Communication with non-terrestrial network (NTN) based on information shared by multiple devices

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In one aspect, a wireless communication device may obtain information regarding communications between a group of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and communicate with the NTN. The wireless communication device may communicate directly with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN. The wireless communication device may indirectly communicate with the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices that the wireless communication device is not identified for direct communication with the NTN.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 383,903, filed on November 15, 2022, entitled "COMMUNICATION WITH NON - TERRESTRIAL NETWORK(NTN)BASED ON INFORMATION SHARED BY MULTIPLE DEVICES", which has been assigned to the assignee of this application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Background Art 1. Field of Technology

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Technologies

[0005] Wireless communication systems have evolved through many generations, including first - generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second - generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third - generation (3G) high - speed data, Internet - capable wireless services, and fourth - generation (4G) services (e.g., Long - Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), etc.

[0006] The fifth - generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS - P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advancements in PRS processes and technologies, and high - density deployments of 5G enable high - precision positioning based on 5G. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects related to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the following summary should not be considered an exhaustive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present in a concise form certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms described herein prior to the detailed description that follows.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of communication performed by a wireless communication device among a group of communication devices includes: obtaining information about communication between the group of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and communicating with the NTN, including: directly communicating with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; or indirectly communicating with the NTN via a peer communication network and one of the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

[0009] In one aspect, a method of communication performed by a wireless communication device includes: obtaining, via a peer communication network, auxiliary information about communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and establishing a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0010] In one aspect, a method of communication performed by a wireless communication device includes: synchronizing, via a peer communication network, information about communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and information about communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN; and establishing a connection with the NTN based on the information, wherein the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operate in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0011] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to: obtain information regarding communication between a set of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and communicate with the NTN via the at least one transceiver, including: the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to directly communicate with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; or indirectly communicate with the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices via the at least one transceiver based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

[0012] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: obtain, via a peer-to-peer communication network, auxiliary information regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and establish a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0013] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: synchronize, via a peer-to-peer communication network, information regarding communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and information regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN; and establish a connection with the NTN based on the information, the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operating in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0014] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: components for obtaining information about communication between a set of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and components for communicating with the NTN, the components including: components for directly communicating with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; or components for indirectly communicating with the NTN via a peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

[0015] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: components for obtaining, via a peer communication network, auxiliary information about communication between at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and components for establishing a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0016] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: components for synchronizing, via a peer communication network, information about communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and information about communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN; and components for establishing a connection with the NTN based on the information, the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operating in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0017] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: obtain information about communication between a set of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and communicate with the NTN, the non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions that cause the wireless communication device to: directly communicate with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; or indirectly communicate with the NTN via a peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

[0018] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: obtain, via a peer-to-peer communication network, auxiliary information regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and establish a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0019] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: synchronize, via a peer-to-peer communication network, information regarding communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and information regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN; and establish a connection with the NTN based on the information, wherein the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operate in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0020] In one aspect, a method of communication performed by a wireless communication device among a group of communication devices includes: receiving incoming data from one or more wireless communication devices among the group of communication devices via a peer-to-peer communication network; and transmitting outgoing data via a non-terrestrial network (NTN) based on the incoming data.

[0021] Based on the drawings and the detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The drawings are presented to assist in describing various aspects of the present disclosure, and the drawings are provided for illustration only and not to limit the aspects.

[0023] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0024] Figure 2A and Figure 2B An example wireless network structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C are simplified block diagrams of several example aspects of components that can be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity and are configured to support communication as taught herein.

[0026] Figure 4is a diagram illustrating examples of non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 5 Illustrates an example method of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 6 Illustrates an example method of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 7 Illustrates an example method of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0030] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description of various examples provided for illustrative purposes and the associated drawings. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0031] The word “exemplary” and / or “example” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as superior or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of the present disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0032] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different technologies and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, in part depending on the particular application, in part depending on the desired design, in part depending on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0033] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequences of actions described herein can be regarded as fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or direct a relevant processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, the various aspects of the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each of the aspects described herein, any such aspect's corresponding form can be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0034] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset tracking device, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as "access terminal" or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "subscriber device," "subscriber terminal," "subscriber station," "user terminal" or "UT," "mobile device," "mobile terminal," "mobile station," or variants thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, a UE can communicate with an external network such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for a UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are possible, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specifications, etc.).

[0035] A base station can operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and alternatively can be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), and so on. The base station can be mainly used to support the wireless access of the UE, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. In some systems, the base station can only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, the base station can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which the UE can transmit signals to the base station is called the uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link by which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is called the downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" can refer to the uplink / reverse traffic channel or the downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0036] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, in the case where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in the case where the base station employs beamforming). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to the serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs can be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and an adjacent base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Since, as used herein, the TRP is the point by which the base station transmits and receives wireless signals, a reference to transmission from or reception at the base station should be understood to refer to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0037] In some specific implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support the wireless access of the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead can send reference signals to be measured by the UE and / or can receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station can be called a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending signals to the UE) and / or can be called a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0038] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and the receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, where the context clearly indicates that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply as a "signal".

[0039] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0040] The base stations 102 may jointly form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122 and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location server 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 may be integrated with the base stations 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., the AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, the communication between the UE 104 and the location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via a direct connection 128), where intermediate nodes (if any) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0041] Among other functions, base station 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) on the backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0042] Base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station in base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base stations 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a certain frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), enhanced cell identifier (ECI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) for differentiating cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that may provide access for different types of UEs. Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may, depending on the context, refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it. Additionally, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, provided that a carrier frequency can be detected within a certain portion of the geographic coverage area 110 and used for communication.

[0043] Although the geographical coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some areas within the geographical coverage area 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographical coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographical coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographical coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that may provide services to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0044] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may operate over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0045] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0046] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' adopting LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum may enhance the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed-assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0047] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz, with wavelengths of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band has high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Additionally, it should be understood that in an alternative configuration, one or more of the base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustration is merely an example and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0048] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Conventionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node may control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array"), which creates an RF beam that can be "manipulated" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationships such that the radio waves from the individual antennas add together in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling in the undesired directions to suppress radiation.

[0049] Transmission beams can be quasi - co - located, which means that they appear to have the same parameters to a receiver (e.g., UE), regardless of whether the transmission antennas of the network node are physically co - located. In NR, there are four types of quasi - co - location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0050] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify the RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a specific direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signals received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when the receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gains in other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength for the RF signals received from that direction (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal - to - interference - plus - noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0051] Transmission beams and receive beams can be spatially related. The spatial relationship means that the parameters of a second beam (e.g., transmission beam or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., receive beam or transmission beam) of a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. Then, the UE can form a transmission beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0052] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0053] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band. Regarding FR2, a similar naming issue sometimes occurs, which is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz – 300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the "millimeter wave" band.

[0054] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designations FR3 (7.125 GHz – 24.25 GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher bands falls within the EHF band.

[0055] Taking into account the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "below 6 GHz" etc. is used herein, it can generally represent a frequency that can be less than 6 GHz, a frequency within FR1, or a frequency that can include intermediate band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" etc. is used herein, it can generally represent a frequency that can include intermediate band frequencies, a frequency within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or a frequency within the EHF band.

[0056] In a multi-carrier system (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where the UE 104 / 182 performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment process or initiates the RRC connection reestablishment process in this cell. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2), which can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may only contain necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not exist in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in the cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same holds for the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a certain base station communicates, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0057] For example, still referring to Figure 1, one of the frequencies utilized by macro cell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”), and other frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCell”). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier, two aggregated 20 MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz).

[0058] Wireless communication system 100 may also include UE 164, which may communicate with macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCell for UE 164, and mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCell for UE 164.

[0059] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. A UE with sidelink capabilities (SL-UE) may communicate with base station 102 via the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station) through communication link 120. An SL-UE (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other via the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between UEs with sidelink capabilities) through wireless sidelink 160. A wireless sidelink (or simply referred to as “sidelink”) is an adaptation of the core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through a base station. Sidelink communication may be unicast or multicast and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs that utilize sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102 or, for other reasons, may not be able to receive transmissions from base station 102. In some cases, each group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between SL-UEs without involving base station 102.

[0060] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. The "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band shared between various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (especially those employing small cell access points) have recently extended their operations into unlicensed bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies commonly referred to as "WiFi"). Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, etc.

[0061] Note that although Figure 1 only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and 182), any one of the illustrated UEs may be an SL-UE. Additionally, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any one of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) is capable of beamforming. In cases where the SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming over the sidelink 160.

[0062] In Figure 1 the example of Figure 1Any UE shown as a single UE 104 in the figure can receive signals 124 from one or more space vehicles (SVs) 112 in Earth orbit (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SV 112 can be part of a satellite positioning system where the UE 104 can use it as an independent source of position information. A satellite positioning system generally includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) that are positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its position on or above the Earth at least in part based on positioning signals received from the transmitters (e.g., signal 124). Such transmitters typically send signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code with a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SV 112, the transmitter can sometimes be located at a ground-based control station, base station 102, and / or other UE 104. The UE 104 can include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive the signal 124 in order to derive geographical location information from the SV 112.

[0063] In a satellite positioning system, the use of the signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that can be associated with or otherwise enable the use of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, the SBAS can include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system can include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0064] In one aspect, SV 112 can additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to elements in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in the 5GC. In some aspects, the NTN can include one or more non-terrestrial stations communicatively connected to each other and communicatively connected to the NTN gateway. In some aspects, the non-terrestrial station can be an SV at an altitude of about or above 200 km as described above; a high-altitude platform (HAP) such as a balloon or airship at an altitude of about 20 km; or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at an altitude of about 100 m. The element will then provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately provide access to entities external to the 5G network (such as Internet web servers and other user devices). Thus, instead of or in addition to communication signals from the ground base station 102, the UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from the SV 112.

[0065] The wireless communication system 100 can also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which is indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "sidelinks"). In Figure 1 the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through this D2D P2P link). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE direct (LTE-D), WiFi direct (WiFi-D), visible light communication, and so on.

[0066] Figure 2AAn example wireless network structure 200 is illustrated. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally considered as a Control Plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a User Plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which cooperate to form a core network. A User Plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a Control Plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, and specifically connect to the User Plane function 212 and the Control Plane function 214 respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the Control Plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the User Plane function 212. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 can have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of either the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either (or both) of the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0067] Another optional aspect can include a Location Server 230, which can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The Location Server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The Location Server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can be connected to the Location Server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Additionally, the Location Server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively can be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0068] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. The 5GC 260 (which can correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210) can be functionally regarded as the control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and the user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which cooperate to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of Short Message Service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Security Anchor Functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives the key from the SEAF and uses the key to derive the access network-specific key. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as the location server 230), transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifiers for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0069] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for in-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for the interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0070] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration at UPF 262 for routing traffic to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

[0071] Another optional aspect may include LMF 270, which may communicate with 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UE 204. LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for UE 204, which may be connected to LMF 270 via the core network, 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 may support similar functions as LMF 270, but LMF 270 may communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and SLP 272 may communicate with UE 204 and an external client (e.g., third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0072] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that may communicate with the LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server.

[0073] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0074] The functionality of gNB 222 is divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including passing user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the radio link control (RLC) and media access control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228s is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RU 229s, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, SDAP layer, and PDCP layer, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and MAC layer, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0075] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C illustrates several example components (represented by the corresponding boxes), which can be incorporated into a UE 302 (which can correspond to any UE described herein), a base station 304 (which can correspond to any base station described herein), and a network entity 306 (which can correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively can be independent of Figure 2A and Figure 2BThe NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted (such as a private network) to support the operations as described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different specific implementations in different types of devices (e.g., in ASICs, in system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system can include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Additionally, a given device can include one or more of these components. For example, a device can include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0076] UE 302 and base station 304 each respectively include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, which provide components (e.g., components for transmission, for reception, for measurement, for tuning, for blocking transmission, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can each respectively be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc.) via at least one specified RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through an interested wireless communication medium (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to respectively transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely respectively receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 respectively include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for respectively transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for respectively receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358.

[0077] At least in some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each also respectively include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360. Short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can respectively be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, and provide for communication via at least one specified RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, visible light communication, etc.) communicate with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) through components (e.g., components for transmission, components for reception, components for measurement, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 respectively. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, transceivers, and / or transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, visible light communication transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0078] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be respectively connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to respectively determine the positions of the UE 302 and the base station 304.

[0079] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390 respectively, and the one or more network transceivers provide components (such as components for transmission, components for reception, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (such as other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. For another example, network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0080] The transceiver may be configured to communicate via a wired or wireless link. The transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit (such as transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit (such as receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some specific implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (such as implementing the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some specific implementations may include a separate transmitter circuit and a separate receiver circuit, or may be implemented in other ways in other specific implementations. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of a wired transceiver (such as, in some specific implementations, network transceivers 380 and 390) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuit (such as transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (such as UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmission "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuit (such as receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (such as UE 302, base station 304) to perform reception beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit may share the same plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than receive and transmit both at the same time. The wireless transceiver (such as WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listening module (NLM) for performing various measurements, etc.

[0081] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., in some specific embodiments, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, as well as network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some specific embodiments) can generally be referred to as "transceiver", "at least one transceiver", or "one or more transceivers". Thus, it can be inferred whether a particular transceiver is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver based on the type of communication being performed. For example, fronthaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0082] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 can provide components for processing, such as components for determining, for calculating, for receiving, for sending, for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 can include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0083] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include a memory circuit that implements memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), and the memory circuit is used to maintain information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, components for retrieval, components for maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include NTN components 342, 388, and 398. NTN components 342, 388, and 398 can be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394 respectively, and when executed, these hardware circuits cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, NTN components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). In some aspects, NTN components 342, 388, and 398 can be independent components and can include NTN transceivers and NTN antennas. Alternatively, NTN components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396 respectively, and when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), these memory modules cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In some aspects, NTN components 342, 388, and 398 can be any combination of the foregoing examples.

[0084] Figure 3A Illustrates the possible locations of NTN component 342, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component. Figure 3B Illustrates the possible locations of NTN component 388, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component. Figure 3C Illustrates the possible locations of NTN component 398, which can be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component.

[0085] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide components for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information unrelated to movement data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. By way of example, sensors 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Additionally, sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, sensors 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0086] Additionally, UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing indications to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0087] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 may be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 may implement functionality for the RRC layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, and medium access control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with the broadcast of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0088] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 disposes of the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is pre-coded spatially to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the encoding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from reference signals transmitted by the UE 302 and / or channel state feedback. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0089] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives signals via its respective antennas 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then uses a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals initially transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0090] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0091] Similar to the functionality described in connection with downlink transmission by base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0092] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from reference signals or feedback transmitted by base station 304 can be used by transmitter 314 to select appropriate decoding and modulation schemes and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 can modulate RF carriers with the respective spatial streams for transmission.

[0093] Uplink transmission is processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver functionality at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its respective antennas 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carriers and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0094] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. The IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0095] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C, are shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C Various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In the case of , a specific implementation of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet or PC or laptop may have WiFi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or may omit short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit sensor 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In the case of a wireless cellular network, a specific implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0096] Various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of a communication interface for the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide for communication between different logical entities.

[0097] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit can use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of the UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of the base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of the network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being "performed by the UE", "performed by the base station", "performed by the network entity", etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions, and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, NTN components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0098] In some designs, the network entity 306 can be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 can operate differently from a network operator or a cellular network infrastructure (e.g., the NG RAN 220 and / or the 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 can be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0099] In some aspects, a group of wireless communication devices (e.g., any UE described in this disclosure) may share, update, and / or synchronize information regarding the communication between the group of communication devices and the NTN. In some aspects, such information may be used to enable a portion of the group of wireless communication devices to communicate directly with the NTN and enable another portion of the group of wireless communication devices to communicate indirectly with the NTN via a peer communication network (e.g., including P2P direct, multi-hop, or mesh communication). In some aspects, such information may include auxiliary information (also referred to herein as auxiliary data) regarding the communication between a wireless communication device and the NTN, and another wireless communication device may establish a connection with the NTN (direct or indirect communication) based on the auxiliary information. In some aspects, multiple wireless communication devices may establish communication with the NTN in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0100] Figure 4 FIG. 400 is a diagram illustrating an NTN communication example 400 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The NTN communication example 400 includes non-terrestrial stations that are part of the NTN, such as satellites 412, 414, and 416. Satellites 412, 414, and 416 may be communicatively coupled to each other and communicatively coupled to a terrestrial station (not shown) that serves as an NTN gateway. The NTN communication example 400 also includes a group of wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428. The wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428 may be any of the UEs or wireless communication devices described above. In some aspects, the wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a peer communication network 420. In some aspects, the peer communication network may be established based on WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), visible light communication, side link, or a combination thereof.

[0101] In some aspects, the wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428 may share, update, and / or synchronize information regarding the communication between the group of communication devices and the NTN, and such information may be used to enable a portion of the wireless communication devices to communicate directly with the NTN and enable another portion of the group of wireless communication devices to communicate indirectly with the NTN via the peer communication network 420.

[0102] In some examples, not all of the wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428 may be able to access the NTN. In some examples, not all of the wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428 may have subscribed to access the NTN. In some examples, some of the wireless communication devices among 422, 424, 426, and 428 may have subscribed to access the NTN, while some other wireless communication devices among the wireless communication devices may have subscribed to access another NTN (not shown). In some examples, one of the wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428 may have a clear line-of-sight (LOS) path to one or more of the satellites 412, 414, and 416, while another one of the wireless communication devices may be blocked from having an LOS path to any of the satellites 412, 414, and 416. In some examples, a wireless communication device accessing the NTN may quickly deplete its battery. In some examples, a wireless communication device accessing the NTN may quickly move to a location where the LOS path will no longer be available (or the satellite may quickly move to that location). Based on at least some or all of these factors and considerations, a group of wireless communication devices may prefer to communicate with the NTN via not all but only a portion of the group of wireless communication devices during a given period. In some aspects, this information and selection may be used to utilize a single NTN service, a single NTN-enabled device, or to enable multiple NTN-enabled devices to coordinate services.

[0103] In some aspects, the LOS condition of the master device may be determined based on camera and / or RF received signal strength indicator (RSSI)-based techniques (e.g., via the slave device).

[0104] In some aspects, a wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 422, 424, 426, or 428) may obtain information regarding communication between the group of communication devices and the NTN. In some aspects, a wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 422) may send parameters to one or more other wireless communication devices (e.g., wireless communication device 424, 426, or 428) in the group of communication devices via a peer - to - peer communication network 420. In some examples, the parameters sent may indicate the connection capability between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information regarding access to the NTN via the wireless communication device, the non - terrestrial station signal search history of the wireless communication device, the battery level of the wireless communication device, the location of the wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the wireless communication device, the orientation of the wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non - terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with LOS capability observed by the wireless communication device (e.g., considering the predicted location of the wireless communication device and the predicted location of the non - terrestrial station of the NTN), the LOS - blocked area observed by the wireless communication device (e.g., considering the predicted location of the wireless communication device and the predicted location of the non - terrestrial station of the NTN), or a combination thereof.

[0105] In some aspects, wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, or 428, being the primary NTN device or the secondary NTN device, may be able to obtain computer vision and / or audio data information provided by a person not next to the wireless communication device. In some examples, the person may be pointing at a problem, and the wireless communication device may zoom in on the area being pointed at and may take a picture of the area. In some examples, the wireless communication device may also translate sign language into a text message.

[0106] In some aspects, based on the absolute coordinates of the primary NTN device combined with relative distance and / or AoA / AoD information, the coordinates of other devices can be determined.

[0107] In some aspects, the primary NTN device may perform a WiFi scan or a BLE scan and report the MAC addresses of nearby devices upwards. The cloud entity may infer the people approaching the primary device based on the association of the devices. The cloud entity may indicate potential people associated with NTN messages. It may also be useful for IoT to indicate which other devices are nearby for asset tracking purposes.

[0108] In some aspects, a wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 422) may receive parameters from at least one other wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication devices 424, 426, or 428) via a peer-to-peer communication network 420. In some examples, the parameters transmitted may indicate the connection capability between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, information regarding access to the NTN via at least one other wireless communication device and the subscription or billing for accessing the NTN, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of at least one other wireless communication device, the battery level of at least one other wireless communication device, the location of at least one other wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the line-of-sight (LOS)-enabled area observed by at least one other wireless communication device (e.g., considering the predicted location of at least one other wireless communication device and the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN), the LOS-blocked area observed by at least one other wireless communication device (e.g., considering the predicted location of at least one other wireless communication device and the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN), or a combination thereof.

[0109] In some aspects, a selection process may be performed to determine one or more selected wireless communication devices from the group of communication devices for direct communication with the NTN. In some aspects, if a wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 422 or 428) is determined to be one of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN, the wireless communication device may communicate directly with the NTN (e.g., communicate with wireless communication device 422 via connection 432, or communicate with wireless communication device 428 via connection 436). In some aspects, if a wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 424 or 426) is determined to not be any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN, the wireless communication device may communicate indirectly with the NTN via the peer-to-peer communication network 420 and the one or more selected wireless communication devices (e.g., communicate with wireless communication device 422 via connection 432 or communicate with wireless communication device 428 via connection 436).

[0110] In some aspects, the selection process may consider whether each of the wireless communication devices has the ability to connect to the NTN (i.e., NTN-enabled), or whether each of the wireless communication devices has subscribed to access the NTN (or corresponding tariff rate). Thus, the selected wireless communication device can be NTN-enabled and provide the cheapest option for the group of wireless communication devices. In some aspects, the selection process may consider the connection quality, connection history, non-terrestrial station signal search history, observed areas with LOS capabilities and observed areas with blocked LOS, location, movement trajectory, or orientation of each wireless communication device among the wireless communication devices. Thus, the selected wireless communication device can establish or maintain a quality connection to the NTN for the group of wireless communication devices. In some aspects, the selection process may consider the battery level of each wireless communication device among the wireless communication devices. Thus, the selected wireless communication device can last longer when accessing the NTN for the group of wireless communication devices without having to reselect other wireless communication devices for the group of wireless communication devices.

[0111] In some aspects, some or all of the above conditions and considerations can be combined to determine the selected wireless communication device for the group of wireless communication devices. In some aspects, the selection process can be performed in a distributed manner or a centralized manner. In some aspects, the wireless communication devices can access the NTN via at least one of one or more selected wireless communication devices (e.g., wireless communication devices 422 and 428). In some aspects, when aggregating data from multiple devices, the primary NTN device or the secondary device can compress the information via various techniques such as differential measurement.

[0112] In some aspects, each of the wireless communication devices (e.g., wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428) can perform a local selection process to determine one or more candidate wireless communication devices based on the information. Thereafter, the wireless communication devices can coordinate with each other via the peer-to-peer communication network 420 to determine one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the candidate wireless communication devices.

[0113] In some aspects, the wireless communication devices (e.g., wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428) can coordinate with each other to designate a wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 422) to determine one or more selected wireless communication devices for the group of communication devices. Thereafter, the designated wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 422) can perform a selection process to determine one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the information.

[0114] In some aspects, the wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428 may share, update, and / or synchronize information regarding the communication between the group of communication devices and the NTN, and such information may include auxiliary information regarding the communication between a wireless communication device and the NTN. Another wireless communication device may establish a connection with the NTN (direct or indirect communication) based on the auxiliary information.

[0115] In some aspects, a wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 426) may obtain auxiliary information regarding the communication between at least one other wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 428) and the NTN via the peer communication network 420. For example, the wireless communication device 428 has established a connection 436 with the satellite 416 of the NTN. The wireless communication device 428 may share the auxiliary information with the wireless communication device 426. The wireless communication device 426 may establish a connection 438 with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0116] In some aspects, the auxiliary information may include parameters indicating: the connection quality between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of at least one other wireless communication device, the location of at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the LOS-capable area observed by at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS-blocked area observed by at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0117] In some aspects, a wireless communication device may spend a significant amount of battery power when measuring non-terrestrial station (e.g., satellite) signals or even searching for non-terrestrial station signals in order to establish a connection with the NTN. With knowledge of the auxiliary information, the wireless communication device 426 may have a head start in the signal search and measurement phases and thus save at least some of the power consumed during these processes.

[0118] In some aspects, the wireless communication devices 422, 424, 426, and 428 may share, update, and / or synchronize information regarding the communication between the group of communication devices and the NTN, and multiple wireless communication devices (e.g., wireless communication devices 426 and 428) may establish communication with the NTN in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0119] In some aspects, a wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 426) may synchronize, via a peer-to-peer communication network 420, information regarding communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN with at least one other wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 428). The wireless communication device (e.g., wireless communication device 426) may establish a connection (e.g., connection 438) with the NTN based on the information. In some aspects, connection 438 between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection 436 between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device may operate in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0120] In one example, the connection and the at least one other connection may operate based on coherent integration. In one example, the connection and the at least one other connection may operate based on non-coherent integration. In one example, the connection and the at least one other connection may operate based on joint beamforming. In some aspects, wireless communication devices (e.g., wireless communication devices 426 and 428) may synchronize to a phase synchronization level based on the synchronized information.

[0121] In some aspects, the synchronized information may include parameters indicating: the frequency band used by the wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the wireless communication device, the frequency band used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the at least one other wireless communication device, the beamforming capabilities of the wireless communication device, the beamforming capabilities of the at least one other wireless communication device, the relative position between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, the relative movement between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0122] In some aspects, a wireless communication device in a group of communication devices may receive incoming data from one or more wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via a peer-to-peer communication network. The wireless communication device may transmit outgoing data via a non-terrestrial network (NTN) based on the incoming data. In some aspects, the wireless communication device may receive incoming data from at least two of the one or more wireless communication devices and may at least aggregate the incoming data into the outgoing data. In some aspects, the wireless communication device may at least aggregate the incoming data and another data stored in the wireless communication device into the outgoing data.

[0123] Figure 5 An example method 500 of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 500 may be performed by a wireless communication device (e.g., any of the UEs or other mobile devices described herein).

[0124] At operation 510, the wireless communication device obtains information regarding communication between the group of communication devices and the NTN. In one aspect, operation 510 may be performed by the short-range wireless transceiver 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the NTN component 342, and any one or all of these components may be regarded as the means for performing this operation.

[0125] In some aspects, obtaining the information includes: sending a first parameter via the peer communication network to one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices, the first parameter indicating: the connection capability between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information regarding accessing the NTN via the wireless communication device, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the wireless communication device, the battery level of the wireless communication device, the location of the wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the wireless communication device, the orientation of the wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with LOS capability observed by the wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0126] In some aspects, obtaining the information includes: receiving a second parameter via the peer communication network from at least one other wireless communication device in the group of communication devices, the second parameter indicating: the connection capability between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information regarding accessing the NTN via the at least one other wireless communication device, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, the battery level of the at least one other wireless communication device, the location of the at least one other wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with LOS capability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0127] In some aspects, after operation 510, the wireless communication device may communicate with the NTN based on operation 520 and / or operation 530.

[0128] At operation 520, the wireless communication device communicates directly with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of the one or more selected wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices. In one aspect, operation 520 may be performed by one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the NTN component 342, any or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation.

[0129] At operation 530, the wireless communication device communicates indirectly with the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network and one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices. In one aspect, operation 530 may be performed by the short-range wireless transceiver 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the NTN component 342, any or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation.

[0130] It should be understood that the technical advantage of method 500 is to reduce power consumption or improve the stability of accessing the NTN by sharing information of the group of wireless communication devices and selecting one or more devices in the group of wireless communication devices to access the NTN for other devices.

[0131] Figure 6 An example method 600 of wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 600 may be performed by a wireless communication device (e.g., any of the UEs or other mobile devices described herein).

[0132] At operation 610, the wireless communication device obtains auxiliary information (also referred to herein as auxiliary data) regarding communication between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network. In one aspect, operation 610 may be performed by the short-range wireless transceiver 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the NTN component 342, any or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation.

[0133] In some aspects, the auxiliary information includes parameters indicating: connection quality between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, connection history between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, non-terrestrial station signal search history of at least one other wireless communication device, location of at least one other wireless communication device, orientation of at least one other wireless communication device, predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, area with LOS capability observed by at least one other wireless communication device, LOS blocked area observed by at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0134] At operation 620, the wireless communication device establishes a connection with the NTN (either directly or indirectly) based on the assistance information. In one aspect, operation 620 may be performed by the short-range wireless transceiver 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the NTN component 342, and any one or all of these components may be regarded as the means for performing this operation.

[0135] It should be understood that the technical advantage of method 600 is that by sharing the assistance information of another wireless communication device, the power consumption is reduced and the processing time is accelerated during the establishment of the connection with the NTN.

[0136] Figure 7 An example method 700 of wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 700 may be performed by a wireless communication device (e.g., any one of the UEs or other mobile devices described herein).

[0137] At operation 710, the wireless communication device synchronizes information regarding communication between the wireless communication device and the NTN and regarding communication between at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network. In one aspect, operation 710 may be performed by the short-range wireless transceiver 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the NTN component 342, and any one or all of these components may be regarded as the means for performing this operation.

[0138] In some aspects, the synchronized information includes parameters indicating: the frequency band used by the wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the wireless communication device, the frequency band used by at least one other wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by at least one other wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of at least one other wireless communication device, the beamforming capability of the wireless communication device, the beamforming capability of at least one other wireless communication device, the relative position between the wireless communication device and at least one other wireless communication device, the relative movement between the wireless communication device and at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0139] At operation 720, the wireless communication device establishes a connection with the NTN based on this information, and the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and at least one other wireless communication device operate in an integrated manner based on this information. In one aspect, operation 720 may be performed by the short-range wireless transceiver 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the NTN component 342, and any one or all of these components may be regarded as the means for performing this operation.

[0140] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 700 is to use two or more wireless communication devices in an integrated manner based on the synchronized information so as to implement different operation modes for different environments.

[0141] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention that the example clauses have more features than those explicitly recited in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include less than all of the features of the individual example clauses disclosed. Accordingly, the following clauses are hereby incorporated into the description, where each clause by itself may be considered a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a particular combination with one of the other clauses, the aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to the particular combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or any feature with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include such combinations, unless it is explicitly stated or can be readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended to be used (e.g., conflicting aspects such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). In addition, it is also contemplated that aspects of the clauses may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0142] Specific example embodiments are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0143] Clause 1. A method of communication performed by a wireless communication device among a group of communication devices, the method comprising: obtaining information regarding communication between the group of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and communicating with the NTN, including: directly communicating with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as a selected wireless communication device among one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; or indirectly communicating with the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

[0144] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein obtaining the information includes: sending a first parameter to one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via the peer - to - peer communication network, the first parameter indicating: the connection ability between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information regarding access to the NTN via the wireless communication device, the non - terrestrial station signal search history of the wireless communication device, the battery level of the wireless communication device, the location of the wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the wireless communication device, the orientation of the wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non - terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with line - of - sight (LOS) ability observed by the wireless communication device, the LOS - blocked area observed by the wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0145] Clause 3. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 2, wherein obtaining the information includes: receiving a second parameter from at least one other wireless communication device in the group of communication devices via the peer - to - peer communication network, the second parameter indicating: the connection ability between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information regarding access to the NTN via the at least one other wireless communication device and access to the NTN, the non - terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, the battery level of the at least one other wireless communication device, the location of the at least one other wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non - terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with line - of - sight (LOS) ability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS - blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0146] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein the peer - to - peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra - Wideband (UWB), Near - Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0147] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4, the method further comprising: performing a selection process to determine one or more candidate wireless communication devices based on the information; and coordinating with one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer-to-peer communication network to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the one or more candidate wireless communication devices and one or more other candidate wireless communication devices determined by the one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices.

[0148] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4, the method further comprising: coordinating with one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer-to-peer communication network to designate the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the set of communication devices; and performing a selection process to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the information after selecting the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the set of communication devices.

[0149] Clause 7. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 6, wherein communicating indirectly with the NTN includes: accessing the NTN via at least one of the one or more selected wireless communication devices.

[0150] Clause 8. A method of communication performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising: obtaining, via a peer-to-peer communication network, auxiliary information about communication between at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and establishing a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0151] Clause 9. The method according to Clause 8, wherein the auxiliary information includes parameters indicating: connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, location of the at least one other wireless communication device, orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, predicted location of a non-terrestrial station of the NTN, area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0152] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 8 to 9, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0153] Clause 11. A method of communication performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising: synchronizing, via a peer-to-peer communication network, information regarding communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN; and establishing a connection with the NTN based on the information, the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operating in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0154] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein the information includes parameters indicating: the frequency band used by the wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the wireless communication device, the frequency band used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the at least one other wireless communication device, the beamforming capability of the wireless communication device, the beamforming capability of the at least one other wireless communication device, the relative position between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, the relative movement between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0155] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 12, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on coherent integration.

[0156] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 12, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on non-coherent integration.

[0157] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 12, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on joint beamforming.

[0158] Clause 16. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 15, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0159] Clause 17. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to: obtain information about communication between a set of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and communicate with the NTN via the at least one transceiver, including: the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to directly communicate with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; and indirectly communicate with the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

[0160] Clause 18. The wireless communication device according to Clause 17, wherein the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to obtain the information includes: the one or more processors being further configured, individually or in combination, to send a first parameter to one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer-to-peer communication network, the first parameter indicating: the connection ability between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information for accessing the NTN via the wireless communication device, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the wireless communication device, the battery level of the wireless communication device, the location of the wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the wireless communication device, the orientation of the wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with line-of-sight (LOS) ability observed by the wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0161] Clause 19. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 17 to 18, wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to obtain the information including: the one or more processors are further configured, individually or in combination, to receive, via the peer communication network, a second parameter from at least one other wireless communication device in the group of communication devices, the second parameter indicating: the connection capability between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, information about accessing the NTN through the at least one other wireless communication device and the subscription or billing information for accessing the NTN, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, the battery level of the at least one other wireless communication device, the location of the at least one other wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the line-of-sight (LOS) capable area observed by at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0162] Clause 20. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 17 to 19, wherein the peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near-Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0163] Clause 21. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 17 to 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured, individually or in combination, to: perform a selection process to determine one or more candidate wireless communication devices based on the information; and coordinate with one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via the peer communication network to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the one or more candidate wireless communication devices and one or more other candidate wireless communication devices determined by the one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices.

[0164] Clause 22. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 17 to 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured, individually or in combination, to: coordinate with one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via the peer communication network to designate the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the group of communication devices; and after selecting the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the group of communication devices, perform a selection process to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the information.

[0165] Clause 23. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 17 to 22, wherein the one or more processors being configured to communicate indirectly with the NTN includes: the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to access the NTN via at least one selected wireless communication device among the one or more selected wireless communication devices.

[0166] Clause 24. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to: obtain auxiliary information about communication between at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) from the at least one other wireless communication device via a peer communication network; and establish a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0167] Clause 25. The wireless communication device according to Clause 24, wherein the auxiliary information includes parameters indicating: connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, location of the at least one other wireless communication device, orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0168] Clause 26. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 24 to 25, wherein the peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near-Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0169] Clause 27. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to: synchronize, via a peer-to-peer communication network, information regarding communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN; and establish a connection with the NTN based on the information, the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operating in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0170] Clause 28. The wireless communication device according to clause 27, wherein the information includes parameters indicating: a frequency band used by the wireless communication device, a carrier frequency used by the wireless communication device, a frequency band used by the at least one other wireless communication device, a carrier frequency used by the at least one other wireless communication device, an antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device, an antenna arrangement of the at least one other wireless communication device, a beamforming capability of the wireless communication device, a beamforming capability of the at least one other wireless communication device, a relative position between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, a relative movement between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0171] Clause 29. The wireless communication device according to any one of clauses 27 to 28, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on coherent integration.

[0172] Clause 30. The wireless communication device according to any one of clauses 27 to 28, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on non-coherent integration.

[0173] Clause 31. The wireless communication device according to any one of clauses 27 to 28, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on joint beamforming.

[0174] Clause 32. The wireless communication device according to any one of clauses 27 to 31, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), visible light communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0175] Clause 33. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: components for obtaining information about communication between a set of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and components for communicating with the NTN, the components comprising: components for directly communicating with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of a selected one or more wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; or components for indirectly communicating with the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the selected one or more wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

[0176] Clause 34. The wireless communication device according to Clause 33, wherein the components for obtaining the information comprise: components for sending a first parameter to one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer-to-peer communication network, the first parameter indicating: connection capabilities between the wireless communication device and the NTN, connection quality between the wireless communication device and the NTN, connection history between the wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information for accessing the NTN via the wireless communication device, non-terrestrial station signal search history of the wireless communication device, battery level of the wireless communication device, location of the wireless communication device, movement trajectory of the wireless communication device, orientation of the wireless communication device, predicted location of a non-terrestrial station of the NTN, areas with line-of-sight (LOS) capabilities observed by the wireless communication device, LOS blocked areas observed by the wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0177] Clause 35. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 33 to 34, wherein the component for obtaining the information includes: a component for receiving a second parameter from at least one other wireless communication device in the group of communication devices via the peer communication network, the second parameter indicating: the connection ability between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, information on accessing the NTN through the at least one other wireless communication device and the subscription or billing information for accessing the NTN, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, the battery level of the at least one other wireless communication device, the location of the at least one other wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with line-of-sight (LOS) ability observed by at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0178] Clause 36. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 33 to 35, wherein the peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near-Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0179] Clause 37. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 33 to 36, the wireless communication device further includes: a component for performing a selection process to determine one or more candidate wireless communication devices based on the information; and a component for coordinating with one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via the peer communication network to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the one or more candidate wireless communication devices and one or more other candidate wireless communication devices determined by the one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices.

[0180] Clause 38. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 33 to 36, the wireless communication device further includes: a component for coordinating with one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via the peer communication network to designate the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the group of communication devices; and a component for performing a selection process to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the information after selecting the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the group of communication devices.

[0181] Clause 39. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 33 to 38, wherein the component for indirectly communicating with the NTN includes: a component for accessing the NTN via at least one selected wireless communication device among the one or more selected wireless communication devices.

[0182] Clause 40. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device including: a component for obtaining, via a peer-to-peer communication network, auxiliary information about communication between at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and a component for establishing a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0183] Clause 41. The wireless communication device according to Clause 40, wherein the auxiliary information includes parameters indicating: connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, location of the at least one other wireless communication device, orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, predicted location of a non-terrestrial station of the NTN, area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0184] Clause 42. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 40 to 41, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0185] Clause 43. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device including: a component for synchronizing, via a peer-to-peer communication network, information about communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and information about communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN; and a component for establishing a connection with the NTN based on the information, wherein the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operate in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0186] Clause 44. The wireless communication device according to Clause 43, wherein the information includes parameters indicating: the frequency band used by the wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the wireless communication device, the frequency band used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the at least one other wireless communication device, the beamforming capability of the wireless communication device, the beamforming capability of the at least one other wireless communication device, the relative position between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, the relative movement between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0187] Clause 45. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 43 to 44, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on coherent integration.

[0188] Clause 46. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 43 to 44, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on non - coherent integration.

[0189] Clause 47. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 43 to 44, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on joint beamforming.

[0190] Clause 48. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 43 to 47, wherein the peer - to - peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra - Wideband (UWB), Near - Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0191] Clause 49. A non - transitory computer - readable medium storing computer - executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: obtain information about communication between a group of communication devices and a non - terrestrial network (NTN); and communicate with the NTN. The non - transitory computer - readable medium includes instructions that cause the wireless communication device to: communicate directly with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; or communicate indirectly with the NTN via a peer - to - peer communication network and one of the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

[0192] Clause 50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 49, wherein the instructions cause the wireless communication device to obtain the information includes: the instructions cause the wireless communication device to send a first parameter to one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via the peer-to-peer communication network, the first parameter indicating: the connection capability between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information regarding accessing the NTN through the wireless communication device, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the wireless communication device, the battery level of the wireless communication device, the location of the wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the wireless communication device, the orientation of the wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0193] Clause 51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 49 to 50, wherein the instructions cause the wireless communication device to obtain the information includes: the instructions cause the wireless communication device to receive a second parameter from at least one other wireless communication device in the group of communication devices via the peer-to-peer communication network, the second parameter indicating: the connection capability between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, subscription or billing information regarding accessing the NTN through the at least one other wireless communication device and accessing the NTN, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, the battery level of the at least one other wireless communication device, the location of the at least one other wireless communication device, the movement trajectory of the at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0194] Clause 52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 49 to 51, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0195] Clause 53. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 49 to 52, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: perform a selection process to determine one or more candidate wireless communication devices based on the information; and coordinate with one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer-to-peer communication network to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the one or more candidate wireless communication devices and one or more other candidate wireless communication devices determined by the one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices.

[0196] Clause 54. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 49 to 52, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: coordinate with one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer-to-peer communication network to designate the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the set of communication devices; and perform a selection process to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the information after selecting the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the set of communication devices.

[0197] Clause 55. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 49 to 54, wherein the instructions causing the wireless communication device to communicate indirectly with the NTN include: the instructions causing the wireless communication device to: access the NTN via at least one of the one or more selected wireless communication devices.

[0198] Clause 56. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: obtain auxiliary information about communication between at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) via a peer-to-peer communication network; and establish a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

[0199] Clause 57. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 56, wherein the auxiliary information includes parameters indicating: the connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, the location of the at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the line-of-sight (LOS) capable area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0200] Clause 58. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 56 to 57, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0201] Clause 59. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: synchronize, via a peer-to-peer communication network, information regarding communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN; and establish a connection with the NTN based on the information, wherein the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operate in an integrated manner based on the information.

[0202] Clause 60. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 59, wherein the information includes parameters indicating: the frequency band used by the wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the wireless communication device, the frequency band used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device, the antenna arrangement of the at least one other wireless communication device, the beamforming capability of the wireless communication device, the beamforming capability of the at least one other wireless communication device, the relative position between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, the relative movement between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

[0203] Clause 61. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 59 to 60, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on coherent integration.

[0204] Clause 62. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 59 to 60, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on non-coherent integration.

[0205] Clause 63. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 59 to 960, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on joint beamforming.

[0206] Clause 64. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 59 to 63, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near-Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

[0207] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may have been referred to throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0208] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in different ways for each particular application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0209] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0210] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0211] In one or more example aspects, the functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0212] While the foregoing disclosure illustrates example aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Additionally, the functions, steps, and / or acts of the method claims in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless expressly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method of communication performed by a wireless communication device among a group of communication devices, the method comprising: Obtain information about communication between the set of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and Communicate with the NTN, including: Communicate directly with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being one of the selected wireless communication devices identified for direct communication with the NTN; or Communicate indirectly with the NTN via a peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being any of the selected wireless communication devices identified for direct communication with the NTN.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the information comprises: Send a first parameter to one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer communication network, the first parameter indicating: The connection capability between the wireless communication device and the NTN, The connection quality between the wireless communication device and the NTN, The connection history between the wireless communication device and the NTN, Subscription or billing information regarding access to the NTN via the wireless communication device, The non-terrestrial station signal search history of the wireless communication device, The battery level of the wireless communication device, The location of the wireless communication device, The movement trajectory of the wireless communication device, The orientation of the wireless communication device, The predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, The area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the wireless communication device, The LOS blocked area observed by the wireless communication device, or A combination thereof.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the information comprises: Receive a second parameter from at least one other wireless communication device in the set of communication devices via the peer communication network, the second parameter indicating: The connection capability between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, The connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, The connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, Subscription or billing information regarding access to the NTN via the at least one other wireless communication device and access to the NTN, The non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, The battery level of the at least one other wireless communication device, The location of the at least one other wireless communication device, The movement trajectory of the at least one other wireless communication device, The orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, The predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, The area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by at least one other wireless communication device, The LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, Sidelink, or a combination thereof.

5. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising: Perform a selection process to determine one or more candidate wireless communication devices based on the information; and Coordinate with one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer communication network to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the one or more candidate wireless communication devices and one or more other candidate wireless communication devices determined by the one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices.

6. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising: Coordinate with one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer communication network to specify the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the set of communication devices; And After selecting the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the set of communication devices, perform a selection process to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein communicating indirectly with the NTN comprises: Access the NTN via at least one selected wireless communication device among the one or more selected wireless communication devices.

8. A method of communication performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising: Obtain auxiliary information about the communication between at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) via a peer communication network; And Establish a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the auxiliary information comprises parameters indicating: the connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, the location of the at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with Line-of-Sight (LOS) capability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, Side link, or a combination thereof.

11. A method of communication performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising: Synchronize information about the communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and about the communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN with at least one other wireless communication device via a peer communication network; And Establish a connection with the NTN based on the information, and the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operate in an integrated manner based on the information.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the information comprises parameters indicating: a frequency band used by the wireless communication device, a carrier frequency used by the wireless communication device, a frequency band used by the at least one other wireless communication device, a carrier frequency used by the at least one other wireless communication device, an antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device, an antenna arrangement of the at least one other wireless communication device, a beamforming capability of the wireless communication device, a beamforming capability of the at least one other wireless communication device, a relative position between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, a relative movement between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on coherent integration.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on non - coherent integration.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on joint beamforming.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the peer - to - peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra - Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, Side link, or a combination thereof.

17. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: One or more memories; One or more transceivers; And One or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured individually or in combination to: Obtain information about the communication between a set of communication devices and a non-terrestrial network (NTN); And Communicate with the NTN via the one or more transceivers, including: The one or more processors being configured individually or in combination to: Communicate directly with the NTN based on the wireless communication device being identified as one of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN; Or Communicate indirectly with the NTN via the peer communication network and the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the wireless communication device not being identified as any of the one or more selected wireless communication devices for direct communication with the NTN.

18. The wireless communication device according to claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to obtain the information including: The one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to send a first parameter to one or more other wireless communication devices in the set of communication devices via the peer communication network, the first parameter indicating: The connection capability between the wireless communication device and the NTN The connection quality between the wireless communication device and the NTN The connection history between the wireless communication device and the NTN Subscription or billing information regarding access to the NTN via the wireless communication device The non-terrestrial station signal search history of the wireless communication device The battery level of the wireless communication device The location of the wireless communication device The movement trajectory of the wireless communication device The orientation of the wireless communication device The predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN The area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the wireless communication device The LOS-blocked area observed by the wireless communication device, or A combination thereof.

19. The wireless communication device according to claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to obtain the information including: The one or more processors are further configured, individually or in combination, to receive a second parameter from at least one other wireless communication device in the group of communication devices via the peer communication network, the second parameter indicating: The connection capability between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN The connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN The connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN Subscription or billing information regarding access to the NTN via the at least one other wireless communication device and access to the NTN The non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device The battery level of the at least one other wireless communication device The location of the at least one other wireless communication device The movement trajectory of the at least one other wireless communication device The orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device The predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN The area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device The LOS-blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

20. The wireless communication device according to claim 17, wherein the peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, Side link, or a combination thereof.

21. The wireless communication device according to claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured, individually or in combination, to: perform a selection process to determine one or more candidate wireless communication devices based on the information; and coordinate with one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via the peer communication network to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the one or more candidate wireless communication devices and one or more other candidate wireless communication devices determined by the one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices.

22. The wireless communication device according to claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured, individually or in combination, to: coordinate with one or more other wireless communication devices in the group of communication devices via the peer communication network to designate the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the group of communication devices; and after selecting the wireless communication device to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices for the group of communication devices, perform a selection process to determine the one or more selected wireless communication devices based on the information.

23. The wireless communication device according to claim 17, wherein the one or more processors being configured to communicate indirectly with the NTN includes: The one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to: Access the NTN via at least one selected wireless communication device among the one or more selected wireless communication devices.

24. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: One or more memories; One or more transceivers; And One or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to: Obtain auxiliary information regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) from at least one other wireless communication device via a peer communication network; And Establish a connection with the NTN based on the auxiliary information.

25. The wireless communication device according to claim 24, wherein the auxiliary information includes parameters indicating: the connection quality between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the connection history between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN, the non-terrestrial station signal search history of the at least one other wireless communication device, the location of the at least one other wireless communication device, the orientation of the at least one other wireless communication device, the predicted location of the non-terrestrial station of the NTN, the area with line-of-sight (LOS) capability observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, the LOS blocked area observed by the at least one other wireless communication device, or a combination thereof.

26. The wireless communication device according to claim 24, wherein the peer-to-peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Near Field Communication (NFC), Visible Light Communication, sidelink, or a combination thereof.

27. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: One or more memories; One or more transceivers; And One or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to: Synchronize information regarding communication between the wireless communication device and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and regarding communication between the at least one other wireless communication device and the NTN via a peer-to-peer communication network; And Establish a connection with the NTN based on the information, wherein the connection between the wireless communication device and the NTN and at least one other connection between the NTN and the at least one other wireless communication device operate in an integrated manner based on the information.

28. The wireless communication device according to claim 27, wherein the information includes parameters indicating: the frequency band used by the wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the wireless communication device, the frequency band used by the at least one other wireless communication device, the carrier frequency used by the at least one other wireless communication device, The antenna arrangement of the wireless communication device, The antenna arrangement of the at least one other wireless communication device, The beamforming capability of the wireless communication device, The beamforming capability of the at least one other wireless communication device, The relative position between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, The relative movement between the wireless communication device and the at least one other wireless communication device, or A combination thereof.

29. The wireless communication device according to claim 27, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on coherent integration.

30. The wireless communication device according to claim 27, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on non - coherent integration.

31. The wireless communication device according to claim 27, wherein the connection and the at least one other connection operate based on joint beamforming.

32. The wireless communication device according to claim 27, wherein the peer - to - peer communication network is established based on: WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra - Wideband (UWB), Near - Field Communication (NFC), Visible light communication, Sidelink, or A combination thereof.

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