Apparatus and method for mitigating bandwidth-free partial switching in 5G independent deployments

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are provided for a user equipment (UE) to communicate with a new radio (NR) wireless network in an independent deployment. The UE resides on a first cell and determines that a first bandwidth (BW) of the first cell is greater than or equal to a threshold BW value. In response, when the UE is not configured for bandwidth partial handover (BWPS), the UE determines whether a second cell is available, the second cell being in-band and having the same priority as the first cell, and having a second BW less than the threshold BW value. When the second cell is unavailable, the UE searches for a next lower priority cell having a third BW that is less than the threshold BW value.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including methods for a user equipment (UE) to communicate with a new radio (NR) wireless network in a standalone (SA) deployment. BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless communication devices. For example, wireless communication system standards and protocols can include, for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (commonly referred to as Wi-Fi standards within the industry ® ).

[0003] As contemplated by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols can use various radio access networks (RANs) for communication between base stations (which can also be referred to as RAN nodes, network nodes, or simply nodes) of the RAN and wireless communication devices referred to as user equipment (UE). A 3GPP RAN can include, for example, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0004] Each RAN can use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communication between base stations and UEs. For example, a GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, a UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, an E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes referred to simply as LTE), and an NG-RAN implements NR RAT (which is sometimes referred to herein as a 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or simply NR). In certain deployments, an E-UTRAN can also implement NR RAT. In certain deployments, an NG-RAN can also implement LTE RAT.

[0005] A base station used by a RAN can correspond to that RAN. One example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also denoted as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). One example of an NG-RAN base station is a Next Generation Node B (sometimes also referred to as a gNodeB or gNB).

[0006] The RAN provides communication services to external entities through its connection with the core network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN can utilize the evolved packet core (EPC), while NG-RAN can utilize the 5G core network (5GC). Attached Figure Description

[0007] To facilitate the identification of any particular element or action in the discussion, one or more of the most significant digits in the figure reference numerals refer to the figure number in which the element was first introduced.

[0008] Figure 1A and Figure 1B A flowchart illustrating a method for a UE to communicate with an NR wireless network in an SA deployment, according to an embodiment of this document, is provided.

[0009] Figure 2 An example architecture of a wireless communication system according to the implementation scheme disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 3 A system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0011] Various implementations are described with respect to the UE. However, references to the UE are provided for illustrative purposes only. The example implementations can be used with any electronic components that can establish a connection to a network and utilize hardware, software, and / or firmware configurations for exchanging information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any suitable electronic component.

[0012] In some wireless systems, the network can contain high-bandwidth and high-priority cells. A UE can camp on the highest priority high-bandwidth cell set by the network (NW), regardless of the cell's bandwidth (BW) considerations or the UE's bandwidth requirements. In some examples, when the task at hand does not require high bandwidth, the UE can remain on a higher bandwidth cell. In many cases, this can be an inefficient use of both power and bandwidth.

[0013] In some wireless systems, standalone (SA) networks can be utilized. A 5G SA network can be viewed as a self-contained network that operates independently without relying on connections to external networks, such as LTE networks. This self-contained network operates as a complete entity, with the hardware, software, and infrastructure supporting its operation. Standalone networks typically have their own servers, databases, and security measures, enabling them to operate autonomously. In other wireless systems, non-standalone (NSA) networks can be utilized. An NSA network can be viewed as a type of network architecture that relies on external components or networks to function entirely. 5G NSA networks typically utilize connections to other networks, such as LTE networks, to provide certain functionalities, services, or resources. NSA networks often rely on external resources to perform tasks such as data storage, processing, or authentication, and may depend on cloud services or third-party platforms.

[0014] In some implementations, the UE may be able to intelligently decide whether to camp on a lower bandwidth SA cell based on the UE's needs and / or the availability of low-bandwidth or high-bandwidth cells. In some such implementations, if a low-bandwidth cell is unavailable, the UE may be able to efficiently utilize and camp on a higher bandwidth SA cell.

[0015] In some implementations, to overcome the aforementioned problems of inefficient power and bandwidth use and to allow the UE to remain camped on a superior RAT SA NR, the UE can camp on a lower BW SA cell (if available) even when Bandwidth Partial Handover (BWPS) is not supported. Some of these implementations can make the UE more power-efficient and utilize bandwidth more efficiently. Alternatively or additionally, if the lower BW cell is unavailable, the UE can camp on a higher bandwidth cell in a more efficient manner.

[0016] Figure 1A and Figure 1B A flowchart illustrating a method 100 for a UE to communicate with an NR wireless network in an SA deployment, according to an embodiment of this document, is provided. For example, the flowchart of method 100 for a UE illustrates decisions made by the UE to camp on a low-bandwidth SA cell and to efficiently use a higher-bandwidth cell when the lower-bandwidth cell is unavailable.

[0017] The illustrated method 100 includes camping the UE 102a on a first cell of an NR wireless network in an SA deployment, wherein the first cell is the serving cell.

[0018] Method 100 further includes determining 102b at the UE that the first BW of the first cell is greater than or equal to a threshold BW value. The threshold BW value can be a pre-configured value (e.g., X MHz). In some examples, the threshold BW value can be used to determine whether a cell is a high-bandwidth cell or a low-bandwidth cell. By way of example only, a 40 MHz cell can be considered a high BW cell above the threshold BW value, and a 20 MHz cell can be considered a low BW cell below the threshold BW value. If the first cell is less than the threshold BW value, action 102c is not required, and the UE can remain camped on the first cell.

[0019] Method 100 further includes determining 104 whether the UE utilizes a BWPS configuration in response to the first BW of the first cell being greater than or equal to the threshold BW value. In some examples, BWPS is a network feature where the network can move the UE to a different NR BW (e.g., lower BW or higher BW) based on the data activity ongoing at the UE. If the UE utilizes the BWPS configuration, action 102c is not required, and the UE can remain camped on the first cell. However, in response to determining that the UE is not configured by the NR radio network for BWPS, method 100 further includes determining 106 (e.g., based on one or more applications running on the UE) whether the UE has any ongoing high-throughput data activities, is running latency-sensitive applications, is participating in or attempting an NR voice (VoNR) call, and / or is using a NW slice associated with high BW and / or low latency. If so, action 102c is not required, and the UE can remain camped on the first cell. However, if not, method 100 further includes determining 110a at the UE whether a second cell is available, the second cell being in-band with the first cell, having the same priority as the first cell, and having a second BW less than the threshold BW value (i.e., BW < X MHz). The second cell belongs to the NR radio network in an SA deployment. In some embodiments of method 100, to assist in determining 110a whether the second cell is available, the UE checks 108 a fingerprint database (FDB) based on location, system information block (SIB), and / or previously known SA carrier aggregation (CA) combinations.

[0020] Method 100 further includes: when the second cell is unavailable, searching for a third cell with the next lower priority, the third cell having a third BW less than the threshold BW value (i.e., BW < X MHz) and having a reference signal received power (RSRP) greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold Y (i.e., RSRP ≥ Y dBm) measured at the UE. The third cell belongs to the NR radio network in the SA deployment. When the third cell is available for the next lower priority, BW < X MHz, and RSRP ≥ Y dBm, the UE moves 110c to that cell and camps on that cell. In some such embodiments, the RSRP threshold Y can be a preconfigured threshold (e.g., Y decibel-milliwatts (dBm)). In some examples, the third cell can have an RSRP threshold that can be met to avoid any poor coverage cells that can be considered lower BW cells when the UE moves 110c to the third cell.

[0021] In some examples, camping on an in-band cell can allow for better coverage because the UE may not switch to a cell with poor coverage or a cell with high interference that may exist in a different frequency band when camping on an in-band cell. Additionally, in some examples, no performance degradation or radio frequency (RF) degradation is expected when camping on an in-band cell.

[0022] Method 100 further includes: when the second cell is available, camping 110b the UE on that cell, or in other words, the UE can camp on the second cell.

[0023] In some embodiments, Method 100 further includes: when the UE is camping on the second cell or the third cell, checking 116a user experience metrics corresponding to one or more of a jitter buffer, round-trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage. In response to the user experience metrics meeting a predetermined criterion. In some such embodiments, in order to meet the predetermined criterion for the user experience metrics, one or more of the following are met: the jitter buffer can be less than the jitter buffer threshold B (i.e., jitter buffer < B milliseconds (ms)); the RTT latency can be less than the RRT latency threshold A (i.e., latency - RTT < A ms); and / or the packet loss percentage can be less than the packet loss threshold C (i.e., packet loss % < C%). In another such embodiment, all three threshold conditions should be met to be considered as meeting the predetermined criterion. By way of example, other user experience metrics are discussed herein with respect to Table 1.

[0024] When the predetermined criteria are not met, method 100 includes performing 116b RRC release at the UE and camping the UE on an available SA cell with a corresponding BW greater than or equal to a threshold BW value. In some examples, an available SA cell with a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW can be considered a high BW cell. However, when the predetermined criteria are met, method 100 includes determining 118a whether the UE is in high data rate activity. If the UE is not in high data rate activity, the UE remains 122 on the currently camped cell.

[0025] If the UE is in high data rate activity for downlink (DL), method 100 includes determining whether the 118b NRDL CA combination is available. In some such implementations, the UE determines the availability of the NR DL CA combination based on information from the FDB. When the NR DL CA combination is available, the UE remains on the currently camped cell and no action is required. When the NR DL CA combination is unavailable, method 100 includes performing a 120b Radio Resource Control (RRC) release at the UE and camping the UE on an available SA cell with a corresponding BW greater than or equal to a threshold BW value (i.e., a high BW cell). In some cases, camping on a high BW cell can provide the user with a better experience and connectivity, as well as more efficient use of the BW.

[0026] If the UE is in high data rate activity for uplink (UL), method 100 includes determining whether 120a NRUL CA combination is available. In some such implementations, the UE determines the availability of NR DL CA combination based on information from the FDB. When the NR UL CA combination is available, the UE remains 122 on the currently camped cell. When the NR UL CA combination is unavailable, method 100 includes performing 120b RRC release at the UE and camping the UE on an available SA cell with a corresponding BW greater than or equal to a threshold BW value (i.e., a high BW cell). In some examples, camping on a high BW cell can provide the user with a better experience and connectivity, as well as more efficient use of the BW.

[0027] As mentioned above regarding the inspection of 116a Figure 1BThe user experience metrics discussed herein are illustrated in Table 1, which provides examples of other user experience metrics that may be used in certain implementations. For example, according to 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (see Table 5.7.4-1 describing the standardized 5QI to QoS feature mapping), the packet delay budget metric for the 5G Quality of Service Indicator (5QI) mapping from an RRC source can have an output of threshold_1 (Th_1) with a packet delay budget > 100ms. In a second example, the RTP loss metric from a Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) packet loss baseband source can have an output of Th_2% (Lost Sequence Number (SN) / Total Transmitted SN) with an RTP loss > 20%. The output is 100. In the third example, the MoS score metric for the average opinion score (MoS) from the access point application processor (AP) and / or baseband (BB) source can have an output of Th_3% with a moving average MoS decrease > 20%. In the fourth example, the Physical Downlink Shared Channel / Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PDSCH / PUSCH) block error rate (BLER) metric from the baseband source can have an output of Th_4% with a moving average BLER > 20%. In the fifth example, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discards a metric from the baseband source, which can have an output of Th_5% with a moving average BLER > 10%.

[0028] Table 1: Other user experience metrics In some implementations, method 100 further includes: upon determining 110a that the second and third cells are unavailable (i.e., no other SA cells are available), determining at the UE whether 112a the UE is experiencing a power constraint based on at least one of the following: the UE is in low-power mode (LPM), the UE has a battery percentage below a battery capacity threshold (e.g., 2%), and the UE has a thermal constraint. For example, a thermal constraint on the UE may include keeping the UE below its operating temperature, exceeding which could potentially damage internal components of the UE, such as its battery. When the UE is not experiencing a power constraint, method 100 includes scheduling 112b background data activities. In some implementations, background data activities may include one or more of the following: backing up UE data to a cloud server or storage device, refreshing applications that may be running on the UE, or updating applications that may be on the UE.

[0029] In response to determining 112a that the UE is experiencing power constraints, method 100 includes determining 114a whether the UE is attempting a VoNR call and whether the LTE cell is available (e.g., as determined according to the FDB). When the UE is not attempting a VoNR call or LTE coverage is unavailable, action 102c is not required. However, when the UE is making a VoNR call and LTE coverage is available, method 100 includes performing 114b a first local RRC release at the UE and keeping the UE camped on the LTE cell for LTE voice (VoLTE) calls. In response to the end of a VoLTE call, method 100 includes performing a second RRC release from the LTE cell and moving the UE 114c to an available SA cell. The available SA cell can be, for example, a first cell or another SA cell with a corresponding BW greater than or equal to a threshold BW value.

[0030] Overall, in other words, Figure 1A and Figure 1B The method 100 shown can be considered as an entry criterion for intelligently residing on low BW SA cells based on usage / availability (corresponding to references shown as 102a, 102b, 102c, 104, 106, 108, 110a, 110b, 110c, 112a, 112b, 114a, 114b, 114c), and an exit criterion for efficiently utilizing high BW SA cells when such cells are unavailable (corresponding to references shown as 116a, 116b, 118a, 118b, 118c, 120a, 120b, 122).

[0031] For the entry criteria, the UE is camped on a SA NR cell. Check if the UE is camped on a high BW cell - BW > X MHz, and if not, no action is required (see 102a, 102b, 102c). But if so, check if the UE is configured with BWPS support from the NW (see 104). If so, no action is required, but if not (BWPS is not configured), check if the UE has any ongoing high data activity and / or latency-sensitive applications running and / or an active VoNR call (see 106). If so, no action is required, but if not, check the location database (locationDB) (e.g., FDB), SIB, and / or previously known SA CA combinations (see 108), and check for any in-band and same-priority lower BW cells (BW < X MHz) available (from 108 or the currently camped cell). If a lower BW NR cell of the same priority is available, camp on that NR cell. If not (no lower BW cell of the same priority is available), move the UE to the next-priority NR band with a lower BW having RSRP > Y dBm (see 110a, 110b, 110c). If no other SA cells are available other than the high BW SA cell on which the UE is camped, check the UE power state (e.g., if the UE is in LPM or battery < Z% or a thermal start). If not, the UE can efficiently utilize the highest SA BW for background data activities (app refresh, cloud backup, etc.) (see 112a, 112b). However, if so, and if the UE is attempting a VoNR call, check the LTE coverage from the LocationDB. If LTE is available, perform a local release and camp on LTE. Once the VoLTE call ends, move to an available SA cell. If not (the UE is not attempting a VoNR call and / or there is no LTE coverage from the LocationDB), no action is required (see 114a, 114b, 114c).

[0032] For the exit criteria, when the UE is camped on a low BW SA cell, the UE checks the user experience metrics (e.g., jitter buffer; latency RTT; packet loss %). If the user experience is good (e.g., jitter buffer < Bms; latency RTT < Ams; and / or packet loss % < C%), then stay camped on the low BW SA cell. If the user experience is poor, then perform a local RRC release and move to a high BW SA cell (see 116a, 116b). When the UE is camped on a low BW SA cell, check if the UE has any ongoing DL-centric high throughput and if the highest BW SA CA combination for DL is available from the database. If so, then no action is required, but if not, then perform a local RRC release to camp on the highest BW SA cell to perform the highest SA CA combination (see 118a, 118b, 118c). When the UE is camped on a low BW SA cell, check if the UE has any ongoing UL-centric high throughput and if the highest BW SA CA combination for UL is available from the database. If so, then no action is required, but if not, then perform a local RRC release to camp on the highest BW SA cell to perform the highest SA CA combination (see 120a, 120b, 122).

[0033] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes components for performing one or more elements of method 100. This apparatus can be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as the wireless device 302 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0034] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that include instructions for causing an electronic device to perform one or more elements of method 100 when the instructions are executed by one or more processors of the electronic device. This non-transitory computer-readable media can be, for example, the memory of a UE (such as the memory 306 of the wireless device 302 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0035] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of method 100. This apparatus can be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as the wireless device 302 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0036] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media that include instructions that cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of method 100 when executed by the one or more processors. This apparatus can be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as the wireless device 302 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0037] The implementation scheme envisioned herein includes a signal as described in or associated with one or more elements of method 100.

[0038] The embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processor will cause the processor to implement one or more elements of method 100. The processor may be a processor of the UE (such as processor 304 as a wireless device 302 of the UE, as described herein). These instructions may, for example, reside in the processor and / or in the memory of the UE (such as memory 306 as a wireless device 302 of the UE, as described herein).

[0039] Figure 2 An example architecture of a wireless communication system 200 according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. The following description is provided for an example wireless communication system 200 operating in conjunction with LTE system standards such as those provided by 3GPP technical specifications and / or 5G or NR system standards.

[0040] like Figure 2 As shown, the wireless communication system 200 includes UE 202 and UE 204 (but any number of UEs may be used). In this example, UE 202 and UE 204 are exemplified as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

[0041] UE 202 and UE 204 can be configured to be communicatively coupled to RAN 206. In an implementation, RAN 206 can be NG-RAN, E-UTRAN, etc. UE 202 and UE 204 utilize connections (or channels) with RAN 206 (shown as connection 208 and connection 210, respectively), where each connection includes a physical communication interface. RAN 206 may include one or more base stations (such as base station 212 and base station 214) implementing connection 208 and connection 210.

[0042] In this example, connection 208 and connection 210 are air interfaces used to implement this communication coupling and can conform to the RAT used by RAN 206, such as LTE and / or NR, for example.

[0043] In some implementations, UE 202 and UE 204 may also exchange communication data directly via sidelink interface 216. UE 204 is shown configured to access an access point (shown as AP 218) via connection 220. By way of example, connection 220 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, while AP 218 may include Wi-Fi. ® Router. In this example, AP 218 can connect to another network (such as the Internet) without using CN 224.

[0044] In the implementation, UE 202 and UE 204 may be configured to communicate with each other or with base station 212 and / or base station 214 via a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication technologies, such as but not limited to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0045] In some implementations, all or some of the base stations in base station 212 or base station 214 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network. Additionally, or in other implementations, base station 212 or base station 214 may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 222. In implementations where the wireless communication system 200 is an LTE system (e.g., when CN 224 is an EPC), interface 222 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC. In implementations where the wireless communication system 200 is an NR system (e.g., when CN 224 is a 5GC), interface 222 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC, between a base station 212 (e.g., a gNB) connected to the 5GC and an eNB, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC (e.g., CN 224).

[0046] RAN 206 is shown communicatively coupled to CN 224. CN 224 may include one or more network elements 226 configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE202 and UE 204) connected to CN 224 via RAN 206. Components of CN 224 may be implemented in a single physical device or a separate physical device, including components for reading and executing instructions from machine-readable or computer-readable media (e.g., non-transitory machine-readable storage media).

[0047] In the implementation scheme, CN 224 may be an EPC, and RAN 206 may be connected to CN 224 via S1 interface 228. In the implementation scheme, S1 interface 228 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface, which carries service data between base station 212 or base station 214 and the serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1-MME interface, which is the signaling interface between base station 212 or base station 214 and the mobility management entity (MME).

[0048] In this implementation, CN 224 may be a 5GC, and RAN 206 may be connected to CN 224 via NG interface 228. In this implementation, NG interface 228 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries service data between base station 212 or 214 and the User Plane Function (UPF); and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface, which is the signaling interface between base station 212 or 214 and the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0049] Generally, application server 230 may be an element that provides applications (such as packet-switched data services) that use Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources with CN 224. Application server 230 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (such as VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for UE 202 and UE 204 via CN 224. Application server 230 can communicate with CN 224 through IP communication interface 232.

[0050] Figure 3 A system 300 for performing signaling 334 between a wireless device 302 and a network device 318 according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. System 300 may be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. Wireless device 302 may be, for example, a UE of a wireless communication system. Network device 318 may be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or gNB) of a wireless communication system.

[0051] Wireless device 302 may include one or more processors 304. Processor 304 may execute instructions that cause various operations of wireless device 302 to be performed as described herein. Processor 304 may include one or more baseband processors, which may be implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), controller, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0052] Wireless device 302 may include memory 306. Memory 306 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 308, which may include, for example, instructions executed by processor 304. Instructions 308 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. Memory 306 may also store data used by processor 304 and results calculated by the processor.

[0053] Wireless device 302 may include one or more transceivers 310, which may include radio frequency (RF) transmitter circuitry and / or receiver circuitry, which use antenna 312 of wireless device 302 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 334) to and / or from wireless device 302 and other devices (e.g., network device 318) in accordance with a corresponding RAT.

[0054] Wireless device 302 may include one or more (e.g., one, two, four or more) antennas 312. In embodiments with multiple antennas 312, wireless device 302 can fully utilize the spatial diversity of such multiple antennas 312 to transmit and / or receive multiple different data streams on the same time-frequency resource. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting and receiving devices to implement this aspect). MIMO transmission by wireless device 302 can be achieved based on pre-decoding (or digital beamforming) applied at wireless device 302, which multiplexes data streams across antennas 312 according to known or assumed channel characteristics, such that each data stream is received with appropriate signal strength relative to the others and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of the receiver associated with that data stream). Some embodiments may use a single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) method (where all data streams are directed to a single receiver) and / or a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) method (where individual data streams may be directed to individual (different) receivers at different locations in the spatial domain).

[0055] In some implementations with multiple antennas, wireless device 302 can implement analog beamforming technology, whereby the phase of the signal transmitted by antenna 312 is relatively adjusted so that the (joint) transmission of antenna 312 can be directed (this is sometimes referred to as beam control).

[0056] Wireless device 302 may include one or more interfaces 314. Interfaces 314 can be used to provide input to or output to wireless device 302. For example, wireless device 302 as a UE may include interfaces 314, such as a microphone, speaker, touchscreen, buttons, etc., to allow users of the UE to input to and / or output to the UE. Other interfaces of such a UE may consist of transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry that allow communication between the UE and other devices (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 310 / antenna 312 described), and may be compatible with known protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi). ® ,Bluetooth ® (etc.) to perform the operation.

[0057] Wireless device 302 may include a decision-making module 316. The decision-making module 316 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the decision-making module 316 may be implemented as a processor, circuitry, and / or instructions 308 stored in memory 306 and executed by processor 304. In some examples, the decision-making module 316 may be integrated within processor 304 and / or transceiver 310. For example, the decision-making module 316 may be implemented by a combination of software components and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within processor 304 or transceiver 310 (e.g., executed by a DSP or general-purpose processor).

[0058] Decision-making module 316 can be used in various aspects of this disclosure, such as Figure 1A and Figure 1B All aspects.

[0059] Network device 318 may include one or more processors 320. Processor 320 is executable instructions to perform various operations of network device 318 as described herein. Processor 320 may include one or more baseband processors, which are implemented using, for example, a CPU, DSP, ASIC, controller, FPGA device, another hardware device, firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0060] Network device 318 may include memory 322. Memory 322 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 324, which may include, for example, instructions executed by processor 320. Instructions 324 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. Memory 322 may also store data used by processor 320 and results calculated by the processor.

[0061] Network device 318 may include one or more transceivers 326, which may include RF transmitter circuitry and / or receiver circuitry that uses antenna 328 of network device 318 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 334) to and / or from network device 318 and other devices (e.g., wireless device 302) in accordance with a corresponding RAT.

[0062] Network device 318 may include one or more (e.g., one, two, four or more) antennas 328. In embodiments having multiple antennas 328, network device 318 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beam control, etc., as described.

[0063] Network device 318 may include one or more interfaces 330. Interface 330 may be used to provide input to or output to network device 318. For example, network device 318 as a base station may include interface 330 consisting of transmitters, receivers and other circuitry (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 326 / antenna 328 described), which enables the base station to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or enables the base station to communicate with external networks, computers and databases, etc., for the purpose of operating, managing and maintaining the base station or other equipment operatively connected to the base station.

[0064] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components illustrated in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples illustrated herein. Similarly, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc., as described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples illustrated herein.

[0065] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the embodiments described above may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustrative and descriptive information, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In light of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be derived from practice with various embodiments.

[0066] Implementations and specific embodiments of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations embodied in machine-executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. The computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). The computer system may include hardware components, including specific logical parts for performing the operations; or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0067] It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific implementations. These implementations may be combined into a single system, partially integrated into other systems, split into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. Furthermore, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc., of one implementation may be used in one implementation. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc., are described only in one or more implementations, and it should be recognized that, unless expressly stated herein, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc., may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc., of another implementation.

[0068] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting 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 explained to users.

[0069] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement both the processes and apparatus described herein. Therefore, this embodiment should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and this description is not limited to the details given herein, but can be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for a user equipment (UE) to communicate with a New Radio (NR) wireless network in a standalone (SA) deployment, the method comprising: camping the UE on a first cell of the NR wireless network in the SA deployment, wherein the first cell is a serving cell; determining, at the UE, that a first bandwidth (BW) of the first cell is greater than or equal to a threshold BW value; determining, at the UE, whether a second cell is available based on one or more applications running on the UE, in response to the first BW of the first cell being greater than or equal to the threshold BW value and the UE not being configured by the NR wireless network for bandwidth part switching (BWPS), and based on one or more applications running on the UE, the second cell being in-band with the first cell and having a same priority as the first cell, and having a second BW that is less than the threshold BW value, wherein the second cell belongs to the NR wireless network in the SA deployment; when the second cell is not available, searching for a third cell having a next lower priority than the first cell, having a third BW that is less than the threshold BW value, and having a received power that is greater than or equal to a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold measured at the UE, wherein the third cell belongs to the NR wireless network in the SA deployment; and when the second cell is available, camping the UE on the second cell.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: when the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, checking user experience metrics corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; determining whether a NR downlink (DL) carrier aggregation (CA) combination is available in response to the user experience metrics satisfying predetermined criteria, and based on current DL data throughput; when the NR DL CA combination is available, maintaining the UE camped on the second cell or the third cell; and when the NR DL CA combination is not available, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE, and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW that is greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: when the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, checking user experience metrics corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; determining whether a NR uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) combination is available in response to the user experience metrics satisfying predetermined criteria, and based on current UL data throughput; when the NR UL CA combination is available, maintaining the UE camped on the second cell or the third cell; and when the NR UL CA combination is not available, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: when the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, checking user experience metrics corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; and in response to the user experience metrics not satisfying predetermined criteria, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: when the second cell and the third cell are not available: determining, at the UE, that the UE is experiencing a power constraint based on at least one of the UE being in a low power mode (LPM), the UE having a battery percentage below a battery power threshold, and the UE having a thermal constraint; in response to determining that the UE is experiencing the power constraint: determining that the UE is attempting a new radio voice (VoNR) call; and determining that a long term evolution (LTE) cell is available; when the UE is in the VoNR call and the LTE cell is available: performing a first local resource radio control (RRC) release at the UE; camping the UE on the LTE cell for a LTE voice (VoLTE) call; and in response to the VoLTE call ending, performing a second RRC release from the LTE cell and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: when the second cell and the third cell are not available: determining, at the UE, that the UE is not experiencing a power constraint based on at least one of the UE being in a low power mode (LPM), the UE having a battery percentage below a battery power threshold, and the UE having a thermal constraint; and in response to the UE not being experiencing the power constraint, scheduling background data activity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, at the UE, whether the second cell is available with the first cell in-band and having a same priority as the first cell and having the second BW less than the threshold BW value is based on information received from at least one of a location based fingerprint database (FDB), a system information block (SIB), and a previously known SA carrier aggregation (CA) combination.

8. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE) to communicate with a new radio (NR) wireless network in a standalone (SA) deployment, the apparatus comprising: a memory to store a threshold bandwidth (BW) value; and one or more processors configured to: camping the UE on a first cell of the NR wireless network in the SA deployment, wherein the first cell is a serving cell; determining, at the UE, that a first bandwidth, BW, of the first cell is greater than or equal to the threshold BW value; determining, at the UE, whether a second cell is available in response to the first BW of the first cell being greater than or equal to the threshold BW value and the UE not being configured by the NR wireless network for bandwidth part switching (BWPS), and based on one or more applications running on the UE, the second cell being in-band with the first cell and having a same priority as the first cell, and having a second BW that is less than the threshold BW value, wherein the second cell belongs to the NR wireless network in the SA deployment; when the second cell is not available, searching for a third cell having a next priority lower than the first cell, having a third BW that is less than the threshold BW value, and having a received power that is greater than or equal to a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold measured at the UE, wherein the third cell belongs to the NR wireless network in the SA deployment; and when the second cell is available, camping the UE on the second cell.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, the one or more processors further configured to: when the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, checking a user experience metric corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; in response to the user experience metric satisfying a predetermined criterion, and based on a current downlink (DL) data throughput, determining whether an NR DL carrier aggregation (CA) combination is available; when the NR DL CA combination is available, maintaining the UE camped on the second cell or the third cell; and when the NR DL CA combination is not available, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE, and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW that is greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, the one or more processors further configured to: when the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, checking a user experience metric corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; in response to the user experience metric satisfying a predetermined criterion, and based on a current uplink (UL) data throughput, determining whether an NR UL carrier aggregation (CA) combination is available; when the NR UL CA combination is available, maintaining the UE camped on the second cell or the third cell; and when the NR UL CA combination is not available, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE, and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW that is greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, the one or more processors are further configured to: check, while the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, user experience metrics corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; and in response to the user experience metrics not satisfying predetermined criteria, perform a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE and camp the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, the one or more processors are further configured to, when the second cell and the third cell are unavailable: determine, at the UE, that the UE is experiencing a power constraint based on at least one of: the UE being in a low power mode (LPM), the UE having a battery percentage below a battery power threshold, and the UE having a thermal constraint; in response to determining that the UE is experiencing the power constraint: determine that the UE is attempting a new radio voice (VoNR) call; and determine that a long term evolution (LTE) cell is available; while the UE is ongoing the VoNR call and the LTE cell is available: perform a first local resource radio control (RRC) release at the UE; camp the UE on the LTE cell for a voice over LTE (VoLTE) call; and in response to the VoLTE call ending, perform a second RRC release from the LTE cell and camp the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, the one or more processors are further configured to, when the second cell and the third cell are unavailable: determine, at the UE, that the UE is not experiencing a power constraint based on at least one of: the UE being in a low power mode (LPM), the UE having a battery percentage below a battery power threshold, and the UE having a thermal constraint; and in response to the UE not being experiencing the power constraint, schedule background data activity.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein determining, at the UE, whether the second cell is available in-band with the first cell and having a same priority as the first cell and having the second BW less than the threshold BW value is based on information received from at least one of a location based fingerprint database (FDB), a system information block (SIB), and a previously known SA carrier aggregation (CA) combination.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of a user equipment (UE) for communicating with a new radio (NR) wireless network in a standalone (SA) deployment, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions configured to instruct one or more processors to: ​ residing the UE on a first cell of the NR wireless network in the SA deployment, wherein the first cell is a serving cell; determining, at the UE, that a first bandwidth (BW) of the first cell is greater than or equal to a threshold BW value; determining, at the UE, whether a second cell is available in response to the first BW of the first cell being greater than or equal to the threshold BW value and the UE not being configured by the NR wireless network for bandwidth part switching (BWPS), and based on one or more applications running on the UE, the second cell being in-band with the first cell and having a same priority as the first cell, and having a second BW that is less than the threshold BW value, wherein the second cell belongs to the NR wireless network in the SA deployment; when the second cell is not available, searching for a third cell having a next priority lower than the first cell, having a third BW that is less than the threshold BW value, and having a received power that is greater than or equal to a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold measured at the UE, wherein the third cell belongs to the NR wireless network in the SA deployment; and when the second cell is available, residing the UE on the second cell.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to: when the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, checking user experience metrics corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; determining whether an NR downlink (DL) carrier aggregation (CA) combination is available in response to the user experience metrics satisfying predetermined criteria, and based on a current DL data throughput; when the NR DL CA combination is available, maintaining the UE camped on the second cell or the third cell; and when the NR DL CA combination is not available, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE, and residing the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW that is greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to: when the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, checking user experience metrics corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; determining whether an NR uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) combination is available in response to the user experience metrics satisfying predetermined criteria, and based on a current UL data throughput; when the NR UL CA combination is available, maintaining the UE camped on the second cell or the third cell; and when the NR UL CA combination is not available, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE, and residing the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW that is greater than or equal to the threshold BW value. when the NR UL CA combination is not available, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to: when the UE is camped on the second cell or the third cell, checking user experience metrics corresponding to one or more of jitter buffering, round trip time (RTT) latency, and packet loss percentage; and in response to the user experience metrics not satisfying predetermined criteria, performing a radio resource control (RRC) release at the UE and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to, when the second cell and the third cell are not available: determining, at the UE, that the UE is experiencing a power constraint based on at least one of the UE being in a low power mode (LPM), the UE having a battery percentage below a battery power threshold, and the UE having a thermal constraint; in response to determining that the UE is experiencing the power constraint: determining that the UE is attempting a new radio voice (VoNR) call; and determining that a long term evolution (LTE) cell is available; when the UE is in the VoNR call and the LTE cell is available: performing a first local resource radio control (RRC) release at the UE; camping the UE on the LTE cell for a LTE voice (VoLTE) call; and in response to the VoLTE call ending, performing a second RRC release from the LTE cell and camping the UE on an available SA cell having a corresponding BW greater than or equal to the threshold BW value.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to, when the second cell and the third cell are not available: determining, at the UE, that the UE is not experiencing a power constraint based on at least one of the UE being in a low power mode (LPM), the UE having a battery percentage below a battery power threshold, and the UE having a thermal constraint; and in response to the UE not being experiencing the power constraint, scheduling background data activity. ​

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