Dynamic cell reselection

Abstract

A radio access network node exchanges network energy saving mode information indicating services or quality that will be active during an active network energy saving mode period corresponding to the node via an interface between the nodes or via a core network backhaul communication link. The idle mode user equipment may initiate a connection with one of the nodes having the determined highest signal strength by monitoring and decoding information block information indicating that the supported service or quality will be deactivated during the network energy saving mode. The information block information may indicate another one of the nodes that may provide one of the deactivated services during a network energy saving mode corresponding to the node transmitting the information block information. The user equipment may connect to other nodes for service even if the determined signal strength of the other nodes is not the highest signal strength of the node.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. non-provisional patent application No. 18 / 166,180, filed on February 8, 2023, entitled “DYNAMIC CELL RESELECTION,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] The term 'New Radio' (NR), associated with fifth-generation mobile wireless communication systems ("5G"), refers to the technologies used in the wireless radio access network ("RAN"), which includes several Quality of Service (QoS) levels, including ultra-reliable and low-latency communication ("URLLC"), enhanced mobile broadband ("eMBB"), and massive machine-type communication ("mMTC"). The URLLC QoS level is associated with strict latency requirements (e.g., low latency or low signal / message delay) and high reliability of radio performance, while conventional eMBB use cases may be associated with high-capacity wireless communication, which may allow for less stringent latency requirements (e.g., higher latency than URLLC) and less reliable radio performance than URLLC. Performance requirements for mMTC may be lower than those for eMBB use cases. Some use case applications involving mobile devices or mobile user equipment (such as smartphones, wireless tablets, smartwatches, etc.) may impose variations in the load or demand on a given RAN resource. RAN nodes may activate network energy-saving modes to reduce power consumption. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosed subject matter to provide a basic understanding of some of the various embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of the various embodiments. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the various embodiments, nor is it intended to delineate the scope of the various embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that will be presented later.

[0005] In an example embodiment, a method includes: activating, by a first network access network node including a processor, a network energy saving mode during a network energy saving mode time period, the network energy saving mode including at least one service being in an inactive state. The example method may include: receiving, by the first radio access network node, a first service activity message from a second radio access network node, the first service activity message including a first service activity indication indicating that the second radio access network node actively provides a first service among at least one service that is in an inactive state at the first radio access network node. The first service activity message may include the service or quality that the second radio access network node will support during the active network energy saving mode at the second radio access network node. The example method may also include: receiving, by the first radio access network node, a request for a first service from a first user equipment, and in response to the request for the first service, sending, by the first radio access network node to the first user equipment, a first information message including an alternative radio access network node indication, the alternative radio access network node indication indicating that the first service is actively provided by the second radio access network node. (The first information message may include a reference Figure 5 The first information message may include a system information block 1 (eg, an information element indicated in an SMB1 information block).

[0006] In an embodiment, the example method may further include: sending, by the first radio access network node, a request for a first service activity indication to the second radio access network node, the first service activity indication indicating one or more services active at the second radio access network node, wherein the first service activity message is in response to the request for the first service activity indication. The request for the service activity indication or the service activity message may be communicated between the radio access network nodes via an XN interface or via a backhaul link service.

[0007] In an embodiment, the example method may further include: broadcasting, by the first radio access network node, a service inactivity indication indicating that at least one service is in an inactive state at the first radio access network node, wherein the first service activity message is in response to the service inactivity indication.

[0008] In an embodiment, the example method may include broadcasting, by a first radio access network node, a service inactivity indication, the service inactivity indication indicating that at least one service is inactive at the first radio access network node during an inactivity period of a network energy saving mode, the inactivity period being indicated as an information element in a first information message. The inactivity period of the network energy saving mode may be less than the network energy saving mode period. (For example, the radio access network node may deactivate a given service or quality of service for a shorter period than another service or quality of service is deactivated during the network energy saving mode period.) The first information message may include a first service inactivity period indication, the first service inactivity period indication indicating a time corresponding to the inactivity of the first service at the first radio access network node during the network energy saving mode, such as a start time and an end time or a duration.

[0009] In an embodiment, the example method may further include: receiving, by the first radio access network node, a second service activity message from a third radio access network node, the second service activity message including a second service activity indication indicating that the third radio access network node is actively providing a second service from at least one service that is inactive at the first radio access network node. The method may also include: receiving, by the first radio access network node, a request for a second service from a second user equipment (UE), and, in response to the request for the second service, sending, by the first radio access network node, a second information message to the second UE, the second information message including a second alternative radio access network node indication indicating that the second service is actively provided by the third radio access network node. The second service may be one of the at least one service that is inactive at the first radio access network node. Thus, the first UE may request a service that is deactivated at the first RAN during its NES mode and is actively supported at the second RAN, and the second UE may request a service that is deactivated at the first and second RANs during the first RAN's NES mode, but is actively supported at the third RAN during the first RAN's NES mode.

[0010] In an embodiment, the network energy saving mode may be a first network energy saving mode, and the example method may further include: receiving, by the first radio access network node, a second service activity message from a third radio access network node, the second service activity message including a second service activity indication indicating that the third radio access network node is actively providing the first service. In an embodiment, the first information message may include a first service inactivity period indication indicating a first time corresponding to an inactivity state of the first service at the first radio access network node during the first network energy saving mode. The first information message may include a second service activity period indication indicating a second time corresponding to the first service actively provided by the second radio access network node at the second radio access network node during the second network energy saving mode at the second radio access network node.

[0011] In an embodiment, a first radio access network node may include a processor configured to receive a request for an indication of an active service at the first radio access network node from a second radio access network node. The processor may be configured to, in response to the request for the indication of the active service, send an active service message to the second radio access network node, the active service message including the active service indication indicating a service active at the first radio access network node. In response to a connection establishment request received from a user equipment, the processor of the first radio access network node may be configured to establish a connection with the user equipment; wherein the user equipment sends the connection establishment request based on a first identifier corresponding to the first radio access network node, the first identifier being indicated in an information message received by the user equipment from the second radio access network node, and wherein the second radio access network node includes the first identifier in the information message based on indicating the service as active at the first radio access network node in the active service message. Thus, the second radio access network node may be a radio access network node on which the user equipment has selected to camp and with which the user equipment establishes a connection if traffic is to be sent to the user equipment, and the first radio access network node may be a radio access network node that will provide services that the user equipment may require during a network energy saving mode at the second radio access network node. In an embodiment, the information message may include a system information block 1 information element. In an embodiment, the request for an indication of active services at the first radio access network node includes an indication that at least one service is not active at the second radio access network node.

[0012] In an embodiment, the processor of the first radio access network node may be further configured to generate an indication of active services of an active services message to indicate at least one service active at the first radio access network node and inactive at the second radio access network node.

[0013] In an embodiment, the information message sent from the second radio access network node to the user equipment may include a service inactivity period indication indicating a time corresponding to at least one service that is inactive at the second radio access network node during a network energy saving mode at the second radio access network node. At least one of the request for an indication of an active service or the active service message may be transmitted via at least one of: an Xn interface link communicatively coupled to the first radio access network node or the second radio access network node, or a backhaul link or backhaul link service of a core network communicatively coupled to or communicatively supporting the first radio access network node or the second radio access network node.

[0014] In another example embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium includes executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a first radio access network node, facilitate the performance of operations including: activating a network energy conservation mode, the network energy conservation mode including services being inactive at the first radio access network node, and broadcasting a request for an indication of active services at the at least one other radio access network node to at least one other radio access network node other than the first radio access network node. The operations may also include: receiving a service activity message from a second one of the at least one other radio access network node, the service activity message including a service activity indication indicating a service active at the second radio access network node. The operations may also include: broadcasting an information block including a service available indication indicating that the service is active at the second radio access network node. The service available indication may include or refer to an identifier corresponding to the second radio access network node. The information block may be system information block 1, or a portion or element of system information block 1.

[0015] The request for an indication of an active service may include an inactive service indication indicating a service, and wherein the inactive service indication includes at least one of a service identifier corresponding to the service or a quality indication corresponding to a quality of the service.

[0016] In an embodiment, the operation may further include: receiving a service activity message from a third radio access network node among the at least one other radio access network node, the service activity message including a service activity indication indicating that the service is active at the third radio access network node, wherein the service available indication indicates that the service is active at the third radio access network node.

[0017] In another embodiment, an example method may include: determining, by a user equipment including a processor, a first parameter metric corresponding to a first radio access network node. The example method may include: analyzing the first parameter metric (e.g., a signal strength corresponding to the first RAN) with respect to a configured first parameter criterion (e.g., a signal strength threshold, or a function satisfied by a signal strength corresponding to a given RAN being higher than a signal strength corresponding to other RANs that can provide wireless communication services to the user equipment) to produce an analyzed first parameter metric. The example method may also include: initiating, by the user equipment, a connection establishment procedure with the first radio access network node based on the analyzed first parameter metric being determined to satisfy the configured first parameter criterion, and receiving, by the user equipment, an information message from the first radio access network node, the information message including an inactive service indication and an alternative radio access network node indication, the inactive service indication indicating at least one service that is inactive at the first radio access network node, the alternative radio access network node indication indicating a second radio access network node, at least one service being active at the second radio access network node. The information message may include a reference Figure 5 Described new information element 515. The information message may be part of a synchronization signal block message, and the initiation of the connection establishment may comprise receiving and decoding only the synchronization signal block message without performing a random access procedure by the user equipment with the first radio access network node.

[0018] In an embodiment, the example method may further include: establishing, by the user equipment, a connection with the second radio access network node based on an alternative radio access network node indication, which may be a new information element 515 included in the information message. The alternative radio access network node indication may include an identifier of the second radio access network node. In an embodiment, the alternative radio access network node indication is received from the first radio access network node in a system information block 1 message. In an embodiment, the configured first parameter criterion includes a signal strength criterion, and wherein the first parameter metric is a first signal strength indication, the first signal strength indication indicating a first signal strength corresponding to the first radio access network node.

[0019] In an embodiment, the example method may include determining, by a user equipment, a second parameter metric corresponding to a second radio access network node, and the method may further include analyzing the second parameter metric with respect to a configured first parameter criterion to produce an analyzed second parameter metric. The second parameter metric may be a second signal strength indicator, the second signal strength indicator indicating a second signal strength corresponding to the second radio access network node, the configured first parameter criterion may include a signal strength threshold, the analyzed first parameter metric may be determined to satisfy the configured first parameter criterion, and the analyzed second parameter metric may be determined to satisfy the configured first parameter criterion. The example method may further include, by the user equipment, establishing a connection with the second radio access network node based on the alternative radio access network node indication. Stated another way, the signal strength determinations made by the user equipment corresponding to the first radio access network node and the second radio access network node may be deemed to support sufficient wireless communication service, and the user equipment may select the second radio access network node because the second radio access network node is providing the service required by the user equipment during a network power saving mode of the first radio access network node, even if the second radio access network node is determined to correspond to a signal at the user equipment that is weaker than the signal strength corresponding to the first radio access network node.

[0020] In an embodiment, the example method may include determining, by a user equipment, a second parameter metric corresponding to a second radio access network node, and establishing, by the user equipment, a connection with the second radio access network node based on an alternate radio access network node indication. The second parameter metric may be a second signal strength indicator, the second signal strength indicator indicating a second signal strength corresponding to the second radio access network node, the first signal strength may be higher than the second signal strength, and the configured first parameter criterion may include a function satisfied by the first signal strength being higher than the second signal strength. Establishing the connection with the second radio access network node based on the alternate radio access network node indication may include overriding the configured first parameter criterion. In other words, even if the first radio access network node provides a stronger signal at the user equipment than the second radio access network node, the user equipment may determine to select the second radio access network node for establishing the RRC connection because the user equipment may require a service that is not active on the first radio access network node but is active on the second radio access network node.

[0021] In an embodiment, the alternative radio access network node indication may indicate a third radio access network node, at which at least one service is active. The example method may further include: determining, by the user equipment, a third parameter metric corresponding to the third radio access network node. The third parameter metric may be a third signal strength indicator, the third signal strength indicator indicating a third signal strength corresponding to the third radio access network node. The first signal strength may be greater than the second signal strength, and the second signal strength may be less than the third signal strength. The configured first parameter criterion may include a function satisfied by the first signal strength being greater than the second signal strength or by the third signal strength being greater than the second signal strength. The example method may further include: determining, by the user equipment, a service requested by the user equipment from among the at least one service indicated by the inactive service indication to generate the determined service. The inactive service indication may indicate a first periodicity indication (indicating a first time corresponding to the inactivity of the service determined at the first radio access network node), a second periodicity indication (indicating a second time corresponding to the activity of the service determined at the second radio access network node), and a third periodicity indication (indicating a third time corresponding to the activity of the service determined at the third radio access network node). The example method may also include determining, by the user equipment, a second parameter criterion corresponding to use of the determined service by the user equipment, and analyzing the first time, the second time, and the third time with respect to the second parameter criterion to produce, respectively, a determined first service availability, a determined second service availability, and a determined third service availability. The example method may also include determining that the determined second service availability satisfies the second parameter criterion and that the third service availability does not satisfy the second parameter criterion, wherein establishing a connection with the second radio access network node includes overriding the configured first parameter criterion. In an embodiment, the second parameter criterion includes a time required for the user equipment to use the determined service. In an embodiment, the user equipment may include a machine-to-machine device.

[0022] In an embodiment, the second parameter metric may be a second signal strength indication, the second signal strength indication indicating a second signal strength corresponding to the second radio access network node, wherein the first signal strength is greater than the second signal strength, and wherein the configured first parameter criterion includes a function satisfied by the first signal strength being greater than the second signal strength. The inactive service indication may indicate: a first periodicity indication indicating a first time corresponding to an inactive state of a service determined at the first radio access network node; and a second periodicity indication indicating a second time corresponding to an active state of the service determined at the second radio access network node. The example method may also include: determining, by the user equipment, a service requested by the user equipment from at least one service indicated by the inactive service indication to produce a determined service; determining, by the user equipment, a second parameter criterion including a requested time for the user equipment to use the determined service; and analyzing, by the user equipment, the first time and the second time with respect to the second parameter criterion to produce: a determined first service availability and a determined second service availability. The example method may also include: determining, by the user equipment, that the determined first service availability satisfies the second parameter criterion and that the determined second service availability satisfies the second parameter criterion; and establishing, by the user equipment, a connection with the first radio access network node based on the first time.

[0023] In another embodiment, a user equipment includes a processor configured to: determine a first parameter metric corresponding to a first radio access network node; determine a second parameter metric corresponding to a second radio access network node; analyze the first parameter metric with respect to configured parameter criteria to produce an analyzed first parameter metric; and analyze the second parameter metric with respect to the configured parameter criteria to produce an analyzed second parameter metric. The processor of the user equipment may also be configured to: determine a requested resource to be requested from the first radio access network node or from the second radio access network node, and initiate a connection with the first radio access network node based on the analyzed first parameter metric satisfying the configured parameter criteria and based on the analyzed second parameter metric failing to satisfy the configured parameter criteria. The processor of the user equipment may also be configured to: receive an information block from the first radio access network node, the information block including an unavailable resource indication indicating that the requested resource is unavailable at the first radio access network node, wherein the information block includes an alternative radio access network node indication indicating that the requested resource is available at the second radio access network node.

[0024] In an embodiment, the processor of the user equipment may be further configured to determine a second parameter metric that disregards the analysis failing to meet the configured parameter criteria and establish a connection with the second radio access network node based on the alternative radio access network node indication.

[0025] The alternative radio access network node indication may include an identifier corresponding to the second radio access network node. The requested resource may include a service, and in this context, the unavailable resource indication may include a service identifier corresponding to the service. The requested resource may include a quality of service of the requested supported service, and the unavailable resource indication may include a quality level indication indicating that the quality of service of the requested supported service is not available at the first radio access network node.

[0026] In yet another embodiment, an example non-transitory machine-readable medium includes executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of user equipment, facilitate performance of operations including: initiating a connection with a first radio access network node, and receiving an information message including an information block from the first radio access network node, wherein the information block may include an inactive service indication, the inactive service indication specifying at least one inactive service at the first radio access network node, and wherein the information block may include an alternative radio access network node indication, the alternative radio access network node indication specifying a second radio access network node at which at least one of the at least one inactive service is active.

[0027] In an embodiment of an example non-transitory machine-readable medium, the operations may further include determining an application service to be used by an application being executed by a processor; determining a first parameter metric corresponding to a first radio access network node; determining a second parameter metric corresponding to a second radio access network node; and analyzing the first parameter metric and the second parameter metric with respect to configured connection criteria to cause the user equipment to determine the first radio access network node as the selected radio access network node. The user equipment may be configured to transition from an IDLE state, or in an embodiment, an INACTICE state, to a CONNECTED state by establishing a connection to the selected radio access network node in accordance with the configured connection criteria. The operations may further include determining that the application service is one of at least one inactive service active at the second radio access network node, overriding the configured connection criteria based on the application service being one of the at least one inactive service active at the second radio access network node, and establishing the connection to the second radio access network node based on the overriding configured connection criteria. The alternative radio access network node indication may include an identifier of the second radio access network node. The alternative radio access network node indication may include a network energy saving mode duration indication specifying a time corresponding to when at least one inactive service at the first radio access network node is inactive. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 A wireless communication system environment is illustrated.

[0029] Figure 2 An example inter-cell coordination embodiment for exchanging network energy efficiency service support information is illustrated.

[0030] Figure 3 Illustrated is an example network power save mode configuration to be used by user equipment in idle mode.

[0031] Figure 4A Resource usage according to an existing radio access network node reselection procedure is illustrated.

[0032] Figure 4B Resource usage according to an example embodiment of proactive reselection is illustrated.

[0033] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates a radio access network node reselection procedure based on an energy saving mode message.

[0034] Figure 6 A timing diagram illustrating an example embodiment method of reselecting a radio access network node when a currently selected radio access network node does not actively support a service requested by a user equipment.

[0035] Figure 7 A flow chart illustrating an example embodiment method of reselecting a radio access network node when a currently selected radio access network node does not actively support a service requested by a user equipment.

[0036] Figure 8 A block diagram of an example method embodiment is illustrated.

[0037] Figure 9 A block diagram of an example radio access network node embodiment is illustrated.

[0038] Figure 10 A block diagram of an example non-transitory machine-readable medium embodiment is illustrated.

[0039] Figure 11 A block diagram of an example method embodiment is illustrated.

[0040] Figure 12 A block diagram of an example user equipment embodiment is illustrated.

[0041] Figure 13 A block diagram of an example non-transitory machine-readable medium embodiment is illustrated.

[0042] Figure 14 An example computer system is illustrated.

[0043] Figure 15 A block diagram of example wireless user equipment is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] As a preliminary matter, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the present embodiment has broad utility and applicability. In addition to those described herein, many methods, embodiments and adaptations of the present application and many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements will be obvious or reasonably suggested by the essence or scope of the various embodiments of the present application.

[0045] Therefore, although the present application has been described in detail with respect to various embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is an illustration of one or more concepts expressed by the various exemplary embodiments and is made only for the purpose of providing a complete and enabling disclosure. The following disclosure is not intended to and should not be interpreted as limiting the present application or otherwise excluding any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, and the present embodiments described herein are limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0046] As used in this disclosure, in some embodiments, the terms "component," "system," and the like are intended to refer to or include a computer-related entity or an entity associated with an operating device having one or more specific functionalities, where the entity can be hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. By way of example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread of execution, computer-executable instructions, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration and not limitation, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component.

[0047] One or more components can reside in a process and / or execution thread, and the component can be located on a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. These components can communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as according to a signal with one or more data packets (e.g., data from a component, the component interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or interacts with other systems across a network such as the Internet via the signal). As another example, a component can be a device with a specific functionality provided by a mechanical part operated by an electrical or electronic circuit system, the electrical or electronic circuit system being operated by a software application or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor can be inside or outside the device and execute at least part of the software or firmware application. In another example, a component can be a device providing specific functionality by an electronic component without a mechanical part, the electronic component can include a processor to execute software or firmware that at least partially gives the functionality of the electronic component. Although various components have been illustrated as separate components, it is to be understood that, without departing from the exemplary embodiments, multiple components can be implemented as a single component, or a single component can be implemented as multiple components.

[0048] With respect to the nature of complex computing environments in which some computing operations may involve multiple components and / or multiple devices, the term "facilitate" as used herein is in the context of a system, device, or component "facilitating" one or more actions or operations. Non-limiting examples of actions that may or may not involve multiple components and / or multiple devices include sending or receiving data, establishing a connection between devices, determining intermediate results toward obtaining a result, and the like. In this regard, a computing device or component may facilitate an operation by playing any role in implementing the operation. When the operation of a component is described herein, it is therefore understood that where an operation is described as being facilitated by a component, the operation may optionally be accomplished with the collaboration of one or more other computing devices or components, such as, but not limited to, sensors, antennas, audio and / or visual output devices, other devices, and the like.

[0049] Further, various embodiments may be implemented as methods, apparatus, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term "article of manufacture," as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable (or machine-readable) device or computer-readable (or machine-readable) storage / communication medium. For example, computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, flash drives). Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

[0050] Now turning to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports blind decoding of PDCCH candidates or search spaces according to one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more base stations 105, one or more user equipment ("UE") devices 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a long-range wireless communication network, including, for example, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an Advanced LTE (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communication, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communication, low-latency communication, communication with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof. As shown in the figure, examples of UE 115 may include smartphones, cars or other vehicles, or drones or other aircraft. Another example of a UE may be a virtual reality appliance 117, such as smart glasses, a virtual reality headset, an augmented reality headset, and other similar devices that can provide images, video, audio, touch, taste, or smell to the wearer. A UE (such as a VR appliance 117) may send or receive wireless signals with a RAN base station 105 via a long-range wireless link 125, or the UE / VR appliance may send or receive wireless signals via a short-range wireless link 137, which may include a wireless link with the UE device 115, such as a Bluetooth link, a Wi-Fi link, etc. A UE (such as an appliance 117) may communicate simultaneously via multiple wireless links, such as through a link 125 with a base station 105 and a short-range wireless link. The VR appliance 117 may also communicate with a wireless UE via a cable or other wired connection. The RAN or its components may be referred to as Figure 12 The described one or more computer components are implemented.

[0051] continue Figure 1As discussed above, base stations 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form wireless communication system 100 and may be devices of varying forms or capabilities. Base stations 105 and UEs 115 may communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110 over which a UE 115 and base station 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. Coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which base stations 105 and UEs 115 may support signal communication according to one or more radio access technologies.

[0052] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile, or both, at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, the UE 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, base stations 105, or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relays, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment).

[0053] The base stations 105 can communicate with the core network 130, or with each other, or both. For example, the base stations 105 can interface with the core network 130 via one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). The base stations 105 can communicate with each other via the backhaul links 120 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces) directly (e.g., directly between the base stations 105), indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130), or both. In some examples, the backhaul links 120 may include one or more wireless links.

[0054] One or more of the base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by one of ordinary skill in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB or a giga NodeB (any of which may be referred to as a bNodeB or gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other appropriate terminology.

[0055] UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other appropriate terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, etc. UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, or a router. In some examples, UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communication (MTC) device, etc., which may be implemented in various objects, such as appliances, vehicles, or smart meters, etc.

[0056] The UE 115 may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, which may sometimes act as relays, as well as base stations 105 and network equipment, including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, etc. Figure 1 shown.

[0057] The UE 115 and the base station 105 can wirelessly communicate with each other via one or more communication links 125 on one or more carriers. The term "carrier" can refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication link 125. For example, the carrier used for the communication link 125 can include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth portion (BWP)) operating according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel can carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling to coordinate operations for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communication system 100 can use carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation to support communication with the UE 115. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, the UE 115 can be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation can be used with both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers.

[0058] In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations with respect to other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)) and may be located according to a channel raster for discovery by a UE 115. A carrier may operate in a standalone mode, where a UE 115 may perform initial acquisition and connection via the carrier, or in a non-standalone mode, where a different carrier (e.g., of the same or different radio access technology) is used to anchor the connection.

[0059] The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include an uplink transmission from the UE 115 to the base station 105 or a downlink transmission from the base station 105 to the UE 115. A carrier may carry downlink communications or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or may be configured to carry both downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode).

[0060] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the "system bandwidth" of the carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a plurality of determined bandwidths of a carrier for a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)). Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115, or both) may have a hardware configuration that supports communications on a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be configurable to support communications on one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 or a UE 115 that supports simultaneous communications via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured to operate on a portion (e.g., a subband, a BWP) or the entire carrier bandwidth.

[0061] The signal waveform transmitted on the carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using a multicarrier modulation (MCM) technique such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may be composed of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely correlated. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Therefore, the more resource elements received by the UE 115 and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for the UE can be. Wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources (e.g., search space), or spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further improve the data rate or data integrity for communications with the UE 115.

[0062] One or more numbers for a carrier may be supported, where the number may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs having the same or different numbers. In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time, and communications for a UE 115 may be limited to the one or more active BWPs.

[0063] The time interval for the base station 105 or the UE 115 can be expressed as a multiple of a base time unit. For example, the base time unit can be T s =1 / (Δf max ·N f ) seconds sampling period, where Δf max It can represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and N f The maximum supported Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) size may be indicated. Time intervals for communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0064] Each frame can include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot can have the same duration. In some examples, the frame can be divided into subframes (e.g., in the time domain), and each subframe can be further divided into multiple time slots. Alternatively, each frame can include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots can depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot can include multiple symbol periods, e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix appended to each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, the time slot can also be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In addition to the cyclic prefix, each symbol period can contain one or more (e.g., N f The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band.

[0065] A subframe, slot, mini-slot, or symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of a shortened TTI (sTTI)).

[0066] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. Physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by multiple symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth of a carrier or a subset of the system bandwidth. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of UEs 115. For example, one or more of UEs 115 may monitor or search a control region or space for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or more control channel candidates of one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to a plurality of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with coded information for a control information format having a given payload size. A search space set may include a common search space set configured for transmitting control information to multiple UEs 115 and a UE-specific search space set for transmitting control information to a specific UE 115. Other search spaces and configurations for monitoring and decoding them are disclosed herein, which are novel and non-conventional.

[0067] Base station 105 can provide communication coverage via one or more cells, such as macro cells, small cells, hot spots, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term "cell" can refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with base station 105 (e.g., via a carrier), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID), or other identifier) ​​used to distinguish adjacent cells. In some examples, a cell can also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion (e.g., a sector) of a geographic coverage area 110 on which a logical communication entity operates. Depending on various factors such as the capabilities of base station 105, such a cell can range from a smaller area (e.g., a structure, a subset of a structure) to a larger area. For example, a cell can be or include a building, a subset of a building, or the external space between or overlapping with a geographic coverage area 110, etc.

[0068] A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow a UE 115 to access the network 115 unrestricted by subscribing to a service provided by a network provider that supports the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a base station 105 that is less powerful than a macro cell, and the small cell may operate in the same or different frequency band (e.g., licensed or unlicensed) as the macro cell. A small cell may provide unrestricted access to a UE 115 by subscribing to a service provided by a network provider, or may provide restricted access to a UE 115 associated with the small cell (e.g., a UE 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), a UE 115 associated with a user in a home or office). A base station 105 may support one or more cells and may also use one or more component carriers to support communications on the one or more cells.

[0069] In some examples, a carrier can support multiple cells, and different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)), which can provide access to different types of devices.

[0070] In some examples, base stations 105 can be mobile and, therefore, provide communication coverage to mobile geographic coverage areas 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 can be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can be supported by different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 can include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage to various geographic coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

[0071] The wireless communication system 100 can support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 can have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 can be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 can have different frame timing, and in some examples, transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein can be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operation.

[0072] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application that utilizes the information or presents it to a person interacting with the application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines or other equipment. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, medical monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based commercial charging.

[0073] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for UEs 115 include entering a power-saving deep sleep mode when not engaged in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communication), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., a set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guard band of a carrier, or outside a carrier.

[0074] The wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) or mission-critical communication. UE 115 can be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency or critical functions (e.g., mission-critical functions). Ultra-reliable communication can include private communication or group communication and can be supported by one or more mission-critical services, such as mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission-critical video (MCVideo), or mission-critical data (MCData). Support for mission-critical functions can include prioritization of services, and mission-critical services can be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission-critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency can be used interchangeably in this article.

[0075] In some examples, UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). Communication link 135 may include a sidelink communication link. One or more UEs 115 utilizing D2D communication (such as sidelink communication) may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be located outside the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 105 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from base station 105. In some examples, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which a UE transmits to each other UE in the group. In some examples, base station 105 facilitates resource scheduling for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is implemented between UEs 115 without involving base station 105.

[0076] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 can be an example of a communication channel between vehicles (e.g., UE 115), such as a sidelink communication channel. In some examples, vehicles can communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these communications. Vehicles can signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergency events, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system can communicate with roadside infrastructure (such as roadside units) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or communicate with the network via one or more RAN network nodes (e.g., base station 105), or both. Figure 1 In FIG, vehicle UE 116 is shown as being within the RAN coverage area, and vehicle UE 118 is shown as being outside the coverage area of ​​the same RAN. Vehicle UE 115 wirelessly connected to the RAN may be a sidelink relay to vehicle UE 116 within the RAN coverage area or vehicle UE 118 outside the RAN coverage area.

[0077] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), and may include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) that manages access and mobility, and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)) that routes packets or interconnections to external networks. The control plane entities may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transmitted via user plane entities, which may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entities may be connected to IP services 150 for one or more network operators. The IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, intranet(s), IP multimedia subsystems (IMS), or packet-switched streaming services.

[0078] Some network devices, such as base stations 105, may include subcomponents, such as access network entities 140, which may be examples of access node controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with a UE 115 through one or more other access network transport entities 145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission / reception points (TRPs). Each access network transport entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0079] The wireless communication system 100 can operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Typically, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but these waves can penetrate structures sufficiently for macro cells to provide service to UEs 115 located indoors. Transmissions using UHF waves can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter distances (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmissions using the lower frequencies and longer wavelengths of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0080] The wireless communication system 100 can also operate in the super high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz (also known as centimeter bands), or in the extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known as millimeter bands. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 can support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UE 115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the corresponding devices can be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this can facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the device. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter distances than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein can be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the designated use of frequency bands across these frequency regions can vary by country or regulatory body.

[0081] The wireless communication system 100 can utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can employ license assisted access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, devices such as the base station 105 and the UE 115 can employ carrier sensing for conflict detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in the unlicensed band can be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in combination with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in the unlicensed spectrum can include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among others.

[0082] A base station 105 or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas that may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a base station 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels that may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array having multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UE 115. Similarly, the UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panels may support radio frequency beamforming for signals transmitted via the antenna ports.

[0083] The base station 105 or UE 115 can use MIMO communication to take advantage of multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by sending or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. This technology can be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, a transmitting device can send multiple signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Similarly, a receiving device can receive multiple signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Each of the multiple signals can be referred to as a separate spatial stream and can carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers can be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO technology includes single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) in which multiple spatial layers are sent to the same receiving device and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) in which multiple spatial layers are sent to multiple devices.

[0084] Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that can be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals transmitted via antenna elements of an antenna array so that some signals propagating at a particular orientation with respect to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals transmitted via antenna elements can include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying an amplitude shift, a phase shift, or both to the signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements can be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or the receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation).

[0085] The base station 105 or the UE 115 may use beam sweeping techniques as part of a beamforming operation. For example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times by the base station 105 in different directions. For example, the base station 105 may transmit signals according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device such as the base station 105 or by a receiving device such as the UE 115) the beam direction for later transmission or reception by the base station 105.

[0086] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by base station 105 in a single beam direction, e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device, such as UE 115. In some examples, a beam direction associated with a transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based on signals transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by base station 105 in different directions and may report to the base station an indication of the signal received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality.

[0087] In some examples, transmissions to a device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115) can be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device can use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from base station 105 to UE 115). UE 115 can report feedback indicating precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback can correspond to a configured number of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. Base station 105 can send reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)), which can be precoded or unprecoded. UE 115 can provide feedback for beam selection, which can be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel codebook, a linear combination codebook, or a port selection codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals sent by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques for sending signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115) or for sending signals in a single direction (e.g., for sending data to a receiving device).

[0088] When receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from the base station 105, a receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may try multiple reception configurations (e.g., directional listening). For example, the receiving device may try multiple reception directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, receiving according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array (e.g., different sets of directional listening weights), or processing received signals according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at different antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different reception configurations or reception directions. In some examples, the receiving device may use a single reception configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving data signals). The single reception configuration may be aligned in a beam direction determined based on listening according to different reception configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0089] The wireless communication system 100 can be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer can be IP-based. The radio link control (RLC) layer can perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. The medium access control (MAC) layer can perform priority processing and multiplex logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer can also use error detection technology, error correction technology, or both to support retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer can provide the establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between the UE 115 and the base station 105 or the core network 130 supporting the radio bearer for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels can be mapped to physical channels.

[0090] UE 115 and base station 105 can support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood of successfully receiving the data. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is a technique for increasing the likelihood of correctly receiving data over communication link 125. HARQ can include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve throughput at the MAC layer under poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some examples, a device can support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device can provide HARQ feedback in a particular time slot to data received in a previous symbol in the time slot. In other cases, the device can provide HARQ feedback in subsequent time slots or according to some other time intervals.

[0091] Network energy saving.

[0092] In cellular networks, energy conservation or power saving is desirable for both network equipment and user equipment. A goal of a Network Energy Saving ("NES") mode is to facilitate a RAN node, which may be experiencing high power consumption, limited battery capacity, or a power outage, to dynamically relax support for one or more radio functions or one or more radio services that the RAN node may otherwise support until an improvement in the power situation is achieved, such as restoration of off-site power to the RAN node such that the RAN is no longer dependent on power from the RAN on-site battery, or until the capacity of the on-site battery is restored to a configured level. Implementing NES may facilitate cost efficiency or power efficiency at the RAN node (e.g., activating the NES mode during lightly loaded times for the RAN that experience a high rate of change in traffic load throughout a given day), or may facilitate service continuity, particularly for emergency services / calls in the event of a power outage / blackout.

[0093] Therefore, the RAN node of the cell can dynamically implement the NES mode to temporarily stop supporting or providing high-energy consumption radio services within a determined or configured period. Non-limiting examples of high-power radio services or operations include ultra-fast scheduling associated with mini-slot scheduling for delay-critical services, data replication for enhanced radio reliability, and others. For user equipment that is already connected (e.g., user equipment that is RRC CONNECTED with the RAN), the RAN may already know the services, service types, and quality of service (QoS) targets that correspond to the service flows associated with the user equipment that is already connected. Therefore, the RAN node can determine to avoid NES mode activation to avoid negatively impacting the critical services currently provided by the RAN to the user equipment. However, even if the idle mode user equipment is within the coverage area or range of the RAN, the RAN node may not be aware that the user equipment in idle mode is not actively connected to the RAN node, and when the user equipment later initiates a connection to the RAN node, the RAN node may not know the target QoS target or service that the idle user equipment may need or request. Therefore, according to current implementations, when a user equipment initiates a connection establishment procedure with a RAN node, an idle mode user equipment device that may be camped on a RAN node with NES mode activated may only be aware of the RAN's NES mode activation and the services that the RAN node currently does not provide or support. This initiation of the connection procedure may include the user equipment device performing a random access procedure and a corresponding subsequent high-power and signaling-intensive connection establishment procedure. Only after initiating and connecting to the RAN node may the user equipment realize that the RAN node has activated NES mode and does not currently provide or support the services or radio functions that the user equipment may need to request, which may cause the user equipment to abandon the established connection with the RAN and attempt to reselect another nearby RAN node. This connection of the user equipment to the RAN node may result in energy inefficiency at both the RAN node and the user equipment, as well as wasted signaling overhead and delayed network access for the affected idle devices.

[0094] Currently, several schemes can be implemented to achieve network energy savings. An example of a currently implemented NES mode procedure is Aggregated Paging Occasions ("APO"), where user equipment devices are aggregated to monitor and blindly decode the same paging occasion. This reduces the total number of paging occasions that the RAN node must send, but at the expense of idle mode devices waking up and decoding the same paging occasion that may include paging information intended for only a single user equipment device (e.g., paging 'false positives'). With APO, the increased energy consumption at the aggregated user equipment devices due to paging false positives may overshadow the benefits of NES.

[0095] Another example of a currently implemented NES mode procedure is where a cell / RAN node shuts down and does not accept new connection requests from user equipment that is not currently connected to the cell / RAN. Shutting down the acceptance of new connection requests or even stopping all or part of the current device connection for one or more active services is a simple and straightforward NES solution, but can cause a negative impact on the quality of service achievable by the user equipment. Furthermore, shutting down the acceptance of new connection requests can cause coverage gaps where idle user equipment may be unaware of or 'blind' to the cessation of service, resulting in the user equipment attempting to connect to the RAN (and thereby consuming battery power and time resources of the user equipment) despite the RAN not currently providing the services required by the user equipment. In situations where emergency services are needed, such as fire, rescue, law enforcement, etc., user equipment that is oblivious to the RAN's deactivated radio services may pose a safety risk to the users of the blinded user equipment.

[0096] Idle mode operations include several processes for user equipment devices in idle mode, such as: determining the coverage level / signal strength corresponding to surrounding cells; camping on or selecting a cell / RAN; or monitoring the detected coverage level / signal strength of a cell / RAN as the user equipment moves or radio conditions change. Idle mode devices can be considered as active user equipment that is not connected to a cell / RAN, so the RAN network is unaware of the location of idle mode devices and the density of idle user equipment.

[0097] When a user equipment device is turned on, it searches for and attempts to decode synchronization signal blocks ("SSBs") of surrounding cells—SSBs are typically the only signals consistently transmitted by 5G RAN nodes. SSBs enable idle-mode devices to, for example: acquire downlink radio frequency ("RF") receiver synchronization with surrounding cells / RANs; determine cell identifiers of surrounding cells / RANs; and determine coverage levels using SSB downlink reference signals (e.g., the user equipment may determine signal strength based on reference signal received power ("RSRP") corresponding to each of the detected cells / RANs).

[0098] Thus, the idle mode device selects a backup cell / RAN that provides the best coverage level / determined signal strength for camping based on the detected SSB and the determined coverage levels of surrounding cells / RANs corresponding to the determined cell / RAN identifier. When the user equipment needs to connect to the network (e.g., to receive a call or to initiate an uplink data session when cell selection is not performed at that time because cell / RAN selection has already been performed), the user equipment initiates a connection to the backup cell / RAN (e.g., initiates an RRC connection). Thus, the idle mode device typically performs the cell / RAN selection process periodically, regardless of whether it needs to connect to a cell / RAN.

[0099] An idle mode device can initiate cell reselection using the same process as cell selection, but periodically searches for another cell other than a previously selected / currently selected cell at a time according to the idle mode period configured at the user equipment or according to a configuration received from the cell / RAN. Cell / RAN reselection benefits the user equipment because a given selected cell / RAN that is optimal for the user equipment at one time may not provide the strongest signal strength at a later time, a scenario that may arise if the idle mode user equipment moves between cells or if channel radio conditions change. Therefore, an idle mode device can initiate idle mode reselection when coverage degradation of the currently selected cell is detected (based on a defined set of conditions being met). The cell / RAN node is generally unaware of the reselection determination made by the idle mode device.

[0100] For a given selected cell, the idle mode device monitors the SSB information sent from the cell / RAN and monitors the determined paging occasion(s) corresponding to the cell / RAN. Monitoring the SSB information facilitates the idle mode device to stay up to date on the coverage level of the selected cell / RAN and trigger cell reselection when needed to support incoming calls or data traffic transmission.

[0101] Therefore, while the cell / RAN's transmission of SSB blocks facilitates the user equipment's transition from low-power IDLE mode to higher-power CONNECTED mode, the transmission of SSB blocks at the cell / RAN is an energy-intensive operation. When an idle mode user equipment connects to a RAN node (e.g., transitioning from idle mode to connected mode), the user equipment 'assumes' that the service or QoS profile it is seeking or requesting is provided by the currently selected cell. If the idle mode user equipment transitions to connected mode and then determines that the service required by the user equipment is not active at the RAN to which it is connected, the UE consumes battery power and time resources while establishing a fruitless connection.

[0102] Not providing one or more services or QoS profiles to a connected user equipment or a currently idle user equipment that is transitioning to a connected state with the RAN may not be a problem for connected mode user equipment devices because the RAN is already aware of the user equipment device and the QoS targets and services required or targeted by the user equipment. The RAN node may refrain from discontinuing support of active services currently being used by the user equipment during active NES mode, or the RAN may be configured to cause transmission of a signal to the connected mode user equipment device indicating that services currently being used by the user equipment may be stopped or suspended during the NES period.

[0103] However, for idle mode user equipment, the RAN node is not aware of the user equipment's location(s) or the target services or QoS profiles that the user equipment may be pursuing / requesting before the user equipment connects to the RAN node. This can cause the idle mode user equipment to connect to a RAN node that has activated NES mode, which has stopped providing or supporting all or some of the services or QoS profiles targeted, pursued, or requested by the user equipment. This can cause the idle mode user equipment to discard processed connection establishment signaling information and transition back to idle mode in order to reselect another cell that can provide the service or QoS profile targeted by the UE, and then attempt random access and connection establishment procedures on the reselected cell / RAN. Due to this repetitive and reactive user equipment device behavior, radio resources and battery power are wasted at the user equipment due to fruitless random access and connection establishment procedures with one or more RAN nodes that may have activated NES mode operation.

[0104] Therefore, in order to avoid wasting resources and energy from a user equipment attempting to connect to a RAN node that has activated NES mode and does not support a service that the user equipment may request, while still achieving NES goals (e.g., power saving at the RAN), embodiments are disclosed herein to facilitate a dynamic cell / RAN reselection process based on the NES mode activated between one or more cells / RAN nodes. In the embodiments disclosed herein, a RAN node may proactively declare an NES setting configuration corresponding to the NES mode that the RAN has implemented, indicating one or more services or radio functions that the RAN node may have stopped. According to the embodiments disclosed herein, an idle mode user equipment device can efficiently camp on a given cell / RAN and then reselect another cell / RAN node that currently provides the service or function required by the user equipment, thereby avoiding wasting signaling overhead and incurring delays in performing connection establishment with a cell / RAN that does not currently provide the target service or target function (e.g., the service or function required by the user equipment). The embodiments disclosed herein may modify the currently used idle mode signaling flows with new and novel radio information elements, and may implement one or more new trigger conditions for an idle user equipment device to perform cell reselection based on NES conditions or configurations of a RAN node, rather than based on conventional coverage-based cell reselection (e.g., rather than reselecting a cell / RAN from multiple cells / RANs based on the user equipment determining a cell / RAN having a higher signal strength at the user equipment than other cells / RANs).

[0105] Dynamic cell reselection triggered by network energy saving mode.

[0106] Embodiments disclosed herein facilitate triggering cell / RAN reselection based on the NES mode at the currently selected cell / RAN. As discussed above, existing cell reselection processes are based on coverage levels / signal strength levels. Cell / RAN reselection is typically implemented if the coverage level of the currently selected cell / RAN falls below a threshold or falls below the coverage level detected from another neighboring cell / RAN. Basing RAN reselection determination solely on signal strength may overlook the NES state or NES mode that the currently selected RAN may have activated, during which the RAN may not be able to provide the services or QoS profile required or desired by a user equipment that may be initiating a connection to the NES RAN or may be in the process of initiating a connection to the NES RAN. From the user equipment's perspective, it is useless for the user equipment to select and connect to a RAN with good cell coverage / determined signal strength but that does not provide the desired service.

[0107] Using the embodiments disclosed herein, an NES mode active cell / RAN node may proactively declare the current NES settings configuration to an idle mode user equipment device as part of idle mode signaling (e.g., as part of a system information block ("SIB") in accordance with current procedures or via a novel dedicated SIB disclosed herein). The declared NES configuration may include: an indication of the current active period of the NES mode; one or more service identifiers (e.g., a list), QoS identifiers, or quality level indication ("QCI") identifiers corresponding to services, service qualities, or quality levels, respectively, that will not be provided or are not provided during the indicated active period of the current NES configuration; and a list of neighboring cell / RAN identifiers corresponding to other cells / RAN nodes that alternatively provide services, service qualities, or quality classes that are not provided by the currently selected RAN during the active NES mode period of the currently selected RAN. Based on the first two NES setting information elements (e.g., NES mode cycle indication and list or service / QoS / QCI), the idle mode user equipment becomes able to identify whether the currently selected cell / RAN is suitable for subsequent random access and connection establishment by determining whether the currently selected cell provides the target service, QoS profile or quality level. If the currently selected cell is deemed unsuitable for providing the target service, the idle mode user equipment device can trigger a cell reselection process based on the third information element of the NES setting configuration (e.g., based on a list of alternative RAN nodes that provide the target service / QoS / quality level).

[0108] In an example, based on receiving a list of cell identifiers corresponding to RAN nodes currently supporting a target service, the idle-mode user equipment device can initiate cell reselection to the RAN (which can be indicated via a message from the currently selected RAN) as an alternative RAN (in an embodiment, if the user equipment determines that the coverage level of the alternative RAN is sufficient to facilitate wireless communication with the alternative RAN), without having to receive and decode the NES settings configuration corresponding to the alternative RAN. In other words, regardless of the NES mode (if any) of the alternative RAN, based on the information received via signaling from the currently selected RAN, the idle-mode user equipment device already knows that the service targeted / desired / requested by the idle-mode user equipment, which has been deactivated by the currently selected RAN, is available, supported, or provided by the alternative RAN. As a result, the RAN can utilize the power saving benefits of the NES process, while the idle-mode user equipment device can avoid or minimize connections to cells / RANs that are not currently serving the target / desired service of the idle-mode user equipment.

[0109] An initial action of the NES-triggered cell reselection embodiments disclosed herein may include neighboring cell / RAN nodes exchanging their respective NES configurations, including lists of services, service priority identifiers, flow identifiers, or quality level indicator identifiers corresponding to services, priorities, flows, or quality levels that would be unsupported if or when the corresponding RAN node activates the corresponding NES mode. This exchange of corresponding NES mode configurations between neighboring or proximate cell / RAN nodes (e.g., within a determined or configured distance) facilitates a cell / RAN node that an idle-mode user equipment may have selected as its currently selected cell / RAN to camp on to notify the idle-mode user equipment of one or more identifier indicators indicating one or more alternative cell / RAN nodes that may be providing services, priorities, quality levels, etc. that are not currently supported by the currently selected cell / RAN. Thus, the idle-mode device can be effectively directed to reselect a cell / RAN that provides the service targeted by the idle-mode user equipment, rather than the idle-mode user equipment reselecting a cell / RAN that potentially provides services not currently provided by the currently selected cell / RAN based on coverage level or signal strength determined by the idle-mode user equipment.

[0110] Figure 2 An example NES mode cycle 200 is illustrated between a previous non-NES mode cycle 205 and a subsequent non-NES mode cycle 210. A user equipment may receive NES configuration information corresponding to a currently selected (by the user equipment) RAN during the non-NES mode cycle 205. The currently selected RAN implementing the NES mode cycle 200 may provide the configured service suite, quality level, flow type, quality of service, etc. during the non-NES mode 205 or 210. During the NES mode cycle 200, the RAN node may cease providing or supporting some or all of the services, quality levels, flow types, quality of service, etc. that the RAN provided during the cycle 205 or 210.

[0111] Figure 3 An environment 300 is illustrated in which a first cell / RAN 105S (which may be referred to as a source cell / RAN or a currently selected RAN) activates NES mode in action 301. The RAN 105S may determine that the NES mode is to be used during an NES active period (such as Figure 2 One or more services or quality levels to be temporarily deactivated or stopped during the period 200 shown. Figure 3As described above, the source RAN 105S may inquire of the neighboring alternative cell / RANs 105A and 105B via request messages 302A or 302B, respectively, whether the alternative RAN can provide a service or quality level during the activated NES mode of the alternative RAN. The requests 302A and 302B may be referred to as requests for service activity indications, which indicate one or more services, quality levels, flows, etc., that may be provided by one or more alternative RANs in the alternative RAN 105A or the alternative RAN 105B during an active NES mode period at the alternative RAN (it is to be understood that during non-NES periods corresponding to the alternative RANs, such as Figure 2 205 or 210 as shown), the alternative RAN will generally not block, stop, or otherwise not provide service, quality, etc.). It will be appreciated that the messages 302A and 302B may be sent to the RAN 105A and 105B separately, simultaneously, or substantially simultaneously, or at different times. The alternative RAN 105A or 105B may send a respective service activity message 303 or 304 to the currently selected RAN 105S, the service activity message including a respective service activity indication indicating that the respective alternative RAN node is actively providing a service, which may be at least one service that may be stopped during the NES mode period or the inactive state period of the RAN 105S. The service activity indication messages 303 and 304 may themselves include a request for a service activity indication. Although for purposes of clarity, Figure 3 304. Although not shown, it is understood that the RAN nodes 105A and 105B may also exchange requests for service activity indication messages 302A and 302B and service activity messages 303 and 304. The order in which the messaging signals 302A, 302B, 303, and 304 are sent may occur in a different order than described above, and the reference numerals 302A, 302B, 303, and 304 are not necessarily meant to indicate an order. By exchanging the service activity indication messages 302A and 302B and the service activity messages 303 and 304, if the idle mode user equipment is interested in, requests, or needs services provided by one of the alternative RANs during an active NES period at the RAN 105S, the RAN 105S may direct the idle mode device 115 to reselect the alternative RAN 105A or 105B during an active NES mode at the RAN 105S.

[0112] Thus, the source cell / RAN 105S may be connected via the XN interface or via the core network 130 (e.g. Figure 1302B), which may be referred to as a service activity indication message, is sent to the neighboring cells 105A and 105B, respectively, via a backhaul link (e.g., request message 302A or 302B). The service support query request 302 may include a list of service IDs or QCI IDs. The neighboring alternative cell / RAN 105A or 105B, in response to message 302A or 302B, may send a query response message 303 or 304, respectively, which may be referred to as a service activity indication message and may include service identifiers or QCI identifiers currently supported by the alternative RAN node as indicated in the query request message 302. It will be appreciated that this current support may be provided during a non-NES mode period at either of the alternative RAN nodes 105A or 105B, or during an NES mode period at either of the alternative RAN nodes. Based on the received query response message 303 or 304, the source RAN 105S may determine which neighboring cell 105A or 105B will provide the service or QoS level that the RAN 105S will deactivate during its NES mode period.

[0113] like Figure 4A and Figure 4B As shown, a benefit of the cell / RAN reselection embodiments disclosed herein is that the user equipment device avoids connecting to a cell / RAN that does not provide the service targeted by the user equipment. Consequently, a reduction in energy usage can be achieved at both one or more RAN nodes and the user equipment due to the avoidance of unnecessary connection establishment signaling, which is flushed when the user equipment realizes that the target service / class is not supported by the RAN to which the user equipment may have just been connected.

[0114] like Figure 4AAs shown, according to reselection process 400A, which does not include NES mode-driven cell reselection as disclosed herein, a user equipment device may reselect a cell based on the best received coverage level (e.g., signal strength corresponding to a RAN determined by the user equipment) during reselection period 405A during an idle mode period 410A. Thus, when a paging opportunity monitored by the user equipment during idle period 410A indicates the presence of a payload arrival (e.g., at a RAN (re)selected by the idle user equipment during period 405A), the user equipment device attempts to initiate a connection to the selected or currently selected cell / RAN, and then realizes during a power-intensive and overhead-intensive RRC connection establishment signaling process during connection period 415A that the service the user equipment is targeting is not currently supported by the currently selected cell / RAN due to the active NES mode at the currently selected cell / RAN. The user equipment refreshes the RRC connection signaling and configuration information, initiates cell / RAN reselection, and selects a second best cell based on the second best / highest received coverage level or signal strength during reselection period 420A. If the second cell also has NES mode activated and also does not provide the target service, reselection may be repeated during additional reselection periods. Multiple reselection processes may increase traffic packet buffering delays and, therefore, waste resources on fruitless connection establishment signaling. After selecting the alternative RAN, during period 420A, i.e., providing the service not provided by the RAN selected during period 405A, traffic transmission occurs during period 430A from the alternative RAN (re)selected during period 420A and connected during period 425A. Thus, during process 400A, the user equipment performs two connection procedures during corresponding connection periods 415A and 425A to facilitate traffic transmission during period 430A.

[0115] In contrast, Figure 4BAs depicted in scenario 400B, using the NES mode-driven guided cell reselection embodiments disclosed herein, a user equipment device may become aware of the NES mode configuration of the currently selected cell / RAN selected during 405B during an idle mode period 410B. During period 405B, the user equipment may receive an indication of one or more services that were not provided during the currently selected active NES mode period. The indication received from the currently selected RAN selected during period 405B may include an indication of neighboring cells / RANs that provide the same services (e.g., the indication may include one or more identifiers of one or more neighboring / alternative RANs that provide services that the currently selected RAN has stopped or will stop providing during the NES mode period). During the idle mode period 410B, the user equipment may then (re)select an alternative RAN during period 407B based on the information received from the previously selected RAN during period 405B. The user equipment may then perform a resource-intensive RRC connection with the alternative RAN during a connected period 425B and receive services from the alternative RAN during period 430B. Although the RRC connection procedure performed during connection period 425B may be resource intensive (e.g., the procedure requires time and user battery power of the user equipment and power at the RAN to which the user equipment is connected), only one connection procedure 425B is performed according to process 400B, compared to the two connection periods 415A and 425A of process 400A.

[0116] In an example, in the case of industrial machine-to-machine ("M2M") user equipment (UE) device deployments, traffic arrival may be periodic and, therefore, may be determined in the absence of an indication from the RAN that traffic has arrived at the RAN for transmission to the M2M UE. The M2M UE device may determine whether outage of service at the currently selected cell / RAN would negatively impact the operation of the M2M UE, and, therefore, determine that the M2M UE should not continue to maintain a cell connection with the currently selected cell / RAN if doing so occurs during the NES period of the currently selected RAN to obtain outage service. As disclosed herein, based on novel NES mode message signaling, NES-driven guided cell reselection embodiments may facilitate the M2M UE device to determine nearby alternative cell / RAN nodes based on the cell / RAN identifier of the RAN node currently providing service to the M2M UE, rather than basing cell / RAN reselection solely on a determined coverage level, while facilitating reasonably good coverage levels. Thus, in M2M UE scenarios, guided and early (eg, before payload packets reach the RAN for transmission to the UE) cell / RAN reselection can be achieved, which can facilitate faster traffic transmission and avoid 'ping-pong' cell connection / reselection operations.

[0117] exist Figure 5 In Figure 5, environment 500 illustrates an example overall flow of signaling and network device actions. At act 501, the idle mode user equipment 115 may select a RAN 105S based on coverage-based selection criteria (e.g., selecting the RAN corresponding to the highest detected reception coverage level). Next, at act 502, the idle mode user equipment 115 receives a current NES mode configuration indication via signaling from the selected cell, either as part of existing SIB signaling or as part of a dedicated NES SIB transmission. Next, based on the received NES mode setup configuration, the idle mode user equipment 115 determines whether one or more target / desired services or QoS profiles are currently being served by the selected RAN 115S. If not, the idle mode user equipment 115 may trigger cell / RAN reselection at act 503. As part of the guided NES mode cell / RAN reselection, the UE 115 may override conventional coverage-based cell reselection configuration information based on the cell / RAN identifier received as part of the NES mode setup configuration message 505 at act 502. The information contained in the message 505 may direct the idle mode user equipment 115 to attempt to receive and decode RRC connection information corresponding to the reselected cell / RAN 105A, thereby reducing or eliminating battery power consumed by the UE 115 in attempting to reselect a cell / RAN that may not support services that the RAN 105S may have stopped supporting.

[0118] The RAN 105S, which may have activated NES mode for all or a subset of normally provided radio functions or services, may send an NES setup configuration message 505 to the idle-mode user equipment device 115. The NES setup configuration message may include an existing information element 510 and a new information element 515. The new information element 515 may facilitate the embodiments disclosed herein and may include an NES mode activation indication indicating that NES mode is activated at the RAN 105S or an NES mode period indication indicating the period for which the indicated NES mode will remain active or in effect. For example, the NES mode period may be configured in milliseconds, frames, superframes, or time slots. The new information element 515 in the NES setup configuration message 505 may include a list of one or more service identifiers, QCI identifiers, QoS profile identifiers, or traffic priority identifiers, corresponding to services, quality classes, quality of service profiles, or traffic priorities, respectively, that may be prohibited / unsupported during the NES mode period indicated by the message 505. The new information element 515 of the message 505 may include a list of one or more cell / RAN identifiers, including an identifier corresponding to the RAN 105A, which may indicate neighboring cells / RANs that currently provide or support one or more of the service, quality level, quality of service profile, or traffic priority indicated in the message information element 515. The message 505 may be part of an existing master information block (MIB) transmission, SIB1 block, or SIBx block. However, in an embodiment, the message 505 may be carried by a dedicated new SIB block transmission message that is targeted only toward future user equipment device implementations that support cell reselection based on NES configuration.

[0119] Therefore, from the perspective of the RAN nodes, and as Figure 2 As shown, during the non-NES activity periods 205 and 210, Figure 5 The RAN 105S shown may support normally supported services and radio functions. However, during the NES mode period 200, the RAN 105S may stop or suspend support for one or more of the radio services and / or functionalities to facilitate power conservation. Furthermore, during the NES active period 200, if a connection is established with the currently selected cell / RAN 105S, the idle mode user equipment 115 may be informed via the message new information element 515 of the services or QoS profiles that the RAN 105S will not provide.

[0120] Now go to Figure 6, which illustrates a timing diagram of a method 600 to facilitate notifying a UE 115 by a first RAN node 105S, which may be referred to as a source RAN node, that a second RAN node 105A, which may be referred to as an alternative RAN node, currently supports services that are or will be inactive at the source RAN node during an NES mode period corresponding to the source RAN node.

[0121] At act 605, an idle or inactive UE / WTRU 115 may select the RAN 105S as a RAN node to camp on until the user equipment receives a service available indication at act 610, indicating services available for transmission to the user equipment. At act 615, the UE / WTRU may monitor and decode the MIB and SIB information blocks sent by the RAN 105S. At act 620, the user equipment 115 may receive or retrieve network energy saving mode configuration information from the information blocks monitored and decoded at act 615 via idle / inactive mode signaling (e.g., a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) message or within a dedicated SIB signaling message). The NES mode configuration information may include the following information elements: an NES mode activation indication instructing the RAN 105S to activate the NES mode; an NES mode activation period (e.g., in milliseconds, frames, time slots, symbols, etc.), one or more identifiers of service flows, quality level indicator identifiers, service flow priority levels that are deactivated or prohibited or will be deactivated or prohibited during the activated NES mode period, or indications of or identifiers corresponding to one or more suggested neighboring cells / RAN nodes that will provide, make available, support, or otherwise facilitate services or service flows of the currently selected cell that are indicated as being prohibited, stopped, deactivated, or otherwise unavailable from the currently selected RAN 115S.

[0122] The UE / WTRU 115 may determine that services, flows, quality, etc. that the UE / WTRU may request from the RAN 105S are active. Based on the indication during activation of NES mode at the RAN 105S, as indicated in the NES mode configuration information received at action 625, and based on the service, QCI, or traffic priority for the service or priority desired by the UE / WTRU 115 that is available at the RAN 105S during NES mode at the RAN 105S, the UE / WTRU may initiate random access and connection establishment with the RAN 105S.

[0123] However, conditional upon determining the active NES mode at the RAN 105S at act 630 and an indication of deactivation support at the RAN 105S for the service, QCI, or traffic priority, etc., desired by the UE / WTRU 115, the UE / WTRU may trigger and perform cell reselection with the RAN 105A at act 635 based on an indication that the RAN 105A will support target services, qualities, priorities, etc. that will be inactive at the RAN 115S (e.g., a list of identifiers corresponding to one or more neighboring / adjacent cells / RANs that will support services, qualities, priorities, etc. that will be inactive during the NES mode at the RAN 105S), which indication was included in the NES mode configuration information received at act 625. At act 640, the UE 115 performs random access and connection establishment with the RAN 105A.

[0124] In an embodiment, in active NES mode at the RAN 105S, the RAN 105S may refuse or deny accepting or establishing new UE / WTR connection requests from user equipment that may request one or more deactivated services, QCI IDs, service priority IDs, or flow IDs during an active NES period corresponding to the source RAN 105S.

[0125] Now go to Figure 7 , which illustrates a flow chart of an example embodiment method 700 to facilitate a user equipment reselecting a second or alternative RAN node to connect to for receiving traffic without requiring the user equipment to fully connect to a first RAN node currently selected by the UE. The first RAN and the second RAN may be within a long-range wireless range of the user equipment such that both can provide sufficient signal strength as determined by the user equipment for uplink and downlink traffic transmissions.

[0126] Method 700 begins at act 705. At act 710, the first RAN node requests identification or indication of services, priorities, flows, or qualities that may be provided by other RAN nodes within the vicinity of the first RAN node, such that the other RAN nodes may be within satisfactory coverage of a user equipment that may also be within satisfactory coverage of the first RAN node. At act 715, in response to the request sent from the first RAN node at act 710, the second RAN node may send a service activity message to the first RAN node, the service activity message indicating services, priorities, flows, or qualities that may be provided by the second RAN node when NES mode is implemented at the second RAN node or during NES mode at the second RAN node, if NES mode is implemented at the second RAN node. It will be appreciated that when the second RAN node is not in NES mode, it is assumed that the second RAN node will provide or support all services or qualities that the first RAN node may provide or support when the first RAN node is not in NES mode.

[0127] At act 720, based on a first RAN node having the highest signal strength among the plurality of RAN nodes determined by the user equipment, the user equipment may select the first RAN node as a RAN node among the plurality of RAN nodes that may be within range of the user equipment so that sufficient uplink and downlink transmissions with the user equipment may be achieved. The user equipment may "camp" on the first RAN node (e.g., select the first RAN node and maintain selection thereof) in an idle mode or inactive mode. At act 725, the user equipment may monitor configured paging occasions and determine, by detecting or decoding information in a paging message received from the first RAN node during the paging occasion, whether the paging message is received from the core network (e.g., Figure 1 The services of the core network 130 shown may be used for transmission to user equipment.

[0128] continue Figure 7As described above, at act 730, the user equipment initiates a connection to the first RAN node on which the user equipment is camped by monitoring synchronization signal block signaling received from the first RAN node, and decodes master information block information and system information block information from information sent from the first RAN node via the synchronization signal block signaling. The system information block information may include system information block 1 (SIB1) information. At act 735, based on information contained in the information block received and decoded at act 730, the user equipment determines that the first RAN node may be about to activate or may have activated NES mode, and that certain services or qualities have been deactivated by the first RAN node during the activated or about-to-be-activated NES mode. The indication received from the first RAN node may include indications of other RAN nodes that may be providing services or qualities that are not active during the NES mode at the first RAN node. It is to be understood that currently, the system information block information does not include information about RAN nodes, except for information corresponding to the RAN node that sent the synchronization signal block containing the system information block information.

[0129] At act 740, the user equipment determines whether the user equipment requires or will request one or more services, one or more qualities, one or more flows, etc. that will be deactivated during the NES mode of the first RAN node, e.g., to facilitate receiving the services indicated at act 725. If the determination made at act 740 is positive, i.e., the one or more services or qualities required by the user equipment will be inactive or otherwise not supported or provided by the first RAN node during the active NES mode at the first RAN node, the user equipment may perform an RRC connection procedure with the second RAN node at act 750. After connecting with the second RAN node at act 750, the user equipment may receive the services indicated as available at act 725 from the second RAN at act 755, facilitated by the one or more services or qualities deactivated at the first RAN. Method 700 proceeds to act 760 and ends.

[0130] Returning to the description of action 740, if it is determined at action 740 that the user equipment does not require the service or quality disabled at the first RAN node, e.g., is not required to receive the service indicated as available at action 725, the user equipment may complete the RRC connection with the first RAN at action 745, even though the first RAN node may have activated NES mode, and receive the service indicated as available at action 725 at action 755, before method 700 proceeds to action 760 and ends.

[0131] Now go to Figure 8, which illustrates an example embodiment method 800, the example embodiment method 800 includes, at block 805, activating, by a first radio access network node including a processor, a network energy saving mode during a network energy saving mode period, the network energy saving mode including at least one service being in an inactive state; at block 810, receiving, by the first radio access network node, a first service activity message from a second radio access network node, the first service activity message including a first service activity indication indicating that the second radio access network node is actively providing a first service of at least one service that is in an inactive state at the first radio access network node; at block 815, receiving, by the first radio access network node, a first service activity message from a second radio access network node The first user equipment receives a request for a first service; at box 820, in response to the request for the first service, the first radio access network node sends a first information message to the first user equipment, the first information message including an alternative radio access network node indication, the alternative radio access network node indication indicating that the first service is actively provided by the second radio access network node; and at box 825, the first radio access network node sends a request for a first service activity indication to the second radio access network node, the first service activity indication indicating one or more services active at the second radio access network node, wherein the first service activity message is in response to the request for the first service activity indication.

[0132] Now go to Figure 9 , the accompanying drawings illustrate an example first radio access network node, at box 905, the example first radio access network node comprising: a processor configured to: receive a request for an indication of an active service at the first radio access network node from a second radio access network node; at box 910, in response to the request for the indication of the active service, send an active service message to the second radio access network node, the active service message including an active service indication, the service activity indication indicating a service that is active at the first radio access network node; at box 915, in response to a connection establishment request received from a user equipment, establish a connection with the user equipment; and at box 920, wherein the user equipment sends the connection establishment request based on a first identifier corresponding to the first radio access network node, the first identifier being indicated in an information message received by the user equipment from the second radio access network node, and wherein the second radio access network node includes the first identifier in the information message based on the service indicated in the active service message being active at the first radio access network node.

[0133] Now go to Figure 10, the figure illustrates a non-transitory machine-readable medium 1000, at box 1005, the non-transitory machine-readable medium 1000 including executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a first radio access network node, facilitate performance of operations including: activating a network power conservation mode, the network power conservation mode including a service being inactive at the first radio access network node; at box 1010, broadcasting a request for an indication of an active service at the at least one other radio access network node other than the first radio access network node; at box 1015, receiving a service activity message from a second radio access network node of the at least one other radio access network node, the service activity message including a service activity indication indicating that the service is active at the second radio access network node; and at box 1020, broadcasting an information block including a service available indication indicating that the service is active at the second radio access network node.

[0134] Now go to Figure 11 , which illustrates an example embodiment method 1100, the example embodiment method 1100 comprising, at block 1105, determining, by a user equipment comprising a processor, a first parameter metric corresponding to a first radio access network node; at block 1110, analyzing the first parameter metric with respect to a configured first parameter criterion to produce an analyzed first parameter metric; at block 1115, initiating, by the user equipment, a connection establishment procedure with the first radio access network node based on a determination that the analyzed first parameter metric satisfies the configured first parameter criterion; at block 1120, receiving, by the user equipment, from the first radio access network node, an information message comprising an inactive service indication and an alternative radio access network node indication, the inactive service indication indicating at least one service that is inactive at the first radio access network node, the alternative radio access network node indication indicating a second radio access network node at which at least one service is active; at block 1125, establishing, by the user equipment, a connection with the second radio access network node based on the alternative radio access network node indication; and at block 1127, wherein the alternative radio access network node indication comprises an identifier of the second radio access network node.

[0135] Now go to Figure 12, the accompanying drawings illustrate an example user equipment, at block 1205 the example user equipment including a processor configured to: determine a first parameter metric corresponding to a first radio access network node; at block 1210, determine a second parameter metric corresponding to a second radio access network node; at block 1215, analyze the first parameter metric with respect to a configured parameter criterion to produce an analyzed first parameter metric; at block 1220, analyze the second parameter metric with respect to the configured parameter criterion to produce an analyzed second parameter metric; at block 1225, determine a requested resource to be requested from the first radio access network node or from the second radio access network node; at block 1230, determine a requested resource based on the analyzed first parameter metric satisfying the configured parameter criterion and based on the analyzed second parameter metric failing to satisfy the configured parameter criterion. parameter criteria, initiating a connection with a first radio access network node; at box 1235, receiving an information block from the first radio access network node, the information block including an unavailable resource indication, the unavailable resource indication indicating that the requested resource is unavailable at the first radio access network node, wherein the information block includes an alternative radio access network node indication, the alternative radio access network node indication indicating that the requested resource is available at a second radio access network node; at box 1240, determining a second parameter metric that disregards the analysis of the failure to meet the configured parameter criteria; at box 1245, establishing a connection with the second radio access network node based on the alternative radio access network node indication; and at box 1250, wherein the alternative radio access network node indication includes an identifier corresponding to the second radio access network node.

[0136] Now go to Figure 13, the figure illustrates a non-transitory machine-readable medium 1300, at block 1305, the non-transitory machine-readable medium 1300 including executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment, facilitate performance of operations including: initiating a connection with a first radio access network node; at block 1310, receiving an information message from the first radio access network node including an information block, the information block including an inactive service indication, the inactive service indication indicating at least one inactive service at the first radio access network node, and the information block including an alternative radio access network node indication, the alternative radio access network node indication indicating a second radio access network node, at least one of the at least one inactive service being active at the second radio access network node; at block 1315, determining an application service to be used by an application being executed by the processor; at block 1320, determining a first parameter metric corresponding to the first radio access network node; at block 1325, determining a first parameter metric corresponding to the second radio access network node. a second parameter metric corresponding to a radio access network node; at box 1330, analyzing the first parameter metric and the second parameter metric with respect to configured connection criteria to cause the user equipment to determine the first radio access network node as the selected radio access network node, wherein according to the configured connection criteria, the user equipment will transition from the IDLE state to the CONNECTED state by establishing a connection to the selected radio access network node; at box 1335, determining that the application service is one of the at least one inactive services active at the second radio access network node; at box 1340, overriding the configured connection criteria based on the application service being one of the at least one inactive services active at the second radio access network node; at box 1345, establishing a connection to the second radio access network node based on the overriding of the configured connection criteria; and at box 1350, wherein the alternative radio access network node indication includes an identifier of the second radio access network node.

[0137] To provide additional context for the various embodiments described herein, Figure 14 The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment 1400 in which various embodiments of the embodiments described herein may be implemented. Although the embodiments are described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions that may be executed on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments may also be implemented in combination with other program modules and / or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0138] Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, IoT devices, distributed computing systems, as well as personal computers, handheld computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, etc., each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

[0139] The embodiments illustrated herein may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network.In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0140] Computing devices typically include various media, which may include computer-readable storage media, machine-readable storage media, and / or communication media, the two terms being used differently from each other herein as follows. A computer-readable storage medium or machine-readable storage medium can be any available storage medium that can be accessed by a computer, and includes volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable storage medium or machine-readable storage medium can be implemented in conjunction with any method or technology for storing information, such as computer-readable or machine-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data.

[0141] Computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, solid-state drives or other solid-state storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transitory media that can be used to store the desired information. In this regard, the terms "tangible" or "non-transitory" as applied herein to storage, memory, or computer-readable media should be understood as excluding as a modifier those that propagate only transient signals themselves, and do not disclaim all standard storage, memory, or computer-readable media that do not propagate only transient signals themselves.

[0142] Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices, eg, via access requests, queries, or other data retrieval protocols, for various operations regarding the information stored by the media.

[0143] Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal (e.g., a carrier wave or other transport mechanism), and includes any information delivery or transmission media. The term "modulated data signal" or signal refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media (such as a wired network or direct-wired connection) and wireless media (such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media).

[0144] Reference again Figure 14 , an example environment 1400 for implementing various embodiments described herein includes a computer 1402 including a processing unit 1404, a system memory 1406, and a system bus 1408. The system bus 1408 couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory 1406 to the processing unit 1404. The processing unit 1404 can be any of a variety of commercially available processors and can include cache memory. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architectures can also be used as the processing unit 1404.

[0145] The system bus 1408 can be any of several types of bus structures that can further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. The system memory 1406 includes ROM 1410 and RAM 1412. A basic input / output system (BIOS) containing basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer 1402, such as during startup, can be stored in a nonvolatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or EEPROM. RAM 1412 can also include high-speed RAM, such as static RAM for caching data.

[0146] The computer 1402 also includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1414 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), one or more external storage devices 1416 (e.g., a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1416, a memory stick or flash drive reader, a memory card reader, etc.), and an optical drive 1420 (e.g., capable of reading from or writing to a CD-ROM disk, a DVD, a BD, etc.). Although the internal HDD 1414 is illustrated as being located within the computer 1402, the internal HDD 1414 can also be configured for external use in an appropriate chassis (not shown). Additionally, although not shown in the environment 1400, a solid-state drive (SSD) can be used in addition to or in place of the HDD 1414. The HDD 1414, the external storage device(s) 1416, and the optical drive 1420 can be connected to the system bus 1408 via an HDD interface 1424, an external storage interface 1426, and an optical drive interface 1428, respectively. The interface 1424 for external drive implementations may include at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interface technologies.Other external drive connection technologies are also contemplated by the embodiments described herein.

[0147] The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and the like. The drives and storage media accommodate the storage of any data in an appropriate digital format for the computer 1402. Although the above description of computer-readable storage media relates to corresponding types of storage devices, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other types of computer-readable storage media, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may also be used in the example operating environment, and further, any such storage media may contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods described herein.

[0148] A number of program modules may be stored in the drives and RAM 1412, including an operating system 1430, one or more application programs 1432, other program modules 1434, and program data 1436. All or portions of the operating system, applications, modules, and / or data may also be cached in RAM 1412. The systems and methods described herein may be implemented using various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0149] Computer 1402 may optionally include emulation technology. For example, a hypervisor (not shown) or other intermediary may emulate the hardware environment for operating system 1430, and the emulated hardware may optionally be used with the operating system 1430. Figure 14The hardware shown is different. In this embodiment, the operating system 1430 may include a virtual machine (VM) in a plurality of VMs hosted at the computer 1402. In addition, the operating system 1430 may provide a runtime environment, such as a Java runtime environment or a .NET framework, to the application 1432. The runtime environment is a consistent execution environment that allows the application 1432 to run on any operating system that includes a runtime environment. Similarly, the operating system 1430 may support containers, and the application 1432 may be in the form of a container, which is a lightweight, independent, executable software package that includes, for example, code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and settings for the application.

[0150] Furthermore, the computer 1402 may include a security module, such as a Trusted Processing Module (TPM). For example, using a TPM, before loading the next boot component, the boot component hashes the next boot component in time and waits for the result to match a security value. This process can occur at any layer in the code execution stack of the computer 1402, such as at the application execution level or at the operating system (OS) kernel level, thereby achieving security at any code execution level.

[0151] A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1402 through one or more wired / wireless input devices, such as a keyboard 1438, a touch screen 1440, and a pointing device such as a mouse 1442. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a radio frequency (RF) remote control, or other remote control, a joystick, a virtual reality controller and / or a virtual reality headset, a game pad, a stylus, an image input device (e.g., camera(s)), a gesture sensor input device, a visual movement sensor input device, an emotion or facial detection device, a biometric input device (e.g., a fingerprint or iris scanner), and the like. These and other input devices are typically connected to the processing unit 1404 through an input device interface 1444, which can be coupled to the system bus 1408, but may also be connected through other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR port, a memory card, a memory card, a memory card, a graphics ... Interface, etc.

[0152] A monitor 1446 or other type of display device may also be connected to the system bus 1408 via an interface, such as a video adapter 1448. In addition to the monitor 1446, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown) such as speakers, printers, and the like.

[0153] Computer 1402 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s) 1450, via wired and / or wireless communications. Remote computer(s) 1450 can be workstations, server computers, routers, personal computers, portable computers, microprocessor-based entertainment appliances, peer-to-peer devices, or other public network nodes, and typically include many or all of the elements described with respect to computer 1402, although only memory / storage device 1452 is illustrated for simplicity. The depicted logical connections include wired / wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1454 and / or a larger network, such as a wide area network (WAN) 1456. Such LAN and WAN networking environments are common in offices and companies and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which can be connected to a global communications network, such as the Internet.

[0154] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1402 can be connected to the local network 1454 through a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1458. The adapter 1458 can facilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1454, which can also include a wireless access point (AP) provided thereon for communicating with the adapter 1458 in a wireless mode.

[0155] When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1402 can include a modem 1460 or can be connected to a communication server on the WAN 1456 via other means for establishing communications over the WAN 1456, such as through the Internet. The modem 1460, which can be internal or external and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the system bus 1408 via the input device interface 1444. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1402, or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory / storage device 1452. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are examples and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.

[0156] When used in a LAN or WAN network environment, computer 1402 can access a cloud storage system or other network-based storage system in addition to or in place of external storage devices 1416 described above. Typically, the connection between computer 1402 and the cloud storage system can be established over LAN 1454 or WAN 1456, for example, via adapter 1458 or modem 1460, respectively. When computer 1402 is connected to an associated cloud storage system, external storage interface 1426 can manage the storage provided by the cloud storage system, similar to other types of external storage devices, with the assistance of adapter 1458 and / or modem 1460. For example, external storage interface 1426 can be configured to provide access to cloud storage sources as if they were physically connected to computer 1402.

[0157] The computer 1402 may be operable to communicate with any wireless device or entity operatively arranged for wireless communication, such as printers, scanners, desktop and / or portable computers, portable data assistants, communication satellites, any equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, newsstand, store shelf, etc.), and telephones. This may include Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Wireless technology. Therefore, the communication can be a predefined structure like a conventional network or just an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

[0158] Now go to Figure 15 , which illustrates a block diagram of an example UE 1560. The UE 1560 may include a smartphone, a wireless tablet computer, a laptop computer with wireless capabilities, a wearable device, a machine device that can facilitate vehicle telematics, etc. The UE 1560 includes a first processor 1530, a second processor 1532, and a shared memory 1534. The UE 1560 includes a radio front-end circuit system 1562, which may be referred to herein as a transceiver, but is understood to generally include a transceiver circuit system, separate filters, and a separate antenna for facilitating communication over a wireless link (such as a Figure 1 135, or 137). In addition, transceiver 1562 may include multiple sets of circuitry or may be tunable to accommodate different frequency ranges, different modulation schemes, or different communication protocols to facilitate long-range wireless links (such as link 135), device-to-device links (such as link 135), and short-range wireless links (such as link 137).

[0159] continue Figure 15As described above, UE 1560 may also include a SIM 1564 or SIM profile, which may include information stored in memory (memory 34 or a separate memory portion) to facilitate communication with Figure 1 Wireless communications with the RAN 105 or core network 130 are shown. Figure 15 SIM 1564 is shown as a single component in the shape of a conventional SIM card, but it is understood that SIM 1564 can represent multiple SIM cards, multiple SIM profiles, or multiple eSIMs, some or all of which can be implemented in hardware or software. It is understood that a SIM profile can include information such as security credentials (e.g., encryption keys, values ​​that can be used to generate encryption keys, or shared values ​​shared between SIM 1564 and another device, which can be Figure 1 The SIM profile 1564 may also include identification information unique to the SIM or SIM profile, such as, for example, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity ("IMSI") or information that may constitute an IMSI.

[0160] SIM 1564 is shown coupled to both first processor portion 1530 and second processor portion 1532. This implementation may provide the advantage that first processor portion 30 may not need to request or receive information or data from SIM 1564 that second processor 1532 may request, thereby eliminating the use of the first processor acting as a 'middle man' while the second processor uses information from the SIM in performing its functions and executing applications. First processor 1530, which may be a modem processor or baseband processor, is shown as smaller than processor 1532, which may be a more complex application processor, to visually indicate the relative levels of complexity (i.e., processing power and performance) and corresponding relative levels of operating power consumption between the two processor portions. Keeping the second processor portion 1532 dormant / inactive / in a low power state when the UE 1560 does not need the second processor portion 1532 for executing applications and processing data associated with the applications provides the advantage of reducing power consumption when the UE only needs to use the first processor portion 1530 in listening mode for bearer management and mobility management / maintenance procedures configured for monitoring routines, or when the second processor portion is kept inactive / dormant for monitoring search spaces that the UE has been configured to monitor.

[0161] The UE 1560 may also include sensors 1566, such as, for example, a temperature sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a barometer, a humidity sensor, etc., which may provide signals to the first processor 1530 or the second processor 1532. The output devices 1568 may include, for example, one or more visual displays (e.g., a computer monitor, a VR appliance, etc.), an acoustic transducer (such as a speaker or microphone), a vibration component, etc. The output devices 1568 may include software for interfacing with output devices external to the UE 1560 (e.g., a visual display, a speaker, a microphone, a tactile device, an olfactory or taste device, etc.).

[0162] The following glossary of terms, given in Table 1, may be applied to one or more descriptions of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0163]

[0164]

[0165] Table 1

[0166] The above description includes non-limiting examples of various embodiments. Of course, it is not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methods for purposes of describing the disclosed subject matter, and those skilled in the art will recognize that further combinations and permutations of the various embodiments are possible. The disclosed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

[0167] With respect to the various functions performed by the above-described components, devices, circuits, systems, etc., unless otherwise indicated, terms used to describe such components (including references to "means") are intended to also include any structure(s) (e.g., functional equivalents) that perform the specified functions of the described components, even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structures. Additionally, while a particular feature of the disclosed subject matter may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations, as may be desirable and advantageous for any given or particular application.

[0168] The terms "exemplary" and / or "indicative" or variations thereof, as used herein, are intended to mean serving as examples, instances, or illustrations. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited to such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as "exemplary" and / or "indicative" is not necessarily to be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other aspects or designs, nor is it intended to exclude equivalent structures and techniques known to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes," "having," "comprising," and other similar words are used in the detailed description or claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive (in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as an open transition word) without excluding any additional or other elements.

[0169] As used herein, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or." For example, the phrase "A or B" is intended to include instances of A, B, or both A and B. Additionally, the articles "a" and "an" used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to direct to a singular form.

[0170] As used herein, the term "set" excludes an empty set, i.e., a set having no elements therein. Thus, a "set" in this disclosure includes one or more elements or entities. Likewise, as used herein, the term "group" refers to a set of one or more entities.

[0171] Unless otherwise apparent from the context, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., used in the claims are for clarity only and do not otherwise indicate or imply any temporal order. For example, "a first determination," "a second determination," and "a third determination" do not indicate or imply that the first determination is performed before the second determination, or vice versa.

[0172] The description of the illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure provided herein (including those described in the Abstract)

[0173] The contents of the present disclosure are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the disclosed

[0174] Although specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes,

[0175] As those skilled in the art will recognize, it is within the scope of such embodiments and examples to consider

[0176] Various modifications are possible. In this regard, although various embodiments have been incorporated herein,

[0177] The present subject matter is described in the examples and corresponding drawings, but where applicable, it is to be understood that

[0178] Yes, other similar embodiments may be used, or the described embodiments may be modified.

[0179] Modifications and additions for performing the same, similar, alternative or replacement functions of the disclosed subject matter

[0180] Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to the

[0181] Any single embodiment described should be construed in accordance with the breadth and

[0182] Explain the scope.

Claims

1. A method comprising: activating, by a first network access network node including a processor, a network energy saving mode during a network energy saving mode time period, the network energy saving mode including at least one service being in an inactive state; receiving, by the first radio access network node, a first service activity message from a second radio access network node, the first service activity message comprising a first service activity indication, the first service activity indication indicating that the second radio access network node is actively providing a first service of the at least one service, the at least one service being in the inactive state at the first radio access network node; receiving, by the first radio access network node, a request for the first service from a first user equipment; as well as In response to the request for the first service, a first information message is sent by the first radio access network node to the first user equipment, the first information message including an alternative radio access network node indication, the alternative radio access network node indication indicating that the first service is actively provided by the second radio access network node. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first information message comprises a system information block 1. 3 .

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending, by the first radio access network node, to the second radio access network node, a request for the first service activity indication, the first service activity indication indicating one or more services active at the second radio access network node, wherein the first service activity message is in response to the request for the first service activity indication.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A service inactivity indication is broadcasted by the first radio access network node, the service inactivity indication indicating that the at least one service is in the inactive state at the first radio access network node, wherein the first service activity message is in response to the service inactivity indication.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A service inactivity indication is broadcasted by the first radio access network node, the service inactivity indication indicating that the at least one service is in the inactive state at the first radio access network node during an inactivity time period of the network energy saving mode. The method of claim 5 , wherein the inactivity time period of the network energy saving mode is less than the network energy saving mode time period.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first information message comprises a first service inactivity period indication specifying a time corresponding to the inactivity state of the first service at the first radio access network node during the network energy saving mode.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the first radio access network node, a second service activity message from a third radio access network node, the second service activity message comprising a second service activity indication, the second service activity indication indicating that the third radio access network node is actively providing a second service of the at least one service that is in the inactive state at the first radio access network node; receiving, by the first radio access network node, a request for the second service from a second user equipment; as well as In response to the request for the second service, the first radio access network node sends a second information message to the second user equipment, the second information message including a second alternative radio access network node indication, the second alternative radio access network node indication indicating that the second service is actively provided by the third radio access network node.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the second service is one of the at least one service that is in the inactive state at the first radio access network node.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network energy saving mode is a first network energy saving mode, and further comprising: The first radio access network node receives a second service activity message from a third radio access network node, wherein the second service activity message includes a second service activity indication, and the second service activity indication indicates that the third radio access network node actively provides the first service. wherein the first information message comprises a first service inactivity period indication, the first service inactivity period indication indicating a first time corresponding to the inactivity state of the first service at the first radio access network node during the first network energy saving mode, and wherein the first information message comprises a second service activity period indication, the second service activity period indication indicating a second time corresponding to the first service actively provided by the second radio access network node at the second radio access network node during the second network energy saving mode at the second radio access network node.

11. A first radio access network node, comprising: The processor is configured to: receiving, from a second radio access network node, a request for an indication of active services at the first radio access network node; sending, in response to the request for the indication of the active service, an active services message to the second radio access network node, the active services message including an active services indication indicating a service that is active at the first radio access network node; as well as In response to a connection establishment request received from a user equipment, establishing a connection with the user equipment; wherein the user equipment sends the connection establishment request in accordance with a first identifier corresponding to the first radio access network node, the first identifier being indicated in an information message received by the user equipment from the second radio access network node, and wherein the second radio access network node includes the first identifier in the information message based on indicating the service as active at the first radio access network node in the active service message.

12. The first radio access network node according to claim 11, wherein the information message comprises a system information block 1.

13. The first radio access network node of claim 11 , wherein the request for an indication of the active service at the first radio access network node comprises: The indication of at least one service being inactive at the second radio access network node.

14. The first radio access network node according to claim 13, wherein the processor of the first radio access network node is further configured to: The active services indication of the active services message is generated to specify at least one service that is active at the first radio access network node and is inactive at the second radio access network node.

15. The first radio access network node according to claim 11 , wherein the information message sent from the second radio access network node to the user equipment comprises a service inactivity period indication, the service inactivity period indication specifying a time corresponding to the at least one service being inactive at the second radio access network node during a network energy saving mode at the second radio access network node.

16. The first radio access network node according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the following: the request for the indication of the active service or the active service message is transmitted via at least one of the following: an Xn interface link communicatively coupled to the first radio access network node or the second radio access network node, or a backhaul link of a core network communicatively coupled to the first radio access network node or the second radio access network node.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a first radio access network node, facilitate performance of operations comprising: activating a network energy saving mode at the first radio access network node, the network energy saving mode comprising a service being inactive; broadcasting a request for an indication of active services at at least one other radio access network node other than the first radio access network node; receiving a service activity message from a second radio access network node among the at least one other radio access network node, the service activity message comprising a service activity indication indicating that the service is active at the second radio access network node; as well as An information block comprising a service available indication is broadcasted, the service available indication indicating that the service is in the active state at the second radio access network node.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the information block is a system information block 1.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the request for an indication of the active service comprises an inactive service indication specifying the service, and wherein the inactive service indication comprises at least one of: a service identifier corresponding to the service or a quality indication corresponding to a quality of the service.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a service activity message from a third radio access network node among the at least one other radio access network node, the service activity message comprising a service activity indication indicating that the service is active at the third radio access network node, The service available indication indicates that the service is in the active state at the third radio access network node.

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