Methods and apparatus related to UE capability filtering

Abstract

A method for wireless communication includes receiving a first signal by a communication device, where the first signal includes an indication of a first set of frequency bands available for communication from a network device; and the communication device transmitting a list of a second set of frequency bands supported by the communication device, where the list of the second set of frequency bands is determined independently of the indication of the first set of frequency bands.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This patent document relates to wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Mobile communication technologies are moving the world towards an increasingly connected and networked society. Compared to existing wireless networks, next-generation systems and communication technologies need to support a wider range of use cases and provide more complex and advanced access requirements and flexibility. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This patent document discloses technologies related to the design of user equipment (UE) capability filtering processing.

[0004] In one example aspect, a method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes: receiving, by a communication device, a first signal, wherein the first signal includes an indication of a first set of frequency bands that can be used for communication from a network device; and transmitting, by the communication device, a list of a second set of frequency bands supported by the communication device, wherein the list of the second set of frequency bands is determined independently of the indication of the first set of frequency bands.

[0005] In yet another example aspect, a wireless communication device is disclosed, comprising the processes configured or operable to perform the above method.

[0006] In yet another exemplary aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is disclosed, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores codes that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement the above method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of transmitting a UE capability query (UECapabilityEnquiry) and UE capability information (UECapabilityInformation) in a wireless communication system is shown.

[0008] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an example of a hardware platform that may be part of a network device or communications device.

[0009] Figure 3 An example of network communication including a base station (BS) and a UE based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown.

[0010] Figures 4 to 9 is a flowchart representation of a method for wireless communication in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] The section headings used in this document are intended to facilitate understanding and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosed technology to specific sections. In addition, certain terms related to the Fifth Generation (5G) and Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocols are used as illustrative examples, and the disclosed technology is also applicable to other wireless protocols.

[0012] In wireless networks, for example, at registration time, and before a UE can perform data transmission or make / receive a voice call, the network needs to understand the capabilities of the UE in order to configure the UE accordingly.

[0013] With the introduction of 5G New Radio (NR) and Non-Standalone Architecture (NSA), the size of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) UE Capabilities message will grow further, as the UE must also indicate Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access-New Radio dual connectivity (EN-DC) capability.

[0014] Several optimization methods have been introduced in the 3GPP LTE standard to reduce the size of UE capability messages. For example, within the UE capability query message, the network can include the information element (IE) requestedFrequencyBands to request the supported carrier aggregation (CA) band combinations and non-CA bands dedicated to a group of bands.

[0015] In the current 3GPP standard, the parameter frequencyBandListFilter in UECapabilityEnquiry can be used to request filtered UE capabilities.

[0016] When receiving a UECapabilityEnquiry, the UE shall set the content of the UECapabilityInformation message. For example, the UE shall include the received frequencyBandListFilter in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capabilities, unless the requested rat-Type is nr (New Radio) and the network includes a eutra-nr-only (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access - New Radio) field; the appliedFreqBandListFilter may reflect the frequencyBandList provided by the NW in the capability query.

[0017] The definition of appliedFreqBandListFilter is shown in Table 1.

[0018]

[0019] Table 1

[0020] The network must configure and send frequencyBandListFilter to obtain information about the frequency band combinations, feature sets, or feature set combinations supported by the UE. This function is mainly used to solve the problem that the size of UE capability information increases due to the CA feature, and it may consume UE memory.

[0021] However, for Reduced Capability (RedCap) UEs, neither CA nor Dual Connection (DC) is supported. In other words, there is only one component carrier (CC). Therefore, in communication scenarios involving RedCap UEs, it may be beneficial to remove this parameter or make it optional. There are currently no methods or solutions in the related art to address this issue.

[0022] The method and apparatus proposed in this patent application involve making the frequencyBandListFilter in UECapabilityEnquiry optional for communication between a BS and a RedCap UE. The method and solution proposed in this application are beneficial for reducing the overhead of the communication system by reducing the processing cost on the transmission and reception sides.

[0023] The details of the proposed method are discussed in the following examples.

[0024] In this patent application, four schemes are proposed and discussed below.

[0025] Solution 1: The UE may ignore the frequencyBandListFilter in the UECapabilityEnquiry and the UE reports the supported frequency bands based on its determination and includes the frequency band list in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter.

[0026] Solution 2: Introduce a new UE capability parameter to indicate whether the UE supports ignoring frequencyBandListFilter. If the UE supports this ignoring operation, the UE can ignore the configured frequencyBandListFilter sent by the network side. And when the network side (for example, the BS) receives a frequency band list that is inconsistent with the configured frequency band list, if the network side recognizes the UE capability parameter from the information sent by the UE, the network side can still consider the frequency band list to be correct.

[0027] Solution 3: Introduce a new UE capability parameter to indicate whether the UE supports the filtering process. Only when this filtering capability is reported can the UE perform the filtering process and report the frequency band list based on the indication from the network.

[0028] Solution 4: Relax the restrictions in the existing 3GPP standard to make the frequencyBandListFilter parameter configuration optional for certain types of UEs.

[0029] Example 1

[0030] This section discloses, among other things, an example of Scheme 1.

[0031] Under the current specification, frequencyBandListFilter must be indicated in UECapabilityEnquiry, which means that the UE needs to perform UE capability filtering based on network instructions.

[0032] However, some UEs may not need to perform capability filtering operations. For example, some UEs (e.g., RedCap UEs) do not support CA and DC operations. Therefore, capability filtering operations for such UEs may be unnecessary or consume resources.

[0033] The operation of the UE capability filtering process can be simplified to reduce the complexity of UE implementation.

[0034] Under this scheme, the UE may ignore the frequencyBandListFilter in the UECapabilityEnquiry and report the supported frequency bands based on its determination and include the frequency band list in the appliedFreqBandListFilter field.

[0035] For example, the UE may ignore the information content of frequencyBandListFilter in the UECapabilityEnquiry indicated by the network side.

[0036] Next, the UE may report a supported frequency band list from the candidate frequency band combination list.

[0037] For reporting the FreqBandList in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capabilities, three possible options can be used:

[0038] • Option 1: Include a list of all frequency bands supported by the UE.

[0039] • Option 2: Include a list of frequency bands selected based on UE capabilities.

[0040] ●Option 3: Do not report anything.

[0041] Under option 1, the UE may report a list containing all supported frequency bands.

[0042] Under option 2, the UE may report a list containing a set of selected frequency bands. The frequency bands may be selected based on UE capabilities.

[0043] Under option 3, the UE may choose not to report any frequency bands.

[0044] The following are proposed revisions based on specification impacts / changes to current standards.

[0045] The UE shall(UE will):

[0046] 1>ignore frequencyBandListFilter for eRedCap UE (ignore frequencyBandListFilter for eRedCap UE).

[0047] 1>compile a list of "candidate band combinations" according to the filter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), based on the supported band list, where for each band in the band combination, the parameters of the band do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever are received (according to the filter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), based on the supported band list, the parameters of the band do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever are received).

[0048] 1>include the selected frequency band list based on the UE capability in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability, exceptif the requested rat-Type is nr and the network included the eutra-nr-only field.

[0049] Here, the last entry step is optional, depending on the option selected. For example, if you selected option 1 or option 3, this entry step is unnecessary; if you selected option 2, this entry step is required.

[0050] Example 2

[0051] This section discloses, among other things, an example of Scheme 2.

[0052] Under the current specification, frequencyBandListFilter must be indicated in UECapabilityEnquiry, which means that the UE needs to perform UE capability filtering based on network instructions.

[0053] However, some UEs may not need to perform capability filtering operations. For example, some UEs (e.g., RedCap UEs) do not support CA and DC operations. Therefore, capability filtering operations for such UEs may be unnecessary or consume resources.

[0054] The operation of UE capability filtering can be simplified to reduce the complexity of UE implementation.

[0055] Under this solution, a new UE capability parameter is introduced to indicate whether the UE supports ignoring frequencyBandListFilter. If the UE supports this ignoring operation, the UE can ignore the configured frequencyBandListFilter sent by the network side. And when the network side (for example, the BS) receives a frequency band list that is inconsistent with the configured frequency band list, the network side can still consider the frequency band list to be correct if it recognizes the UE capability parameter from the information sent by the UE.

[0056] For example, the UE shall ignore the frequencyBandListFilter in the UECapabilityEnquiry sent by the network.

[0057] Then, the UE reports the supported frequency band list by itself. In addition, in order to facilitate the network to determine that the reporting operation is because the UE supports the "ignore" function, a new UE capability can be introduced to indicate this. This new UE capability can be defined as follows:

[0058] ignoringIndicatedFreqBandlistFiltering ENUMERATED{supported}OPTIONAL (ignoring indicated frequencyBandListFilter enumeration {support} optional),

[0059] Once the UE reports this capability, the UE may ignore the frequencyBandListFilter indicated by the network.

[0060] The UE then reports the frequency band list in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter.

[0061] For reporting the FreqBandList in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capabilities, three possible options can be used:

[0062] • Option 1: Contains a list of all frequency bands supported by the UE.

[0063] • Option 2: Contains a list of selected frequency bands generated based on UE capabilities.

[0064] ●Option 3: Do not report anything.

[0065] Under option 1, the UE may report a list containing all supported frequency bands.

[0066] Under option 2, the UE may report a list containing a set of selected frequency bands. The frequency bands may be selected based on UE capabilities.

[0067] Under option 3, the UE may choose not to report any frequency bands.

[0068] From the perspective of the network side, the BS can receive a signal containing the above capability parameters and the reported frequency bands. By checking the capability information, the BS will know whether the indication information in appliedFreqBandListFilter has been ignored by the UE.

[0069] For example, in the case where the capability parameter is recognized, the BS will know that the UE has ignored the indication information. On the other hand, in the case where the capability parameter is not recognized in the received signal, the BS will know that the UE has not ignored the indication information.

[0070] Determining whether to ignore the indication information in appliedFreqBandListFilter can further help the BS determine the reason why the received frequency band information is inconsistent.

[0071] For example, the BS may determine that the frequency band list reported by the UE is inconsistent with the frequency band information in the indication sent to the UE. In this case, if the BS further knows that the UE has ignored the indication, that is, recognizes the above-mentioned capability parameter, the BS may ignore the inconsistency and consider the frequency band information reported by the UE to be correct.

[0072] The following are the implications of the proposed approach on the current specification of the standard.

[0073] First, the definition of new UE capabilities is shown in Table 2.

[0074] ignoringIndicatedFreqBandlistFiltering ENUMERATED{supported}OPTIONAL (ignoring indicated frequencyBandListFilter enumeration {support} optional),

[0075]

[0076] Table 2

[0077] Second, the UE procedure upon receiving UECapabilityEnquiry.

[0078] If UE capabilities are defined as mandatory, the corresponding specifications may be modified as follows, with the proposed modifications marked in bold: Here, FDD stands for Frequency Division Duplexing and TDD stands for Time Division Duplexing.

[0079] 1>ignore frequencyBandListFilter for eRedCap UE (ignore frequencyBandListFilter for eRedCap UE).

[0080] 1>compile a list of "candidate band combinations" according to the filter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), based on the supported band list, where for each band in the band combination, the parameters of the band do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever are received (according to the filter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), based on the supported band list, the parameters of the band do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever are received).

[0081] For the following sentences, possible modifications are listed.

[0082] 1>include the supported frequency band list in the fieldappliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability,except if the requested rat-Type is nr and the network included the eutra-nr-only field (in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability, include the supported frequency band list, unless the requested rat-Type is nr and the network includes the eutra-nr-only field);

[0083] or

[0084] 1>include the selected frequency band list in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability, except if the requested rat-Type is nr and the network included the eutra-nr-only field.

[0085] If UE capabilities are defined as optional, the corresponding specifications can be as follows:

[0086] 1>if the UE supports the ignoring filtering procedure ofUECapabilityInformation (if the UE supports the ignoring filtering procedure ofUECapabilityInformation):

[0087] 2>ignore frequencyBandListFilter for eRedCap UE (ignore frequencyBandListFilter for eRedCap UE).

[0088] 2>compile a list of "candidate band combinations" according to the filter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), based on the supported band list, where for each band in the band combination, the parameters of the band do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever are received (according to the filter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), based on the supported band list, build a list of "candidate band combinations", where for each band in the band combination, the band parameters do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever are received);

[0089] 2>include the supported frequency band list in the fieldappliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability,except if the therequested rat-Type is nr and the network included the eutra-nr-only field (in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability, include the supported frequency band list, unless the requested rat-Type is nr and the network includes the eutra-nr-only field);

[0090] or

[0091] 2>include the selected frequency band list in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability, except if the requested rat-Type is nr and the network included the eutra-nr-only field (in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability, include the selected frequency band list, unless the requested rat-Type is nr and the network includes the eutra-nr-only field);

[0092] 1>else (otherwise):

[0093] 2>compile a list of"candidate band combinations"according to thefilter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon(if included),only consistingof bands included in frequencyBandListFilter,and prioritized in the order offrequencyBandListFilter(i.e.first include band combinations containing the first-listed band, then include remaining band combinations containing the second-listed band, and so on), where for each band in the band combination, the parameters of the band do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL,maxBandwidthRequestedUL,maxCarriersRequestedDL,maxCarriersRequestedUL,ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA,whichever are received (based on the filtering criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), build a list of "candidate band combinations" including only the bands included in the frequencyBandListFilter and prioritized in the order of the frequencyBandListFilter (i.e., the band combination containing the first listed band is included first, followed by the remaining band combinations containing the second listed band, and so on), where, for each band in the band combination, the band parameter does not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA, or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever is received). .

[0094] Example 3

[0095] This section discloses, among other things, a Scenario 3 example.

[0096] Under the current specification, frequencyBandListFilter must be indicated in UECapabilityEnquiry, which means that the UE needs to perform UE capability filtering based on network instructions.

[0097] However, some UEs may not need to perform capability filtering operations. For example, some UEs (e.g., RedCap UEs) do not support CA and DC operations. Therefore, capability filtering operations for such UEs may be unnecessary or consume resources.

[0098] Then, to reduce the complexity of UE implementation, UE capability filtering can be removed or made an optional capability for RedCap UE.

[0099] Under this solution, a new UE capability parameter is introduced to indicate whether the UE supports the filtering process. Only when this filtering capability is reported can the UE perform the filtering process and report the frequency band list based on the indication from the network.

[0100] For example, a new UE capability parameter may be used to indicate whether the UE supports the filtering function.

[0101] If the UE supports this filtering function, the filtering process will be performed and based on the indication from the network including the frequency band list,

[0102] Otherwise, the UE shall ignore the reporting band list.

[0103] The definition of new UE capabilities is shown in Table 3.

[0104] FilteringBandlist ENUMERATED{supported}OPTIONAL (Filtering Bandlist Enumeration {Support} Optional),

[0105]

[0106] Table 3

[0107] If the UE reports this capability, the UE shall perform the filtering process and report the frequency band list based on the indication from the network, otherwise, the UE shall ignore.

[0108] The corresponding specifications are as follows, with the proposed changes in bold.

[0109] 1>if the UE supports the filtering procedure ofUECapabilityInformation (if the UE supports the filtering procedure ofUECapabilityInformation):

[0110] 2>compile a list of"candidate band combinations"according to thefilter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon(if included),only consistingof bands included in frequencyBandListFilter,and prioritized in the order offrequencyBandListFilter(i.e.first include band combinationscontaining the first-listed band,then include remaining band combinations containing the second-listed band,and so on),where for each band in the band combination,the parameters of the band do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL,maxBandwidthRequestedUL,maxCarriersRequestedDL,maxCarriersRequestedUL,ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA,whichever are received (construct a list of "candidate band combinations" based on the filtering criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), including only the bands included in frequencyBandListFilter and prioritized in the order of frequencyBandListFilter (i.e., including the band combination containing the first listed band first, then the remaining band combinations containing the second listed band, and so on), where, for each band in the band combination, the band parameter does not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA, or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever is received);.

[0111] 2>include the received frequencyBandListFilter in the fieldappliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability,except if the therequested rat-Type is nr and the network included the eutra-nr-only field (in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability, include the received frequencyBandListFilter, unless the requested rat-Type is nr and the network includes the eutra-nr-only field);

[0112] 1>else (otherwise):

[0113] 2>compile a list of "candidate band combinations" according to the filter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon(if included),based on the supported band list,and prioritized in the order of frequencyBandListFilter(iefirst include band combinations containing the first-listed band,theninclude remaining band combinations containing the second-listed band,and soon),where for each band in the band combination,the parameters of the band donot exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL,maxBandwidthRequestedUL,maxCarriersRequestedDL,maxCarriersRequestedUL,ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA orca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA,whichever are received (constructing a list of "candidate band combinations" based on the supported band list according to the filtering criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), and prioritizing them in the order of frequencyBandListFilter (i.e., including the band combinations containing the first listed band first, then the remaining band combinations containing the second listed band, and so on), where, for each band in the band combination, the band parameter does not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA, or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever is received).

[0114] Example 4

[0115] This section discloses, among other things, an example of Scheme 4.

[0116] Under the current specification, frequencyBandListFilter must be indicated in UECapabilityEnquiry, which means that the UE needs to perform UE capability filtering based on network instructions.

[0117] However, some UEs may not need to perform capability filtering operations. For example, some UEs (e.g., RedCap UEs) do not support CA and DC operations. Therefore, capability filtering operations for such UEs may be unnecessary or consume resources.

[0118] This embodiment proposes the option of adding exceptions to the current specification of the standard. In particular, the parameter frequencyBandListFilter in UECapabilityEnquiry can be explicitly defined as an optional parameter. For example, the parameter can be redefined as:

[0119] UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR::=SEQUENCE{

[0120] frequencyBandListFilter FreqBandList OPTIONAL,--Need N

[0121] nonCriticalExtension UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-v1540OPTIONAL

[0122] }

[0123] Currently, the only reason this parameter must be configured is due to a limitation in the specification, as shown below:

[0124] Note 1: Capability enquiry without frequencyBandListFilter is not supported.

[0125] In the proposed changes, restrictions could be relaxed based on the type of wireless device in order to make the feature optional.

[0126] In one example, the restriction may be modified to:

[0127] Note 1: Capability enquiry without frequencyBandListFilter is not supported except for eRedCap UE.

[0128] In addition, for this procedure, the corresponding modifications are as follows, with the proposed modifications in bold.

[0129] The UE shall(UE will):

[0130] 1>compile a list of"candidate band combinations"according to thefilter criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon(if included),only consistingof bands included in frequencyBandListFilter,if configured,and prioritized inthe order of frequencyBandListFilter(i.e.first include band combinationscontaining the first-listed band,then include remaining band combinationscontaining the second-listed band,and so on),where for each band in the bandcombination,the parameters of the band do not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL,maxBandwidthRequestedUL,maxCarriersRequestedDL,maxCarriersRequestedUL,ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA,whichever are received (builds a list of "candidate band combinations" based on the filtering criteria in capabilityRequestFilterCommon (if included), including only the bands included in frequencyBandListFilter (if configured), and prioritized in the order of frequencyBandListFilter (i.e., first includes the band combination containing the first listed band, then includes the remaining band combinations containing the second listed band, and so on), where, for each band in the band combination, the band parameter does not exceed maxBandwidthRequestedDL, maxBandwidthRequestedUL, maxCarriersRequestedDL, maxCarriersRequestedUL, ca-BandwidthClassDL-EUTRA, or ca-BandwidthClassUL-EUTRA, whichever is received);.

[0131] 1>include the received frequencyBandListFilter, if configured, in the field appliedFreqBandListFilter of the requested UE capability, except if the requested rat-Type is nr and the network included the eutra-nr-only field.

[0132] Figure 2 FIG2 shows an exemplary block diagram of a hardware platform 200, which may be part of a network device (e.g., a base station) or a communication device (e.g., a UE). The hardware platform 200 includes at least one processor 210 and a memory 205 storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the processor 210, configure the hardware platform 200 to execute the following operations: Figure 1 As well as the operations described in various embodiments described in this patent document. Transmitter 215 transmits or sends information or data to another device. For example, a network device transmitter can transmit information to a user device. Receiver 220 receives information or data transmitted or sent by another device. For example, a user device can receive a message from a network device.

[0133] The implementation discussed above will apply to network communications. Figure 3An example of a communication system (e.g., a Sixth Generation (6G) or NR cellular network) is shown, including a base station 320 and one or more UEs 311, 312, and 313. In some embodiments, the UE accesses a base station (e.g., a network) using a communication link to the network (sometimes referred to as an uplink direction, as indicated by dashed arrows 331, 332, and 333), which then enables subsequent communication from the base station to the UE (e.g., as indicated by a direction from the network to the UE, sometimes referred to as a downlink direction, as indicated by arrows 341, 342, and 343). In some embodiments, the base station transmits information to the UE (sometimes referred to as a downlink direction, as indicated by arrows 341, 342, and 343), which then enables subsequent communication from the UE to the base station (e.g., as indicated by a direction from the UE to the base station, sometimes referred to as an uplink direction, as indicated by dashed arrows 331, 332, and 333). The UE may be a smartphone, tablet, mobile computer, machine-to-machine (M2M) device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, or the like.

[0134] Figure 4 An example flowchart representation of a method for wireless communication according to one or more embodiments of the present technology is shown. Operation 402 includes receiving, by a communication device, a first signal, wherein the first signal includes an indication of a first set of frequency bands that can be used for communication from a network device. Operation 404 includes transmitting, by the communication device, a list of a second set of frequency bands supported by the communication device, wherein the list of the second set of frequency bands is determined independently of the indication of the first set of frequency bands.

[0135] Figure 5 An example flow chart representation of a method for wireless communication in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology is shown. Operation 502 comprises a network device transmitting a first signal, wherein the first signal includes an indication of a first set of frequency bands that may be used for communication from the network device.

[0136] Figure 6 An example flowchart representation of a method for wireless communication according to one or more embodiments of the present technology is shown. Operation 602 includes the wireless device transmitting a first signal based on a received indication or a first rule, wherein the first signal includes a capability parameter and a list including frequency band information.

[0137] Figure 7 An example flowchart representation of a method for wireless communication according to one or more embodiments of the present technology is shown. Operation 702 includes: a network device receiving a first signal based on a received indication and a first rule, wherein the first signal includes a capability parameter and a list including frequency band information. Operation 704 includes: performing an operation based on the first signal.

[0138] Figure 8 An example flow chart representation of a method for wireless communication according to one or more embodiments of the present technology is shown. Operation 802 includes: a communication device receiving a signal from a network device. Operation 804 includes: the communication device transmitting a list of a second set of frequency bands supported by the communication device.

[0139] Figure 9 An example flowchart representation of a method for wireless communication according to one or more embodiments of the present technology is shown. Operation 902 includes a network device determining, based on a type of wireless device, whether to include in a signal an indication of a first set of frequency bands available for communication with the network device. Operation 904 includes the network device transmitting a signal to the wireless device.

[0140] Figures 4 to 9 Various preferred embodiments and additional features of the above method are as follows. Further examples are described with reference to Examples 1 to 4.

[0141] In one example aspect, a method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes: receiving, by a communication device, a first signal, wherein the first signal includes an indication of a first set of frequency bands that can be used for communication from a network device; and transmitting, by the communication device, a list of a second set of frequency bands supported by the communication device, wherein the list of the second set of frequency bands is determined independently of the indication of the first set of frequency bands.

[0142] In another example aspect, another method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes transmitting, by a network device, a first signal, wherein the first signal includes an indication of a first set of frequency bands that can be used for communication from the network device.

[0143] In some embodiments, the list of the second set of frequency bands includes all frequency bands supported by the first wireless device.

[0144] In some embodiments, the list of the second set of frequency bands is empty.

[0145] In some embodiments, the list of the second set of frequency bands includes a subset of all frequency bands supported by the wireless device, wherein the subset of all frequency bands is selected based on capabilities of the wireless device.

[0146] In some embodiments, a subset of all frequency bands supported by the wireless device is generated based on the capabilities of the wireless device.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first wireless device is a RedCap UE.

[0148] In some embodiments, the list of the second set of frequency bands is generated based on an indication from a network device.

[0149] In one example aspect, a method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes: a wireless device transmitting a first signal based on a received indication or a first rule, wherein the first signal includes a capability parameter and a list including frequency band information.

[0150] In another exemplary aspect, another method for wireless communication is disclosed, comprising: a network device receiving a first signal based on a received indication and a first rule, wherein the first signal includes a capability parameter and a list including frequency band information; and performing an operation based on the first signal.

[0151] In some embodiments, the first rule comprises ignoring the received indication, and setting a capability parameter to indicate that the received indication has been ignored.

[0152] In some embodiments, the list contains all frequency bands supported by the wireless device.

[0153] In some embodiments, the list is empty.

[0154] In some embodiments, the list contains selected frequency bands supported by the wireless device.

[0155] In some embodiments, the capability parameter indicates whether the wireless device supports filtering functionality.

[0156] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: if the wireless device supports a filtering function, performing a filtering process based on the received indication and including a list containing the selected frequency band.

[0157] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if the wireless device does not support a filtering function, avoiding including information about supported frequency bands in the first signal.

[0158] In some embodiments, the wireless device is a RedCap UE or other device.

[0159] In one example aspect, a method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes: a communication device receiving a signal from a network device; and the communication device transmitting a list of a second set of frequency bands supported by the communication device.

[0160] In another example aspect, another method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes: a network device determining, based on a type of the wireless device, whether to include in a signal an indication of a first set of frequency bands available for communication with the network device; and the network device transmitting the signal to the wireless device.

[0161] In some embodiments, the type of wireless device is transmitted from the wireless device to the network device.

[0162] In some embodiments, the type includes RedCap's UE.

[0163] In some embodiments, the list of the second set of frequency bands is generated based on capabilities of the wireless device.

[0164] It should be understood that this document discloses methods and apparatus related to the design of UE capability functionality in wireless communication systems. Current standards require that the network include a frequencyBandListFilter parameter that is transmitted to the UE. However, for special types of UE, such as RedCap UEs, this feature may be redundant because such UEs do not support CA or DC. Therefore, in communication scenarios involving RedCap UEs, it would be beneficial to remove this parameter or make it optional. There are currently no methods or solutions in the related art to address this issue.

[0165] The method and apparatus proposed in this patent application involve making the frequencyBandListFilter in UECapabilityEnquiry optional for communication between a BS and a RedCap UE. The method and solution proposed in this application are beneficial for reducing the overhead of the communication system by reducing the processing cost on the transmission and reception sides.

[0166] Other embodiments, modules, and functional operations disclosed and described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the architecture disclosed herein and its equivalents, or any combination thereof. Other embodiments disclosed and described herein may be implemented as one or more computer program products, such as one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer-readable medium, for execution by or control of the operation of a data processing apparatus. A computer-readable medium may be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition that effects a machine-readable signal, or any combination thereof. The term "data processing apparatus" encompasses all devices, apparatus, and machines for processing data, including, by way of example, a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. In addition to hardware, an apparatus may include code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, such as code comprising processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or any combination thereof. A signal is an artificially generated signal, such as a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, generated to encode information for transmission to an appropriate receiving device.

[0167] A computer program (also referred to as a program, software, software application, script, or code) may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and may be implemented in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for implementation in a computer environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program may be stored in a file that holds part of other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple cooperating files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, subroutines, or portions of code). A computer program may be deployed for execution on one computer or on multiple computers, which may be located at one site or distributed across multiple sites interconnected by a communications network.

[0168] The processes and logic flows described in this disclosure may be performed by one or more programmable processors, which may execute one or more programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows may also be implemented by, and the apparatus may be implemented as, dedicated logic circuits, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

[0169] Processors suitable for executing computer programs include, by way of example, general-purpose or special-purpose processors, and any one or more processors of any type of digital computer. Typically, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory, or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Typically, a computer will also include, or be operable to process, receiving or sending data to or from one or more mass storage devices for storing data, such as magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media, and memory devices, including, by way of example, semiconductor memory devices such as Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal or external hard disks; magneto-optical disks; and Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CDROM) and Digital Versatile Disc Read-Only Memory (DVD-ROM) disks. The processor and memory may be supplemented or incorporated by special purpose logic circuitry.

[0170] Although this document contains a lot of detail, this should not be construed as a limitation on the claimed invention or the scope of the claims that may be made, but rather as a description of particular features of specific embodiments. Appropriate features described in the text of different embodiments in this document may also be applied in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, multiple features described in the text of a single embodiment may also be applied in multiple discrete embodiments, or in any suitable subcombination. In addition, although features are described above as being applied in appropriate combinations and initially claimed as such, one or more features of a claimed combination may in some cases be removed from the combination, and a claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variations of a subcombination. Similarly, operations are described in a particular order in the diagrams, and this should not be understood to require that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or that all shown operations be performed to achieve the desired result.

[0171] Only a few examples and implementations are disclosed. Based on what is disclosed, variations, modifications, and enhancements can be made to the described examples and implementations, as well as other implementations.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: The communication device receives a first signal, wherein the first signal includes an indication of a first set of frequency bands that can be used for communication from the network device; and The communication device transmits a list of a second set of frequency bands supported by the communication device, wherein the list of the second set of frequency bands is determined independently of the indication of the first set of frequency bands.

2. A method for wireless communication, comprising: The network device transmits a first signal, wherein the first signal includes an indication of a first set of frequency bands that can be used for communication from the network device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The list of the second set of frequency bands includes all frequency bands supported by the first wireless device.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The list of the second set of frequency bands is empty.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein The list of the second set of frequency bands includes a subset of all frequency bands supported by the wireless device, wherein the subset of all frequency bands is selected based on capabilities of the wireless device.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The subset of all frequency bands supported by the wireless device is generated based on capabilities of the wireless device.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first wireless device is a user equipment (UE) with reduced capability RedCap.

8. A method for wireless communication, comprising: The wireless device transmits a first signal based on the received indication or the first rule, wherein the first signal includes a capability parameter and a list including frequency band information.

9. A method for wireless communication, comprising: The network device receives a first signal based on the received indication and the first rule, wherein the first signal includes a capability parameter and a list including frequency band information; and An operation is performed based on the first signal.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein The first rule comprises ignoring the received indication, and setting the capability parameter to indicate that the received indication has been ignored.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The list contains all frequency bands supported by the wireless device.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The list is empty.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The list contains selected frequency bands supported by the wireless device.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein The capability parameter indicates whether the wireless device supports a filtering function.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: In case the wireless device supports the filtering function, based on the received indication, a filtering process is performed and a list containing the selected frequency bands is included.

16. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: In a case where the wireless device does not support the filtering function, avoid including information of the supported frequency band in the first signal.

17. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein The wireless device is a user equipment (UE) or other device with reduced capability RedCap.

18. A method for wireless communication, comprising: The communication device receives a signal from the network device; as well as The communication device transmits a list of a second set of frequency bands supported by the communication device.

19. A method for wireless communication, comprising: The network device determines, based on the type of the wireless device, whether to include in the signal an indication of a first set of frequency bands available for communication with the network device; as well as The network device transmits the signal to the wireless device.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The type of the wireless device is transmitted from the wireless device to the network device.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The types include user equipment UE with reduced capability RedCap.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein The list of the second set of frequency bands is generated based on an indication from the network device.

23. An apparatus for a communication network, comprising: A processor configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

24. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon code, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

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