Systems and methods for supporting evolved band supervision

Abstract

The invention provides a system and method for supporting evolved band supervision. A base station may send an indication of a frequency sub-range supported by the base station to a user equipment, which may respond with the indication of a frequency sub-range also supported by the user equipment. Additionally, a spectrum access system (SAS) controller may determine whether a non-federated network is disposed in a coverage area and an adjacent coverage area of a base station using an environmental sensing capability sensor. If so, the SAS may instruct the base station to send an indication to a user equipment in the coverage area to operate using a default power mode. Otherwise, the SAS may instruct the base station to send an indication to the user equipment to operate in a lower power mode. Further, the base station may indicate a regulatory requirement to the user equipment using a network signaling value of the plurality of network signaling values corresponding to the plurality of regulatory requirements for the plurality of geographic areas.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with Chinese national application number 202210454230.X, application date April 27, 2022, and invention name “System and method for supporting evolutionary band supervision”.

[0003] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 185,115, filed on May 6, 2021, entitled “Systems and Methods for Supporting Evolving Band Regulations,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Background Art

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to evolving and expanding regulations related to radio frequency bands.

[0005] In cellular communications, user equipment (e.g., mobile phones) may communicate (e.g., with base stations) under guidelines or regulations that may be set and enforced by regulatory and / or standards bodies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), etc. However, when the guidelines or rules are updated, user equipment that was configured to operate according to the guidelines or rules prior to the update may not operate properly or efficiently under the updated guidelines or rules. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following describes a summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a concise summary of these specific embodiments, and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In fact, the present disclosure may encompass a number of aspects that may not be described below.

[0007] In one embodiment, a method for operating a user equipment may include detecting a base station via the user equipment, synchronizing the user equipment with the base station, and receiving system information at the user equipment from the base station. The system information may include one or more network signaling flags indicating frequency ranges supported by the base station. The method may also include receiving, by the user equipment, one or more frequency ranges corresponding to the one or more network signaling flags among the frequency ranges supported by the user equipment. The method may also include sending, from the user equipment to the base station, an indication of the one or more frequency ranges supported by the user equipment.

[0008] In another embodiment, a system may include: a base station that supports a non-federal network in a coverage area; a user equipment located in the coverage area and communicatively coupled to the base station; environmental sensing capability sensors that determine whether an additional non-federal network is deployed in an adjacent coverage area relative to the coverage area; and a spectrum access system communicatively coupled to the base station and the environmental sensing capability sensors. The spectrum access system may receive an indication from the environmental sensing capability sensors regarding whether the additional non-federal network is deployed in the adjacent coverage area. The spectrum access system may further, based on receiving the indication indicating that the additional non-federal network is deployed in the adjacent coverage area, send an indication to the base station to allow the user equipment to operate using a default power mode.

[0009] In yet another embodiment, a method for operating user equipment may include receiving, at a receiver of the user equipment, a system information block from a base station. The system information block may include one of a plurality of network signaling values ​​corresponding to a plurality of regulatory requirements for a plurality of geographic regions. The method may also include receiving, using processing circuitry of the user equipment, one of a plurality of regulatory requirements for a geographic region from the plurality of geographic regions corresponding to the network signaling value. The method may also include configuring, using the processing circuitry of the user equipment, a transmitter or receiver of the user equipment to comply with the regulatory requirement.

[0010] In another embodiment, a method for operating user equipment in a geographic region includes receiving, at a receiver of the user equipment, a system information block from a base station. The system information block includes one of a plurality of network signaling values ​​corresponding to a plurality of regulatory requirements for the geographic region. The method further includes receiving, using processing circuitry of the user equipment, a geographic region in which the user equipment is located, and receiving, using processing circuitry of the user equipment, one of a plurality of regulatory requirements corresponding to the network signaling value and based on the geographic region. The method further includes configuring, using processing circuitry of the user equipment, a transmitter or receiver of the user equipment to comply with the regulatory requirement.

[0011] Various improvements to the above-described features may exist with respect to various aspects of the present invention. Other features may also be added to these various aspects. These improvements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For example, the various features associated with one or more of the illustrated embodiments discussed below may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present invention individually or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with the specific aspects and context of the disclosed embodiments and does not limit the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Various aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and referring to the drawings described hereinafter, wherein like numerals refer to like parts.

[0013] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 2 According to the embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 1 Functional block diagram of an electronic device;

[0015] Figure 3 is a frequency chart showing frequency bands and sub-ranges of frequency bands according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 4 is a diagram of a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5 is a method for configuring a transceiver of a user equipment to use one or more frequency sub-ranges with Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for communicating in a wireless communication network;

[0018] Figure 6 is a diagram of network coverage provided by a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 7 is a flowchart of a method for determining whether a user equipment can operate without being restricted by a restricted frequency band according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 8 is a frequency map depicting regulatory requirements for frequencies for different countries according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 9 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for receiving or determining a value based on a plurality of network signaling values ​​greater than eight is provided. Figure 8 A flowchart of the country-specific approach to delineating frequency regulatory requirements; and

[0022] Figure 10 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for determining a region-dependent network signaling value is provided. Figure 8 Flowchart of a country-specific approach to depicting frequency regulatory requirements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In order to provide a brief description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It should be understood that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, many implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as meeting system-related and business-related constraints that may vary from one implementation to another. In addition, it should be understood that such development work may be complex and time-consuming, but it will still be a routine task of design, processing, and manufacturing for those of ordinary skill in the art who benefit from this disclosure.

[0024] When introducing the elements of the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles "a / an" and "the / said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms "comprise", "comprising" and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements in addition to the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that reference to "one embodiment" or "embodiment" of the present disclosure is not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the cited features. Furthermore, specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any appropriate manner. The use of the terms "roughly", "close to", "approximately" and / or "substantially" should be understood to mean including close to a target (e.g., design, value, amount), such as within the limits of any suitable or conceivable error (e.g., within 0.1% of a target, within 1% of a target, within 5% of a target, within 10% of a target, within 25% of a target, etc.).

[0025] In wireless (e.g., cellular) communications, user equipment (e.g., a cell phone, smartphone, tablet, wearable device, laptop, etc.) can communicate with a network (e.g., a wireless communication network) via one or more communication nodes (e.g., base stations) on channels in a frequency band (e.g., the n77 or 3.7 GHz band). Specifically, according to current Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards, when establishing communication with a network via a base station, the user equipment can detect network coverage (e.g., at a cell supported by the base station) and receive system information from the base station including the frequency of the channel. If the user equipment supports the frequency, the user equipment indicates this to the base station, and the network can allocate the channel to the user equipment, thereby notifying the user equipment of its support for the frequency band (e.g., the n77 band) including the frequency of the channel. When performing a handover event (e.g., transferring the network coverage of the user equipment from a base station to another base station) or requesting carrier aggregation for a secondary cell, the base station can indicate to the user equipment that it supports the frequency band based on the user equipment indicating that the user equipment supports the frequency of the channel (e.g., to another base station or the network).

[0026] However, if the frequency band is updated (e.g., to include an additional frequency sub-range or to remove the frequency sub-range) and the user equipment is not updated in the same way, communications with the user equipment may become less efficient or fail altogether. For example, 3GPP currently constrains United States (US) operation of the n77 band to the range of 3.7 gigahertz (GHz)-3.98 GHz. Therefore, if the user equipment complies with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules governing the 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz range, the user equipment may communicate using the n77 band. Specifically, the user equipment may be tested to confirm compliance with the FCC rules related to operating in the 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz range. However, if 3GPP updates the n77 band to allow additional frequency ranges in the United States, such as the 3.5 GHz sub-range (e.g., 3.45 GHz-3.55 GHz), then, at least at the time of the update, the currently operating user equipment may not comply with the newly added 3.5 GHz band because the user equipment may not have been tested and therefore may not comply with the 3.5 GHz sub-range.

[0027] Although this may not cause a problem when the user equipment initially connects to the network, because the base station may indicate (e.g., to another base station or the network) that the user equipment supports the n77 band—rather than a sub-range of the n77 band (e.g., 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz) to which the user equipment complies—to perform a handover event or request carrier aggregation with a secondary cell, another base station may allocate a channel or the base station may allocate a secondary cell in the 3.5 GHz band that the user equipment does not comply with. As a result, the handover event may fail, where the user equipment may be disconnected from the network, or the user equipment may not use the secondary cell, where the user equipment may not be able to communicate using the full bandwidth allocated to the user equipment.

[0028] The currently disclosed embodiment enables the user equipment to indicate the supported frequency range to the base station. Specifically, when the base station sends system information to the user equipment based on the user equipment detecting the network coverage provided by the base station, the system information may include one or more network signaling values ​​indicating one or more frequency ranges supported by the base station. For example, one or more network signaling values ​​may include the initial 3.7GHz-3.98GHz frequency subrange of the n77 band and the newly added 3.45GHz-3.55GHz frequency subrange of the n77 band. The user equipment can respond to the base station by indicating which of the one or more frequency ranges the user equipment supports using one or more modified maximum power reduction (MPR) behavior bits. For example, the user equipment may indicate that the user equipment supports the 3.7GHz-3.98GHz frequency subrange, but does not support the 3.45GHz-3.55GHz frequency subrange. Therefore, when performing a handover event or requesting a secondary cell to perform carrier aggregation, another base station may allocate a channel or the base station may allocate a secondary cell in the frequency range supported by the user equipment. That is, in the above example, another base station may allocate a channel or the base station may allocate a secondary cell in the 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz frequency sub-range.

[0029] Additionally, frequency bands may be updated (e.g., by 3GPP) such that transmit and / or receive specifications or requirements may change. For example, the n77 band includes a 3.45 GHz-3.55 GHz frequency sub-range (the "3.5 GHz sub-range") that was originally used by incumbent federal users and is protected by the FCC by preventing any non-federal communications from occurring on the frequency sub-range. The FCC further protects the 3.5 GHz sub-range, thereby preventing any non-federal communications from occurring on the adjacent sub-range of the 3.55 GHz-3.7 GHz frequency sub-range (also known as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band) if the non-federal communications occur in the same coverage area as those of the federal users. Furthermore, if the non-federal communications occur in a different coverage area than those of the federal users, the FCC forces user equipment to perform power backoffs on the CBRS band (referred to herein as "CBRS power backoffs") that are greater or "stricter" than the power backoffs of the user equipment when not using the CBRS band. This is achieved by setting network signaling values ​​in the system information block sent from the base station to the user equipment according to the 3GPP standard.

[0030] However, the FCC recently allowed non-federal networks and users to use the 3.5 GHz subrange in coverage areas where federal users do not use the subrange. That is, a non-federal network may be deployed in a coverage area where no federal users utilize the 3.5 GHz subrange, thereby using the 3.5 GHz subrange. Therefore, in the event that a user equipment utilizes the CBRS band and the user equipment is not located in or adjacent to a coverage area where a federal user using the 3.5 GHz subrange exists, the user equipment may not operate to the full communication potential or efficiency of the user equipment because FCC regulations may force the user equipment to operate with a higher power backoff (e.g., assuming only federal users are present in the 3.5 GHz subrange).

[0031] Embodiments of the present disclosure enable a Mass Spectrum Access System (SAS) controller that allocates spectrum resources in the CBRS band to use an Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) sensor to determine whether a non-federal network exists in the coverage area. For a coverage area with a non-federal network (and therefore may not have federated users) and adjacent to a coverage area with a non-federal network, the SAS controller may cause a base station in the coverage area to indicate to a user equipment (e.g., disable a network signaling value corresponding to a CBRS power backoff) that the user equipment may operate using the CBRS band with a default power backoff (e.g., less than the CBRS power backoff). In this way, user equipment using the CBRS band may operate to the full communication potential or efficiency of the user equipment.

[0032] In addition, frequency bands may have different regional regulatory specifications or requirements for the same or overlapping frequency sub-ranges in the frequency band. For example, in the newly allocated 6 GHz band, South Korea has a low power indoor (LPI) regulatory specification in the 6.425 GHz-7.125 GHz sub-range, while Brazil has an LPI and very low power port (VLP) regulatory specification in the overlapping 5.925 GHz-7.125 GHz sub-range. The network may indicate the regulatory specification to the user equipment in system information sent by the base station (e.g., via a network signaling value). Upon receiving the indication, the user equipment may configure the transceiver of the user equipment to operate using the regulatory specification. However, 3GPP has only allocated eight network signaling values, and the number of permutations of geographic regions and their regulatory specifications may be much greater than eight. Therefore, eight network signaling values ​​may not be sufficient to provide the user equipment with the appropriate regional regulatory specifications.

[0033] Some embodiments of the embodiments of the present disclosure can expand the number of network signaling values ​​to more than eight to accommodate the full number of possible regulatory specifications for each geographic region. In additional or alternative embodiments, the eight network signaling values ​​may correspond to regional regulatory specifications for the region in which the user equipment and / or base station is located. Thus, the user equipment can determine the location of the user equipment (e.g., as determined using a location sensor of the user equipment) or the location of the base station (e.g., as received from the base station, etc.), and determine the regulatory specifications based on the network signaling values ​​and the location of the user equipment. In this way, the user equipment can configure the transceiver of the user equipment to operate using the appropriate regulatory specifications.

[0034] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device 10. The electronic device 10 may include, among other things, one or more processors 12 (collectively referred to herein as a single processor for convenience, which may be implemented in any suitable form of processing circuitry), memory 14, non-volatile storage 16, a display 18, input structures 22, an input / output (I / O) interface 24, a network interface 26, and a power supply 29. Figure 1 The various functional blocks shown in the figure may include hardware elements (including circuits), software elements (including computer code stored on a computer-readable medium), or a combination of both hardware and software elements. The processor 12, memory 14, non-volatile storage device 16, display 18, input structure 22, input / output (I / O) interface 24, network interface 26 and / or power supply 29 may each be directly or indirectly communicatively coupled to each other (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, a network) to transmit and / or receive data between each other. It should be noted that Figure 1 It is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in electronic device 10 .

[0035] By way of example, electronic device 10 may represent a block diagram of any suitable computing device, including a desktop or laptop computer (e.g., a computer available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California). Pro, MacBook mini or Mac ), a portable electronic device or a handheld electronic device such as a wireless electronic device or a smart phone (e.g., in the form of a computer available from Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California models), tablet computers (e.g., in the form of the models), wearable electronic devices (e.g., in the form of Apple of the form) and other similar devices. It should be noted that Figure 1 The processor 12 and other related items in the may be generally referred to herein as "data processing circuitry." Such data processing circuitry may be implemented in whole or in part as software, hardware, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the processor 12 and Figure 1 Other related items in the may be single independent processing modules, or may be fully or partially incorporated into any of the other elements within the electronic device 10. The processor 12 may be implemented using a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a controller, a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware components, a dedicated hardware finite state machine, or any other suitable entity that can perform calculations or other manipulations of information. The processor 12 may perform various functions described herein and below.

[0036] exist Figure 1 In the electronic device 10, the processor 12 may be operably coupled to the memory 14 and the non-volatile storage device 16 to execute various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor 12 may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture including one or more tangible computer-readable media. The tangible computer-readable medium may include the memory 14 and / or the non-volatile storage device 16, individually or collectively, to store instructions or routines. The memory 14 and the non-volatile storage device 16 may include any suitable article of manufacture for storing data and executable instructions, such as random access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drive, and optical disk. In addition, the program encoded on such a computer program product (e.g., an operating system) may also include instructions that can be executed by the processor 12 to enable the electronic device 10 to provide various functions.

[0037] In some embodiments, display 18 can facilitate a user viewing images generated on electronic device 10. In some embodiments, display 18 can include a touch screen that can facilitate user interaction with a user interface of electronic device 10. Furthermore, it should be understood that in some embodiments, display 18 can include one or more liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light emitting diode (LED) displays, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, or some combination of these and / or other display technologies.

[0038] The input structures 22 of the electronic device 10 may enable a user to interact with the electronic device 10 (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease the volume level). As with the network interface 26, the I / O interface 24 may enable the electronic device 10 to interact with various other electronic devices. In some embodiments, the I / O interface 24 may include an I / O port for a hardwired connection for charging and / or content manipulation using a standard connector and protocol such as the Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), or other similar connectors and protocols. The network interface 26 may, for example, include one or more interfaces for: a personal area network (PAN) such as A network, a local area network (LAN) or a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as one of the IEEE 802.11x family of protocols (e.g., ) networks and / or wide area networks (WANs) such as any standards associated with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including, for example, third generation (3G) cellular networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), fourth generation (4G) cellular networks, Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular network, Long Term Evolution Licensed Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, fifth generation (5G) cellular network and / or new radio (NR) cellular network, satellite network, etc. Specifically, the network interface 26 may include, for example, one or more interfaces for using the Release-15 cellular communication standard of the 5G specification including the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 gigahertz (GHz)). The network interface 26 of the electronic device 10 may allow communication through the aforementioned networks (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, etc.).

[0039] The network interface 26 may also include, for example, one or more interfaces for: a broadband fixed wireless access network (eg, ), mobile broadband wireless network (mobile ), asynchronous digital subscriber lines (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital video terrestrial broadcasting Network and its extension DVB handheld Networks, ultra-wideband (UWB) networks, alternating current (AC) power lines, etc.

[0040] As shown, the network interface 26 may include a transceiver 30. In some embodiments, all or a portion of the transceiver 30 may be located within the processor 12. The transceiver 30 may support the transmission and reception of various wireless signals via one or more antennas.

[0041] The power supply 29 of the electronic device 10 may include any suitable power source, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and / or an alternating current (AC) power converter. In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 may take the form of a computer, a portable electronic device, a wearable electronic device, or other types of electronic devices.

[0042] Figure 2 This is a functional block diagram of an electronic device 10, which can be implemented Figure 1 As shown, the processor 12, memory 14, transceiver 30, transmitter 40, receiver 44 and / or antenna 45 (shown as 45a-45n) can be directly or indirectly communicatively coupled to each other (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, a network) to transmit and / or receive data between each other.

[0043] The electronic device 10 may include a transmitter 40 and / or a receiver 44, which respectively enable data transmission and reception between the electronic device 10 and a remote location via, for example, a network associated with the electronic device 10 or a direct connection and an external transceiver (e.g., in the form of a cell, an eNB (E-UTRAN Node B or Evolved Node B), a base station, etc.). As shown, the transmitter 40 and receiver 44 may be combined into a transceiver 30. The electronic device 10 may also have one or more antennas 45a to 45n electrically coupled to the transceiver 30. The antennas 45a-45n may be configured in omnidirectional or directional configurations, single-beam, dual-beam, or multi-beam arrangements, etc. Each antenna 45 may be associated with one or more beams and various configurations. In some embodiments, when implemented as a multi-beam antenna, each beam may correspond to a respective transceiver 30. As applicable to various communication standards, the electronic device 10 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers, and / or multiple antennas.

[0044] Transmitter 40 may wirelessly transmit packets having different packet types or functions. For example, transmitter 40 may transmit packets of different types generated by processor 12. Receiver 44 may wirelessly receive packets having different packet types. In some examples, receiver 44 may detect the type of packet being used and process the packet accordingly. In some embodiments, transmitter 40 and receiver 44 may transmit and receive information via other wired or wired systems or devices.

[0045] As shown, the various components of electronic device 10 can be coupled together via a bus system 46. Bus system 46 may include, for example, a data bus, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, and a status signal bus in addition to the data bus. The components of electronic device 10 may be coupled together or receive or provide input to each other using some other mechanism.

[0046] As previously noted, 3GPP may update a frequency band by expanding the frequency range covered by the frequency band, the manner in which the frequency band may be used, and so on. Figure 3 1 is a frequency chart of a frequency band 50 (e.g., n77 band) and sub-ranges of the frequency band according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, the n77 band includes a sub-range 52 between 3.55 GHz and 3.65 GHz (also known as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band), a sub-range 54 between 3.45 GHz and 3.55 GHz (also known as the 3.5 GHz sub-range), and a sub-range 56 between 3.7 GHz and 3.98 GHz (also known as the C-band), among others.

[0047] In the United States (US), the FCC recently issued new rules for the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 within the n77 band to allow utilization of the subrange 54 in network communications, while current radio frequency requirements from 3GPP restrict the use of the subrange 54 and limit the US to the C-band 56. Therefore, while user equipment currently in use has been tested for compliance with the FCC rules with respect to the C-band 56, such user equipment may not have been tested for compliance with the new FCC rules with respect to the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 and, therefore, may not be permitted to use the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. A potential change in the 3GPP specification to permit use of the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 in the n77 band for US operation may result in two different types of user equipment supporting the n77 band in the US: those that also support the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 (e.g., because such user equipment has been tested for compliance with the new FCC rules with respect to the 3.5 GHz subrange 54) and those that do not support the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. Since a network that enables communication on the n77 band may simply assume that the user equipment can operate on the entire frequency band (e.g., the n77 band) rather than the corresponding sub-ranges of the frequency band (e.g., C-band 56 and 3.5 GHz sub-range 54), the network cannot distinguish between the two types of user equipment and will only recognize that the user equipment does not support the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54 when performing a handover event (e.g., transferring the network coverage of the user equipment from one base station to another) or when requesting a secondary cell for carrier aggregation fails.

[0048] Taking the foregoing into consideration, Figure 46 is a diagram of a network 60 (e.g., a wireless communication network) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, the network 60 may provide network coverage to user equipment 62 via one or more base stations 64A, 64B (collectively referred to as 64) within a coverage area 66 through channels within a supported frequency range or band (e.g., n77 band). Figure 3 As shown, the frequency band may include one or more frequency sub-ranges (eg, CBRS band 52, 3.5 GHz sub-range 54, C-band 56, etc.).

[0049] Specifically, the base station 64 may broadcast a message on one or more supported frequency ranges or channels (e.g., in the n77 band) that can be used to establish a connection with the user equipment 62 in the coverage area or cell 66. If the user equipment 62 also supports one or more supported frequency ranges or channels (e.g., in the C band 56 of the n77 band), the user equipment 62 may respond, and the base station 64 may use channels of the one or more supported frequency ranges or channels to establish a connection with the user equipment 62. As shown, the base station 64 may use channels in the C band 56 to establish a connection with the user equipment 62. However, if the base station 64 is not aware of the sub-ranges supported by the user equipment 62 and only associates the channels on which the user equipment 62 operates with the entire frequency band (e.g., the n77 band), the base station 64 may perform a handover event or request carrier aggregation for the secondary cell based on the entire frequency band rather than the sub-range supported by the user equipment 62. If the user equipment 62 supports only a sub-range (e.g., C-band 56) of a frequency band (e.g., n77 band) and does not support another sub-range (e.g., 3.5 GHz sub-range 54) of the frequency band, then when a handover event is performed or a secondary cell is implemented using the other range not supported by the user equipment 62, the handover event or the implementation of the secondary cell may fail. In such a case, the user equipment 62 may be disconnected from the network 60, or the user equipment 62 may not use the secondary cell, wherein the user equipment 62 may not be able to communicate using the full bandwidth allocated to the user equipment.

[0050] Embodiments of the present disclosure include enabling a base station 64 to send a system information block having one or more network signaling (NS) flags / values ​​to a user equipment 62 to convey the frequency sub-ranges supported by the base station 64. In accordance with the 3GPP specifications, the system information block is sent to all user equipment 62 in the coverage area 66, and the NS flags (these NS flags include eight integer values ​​per frequency band) may indicate to the user equipment 62 that regional regulatory requirements apply to the user equipment 62 in the coverage area 66. The user equipment 62 specifications may define additional requirements that become applicable based on the NS flags. If the user equipment 62 supports the frequency band and the applicable NS flags, the user equipment 62 may establish communication with the base station 64. Thus, in some embodiments, the NS flags may be used to indicate to the user equipment 62 the available frequency sub-ranges (e.g., C-band 56, 3.5 GHz band 54, etc.) supported by the base station 64. In Figure 4 In the exemplary network 60 of FIG. 5 , a base station 64A may support both the C-band 56 and the 3.5 GHz band 54. Therefore, the base station 64A may send system information blocks with NS flags to user equipment 62 in the coverage area 66 of the base station, indicating that the base station supports the C-band 56 and the 3.5 GHz band 54.

[0051] Embodiments of the present disclosure also include enabling user equipment 62 to indicate to base station 64 the frequency subranges supported by user equipment 62, as indicated by the NS flag of a received system information block. Specifically, user equipment 62 may utilize one or more modified maximum power reduction (MPR) behavior bits to indicate the frequency subranges supported by user equipment 62. 3GPP specifications provide that the MPR bit can specify an allowable reduction in the maximum power transmitted by user equipment 62 to enable user equipment 62 to meet regional regulatory requirements (e.g., transmitter adjacent channel leakage ratio requirements). 3GPP specifications also provide that the modified MPR behavior bit can distinguish the applicability of different A-MPR (additional MPR) requirements for different types of user equipment 62 in a particular frequency band (e.g., n257, n260, and n261). In embodiments of the present disclosure, user equipment 62 may set the modified MPR behavior bit corresponding to the frequency subrange supported by user equipment 62 (e.g., C-band 56, 3.5 GHz band 54, etc.) to indicate to base station 64 that user equipment 62 supports the frequency subrange. In this way, the base station 64 can understand and / or store the frequency sub-ranges supported by the user equipment 62, and perform handover events or allocate secondary cells based on the supported frequency sub-ranges rather than the entire frequency band (e.g., the n77 band) that may not be supported by the user equipment 62 as a whole, thereby preventing disconnection from the network 60 or a decrease in bandwidth usage.

[0052] exist Figure 4In an exemplary network 60 of FIG. 5 , user equipment 62 may receive a system information block from base station 64A indicating that base station 64A supports both C-band 56 and 3.5 GHz band 54. However, user equipment 62 may only support C-band 56. Therefore, user equipment 62 may set a modified MPR behavior bit corresponding to C-band 56 but not corresponding to 3.5 GHz band 54, and send the modified MPR behavior bit to base station 64A (e.g., in a message). Upon receiving the modified MPR behavior bit, base station 64A may establish a primary cell 68 with user equipment 62 on the supported C-band 56. If network 60 desires to perform carrier aggregation by establishing secondary cells, base station 64A may not establish a secondary cell 70 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 because user equipment 62 has indicated that the user equipment does not support the 3.5 GHz band 54. Instead, base station 64A may establish a secondary cell 72 using C-band 56. Similarly, if user equipment 62 moves to another coverage area 74, base station 64A may perform a handover event 76 with base station 64B providing support for the other coverage area 74. Specifically, base station 64A may send an indication of the frequency sub-range supported by user equipment 62 (e.g., C-band 56) to base station 64B. Consequently, base station 64B may be unable to establish a connection 78 with user equipment 62 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 because user equipment 62 has indicated that the user equipment does not support the 3.5 GHz band 54. Instead, base station 64B may establish a connection 80 with user equipment 62 using C-band 56. Without this indication of the frequency sub-range supported by the user equipment, network 60 and base station 64 may attempt to establish a secondary cell 70 using the unsupported 3.5 GHz band 54 or perform a handover event 76 by establishing a connection 78 with user equipment 62 using the band 54, resulting in reduced bandwidth usage or disconnection from network 60.

[0053] Figure 5is a flow chart of a method 90 for configuring the transceiver 30 of user equipment 62 to communicate with a wireless communication network 60 (e.g., including base station 64A and / or base station 64B) using one or more frequency sub-ranges, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 90 may be performed by any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control components of user equipment 62, base station 64A and / or base station 64B, and a terrestrial network (such as the processor 12 of each of these devices or systems). In some embodiments, method 90 may be implemented by using processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as memory 14 or storage 16. For example, method 90 may be performed, at least in part, by one or more software components (such as an operating system of user equipment 62, one or more software applications, etc.), base station 64A and / or base station 64B, and a terrestrial network. Although method 90 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that some described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0054] At block 92, the user equipment 62 detects the base station 64. Specifically, when the user equipment 62 enters the coverage area 66 of the base station 64, the user equipment 62 can detect the base station by receiving a radio frequency (RF) signal. The RF signal may include timing alignment information and other information. At block 94, the user equipment 62 synchronizes with the base station 64 by aligning the timing of the user equipment with the timing alignment information of the base station 64.

[0055] At block 96, the base station 64 broadcasts system information indicating the frequency sub-ranges supported by the base station 64. Specifically, the base station 64 may indicate the frequency sub-ranges in the NS tag that indicates the capabilities of the base station 64. For example, Figure 4 As shown, the base station 64 may indicate the C-band 56 and the 3.5 GHz band 54 in one or more NS tags of the broadcast system information.

[0056] At block 98, the user equipment 62 reads the system information including the NS flag received from the base station 64. The system information may additionally include timing specifications, power specifications, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, and / or any other available information. In some embodiments, the user equipment 62 may store the system information in the memory 14 for future use.

[0057] At block 100, user equipment 62 determines or receives frequency sub-ranges supported by base station 64 based on a system information block. By way of example, one or more NS flags may include C-band 56 and 3.5 GHz band 54 of the n77 band. At block 102, user equipment 62 indicates the frequency sub-ranges supported by base station 64 and also supported by user equipment 62. Specifically, user equipment 62 may set one or more indicator bits corresponding to the one or more frequency sub-ranges supported by user equipment 62. In some embodiments, the indicator bits may include a modified MPR behavior bit.

[0058] In one embodiment, the NS flag for the n77 band may include a new NS flag ("NS_X") that corresponds to the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54. For the new NS flag, the value of A-MPR may be set to 0 decibels (thus, making the NS flag insignificant for the purposes of MPR operation). A modified MPR behavior bit corresponding to the new NS flag may be defined such that setting the modified MPR behavior bit indicates that the user equipment 62 supports the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54. If the user equipment 62 does not set the modified MPR behavior bit, the user equipment 62 indicates that the user equipment does not support the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54. In some embodiments, the modified MPR behavior bit may directly correspond to the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54. That is, 3GPP may define the modified MPR behavior bit to directly correspond to the n77 band such that if the user equipment 62 sets the modified MPR behavior bit, it means that the user equipment 62 supports the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54. If the user equipment 62 does not set the modified MPR behavior bit, this means that the user equipment 62 does not support the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54 (e.g., the user equipment 62 only supports the 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz sub-range). In such an embodiment, the user equipment 62 may not receive a corresponding NS flag and / or set the A-MPR to 0 decibels to indicate that support for the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54 may be avoided. Although this embodiment refers to the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54, it should be understood that any suitable frequency sub-range of a frequency band is contemplated, and in particular, a newly introduced sub-range to an existing frequency band.

[0059] At block 104, the base station 64 configures the base station's resources to the user equipment 62 within the frequency sub-ranges supported by the user equipment 62 and the base station 64. Once the resources are configured and a connection is established between the user equipment 62 and the base station 64, the user equipment 62 and the base station 64 may send and receive user data 106 over the frequency sub-ranges. In this manner, the method 90 may enable the user equipment to configure the transceiver 30 to conform to one or more available frequency sub-ranges and communicate with a terrestrial network (e.g., including the base station 64 and / or the base station 64B).

[0060] As discussed above, modifications and / or updates to standards or regulations regarding non-federal networks and frequency bands may result in inefficiencies. Initially, incumbent federal users utilized the 3.5 GHz band 54. The 3.5 GHz band 54 is located adjacent to the CBRS band 52 (3.55-3.7 GHz). To avoid interference with federal users, the FCC has introduced stricter requirements for the CBRS band 52. Specifically, the FCC currently forces user equipment 62 to undergo power backoff ("CBRS power backoff") using the CBRS band 52, which is greater or "stricter" than the power backoff of user equipment 62 when not using the CBRS band 52 ("default power backoff"). 3GPP has defined power backoff as the maximum power to which user equipment 62 will back off (e.g., when approaching a power threshold, to meet out-of-band radiation levels, etc.), while the actual power backoff value may be smaller and / or may depend on the specific implementation of the user equipment 62. CBRS power backoff may be referred to as a lower power mode, while the default power backoff may be referred to as a default power mode. In addition, although the lower power mode refers to a power backoff that is greater than the default power backoff, it should be understood that the lower power mode in other applications may refer to any suitable power characteristics that enable the user equipment 62 to operate at a lower power than the default power mode, including reduced transmit power, reduced receive power, smaller maximum transmit power, smaller maximum receive power, etc.

[0061] Table 1 below, provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.101-1, shows different CBRS power backoff values ​​that can be applied by user equipment 62 (e.g., depending on the presence of different scenarios A1-A8). The following numbers are described in decibels (dB) as the amount of power that user equipment 62 can back off to meet regulatory requirements. Table 1 is specific to CBRS band requirements.

[0062]

[0063] Table 1

[0064] By comparison, Table 2 below, also provided by 3GPP TS 38.101-1, illustrates different default power backoff values ​​that may be applied by user equipment 62. Specifically, the default power backoff values ​​in Table 2 are applicable when conditions for operating under the CBRS band requirements do not exist, and have a lower power backoff value than the CBRS power backoff value. That is, user equipment 62 may still be allowed to back off its power, but not to the same extent as the CBRS power backoff value, and in some cases, not back off its power at all. Thus, the lower default power backoff value enables user equipment 62 to operate at higher transmit and / or receive power, and therefore with better performance, than when operating using a higher CBRS power backoff value.

[0065]

[0066] Table 2

[0067] As discussed above, the FCC recently permitted non-federal networks and users to use the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 in coverage areas where federal users do not use the subrange. That is, non-federal networks may be deployed, thereby using the 3.5 GHz subrange 54, in coverage areas where no federal users utilize the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. Thus, in situations where a user equipment 62 utilizes the CBRS band 52 and the user equipment 62 is not located in or adjacent to a coverage area where a federal user utilizing the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 is present, the user equipment 62 may not operate to the full communication potential or efficiency of the user equipment because FCC regulations may force the user equipment to operate with a higher power backoff (e.g., assuming only federal users are present in the 3.5 GHz subrange 54).

[0068] Taking the foregoing into consideration, Figure 6 is a diagram of network coverage provided by a wireless communication network 110 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Coverage area A 112 may include federal users 114 using the 3.5 GHz band 54. Thus, in accordance with FCC regulations, non-federal networks 116 operating on the 3.5 GHz band and / or the CBRS band 52 (e.g., cellular networks provided by a network operator via one or more base stations to users other than federal users 114) may not be deployed within coverage area A 112. Federal users 114 may be those defined as "incumbent federal users" by the FCC and / or 47 C.FR §96.15. Coverage area B 118 and coverage area C 120 may include non-federal users connected to non-federal networks 116 operating on the 3.5 GHz band and / or the CBRS band 52. To operate on the CBRS band 52 in coverage area B 118 and coverage area C 120, the user equipment 62 may operate in a lower or CBRS power mode (e.g., employing CBRS power backoff) because both coverage areas are adjacent to coverage area A 112. Coverage area D 122 may also include non-federal users connected to non-federal networks 116 operating on the 3.5 GHz band and / or the CBRS band 52.

[0069] Since coverage area D 122 is adjacent to only two coverage areas (e.g., coverage area B 118 and coverage area C 120), and each of the adjacent coverage areas has a non-federal network 116 operating in the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52, there is no need for the user equipment 62 to operate in a lower or CBRS power mode (e.g., with CBRS power backoff) on the CBRS band 52 because it can be safely assumed that coverage area D 122 is not adjacent to a coverage area with a federal user 114. Therefore, to determine whether the user equipment 62 in the coverage area can operate in the CBRS band 52 in a default power mode (e.g., with default power backoff), the spectrum access system (SAS) controller 124 can utilize one or more environmental sensing capability sensors (ESCs) 126 to identify the presence and coverage of a non-federal network (e.g., a non-federal network deployment) 116 operating in the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 to determine the presence and coverage of the federal user 114 operating in the 3.5 GHz band 54. The SAS controller 124 may include an automated frequency coordinator that manages the sharing of radio frequency waves across multiple access layers (e.g., incumbent federal users, priority access granted users, and general authorized access users) on a dynamic, as-needed basis. The environmental sensing capability sensors 126 may include a sensor network that is utilized to detect non-federal or federal frequency usage in a specific frequency sub-range (e.g., 3.5 GHz to 3.65 GHz).

[0070] Specifically, if the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 does not detect a non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 within a coverage area (e.g., coverage area A 114), the SAS controller 124 may assume that a federal user 114 is present in the coverage area. Consequently, the SAS controller 124 may prevent or block the non-federal network 116 and user equipment 62 attempting to use the non-federal network 116 from operating on the 3.5 GHz band 54 and the CBRS band 52 within the coverage area. On the other hand, if the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 detects a non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 within a coverage area (e.g., coverage area B 118), the SAS controller 124 may determine that no federal user 114 is present in the coverage area. Furthermore, if the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 detects that there is no non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 within a neighboring coverage area (e.g., coverage area A 114) of the coverage area, the SAS controller 124 may assume that there is a federal user 114 in the neighboring coverage area. Therefore, the SAS controller 124 may communicate with the non-federal network 116 within the coverage area to indicate to the user equipment 62 that it is permissible to operate on the CBRS band 52 while using CBRS power backoff. The 3.5 GHz band 54 currently has no such restrictions imposed by standards and / or regulatory bodies.

[0071] Additionally, if a coverage area (e.g., coverage area D 122) has a non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 and is bordered only by coverage areas (e.g., coverage area B 118 and coverage area C 120) having non-federal networks 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52, the SAS controller 124 may communicate with the non-federal networks 116 within that coverage area to indicate to the user equipment 62 that it is permissible to operate on the CBRS band 52 using a default power mode (e.g., the user equipment 62 may use the default power backoff and need not operate in the CBRS power mode and use the CBRS power backoff). It should be understood that the default power mode may refer to applying a default power backoff as specified by a regulatory or standards body when operating outside of the CBRS band 52, such as the default power backoff shown in Table 2 above. Similarly, the 3.5 GHz band 54 is not currently subject to such constraints imposed by standards and / or regulatory bodies. In this manner, user equipment 62 utilizing the CBRS band 52 may operate to the full communication potential or efficiency of the user equipment.

[0072] Taking the foregoing into consideration, Figure 71 is a flow chart of a method 140 for determining whether a user equipment 62 can operate without being constrained by a constrained frequency band (e.g., CBRS band 52) (e.g., operating in a default power mode with a default power backoff) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 140 may be performed by any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control components of the user equipment 62, base station 64, non-federated network 116, SAS controller 124, and / or environmental sensing capability sensor 126 (such as the processor 12 of each of these devices or systems). In some embodiments, method 140 may be implemented by using processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as memory 14 or storage device 16. For example, method 140 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components (such as an operating system of the user equipment 62, one or more software applications, etc.), base station 64, non-federated network 116, SAS controller 124, and / or environmental sensing capability sensor 126. Although the method 140 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different than shown, and that some described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0073] At block 142, the SAS controller 124 determines whether a non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 exists in the coverage area of ​​the base station 64 and in each adjacent coverage area adjacent to the coverage area. Specifically, the SAS controller 124 may utilize the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 to detect whether a non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 exists in the coverage area and the adjacent coverage areas. If the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 detects a non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 in the coverage area, the SAS controller 124 may determine that no federal user 114 exists in the coverage area. On the other hand, if the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 does not detect any non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 in the coverage area, the SAS controller 124 may determine that a federal user 114 exists in the coverage area. As described above, when a federal user 114 is present within the coverage area, there may not be any non-federal networks 116 on the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 .

[0074] If the SAS controller 124 determines that a non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 exists in the coverage area of ​​the base station 64 and in adjacent coverage areas adjacent to the coverage area, then at block 144, the SAS controller 124 sends an indication to the base station 64 that the user equipment 62 connected to the base station 64 may use a default power mode. Figure 6In the example embodiment, non-federal network 116 exists in coverage zone D 122 and its adjacent coverage zones (e.g., coverage zone B 118 and coverage zone C 120). Therefore, SAS controller 124 may send an indication to non-federal network 116 in coverage zone D that user equipment 62 connected to non-federal network 116 may use the default power mode.

[0075] After the SAS controller 124 sends an indication to the base station 64 in block 144 that the user equipment 62 connected to the base station 64 may use the default power mode, or if the SAS controller 124 determines in block 142 that a non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 is present in the coverage area of ​​the base station 64 or in an adjacent coverage area adjacent to the coverage area, the base station determines at block 146 whether an indication has been received that the user equipment 62 may use the default power mode. For example, the SAS controller 124 may determine that Figure 6 There is no non-federal network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or the CBRS band 52 in coverage area A 112 of .

[0076] At block 148, if the base station 64 has not yet received an indication that the user equipment 62 may use the default power mode, the base station 64 sends an indication to the user equipment 62 to transmit using a lower or CBRS power mode when using the CBRS band 52. For example, the base station may set a network signaling value (e.g., network signaling value 27 or NS27 according to the 3GPP standard) sent to the user equipment 62 in a system information block corresponding to operating using the lower or CBRS power mode. At block 150, the user equipment 62 transmits data on the CBRS band 52 using the CBRS power mode. That is, when transmitting data on the CBRS band 52, the user equipment 62 may configure the transmitter 40 of the user equipment to use CBRS power backoff.

[0077] At block 152, if the base station 64 receives an indication that the user equipment 62 may use the default power, the base station 64 sends an indication to the user equipment 62 to transmit in the default power mode on the CBRS band 52. In some embodiments, the indication may include a setting that lacks a network signaling value (e.g., an NS27 value) sent to the user equipment 62 in a system information block corresponding to operating using the CBRS power mode. The setting that lacks the network signaling value removal of the restriction flag may result in improved network performance by allowing less power backoff, as provided by the default power mode when operating on the CBRS band 52. At block 154, the user equipment 62 transmits data on the CBRS band 52 using the default power mode. That is, when transmitting data on the CBRS band 52, the user equipment 62 may configure the transmitter 40 of the user equipment to use the default power mode.

[0078] Additionally, the new 6 GHz band has recently been allocated by various countries for network operation. Almost all countries have allocated the new 6 GHz band (or portions thereof) for unlicensed network operation. Consequently, most countries have slightly different regulatory requirements for the new 6 GHz band, which may need to be addressed when initializing network communications.

[0079] Taking the foregoing into consideration, Figure 8 1 is a frequency diagram depicting regulatory requirements for frequencies in different countries according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, different countries may have different regulatory requirements for different sub-ranges of a frequency band 160 (e.g., the 6 GHz band). In some cases, these sub-ranges corresponding to the different regulatory requirements of different countries may overlap. By way of example, South Korea (KR) has a first regulatory requirement 162 for operating in low-power indoor (LPI) mode or very low-power (VLP) mode for the frequency range between 5.925 GHz and 6.425 GHz, and a second regulatory requirement 164 for operating in LPI mode for the frequency range between 6.425 GHz and 7.125 GHz. However, Brazil (BR) has a regulatory requirement 166 for operating in LPI mode or VLP mode for the entire frequency range between 5.925 GHz and 7.125 GHz. Furthermore, the regulatory requirements of one country may differ from the same regulatory requirements of another country. That is, the LPI mode in Korea may limit the maximum transmit power to a power value that is different from the power value of the LPI mode in Brazil.

[0080] To enable user equipment 62 to operate under appropriate regulatory requirements, base station 64 may send network signaling values ​​corresponding to the appropriate regulatory requirements to user equipment 62. User equipment 62 may then receive or determine the regulatory requirements based on the network signaling values ​​and operate under the regulatory requirements. However, even if network signaling values ​​are specific to each frequency band (e.g., 160), each frequency band 160 is typically assigned only eight network signaling values. Because each country has different regulatory requirements, and even the same regulatory requirements may differ in different countries, eight network signaling values ​​may not be sufficient to cover all possible regulatory requirements.

[0081] Taking the foregoing into consideration, Figure 9 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for receiving or determining a value based on a plurality of network signaling values ​​greater than eight is provided. Figure 8Flowchart of method 170 for describing regulatory requirements for a country's depiction frequency. Any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control components of user equipment 62 (such as processor 12 of each of these devices or systems) can perform method 170. In some embodiments, method 170 can be implemented by using processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory 14 or storage device 16. For example, method 170 can be performed at least in part by one or more software components (such as an operating system of user equipment 62, one or more software applications, etc.). Although method 170 is described using steps in a particular order, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps can be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain described steps can be skipped or not performed at all.

[0082] In some embodiments, the network signaling value is increased to more than eight values. Specifically, the number of network signaling values ​​may be at least the number of different regulatory requirements for different countries. With this in mind, at block 172, the user equipment 62 receives or determines one of a plurality of network signaling values ​​that each corresponds to a regulatory requirement for a geographic region. As described above, there may be at least more than eight network signaling values ​​for a frequency band (e.g., 6 GHz band 160) on which the user equipment 62 can operate. At block 174, the user equipment 62 receives or determines the regulatory requirement based on the network signaling value. The user equipment 62 may store a table of different regulatory requirements and the associated network signaling values ​​corresponding to each regulatory requirement. In some embodiments, each network signaling value may correspond to a regulatory requirement for a sub-range of a specified frequency band (e.g., VLP / LPI for 5.945 GHz to 6.425 GHz in South Korea). At block 176, the user equipment 62 applies the regulatory requirement determined based on the network signaling value. In this manner, the method 170 may enable the user equipment 62 to determine regulatory requirements for depiction frequencies for a country based on having greater than eight network signaling values.

[0083] Additionally or alternatively, regulatory requirements may be based on network signaling values ​​and an indication of a geographic region (eg, country). Figure 10 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for determining a region-dependent network signaling value is provided. Figure 8Flowchart of method 180 for describing regulatory requirements for a country's depiction frequency. Any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control components of user equipment 62 (such as processor 12 of each of these devices or systems) can perform method 180. In some embodiments, method 170 can be implemented by using processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory 14 or storage device 16. For example, method 180 can be performed at least in part by one or more software components (such as an operating system of user equipment 62, one or more software applications, etc.). Although method 180 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps can be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain described steps can be skipped or not performed at all.

[0084] At block 182, user equipment 62 receives a network signaling value (e.g., one of eight possible network signaling values). At block 184, user equipment 62 receives or determines the geographic region of user equipment 62. In some embodiments, user equipment 62 may use a location sensor (e.g., a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensor, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor) to receive or determine the geographic region. In additional or alternative embodiments, user equipment 62 may use a network operator's public land mobile network (PLMN) value to receive or determine the geographic region. That is, a PLMN may be a combination of mobile communication services provided by a network operator in a specific country. User equipment 62 may store a table that associates geographic regions with PLMN values. When user equipment 62 connects to base station 64, user equipment 62 may receive a PLMN value associated with the network operator. By using the PLMN value reference table, user equipment 62 can identify the geographic region in which base station 64 (and therefore user equipment 62) is located.

[0085] At block 186, the user equipment 62 receives or determines regulatory requirements based on the network signaling value and the geographic region. The user equipment 62 may store a table of different regulatory requirements for each geographic region and associated network signaling values ​​corresponding to each regulatory requirement in the respective geographic region. Specifically, the same network signaling value may be used to correspond to different regulatory requirements in different regions. At block 188, the user equipment 62 applies the regulatory requirements determined based on the network signaling value and the geographic region. In this manner, the method 180 enables the user equipment 62 to determine regulatory requirements for depicted frequencies for a country based on region-dependent network signaling values.

[0086] The above specific embodiments have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should also be understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0087] The technology described and claimed herein is cited and applied to specific examples of a physical and practical nature that significantly improve the art and is therefore not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical. Furthermore, if any claim appended to the end of this specification contains one or more elements designated as "means for [performing] [the function]..." or "a step for [performing] [the function]...", then those elements will be construed under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). However, for any claim containing elements designated in any other manner, those elements will not be construed under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).

[0088] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

Claims

1. A method for operating a user equipment, comprising: receiving, at a receiver of the user equipment from a base station, a system information block comprising a network signaling value from a plurality of network signaling values ​​corresponding to a plurality of regulatory requirements for a plurality of geographic areas; receiving, with processing circuitry of the user equipment, an indication of a regulatory requirement of the plurality of regulatory requirements for a geographic area of ​​the plurality of geographic areas corresponding to the network signaling value; as well as A transmitter or the receiver of the user equipment is configured to comply with the regulatory requirement using the processing circuitry of the user equipment. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of network signaling values ​​comprises greater than eight network signaling values. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the regulatory requirement is associated with a frequency between 5.925 GHz and 7.125 GHz.

4. A method for operating a user equipment in a geographic area, comprising: receiving, at a receiver of the user equipment from a base station, a system information block comprising a network signaling value from a plurality of network signaling values ​​corresponding to a plurality of regulatory requirements for the geographic area; receiving, with processing circuitry of the user equipment, a first indication of the geographic area in which the user equipment is located; receiving, with the processing circuitry of the user equipment, a second indication of a regulatory requirement from the plurality of regulatory requirements for the geographic area corresponding to the network signaling value; as well as A transmitter or the receiver of the user equipment is configured to comply with the regulatory requirement using the processing circuitry of the user equipment. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first indication of the geographic area is received from a location sensor of the user equipment.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving, using the processing circuitry of the user equipment, the second indication of the geographic area comprises receiving a public land mobile network value from the base station. The method of claim 4 , wherein the regulatory requirement is associated with an unlicensed frequency band.

8. A user equipment comprising: transceiver; as well as a processing circuit communicatively coupled to the transceiver, the processing circuit being configured to: receiving an indication of a regulatory requirement based on a network signaling value sent by a base station, the network signaling value being one of a plurality of network signaling values ​​corresponding to a plurality of regulatory requirements for a plurality of geographic areas, and The transceiver is configured to comply with the regulatory requirements.

9. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the plurality of network signaling values ​​comprises greater than eight network signaling values.

10. The user equipment of claim 8, comprising a memory configured to store a corresponding network signaling value for each of the plurality of regulatory requirements.

11. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is configured to receive a system information block including the network signaling value from the base station using the transceiver.

12. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the regulatory requirement corresponds to a frequency range of a plurality of frequency ranges supported by the base station, the plurality of frequency ranges being within a frequency band.

13. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the regulatory requirement based on the network signaling value and a geographic region of the user equipment, and the plurality of geographic regions includes the geographic region.

14. The user equipment of claim 13, comprising a location sensor, the processing circuit being configured to determine the geographical area of ​​the user equipment using the location sensor.

15. The user equipment of claim 13, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the geographical area of ​​the user equipment based on a public land mobile network value sent by the base station.

16. The user equipment of claim 8, comprising a memory configured to store a corresponding public land mobile network value for each of the plurality of geographic areas.

17. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the regulatory requirement when initializing network communications with the base station.

18. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the network signaling value corresponds to different regulatory requirements for different geographic areas of the plurality of geographic areas.

19. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the regulatory requirements correspond to different transmit power limits for different ones of the plurality of geographic regions.

20. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the network signaling value is sent by the base station using a frequency band having a plurality of frequency ranges supported by the base station.

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