved for the SN. o The explicit indication may be implemented by indicating the DRBs that the UE shall use when sending / receiving application data to / from a certain network node that participated in preparing the RVQoE configuration or sent the QoE / RVQoE configuration to the UE. For example, a first list of DRBs is included in the UE's QoE configuration (or RVQoE configuration) to indicate that when the UE sends / receives data for the application to / from the MN node, the UE shall use DRB IDs = X1, Y1, Z1. This may be included in the QoE configuration as part of the "MCG-related" configuration. A second list of DRBs may also be included in the same QoE / RVQoE configuration (or in a separate QoE / RVQoE configuration) to indicate that in the case where the UE sends / receives application data to / from the SN node, it may use another set of DRBs (e.g., as included in the "SCG-related" configuration), e.g., DRB IDs = X2, Y2, Z2. To determine the list of MN-related DRBs and SN-related DRBs associated with the QoE / RVQoE reports of the UE to the MN and SN respectively, the MN and SN may perform a coordination process, where one of the nodes responsible for determining which DRBs the UE will use for which node (e.g., the MN node) indicates the list of DRBs that the UE shall use when sending / receiving data for the application to / from the MN node, and optionally suggests a second list of DRBs that the UE shall use when sending / receiving data for the application to / from the SN node. Another node (e.g., the SN node) may reply with a list of DRBs that the UE shall use when sending / receiving data for the application to / from itself, and may accept or reject the suggestion from the responsible node (in this example, the MN). The list of DRBs related to the MN can be included in the RVQoE configuration prepared by the MN for the RVQoE report that the MN wants to receive (e.g., as part of the MN-RVQoE configuration or the MCG-RVQoE configuration). The MN can also send at least a part of the RVQoE configuration prepared by the SN and containing the list of DRBs related to the SN to the UE (e.g., as part of the SN-RVQoE configuration or the SCG-RVQoE configuration). The list of DRBs associated with the MN and the list of DRBs associated with the SN may not be explicitly indicated for QoE / RVQoE purposes, but the UE can receive it regardless of the QoE processing and (re)use the same list when sending application data subject to QoE / RVQoE measurements. o Alternatively, information for deriving the node to which the report should be sent can be provided to the UE. This indication can be, for example, an indication for the UE to send the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report to the node carrying the data of the application session for which the QoE measurement and / or the RVQoE measurement is performed, respectively. o In different reconfiguration cases related to dual connectivity, the network can also instruct the UE where to send the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report. · In the case where the UE is instructed to send the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report to the node carrying the data for the application session (as described above, information for deriving the node to which the report should be sent can be provided to the UE), in the case where the node carrying the application session changes (which may occur for various reasons), the explicit indication can instruct the UE where to send the report. Some non-limiting examples can be: · For the case where the MN and the SN serving the UE remain unchanged, but the node carrying the session changes (e.g., the change is that the data flow of the session starts to be carried by the MN, whereas previously it was carried by the SN), the UE can be instructed: · From now on, send the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report to the node that will carry the session from now on, instead of sending it to the node to which the QoE and / or RVQoE reports have been sent so far. · From now on, send the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report to the node that will carry the session from now on, instead of sending it to the node to which the report has been sent so far. · Continue to report to the node currently receiving the QoE report and / or the RVQoE. · For the case of mobility, such as MN change, SN change, the explicit indication may instruct the UE where to send the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report: · Continue to send the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report to the node that plays the same role as the node to which the QoE report has been sent so far in the dual connection (MN role or SN role). · If the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report have been sent to the MN so far, continue to send the report to the MN (in the case of MN change, send it to the new MN from now on). · If the QoE report and / or the RVQoE report have been sent to the SN so far, continue to send the report to the SN (in the case of SN change, send it to the new SN from now on). · From now on, send the report to a specific node, i.e., the MN or the SN. · For the case of changing from a single connection to a dual connection (SN addition), the explicit indication may instruct the UE where to send the report, for example: · From now on, send the report to the SN. · Continue to report to the node that has received the report so far (e.g., the MN). o The indication of the network node to which the UE shall send the QoE report and the RVQoE report respectively may be the same node for the QoE report and the RVQoE report, or may be different nodes for the QoE report and the RVQoE report. o The configuration of the QoE measurement and the configuration of the RVQoE measurement may be done in the same message or different messages. The configuration of the indication of which node the UE shall transmit the report to may be sent together with the QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration, or may be sent separately from the measurement configuration. o The message with the configuration of the UE may be sent from the MN, from the SN, or from both the MN and the SN.

[0095] Steps 700B-1 and 700B-2 : In the second alternative or option (Option B), the wireless terminal receives one or more messages, such as an RRCReconfiguration message, from a network node, and the (multiple) message(s) includes one or more QoE configurations (e.g., and / or one or more RVQoE configurations), and for each QoE / RVQoE configuration, or for at least one of the (multiple) QoE / RVQoE configurations, the UE determines to which network node the UE shall send the QoE and / or the RVQoE report. This alternative allows the UE to decide to which node the UE sends the report.

[0096] Step 702: The wireless terminal application receives the (multiple) QoE / RVQoE configurations and performs QoE / RVQoE measurements according to the (multiple) configurations.

[0097] Step 704: The wireless terminal sends the QoE / RVQoE report to the network node indicated (explicitly, implicitly or derivably) (or together with the QoE configuration) in the corresponding QoE / RVQoE configuration as the recipient of the QoE / RVQoE report. o Step 704-1: The wireless terminal transmits the (multiple) QoE reports to the first network node indicated for the (multiple) corresponding QoE configurations (as in step 700A) or determined by the wireless terminal (as in step 700B-2 of option B). · If the configuration indicates that the QoE report should be sent to the MN, include the QoE report in the message going to the MN. The message containing the QoE report can be, for example, the MeasurementReportAppLayer message sent on SRB4. · If the configuration indicates that the QoE report should be sent to the SN, include the QoE report in the message going to the SN. The message containing the QoE report can be, for example, the MeasurementReportAppLayer message sent on SRB3 or the newly configured SRB5 for the SN. Alternatively, the message can be the ULInformationTransferMRDC message with the embedded MeasurementReportAppLayer message, which is sent on SRB4 to the MN for forwarding to the SN. The message can also be a newly defined message. o Step 704-2: The wireless terminal transmits the RVQoE report to the second network node indicated (explicitly, implicitly or derivably) in the RVQoE configuration as the recipient of the RVQoE report (or together with the RVQoE configuration). In other words, the wireless terminal transmits the RVQoE report to the second network node indicated for the corresponding RVQoE configuration (as in step 700A) or determined by the wireless terminal (as in step 700B-2 of option B). Note that since they are indicated or determined separately, the first network node to which the QoE report is sent can be different from the second network node to which the RVQoE report is sent. · If the configuration indicates that the RVQoE report should be sent to the MN, include the RVQoE report in the message going to the MN. The message containing the RVQoE report can be, for example, the MeasurementReportAppLayer message sent on SRB4 or SRB1. · If the configuration indicates that the RVQoE report should be sent to the SN, include the RVQoE report in the message going to the SN. The message containing the RVQoE report can be, for example, a MeasurementReportAppLayer message sent on SRB3 or a new SRB5 configured for the SN. Alternatively, the message can be a ULInformationTransferMRDC message with an embedded MeasurementReportAppLayer message, which is sent on SRB4 or SRB1 to the MN for forwarding to the SN. The message can also be a newly defined message.

[0098] For all QoE measurement configurations or all RVQoE measurement configurations in the UE, the configuration of the node to which the report is sent can be the same or different. For example, for different configurations associated with different service types (i.e., different measConfigAppLayerId), the UE can be configured, for example, to transmit some QoE or RVQoE reports to the MN and some other QoE or RVQoE reports to the SN. For RVQoE reports, this can depend on the node (MN or SN) that creates and / or sends the RVQoE configuration to the UE, or it may not depend on that node. As another option, the indication of which node to send the QoE report and / or RVQoE report to can apply to all QoE configurations and / or all RVQoE configurations in the UE. With this option, the indication can be sent to the UE once, for example, in the RRCReconfiguration message, instead of associating a separate indication with each QoE and / or RVQoE configuration. - The selection of the node and the order in which the reports should be sent can depend on the RRC state of the UE before it is (re)configured for multi-connection operation. o In one case, the UE can receive, in the configuration for QoE measurement, an indication that all QoE measurements and / or all RVQoE measurements that the UE may have collected while in the RRC_INACTIVE state or the RRC_IDLE state should always be sent to the MN. o In one case, the UE may receive in the configuration for QoE measurement an indication that all QoE measurements and / or all RVQoE measurements that the UE may have collected while in the RRC_INACTIVE state or in the RRC_IDLE state should always be sent to the SN. In one case, the UE may receive in the configuration for QoE measurement an indication that all QoE measurements that the UE may have collected while in the RRC_INACTIVE state or the RRC_IDLE state should be sent to the MN, and all RVQoE measurements that the UE may have collected while in the RRC_INACTIVE state or the RRC_IDLE state should be sent to the SN. o In one case, the UE may receive in the configuration for QoE measurement an indication that all QoE / RVQoE measurements that the UE may have collected while in the RRC_INACTIVE state should be sent to one of the MN or the SN before sending all QoE / RVQoE measurements that the UE may have collected while in the RRC_IDLE state.

[0099] The configuration of the node to which the report is to be sent can be implicitly derived based on an indication / configuration parameter received by the RAN node from another network node (e.g., an OAM or CN node) as part of the QoE / RVQoE configuration, where the indication / configuration parameter relates to, for example, the method that the RAN should use for the delivery of the QoE report, the need for the MN or the SN to perform alignment / correlation between the RVQoE and radio measurements, and / or the need for another network node (e.g., the MCE) to perform alignment / correlation between the QoE and radio measurements. - In one case, another network node (e.g., an OAM or CN node) may send to the RAN (e.g., to the MN) an indication that the QoE report will be delivered to the MCE in a streaming manner (e.g., indicating the MCE URI) or URL). The above indication can be implicitly used to indicate that the RAN node configuring the UE should indicate in the configuration for the UE that all QoE reports should be sent from the UE to the MN instead of the SN (and vice versa). - In another case, the MN may receive from the SN an indication that the RVQoE measurements configured by the SN will be aligned with the radio measurements performed by the UE for the SN, and use this indication to request the UE (e.g., as part of the RVQoE configuration) to send the RVQoE measurements configured by the SN to the SN. 3.1.2 Embodiment for the MN

[0100] Figure 8 Illustrated are the operations for QoE measurement configuration and reporting of a network node configured as a master node (MN) for a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, Figure 8The process includes the following steps:

[0101] Step 800 : The network node determines to configure QoE measurement and / or RVQoE measurement for the UE. o Optionally or alternatively, receive a request to configure QoE measurement or RVQoE measurement from the SN. · The request may be included, for example, in the S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or in a new message (e.g., a new message dedicated to QoE / RVQoE coordination for QoE / RVQoE configuration and / or reporting between the MN and the SN, such as the QOE CONFIGURATION REQUIRED XnAP message, etc.).

[0102] Step 802 : Optionally, the network node transmits a request for the configuration of QoE measurement and / or for the configuration of RVQoE measurement to the secondary node (SN). o The request may be included, for example, in the S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST or S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST message or in a new message (e.g., a new message dedicated to QoE / RVQoE coordination for QoE / RVQoE configuration and / or reporting between the MN and the SN, such as the QOE CONFIGURATION REQUEST XnAP message, etc.). In the case of management-based QoE and RVQoE configuration, existing or newly defined non-UE-associated messages may be used, which contain information and instructions related to more than one UE. o The initiation of QoE measurement and RVQoE measurement can be implemented by the MN or the SN or both nodes and can be implemented using any combination of which node initiates which type of measurement.

[0103] Step 804: Optionally (if the above optional transmission step is performed), the network node receives a response to the request for the configuration of QoE measurement and / or a response to the request for the configuration of RVQoE measurement from the SN. o This request can be included, for example, in the S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE or S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message, or in a new message (e.g., a new message dedicated to the QoE / RVQoE coordination aspect for QoE / RVQoE configuration and / or reporting between the MN and the SN, such as the QOE CONFIGURATION RESPONSE XnAP message, etc.). In the case of management-based QoE and RVQoE configuration, existing or newly defined non-UE associated messages can be used, which contain information and instructions related to more than one UE.

[0104] Step 806: The network node transmits one or more messages to the UE, such as the RRCReconfiguration message, which includes the configuration of QoE measurement and the configuration of RVQoE measurement, and for each QoE measurement configuration and (possibly for each) RVQoE measurement configuration, includes an indication of the network node to which the UE should send the QoE and / or RVQoE reports respectively. o The indication of the node can be an explicit or implicit indication. · An example of an explicit indication is an indication of a network node such as the MN or the SN, or in another option, an indication of the SRB that the UE should use to send the report. · An implicit indication can be, for example, the configuration of a certain SRB linked to the configuration of QoE or RVQoE measurement. It can also depend on which part of the RRC message the configuration is included in. If the configuration is included in the MN part of the message, the UE should send the report to the MN, while if the configuration is included in the SN part of the message, the UE should send the report to the SN. · Alternatively, the indication can be an indication that the UE sends the QoE report and / or RVQoE report to the node carrying the session in the application layer respectively. · For further examples of explicit or implicit indications, see the above UE embodiments. o The indication of the network node to which the UE should send the QoE report and RVQoE report respectively can be the same node for the QoE report and the RVQoE report, or can be different nodes for the QoE report and the RVQoE report. o The configuration of QoE measurement and the configuration of RVQoE measurement can be done in the same message or different messages. The configuration of the indication of which node the UE should transmit the report to can be sent together with the QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration, or separately from the measurement configuration. o Messages with configurations for the UE can be sent from the MN, from the SN, or from both the MN and the SN. o Messages to the UE can be sent from the MN, from the SN, or from both the MN and the SN. o All considerations listed under the UE embodiment regarding the indication of where the UE should send reports apply equally to the MN, even if not listed under the MN embodiment.

[0105] Step 808: Optionally, if the MN is (explicitly, implicitly, or derivably) configured to receive QoE reports, the network node receives QoE reports from the UE. o Messages containing QoE reports can be, for example, MeasurementReportAppLayer messages sent on SRB4.

[0106] Step 810: Optionally, if the MN is (explicitly, implicitly, or derivably) configured to receive RVQoE reports, the network node receives RVQoE reports from the UE. o Messages containing RVQoE reports can be, for example, MeasurementReportAppLayer messages sent on SRB4. o If the MN is (explicitly, implicitly, or derivably) configured to receive both QoE reports and RVQoE reports, the QoE reports and RVQoE reports can be received in the same message (e.g., MeasurementReportAppLayer message) or different messages (e.g., two separate MeasurementReportAppLayer messages).

[0107] Step 812, Optionally, if another node for the SN configured for the UE is (explicitly, implicitly, or derivably) configured to receive QoE reports and if the method for delivering QoE reports from the UE to the SN is via MN forwarding, the network node forwards the received QoE reports to the other node configured as the SN. o QoE reports can be forwarded to the SN as information elements at the XnAP level in XnAP messages. o Alternatively, MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC messages containing QoE reports can be carried to the SN in RRCTRANSFER XnAP messages. In this case, as an option, the MN may have received a MeasurementReportAppLayerRRC message containing a QoE report encapsulated in a ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message.

[0108] Step 814: Optionally, if another node (explicitly, implicitly, or derivably) configured for the SN of the UE is configured to receive the RVQoE report and if the method for delivering the RVQoE report from the UE to the SN is via MN forwarding, the network node forwards the received RVQoE report to another node configured as the SN. o The RVQoE report can be forwarded to the SN as an information element at the XnAP level in an XnAP message. o Alternatively, the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message containing the RVQoE report can be carried to the SN in the RRCTRANSFER XnAP message. In this case, as an option, the MN may have received the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message containing the RVQoE report encapsulated in the ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message. 3.1.3 Embodiments for the SN

[0109] Figure 9 The operation of a network node configured as a secondary node (SN) for a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure for QoE measurement configuration and reporting is shown. As shown, Figure 9 The process includes the following steps:

[0110] Step 900: Optionally, the network node determines to configure QoE measurement and / or RVQoE measurement for the UE.

[0111] Step 902: Optionally, additionally, or alternatively, the network node receives a request for QoE measurement configuration and / or a request for RVQoE measurement configuration from the primary node (MN) of the UE. o The request can be included, for example, in an S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST or S-NODEMODIFICATIONREQUEST message or in a new message (e.g., a new message dedicated to QoE / RVQoE coordination aspects for QoE / RVQoE configuration and / or reporting between the MN and the SN, such as a QOE CONFIGURATION REQUEST XnAP message, etc.). In the case of management-based QoE and RVQoE configuration, existing or newly defined non-UE associated messages can be used, which contain information and instructions related to more than one UE. o The initiation of QoE measurement and RVQoE measurement can be implemented by the MN or the SN or both nodes and can be implemented using any combination of which node initiates which type of measurement.

[0112] Step 904 : Optionally (if the above request for the configuration of QoE measurement and / or the request for the configuration of RVQoE measurement is received from the MN), the network node sends a response to the request for the configuration of QoE measurement and / or a response to the request for the configuration of RVQoE measurement to the MN, where the response contains the requested configuration of QoE measurement and / or the requested configuration of RVQoE measurement. o This response can be included, for example, in the S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE or S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message, or included in a new message (e.g., a new message dedicated to the QoE / RVQoE coordination aspect for QoE / RVQoE configuration and / or reporting between the MN and the SN, such as the QOE CONFIGURATION RESPONSE XnAP message, etc.). In the case of management-based QoE and RVQoE configuration, existing or newly defined non-UE associated messages can be used, which contain information and instructions related to more than one UE. o If both the QoE configuration and the RVQoE configuration are sent to the MN, they can optionally be included in the same message, or as another option included in two separate messages (e.g., if the request for the QoE configuration and the request for the RVQoE configuration are received in two separate messages from the MN).

[0113] Step 906: Optionally, the network node transmits a request to configure QoE measurement or RVQoE measurement to the MN. o This request can be included, for example, in the S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUIRED message, or included in a new message (e.g., a new message dedicated to the QoE / RVQoE coordination aspect for QoE / RVQoE configuration and / or reporting between the MN and the SN, such as the QOE CONFIGURATION REQUIRED XnAP message, etc.). In the case of management-based QoE and RVQoE configuration, existing or newly defined non-UE associated messages can be used, which contain information and instructions related to more than one UE.

[0114] Step 908:Optionally, the network node transmits one or more messages, such as RRCReconfiguration, to the UE, and the (multiple) messages include the configuration of QoE measurement and the configuration of RVQoE measurement, and include an indication of the network node to which the UE shall send the QoE and / or RVQoE reports respectively. The indication of the o node can be an explicit or implicit indication. · An example of an explicit indication is an indication of a network node such as an MN or an SN, or in another option, an indication of the SRB that the UE shall use to send the report. · An implicit indication can be, for example, the configuration of a certain SRB linked to the configuration of QoE or RVQoE measurement. It can also depend on which part of the RRC message the configuration is included in. If the configuration is included in the MN part of the message, the UE shall send the report to the MN, while if the configuration is included in the SN part of the message, the UE shall send the report to the SN. · Alternatively, the indication can be an indication that the UE sends the QoE report and / or RVQoE report to the node carrying the session in the application layer respectively. · For further examples of explicit or implicit indications, see the above UE embodiments. The indication of the network node to which the UE shall send the QoE report and the RVQoE report respectively can be the same node for the QoE report and the RVQoE report, or can be different nodes for the QoE report and the RVQoE report. The configuration of QoE measurement and the configuration of RVQoE measurement can be done in the same message or different messages. The configuration of the indication of which node the UE shall transmit the report to can be sent together with the QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration, or can be sent separately from the measurement configuration. The message to the UE can be sent from the MN, from the SN, or from both the MN and the SN. All considerations related to the indication of where the UE shall send the report listed in the UE embodiments also apply to the MN, even if not listed in the MN embodiments.

[0115] Step 910 : If the SN is (explicitly, implicitly, or derivably) configured to receive the QoE report, the network node receives the QoE report from the UE. o The message containing the QoE report can be, for example, a MeasurementReportAppLayer message sent on SRB3 or a newly configured SRB5 for the SN. Alternatively, the message can be a ULInformationTransferMRDC message with an embedded MeasurementReportAppLayer message, which is sent to the SN via the MN on SRB4. That is, the MN receives the ULInformationTransferMRDC message on SRB4, extracts the MeasurementReportAppLayer message from the ULInformationTransferMRDC message, and encapsulates it in an RRCTRANSFERXnAP message and sends it to the SN.

[0116] Step 912: If the SN is configured (explicitly, implicitly, or derivably) to receive QoE reports, the network node receives the RVQoE report from the UE. o The message containing the QoE report can be, for example, a MeasurementReportAppLayer message sent on SRB3 or a newly configured SRB5 for the SN. Or, the message can be a ULInformationTransferMRDC message with an embedded MeasurementReportAppLayer message, which is sent to the SN via the MN on SRB4. That is, the MN receives the ULInformationTransferMRDC message on SRB4, extracts the MeasurementReportAppLayer message from the ULInformationTransferMRDC message, and encapsulates it in an RRCTRANSFERXnAP message and sends it to the SN. 3.1.4 Special Case for m-based QoE Configuration

[0117] When both the MN and the SN receive the same m-based QoE configuration, configure the UE for QoE measurement and measurement reporting: - In one embodiment, the nodes (e.g., the MN and the SN) decide by coordination which node should configure the UE for these QoE measurements. In one embodiment, the UE is allowed to send the QoE report to either node. - In one embodiment, provide an indication to the UE (e.g., from the MN and / or the SN) that the received QoE configuration is the same for both the MN and the SN. o For example, the one that is configured for QoE measurement, or o - The one that has not configured the UE for these QoE measurements - In one embodiment, when performing inter-node communication, a node that is not configured for QoE measurement (e.g., MN or SN) can be enabled to configure the UE for RVQoE measurement. o As an option, the MN configures the UE for QoE measurement and indicates to the SN to configure the UE for RVQoE measurement. o Another option is that the SN configures the UE for QoE measurement and indicates to the MN to configure the UE for RVQoE measurement. - In one embodiment, a node that has not configured the UE for QoE and / or RVQoE measurement is enabled by a node that receives, for example, QoE and / or RVQoE measurement reports via some indication. 3.2 Example implementation

[0118] 3.2.1 Example of QoE / RVQoE reporting behavior of the UE being controlled by QoE / RVQoE configuration

[0119] An example implementation of how the UE is configured to send QoE and RVQoE reports in 3GPP TS 38.331 can look like this (using the AppLayerMeasConfig IE definition in Section 6.3.4 of 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.2.0 as the baseline): - The AppLayerMeasConfig IE AppLayerMeasConfig indicates the configuration of application layer measurements. AppLayerMeasConfig information element 3.2.2 Example of QoE / RVQoE reporting behavior of the UE being generally controlled for all QoE / RVQoE configurations

[0120] The following is an example implementation of the configuration of the QoE / RVQoE reporting behavior of a UE using the AppLayerMeasConfig IE definition in Section 6.3.4 of 3GPP TS 38.331, version 17.2.0 of 3GPP TS 38.331 as the baseline. In this example, the reporting behavior of the UE regarding to which node to transmit the QoE / RVQoE report is commonly controlled for all QoE configurations (i.e., applicable to all QoE configurations) and is commonly controlled for all RVQoE configurations (i.e., applicable to all RVQoE configurations). - The AppLayerMeasConfig IE, AppLayerMeasConfig, indicates the configuration of the application layer measurement. AppLayerMeasConfig information element 4. Other descriptions

[0121] Figure 10 An example of a communication system 1000 according to some embodiments is shown.

[0122] In this example, the communication system 1000 includes a telecommunication network 1002, which includes an access network 104 (such as a radio access network (RAN)) and a core network 106. The core network 1006 includes one or more core network nodes 1008. The access network 104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1010A and 1010B (one or more of them can generally be referred to as network node 1010), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network node 1010 facilitates the direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as connecting UE 1012A, UE 1012B, UE 1012C, and UE 1012D (one or more of them can generally be referred to as UE 1012) to the core network 1006 through one or more wireless connections.

[0123] Example wireless communications via a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without using wires, cables, or other material conductors. Additionally, in different embodiments, the communication system 1000 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1000 may include and / or interface with any type of communication network, telecommunications network, data network, cellular network, radio network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0124] UE 1012 can be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 1010 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 1010 is arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 1012 and / or with other network nodes or devices in the telecommunications network 1002 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as management in the telecommunications network 1002.

[0125] In the depicted example, the core network 1006 connects network node 1010 to one or more hosts, such as host 1016. These connections can be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node can be directly coupled to the host. The core network 1006 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1008) constructed with hardware components and software components. The characteristics of these components can be substantially similar to those described with respect to UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the description generally applies to the corresponding components of core network node 1008. Example core network nodes include the functions of one or more of 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-confliction function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection proxy (SEPP), a network exposure function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF).

[0126] The host 1016 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network 1004 and / or the telecommunications network 1002, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1016 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 (such as retrieving and compiling data on various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analysis 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.

[0127] As a whole, Figure 10 the communication system 1000 enables connections between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system may 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-generation, third-generation, fourth-generation, fifth-generation (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) standards or any applicable next-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 standards (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards, such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0128] In some examples, the telecommunications network 1002 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Thus, the telecommunications network 1002 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunications network 1002. For example, the telecommunications network 102 may provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or providing massive machine-type communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (IoT) services to additional UEs.

[0129] In some examples, the UE 1012 is configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1004 at a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the access network 1004. Additionally, the UE may be configured to operate in single or multi-radio access technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e., be configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR-dual connectivity (EN-DC).

[0130] In this example, the hub 1014 communicates with the access network 1004 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1012C and / or UE 1012D) and a network node (e.g., network node 1010B). In some examples, the hub 1014 may be a controller, router, content source and analyzer, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 1014 may be a broadband router that allows the UE to access the core network 1006. As another example, the hub 114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The commands or instructions may be received from the UE, network node 1010, or via executable code, scripts, procedures, or other instructions in the hub 1014. As another example, the hub 1014 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 1014 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 1014 may retrieve VR assets, videos, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via the network node, and then the hub 1014 directly provides the VR assets, videos, audio, or other media or data to the UE after performing local processing and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 1014 acts as a proxy server or coordinator for the UE, particularly in the case where one or more UEs are low-power IoT devices.

[0131] The hub 1014 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1010B. The hub 1014 may also allow for different communication schemes and / or scheduling between the hub 1014 and the UEs (e.g., UE 1012C and / or UE 1012D) and between the hub 1014 and the core network 1006. In other examples, the hub 1014 is connected to the core network 1006 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Additionally, the hub 1014 may be configured to be connected to an M2M service provider via the access network 104 and / or to another UE via a direct connection. In some scenarios, a UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 110 while still being connected via the hub 1014 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1014 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., its main function is to route communications to / from the UEs to / from the network node 1010B. In other embodiments, the hub 1014 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 1010B, but which is also capable of operating as a communication origin and / or destination for certain data channels.

[0132] Figure 11 A UE 1100 is shown in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, IP voice (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premise equipment (CPE), in-vehicle or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communication (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0133] A UE may support device - to - device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, dedicated short - range communication (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 relevant device. Instead, 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 specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) or may not initially be associated with a specific human user. 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 a user (e.g., a smart meter) or operate for the benefit of a user.

[0134] UE 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102, which is operably coupled via a bus 1104 to an input / output interface 1106, a power supply 1108, a memory 1110, a communication interface 1112, and / or any other components or any combination thereof. Some UEs may utilize Figure 11 all or a subset of the components shown. The level of integration between components can vary from one UE to another. Additionally, some UEs may contain multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0135] The processing circuitry 1102 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored as a machine - readable computer program in the memory 1110. The processing circuitry 1102 may be implemented as one or more hardware - implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, a field - programmable gate array (FPGA), an application - specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.); programmable logic along with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, a general - purpose processor (such as a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP)) along with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1102 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0136] In this example, the input / output interface 1106 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, other output devices, or any combination thereof. Input devices can allow a user to capture information into the UE 1100. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, direction pads, touchpads, rollers, smart cards, etc. A presence-sensitive display can include capacitive or resistive touch sensors to sense input from a user. Sensors can be, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt sensors, force sensors, magnetometers, optical sensors, proximity sensors, biometric sensors, etc., or any combination thereof. Output devices can use the same type of interface port as input devices. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port can be used to provide both input and output devices.

[0137] In some embodiments, the power supply 1108 is configured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies can be used, such as external power supplies (e.g., power outlets), photovoltaic devices, or batteries. The power supply 1108 can also include a power circuit for delivering power from the power supply 208 itself and / or an external power supply to various parts of the UE 1100 via an input circuit or an interface such as a power cable. Delivering power can be, for example, for charging the power supply 1108. The power circuit can perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification of the power from the power supply 1108 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components of the UE 1100 to which it is supplied.

[0138] The memory 1110 can be or can be configured to include memories such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, etc. In one example, the memory 1110 includes one or more applications 1114 (such as an operating system, a web browser application, widgets, gadget engines, or other applications) and corresponding data 1116. The memory 1110 can store any one or combination of various operating systems for use by the UE 1100.

[0139] Memory 1110 may be configured to include a plurality of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drives, external hard disk drives, thumb drives, pen drives, key drives, High Definition Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) disc drives, internal hard disk drives, Blu-ray disc drives, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) disc drives, external micro Dual In-line Memory Modules (DIMMs), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory (such as a tamper-resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as USIM and / or ISIM), other memories, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an Embedded UICC (eUICC), an Integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card". Memory 1110 may allow the UE 1100 to access instructions, applications, etc. stored on a transient memory medium or a non-transient memory medium to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture such as a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in memory 1110, and memory 1110 may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0140] Processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using communication interface 1112. Communication interface 1112 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to antenna 1122. Communication interface 1112 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 a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1118 and / or a receiver 1120 adapted to provide network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). Additionally, transmitter 1118 and receiver 1120 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1122) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0141] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication interface 1112 can include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. The communication can be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0142] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE can provide an output of the data captured by its sensors via a wireless connection to a network node through its communication interface 1112. The data captured by the sensors of the UE can be communicated to the network node via another UE through a wireless connection. The output can be periodic (e.g., every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reports from several sensors), in response to a trigger event (e.g., sending an alert when moisture is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a real-time video feed of a patient).

[0143] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, a motor, or a switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch can change. For example, the UE can include a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input, or adjusts a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0144] When in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, the UE can be a device for use in one or more application domains, including but not limited to urban wearable technologies, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are devices or devices embedded in the following: connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting devices, electricity meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / moisture sensors, electric door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems (such as heat pumps), autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smartwatches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearable devices for tactile or sensory augmentation, sprinklers, animal or item tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any kind of medical device (such as a heart rate monitor or a remotely controlled surgical robot). In addition to the other components described with respect to Figure 11 the UE 1100 shown, the UE in the form of an IoT device also includes circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0145] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, the UE can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or network node. In this case, the UE can be an M2M device, which can be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, the UE can implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE can represent a means of transportation, such as a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane, or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating state or other functions associated with its operation.

[0146] In fact, any number of UEs can be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE can be a drone or integrated in a drone and provide the speed information of the drone (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller for operating the drone. When the user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE can adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first UE and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the above functions. For example, the UE can include sensors and actuators and process the data communication of both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0147] Figure 12FIG. 1200 shows a network node according to some embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), and NR Node B (gNB)).

[0148] Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or in other words, their transmission power levels), and thus depending on the amount of coverage provided, base stations can be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node can also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit can be integrated with an antenna to form an antenna integrated radio or can be not integrated with an antenna to form an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station can also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0149] Other examples of network nodes include multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) devices such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), operation and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operation support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or minimized drive test (MDT).

[0150] The network node 1200 includes a processing circuit 1202, a memory 1204, a communication interface 1206, and a power supply 1208. The network node 1200 can be composed of multiple physically separated components (such as a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), and each component can have its own components. In some scenarios where the network node 1200 includes multiple separated components (such as a BTS component and a BSC component), one or more of the separated components can be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC can control multiple Node Bs. In such scenarios, each unique pair of Node B and RNC can be considered as a single separated network node in some instances. In some embodiments, the network node 1200 can be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components (such as separate memories 1204 for different RATs) can be replicated, and some components (such as the same antenna 1210 can be shared by different RATs) can be reused. The network node 1200 can also include multiple sets of various shown components for different wireless technologies integrated into the network node 1200 (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies). These wireless technologies can be integrated into the same or different chips or chip sets and other components within the network node 1200.

[0151] The processing circuit 1202 can include one or more combinations of a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or a combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, which can operate alone or in combination with other components of the network node 1200 (such as the memory 1204) to provide the functions of the network node 1200.

[0152] In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1202 includes a system-on-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1202 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 1212 and a baseband processing circuit 1214. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 1212 and the baseband processing circuit 1214 can be on separate chips (or chip sets), boards, or units (such as a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 1212 and the baseband processing circuit 1214 can be on the same chip or chip set, board, or unit.

[0153] The memory 1204 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to persistent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely installed memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disks), removable storage media (e.g., flash drives, compact discs (CDs) or digital video discs (DVDs)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuitry 1202. The memory 2104 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuitry 1202 and utilized by the network node 1200. The memory 1204 may be used to store any computations performed by the processing circuitry 1202 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1206. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 and the memory 1204 are integrated.

[0154] The communication interface 1206 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between the network node, the access network, and / or the UE. As shown, the communication interface 1206 includes ports / terminals 1216 for sending data to and receiving data from the network, for example, via a wired connection. The communication interface 1206 also includes a radio front-end circuit 1218, which may be coupled to the antenna 1210 or, in certain embodiments, to a portion of the antenna 1210. The radio front-end circuit 1218 includes a filter 1220 and an amplifier 1222. The radio front-end circuit 1218 may be connected to the antenna 1210 and the processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuit may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 1210 and the processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuit 1218 may receive digital data to be transmitted to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1218 may convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filter 1220 and / or the amplifier 1222. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1210. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1210 may collect radio signals, which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuit 1218. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1202. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0155] In a particular alternative embodiment, the network node 1200 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit 1218. Instead, the processing circuit 1202 includes the radio front-end circuit and is connected to the antenna 1210. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 1212 is part of the communication interface 1206. In other embodiments, the communication interface 1206 includes one or more ports or terminals 1216, a radio front-end circuit 1218, and an RF transceiver circuit 1212 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1206 communicates with a baseband processing circuit 1214 as part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0156] The antenna 1210 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1210 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuit 1218 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In a particular embodiment, the antenna 1210 is separate from the network node 1200 and may be connected to the network node 1200 via an interface or port.

[0157] The antenna 1210, the communication interface 1206, and / or the processing circuit 1202 may be configured to perform any of the receiving operations and / or specific acquisition operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, the antenna 1210, the communication interface 1206, and / or the processing circuit 1202 may be configured to perform any of the transmission operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be sent to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0158] The power supply 1208 provides power to the various components of the network node 1200 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required for each respective component). The power supply 1208 may also include or be coupled to a power management circuit to power the components of the network node 1200 to perform the functions described herein. For example, the network node 1200 may be connected to an external power supply (e.g., a power grid, a power outlet) via an input circuit or an interface such as a cable, and the external power supply powers the power supply circuit of the power supply 1208. As another example, the power supply 1208 may include a power supply in the form of a battery or battery pack, which is connected to or integrated in the power supply circuit. The battery may provide backup power in the event of a failure of the external power supply.

[0159] Embodiments of the network node 1200 may include additional components in addition to those shown in FIG. 112 for providing functions of specific aspects of the network node, including any functions described herein and / or any functions necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1200 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 1200 and to allow information to be output from the network node 1200. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions of the network node 1200.

[0160] Figure 13 is a block diagram of a host 1300 according to various aspects described herein, and the host 1300 may be Figure 10 an embodiment of the host 1016. As used herein, the host 1300 may be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software, including stand-alone servers, blade servers, cloud-implemented servers, distributed servers, virtual machines, containers, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1300 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0161] The host 1300 includes a processing circuit 1302 that is operably coupled via a bus 1304 to an input / output interface 1306, a network interface 1308, a power supply 1310, and a memory 1312. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The characteristics of these components may be substantially similar to those described for the devices in the previous figures (such as Figure 11 and Figure 12 ) such that their description generally applies to the corresponding components of the host 1300.

[0162] The memory 1312 may include one or more computer programs, which include one or more host applications 1314 and data 1316. The data 1316 may include user data, for example, data generated by the UE for the host 1300 or data generated by the host 1300 for the UE. Embodiments of the host 1300 may utilize only a subset or all of the illustrated components. The host application 1314 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), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different categories, types, or implementations of the UE (e.g., mobile phone, desktop computer, wearable display system, head-up display system). The host application 1314 may also provide user authentication and license checking and may periodically report health, routing, and content availability to a central node (such as a device in or on the edge of the core network). Thus, the host 1300 may select and / or indicate different hosts for the over-the-top services of the UE. The main application 1314 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), HTTP Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0163] Figure 14 FIG. is a block diagram showing a virtualization environment 1400 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or equipment, which may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to any device or its components described herein and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functions are implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs), which are implemented in one or more virtualization environments 1400 hosted by one or more hardware nodes, such as hardware computing devices operating as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hosts. Additionally, in embodiments where the virtual node does not require a radio connection (e.g., a core network node or a host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0164] The application 1402 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, virtual appliance, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) runs in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein.

[0165] Hardware 1404 includes processing circuitry, a memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interfaces, and the like. The software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1406 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), provide VMs 1408A and VM 1408B (one or more of which may generally be referred to as VM 1408), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1406 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like the networked hardware of VM 1408.

[0166] VM 1408 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by the corresponding virtualization layer 1406. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device 1402 may be implemented on one or more VMs 1408 and may be implemented in different ways. Virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) in some contexts. NFV may be used to consolidate many network device types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that may be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0167] In the context of NFV, VM 1408 may be a software implementation of a physical machine running programs as if they were executing on a physical non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1408 and that portion of the hardware 1404 that executes that VM (which is the hardware dedicated to that VM and / or shared by that VM with other VMs in the VMs) form separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, the virtual network functions are responsible for handling the specific network functions that run in one or more of the VMs 1408 above the hardware 1404 and correspond to the application 1402.

[0168] Hardware 1404 may be implemented in an independent network node with general or specific components. Hardware 1404 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1404 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and coordination 1410, and management and coordination 1410 particularly supervises the lifecycle management of application 1402. In some embodiments, hardware 1404 is coupled to one or more radio units, and each radio unit includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more suitable network interfaces, and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio-capable virtual nodes, such as radio access nodes or base stations. In some embodiments, a control system 1412 may be used to provide some signaling, and control system 1412 may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0169] Figure 15 A communication diagram of host 1502 communicating with UE 1506 via a network node 1504 through a partial wireless connection according to some embodiments is shown. According to various embodiments, reference will now be made to Figure 15 describing examples of the UEs (such as Figure 10 UE 1012A and / or Figure 11 UE 1100) discussed in the previous paragraphs, network nodes (such as Figure 10 network node 1010A and / or Figure 12 network node 1200) and hosts (such as Figure 10 host 1016 and / or Figure 13 host 1300) of the implementation.

[0170] Similar to host 1300, embodiments of host 1502 include hardware such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. Host 1502 also includes software stored in or accessible by host 1502 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application operable to provide services to remote users, such as UE 1506 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1550 extending between UE 1506 and host 1502. When providing services to remote users, the host application may provide user data transmitted using OTT connection 650.

[0171] Network node 1504 includes hardware that enables it to communicate with host 1502 and UE 1506. Connection 1560 may be direct or through a core network (such as Figure 10a core network 1006) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public networks, private networks, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network can be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0172] The UE 1506 includes hardware and software that is stored in or accessible by the UE 1506 and executable by the UE processing circuitry. The software includes client applications, such as a web browser or a carrier-specific "app", that are operable to provide services to a human or non-human user with the support of the host 1502 via the UE 1506. In the host 1502, the execution of the host application can communicate with the execution of the client application via the OTT connection 1550 that is terminated at the UE 1506 and the host 1502. When providing services to a 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 1550 can transport both the request data and the user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application via the OTT connection 650.

[0173] The OTT connection 1550 can extend via the connection 1560 between the host 1502 and the network node 1504 and via the wireless connection 1570 between the network node 1504 and the UE 1506 to provide a connection between the host 1502 and the UE 1506. The connection 1560 and the wireless connection 1570 through which the OTT connection 1550 can be provided have been drawn abstractly to show the communication between the host 1502 and the UE 1506 via the network node 1504 without explicitly referring to any intermediate devices and the exact routing of the messages via these devices.

[0174] As an example of data transmission via an OTT connection 1550, in step 1508, the host 1502 provides user data, which can be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with the UE 1506. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with the UE 1506, and the UE 1506 shares data with the host 1502 without explicit human interaction. In step 1510, the host 1502 initiates the transmission of the user data carried to the UE 1506. The host 1502 can initiate the transmission in response to a request transmitted by the UE 1506. The request can be caused by a human interaction with the UE 1506 or by an operation of a client application executed on the UE 1506. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission can be relayed via the network node 1504. Thus, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, in step 1512, the network node 1504 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host 1502 to the UE 1506. In step 1514, the UE 1506 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which can be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1506, and the client application is associated with the host application executed by the host 1502.

[0175] In some examples, the UE 1506 executes a client application that provides user data to the host 1502. The user data can be provided as a reaction or response to the data received from the host 1502. Thus, in step 1516, the UE 1506 can provide user data, which can be performed by executing the client application. When providing the user data, the client application can also consider user input received from the user via the input / output interface of the UE 1506. Regardless of the specific manner of providing the user data, the UE 1506 initiates the transmission of the user data to the host 1502 via the network node 1504 in step 1518. In step 1520, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1504 receives the user data from the UE 1506 and initiates the transmission of the received user data to the host 1502. In step 1522, the host 1502 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1506.

[0176] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 1506 using the OTT connection 1550, where the wireless connection 1570 forms the last leg.

[0177] In an example scenario, the host 1502 can collect and analyze factory status information. As another example, the host 1502 can process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from a UE for map creation. As another example, the host 1502 can collect and analyze real-time data to help control vehicle congestion (e.g., control traffic lights). As another example, the host 1502 can store surveillance videos uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1502 can store or control access to media content (such as video, audio, VR, or AR that it can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to a UE). As other examples, the host 1502 can be used for energy pricing, remotely controlling non-time-critical electrical loads to balance power generation demand, location services, rendering services (such as compiling maps from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0178] In some examples, a measurement process can be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors that improve for one or more embodiments. In response to a change in the measurement results, there can also be optional network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1550 between the host 1502 and the UE 1506. The measurement process and / or network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection can be implemented in the software and hardware of the host 1502 and / or the UE 1506. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) can be deployed in or associated with other devices through which the OTT connection 1550 passes; the sensors can participate in the measurement process by providing values of the monitored quantities illustrated above, or by providing values of other physical quantities from which the monitored quantities can be calculated or estimated by software. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1550 can include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguration does not need to directly change the operation of the network node 1504. Such processes and functions can be known and practiced in the art. In a particular embodiment, the measurement can involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the host 1502's measurement of throughput, propagation time, equalization latency, etc. The measurement can be implemented because the software enables the transmission of messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, using the OTT connection 1550 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0179] Although the computing devices (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) described herein may include a combination of the hardware components shown, other embodiments may include computing devices having different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, obtaining, 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 information stored in a network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information and making a determination as a result of the processing. Further, although a component is depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in fact, a computing device may include a plurality of different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and the functionality may be divided among separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality 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, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0180] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in a memory, and in some embodiments, the instructions may be in the form of a computer program product on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by a processing circuit without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether or not instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functions. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to a separate processing circuit or other components of a computing device, but are generally enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or by an end user and a wireless network.

[0181] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows: Group A embodiments

[0182] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a user equipment UE, comprising one or more of the following: - Receiving (700A, 700B-1) one or more messages from one or more network nodes, the one or more messages including one or more quality of experience QoE configurations and one or more radio access network RAN visible QoE RVQoE configurations; - For each QoE configuration or generally for the one or more QoE configurations, receive (700A) an indication indicating the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent, or determine (700B-2) the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent; - For each RVQoE configuration or generally for the one or more RVQoE configurations, receive (700A) an indication indicating the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent, or determine (700B-2) the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent; - Perform (702) QoE measurements and / or RVQoE measurements according to one or more QoE configurations and / or one or more RVQoE configurations; - For each QoE report among the one or more QoE reports including the results of QoE measurements, transmit (704-1) the QoE report to the network node indicated or determined to which the QoE report is to be sent; and - For each RVQoE report among the one or more RVQoE reports including the results of QoE measurements, transmit (704-2) the RVQoE report to the network node indicated or determined to which the QoE report is to be sent.

[0183] Example 2: The method according to Example 1, wherein the network node to which the QoE report for at least one QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations is to be sent is different from the network node to which the RVQoE report for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations is to be sent.

[0184] Example 3: The method according to Example 1 or 2, including: for each QoE configuration, receive (700A) an indication indicating the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent.

[0185] Example 4: The method according to Example 3, wherein for each QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations, the indication indicating the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent is included in the QoE configuration or in the (multiple) messages containing the QoE configuration.

[0186] Example 5: The method according to Example 1 or 2, including: generally for all QoE configurations among the one or more QoE configurations, receive (700A) an indication indicating the common network node to which the QoE reports are to be sent.

[0187] Example 6: The method according to Example 5, wherein an indication of a public network node to which a QoE report is to be sent is included in at least one QoE configuration of one or more QoE configurations, or is included in a (plural) message containing at least one QoE configuration of one or more QoE configurations.

[0188] Example 7: The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 6, including: for each RV QoE configuration, receiving (700A) an indication of a network node to which a corresponding RV QoE report is to be sent.

[0189] Example 8: The method according to Example 7, wherein for each RV QoE configuration among one or more RV QoE configurations, an indication of a network node to which a corresponding RV QoE report is to be sent is included in the RV QoE configuration or is included in a (plural) message containing the RV QoE configuration.

[0190] Example 9: The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 6, including: generally for all RV QoE configurations among one or more RV QoE configurations, receiving (700A) an indication of a public network node to which a corresponding RV QoE report is to be sent.

[0191] Example 10: The method according to Example 9, wherein an indication of a public network node to which an RV QoE report is to be sent is included in at least one RV QoE configuration of one or more RV QoE configurations or is included in a (plural) message containing at least one RV QoE configuration of one or more RV QoE configurations.

[0192] Example 11: The method according to any one of Examples 3 to 10, wherein each indication is any one of the following: - An indication of a network node (e.g., MN, SN), - An indication to send a report to a node carrying a (plural) data stream of an application session to which the report belongs; - An indication of a cell group (e.g., MCG, SCG); - An indication of an SRB on which transmission is to be performed (e.g., SRB4 means MN, and SRB5 means SN); - An indication that a MeasurementReportAppLayer message containing a specific report type should be included in a message (e.g., a ULInformationTransferMRDC RRC message) for encapsulating a message to be forwarded from MN to SN (or from SN to MN); - The absence of an indication can be an implicit indication that the report should be sent to the node of the sending configuration; - There is no implicit indication that can indicate the node(s) to which the report should be sent to handle the (multiple) DRBs of the (multiple) data flows carrying the application session to which the report belongs; - There is no implicit indication that can indicate that the UE can autonomously decide to which node to send the report.

[0193] Example 12: The method according to Example 1 or 2, including: for each QoE configuration, determining (700B-2) the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent.

[0194] Example 13: The method according to Example 1 or 2, including: generally for all QoE configurations in one or more QoE configurations, determining (700B-2) the common network node to which the QoE report is to be sent.

[0195] Example 14: The method according to Example 1, 2, 12 or 13, including: for each RVQoE configuration, determining (700B-2) the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

[0196] Example 15: The method according to Example 1, 2, 12 or 13, including: generally for all RVQoE configurations in one or more RVQoE configurations, determining (700B-2) the common network node to which the RVQoE report is to be sent.

[0197] Example 16: The method according to any one of the foregoing examples, further including: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via transmission to a network node. Group B embodiments

[0198] Example 17: A method performed by a first network node (e.g., MN), the method including one or more of the following: - Sending (806) one or more messages to a user equipment (UE), the one or more messages including one or more quality of experience QoE configurations and / or one or more radio access network RAN visible QoE RVQoE configurations, and: o For each QoE configuration or generally for one or more QoE configurations, an indication indicating the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent; o For each RVQoE configuration or generally for one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication indicating the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

[0199] Example 18: The method according to Example 17, wherein a network node to which a QoE report for at least one QoE configuration among one or more QoE configurations is to be sent is different from a network node to which an RVQoE report for at least one RVQoE configuration among one or more RVQoE configurations is to be sent.

[0200] Example 19: A method performed by a second network node (e.g., SN), the method comprising one or more of the following: - receiving (910) from a user equipment (UE) one or more messages, the one or more messages including one or more QoE reports associated with one or more quality of experience QoE configurations and / or one or more RVQoE reports associated with one or more radio access network RAN visible QoE RVQoE configurations, wherein: o for each QoE configuration or generally for one or more QoE configurations, the UE is configured or determines a network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent; o for each RVQoE configuration or generally for one or more RVQoE configurations, the UE is configured or determines a network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

[0201] Example 20: The method according to Example 19, wherein a network node to which a QoE report for at least one QoE configuration among one or more QoE configurations is to be sent is different from a network node to which an RVQoE report for at least one RVQoE configuration among one or more RVQoE configurations is to be sent.

[0202] Example 21: The method according to any one of the preceding examples, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment. Group C embodiments

[0203] Example 22: 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 supply power to the processing circuit.

[0204] Example 23: A 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.

[0205] Example 24: A user equipment (UE) includes: an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a radio front-end circuit connected to the antenna and a processing circuit and configured to condition signals transmitted between the antenna and the processing circuit; a processing circuit configured to perform any step of any embodiment in Group A of embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to allow information to be input into the UE for processing by the processing circuit; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output from the UE information that has been processed by the processing circuit; and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to power the UE.

[0206] Example 25: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host includes: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), where 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 of embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0207] Example 26: The host according to the preceding embodiment, where the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0208] Example 27: The host according to the two preceding embodiments, where: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executed on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0209] Example 28: A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method includes: providing user data for the UE; and initiating transmission of the user data-bearing to the UE via a cellular network including the network node, where the UE performs any operation of any embodiment in Group A of embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0210] Example 29: The method according to the preceding embodiment, further includes: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executed on the UE to receive user data from the UE.

[0211] Example 30: The method according to the preceding embodiment, further includes: at the host, transmitting input data to a client application executed on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, where the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0212] Example 31: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises 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 of embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0213] Example 32: The host according to the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

[0214] Example 33: The host according to the previous two embodiments, wherein: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executed on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0215] Example 34: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted from the UE to the host via the network node, wherein the UE performs any step of any embodiment in Group A of embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0216] Example 35: The method according to the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executed on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0217] Example 36: The method according to the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to a client application executed on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0218] Example 37: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the network node is configured to perform any operation of any embodiment in Group B of embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0219] Example 38: A host according to the foregoing example, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides user data; and the UE includes processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive a transmission of the user data from the host.

[0220] Example 39: A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission of the user data to the UE via a cellular network that includes the network node, wherein the network node performs any operation of any example of Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0221] Example 40: The method according to the foregoing example, further comprising: at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0222] Example 41: The method according to any one of the foregoing two examples, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executed on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0223] Example 42: A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system including a host that includes: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate a transmission of the user data to a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node being configured to perform any operation of any example of Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0224] Example 43: The communication system according to the foregoing example, further comprising: a network node; and / or a user equipment.

[0225] Example 44: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host including: processing circuitry configured to initiate reception of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node being configured to perform any operation of any example of Group B embodiments to receive the user data for the host from a user equipment (UE).

[0226] Example 45: A host according to the two preceding embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on a UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0227] Example 46: A host according to any one of the two preceding embodiments, wherein initiating reception of user data includes requesting the user data.

[0228] Example 47: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes 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 that the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any step of any of the embodiments of Group B to receive user data for the host from the UE.

[0229] Example 48: The method according to the preceding embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

[0230] 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, comprising: receiving (700A, 700B-1) one or more messages from one or more network nodes, the one or more messages comprising one or more quality of experience QoE configurations and one or more radio access network RAN visible QoE RVQoE configurations; receiving (700A), for each QoE configuration or generally for the one or more QoE configurations, an indication indicating the network node to which a corresponding QoE report is to be sent; receiving (700A), for each RVQoE configuration or generally for the one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication indicating the network node to which a corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent; performing (702) QoE measurements and RVQoE measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations and the one or more RVQoE configurations; transmitting (704-1) each QoE report among the one or more QoE reports comprising the results of the QoE measurements to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent; and transmitting (704-2) each RVQoE report among the one or more RVQoE reports comprising the results of the QoE measurements to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network node to which a QoE report for at least one QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations is to be sent is different from the network node to which the RVQoE report for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations is to be sent.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: receiving (700A), for each QoE configuration, an indication indicating the network node to which a corresponding QoE report is to be sent.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein for each QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations, the indication indicating the network node to which a corresponding QoE report is to be sent is included in the QoE configuration or in a (plurality of) message(s) capable of containing the QoE configuration.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein for at least one QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations, the indication indicating the network node to which a corresponding QoE report is to be sent is an indication of a signaling radio bearer SRB, and the corresponding QoE report is transmitted on the SRB.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: receiving (700A), for each RVQoE configuration, an indication indicating the network node to which a corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein for each of the one or more RVQoE configurations, the indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent is included in the RVQoE configuration or in the message(s) containing the RVQoE configuration.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein for at least one of the one or more RVQoE configurations, the indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent is an indication of a signaling radio bearer (SRB) on which the corresponding RVQoE report is transmitted.

9. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein for at least one of the one or more QoE configurations, the indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent is any one of the following: - An indication of the network node; - An indication to send the corresponding QoE report to the network node(s) of the data stream(s) carrying the application session to which the corresponding QoE report belongs; - An indication of a cell group; or - An indication to send the corresponding QoE report to the cell group of the data stream(s) carrying the application session to which the corresponding QoE report belongs.

10. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein for at least one of the one or more QoE configurations, the indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent is an indication that a MeasurementReportAppLayer message containing a specific report type should be included in the message used to encapsulate the message to be forwarded from the MN to the SN or from the SN to the MN.

11. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein for at least one of the one or more QoE configurations, there is no explicit indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent, and the indication serves as an implicit indication that the corresponding QoE report should be sent to the network node that sent the corresponding QoE configuration.

12. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein for at least one of the one or more QoE configurations, there is no explicit indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent, and the indication serves as an implicit indication that the corresponding QoE report should be sent to the network node that processes one or more data radio bearers (DRBs) carrying one or more data streams of the application session to which the QoE report belongs.

13. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein for at least one of the one or more QoE configurations, there is no explicit indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent, and the indication serves as an implicit indication that the wireless terminal should autonomously determine the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent.

14. The method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: universally for all QoE configurations among the one or more QoE configurations, receiving (700A) an indication indicating a common network node to which a QoE report is to be sent.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the indication indicating the common network node to which the QoE report is to be sent is included in at least one QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations, or is included in a (plurality of) messages including at least one QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the indication indicating the common network node to which the QoE report is to be sent is an indication of a signaling radio bearer SRB, and the QoE report is transmitted on the SRB.

17. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the indication indicating the common network node to which the QoE report is to be sent is any one of the following: - an indication of the network node, or - an indication of a cell group.

18. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the indication indicating the common network node to which the QoE report is to be sent is an indication that a MeasurementReportAppLayer message including a specific report type should be included in a message for encapsulating a message to be forwarded from the MN to the SN or to be forwarded from the SN to the MN.

19. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein there is no explicit indication for the indication indicating the common network node to which the QoE report is to be sent, and the indication serves as an implicit indication for the radio terminal to autonomously determine the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent.

20. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations, the indication indicating the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent is any one of the following: - an indication of the network node, - an indication to send the corresponding RVQoE report to a network node of a (plurality of) data streams carrying the application session to which the corresponding RVQoE report belongs; - an indication of a cell group; or - an indication to send the corresponding RVQoE report to a cell group of a (plurality of) data streams carrying the application session to which the corresponding RVQoE report belongs.

21. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations, the indication indicating the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent is an indication that a MeasurementReportAppLayer message including a specific report type should be included in a message for encapsulating a message to be forwarded from the MN to the SN or to be forwarded from the SN to the MN.

22. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations, there is no explicit indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent, and the indication serves as an implicit indication that the corresponding RVQoE report should be sent to the network node that sent the corresponding RVQoE configuration.

23. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations, there is no explicit indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent, and the indication serves as an implicit indication that the corresponding RVQoE report should be sent to the network node that processes one or more data radio bearers (DRBs), and the one or more DRBs carry one or more data streams of the application session to which the RVQoE report belongs.

24. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations, there is no explicit indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent, and the indication serves as an implicit indication that the wireless terminal should autonomously decide the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

25. The method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: universally for all RVQoE configurations among the one or more RVQoE configurations, receiving (700A) an indication of a common network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the indication of the common network node to which the RVQoE report is to be sent is included in at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations, or is included in a (plural) message that includes at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations.

27. The method according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the indication of the common network node to which the RVQoE report is to be sent is an indication of a signaling radio bearer (SRB), and the RVQoE report is transmitted on the SRB.

28. The method according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the indication of the common network node to which the RVQoE report is to be sent is any one of the following: - an indication of the network node, or - an indication of a cell group.

29. The method according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the indication of the common network node to which the RVQoE report is to be sent is an indication that a MeasurementReportAppLayer message including a specific report type should be included in a message for encapsulating a message to be forwarded from the MN to the SN or to be forwarded from the SN to the MN.

30. The method according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the indication of the common network node to which the RVQoE report is to be sent does not exist as an explicit indication, and the indication serves as an implicit indication of the network node to which the wireless terminal is to autonomously decide to send the corresponding RVQoE report.

31. A user equipment UE, adapted to: receive (700A, 700B-1) one or more messages from one or more network nodes, the one or more messages including one or more quality of experience QoE configurations and one or more radio access network RAN visible QoE RVQoE configurations; receive (700A) an indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent, for each QoE configuration or generally for the one or more QoE configurations; receive (700A) an indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent, for each RVQoE configuration or generally for the one or more RVQoE configurations; perform (702) QoE measurements and RVQoE measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations and the one or more RVQoE configurations; transmit (704-1) each QoE report among the one or more QoE reports including the results of the QoE measurements to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent; and transmit (704-2) each RVQoE report among the one or more RVQoE reports including the results of the QoE measurements to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent.

32. The UE according to claim 31, further adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 30.

33. A user equipment UE (1100), comprising: a communication interface (1112); and processing circuitry (1102) associated with the communication interface (1112), the processing circuitry (1112) being configured to cause the UE (1100) to: receive (700A, 700B-1) one or more messages from one or more network nodes, the one or more messages including one or more quality of experience QoE configurations and one or more radio access network RAN visible QoE RVQoE configurations; receive (700A) an indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent, for each QoE configuration or generally for the one or more QoE configurations; receive (700A) an indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent, for each RVQoE configuration or generally for the one or more RVQoE configurations; perform (702) QoE measurements and RVQoE measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations and the one or more RVQoE configurations; For each QoE report among one or more QoE reports including the result of the QoE measurement, transmit (704-1) the QoE report to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent; and For each RVQoE report among one or more RVQoE reports including the result of the QoE measurement, transmit (704-2) the RVQoE report to the indicated network node to which the QoE report is to be sent.

34. The UE according to claim 33, wherein the processing circuit (1112) is further configured to cause the UE (1100) to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 30.

35. A method performed by a first network node, the method comprising: Transmit (806) to a user equipment (UE) one or more messages, the one or more messages including one or more quality of experience QoE configurations and one or more radio access network RAN, visible QoE RVQoE configurations, and: For each QoE configuration or generally for the one or more QoE configurations, an indication of the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent; For each RVQoE configuration or generally for the one or more RVQoE configurations, an indication of the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the network node to which the QoE report for at least one QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations is to be sent is different from the network node to which the RVQoE report for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations is to be sent.

37. A method performed by a second network node, the method comprising: Receive (910) from a user equipment (UE) one or more messages, the one or more messages including one or more QoE reports associated with one or more quality of experience QoE configurations and one or more RVQoE reports associated with one or more radio access network RAN visible QoE RVQoE configurations, wherein: For each QoE configuration or generally for the one or more QoE configurations, the UE is configured or determines the network node to which the corresponding QoE report is to be sent; For each RVQoE configuration or generally for the one or more RVQoE configurations, the UE is configured or determines the network node to which the corresponding RVQoE report is to be sent.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the network node to which the QoE report for at least one QoE configuration among the one or more QoE configurations is to be sent is different from the network node to which the RVQoE report for at least one RVQoE configuration among the one or more RVQoE configurations is to be sent.

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