Efficient configuration of non-terrestrial network connections

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) can communicate in a network based at least in part on using a first connection configuration. The UE can communicate in the network based at least in part on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration. The UE can autonomously switch to reuse the first connection configuration for communication in the network based at least in part on the first connection configuration being stored at the UE. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Non - Provisional Patent Application No. 18 / 060,335, entitled "EFFICIENT CONFIGURING OF ANON - TERRESTRIAL NETWORK CONNECTION", filed on November 30, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and relate to techniques and apparatus for efficient configuration of non - terrestrial network connections. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. A typical wireless communication system may employ multiple access techniques capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access techniques include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single - Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC - FDMA) systems, Time Division - Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD - SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE / Advanced LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communication for wireless communication devices such as user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a network node via downlink communication and uplink communication. "Downlink" (or "DL") refers to the communication link from the network node to the UE, and "uplink" (or "UL") refers to the communication link from the UE to the network node. Some wireless networks may support device - to - device communication, such as via a local link (e.g., sidelink (SL), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) link, and / or Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) link, etc.).

[0006] The above multi-access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and / or global levels. New Radio (NR) (which may be referred to as 5G) is an enhanced set of the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by: improving spectral efficiency; reducing costs; improving services; utilizing new spectrums; and better integrating with other open standards by using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with Cyclic Prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink, CP-OFDM and / or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink; and supporting beamforming, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. With the continuous increase in the demand for mobile broadband access, further improvements in LTE, NR, and other radio access technologies are still useful. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a User Equipment (UE). The method may include communicating in a network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration. The method may include communicating in the network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration. The method may include storing at the UE from a primary switch to reusing the first connection configuration for communicating in the network at least in part based on the first connection configuration.

[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a network node. The method may include transmitting at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration. The method may include communicating with a UE in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration. The method may include communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration. The method may include communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration and without an additional transmission of the first connection configuration.

[0009] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE. The apparatus may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to communicate in a network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration. The one or more processors may be configured to communicate in the network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration. The one or more processors may be configured to at least in part based on the first connection configuration stored at the UE to switch from primarily to reusing the first connection configuration for communication in the network.

[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at a network node. The apparatus may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to send at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration. The one or more processors may be configured to communicate with a UE in a network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration. The one or more processors may be configured to communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration. The one or more processors may be configured to communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration and without an additional transmission of the first connection configuration.

[0011] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication by a UE. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to communicate in a network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to communicate in the network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to at least in part based on the first connection configuration stored at the UE to switch from primarily to reusing the first connection configuration for communication in the network.

[0012] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication by a network node. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the network node, can cause the network node to send at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the network node, can cause the network node to communicate with a UE in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the network node, can cause the network node to communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the network node, can cause the network node to communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration without additional transmission of the first connection configuration.

[0013] Some aspects described herein relate to a device for wireless communication. The device can include components for communicating in a network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration. The device can include components for communicating in the network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration. The device can include components for storing at the UE from mainly switching to reusing the first connection configuration for communicating in the network at least in part based on the first connection configuration.

[0014] Some aspects described herein relate to a device for wireless communication. The device can include components for sending at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration. The device can include components for communicating with a UE in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration. The device can include components for communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration. The device can include components for communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration without additional transmission of the first connection configuration.

[0015] Aspects generally include methods, devices, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, network entities, network nodes, wireless communication devices, and / or processing systems as fully described herein with reference to the figures and the specification and as illustrated in the figures and the specification.

[0016] The features and technical advantages of examples in accordance with the present disclosure have been outlined rather broadly above so that the detailed description below may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The disclosed concepts and specific examples can be readily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for achieving the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructs do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both in their organizational and operational aspects, as well as the associated advantages, will be better understood by considering the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each of the accompanying drawings is provided for purposes of illustration and description and is not to be construed as a definition of the limits of the claims.

[0017] While aspects are described in this disclosure by way of illustration of some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that such aspects can be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. The techniques described herein can be implemented using different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and / or packaging arrangements. For example, some aspects can be implemented via an integrated chip implementation or other non-module-component-based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / shopping devices, medical devices, and / or artificial intelligence devices). Aspects can be implemented in chip-level components, modular components, non-modular components, non-chip-level components, device-level components, and / or system-level components. Devices incorporating the described aspects and features can include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the claimed and described aspects. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals can include one or more components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders, and / or summers). The aspects described herein are intended to be practiced in a wide variety of devices, components, systems, distributed arrangements, and / or end-user devices of various sizes, shapes, and configurations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] To understand the above features of the present disclosure in detail, a more specific description of the above briefly outlined summary of the invention can be obtained by referring to the aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that the drawings only illustrate certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not considered to limit its scope, as the specification may admit other equally valid aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings can identify the same or similar elements.

[0019] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network node communicating with a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 3 are diagrams illustrating examples of regenerative satellite deployments and examples of transparent satellite deployments in a non-terrestrial network.

[0022] Figure 4A 、 Figure 4B 、 Figure 4C and Figure 4D are diagrams illustrating examples of UEs connecting to non-terrestrial network nodes over time according to the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 5A and Figure 5B are diagrams illustrating examples of wireless communication processes between a UE, a source network node, and a target network node according to the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 6A and Figure 6B are diagrams illustrating examples of wireless communication processes between a first UE, a second UE, a source network node, and a target network node according to the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example process, such as that performed by a UE, according to the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process, such as that performed by a network node, according to the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 9 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication according to the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 10 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0029] Aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of the aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice a method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods implemented using other structures, functionality, or a combination of structures and functionality in addition to or different from the aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

[0030] Certain aspects of a telecommunications system will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0031] Although terms generally associated with 5G or New Radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) may be used herein to describe aspects, aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT, and / or post-5G (e.g., 6G) RATs.

[0032] Figure 1FIG. is an example diagram illustrating a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 can be a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, or can include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or elements of a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, and so on. The wireless network 100 can include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as network nodes 110a, network nodes 110b, network nodes 110c, and network nodes 110d), user equipment (UE) 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as UEs 120a, UEs 120b, UEs 120c, UEs 120d, and UEs 120e), and / or other entities. The network nodes 110 are network nodes that communicate with the UEs 120. As shown, the network nodes 110 can include one or more network nodes. For example, the network nodes 110 can be integrated network nodes, which means that the integrated network nodes are configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., within a single device or unit). Another example is that the network nodes 110 can be decomposed network nodes (sometimes referred to as decomposed base stations), which means that the network nodes 110 are configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed among two or more nodes, such as one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs).

[0033] In some examples, the network nodes 110 are or include network nodes (such as RUs) that communicate with the UEs 120 via radio access links. In some examples, the network nodes 110 are or include network nodes (such as DUs) that communicate with other network nodes 110 via fronthaul links or midhaul links. In some examples, the network nodes 110 are or include network nodes (such as CUs) that communicate with other network nodes 110 via midhaul links or communicate with the core network via a backhaul link. In some examples, the network nodes 110 (such as integrated network nodes 110 or decomposed network nodes 110) can include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and / or one or more DUs. The network nodes 110 can include, for example, NR base stations, LTE base stations, Node Bs, eNBs (e.g., in 4G), gNBs (e.g., in 5G), access points, transmit receive points (TRPs), DUs, RUs, CUs, mobility elements of the network, core network nodes, network elements, network equipment, RAN nodes, or combinations thereof. In some examples, the network nodes 110 can be interconnected with each other or with one or more other network nodes 110 in the wireless network 100 using any suitable transport network via various types of fronthaul interfaces, midhaul interfaces, and / or backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections, air interfaces, or virtual networks.

[0034] In some examples, network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area. In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), depending on the context in which the term is used, the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of network node 110 and / or the network node subsystem serving that coverage area. Network node 110 may provide communication coverage for macro cells, picocells, femtocells, and / or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with a service subscription. A picocell may cover a relatively small geographical area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with a service subscription. A femtocell may cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs 120 associated with the femtocell (e.g., UEs 120 in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG)). The network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. The network node 110 for a picocell may be referred to as a pico network node. The network node 110 for a femtocell may be referred to as a femto network node or a home network node. In Figure 1 the example shown, network node 110a may be a macro network node for macro cell 102a, network node 110b may be a pico network node for picocell 102b, and network node 110c may be a femto network node for femtocell 102c. A network node may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographical area of a cell may move according to the location of a moving network node 110 (e.g., a mobile network node).

[0035] In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a centralized base station, a split base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, a "base station" or "network node" may refer to a CU, a DU, an RU, a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a single device configured to perform one or more functions, such as those described herein in connection with network node 110. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to multiple devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of multiple different devices (which may be located at the same geographical location or different geographical locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to repeat at least a portion of the function, and the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one base station function among base station functions, rather than another base station function. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

[0036] Wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream node (e.g., network node 110 or UE 120) and transmit the data to a downstream node (e.g., UE 120 or network node 110). A relay station may be a UE 120 that can relay transmissions for other UEs 120. In Figure 1 the example shown, network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and UE 120d to facilitate communication between network node 110a and UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communication may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, a relay, etc.

[0037] Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes different types of network nodes 110, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, etc. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and / or different impacts on interference in wireless network 100. For example, a macro network node may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 watts to 40 watts), while pico network nodes, femto network nodes, and relay network nodes may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 watt to 2 watts).

[0038] In some examples, and as Figure 1 shown, the cell may be provided by a non-terrestrial network node 110b of a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The non-terrestrial network node 110b may also be referred to as a non-terrestrial base station or a non-terrestrial access point. "NTN" may represent a network that can be accessed at least in part based on non-terrestrial network nodes (e.g., non-terrestrial network node 110b). In some NTN deployments, the non-terrestrial network node 110b may be located on an airborne platform or an orbital platform. Examples of such platforms include satellites (e.g., low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, and / or geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites), balloons, airships, airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and / or drones.

[0039] Alternatively or additionally, in some NTN deployments (e.g., transparent architecture or bent pipe architecture), the non-terrestrial network node 110b may act as a relay station to relay communications between the UE 120 and a terrestrial network node 110a (e.g., a terrestrial base station located on the ground or on a tower). In this case, the non-terrestrial network node 110b may perform frequency conversion and / or radio frequency amplification on the communications relayed between the UE 120 and the terrestrial network node 110a. For example, the UE 120 may send uplink communications to the non-terrestrial network node 110b, which may (e.g., after performing frequency conversion and / or radio frequency amplification) relay the uplink communications to the terrestrial network node 110a. The terrestrial network node 110a may perform additional processing on the uplink communications and / or may send the uplink communications to the core network. As another example, the terrestrial network node 110a may send downlink communications to the non-terrestrial network node 110b, which may (e.g., after performing frequency conversion and / or radio frequency amplification) relay the downlink communications to the UE 120. In some aspects, the UE 120 and / or the terrestrial network node 110a may be referred to as a ground station (GS).

[0040] The network controller 130 may be coupled to or communicate with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for these network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may also communicate directly with each other or indirectly via a wireless backhaul communication link or a wired backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be a CU or a core network device, or may include a CU or a core network device.

[0041] UE 120 can be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 can be stationary or mobile. UE 120 can include, for example, access terminals, terminals, mobile stations, and / or subscriber units. UE 120 can be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, a superbook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, and / or a satellite radio), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, UE functionality of a network node, and / or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired media.

[0042] Some UEs 120 can be considered machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs and / or eMTC UEs can include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and / or location tags, which can communicate with network nodes, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs 120 can be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices and / or can be implemented as narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 can be considered customer premise equipment. UE 120 can be included inside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as processor components and / or memory components. In some examples, the processor components and the memory components can be coupled together. For example, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., memory) can be operably coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and / or electrically coupled.

[0043] Generally speaking, any number of wireless networks 100 can be deployed in a given geographical area. Each wireless network 100 can support a specific RAT and can operate on one or more frequencies. The RAT can be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, etc. The frequency can be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, etc. Each frequency in a given geographical area can support a single RAT to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, an NR or 5G RAT network can be deployed.

[0044] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., communicate with each other without using network node 110 as an intermediate device). For example, UE 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocol), and / or mesh networks. In such examples, UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by network node 110.

[0045] Devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. according to frequency or wavelength. For example, devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz to 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 typically (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.

[0046] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designations FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher 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 to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher bands falls within the EHF band.

[0047] In view of the above examples, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if terms such as "below 6 GHz" are used herein, such terms can generally represent frequencies that can be below 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include intermediate band frequencies. Additionally, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if terms such as "millimeter wave" are used herein, such terms can generally represent frequencies that can include intermediate band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a, or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and / or FR5) can be modified, and the techniques described herein apply to those modified frequency ranges.

[0048] In some aspects, a UE (e.g., UE 120) may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may communicate in the network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration; communicate in the network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration; and store at the UE based at least in part on the first connection configuration and then primarily switch to reusing the first connection configuration for communication in the network. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0049] In some aspects, a network node (e.g., network node 110) may include a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may send at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration; communicate with a user equipment (UE) in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration; communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration; and communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration and without additional transmission of the first connection configuration. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0050] As indicated above, Figure 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the examples described with respect to Figure 1 those described.

[0051] Figure 2FIG. 200 is an illustration of an example 200 of communication between a network node 110 and a UE 120 in a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a to 234t, such as T antennas (T≥1). The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a to 252r, such as R antennas (R≥1). The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as antennas 234 and a modem 232. In some examples, the network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include radio frequency components that facilitate direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs or one or more DUs.

[0052] At network node 110, transmit processor 220 may receive data destined for UE 120 (or a group of UEs 120) from data source 212. Transmit processor 220 may select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for UE 120 based at least in part on one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from UE 120. Network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) data for UE 120 based at least in part on the MCS selected for UE 120 and may provide data symbols for UE 120. Transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource allocation information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, and / or upper layer signaling) and may provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signal (CRS) or demodulation reference signal (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) or secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) (shown as modems 232a through 232t). For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 232. Each modem 232 may process the corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) using the corresponding modulator component to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may also process the output sample stream (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or up-convert) using the corresponding modulator component to obtain a downlink signal. Modems 232a through 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) (shown as antennas 234a through 234t).

[0053] At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a through 252r) may receive downlink signals from the network node 110 and / or other network nodes 110 and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) (shown as modems 254a through 254r). For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 254. Each modem 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, down-convert, and / or digitize) the received signal using the corresponding demodulator component to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) using the demodulator component to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 may obtain the received symbols from the modems 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and may provide the detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide the decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and may provide the decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term "controller / processor" may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. The channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP) parameters, received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameters, reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameters, and / or CQI parameters, etc. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in the housing 284.

[0054] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0055] One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a through 234t and / or antennas 252a through 252r) may include one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, and / or one or more antenna arrays, etc., or may be included within one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, and / or one or more antenna arrays, etc. The antenna panel, antenna group, set of antenna elements, and / or antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings), a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, and / or one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmit and / or receive components (such as Figure 2 one or more components in

[0056] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and / or CQI). The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266 when applicable, further processed by the modem 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and sent to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of the antenna 252, the modem 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., the controller / processor 280) and the memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (e.g., with reference to Figures 4A to 10 ) described in any of the methods.

[0057] At the network node 110, the uplink signals from the UE 120 and / or other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., the demodulator component of the modem 232, shown as DEMOD), detected by the MIMO detector 236 when applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink communication and / or uplink communication. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of the antenna 234, the modem 232, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the transmit processor 220, and / or the TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., the controller / processor 240) and the memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (e.g., with reference to Figures 4A to 10 ) described in any of the methods.

[0058] The controller / processor 240 of network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of UE 120, and / or Figure 2 any other components in Figure 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with efficient configuration of a non-terrestrial network connection, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of UE 120, and / or Figure 7 any other components in Figure 8 may perform or direct the operation of, for example, Figure 7 process 700 in Figure 8 process 800 in

[0059] and / or other processes as described herein. Memory 242 and memory 282 may store data and program code for network node 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some examples, memory 242 and / or memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and / or program code) for wireless communication. For example, when the one or more instructions are executed by one or more processors of network node 110 and / or UE 120 (e.g., directly executed, or after compilation, transformation, and / or interpretation), the one or more processors, UE 120, and / or network node 110 may perform or direct the operation of, for example,

[0060] In some aspects, a network node (e.g., network node 110) includes components for sending at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration; components for communicating with a UE in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration; components for communicating with a UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration; and / or components for communicating with a UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration and without additional transmission of the first connection configuration. The components for the network node to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: communication manager 150, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modem 232, antenna 234, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246.

[0061] Although Figure 2 the boxes in are illustrated as different components, the functions described above with respect to these boxes may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combined component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to transmit processor 264, receive processor 258, and / or TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of controller / processor 280.

[0062] As indicated above, Figure 2 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the examples described with respect to Figure 2 described.

[0063] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or constituent parts in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, mobility elements of the network, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, base stations, or network equipment can be implemented in an integrated architecture or a decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), TRP, or cell, etc.) or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality can be implemented as an integrated base station (also referred to as a stand-alone base station or a monolithic base station) or a decomposed base station. A "network entity" or "network node" may refer to a decomposed base station or one or more units of a decomposed base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof).

[0064] A centralized base station (e.g., a centralized network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). A split base station (e.g., a split network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs. In some examples, a CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually spread across one or more other network nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), etc.

[0065] Base station type operations or network designs may consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, split base stations may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as a network configuration initiated by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)) to facilitate the scaling of a communication system by separating base station functionality into one or more units that can be deployed separately. A split base station may include functionality implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functionality implemented virtually for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. The various units of a split base station may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the split base station.

[0066] Figure 3 FIG. 300 illustrates an example of a regenerative satellite deployment and FIG. 310 illustrates an example of a transparent satellite deployment in a non-terrestrial network.

[0067] Example 300 shows a regenerative satellite deployment where a first UE 120-1 is served by a satellite 320 via a serving link 330-1. In some aspects, the satellite 320 may include base station capabilities (e.g., capabilities associated with a network node 110a and / or gNB) and may be referred to as a non-terrestrial base station, a regenerative repeater, or an on-board processing repeater. At least in part based on including base station capabilities, the satellite 320 may demodulate an uplink radio frequency signal and may modulate a baseband signal derived from the uplink radio signal to generate a downlink radio frequency transmission. For illustration, the satellite 320 may transmit a downlink radio frequency signal on the serving link 330-1. The satellite 320 may provide network access to the UE 120-1 within a coverage area (e.g., a cell coverage area). The first UE 120-1 may include global navigation satellite system (GNSS) capabilities or global positioning system (GPS) capabilities.

[0068] Example 310 illustrates a transparent satellite deployment, which may also be referred to as a bent pipe satellite deployment. In Example 310, the second UE 120-2 is served by the satellite 340 via the service link 330-2, where the satellite 340 may be referred to as a transparent satellite. For illustration, the satellite 340 may act as a relay by receiving signals from the gateway 350 via the feeder link 360 and relaying the signals to the UE 120-2 via the service link 330-2. Alternatively or additionally, the satellite 340 may receive an uplink radio frequency transmission from the UE 120-2 via the service link 330-2 and relay the uplink radio frequency transmission to the gateway 350 via the feeder link 360 without demodulating the uplink radio frequency transmission. In some aspects, the satellite 340 may perform a frequency conversion of the uplink radio frequency transmission from a first frequency (e.g., associated with the service link 330-2) to a second frequency (e.g., associated with the feeder link 360), and may amplify and / or filter the uplink radio frequency transmission. When the UE 120-2 operates in the coverage area associated with the satellite 340, the satellite 340 may provide network access to the UE 120-2. The second UE 120-2 may include GNSS capabilities or GPS capabilities.

[0069] As shown in Example 310, the satellite 340 and the UE 120-2 may communicate with each other at least in part based on the service link 330-2. The service link 330-2 may include an uplink for transmitting uplink communications (e.g., from the UE 120-2 to the gateway 350 via the satellite 340) and / or a downlink for transmitting downlink communications (e.g., from the gateway 350 to the UE 120-2 via the satellite 340). In a similar manner, the satellite 340 and the gateway 350 may communicate with each other at least in part based on the feeder link 360, where the feeder link 360 may include an uplink for transmitting uplink communications and / or a downlink for transmitting downlink communications.

[0070] Due to the movement of satellites 320 and 340 and / or the movement of UE 120-1 or UE 120-2, the feeder link 360, service link 330-1, and / or service link 330-2 may each experience a Doppler shift. Based at least in part on the speed of satellite movement, the Doppler shift associated with satellite movement may be significantly greater than the Doppler shift associated with a terrestrial network. In some aspects, the sender device may pre-compensate for the satellite-based Doppler shift. By way of illustration, the feeder link 360 between gateway 350 and satellite 340 may be a 1:1 link between a single sender device and a single receiver device. Based at least in part on the feeder link 360 being a 1:1 link, gateway 350 and / or another network node may estimate the feeder link Doppler shift and perform pre-compensation (e.g., modify the transmitted signal) to mitigate the Doppler shift observed by satellite 340. Satellite 340 may communicate with multiple UEs at different locations based at least in part on a 1:N link, where N is an integer greater than 1. By way of illustration, satellite 340 may broadcast information received and processed by N UEs at different locations. The different locations of the receiving UEs may result in each UE observing a different service link Doppler shift. Accordingly, satellite 340 may avoid applying pre-compensation to the service link Doppler shift based at least in part on the 1:N link and the variation in the service link Doppler shift observed between each UE. These sources of frequency error may cause the downlink frequency received at UE 120 to deviate from the target downlink frequency.

[0071] As indicated above, Figure 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example(s) described with respect to Figure 3 the example(s) described.

[0072] Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D are diagrams illustrating example 400 (shown as 400-1, 400-2, 400-3, and 400-4, respectively) of a UE 120 connecting to a non-terrestrial network node (e.g., a satellite) over time in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0073] NTN can provide wireless access and / or service coverage in areas where terrestrial cellular services are unavailable and / or difficult to reach (e.g., mountaintops, bodies of water, and / or canyons). In some aspects, the wireless connection between a UE and a non-terrestrial network node (e.g., implemented at least in part based on satellites, drones, and / or balloons) can be characterized and / or operable at least in part based on the non-terrestrial network node and / or the UE having line-of-sight (LoS) to each other. For illustration, an uplink signal from a UE to a satellite can propagate upward and into the sky rather than propagate along the ground in a LoS manner. Based at least in part on the signal propagating upward in a LoS manner from the UE to the non-terrestrial network node, the UE can observe the same channel conditions when communicating with different non-terrestrial network nodes because each non-terrestrial network node operates at the same and / or commensurate (e.g., within a range of values and / or within a threshold distance) location.

[0074] Figure 4A Example 400-1 shown illustrates a first satellite 402 at a first point in time (e.g., time = t1). The first satellite 402 can be wirelessly linked to a ground station 404 at least in part based on a first wireless connection 406. At time t1, the first satellite 402 can be located at a first position and / or provide service over a coverage area 408. Thus, a UE 120 operating within the coverage area 408 can be wirelessly linked to the first satellite 402 at least in part based on a second wireless connection 410-1. In some aspects, the second wireless connection 410-1 can be based at least in part on a first connection configuration. For illustration, the first connection configuration can be based at least in part on one or more parameters indicated in a radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment message and / or an RRC connection reconfiguration message, such as any combination of one or more measurement configuration parameters (e.g., measurement timing parameters for measuring signal quality associated with one or more cells), one or more radio bearer configuration parameters, and / or logical channel parameters (e.g., hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback mode and / or status), and / or one or more cell configuration parameters (e.g., beam configuration parameters and / or antenna polarization mode). In some aspects, one or more parameters can be based at least in part on the current location of the first satellite 402 and / or the UE 120.

[0075] Figure 4B Example 400-2 shown illustrates the first satellite 402 at a second point in time (e.g., time = t2), where the first satellite 402 has moved to a different second position. In some aspects, the first satellite 402 can update and / or change the wireless connection to establish and / or maintain to the UE 120 (in Figure 4BOne or more parameters associated with the second wireless connection 401-2) shown in. That is, the second wireless connection 410-2 can be at least partially based on a second connection configuration that indicates at least one different parameter relative to the first connection configuration. The second connection configuration can be at least partially based on the mobile position of the first satellite 402. For example, the signal quality that meets the quality threshold at time = t1 (e.g., when the first satellite 402 operates at the first position, as shown in example 400-1) may not meet the quality threshold at time = t2 (e.g., when the first satellite operates at the second position, as shown in example 400-2). Thus, when the first satellite 402 communicates with the UE 120 at the second position, the first satellite 402 and / or the ground station 404 can select a connection configuration that improves the connection performance (e.g., increases the data rate, reduces recovery errors, and / or improves reliability). In some aspects, the first satellite 402 can send an indication of the second connection configuration to the UE 120, such as in an RRC message.

[0076] Figure 4C Example 400-3 shown illustrates the first satellite 402 at a third time point (e.g., time = t3). At time = t3, the first satellite 402 has moved to a different third position. As described above, the first satellite 402 can update and / or change one or more parameters associated with establishing and / or maintaining a wireless link with the UE 120 (shown as the second wireless connection 410-3) in Figure 4C One or more parameters associated with the second wireless connection 410-3) shown in. As described above, the second wireless connection 410-3 can be at least partially based on a third connection configuration that is different from the first connection configuration and / or the second connection configuration. For example, the third connection configuration can be at least partially based on the first satellite 402 operating at the third position. In some aspects, the first satellite 402 can send an indication of the third connection configuration to the UE 120, such as in an RRC message.

[0077] Figure 4DExample 400-4 shown illustrates a first satellite 402 at a fourth time point (e.g., time = t4), where the first satellite 402 has moved to a different fourth position. At time = t4, the coverage area provided by the first satellite 402 fails to overlap with the UE 120. That is, the first satellite 402 may not be able to provide reliable access to the NTN for the UE 120 and / or may be disconnected from the UE 120. As shown in Example 400-4, a second satellite 412 that communicates with a ground station 404 at least in part based on a third radio connection 414 may move to a first position and establish a fourth radio connection 416 with the UE 120. For example, the UE 120 may be located at a position within a coverage area 418 provided by the second satellite 412. In some aspects, the ground station 404, the second satellite 412, and / or the first satellite 402 may communicate (e.g., associated with establishing and / or maintaining the fourth radio connection 416) a fourth connection configuration to the UE 120, such as in an RRC message. For illustration, the UE 120 may receive the fourth connection configuration as part of a handover message associated with the UE 120 changing from communicating with the first satellite 402 to communicating with the second satellite 412.

[0078] In the NTN, satellite groups may travel in the same path and / or commensurate paths (e.g., paths within a range of distance values and / or within a distance threshold of each other). For illustration, the first satellite 402 and the second satellite 412 may travel the same and / or commensurate paths such that the UE 120 may observe similar channel characteristics when communicating with the first satellite 402 using a second radio connection 410-1 (e.g., at time = t1 and the first satellite 402 is at the first position) and communicating with the second satellite 412 using a fourth radio connection 416 (e.g., at time = t4 and the second satellite 412 is at the first position). Thus, iteratively changing the connection configuration used for communication in the NTN at various time points (e.g., changing from using a first connection configuration to a second connection configuration at a first time point, changing from using the second connection configuration to a third connection configuration at a second time point, and / or changing from using the third connection configuration to the first connection configuration at a third time point) may result in the transmission of redundant information, increased signaling overhead, and / or consumption of air interface resources. For illustration, the first connection configuration associated with the second radio link 410-1 may include parameters commensurate with and / or the same as the fourth connection configuration associated with the fourth radio connection 416. For satellites with 1:N connections to N UEs, the redundancy and consumption of air interface resources may be exacerbated. The increased consumption of air interface resources associated with increased signaling overhead and / or redundant transmission may reduce the capacity of the NTN (e.g., reduce the number of UEs that can be supported), increase the data transmission latency in the NTN, and / or reduce the data throughput in the NTN.

[0079] Some of the techniques and apparatuses described herein provide efficient configurations for non-terrestrial network operations. A UE may communicate in a network (e.g., a non-terrestrial radio network and / or a terrestrial radio network) at least in part based on using a first connection configuration. For illustration, at a first point in time, the UE may receive a first connection configuration and / or an instruction to communicate in the network using the first connection configuration from a network node. At a second point in time, the UE may communicate in the network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration. For example, the UE may receive a second connection configuration and / or an instruction to switch to communicating using the second connection configuration to communicate in the network from a network node. At a third point in time, the UE may store at the UE based on the first connection configuration and autonomously switch to reusing the first connection configuration for communicating in the network. That is, the UE may autonomously switch to using the first connection configuration without receiving an additional transmission including the first connection configuration (another transmission). In some aspects, the UE may autonomously switch to using the first connection configuration without receiving an instruction to reuse the first connection configuration.

[0080] In some aspects, a network node may send at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration. For illustration, the network node may send the first connection configuration in a first transmission and the second connection configuration in a second transmission (e.g., at different points in time). Alternatively, the network node may send the first connection configuration and the second connection configuration in the same transmission. The network node may communicate with the UE at least in part based on using the first connection configuration (e.g., at a first point in time). For example, the network node may instruct the UE to communicate in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration. In some aspects, the network node may communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration (e.g., at a second point in time). For illustration, the network node may instruct the UE to communicate in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration (and / or stop using the first connection configuration). The network node may communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration and without an additional transmission of the first connection configuration (e.g., at a third point in time). That is, the UE may autonomously switch to using the first connection configuration and / or indicate to the network node an autonomous switch to the first connection configuration.

[0081] By storing connection configurations, the UE may reduce signaling overhead in NTN. That is, the UE may reuse the connection configurations stored at the UE and reduce the signaling overhead of network nodes (e.g., non-terrestrial network nodes) by reducing redundant transmissions. Reducing signaling overhead saves air interface resources for other communications in NTN, increases the capacity of NTN, reduces data transmission latency in NTN, and / or increases data throughput in NTN.

[0082] Figure 4A 、Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D are provided as examples. Other examples may be different from the examples regarding Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D described.

[0083] Figure 5A and Figure 5B illustrate diagrams of an example 500 of a wireless communication process between a UE 502 (e.g., UE 120), a source network node 504 (e.g., a non-terrestrial network node 110 and / or a satellite), and a target network node 506 (e.g., another non-terrestrial network node 110 and / or another satellite) according to the present disclosure. Although example 500 shows both the source network node 504 and the target network node 506, other examples may include a single network node. For illustration, in at least one example, the signaling between the UE 502 and the target network node 506 shown in example 500 may alternatively be implemented between the UE 502 and the source network node 504.

[0084] Starting from Figure 5A and as indicated by reference numeral 510, the source network node 504 may send an indication of a first connection configuration, and the UE 502 may receive the indication of the first connection configuration, which is shown as connection configuration (1) in Figure 5A . For illustration, the source network node 504 may send the first connection configuration at least in part based on RRC messages (such as an RRC connection establishment message and / or an RRC reconfiguration message). The connection configuration may indicate one or more parameters associated with establishing and / or maintaining a wireless connection in the NTN, such as one or more parameters associated with radio bearer configuration and / or one or more parameters associated with cell configuration.

[0085] In some aspects, the source network node 504 sends a configuration identifier together with the indication of the first connection configuration. For example, the source network node 504 may assign a unique identifier to the first connection configuration and send the unique identifier (and / or an indication of the unique identifier) together with the first connection configuration. Alternatively or additionally, the connection identifier may be at least in part based on one or more other identifiers, such as a beam identifier, a satellite identifier, and / or a cell identifier. For illustration, the source network node 504 may send an indication of the beam identifier, and the UE 502 may derive the configuration identifier from the beam identifier (e.g., by using the beam identifier as the configuration identifier and / or by applying a decoding algorithm for extracting and / or generating the configuration identifier from the beam identifier).

[0086] As shown by reference numeral 515, the UE 502 may store a first connection configuration. That is, the UE 502 may store the first connection configuration locally (such as in a local memory device of the UE). Alternatively or additionally, the UE 502 may store a connection identifier associated with the first connection configuration in the local memory device.

[0087] As shown by reference numeral 520, the source network node 504 and the UE 502 may communicate using the first connection configuration. For example, the source network node 504 may transmit downlink communication at least in part based on a beam specified by the first connection configuration, and / or the UE 502 may configure antennas and / or receivers at least in part based on a beam specified by the second connection configuration. As another example, the UE 502 may transmit uplink communication at least in part based on a target power level specified by the first connection configuration and / or a bandwidth part (BWP) specified by the first connection configuration.

[0088] As shown by reference numeral 525, the source network node 504 may transmit an indication of a second connection configuration, and the UE 502 may receive the indication of the second connection configuration, which is shown as connection configuration (2) in Figure 5A As an example, the source network node 504 may be a satellite that moves from a first location to a second location, as described with respect to Figures 4A to 4D In some aspects, the source network node 504 may receive and / or generate measurements indicating that a signal power level fails to meet a quality threshold. Accordingly, the source network node 504 may select a second connection configuration to increase the signal power level, such as by selecting a different second beam that improves the propagation path of the beam between the source network node 504 and the UE 502 (e.g., a LoS propagation path). That is, the source network node 504 may select a different second beam at least in part based on the location of the source network node 504 and / or a location associated with the UE 502. The source network node 504 may send an indication of the second connection configuration to the UE 502 and / or indicate to use the second connection configuration to communicate in the NTN (e.g., communicate with the source network node 504). As described above, the source network node 504 may send a (unique) configuration identifier associated with the second connection configuration. The source network node may send the second connection configuration and / or the configuration identifier in an RRC message (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration message and / or an RRC connection establishment message). Alternatively or additionally, the UE 120 may derive a configuration identifier associated with the second connection configuration (e.g., from another identifier).

[0089] In some aspects, the source network node 504 may send an update indication that specifies an update to one or more parameters associated with a connection configuration (e.g., a first connection configuration and / or a second connection configuration locally stored at the UE 502). By way of illustration, the source network node 504 may determine an update to a beam selection associated with the first connection configuration and send an update indication indicating the updated beam selection. At least partially based on receiving the update indication, the UE 120 may update one or more parameters associated with the associated connection configuration (e.g., update the beam selection stored in local memory as part of the first connection configuration).

[0090] As shown by reference numeral 530, the UE 502 may store a second connection configuration. That is, the UE 502 may store the second connection configuration locally (such as in a local memory device of the UE). Alternatively or additionally, the UE 502 may store a connection identifier associated with the second connection configuration in the local memory device.

[0091] As shown by reference numeral 535, the source network node 504 and the UE 502 may communicate at least partially using the second connection configuration. For example, the source network node 504 may send downlink communications at least partially based on the beams specified by the second connection configuration, and / or the UE 502 may configure antennas and / or receivers at least partially based on the beams specified by the second connection configuration. As another example, the UE 502 may send uplink communications at least partially based on the target power level and / or BWP specified by the second connection configuration. As Figure 5A shown, example 500 proceeds to Figure 5B .

[0092] As Figure 5B shown by reference numeral 540, the UE 502 may detect a handover event associated with a connection configuration. By way of illustration, the source network node 504 may move to a location where the signal quality of the communication with the UE 502 fails to meet a quality threshold, and the source network node may determine to perform a handover of the UE 502 to the target network node 506. The UE 502 may receive an RRC message indicating a handover command associated with performing the handover from the source network node 504 to the target network node 506. In some aspects, the RRC message may indicate using the same connection configuration as the connection configuration used for communicating with the source network node 504 (e.g., by indicating a connection identifier), and / or may not indicate the connection configuration to the UE 502 (e.g., to save air interface resources).

[0093] As a handover event, the UE 502 may detect as a handover event that signal metrics (e.g., RSRP metric, channel state information (CSI) metric, and / or RSSI metric) associated with the target network node 506 meet a handover condition. For example, the handover condition may be associated with a connection configuration, such as a first handover condition associated with a first connection configuration. Alternatively or additionally, a second handover condition may be associated with a second (current) connection configuration. In some aspects, the UE 502 may detect as a handover event that the signal metrics meet the first handover condition and / or fail to meet the second handover condition. In some aspects, the UE 502 may detect the receipt of a handover command as a handover event.

[0094] As another example, the UE 502 may detect as a handover event that the current satellite position meets a satellite position condition. For example, the UE 502 may receive ephemeris data associated with the target network node 506 and determine that the current position of the target network node 506 meets a first satellite position condition associated with a first connection configuration and / or fails to meet a second satellite position condition associated with a second connection configuration. Alternatively or additionally, the UE 502 may detect as a handover event that the current satellite ephemeris associated with the target network node 506 commensurate (e.g., within a range of values or within a threshold of values) with a first satellite ephemeris associated with a first connection configuration (and / or incommensurate with a second satellite ephemeris associated with a second connection configuration).

[0095] In some aspects, the UE 502 may detect as a handover event that the current elevation angle associated with communicating with the target network node 506 is commensurate with an elevation angle associated with a first connection configuration. Other examples may include the UE 502 detecting as a handover event that the current UE position meets a UE position condition (e.g., associated with a first connection configuration), the current time falls within a configured time duration associated with a first connection configuration, and / or the current connection identifier is associated with a first connection configuration. Examples of connection identifiers may include and / or be at least partially based on a beam identifier, a satellite identifier, and / or a cell identifier. As described above, detecting a handover event may be at least partially based on identifying that another connection configuration (e.g., a connection configuration not currently used for communicating in the NTN) may be associated with meeting the conditions for a handover event and / or that the current connection configuration (e.g., the connection configuration currently used for communicating in the NTN) is not associated with meeting the conditions for a handover event. In some aspects, the UE may receive (e.g., via a system information block (SIB) and / or an RRC message) an indication of a handover event configuration specifying one or more handover events. The UE may receive the indication of the handover event configuration in the same or a different message as the message carrying the connection configuration associated with the handover event. Alternatively or additionally, the UE may be pre-configured with one or more handover event configurations (e.g., the handover event configurations are stored locally at the UE).

[0096] As shown by reference label 545, the UE 502 may send a handover indication, and the network node 506 may receive the handover indication. For illustration, the UE 502 may detect a handover event associated with a first connection configuration (as described with respect to reference label 540) and determine (autonomously) to hand over to communicate in the NTN using the first connection configuration (e.g., with the target network node 506). Thus, the UE 502 may send a handover indication associated with the autonomous handover to a different connection configuration, such as the first connection configuration associated with the handover event. In some aspects, the handover indication may specify and / or indicate a configuration identifier associated with the connection configuration and / or the detected handover event. For illustration, the handover indication may specify, by means of a configuration identifier, the connection configuration to which the UE 502 is handing over for communication in the NTN. The UE 502 may send the handover indication in a single and / or combination of uplink control information, MAC control element (CE), and / or RRC message. Although example 500 shows the UE 502 sending a handover indication, other examples may include the UE 502 refraining from sending a handover indication. Alternatively or additionally, the target network node 506 may detect the same handover event as the UE 502 and send a handover indication to the UE 502 (e.g., without sending multiple configuration parameters).

[0097] In some aspects, the target network node 506 may send and the UE 502 may receive a handover indication response that indicates receipt of the handover indication, the target network node 506's agreement to use the associated connection configuration, and / or confirmation of the handover (e.g., to the connection configuration). That is, the target network node 506 may send the handover indication response at least in part based on receipt of the handover indication. However, in other examples, the target network node 506 may refrain from sending a handover indication response.

[0098] As shown by reference numeral 550, the target network node 506 and the UE 502 may communicate using a first connection configuration. For example, the UE 502 may autonomously switch from communicating in the NTN at least partially based on using a second connection configuration to communicating in the NTN at least partially based on (reusing) a first connection configuration stored locally at the UE 502 (e.g., without receiving an additional transmission including the first connection configuration). Alternatively or additionally, the target network node 506 may communicate in the NTN at least partially based on the first connection configuration. In some aspects, the target network node 506 may use at least a portion of the first connection configuration to communicate with the UE 502 at least partially based on a handover indication received from the UE 502 and / or at least partially based on detecting the same handover event as the UE 502. In some aspects, if the target network node 506 does not receive a handover indication from the UE 502 (e.g., within a time duration threshold of the target network node 506 detecting the handover event), the target network node 506 may transmit to and / or indicate to the UE a connection configuration associated with the handover event.

[0099] To illustrate communicating at least partially based on using the first connection configuration, the target network node 506 may transmit downlink communication using a beam specified by the first connection configuration, and / or the UE 502 may receive downlink communication by (re)configuring an antenna and / or a receiver at least partially based on a beam specified by the first connection configuration. As another example, the UE 502 may transmit uplink communication at least partially based on a target power level and / or a specified BWP specified by the first connection configuration. Thus, in some aspects, the UE 502 may receive the first connection configuration from the source network node 504 (e.g., for communicating with the source network node 504) and reuse the first connection configuration to communicate with the target network node 506. That is, to save air interface resources, the UE 502 may reuse a connection configuration stored locally at the UE instead of receiving an RRC message (e.g., an RRC connection establishment message and / or an RRC reconfiguration message) including one or more parameters of the connection configuration.

[0100] In some aspects, the target network node 506 may transmit and the UE 502 may receive additional connection configuration parameters not specified by the first connection configuration, such as satellite ephemeris information associated with the target network node 506 and / or one or more common timing advance (TA) parameters associated with the target network node 506. Thus, the target network node 506 and the UE 502 may communicate with each other at least partially based on the first connection configuration and the additional connection configuration parameters.

[0101] As shown by reference numeral 555, the UE 502 may detect a handover event associated with a second connection configuration. As described above, the handover event may be based at least in part on any combination of signal metrics, current satellite position (e.g., associated with the target network node 506), current satellite ephemeris, current elevation angle, current UE position, current time, and / or current connection identifier.

[0102] As shown by reference numeral 560, the UE 502 may send a (second) handover indication, and the network node 506 may receive the (second) handover indication. As described above, the UE 502 may send the (second) handover indication in at least one of an RRC message, uplink control information, and / or a MAC CE. Alternatively or additionally, the handover indication may specify and / or indicate a connection identifier associated with the second connection configuration. Although example 500 shows the UE 502 sending a handover indication, in other examples, the UE 502 may not send a handover indication. In some aspects, the target network node 506 may send a handover indication response to the UE 502, while in other aspects, the target network node 506 may avoid sending a handover indication response.

[0103] As shown by reference numeral 565, the target network node 506 and the UE 502 may communicate using the second connection configuration at least in part. That is, as described above, the UE 502 may autonomously switch (and / or the target network node 506 may switch) from using the first connection configuration (e.g., for communicating with the target network node 506) to (reusing) the first connection configuration stored locally in the UE 502, (reusing) the second connection configuration stored at the UE 502 (e.g., for communicating with the target network node 506) (e.g., without receiving an additional transmission including the second connection configuration). In some aspects, the target network node 506 may send additional connection configuration parameters not specified by the second connection configuration, and the UE 502 may receive the additional connection configuration parameters.

[0104] By storing connection configurations, the UE may reduce signaling overhead in NTN. That is, the UE may reuse the connection configurations stored at the UE and reduce signaling overhead for network nodes (e.g., non-terrestrial network nodes) by reducing redundant transmissions. Reducing signaling overhead saves air interface resources for other communications in NTN, increases the capacity of NTN, reduces data transmission latency in NTN, and / or increases data throughput in NTN.

[0105] As indicated above, Figure 5A and Figure 5B are provided as examples. Other examples may differ from the examples regarding Figure 5A and Figure 5B described.

[0106] Figure 6A and Figure 6B illustrates an example 600 of a wireless communication process between a first UE 602 (e.g., UE 120), a second UE 604 (e.g., another UE 120), a source network node 606 (e.g., a non-terrestrial network node 110 and / or a satellite), and a target network node 608 (e.g., another non-terrestrial network node 110 and / or another satellite) in accordance with the present disclosure. Although example 600 shows two UEs, a source network node, and a target network node, other examples may include a single network node, a single UE, multiple network nodes, and / or multiple UEs. For illustration, in at least one example, signaling associated with the target network node 608 may alternatively be associated with the source network node 606.

[0107] From Figure 6A the start, and as shown by reference numeral 610-1, the first UE 602 may send a first configuration request, and the source network node 606 may receive the first configuration request. Alternatively or additionally, and as shown by reference numeral 610-2, the second UE 604 may send a second configuration request, and the source network node 606 may receive the second configuration request. For illustration, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may send the configuration request as part of an initial access procedure (e.g., in a random access channel (RACH) transmission). In some aspects, the configuration request may indicate a request for one or more connection configurations associated with communicating in the NTN (such as with respect to Figure 5A and Figure 5B the first connection configuration and / or the second connection configuration described). While example 600 shows the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 sending the respective configuration requests, other examples may include neither UE sending a configuration request and / or only a single UE sending a configuration request.

[0108] As shown by reference numeral 615, the source network node 606 may send a configuration indication, and the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may receive the configuration indication. In some aspects, the source network node 606 may send a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations (e.g., multiple connection configurations) and / or multiple connection identifiers (e.g., respective connection identifiers associated with the respective connection configurations). The source network node 606 may send the configuration indication autonomously. Alternatively, the source network node 606 may send the configuration indication at least partially based on receiving the configuration request. In some aspects, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may receive the configuration indication before communicating in the RRC connected state.

[0109] In some aspects, the source network node 606 may send a set of parameters associated with one or more connection configurations as a configuration indication. By way of illustration, the set of parameters may include one or more parameters associated with configuring the behavior of the UE when operating in the Radio Resource Control idle (RRC_IDLE) state and / or the Radio Resource Control inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, such as (by way of example and not limitation) a first parameter that configures the cell reselection procedure, a second parameter that configures the reception of broadcast information, a third parameter that configures the reception of paging, and / or a fourth parameter that configures sidelink operation. Alternatively or additionally, the configuration indication may indicate one or more indices, where each index maps to a corresponding entry in a connection configuration table.

[0110] The source network node 606 may send the configuration indication in a broadcast message. By way of illustration, the source network node 606 may send the configuration indication in a System Information Block (SIB). In some aspects, the source network node 606 may send the configuration indication in a multicast message (e.g., a message to a specific group of UEs). Alternatively or additionally, the source network node 606 may send the configuration indication in a unicast message (e.g., a first unicast message to the first UE 602 and / or a second unicast message to the second UE 604).

[0111] In some aspects, the source network node 606 may send and / or indicate multiple sets of connection configurations via one or more configuration indications. For example, the source network node 606 may send a first configuration indication associated with a first set of RRC idle state connection configurations. That is, the first set of connection configurations may be associated with a UE operating in the RRC idle state and / or may indicate that the UE should only use the first set of connection configurations when operating in the RRC idle state. Alternatively or additionally, the source network node 606 may send a second configuration indication associated with a second set of RRC inactive state connection configurations (e.g., associated with a UE operating in the RRC inactive state) and / or a third configuration indication associated with a third set of RRC active state connection configurations (e.g., associated with a UE operating in the RRC active state). The source network node 606 may indicate that the same set of connection configurations may be associated with both the RRC idle state and the RRC inactive state.

[0112] In some aspects, the source network node 606 may send and / or indicate multiple sets of connection configurations via one or more configuration indications. For example, the source network node 606 may send three sets of connection configurations, and each set may be associated with a different RRC state. For illustration, each connection configuration in the first set of connection configurations may be associated with the RRC_IDLE state, each connection configuration in the second set of connection configurations may be associated with the RRC_INACTIVE state, and / or each connection configuration in the third set of connection configurations may be associated with the Radio Resource Control Connected (RRC_CONNECTED) state. Alternatively or additionally, the source network node 606 may send a set of handover events, and each handover event may be associated with a handover to a specific set of connection configurations (e.g., the first handover event may be associated with a handover to the first set of connection configurations associated with the RRC_IDLE state, and / or the second handover event may be associated with a handover to the second set of connection configurations associated with the RRC_CONNECTED state). The source network node 606 may indicate that a set of connection configurations is associated with a single RRC state or multiple RRC states. Alternatively or additionally, the source network node 606 may indicate that a subset of the connection configurations within a set is associated with one or more sets of connection configurations (e.g., the subset of connection configurations may be associated with the first (RRC_IDLE) set of connection configurations and the second (RRC_CONNECTED) set of connection configurations).

[0113] The source network node 606 may at least partially base on using one or more configuration indications to indicate a first common set of connection configurations (e.g., common for each UE) and a second incremental set of connection configurations (e.g., specific for a single UE and / or common for multiple UEs) that may be used by multiple UEs. For illustration, the source network node 606 may send a first configuration indication associated with the first common set of connection configurations in a first SIB, and a second configuration indication associated with the second incremental set of connection configurations in a second SIB. In some aspects, the incremental connection configuration indicates the differences with respect to the connection parameters included in the common connection configuration. That is, each incremental connection parameter included in the incremental connection configuration may indicate the corresponding difference combined with the common connection parameters included in the common connection configuration. In some aspects, the incremental connection configuration indicates one or more configuration changes (e.g., increase or decrease) to one or more of the common connection parameters included in the common connection configuration.

[0114] As shown by reference numerals 620-1 and 620-2, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may store one or more sets of connection configurations (e.g., as indicated by the source network node 606), respectively. For example, the first UE 602 may store one or more sets of connection configurations (e.g., a first RRC idle state connection configuration set, a second RRC active state connection configuration set, a third common connection configuration set, and / or a fourth incremental connection configuration set) in a local memory device of the first UE 602. Alternatively or additionally, the second UE 604 may store one or more sets of connection configurations in a local memory device of the second UE 604. Storing one or more sets of connection configurations may include storing one or more connection identifiers associated with the set of connection configurations.

[0115] As shown by reference numeral 625-1, the first UE 602 may detect a handover event associated with an m-th connection configuration included in one of the sets of connection configurations stored by the first UE 602, where m is an integer. Alternatively or additionally, and as shown by reference numeral 625-2, the second UE 604 may detect a handover event associated with an n-th connection configuration included in one of the sets of connection configurations stored by the second UE 604, where n is an integer. By way of illustration and as described above, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may detect the respective handover events based at least in part on any combination of signal metrics, (e.g., the current satellite position associated with the source network node 606), the current satellite ephemeris, the current elevation angle, the current UE position, the current time, and / or the current connection identifier. In some aspects, the handover event may be associated with an RRC idle state connection configuration, an RRC inactive state connection configuration, and / or an RRC connected state connection configuration. Alternatively or additionally, the handover event may be associated with a common connection configuration and / or an incremental connection configuration.

[0116] In some aspects, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may determine whether to use a common connection configuration from a set of common connection configurations in combination with an incremental connection configuration from a set of incremental connection configurations. As an example, the common connection configuration and / or the set of common connection configurations may be associated with a time duration. That is, the source network node 606 may indicate the time duration as part of the configuration indication. The first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may determine whether to use the common connection configuration (e.g., from the set) at least in part based on an expiration time and / or a valid time duration associated with the common connection configuration. For example, the first UE 602 may determine that the expiration time has not occurred and determine to use the common connection configuration to communicate in the NTN. In some aspects, if a connection configuration has expired, the UE may use another set of connection configurations that have become valid (e.g., are next in time at least in part based on the associated valid time duration). Alternatively or additionally, the first UE 602 may determine to use the common connection configuration in combination with the incremental connection configuration.

[0117] While example 600 shows the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 detecting handover events associated with different connection configurations, other examples may include the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 each detecting a handover event associated with the same connection configuration. Alternatively or additionally, in other examples, only one of the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 may detect a handover event.

[0118] As shown by reference numeral 630-1, the first UE 602 may send a handover indication indicating that the first UE 602 is autonomously applying and / or switching to the m-th connection configuration, and the source network node 606 may receive the handover indication. Alternatively or additionally, and as shown by reference numeral 630-2, the second UE 604 may send a handover indication indicating that the second UE 604 is autonomously applying and / or switching to the n-th connection configuration, and the source network node 606 may receive the handover indication. As described above, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may send the corresponding handover indication in at least one of an RRC message, uplink control information, and / or a MAC CE. Each handover indication may specify and / or indicate a connection identifier associated with the selected connection configuration. Although example 600 shows the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 sending the corresponding handover indications to the same network node (e.g., the source network node 606), other examples may include the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 sending the corresponding handover indications to different network nodes. In some examples, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may avoid sending a handover indication. As described above, the source network node may send a handover indication response to the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 or avoid sending a handover indication response.

[0119] As shown by reference numeral 635-1, the first UE 602 and the source network node 606 may communicate with each other at least in part based on using the m-th connection configuration. Alternatively or additionally, and as shown by reference numeral 635-2, the second UE 604 and the source network node 606 may communicate with each other at least in part based on using the n-th connection configuration. For example, and as described above, the first UE 602 may communicate with the source network node 606 by configuring an antenna, a transmitter, and / or a receiver at least in part based on the m-th connection configuration. Similarly, the second UE 604 may communicate with the source network node 606 by configuring an antenna, a transmitter, and / or a receiver at least in part based on the n-th connection configuration.

[0120] Although example 600 shows the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 communicating with the same network node (e.g., the source network node 606), other examples may include the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 communicating with different network nodes. As Figure 6A shown, example 600 proceeds to Figure 6B .

[0121] As Figure 6B shown by reference numeral 640-1, the first UE 602 may detect a handover event associated with the j-th connection configuration in a locally stored set of connection configurations, where j is an integer. Alternatively or additionally, and as Figure 6BAs shown by reference numeral 640-2, the second UE 604 may detect a handover event associated with the k-th connection configuration in a locally stored set of connection configurations, where k is an integer. In other examples, only one of the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 may detect a corresponding handover event, as shown by reference numerals 604-1 and 604-2. Additionally, while example 600 shows the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 detecting handover events associated with different connection configurations, other examples may include the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 each detecting a handover event associated with the same connection configuration. Examples of handover events may be at least partially based on any combination of signal metrics, current satellite position, current satellite ephemeris, current elevation angle, current UE position, current time, and / or current connection identifier.

[0122] As shown by reference numeral 645-1, the first UE 602 may send a handover indication indicating that the first UE 602 is autonomously applying and / or switching to the j-th connection configuration, and the target network node 608 may receive the handover indication. Alternatively or additionally, and as shown by reference numeral 645-2, the second UE 604 may send a handover indication indicating that the second UE 604 is autonomously applying and / or switching to the k-th connection configuration, and the target network node 608 may receive the handover indication. In some aspects, as described above, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may send a handover indication to the target network node 608 at least partially based on performing a handover to the target network node 608. While example 600 shows the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 sending corresponding handover indications to the same network node (e.g., the target network node 608), other examples may include the first UE 602 and the second UE 604 sending corresponding handover indications to different network nodes. For illustration, the second UE 604 may send a corresponding handover indication to the source network node 606 (e.g., instead of the target network node 608) at least partially based on not performing a handover to the target network node 608.

[0123] As shown by reference numeral 650-1, the first UE 602 and the target network node 608 may communicate with each other at least partially based on using the j-th connection configuration. Alternatively or additionally, and as shown by reference numeral 650-2, the second UE 604 and the target network node 608 may communicate with each other at least partially based on using the k-th connection configuration. As described above, the first UE 602 and / or the second UE 604 may use the corresponding connection configurations stored locally in the UE to save air interface resources instead of receiving additional transmissions (e.g., RRC messages) including one or more parameters of the connection configuration.

[0124] A network node indicating a set of connection configurations and a UE locally storing the set of connection configurations can reduce signaling overhead in NTN and mitigate redundant transmissions. Reducing signaling overhead saves air interface resources for other communications in NTN, increases the capacity of NTN, reduces data transmission latency in NTN, and / or increases data throughput in NTN.

[0125] As indicated above, Figure 6A and Figure 6B are provided as examples. Other examples may be different from the examples described with respect to Figure 6A and Figure 6B described above.

[0126] Figure 7 FIG. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example process 700 performed, for example, by a UE in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 700 is an example in which a UE (e.g., UE 120) performs operations associated with an efficient configuration of a connection to a non-terrestrial network.

[0127] As Figure 7 shown, in some aspects, process 700 may include communicating in a network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration (block 710). For example, a UE (e.g., using the communication manager 140, receiving component 902, and / or transmitting component 904 depicted in Figure 9 ) may communicate in a network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration, as described above.

[0128] As Figure 7 further shown, in some aspects, process 700 may include communicating in a network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration (block 720). For example, a UE (e.g., using the communication manager 140, receiving component 902, and / or transmitting component 904 depicted in Figure 9 ) may communicate in a network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration, as described above.

[0129] As Figure 7 further shown, in some aspects, process 700 may include at least in part based on the first connection configuration being stored at the UE, switching from primarily using the second connection configuration to reusing the first connection configuration for communicating in the network (block 730). For example, a UE (e.g., using the communication manager 140 and / or connection configuration manager component 908 depicted in Figure 8 ) may at least in part based on the first connection configuration being stored at the UE, switch from primarily using the second connection configuration to reusing the first connection configuration for communicating in the network, as described above.

[0130] Procedure 700 may include additional aspects, such as any individual aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other procedures described elsewhere herein.

[0131] In a first aspect, procedure 700 includes detecting a handover event associated with a first connection configuration and autonomously switching at least in part based on the detected handover event.

[0132] In a second aspect, detecting the handover event includes at least one of the following: detecting the receipt of a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration; detecting the receipt of a handover command; detecting that a signal metric meets a handover condition; detecting that a current satellite position meets a satellite position condition; detecting that a current satellite ephemeris commensurate with the satellite ephemeris associated with the first connection configuration; detecting that a current elevation angle associated with satellite communication commensurate with the elevation angle associated with the first connection configuration; detecting that a current UE position meets a UE position condition; detecting that a current time occurs within a configured time duration; or detecting that a current connection identifier is associated with the first connection configuration.

[0133] In a third aspect, the current connection identifier includes at least one of the following: a beam identifier, a satellite identifier, or a cell identifier.

[0134] In a fourth aspect, procedure 700 includes transmitting a handover indication associated with autonomously switching to the first connection configuration.

[0135] In a fifth aspect, the handover indication specifies a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration.

[0136] In a sixth aspect, transmitting the handover indication includes transmitting the handover indication in at least one of the following: uplink control information, a media access control MAC CE, or an RRC message.

[0137] In a seventh aspect, procedure 700 includes receiving a handover indication response that indicates at least one of the following: receipt of the handover indication, or confirmation of the handover indication.

[0138] In an eighth aspect, procedure 700 includes storing the first connection configuration at the UE.

[0139] In a ninth aspect, procedure 700 includes storing a second connection configuration at the UE.

[0140] In a tenth aspect, the network includes a non-terrestrial network.

[0141] In an eleventh aspect, procedure 700 includes receiving the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration at least in part based on at least one of the following: a broadcast message, a unicast message, or a multicast message.

[0142] In a twelfth aspect, receiving the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration includes receiving, in an RRC message, one or more connection parameters associated with the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration.

[0143] In a thirteenth aspect, the RRC message includes an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0144] In a fourteenth aspect, procedure 700 includes receiving a configuration identifier together with the first connection configuration.

[0145] In a fifteenth aspect, procedure 700 includes sending an indication of the configuration identifier at least in part based on autonomously switching to the first connection configuration.

[0146] In a sixteenth aspect, procedure 700 includes deriving a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration.

[0147] In a seventeenth aspect, procedure 700 includes communicating in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration, at least in part based on autonomously switching to the first connection configuration.

[0148] In an eighteenth aspect, procedure 700 includes: receiving, in the network, a first connection configuration from a first network node; communicating in the network with the first network node at least in part based on the first connection configuration; and communicating in the network with a second network node at least in part based on the first connection configuration being stored at the UE.

[0149] In a nineteenth aspect, procedure 700 includes: receiving additional connection configuration parameters; and communicating in the network with the first connection configuration using the additional connection configuration parameters.

[0150] In a twentieth aspect, procedure 700 includes: receiving an update indication to update at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration; and updating at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration at least in part based on the update indication.

[0151] In a twenty-first aspect, procedure 700 includes receiving, before communicating using the second connection configuration and autonomously switching to the first connection configuration, a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations that includes at least one of: the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration.

[0152] In a twenty-second aspect, receiving the configuration indication includes receiving the configuration indication in at least one of: a broadcast message or a multicast message.

[0153] In a twenty-third aspect, procedure 700 includes sending a request for the set of connection configurations and receiving the configuration indication at least in part based on sending the request.

[0154] In a twenty-fourth aspect, receiving a configuration indication includes receiving a configuration indication in a system information block.

[0155] In a twenty-fifth aspect, procedure 700 includes receiving a configuration indication that specifies a set of connection configurations associated with at least one of: RRC idle state or RRC inactive state.

[0156] In a twenty-sixth aspect, procedure 700 includes using a third connection configuration included in the set of connection configurations, at least in part, based on operating in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0157] In a twenty-seventh aspect, the configuration indication that specifies the set of connection configurations is a first configuration indication that specifies a first set of common connection configurations, and procedure 700 includes: receiving the first configuration indication in a first SIB; and receiving a second configuration indication that specifies a second set of incremental connection configurations in a second SIB.

[0158] In a twenty-eighth aspect, procedure 700 includes determining whether to use a common connection configuration from the first set of common connection configurations in combination with an incremental connection configuration from the second set of incremental connection configurations.

[0159] In a twenty-ninth aspect, determining whether to use a common connection configuration includes determining whether to use the common connection configuration, at least in part, based on an expiration time associated with the common connection configuration.

[0160] Although Figure 7 example boxes of procedure 700 are shown, in some aspects, procedure 700 may include additional boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or boxes arranged in a different manner compared to those depicted in Figure 7 . Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the boxes of procedure 700 may be executed in parallel.

[0161] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example procedure 800 performed, for example, by a network node according to the present disclosure. Example procedure 800 is an example where a network node (e.g., network node 110) performs operations associated with efficient configuration of a non-terrestrial network connection.

[0162] As Figure 8 shown, in some aspects, procedure 800 may include transmitting at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration (block 810). For example, a network node (e.g., using the communication manager 150 and / or the transmission component 1004 depicted in Figure 10 ) may transmit at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration, as described above.

[0163] As Figure 8Further shown, in some aspects, process 800 may include communicating with a UE in a network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration (block 820). For example, a network node (e.g., using Figure 10 the communication manager 150, receiving component 1002, and / or transmitting component 1004 depicted in

[0164] As Figure 8 Further shown, in some aspects, process 800 may include communicating with a UE in a network at least in part using a second connection configuration (block 830). For example, a network node (e.g., using Figure 10 the communication manager 150, receiving component 1002, and / or transmitting component 1004 depicted in

[0165] As Figure 8 Further shown, in some aspects, process 800 may include communicating with a UE in a network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration and without additional transmissions of the first connection configuration (block 840). For example, a network node (e.g., using Figure 10 the communication manager 150, receiving component 1002, and / or transmitting component 1004 depicted in

[0166] Process 800 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0167] In a first aspect, process 800 includes receiving a handover indication indicating that the UE is using a first connection configuration, and communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration at least in part based on receiving the handover indication.

[0168] In a second aspect, process 800 includes transmitting a handover indication response at least in part based on receiving the handover indication.

[0169] In a third aspect, the handover indication specifies a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration.

[0170] In a fourth aspect, receiving the handover indication includes receiving the handover indication in at least one of the following: uplink control information, MAC CE, or an RRC message.

[0171] In a fifth aspect, transmitting at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration further includes transmitting a configuration indication that specifies at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration, and the transmitting is at least partially based on at least one of the following: a broadcast message, a unicast message, or a multicast message.

[0172] In a sixth aspect, process 800 includes transmitting additional connection configuration parameters appended to at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration.

[0173] In a seventh aspect, process 800 includes transmitting an update indication to update at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration.

[0174] In an eighth aspect, transmitting at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration further includes transmitting a configuration indication that specifies a set of connection configurations that includes at least one of the following: the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration.

[0175] In a ninth aspect, transmitting the configuration indication includes transmitting the configuration indication in at least one of the following: a broadcast message or a multicast message.

[0176] In a tenth aspect, process 800 includes receiving a request for a set of connection configurations, and transmitting the configuration indication is at least partially based on receiving the request.

[0177] In an eleventh aspect, transmitting the configuration indication includes transmitting the configuration indication in a SIB.

[0178] In a twelfth aspect, the configuration indication that specifies a set of connection configurations is a first configuration indication that specifies a first set of common connection configurations, the SIB is a first SIB, and process 800 includes transmitting a second configuration indication that specifies a second set of incremental connection configurations in a second SIB.

[0179] In a thirteenth aspect, process 800 includes transmitting a configuration indication that specifies a set of connection configurations associated with at least one of the following: RRC idle state or RRC inactive state.

[0180] In a fourteenth aspect, the network includes a non-terrestrial network.

[0181] Although Figure 8 illustrates example blocks of process 800, in some aspects, process 800 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner compared to those depicted in Figure 8 Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 800 may be executed in parallel.

[0182] Figure 9FIG. 0 is a diagram of an example apparatus 900 for wireless communication in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 900 may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus 900. In some aspects, the apparatus 900 includes a receiving component 902 and a transmitting component 904, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus 900 may communicate with another apparatus 906 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the receiving component 902 and the transmitting component 904. As further shown, the apparatus 900 may include a communication manager 140. The communication manager 140 may include a connection configuration management component 908, among others.

[0183] In some aspects, the apparatus 900 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figures 4A to 8 Additional or alternatively, the apparatus 900 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as Figure 7 process 700, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, Figure 9 the apparatus 900 and / or one or more components shown may include one or more components of the UE described in connection with Figure 2 Additional or alternatively, Figure 9 one or more components shown may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Figure 2 Additional or alternatively, one or more components of a group of components may be at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

[0184] The receiving component 902 may receive communications from the apparatus 906, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. The receiving component 902 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 900. In some aspects, the receiving component 902 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.), and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the apparatus 900. In some aspects, the receiving component 902 may include one or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controller / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the UE described in connection with Figure 2

[0185] The transmitting component 904 may send communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 906. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 900 may generate the communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 904 for transmission to the device 906. In some aspects, the transmitting component 904 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplifying, modulating, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may send the processed signals to the device 906. In some aspects, the transmitting component 904 may include one or more antennas, a modem, a modulator, a transmitting MIMO processor, a transmitting processor, a controller / processor, a memory, or combinations thereof of the UE described in conjunction with Figure 2 . In some aspects, the transmitting component 904 may be co-located with the receiving component 902 in a transceiver.

[0186] The connection configuration manager 908 may communicate in the network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration. The connection configuration manager 908 may communicate in the network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration. The connection configuration manager 908 may store at the UE based at least in part on the first connection configuration and may switch from primarily to reusing the first connection configuration for communication in the network.

[0187] The connection configuration manager 908 may detect a handover event associated with the first connection configuration and may autonomously switch at least in part based on detecting the handover event. In some aspects, the connection configuration manager 908 may send a handover indication associated with autonomously switching to the first connection configuration via the transmitting component 904. The connection configuration manager 908 may receive a handover indication response via the receiving component 902, the handover indication response indicating at least one of the following: receipt of the handover indication, or confirmation of the handover indication.

[0188] The connection configuration manager 908 may store the first connection configuration at the UE. Alternatively or additionally, the connection configuration manager 908 may store the second connection configuration at the UE. The connection configuration manager 908 may receive the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration via the receiving component 902 at least in part based on at least one of the following: a broadcast message, a unicast message, or a multicast message.

[0189] The connection configuration manager 908 may receive a configuration identifier together with a first connection configuration via the receiving component 902. The connection configuration manager 908 may send an indication of the configuration identifier via the sending component 904 based at least in part on autonomously switching to the first connection configuration. In some aspects, the connection configuration manager 908 may export the configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration. The connection configuration manager 908 may communicate in the network at least in part based on autonomously switching to the first connection configuration and at least in part based on using the first connection configuration.

[0190] The connection configuration manager 908 may receive a first connection configuration from a first network node in the network via the receiving component 902. In some aspects, the connection configuration manager 908 may communicate with the first network node in the network at least in part based on the first connection configuration. The connection configuration manager 908 may communicate with a second network node in the network at least in part based on the first connection configuration being stored at the UE.

[0191] In some aspects, the connection configuration manager 908 may receive additional connection configuration parameters via the receiving component 902. The connection configuration manager 908 may use the additional connection configuration parameters together with the first connection configuration to communicate in the network.

[0192] The connection configuration manager 908 may receive an update indication via the receiving component 902 to update at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration. In some aspects, the connection configuration manager 908 may update at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration at least in part based on the update indication.

[0193] The connection configuration manager 908 may receive a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations via the receiving component 902 before communicating using the second connection configuration and before autonomously switching to the first connection configuration, the set of connection configurations including at least one of: the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration. In some aspects, the connection configuration manager 908 may send a request for the set of connection configurations via the sending component 904 and receive the configuration indication at least in part based on sending the request. Alternatively or additionally, the connection configuration manager 908 may receive a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations via the receiving component 902, the set of connection configurations being associated with at least one of: the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. The connection configuration manager 908 may use a third connection configuration included in the set of connection configurations at least in part based on operating in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0194] The connection configuration manager 908 may determine whether to use a common connection configuration from a first set of common connection configurations in combination with an incremental connection configuration from a second set of incremental connection configurations.

[0195] Figure 9 The number and arrangement of the components shown are provided as an example. In fact, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner compared to Figure 9 those shown. Additionally, Figure 9 two or more of the components shown may be implemented within a single component, or Figure 9 a single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 9 a set of the (one or more) components shown may perform one or more functions described as being performed by Figure 9 another set of the components shown.

[0196] Figure 10 FIG. is a diagram of an example apparatus 1000 for wireless communication in accordance with the present disclosure. Apparatus 1000 may be a network node, or a network node may include apparatus 1000. In some aspects, apparatus 1000 includes a receiving component 1002 and a transmitting component 1004, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 1000 may use receiving component 1002 and transmitting component 1004 to communicate with another apparatus 1006 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device). As further shown, apparatus 1000 may include a communication manager 150. Communication manager 150 may include a connection configuration manager 1008, among others.

[0197] In some aspects, apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figures 4A to 8 As additionally or alternatively, apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein (such as Figure 8 process 800) or a combination thereof. In some aspects, Figure 10 apparatus 1000 and / or one or more of the components shown may include one or more components of the network node described in connection with Figure 2 As additionally or alternatively, Figure 10 one or more of the components shown may be implemented within one or more of the components described in connection with Figure 2 As additionally or alternatively, one or more of the components in a set of components may be at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code that is stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and is executable by a controller or processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

[0198] The receiving component 1002 may receive communications from the device 1006, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. The receiving component 1002 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1000. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.), and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 1000. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may include one or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the network node as described in conjunction with Figure 2 the one or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the network node as described.

[0199] The transmitting component 1004 may transmit communications to the device 1006, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1000 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1004 for transmission to the device 1006. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1004 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.), and may transmit the processed signals to the device 1006. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1004 may include one or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmitting MIMO processors, transmitting processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the network node as described in conjunction with Figure 2 the one or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmitting MIMO processors, transmitting processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the network node as described. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1004 may be co-located with the receiving component 1002 in a transceiver.

[0200] The connection configuration manager component 1008 may transmit at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration via the transmitting component 1004. The connection configuration manager component 1008 may communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration. The connection configuration manager component 1008 may communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration. The connection configuration manager component 1008 may communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration and without additional transmission of the first connection configuration.

[0201] The connection configuration manager component 1008 may receive a handover indication indicating that the UE is using the first connection configuration via the receiving component 1002, and may communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration at least in part based on receiving the handover indication. The connection configuration manager component 1008 may transmit a handover indication response at least in part based on receiving the handover indication via the transmitting component 1004.

[0202] The connection configuration manager component 1008 can send additional connection configuration parameters attached to at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration via the sending component 1004. Alternatively or additionally, the connection configuration manager component 1008 can send an update indication via the sending component 1004 to update at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration.

[0203] The connection configuration manager component 1008 can receive a request for a set of connection configurations via the receiving component 1002, and send a configuration indication at least partially based on receiving the request. In some aspects, the connection configuration manager component 1008 can send a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations via the sending component 1004, the set of connection configurations being associated with at least one of: RRC idle state or RRC inactive state.

[0204] Figure 10 The number and arrangement of the components shown are provided as an example. In fact, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner compared to Figure 10 the components shown. Additionally, Figure 10 two or more of the components shown can be implemented within a single component, or Figure 10 a single component shown can be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 10 a set of the (one or more) components shown can perform one or more functions described as being performed by Figure 10 another set of the components shown.

[0205] An overview of some aspects of the present disclosure is provided below:

[0206] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: communicating in a network at least partially based on using a first connection configuration; communicating in the network at least partially based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration; and storing at least partially based on the first connection configuration at the UE to autonomously switch to reusing the first connection configuration for communication in the network.

[0207] Aspect 2: The method according to aspect 1, the method further comprising: detecting a handover event associated with the first connection configuration, wherein the autonomous handover is at least partially based on detecting the handover event.

[0208] Aspect 3: The method according to aspect 2, wherein detecting the handover event includes at least one of the following: detecting the reception of a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration; detecting the reception of a handover command; detecting that a signal metric meets a handover condition; detecting that a current satellite position meets a satellite position condition; detecting that a current satellite ephemeris commensurate with the satellite ephemeris associated with the first connection configuration; detecting that a current elevation angle associated with satellite communication commensurate with the elevation angle associated with the first connection configuration; detecting that a current UE position meets a UE position condition; detecting that a current time appears within a configured time duration; or detecting that a current connection identifier is associated with the first connection configuration.

[0209] Aspect 4: The method according to aspect 3, wherein the current connection identifier includes at least one of the following: a beam identifier, a satellite identifier, or a cell identifier.

[0210] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of aspects 2 to 4, the method further comprising: sending a handover indication associated with autonomously switching to the first connection configuration.

[0211] Aspect 6: The method according to aspect 5, wherein the handover indication specifies a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration.

[0212] Aspect 7: The method according to aspect 5 or aspect 6, wherein sending the handover indication includes: sending the handover indication in at least one of the following: uplink control information, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0213] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of aspects 5 to 7, the method further comprising: receiving a handover indication response, the handover indication response indicating at least one of the following: the reception of the handover indication, or the confirmation of the handover indication.

[0214] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 8, the method further comprising: storing the first connection configuration at the UE.

[0215] Aspect 10: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, the method further comprising: storing the second connection configuration at the UE.

[0216] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 10, wherein the network includes a non-terrestrial network.

[0217] Aspect 12: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 11, the method further comprising: receiving the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration at least partially based on at least one of the following: a broadcast message, a unicast message, or a multicast message.

[0218] Aspect 13: The method according to aspect 12, wherein receiving the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration comprises: receiving, in a radio resource control (RRC) message, one or more connection parameters associated with the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration.

[0219] Aspect 14: The method according to aspect 13, wherein the RRC message comprises an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0220] Aspect 15: The method according to aspect 13 or aspect 14, the method further comprising: receiving a configuration identifier together with the first connection configuration.

[0221] Aspect 16: The method according to any one of aspects 13 to 15, the method further comprising: sending an indication of the configuration identifier at least in part based on autonomously switching to the first connection configuration.

[0222] Aspect 17: The method according to any one of aspects 13 to 16, the method further comprising: deriving a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration.

[0223] Aspect 18: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 17, the method further comprising: communicating in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration at least in part based on autonomously switching to the first connection configuration.

[0224] Aspect 19: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 18, the method further comprising: receiving the first connection configuration from a first network node in the network; communicating with the first network node in the network at least in part based on the first connection configuration; and communicating with a second network node in the network at least in part based on the first connection configuration being stored at the UE.

[0225] Aspect 20: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 19, the method further comprising: receiving additional connection configuration parameters; and communicating in the network using the additional connection configuration parameters together with the first connection configuration.

[0226] Aspect 21: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 20, the method further comprising: receiving an update indication to update at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration; and updating at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration at least in part based on the update indication.

[0227] Aspect 22: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 21, the method further comprising: before communicating using the second connection configuration and autonomously switching to the first connection configuration, receiving a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations, the set of connection configurations including at least one of the following: the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration.

[0228] Aspect 23: The method according to Aspect 22, wherein receiving the configuration indication includes: receiving the configuration indication in at least one of the following: a broadcast message or a multicast message.

[0229] Aspect 24: The method according to Aspect 23, the method further comprising: sending a request for the set of connection configurations, wherein receiving the configuration indication is at least partially based on sending the request.

[0230] Aspect 25: The method according to any one of Aspects 22 to 24, wherein receiving the configuration indication includes: receiving the configuration indication in a system information block.

[0231] Aspect 26: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 25, the method further comprising: receiving a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations, the set of connection configurations being associated with at least one of the following: a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state.

[0232] Aspect 27: The method according to Aspect 26, the method further comprising: using a third connection configuration included in the set of connection configurations at least partially based on operating in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0233] Aspect 28: The method according to Aspect 26 or Aspect 27, wherein the configuration indication specifying the set of connection configurations is a first configuration indication specifying a first common set of connection configurations, and the method further comprising: receiving the first configuration indication in a first System Information Block (SIB), and receiving a second configuration indication specifying a second incremental set of connection configurations in a second SIB.

[0234] Aspect 29: The method according to Aspect 28, the method further comprising: determining whether to combine a common connection configuration from the first common set of connection configurations with an incremental connection configuration from the second incremental set of connection configurations.

[0235] Aspect 30: The method according to Aspect 29, wherein determining whether to use the common connection configuration includes: determining whether to use the common connection configuration at least partially based on an expiration time associated with the common connection configuration.

[0236] Aspect 31: A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: transmitting at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration; communicating with a user equipment (UE) in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration; communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration; and communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration without an additional transmission of the first connection configuration.

[0237] Aspect 32: The method according to aspect 31, the method further comprising: receiving a handover indication indicating that the UE is using the first connection configuration, wherein communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration is at least in part based on receiving the handover indication.

[0238] Aspect 33: The method according to aspect 32, the method further comprising: transmitting a handover indication response at least in part based on receiving the handover indication.

[0239] Aspect 34: The method according to aspect 32 or aspect 33, wherein the handover indication specifies a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration.

[0240] Aspect 35: The method according to any one of aspects 32 to 34, wherein receiving the handover indication comprises: receiving the handover indication in at least one of the following: uplink control information, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0241] Aspect 36: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 35, wherein transmitting at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration further comprises: transmitting a configuration indication that specifies at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration, wherein the transmission is at least in part based on at least one of the following: a broadcast message, a unicast message, or a multicast message.

[0242] Aspect 37: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 36, the method further comprising: transmitting additional connection configuration parameters additional to at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration.

[0243] Aspect 38: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 37, the method further comprising: transmitting an update indication to update at least one of the following: the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration.

[0244] Aspect 39: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 38, wherein transmitting at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration further comprises: transmitting a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations, the set of connection configurations including at least one of the following: the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration.

[0245] Aspect 40: The method according to Aspect 39, wherein transmitting the configuration indication comprises: transmitting the configuration indication in at least one of the following: a broadcast message or a multicast message.

[0246] Aspect 41: The method according to Aspect 39 or Aspect 40, the method further comprising: receiving a request for the set of connection configurations, wherein transmitting the configuration indication is at least partially based on receiving the request.

[0247] Aspect 42: The method according to any one of Aspects 39 to 41, wherein transmitting the configuration indication comprises: transmitting the configuration indication in a system information block (SIB).

[0248] Aspect 43: The method according to Aspect 42, wherein the configuration indication specifying the set of connection configurations is a first configuration indication specifying a first common set of connection configurations, the SIB is a first SIB, and wherein the method further comprises: transmitting a second configuration indication specifying a second incremental set of connection configurations in a second SIB.

[0249] Aspect 44: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 43, the method further comprising: transmitting a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations, the set of connection configurations being associated with at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) idle state or RRC inactive state.

[0250] Aspect 45: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 44, wherein the network comprises a non-terrestrial network.

[0251] Aspect 46: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to one or more of Aspects 1 to 30.

[0252] Aspect 47: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to one or more of Aspects 31 to 45.

[0253] Aspect 48: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being configured to execute the method according to one or more of Aspects 1 to 30.

[0254] Aspect 49: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being configured to execute the method according to one or more of Aspects 31 to 45.

[0255] Aspect 50: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising at least one component for executing the method according to one or more of Aspects 1 to 30.

[0256] Aspect 51: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising at least one component for executing the method according to one or more of Aspects 31 to 45.

[0257] Aspect 52: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to execute the method according to one or more of Aspects 1 to 30.

[0258] Aspect 53: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to execute the method according to one or more of Aspects 31 to 45.

[0259] Aspect 54: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set including one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to execute the method according to one or more of Aspects 1 to 30.

[0260] Aspect 55: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set including one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to execute the method according to one or more of Aspects 31 to 45.

[0261] While the foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure, or may be obtained from practice of these aspects.

[0262] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly construed as hardware and / or a combination of hardware and software. "Software" should be broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, and / or functions, etc., regardless of whether it is referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other names. As used herein, a "processor" is implemented in hardware and / or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented in different forms of hardware and / or combinations of hardware and software. The actual specific control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods does not limit the various aspects. Accordingly, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are not described herein with reference to specific software code, as those skilled in the art will understand that the software and hardware can be designed at least in part based on the description herein to implement the systems and / or methods.

[0263] As used herein, depending on the context, "meeting a threshold" can mean a value greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, etc.

[0264] Although specific combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of the various aspects. Many of these features can be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or not disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of the various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the set of claims. As used herein, the phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items means any combination of those items (which includes a single member). As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, a + b, a + c, b + c, and a + b + c, as well as any combination with multiple identical elements (e.g., a + a, a + a + a, a + a + b, a + a + c, a + b + b, a + c + c, b + b, b + b + b, b + b + c, c + c, and c + c + c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0265] None of the elements, acts, or instructions used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Additionally, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Additionally, as used herein, the article "the" is intended to include one or more items mentioned in connection with the article "the" and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Additionally, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." If only one item is intended, the phrase "only one" or a similar term is used. Additionally, as used herein, the terms "have," "possess," "include," etc. are intended to be open-ended terms that do not limit the elements they modify (e.g., an element that "has" A may also have B). Additionally, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "at least partially based on" unless otherwise explicitly stated. Additionally, as used herein, the term "or" when used in a series is intended to be open-ended and may be used interchangeably with "and / or" unless otherwise explicitly stated (e.g., if used in conjunction with "either" or "only one").

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a memory; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to: communicate in a network at least in part based on using a first connection configuration; communicate in the network at least in part based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration; and store at least in part at the UE a transition from primarily to reusing the first connection configuration for communication in the network.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: detect a handover event associated with the first connection configuration, wherein the autonomous transition is at least in part based on detecting the handover event.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein to detect the handover event, the one or more processors are configured to: detect receipt of a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration, detect receipt of a handover command, detect that a signal metric meets a handover condition, detect that a current satellite position meets a satellite position condition, detect that a current satellite ephemeris commensurate with the satellite ephemeris associated with the first connection configuration, detect that a current elevation angle associated with satellite communication commensurate with the elevation angle associated with the first connection configuration, detect that a current UE position meets a UE position condition, detect that a current time occurs within a configured time duration, or detect that a current connection identifier is associated with the first connection configuration.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: send a handover indication associated with the autonomous transition to the first connection configuration.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the handover indication specifies a configuration identifier associated with the first connection configuration.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein to send the handover indication, the one or more processors are configured to: send the handover indication in at least one of: uplink control information, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: store the first connection configuration at the UE.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network comprises a non-terrestrial network.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration at least in part based on at least one of: a broadcast message, a unicast message, or a multicast message.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: communicate in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration at least in part based on the autonomous transition to the first connection configuration.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Receive the first connection configuration from a first network node in the network, communicate with the first network node in the network at least in part based on the first connection configuration, and communicate with a second network node in the network at least in part based on the first connection configuration stored at the UE.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive an update indication to update at least one of the following: the first connection configuration, or the second connection configuration, and update at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration at least in part based on the update indication.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations, the set of connection configurations including at least one of the following, before communicating using the second connection configuration and autonomously switching to the first connection configuration: the first connection configuration, or the second connection configuration.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein in order to receive the configuration indication, the one or more processors are configured to: receive the connection configuration indication in at least one of the following: a broadcast message, or a multicast message.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein in order to receive the configuration indication, the one or more processors are configured to: receive the configuration indication in a system information block.

16. An apparatus for wireless communication at a network node, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to: send at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration; communicate with a user equipment (UE) in the network at least in part based on using the first connection configuration; communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on using the second connection configuration; and communicate with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration and without an additional transmission of the first connection configuration.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive a handover indication indicating that the UE is using the first connection configuration, wherein communicating with the UE in the network at least in part based on reusing the first connection configuration is at least in part based on receiving the handover indication.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein in order to receive the handover indication, the one or more processors are configured to: receive the handover indication in at least one of the following: uplink control information, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

19. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: send additional connection configuration parameters additional to at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration.

20. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, to send at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration, the one or more processors are configured to: Send a configuration indication specifying a set of connection configurations, the set of connection configurations including at least one of: The second connection configuration, or The first connection configuration.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein, to send the configuration indication, the one or more processors are configured to: Send the connection configuration indication in at least one of: A broadcast message, or A multicast message.

22. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Receive a request for the set of connection configurations, Wherein sending the configuration indication is at least partially based on receiving the request.

23. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein, to send the configuration indication, the one or more processors are configured to: Send the configuration indication in a System Information Block (SIB).

24. A method of wireless communication performed by a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: Communicating in a network at least partially based on using a first connection configuration; Communicating in the network at least partially based on using a second connection configuration instead of the first connection configuration; And Storing at the UE at least partially based on the first connection configuration and autonomously switching to reusing the first connection configuration for communicating in the network.

25. The method according to claim 24, the method further comprising: Detecting a handover event associated with the first connection configuration, Wherein the autonomous handover is at least partially based on detecting the handover event.

26. The method according to claim 25, the method further comprising: Sending a handover indication associated with autonomously handovering to the first connection configuration.

27. The method according to claim 24, the method further comprising: Communicating in the network at least partially based on using the first connection configuration at least partially based on autonomously switching to the first connection configuration.

28. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: Sending at least one of a first connection configuration or a second connection configuration; Communicating with a User Equipment (UE) in a network at least partially based on using the first connection configuration; Communicating with the UE in the network at least partially based on using the second connection configuration; And Communicating with the UE in the network at least partially based on reusing the first connection configuration and without additional transmission of the first connection configuration.

29. The method according to claim 28, the method further comprising: Receiving a handover indication indicating that the UE is using the first connection configuration; And Sending a handover indication response at least partially based on receiving the handover indication.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein sending at least one of the first connection configuration or the second connection configuration further comprises: Send a configuration indication that specifies at least one of the second connection configuration or the first connection configuration, wherein the sending is at least partially based on at least one of the following: a broadcast message, a unicast message, or a multicast message.

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