Processing of quality of experience configuration when secondary cell group deactivation

Abstract

The primary network node ("MN") is in a communication network comprising a secondary network node ("SN"). The MN and the SN are configured to provide dual connectivity for the communication device. The MN sends (1110) a message to the SN. The message includes a request for the SN to modify operation of a secondary cell group ("SCG") controlled by the SN. The MN determines (1120) configuration information based on the modification to the operation of the SCG. The MN sends (1130) an indication of the configuration information to the communication device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to wireless communication systems, and more specifically, to handling Quality of Experience ("QoE") configurations when a secondary cell group ("SCG") is deactivated. Background Technology

[0002] Figure 1 An example of a new radio ("NR") network (e.g., a fifth-generation ("5G") network) is shown, including a 5G core ("5GC") network 130, network nodes 120a to 120b (e.g., 5G base stations ("gNB")), and multiple communication devices 110 (also referred to as user equipment ("UE")). Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to some embodiments, a method is provided for operating a primary network node (“MN”) in a communication network including a secondary network node (“SN”). The MN and SN are configured to provide dual connectivity for a communication device. The method includes: sending a message to the SN including a request from the SN to modify the operation of a secondary cell group (“SCG”) controlled by the SN. The method further includes: determining configuration information based on the modification of the SCG's operation. The method further includes: sending an indication of the configuration information to the communication device.

[0004] According to other embodiments, a method is provided for operating a secondary network node (“SN”) in a communication network including a primary network node (“MN”). The MN and SN are configured to provide dual connectivity for communication devices. The method includes: receiving a message from the MN, the message including a request from the SN to modify the operation of a secondary cell group (“SCG”) controlled by the SN. The method further includes: determining configuration information based on the modification of the SCG's operation in response to receiving the message. The method further includes: modifying the operation of the SCG in response to receiving the message. The method further includes: sending an indication of the configuration information to the MN.

[0005] According to other embodiments, a method is provided for operating communication devices in a communication network including a primary network node (“MN”) and a secondary network node (“SN”), wherein the MN and SN provide dual connectivity for the communication devices. The method includes: receiving a message from the MN including an indication of modification to the operation of a secondary cell group (“SCG”) controlled by the SN and an indication of configuration information associated with reporting to the SN. The method further includes: sending a report based on the configuration information.

[0006] According to other embodiments, an MN, SN, communication device, computer program, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, host, or system is provided to perform the above methods.

[0007] Certain aspects of this disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide technical advantages. One advantage of some embodiments is that the QoE configuration in the UE can be reconfigured as part of the SCG deactivation process. In some embodiments, the QoE configuration reconfiguration can be performed without the additional delay of the SCG deactivation process. In some examples, this is beneficial to the UE because power consumption in the UE is reduced when the SCG is deactivated. In additional or alternative examples, it may be desirable to reconfigure the UE during SCG deactivation to avoid losing any SN-related QoE reports when deactivating the SCG for the UE. Attached Figure Description

[0008] The accompanying drawings illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of the inventive concept. These drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application. In the drawings:

[0009] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a fifth-generation (“5G”) network;

[0010] Figure 2 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of end-to-end signaling used to configure QoE measurements;

[0011] Figure 3 This is a signal flow graph showing an example of an RRC configuration and QoE measurement report;

[0012] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of dual connectivity combined with carrier aggregation in MR-DC;

[0013] Figure 5 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of an EN-DC architecture;

[0014] Figure 6 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of an NR-DC architecture;

[0015] Figures 7 to 9 This is a signal flow graph illustrating an example of QoE reconfiguration in response to SCG deactivation;

[0016] Figure 10 This is a signal flow graph illustrating an example of QoE reconfiguration during SCG deactivation according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation performed by the MN to perform QoE reconfiguration when the SCG is deactivated, according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation performed by the SN to perform QoE reconfiguration when the SCG is deactivated, according to some embodiments;

[0019] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation performed by a communication device, according to some embodiments, for performing QoE reconfiguration when SCG is deactivated;

[0020] Figure 14 This is a block diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments;

[0021] Figure 15 This is a block diagram of a user equipment according to some embodiments;

[0022] Figure 16 This is a block diagram of network nodes according to some embodiments;

[0023] Figure 17 This is a block diagram of a host according to some embodiments, the host may be Figure 14 An example of a host computer;

[0024] Figure 18 This is a block diagram of a virtualized environment according to some embodiments; and

[0025] Figure 19 A communication diagram is shown, illustrating a host communicating with a user equipment via a network node through a partial wireless connection, according to some embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0026] Some embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art, wherein examples of embodiments of the inventive concept are shown. However, the inventive concept can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be assumed by default to be present / used in another embodiment.

[0027] The Quality of Experience (“QoE”) framework is described below. QoE measurements (sometimes referred to as “application layer measurements”) have been specified for LTE and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (“UMTS”), and are being specified for NR in 3GPP Release 17. The purpose of application layer measurements is to measure the end-user experience when using certain applications. Currently, QoE measurements are supported for Streaming Services and Mobile Phone Services (“MTSI”) under the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem. For NR, at least Virtual Reality (“VR”) may be added to the list of services for which QoE measurements are specified and supported.

[0028] The standard QoE process is similar in NR, LTE, and UMTS, with the general principles as follows. Quality of Experience Measurement Collection (“QMC”) enables the configuration of application-layer measurements in the UE and the transmission of QoE measurement result files (often referred to as QoE reports) to the network via Radio Resource Control (“RRC”) signaling. The application-layer measurement configuration (also referred to as QoE measurement configuration or QoE configuration) received by the RAN from the OAM system or CN is encapsulated in a transparent container, which is forwarded to the UE in a downlink RRC message. Application-layer measurement reports (also referred to as QoE reports) received by the UE Access Layer (“AS”) or UE RRC layer from a higher layer (application layer) of the UE are encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message. The RAN then forwards the QoE reports to the Measurement Collector Entity (MCE).

[0029] Configuration data related to QoE measurements (often referred to as application layer measurements in standard specifications) is received by the gNB from the OAM and consists of the following: a service type indication, an indication of the area to be measured (represented as an area range), the IP address of the entity to which the collected measurement results (i.e., QoE reports) should be sent (often referred to as the MCE, spelled Measurement Collector Entity or Measurement Collection Entity, though this entity may sometimes also be referred to as the Tracking Collection Entity), and a set of instructions detailing what type of measurement should be performed and how to perform those measurements. These instructions are intended for use at the application layer within the UE and are placed in a “container” that the network entity that processes it (e.g., forwards it to the UE) and the UE access layer cannot interpret and do not attempt to read from this container.

[0030] Currently, the designated service types are MTSI and Streaming Service (DASH), and at least the service type VR will be added in 3GPP Release 17. The area range is defined based on the cell or network-related area. In UMTS, the area range is defined as a cell list, routing area list, or tracking area list. In LTE, the area range is defined as a cell list or tracking area list. In NR, the area range will be defined as a cell list or tracking area list.

[0031] There are two types of QoE (and specifically, QoE configuration): management-based QoE configuration and signaling-based QoE configuration. In both cases, the QoE configuration originates from the OAM system or some other management entity (e.g., handling customer satisfaction). All of these entities are referred to as the OAM system in this document (wherein, the OAM system also includes other entities). For management-based QoE (m-based QoE), the OAM system is typically interested in general QoE statistics from a specific area (which is configured as a regional range). The m-based QoE configuration is sent directly from the OAM system to the RAN nodes that control the cells within that regional range. Each RAN node then selects UEs within that regional range (and also meets any other relevant conditions, such as supporting relevant application / service types) and sends the m-based QoE configuration to these UEs.

[0032] For signaling-based QoE (s-based QoE), the OAM system is interested in collecting QoE measurements from a specific UE, for example, because a user of the UE has filed a complaint. The OAM system sends the s-based QoE configuration to the HSS (in EPS / LTE) or UDM (in 5GS / NR), which forwards the QoE configuration to the UE's current core network node (CN), such as the MME in EPS / LTE or the AMF in 5G / NR. The CN then forwards the s-based QoE configuration to the RAN node serving the relevant UE, and the RAN forwards it to the UE.

[0033] What is forwarded to the UE is a service type indication and a container with measurement instructions. The UE does not know whether the received QoE configuration is based on m or s. In legacy systems, the QoE framework is integrated with the tracking function, and the tracking ID is associated with each QoE configuration. In NR, the QoE function is logically separated from the tracking function, but the tracking signaling mechanism is still partially reused. In NR and LTE, a globally unique QoE reference (consisting of MCC+MNC+QMC ID, where the QMC ID is a 24-bit string) is associated with each QoE configuration. The QoE reference is included in a container with measurement instructions and is also sent to the RAN (i.e., the gNB in ​​NR). For communication between the gNB and the UE, the QoE reference is replaced by a shorter identifier (represented as measConfigAppLayerId), which is locally unique within the UE (i.e., there is a one-to-one mapping between measConfigAppLayerId and the QoE reference for each QoE configuration provided to the UE). The measConfigAppLayerId is stored in the UE access layer and is also forwarded in AT commands (which are the types of instructions used in communication between the UE's modem portion and the UE's application layer) along with a service type indication and a container with measurement instructions.

[0034] Reports containing the collected QoE measurements (QoE reports) are sent from the UE application layer to the UE access layer, which forwards them to the RAN, which then forwards them to the MCE. These QoE measurements are placed in a "container" that is not interpretable by either the UE access layer or the RAN. QoE reports can be configured to be sent periodically or only at the end of the application session. Furthermore, the RAN can instruct the UE to suspend QoE reporting (e.g., when the cell / gNB is overloaded).

[0035] The RAN is unaware of when an application session with an associated QoE measurement session is in progress, and the UE access layer does not automatically recognize this. To mitigate this, a session start / stop indication has been introduced, which is sent from the application layer in the UE to the UE AS and from the UE AS to the RAN. A session end indication is sent when the application session and the associated QoE measurement session terminate.

[0036] The RAN can decide to release the QoE configuration in the UE at any time, as an implementation-based decision. Typically, this is done when the UE has moved out of the area (often referred to as the area range) configured for QoE measurement.

[0037] One opportunity offered by traditional solutions is the ability to maintain QoE measurements for the entire session, even during handover scenarios. It is also discussed that the UE can continue to perform QoE measurements for the ongoing application session until the application session ends, even if the UE moves out of the configured area range during that period.

[0038] The following describes RAN-visible QoE (“RVQoE”).

[0039] An extension of the QoE framework already implemented in 3GPP Release 17 is the concept of RAN-Visible QoE (RVQoE). Regular QoE reports are intended for use by the MCE, an entity outside the RAN (e.g., part of the OAM system), and the RAN cannot read these reports (at least not according to the specification, although gNB / eNB implementations are not prevented from doing so). In contrast, reported RVQoE metrics are intended for use by the RAN and are transmitted to the RAN in a format understood by the RAN. RVQoE metrics are derived from regular QoE metrics, collected by the UE application layer, compiled into reports, and transmitted to the RAN, allowing the RAN to perform various types of optimizations using the reports. As an example, when the RAN receives an RVQoE report during an ongoing application session, the RAN can perform adaptive actions to influence the QoE of the relevant application session while the application session is in progress, such as changing various parameters related to UE scheduling and data flows related to the application session.

[0040] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates the end-to-end signaling used to configure QoE measurements. QoE measurements have been specified for LTE and UMTS, and are being specified for NR. Application layer measurements aim to measure the end-user experience when using certain applications. Currently, QoE measurements are supported for streaming services and MTSI (Mobile Phone Services for IMS) services.

[0041] Measurements can be initiated to the RAN in a management-based manner, i.e., from the O&M node in a general manner (e.g., for a set of UEs that can be selected by the RAN), or they can be initiated in a signaling-based manner, i.e., from the CN (based on a request from the O&M system) to the RAN (e.g., for a single specific UE). The measurement configuration includes the measurement details, which are encapsulated in a container that is transparent to the RAN.

[0042] When a measurement is initiated via the core network, the measurement begins for a specific UE. In the LTE case, a “Track Start” S1AP message is used, which carries details about the measurement configuration that the application should collect (in a “container of application layer measurement configurations”, transparent to the RAN) and details about the trace collection entity to which the measurement results should be sent.

[0043] Notifications of started and stopped application sessions with associated QoE measurement configurations have been introduced. These notifications are transmitted from the application layer in the UE to the access layer (i.e., the radio layer in the UE) and then forwarded to the network. This allows the network (at least the RAN) to know when QoE measurements for the application session are in progress. When the RAN stops the measurement is an implementation decision. Typically, this is done when the UE has moved out of the area (also known as the area range) for the measurement configuration. However, this strategy is questioned because QoE data representing the complete application session is expected.

[0044] One opportunity offered by traditional solutions is the ability to maintain QoE measurements for the entire application session, even during switching scenarios, so that reported QoE measurement data covers the entire application session.

[0045] The following describes the configuration and reporting of QoE and RVQoE measurements in RRC. The configuration of QoE and RVQoE measurements is accomplished by the RRC message RRCReconfiguration, and the reporting is based on... Figure 3 The signal stream shown is sent in the RRC message MeasurementReportAppLayer.

[0046] Figure 3 An example of an RRC configuration and QoE measurement report is shown. An RRCReconfiguration message can be sent from the gNB to the communicating UE. The RRCReconfiguration message may include the information element AppLayerMeasConfig, which includes a configuration container for configuring regular QoE or RRC parameters for configuring RVQoE. The UE may send an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the gNB upon acknowledging receipt of the RRCReconfiguration message. After a period of time, the UE may send a MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the gNB. The MeasurementReportAppLayer message may include a QoE measurement result file with indications of the QoE measurements.

[0047] In 3GPP Release 12, LTE Feature Dual Connectivity (“DC”) was introduced to enable a UE to connect in two cell groups, each controlled by an LTE access node eNB (labeled a primary eNB (MeNB) and a secondary eNB (SeNB)). The UE still only has one RRC connection with the network. The DC solution has evolved since then in 3GPP and is now specified for both NR and LTE. Multi-connectivity (“MC”) is the case when more than two nodes are involved. With the introduction of 5G, the term MR-DC (Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity, see 3GPP TS 37.340) is defined as a general term encompassing all dual connectivity options including at least one NR access node. Using the MR-DC general terminology, the UE connects in a primary cell group (“MCG”) controlled by the primary node (“MN”) and a secondary cell group (“SCG”) controlled by the secondary node (“SN”).

[0048] Furthermore, in MR-DC, when dual connectivity is configured for a UE, carrier aggregation can also be used within each of the two cell groups, MCG and SCG. In this case, within the primary cell group MCG controlled by the MN, the UE can use one PCell and one or more SCells. And within the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN, the UE can use one primary SCell (PSCell, also referred to as the primary SCG cell in NR) and one or more SCells. Figure 4 This combination is illustrated in the diagram. In NR, the primary cell in a primary or secondary cell group is sometimes also referred to as a special cell (“SpCell”). Therefore, the SpCell in the MCG is the PCCell, and the SpCell in the SCG is the PSCell.

[0049] There are different ways to deploy a 5G network, depending on whether it interoperates with LTE (also known as E-UTRA) and the evolved packet core (“EPC”). In principle, NR and LTE can be deployed without any interconnection, represented by NR standalone (SA) operation, also known as Option 2. That is, the gNB in ​​NR can connect to the 5G core network (“5GC”), while the eNB in ​​LTE can connect to the EPC, with no interconnection between the two, also known as Option 1.

[0050] On the other hand, the first supported version of NR used dual connectivity, referred to as EN-DC (E-UTRAN-NR dual connectivity), also known as Option 3, such as Figure 5 As shown. In this deployment, dual connectivity is applied between NR and LTE, where the UE communicates via the LTE radio interface (...). Figure 5The LTE Uu in the diagram connects to the LTE access node and to the NR access node via the NR radio interface (NR Uu in the diagram). Furthermore, in EN-DC, the LTE access node acts as the master node controlling the primary cell group MCG (referred to as the primary eNB (MeNB) in this case), and the NR access node acts as the secondary node controlling the secondary cell group SCG (sometimes also referred to as the secondary gNB (SgNB) in this case). The SgNB may not have a control plane connection to the core network (“EPC”), which is instead provided by the MeNB and, in this case, the NR. This is also referred to as “non-standalone NR” ​​or simply “NSANR”. Note that in this case, the functionality of the NR cell is limited, and the UE in connection mode is used as an enhancer and / or diversity tributary, but UEs with RRC_IDLE cannot camp on these NR cells.

[0051] With the introduction of 5GC, other options can also be valid. As mentioned above, Option 2 supports standalone NR deployment, where the gNB connects to the 5GC. Similarly, LTE can also connect to the 5GC using Option 5 (also known as eLTE, E-UTRA / 5GC, or LTE / 5GC, and the node can be called an ng-eNB). In these cases, both NR and LTE are considered part of the NG-RAN (and both the ng-eNB and gNB can be referred to as NG-RAN nodes).

[0052] It is worth noting that other variants of dual connectivity between LTE and NR exist, which have been standardized as part of the NG-RAN for 5GC connectivity. Under the MR-DC umbrella, the following exist:

[0053] EN-DC (Option 3): LTE is the primary node, and NR is the secondary node (using EPC CN, such as...). Figure 5 (as shown)

[0054] NE-DC (Option 4): NR is the primary node, while LTE is the secondary node (using 5GCN).

[0055] NGEN-DC (Option 7): LTE is the primary node, and NR is the secondary node (using 5GCN); and

[0056] NR-DC (Variation of Option 2): Dual connectivity, where both the master node MN controlling the MCG and the slave node SN controlling the SCG are NR (using 5GCN, such as...). Figure 6 As shown). In this deployment, dual connectivity is applied between the NR MN and NR SN, where the UE communicates via a radio interface (as shown). Figure 6The NR Uu) is connected to the NR MN and NR SN. Furthermore, in the NR-DC, the MN controls the MCG, and the SN controls the SCG. The SN may not be connected to the control plane of the 5GC; instead, the control plane connection is provided to the MN, and in this case...

[0057] 3GPP Release 17 configures, supports, and specifies an SCG activation / deactivation mechanism to ensure reasonable UE battery consumption while rapidly using SCG during (NG) EN-DC or NR-DC configuration. The SN can also be activated to improve throughput and user experience when the application session's data stream is carried by the MN, and deactivated when radio resources need to be optimized for energy efficiency. The MN can configure SCG to be activated or deactivated via PSCell addition, PSCell change, RRC recovery, or handover. If the UE has uplink user data to transmit, the MN, SN, and UE can request SCG activation.

[0058] During the “SCG deactivation state” (or sometimes referred to as when “SCG is deactivated”, “deactivated PSCell” state, or SCG power-saving operation mode), 3GPP RAN2 has agreed that: RRC configuration can select the SCG activation state; there are no PDCCH / PDSCH / PUSCH Tx / Rx on PSCell; all SCells are deactivated; SCG reconfiguration via MCG is supported; RRM and PSCell mobility are supported; both RACH and RACH-less SCG activation are supported; the UE keeps the time alignment timer running; the UE continues BFD / RLM (if configured); and the SCG activation indicator can indicate the TCI state.

[0059] Several challenges exist. In some procedures concerning QoE interconnection with a deactivated SCG, the UE indicates the data availability of the Data Resource Block (“DRB”) when requesting SCG activation. In some examples, whether SRB5 is mapped to the MN or QoE reporting is suspended when the SCG is deactivated depends on the network implementation. In additional or alternative examples, the UE does not request SCG activation solely for the purpose of QoE reporting via SRB5.

[0060] Figures 7 to 9 An example of QoE reconfiguration in response to SCG deactivation is shown.

[0061] In additional or alternative examples, the process includes the UE sending a QoE / RVQoE report via the MN. When the MN sends a request to the SN to deactivate the SCG, the SN may need to reconfigure the UE to send QoE reports via the MN instead. Figure 7An example of this process is shown. The MN can send an S-Node Modification Request message to the SN, including an SCG deactivation request. The SN can delay or reject the deactivation request. The SN can also reconfigure the UE on SRB3 to send an SN QoE report to the MN on SRB4 instead of sending an SN QoE report to the SN on SRB5.

[0062] Figure 8 It shows the relationship with Figure 7 A similar process can be performed, except that the MN can be queried before the UE reconfiguration process to see if it can receive SN-related QoE reports. This option is not optimal because it can delay the deactivation of the SCG.

[0063] Figure 9 It shows the relationship with Figures 7 to 8 A similar process exists, except that the SN can alternatively delay the UE reconfiguration and trigger the SN modification process later, where the SN requests the MN to reconfigure the UE to send a QoE report. Alternatively, the MN can be queried before this process whether it can receive the SN-related QoE report. This option is not optimal because it also delays the UE reconfiguration, and the UE behavior related to processing the QoE report remains unclear during this time.

[0064] Certain aspects of this disclosure and its embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Various embodiments herein describe a process for reconfiguring QoE configuration as part of the SCG deactivation process. The SN may respond to an SCG deactivation request from the MN with an answer and a list of QoE configurations to be reconfigured, the SN requesting the MN to send this list to the UE. QoE configuration reconfiguration may include changing the QoE reporting SRB / tribute / path / SCG from the SN to the MN (e.g., starting to send QoE reports on SRB4 instead of SRB5). The MN may include an SN reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) message in the RRCReconfiguration information sent to the UE to deactivate the SCG. Some embodiments herein also include different variations.

[0065] In the Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration of the new radio (“NR”), many field (i.e., parameter) names or information element (“IE”) names are referred to as either names with a suffix indicating a 3GPP (“3GPP”) standard version (e.g., “-r17” indicates 3GPP version 17) or the same name without a suffix. The version with the suffix is ​​then used in the ASN.1 code, while the version without the suffix is ​​used in other text within the specification. In this document, when applicable (e.g., when two versions of a field name exist in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.2.0), these two version names are used interchangeably. For example, the names “AppLayerMeasConfig” and “AppLayerMeasConfig-r17” refer to the same IE.

[0066] Radio access network (“RAN”) nodes can be gNB, eNB, en-gNB, next-generation (“ng”)-eNB, gNB-Central Unit (“CU”), gNB-CU-Control Plane (“CP”), gNB-CU-User Plane (“UP”), eNB-CU, eNB-CU-Control Plane (“CP”), eNB-CU-UP, Integrated Access and Backhaul (“IAB”) nodes, IAB-Donor Distributed Unit (“DU”), IAB-Donor-CU, IAB-DU, IAB-Mobile Terminal (“MT”), Open RAN (“O”)-CU, O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, O-DU, O-RU, O-eNB, Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (“Non-RT RIC”), Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (“RT-RIC”).

[0067] In some embodiments, the terms "application layer measurement configuration," "application measurement configuration," "QoE measurement configuration," "QoE configuration," "QoE measurement and reporting configuration," and "QMC configuration" are used interchangeably. However, note that "QMC configuration file" is not an equivalent term, but refers to a portion of the QoE configuration that consists of an XML file containing instructions, etc., for the QoE metrics to be collected.

[0068] In additional or alternative embodiments, the innovation applies to both signaling-based QoE measurements and management-based QoE measurements (but may also be optionally limited to only one of them).

[0069] In additional or alternative embodiments, the terms "QoE report" and "QoE measurement report" are used interchangeably. Similarly, the terms "RAN visible QoE report," "RAN visible QoE measurement report," "RVQoE report," and "RVQoE measurement report" are used interchangeably.

[0070] In additional or alternative embodiments, the terms "QoE configuration" and "QoE measurement configuration" are used interchangeably. Similarly, the terms "RVQoE configuration" and "RVQoE measurement configuration" are used interchangeably.

[0071] In additional or alternative embodiments, the terms “access layer” and “radio layer” are used interchangeably when referring to the UE.

[0072] Some of the embodiments described herein also apply to QoE and RAN-visible QoE measurement and reporting, meaning that, among other things, considerations for QoE configuration, QoE measurement, and QoE reporting also apply to RVQoE configuration, RVQoE measurement, and RVQoE reporting.

[0073] Some embodiments in this article are presented as examples of UEs in dual connectivity, but they can also be applied to radio access technologies where the UE is served by more than two branches.

[0074] Some embodiments described herein are applicable to NR and future RATs such as 6G, where IAB-MT serves as the parent backhaul link termination function and IAB-DU serves as the access service provision function for the relay node.

[0075] In additional or alternative embodiments, “sending a report to a node” may or may not mean that the node is a consumer, i.e., the final destination of the report.

[0076] In additional or alternative embodiments, the terms "node" and "network node" may be used interchangeably herein.

[0077] In additional or alternative embodiments, a transmission to the MN or a transmission to the SN refers to the use of a carrier in the MCG and a carrier in the SCG, respectively. This also applies to transmissions from the MN and the SN to the UE, respectively.

[0078] In this article, the application layer in UE is also referred to as "UE application layer" or simply "application layer".

[0079] Most (or even all) of the actions described in this article that are performed at the application layer are executed by the application residing in and running within the UE application layer. However, by convention, this article typically describes the application layer as the actor, i.e., the application layer that performs the actions.

[0080] The terms “QoE configuration,” “QoE parameters,” “QoE information,” and “QoE configuration information” are used interchangeably. Their contents are defined in section 2.7.1.2 and may optionally be defined as any additional information related to QoE measurements. The network, UE AS, and UE application layer may store their respective parts.

[0081] The entity that performs QoE measurements and other actions related to QoE configuration (e.g., receiving QoE information from the UE AS and / or sending QoE information to the UE AS) is the application. Applications reside at the application layer within the UE, so it is also correct to say that the application layer performs these actions. When describing innovations, the entity performing these various actions is sometimes referred to as the application layer, and sometimes simply as the application.

[0082] The terms “application layer measurement configuration”, “application measurement configuration”, “RVQoE measurement configuration”, “RVQoE configuration”, “RVQoE measurement and reporting configuration”, and “QMC configuration” are used interchangeably.

[0083] Although the innovations are described in terms of the interaction between the UE AS and the UE application layer when processing / storing QoE information, they can also be applied to RVQoE information.

[0084] All references to the application layer refer to the application layer of the UE.

[0085] The term “service” is often used as an abbreviation for “service type”, so unless otherwise explicitly stated, “service” and “service type” can be considered interchangeable.

[0086] The innovations presented in this paper apply to both signaling-based QoE / RVQoE measurement and management-based QoE / RVQoE measurement (but may also be optionally made applicable only to one of them).

[0087] The creator of the QoE configuration (excluding additions made by the RAN, such as instructions on whether the UE should send a session start / stop indication) provides an XML file containing the configuration (e.g., instructions on the QoE metrics to be collected and reported) for the QoE measurements to be performed and reported. This XML file is referred to herein by various terms, including at least "QMC profile", "QoE configuration container", and "QoE profile".

[0088] The functions in the UE that 3GPP has named the Access Stratum (where the corresponding Access Stratum functions exist in the network) are referred to in various ways in this document, including “Access Stratum”, “AS”, “UE Access Stratum”, “UE AS”, “Access Stratum layer”, “AS layer”, “UE Access Stratum”, and “UE AS layer”.

[0089] The embodiments described in this article are primarily focused on QoE configuration and QoE reporting, but they are equally applicable to RVQoE configuration and RVQoE reporting.

[0090] The examples are described for the deactivation and activation of SCG, but the same solution can also be used for other types of reconfiguration processes.

[0091] The following describes the mechanisms related to QoE configuration reconfiguration during the SCG deactivation process. UE capability signaling can be defined to indicate to the network which features the UE can support as described herein. UE capabilities can be associated with the UE access layer, QoE measurement collection (“QMC”), and UE application layer.

[0092] In some embodiments, QoE configuration reconfiguration is performed as part of the SCG deactivation process. The SN responds to an SCG deactivation request from the MN with an answer and a list of QoE configurations to be reconfigured, requesting the MN to send the list to the UE. QoE configuration reconfiguration may include changing the reporting SRB / branch / path / SCG of QoE reports from the SN to the MN (e.g., starting to send QoE reports on SRB4 instead of SRB5). The MN may include an SN reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) message in the RRCReconfiguration information sent to the UE to deactivate the SCG. In some examples, reconfiguration may be associated with transferring "ownership" of one or more QoE / RVQoE configurations from the SN to the MN (e.g., where reporting has already been transferred from the UE to the MN via SRB4).

[0093] Figure 10 An example of QoE reconfiguration during SCG deactivation is shown, where explicit reconfiguration of SN QoE is sent to the UE. This example is further described in the following embodiments.

[0094] In some embodiments, the SN receives a request to deactivate the SCG from the MN. This request may, for example, be included in an S-node modification request, an S-node addition request, or another message. In some examples, the request from the MN may be omitted if the SN triggers SCG deactivation. In additional or alternative examples, the request from the MN may include a request for any other reconfiguration procedure. In additional or alternative examples, the request message from the MN may include one or more indications that the SN "owns" and is willing, for example, to receive future QoE reports and / or future RVQoE reports on SRB4 when deactivating the SCG, and optionally to forward QoE reports to the MCE. This may optionally only relate to the QoE / RVQoE configuration that the UE is currently configured to, for example, send QoE / RVQoE reports to the SN on SRB5. Note that the MN knows from previous XnAP signaling which QoE / RVQoE configurations the SN has already sent to the UE. In this document, the expression "SN owns the configuration" refers to both a situation where the SN has already sent the QoE / RVQoE configuration to the UE (directly or indirectly via the MN), and a situation where the SN previously performed this operation and one or more SN changes have occurred since then. In both cases, the current SN owns the configuration. In some examples, the request may include an indication of all configurations that the SN "owns".

[0095] In an additional or alternative embodiment, the SN sends a response to the MN (e.g., an S-node modification request response). The response message may include reconfiguration of the QoE configuration and / or RVQoE configuration. Reconfiguration of the QoE configuration and / or RVQoE configuration may, for example, be included in CG-Config within the S-node modification request response message.

[0096] In some examples, the reconfiguration of the QoE / RVQoE configuration included by the SN in the S-node modification request response message is merely a reconfiguration of the QoE / RVQoE configuration that the MN has indicated its willingness to receive future QoE / RVQoE reports and optionally its willingness to forward QoE reports to the MCE.

[0097] In additional or alternative examples, one or more of the reconfigurations of the QoE / RVQoE configuration included in the S-node Modify Request Response XnAP message by the SN may include: releasing the relevant QoE / RVQoE configuration (e.g., for a QoE / RVQoE configuration for which the MN has not indicated a willingness to receive future QoE / RVQoE reports) and optionally forwarding the QoE report to the MCE.

[0098] In an additional or alternative example, if the SN triggers SCG deactivation, the SN can send an S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUIRED message to the MN, containing the desired SCG deactivation. This message may also include, for example, a reconfiguration of the QoE configuration included in the CG-Config within the S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUIRED message.

[0099] In all the examples above, QoE configuration-related information may include or be accompanied by information about the MCE to which the QoE report associated with the QoE configuration should be sent (e.g., MCE IP address, MCE identifier, or MCE URL).

[0100] In additional or alternative embodiments, when the MN receives a reconfiguration (or related information) of the QoE configuration during any of the above operations, for example, if the MN does not wish to receive QoE reports associated with the QoE configuration, the MN may optionally choose to release the relevant QoE configuration in the UE, or choose to request the SN to release the relevant QoE configuration in the UE. The MN may perform this release using an RRC message to the UE (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message) or by instructing the SN to release the QoE configuration. As another option, the MN may instruct the UE or request the SN to instruct the UE to store any generated QoE configurations associated with the relevant QoE configuration until the SN is reactivated, so that the UE can then send the stored QoE reports to the SN.

[0101] In some embodiments related to SCG deactivation initiated by the SN, the SN includes the reconfiguration of the QoE / RVQoE configuration in the required S-Node Modification XnAP message sent to the MN. In some variations of these embodiments, the MN then performs all or a subset of the indicated reconfiguration of the QoE / RVQoE configuration in the UE, and as another option, the MN may (in the UE) release one or more of the QoE / RVQoE configurations that the SN has already indicated the reconfiguration of in the required S-Node Modification XnAP message (e.g., the MN does not accept QoE / RVQoE configurations from its received reports (i.e., QoE reports and / or RVQoE reports)). In some other variations, the MN may then indicate in the S-Node Modification Confirmation XnAP message sent to the SN which configurations the MN has performed in the reconfiguration of the QoE / RVQoE configuration indicated in the required S-Node Modification XnAP message, and / or optionally indicate which configurations the MN has released in the UE in the QoE / RVQoE configuration indicated in the required S-Node Modification XnAP message for reconfiguration.

[0102] In all the above embodiments / options where MN or SN releases the QoE / RVQoE configuration, alternatively, MN or SN may optionally suspend the QoE report (and optionally release the RVQoE configuration) so that if SCG is reactivated / when SCG is reactivated, the QoE report may optionally be resumed later (and the RVQoE measurement may be reconfigured).

[0103] The following describes an embodiment from the UE's perspective. In some embodiments, the UE receives a message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration) from the MN, which includes the deactivation of the SCG in the MN portion of the RRCReconfiguration message and the reconfiguration of the SN QoE measurement as part of the SN RRCReconfiguration message included within the MN RRCReconfiguration message. The reconfiguration of the QoE configuration may include changing the reporting SRB / branch / path / SCG of the QoE report from the SN to the MN (e.g., starting to send QoE reports on SRB4 instead of SRB5) or transferring "ownership" of the QoE / RVQoE configuration, as defined above. In different cases, the message from the MN may include the activation of the SCG in the MN portion of the RRCReconfiguration message and the reconfiguration of the SN QoE measurement in the SN portion of the RRCReconfiguration message.

[0104] In additional or alternative embodiments, the UE applies configuration upon request. In additional or alternative embodiments, the UE sends a response message (e.g., RRCReconfigurationComplete) to the MN, which also includes an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the SN.

[0105] The following describes the embodiments from the perspective of the MN. In some embodiments, the MN is at least partially aware of the parameters included in the QoE configuration prepared / assembled by the secondary node SN, and / or the parameters included in the RVQoE configuration prepared / assembled by the SN or by the predecessor of the current SN when performing the SN role (e.g., the previous SN).

[0106] In some examples, at least one of the following conditions is met: 1) the reporting path for QoE measurements is set up such that MN represents SN and has received (or can receive, or is receiving) QoE reports; 2) the reporting path for RVQoE measurements is set up such that MN represents SN and has received (or can receive, or is receiving) RVQoE reports; 3) the UE associated with SCG deactivation is configured to use SRB4 (to MN) to send QoE reports related to a QoE configuration prepared by SN or a QoE configuration selected by SN; or 4) the UE associated with SCG deactivation is configured to use SRB4 (to MN) to send RVQoE reports related to: an RVQoE configuration prepared by SN; an RVQoE configuration selected by SN; an RVQoE configuration that SN has notified MN of its interest in receiving (additionally) RVQoE reports; or an RVQoE configuration that SN has indicated to MN its preference for RVQoE configuration parameters.

[0107] In the additional or alternative examples, perform a change to "Ownership" on the QoE / RVQoE configuration.

[0108] In additional or alternative embodiments, when deactivating the SCG, the network node (typically the MN, but may be the SN) sends an explicit instruction / command to the UE involving at least one of the following:

[0109] - Actions affecting QoE / RVQoE configuration during SN preparation / assembly

[0110] Non-restricted examples of the o action can be: deactivate, suspend, release.

[0111] The granularity can be: for each individual QoE / RVQoE configuration, for all QoE configurations but not for RVQoE configurations, for all RVQoE configurations but not for QoE configurations, or for all QoE and RVQoE configurations.

[0112] - Actions affecting the reporting of QoE / RVQoE measurements related to QoE / RVQoE configuration during SN preparation / assembly.

[0113] Non-limiting examples of o actions include: pausing QoE / RVQoE reporting, buffering incomplete reports (in the UE AS or UE application layer), releasing incomplete reports, and switching to SRB4 to send incomplete reports.

[0114] - This affects the reporting of QoE / RVQoE measurements related to the SN preparing / assembling QoE / RVQoE configuration for the UE to send QoE / RVQoE to the MN on SRB4.

[0115] Non-limiting examples of o actions include: pausing QoE / RVQoE reporting, buffering incomplete reports (in the UE AS or UE application layer), and releasing incomplete reports.

[0116] - The reporting of QoE / RVQoE measurements related to the MN preparation / assembly of QoE / RVQoE configuration for the UE to send QoE / RVQoE to the SN on SRB5.

[0117] Non-limiting examples of o actions include: pausing QoE / RVQoE reporting, buffering incomplete reports (in the UE AS or UE application layer), and releasing incomplete reports.

[0118] - Actions that affect the collection of QoE / RVQoE measurements related to one of the following:

[0119] oSN Preparation / Assembly of QoE / RVQoE Configuration

[0120] The oUE is configured to send QoE / RVQoE measurements to the MN's SN preparation / assembly QoE / RVQoE configuration on SRB4.

[0121] The oUE is configured to send QoE / RVQoE measurements to the SN's MN preparation / assembly QoE / RVQoE configuration on SRB5.

[0122] - Actions that affect the alignment / correlation between radio-related measurements and one of the following:

[0123] oQoE / RVQoE measurements related to QoE / RVQoE configuration in SN preparation / assembly

[0124] o and UE are configured to send QoE / RVQoE measurements to MN on SRB4. SN prepares / assembles QoE / RVQoE configuration related to the QoE / RVQoE measurements.

[0125] o and UE are configured to send QoE / RVQoE measurements to SN on SRB5. MN prepares / assembles QoE / RVQoE configuration related to QoE / RVQoE measurements.

[0126] - Actions can include: terminating alignment / correlation, pausing alignment / correlation, and collecting pending QoE / RVQoE reports.

[0127] In additional or alternative embodiments, when SCG deactivation is performed (or will be performed, or has already been performed), the network node (typically the MN, but could be the SN) does not send any explicit instructions / commands to the UE to process the QoE / RVQoE configuration prepared / assembled by the SN and / or associated QoE / RVQoE reports. Instead, the SCG deactivation process (e.g., in the TS 38.331 RRC specification) is extended to include (or point to) at least one of the following actions and / or behaviors:

[0128] - This affects actions that have already instructed the UE access layer (AS) to receive one or more QoE / RVQoE configurations from the SN on SRB3.

[0129] Non-restricted examples of the o action can be: deactivate, suspend, release.

[0130] The oQoE / RVQoE configuration is either SN-prepared or MN-prepared.

[0131] - This affects the reporting of QoE / RVQoE measurements that have already instructed the UE access layer to send to the SN on SRB5.

[0132] o QoE / RVQoE reports related to QoE / RVQoE configurations prepared by SN or MN.

[0133] Non-limiting examples of o actions include: pausing QoE / RVQoE reporting, buffering incomplete reports (in the UE AS or UE application layer), releasing / discarding incomplete reports, and autonomously switching to SRB4 to send incomplete reports.

[0134] - Determine a timestamp that the UE AS or UE application layer can use to supplement (or insert) the QoE / RVQoE report to mark the time when the application's session transmission has changed from Type 1 transmission using SCG to Type 2 transmission without SCG. Non-limiting examples of transmission type changes include: from "Dual Connectivity" to "Single Connectivity", from "NR-DC" to "NR", from "MN+SN" to "MN Only", from "MCG+SCG" to "MCG Only", from "SCG" to "MCG", and from "SCG Activated" to "SCG Deactivated".

[0135] - Any of the aforementioned actions is limited to QoE configurations (i.e., excluding RVQoE configurations).

[0136] - Any of the aforementioned actions is limited to RVQoE configurations (i.e., excluding QoE configurations).

[0137] - Any of the aforementioned actions is limited to QoE reporting (i.e., excluding RVQoE reporting).

[0138] - Any of the aforementioned actions is limited to RVQoE reporting (i.e., excluding QoE reporting).

[0139] - An instruction / directive to make the UE indicate the time for SCG deactivation as part of the QoE / RVQoE report.

[0140] - Enables the UE to indicate that at least one SCG deactivation occurs when a QoE / RVQoE measurement associated with the corresponding QoE / RVQoE report is collected.

[0141] In additional or alternative embodiments, when the SCG is deactivated, the MN may send explicit or implicit instructions to the SN related to the processing of the QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration and associated reports configured by the SN, for example:

[0142] -QoE Reference

[0143] -QoE measurement type

[0144] - The state of the application's session (e.g., session state).

[0145] -measConfigAppLayerId

[0146] - QoE and RVQoE measurements for all SN configurations (for each QoE / RVQoE configuration, or for all QoE / RVQoE configurations, or for any QoE / RVQoE configuration)

[0147] o At least one of the following actions: deactivate, suspend, modify, release

[0148] - QoE measurement for SN configuration, regardless of RVQoE measurement for SN configuration (for each QoE configuration, for all QoE configurations, or for any QoE configuration).

[0149] o At least one of the following actions: deactivate, suspend, modify, release

[0150] o indicates whether the QoE measurement can be transmitted to MN or will continue to be reported to MN.

[0151] - RVQoE measurement for SN configuration, regardless of the QoE measurement for SN configuration (for each RVQoE configuration, for all RVQoE configurations, or for any RVQoE configuration).

[0152] o At least one of the following actions: deactivate, suspend, modify, release

[0153] o indicates whether the RVQoE measurement can be transmitted to MN or will continue to be transmitted via MN.

[0154] Using the same RVQoE configuration

[0155] Use different RVQoE configuration parameters (e.g., based on different reporting periods, and / or use event-related configurations not previously included, and / or modify previously configured event-related configurations, and / or use trigger conditions for RVQoE reporting not previously included, and / or modify previously configured trigger conditions for RVQoE reporting).

[0156] o indicates that the RVQoE measurement cannot be transmitted to MN or will not continue to be transmitted to MN.

[0157] o indicates that the SN will reconfigure the UE so that RVQoE measurements can be transmitted to the MN or will continue to be transmitted to the MN.

[0158] o indicates that MN will reconfigure UE so that RVQoE measurements can be transmitted to MN or will continue to be transmitted to MN.

[0159] - (For cases where the SN sends a message to the UE before the SCG is deactivated)

[0160] o Instruction / directive to make the UE indicate the time for SCG deactivation as part of the QoE / RVQoE report

[0161] o Instructs the UE to indicate that at least one SCG deactivation occurs when a QoE / RVQoE measurement associated with the corresponding QoE / RVQoE report is collected.

[0162] In addition to the above, during SCG deactivation, the MN can send explicit or implicit indications to the SN related to the processing of alignment (or correlation) between QoE / RVQoE measurements and radio-related measurements collected in the QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration configured for the SN, such as:

[0163] - Identifiers related to alignment / related radio-related measurements being performed during SCG deactivation, such as: tracking reference or tracking record session reference.

[0164] - One (or more) of the following actions: terminate alignment / related, pause alignment / related, get incomplete QoE / RVQoE reports, where the action may apply to:

[0165] o QoE / RVQoE measurements related to the QoE / RVQoE configuration prepared / assembled / owned by the SN, or

[0166] o and UE are configured to send QoE / RVQoE measurements to MN on SRB4. SN prepares / assembles / owns QoE / RVQoE measurements related to the QoE / RVQoE configuration, or

[0167] o and UE are configured to send QoE / RVQoE measurements to SN on SRB5. MN prepares / assembles / owns QoE / RVQoE configuration related to QoE / RVQoE measurements.

[0168] In an additional or alternative embodiment, when the SCG is deactivated, if the SN has modified the QoE / RVQoE configuration, or associated QoE / RVQoE report, or both configuration and report aspects before the SCG is deactivated, the MN may send explicit or implicit instructions to the SN regarding the processing of the QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration configured by the MN and the associated report.

[0169] In additional or alternative embodiments, the SN (not the MN) sends a message (e.g., an RRC message or MACCE) to the UE, causing the UE to perform the SCG deactivation procedure. This message may or may not contain any explicit indications / commands to the UE for processing the QoE / RVQoE configuration prepared / assembled by the SN and / or associated QoE / RVQoE reports. In either case, the expected actions and / or behaviors from the UE include at least one of the actions and / or behaviors described in the previous scenarios.

[0170] The following describes an embodiment associated with an error condition. In some embodiments, when the SN receives a request to deactivate the SCG from the master node (MN) via a request that may be included in an S-node modification request, an S-node add request, or another message, the SN then sends a response to the MN (e.g., an S-node modification request response) that includes a reconfiguration of the QoE configuration. The SN then initiates an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE, which may fail for several reasons. While the UE is reconfiguring using a new QoE / RVQoE reporting configuration before performing SCG deactivation, the UE may continue reporting to the SN. The SN may then forward the message to the MN in a later message or forward the information directly to the MCE. If SCG deactivation has already been performed, the UE may buffer QoE and / or RVQoE reports until they can be sent, i.e., until the UE is configured to use an SRB for sending reports becomes available.

[0171] In additional or alternative embodiments, the MN (which knows from previous signaling which QoE configurations the SN has sent to the UE) may indicate in an S-Node Modification Request XnAP message (wherein the message includes a request to deactivate the SCG for the SN) whether the MN is willing to receive QoE reports and / or RVQoE reports associated with QoE / RVQoE configurations previously configured by the UE to send QoE / RVQoE reports to the SN (e.g., the MN is willing to receive such QoE / RVQoE reports on SRB4, and therefore the QoE / RVQoE reports can be redirected from SRB5 to SRB4). This indication from the MN may be for each QoE / RVQoE configuration (e.g., for each QoE-RVQoE configuration pair or for each QoE configuration and each RVQoE configuration separately) or for all QoE / RVQoE configurations (e.g., for all QoE configurations and RVQoE configurations or for all QoE configurations and all RVQoE configurations separately).

[0172] In additional or alternative embodiments, upon receiving an S-Node Modification Request XnAP message with the aforementioned indication, the SN may reconfigure the UE's QoE / RVQoE reporting accordingly, for example, from SRB5 to SRB4. Optionally, the SN may also release QoE / RVQoE configurations that the MN has not indicated as willing to receive reports. After this reconfiguration and / or release of QoE / RVQoE reconfigurations in the UE, the SN sends an S-Node Modification Request response to the MN, optionally indicating in the message which QoE / RVQoE reporting reconfigurations it has performed and / or which QoE / RVQoE configurations it has released. As another option, instead of releasing QoE / RVQoE configurations, the MN may suspend QoE reporting (and optionally release RVQoE configurations) such that if the SCG is reactivated / when the SCG is reactivated, QoE reporting (and RVQoE measurements) can be optionally resumed later.

[0173] In an additional or alternative embodiment, upon receiving an S-Node Modification Request XnAP message with the above-described indications, the SN may send an S-Node Modification Request Response XnAP message to the MN, optionally explicitly or implicitly indicating which QoE / RVQoE configurations the SN will reconfigure (e.g., from reporting on SRB5 to reporting on SRB4) and / or which QoE / RVQoE configurations the SN will release. If these indications from the SN are implicit in the S-Node Modification Request Response XnAP message, then they will match the indications from the MN in the S-Node Modification Request XnAP message. If these indications from the SN are implicit in the S-Node Modification Request Response XnAP message, then they should preferably, but not necessarily, match the indications from the MN in the S-Node Modification Request XnAP message. After sending the S-Node Modification Request Response (XnAP) message, or concurrently with sending the S-Node Modification Request Response (XnAP) message, the SN sends an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE to reconfigure one or more QoE / RVQoE configurations in the QoE / RVQoE reporting (e.g., from SRB5 to SRB4) and / or release one or more QoE / RVQoE configurations in the UE. Alternatively, instead of releasing the QoE / RVQoE configurations, the SN may suspend the QoE reporting (and optionally release the RVQoE configurations), and optionally resume the QoE reporting (and reconfigure the RVQoE measurements) later if / when the SCG is reactivated.

[0174] In additional or alternative embodiments, the QoE Measurement Collection (QMC) coordination process is performed between the MN and SN prior to SCG deactivation (e.g., as part of SN addition), and as part of the signaling included in this coordination, the MN sends one or more of the instructions described in the previous scenario to the SN, such that the MN and SN agree on the processing of the QoE / RVQoE configuration and / or associated QoE / RVQoE reports prepared / assembled by the SN during SCG deactivation. Additionally, the MN and SN may also agree on the processing of the QoE / RVQoE configuration and / or associated QoE / RVQoE reports prepared / assembled by the SN during SCG (re)activation. Furthermore, when the QoE / RVQoE report is sent directly by the UE to the SN (e.g., via SRB5), or when the QoE / RVQoE report is sent by the UE to the MN (e.g., via SRB4) and then transmitted from the MN to the SN (or the SN provides a bearer for the application's session, or the SN requests the transmission of the QoE / RVQoE report, or the MN voluntarily transmits the QoE / RVQoE report to the SN), the MN and SN may also agree on the following: the QoE / RVQoE configuration prepared / assembled by the MN and the processing of the associated QoE / RVQoE report.

[0175] The operations described in the previous embodiments involve SCG deactivation. For example, reporting of QoE / RVQoE measurements for QoE / RVQoE configuration prepared by the SN can be stopped, the UE can be requested to buffer pending QoE / RVQoE reports, or the reporting path of QoE / RVQoE reports can be changed (e.g., from SRB5 to SRB4). However, these features apply to SCG (re)activation.

[0176] In some embodiments, upon SCG (re)activation (which may include initial SCG activation and activation after previous deactivation), one or more of the previously described actions / behaviors are resumed. In some examples, the use of previously suspended QoE / RVQoE configurations may be reactivated. In additional or alternative examples, the collection of previously suspended QoE / RVQoE measurements may be resumed. In additional or alternative examples, the transmission of QoE / RVQoE reports may be resumed. In additional or alternative examples, the transmission of pending (buffered) QoE / RVQoE reports at the UE may be permitted. In additional or alternative examples, the reporting path used to transmit QoE / RVQoE reports may be changed (e.g., if the reporting path was changed from SRB5 to SRB4 during SCG deactivation, it may be switched back to SRB5). In additional or alternative examples, if the alignment / correlation between QoE / RVQoE measurements and radio-related measurements was interrupted during SCG deactivation, that alignment / correlation may be restored. In additional or alternative examples, if the alignment / correlation between QoE / RVQoE measurements and radio-related measurements is associated with the sole use of the MCG, then that alignment / correlation can be (re)associated with the use of the SCG (or both the MCG and SCG). This process relates to (re)activation requested by the MN, SN, and UE.

[0177] Some embodiments of the present invention will now be referred to. Figures 11 to 12 To discuss using flowcharts (using) Figure 16 The operation of the communication device 1600 is implemented using a block diagram structure. For example, modules can be stored in... Figure 16 The memory 1604 contains these modules, and these modules can provide instructions such that when the corresponding network node processing circuit 1602 executes the instructions of the module, the processing circuit 1602 executes the corresponding operation of the flowchart.

[0178] Figure 11 An example of an operation performed by an MN in a communication network including an SN is shown. The MN and SN can be configured to provide dual connectivity to the communication device.

[0179] At block 1110, processing circuitry 1602 sends a message to the SN via communication interface 1606 requesting the SN to modify (e.g., the operation of the SCG controlled by the SN). In some embodiments, sending this message to the SN includes sending a request to deactivate the SCG. In additional or alternative embodiments, sending this message to the SN includes sending a request to activate the SCG.

[0180] At block 1120, processing circuitry 1602 determines configuration information based on modifications to the operation of the SCG. In some embodiments, this message is a first message, and determining the configuration information includes receiving a second message from the SN in response to sending the first message. The second message may include an indication of the configuration information. In some examples, the second message includes a response to modifications to the operation of the SCG.

[0181] In additional or alternative embodiments, the configuration information includes QoE configuration information or RVQoE configuration information.

[0182] In additional or alternative embodiments, the configuration information includes instructions for configurations to be used by the communication device to report information to the SN.

[0183] At block 1130, processing circuitry 1602 sends an instruction for configuration information to a communication device via communication interface 1606. In some embodiments, this message is a first message, and sending the instruction for configuration information includes sending a third message to the communication device. The third message may include the instruction for configuration information and an instruction for modifying the operation of the SCG. In some examples, the third message includes an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0184] At block 1140, processing circuitry 1602 receives a response to configuration information from the communication device via communication interface 1606. In some examples, the response from the communication device is included in an RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0185] Figure 12 An example of an operation performed by a SN in a communication network including an MN is shown. The MN and SN can be configured to provide dual connectivity to the communication device.

[0186] At block 1210, processing circuitry 1602 receives a message from MN via communication interface 1606 requesting SN to modify (e.g., the operation of SCG controlled by SN).

[0187] At block 1220, processing circuitry 1602 determines configuration information based on modifications to the operation of the SCG. In some embodiments, the configuration information includes QoE configuration information or RVQoE configuration information. In additional or alternative embodiments, the configuration information includes indications of configurations to be used by communication devices to report information to the SN.

[0188] At block 1230, the processing circuit 1602 modifies the operation of the SCG. In some embodiments, receiving the message from the MN includes receiving a request to deactivate the SCG. The operation of modifying the SCG may include deactivating the SCG.

[0189] In an additional or alternative embodiment, receiving the message from the MN includes receiving a request to activate the SCG. Modifying the SCG involves activating it.

[0190] At block 1240, processing circuitry 1602 sends an instruction for configuration information to the MN via communication interface 1606. In some embodiments, this message is a first message, and sending the instruction for configuration information to the MN includes sending a second message to the MN. The second message may include the instruction for configuration information and a response to modifications to the operation of the SCG.

[0191] Some embodiments regarding network nodes and related methods, from Figures 11 to 12 Various operations in the flowchart can be optional.

[0192] Some embodiments of the present invention will now be referred to. Figure 13 To discuss using flowcharts (using) Figure 15 The operation of the communication device 1500 is implemented using a block diagram structure. For example, the module can be stored in... Figure 15 The modules are stored in the memory 1510, and these modules can provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by the corresponding communication device processing circuit 1502, the processing circuit 1502 performs the corresponding operation of the flowchart.

[0193] Figure 13 An example of an operation performed by a communication device in a communication network that includes an MN and a SN providing dual connectivity to the communication device is shown.

[0194] At block 1310, processing circuitry 1502 receives a message from MN via communication interface 1512. This message includes indications of modifications to the operation of the SCG and indications of configuration information. In some embodiments, the message includes an indication that the SCG is being deactivated. In additional or alternative embodiments, the message includes an indication that the SCG is being activated.

[0195] In additional or alternative embodiments, the configuration information includes QoE configuration information or RVQoE configuration information. In additional or alternative embodiments, the configuration information includes instructions for configurations to be used by the communication device to report information to the SN.

[0196] In additional or alternative embodiments, the message includes an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0197] At block 1320, processing circuitry 1502 sends a response to MN via communication interface 1512. In some embodiments, the response includes an RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0198] At block 1330, processing circuitry 1502 sends a report via communication interface 1512 based on configuration information. In some embodiments, sending the report includes sending the report to MN via a path separate from SCG. In additional or alternative embodiments, sending the report includes sending the report to SN via SCG.

[0199] Some embodiments of communication equipment and related methods, from Figure 13 Various operations in the flowchart can be optional.

[0200] Figure 14 An example of a communication system 1400 according to some embodiments is shown.

[0201] In this example, communication system 1400 includes a telecommunications network 1402, which includes an access network 1404 such as a radio access network (RAN) and a core network 1406, which includes one or more core network nodes 1408. Access network 1404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1410a and 1410b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as network node 1410), or any other similar 3GPP access node or non-3GPP access point. Network node 1410 facilitates direct or indirect connections of user equipment (UEs), such as connecting UEs 1412a, 1412b, 1412c, and 1412d (one or more of which may generally be referred to as UE 1412) to core network 1406 via one or more wireless connections.

[0202] Examples of wireless communication via wireless connection include sending and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without using wiring, cables, or other conductors. Furthermore, in various embodiments, communication system 1400 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via a wired or wireless connection). Communication system 1400 may include any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar system, and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar system.

[0203] UE 1412 can be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are deployed, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 1410 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 1410 is deployed, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 1412 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 1402 to achieve and / or provide network access (e.g., wireless network access) and / or to perform other functions (e.g., management) in telecommunication network 1402.

[0204] In the depicted example, core network 1406 connects network node 1410 to one or more hosts (such as host 1416). These connections may be direct or indirect, via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. Core network 1406 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1408) composed of hardware and software components. The characteristics of these components may be substantially similar to those described for UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the description generally applies to the corresponding components of core network node 1408. Example core network nodes include one or more of the following functions: Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier Dehiding Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Secure Edge Protection Agent (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or User Plane Function (UPF).

[0205] Host 1416 may be owned or under the control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of access network 1404 and / or telecommunications network 1402, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Host 1416 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include real-time and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieving and compiling data about various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analytics functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0206] As a whole, Figure 14 The communication system 1400 enables connectivity between the UE, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable next-generation standard (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards, such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0207] In some examples, telecommunications network 1402 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, telecommunications network 1402 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to it. For example, telecommunications network 1402 can provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive machine-type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to yet another UE.

[0208] In some examples, UE 1412 is configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to send information to access network 1404 according to a predetermined schedule, when triggered by internal or external events, or in response to a request from access network 1404. Furthermore, the UE may be configured to operate in single RAT, multi-RAT, or multi-standard modes. For example, the UE may operate using any or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0209] In the example, hub 1414 communicates with access network 1404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1412c and / or UE 1412d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1410b). In some examples, hub 1414 may be a controller, router, content source and analyzer, or any other communication device described herein relating to the UE. For example, hub 1414 may be a broadband router that enables the UE to access core network 1406. As another example, hub 1414 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. Commands or instructions may be received from the UE, network node 1410, or via executable code, scripts, procedures, or other instructions in hub 1414. As another example, hub 1414 may be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage device for UE data, and in some embodiments, may perform data analysis or other processing. As another example, hub 1414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE acting as a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, hub 1414 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via network nodes, and then hub 1414 provides them to the UE directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, hub 1414 acts as a proxy server or coordinator for the UE, particularly when one or more of the UEs are low-power IoT devices.

[0210] Hub 1414 may have a persistent / persistent or intermittent connection to network node 1410b. Hub 1414 may also allow different communication schemes and / or scheduling between hub 1414 and UEs (e.g., UE 1412c and / or UE 1412d) and between hub 1414 and core network 1406. In other examples, hub 1414 is connected to core network 1406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Furthermore, hub 1414 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider via access network 1404 and / or to another UE via a direct connection. In some scenarios, a UE may establish a wireless connection with network node 1410 while still being connected via hub 1414 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 1414 may be a dedicated hub—that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communication from network node 1410b to UE / to network node 1410b. In other embodiments, hub 1414 may be a non-dedicated hub—that is, a device capable of operating to route communication between the UE and network node 1410b, but which may additionally operate as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0211] Figure 15 A UE 1500 according to some embodiments is illustrated. As used herein, UE refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop-mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client devices (CPEs), vehicle-mounted or vehicle-embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, Machine Type Communication (MTC) UEs, and / or Enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0212] The UE can support device-to-device (D2D) communication, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-anything (V2X) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication. In other examples, the UE may not necessarily be a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated equipment. Alternatively, the UE may represent equipment intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but which may not or initially may not be associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent equipment not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of the user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0213] UE 1500 includes processing circuitry 1502, which is operatively coupled via bus 1504 to input / output interface 1506, power supply 1508, memory 1510, communication interface 1512, and / or any other component or any combination thereof. Some UEs may utilize... Figure 15 The components shown can be all or a subset. The level of integration between components can vary from one UE to another. Furthermore, some UEs can contain multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0214] Processing circuitry 1502 is configured to process instructions and data and can be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored in memory 1510 as a machine-readable computer program. Processing circuitry 1502 can be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic and suitable firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs)) and suitable software; or any combination thereof. For example, processing circuitry 1502 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0215] In the example, input / output interface 1506 can be configured to provide one or more interfaces to input devices, output devices, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, transmitters, smart cards, other output devices, or any combination thereof. Input devices can allow users to capture information into UE 1500. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, steering wheels, touchpads, scroll wheels, smart cards, etc. Presence-sensitive displays may include capacitive or resistive touch sensors to sense input from the user. Sensors may be, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt sensors, force sensors, magnetometers, optical sensors, proximity sensors, biometric sensors, etc., or any combination thereof. Output devices can use the same type of interface port as input devices. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port can be used to provide both input and output devices.

[0216] In some embodiments, power supply 1508 is configured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may be used, such as external power sources (e.g., power outlets), photovoltaic devices, or battery cells. Power supply 1508 may also include power supply circuitry for delivering power from power supply 1508 itself and / or an external power source to various parts of UE 1500 via input circuitry or an interface such as a power cable. The delivery of power may, for example, be used for charging power supply 1508. The power supply circuitry may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modifications on the power from power supply 1508 to suit the power supply for the various components of the UE 1500 being powered.

[0217] Memory 1510 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), disk, optical disk, hard disk, removable tape cartridge, flash drive, etc. In one example, memory 1510 includes one or more applications 1514 (e.g., operating system, web browser application, widget, utility engine, or other application) and corresponding data 1516. Memory 1510 may store any one or a combination of various operating systems for use by UE 1500.

[0218] The memory 1510 can be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital multifunction optical disc (HD-DVD) drive, an internal hard drive, a Blu-ray disc drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) disc drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory (e.g., a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), including one or more subscriber identification modules (SIMs), such as USIM and / or ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC can be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card." The memory 1510 can allow the UE 1500 to access instructions, applications, etc., stored on transient or non-transient storage media to offload or upload data. Articles of manufacture, such as those utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied in or contained in memory 1510, which may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0219] Processing circuitry 1502 can be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using communication interface 1512. Communication interface 1512 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to antenna 1522. Communication interface 1512 may include one or more transceivers for communication, such as through one or more remote transceivers capable of wireless communication with another device (e.g., another UE or a network node in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1518 and / or a receiver 1520 suitable for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). Furthermore, transmitter 1518 and receiver 1520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1522) and may share circuitry, software, or firmware, or alternatively, be implemented separately.

[0220] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication interface 1512 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication (such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for determining location), another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0221] Regardless of the sensor type, the UE can provide the output of data captured by its sensors via its communication interface 1512 through a wireless connection with a network node. Data captured by the UE's sensors can be transmitted via another UE through the same wireless connection. The output can be periodic (e.g., every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to balance the load of reports from several sensors), responsive to a triggering event (e.g., sending an alarm when humidity is detected), responsive to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., real-time video feed of a patient).

[0222] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. The state of the actuator, motor, or switch can change in response to the received wireless input. For example, the UE may include a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a flying drone based on the received input, or adjusts a robotic arm performing a medical procedure based on the received input.

[0223] When the UE takes the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, it can be a device used in one or more application areas, including but not limited to urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices include devices that are either connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting devices, electricity meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-activated smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / humidity sensors, electronic door locks, connected doorbells, heat pump-like air conditioning systems, autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smartwatches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearable devices for haptic or sensory enhancement, sprinklers, animal or object tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any kind of medical device (such as heart rate monitors or remote-controlled surgical robots). In addition to the above... Figure 15 In addition to the other components described in the UE 1500 shown, UEs in the form of IoT devices also include circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0224] As another specific example, in IoT scenarios, a UE can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or network node. In this case, the UE can be an M2M device, which in the 3GPP context can be referred to as an MTC device. As a specific example, the UE can implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE can represent a vehicle (e.g., a car, bus, truck, ship, and aircraft) or other device capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0225] In practice, any number of UEs can be used together for a single use case. For example, the first UE can be a drone or integrated into a drone, and provides the drone's speed information (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller for operating the drone. When the user makes changes via the remote controller, the first UE can adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling the actuators) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first UE and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functions described above. For example, the UE can include sensors and actuators, and handle data communication between both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0226] Figure 16 A network node 1600 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, a network node means a device that is capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points) and base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).

[0227] Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or in other words, based on their transmit power levels); therefore, depending on the amount of coverage provided, they can also be called femtocells, picocells, microcells, or macrocells. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes can also include one or more (or all) portions of a distributed radio base station, such as centralized digital units and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as remote radio headends (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as antenna-integrated radios. A portion of a distributed radio base station can also be referred to as a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0228] Other examples of network nodes include multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (e.g., MSR BS), network controllers (e.g., radio network controllers (RNC) or base station controllers (BSC)), base transceiver stations (BTS), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCE), operations and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operations support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, location nodes (e.g., evolved Serving Mobility Location Center (E-SMLC)) and / or minimized drive test (MDT).

[0229] Network node 1600 includes processing circuitry 1602, memory 1604, communication interface 1606, and power supply 1608. Network node 1600 may consist of multiple physically separate components (e.g., NodeB components and RNC components, or BTS components and BSC components, etc.), each of which may have its own respective components. In some scenarios where network node 1600 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC can control multiple NodeBs. In such scenarios, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single, separate network node in some instances. In some embodiments, network node 1600 may be configured to support multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be replicated (e.g., separate memory 1604 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1610 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 1600 may also include multiple sets of various components shown for different wireless technologies (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, RFID, or Bluetooth wireless technologies). These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 1600.

[0230] The processing circuitry 1602 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or coding logic, operable to provide network node 1600 functionality alone or in combination with other network node 1600 components (e.g., memory 1604).

[0231] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1602 includes a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1602 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1612 and a baseband processing circuitry 1614. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1612 and the baseband processing circuitry 1614 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., radio units and digital units). In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1612 and the baseband processing circuitry 1614 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0232] Memory 1604 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to permanent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drives, compact discs (CDs), or digital video discs (DVDs)) and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions usable by processing circuitry 1602. Memory 1604 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications including logic, rules, codes, tables, and / or other instructions executable by processing circuitry 1602 and usable by network node 1600. Memory 1604 may be used to store any calculations performed by processing circuitry 1602 and / or any data received via communication interface 1606. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1602 and memory 1604 are integrated.

[0233] Communication interface 1606 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As shown, communication interface 1606 includes a port / terminal 1616 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the network, for example, via a wired connection. Communication interface 1606 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1618, which may be coupled to antenna 1610, or in some embodiments, is part of antenna 1610. Radio front-end circuitry 1618 includes filter 1620 and amplifier 1622. Radio front-end circuitry 1618 may be connected to antenna 1610 and processing circuitry 1602. Radio front-end circuitry 1618 may be configured to modulate the signal for communication between antenna 1610 and processing circuitry 1602. Radio front-end circuitry 1618 may receive digital data that will be transmitted to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 1618 may use a combination of filter 1620 and / or amplifier 1622 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1610. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1610 can collect radio signals, which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1618. The digital data can then be passed to processing circuitry 1602. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0234] In some alternative embodiments, network node 1600 does not include a separate radio front-end circuitry 1618; instead, processing circuitry 1602 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 1610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1612 is part of communication interface 1606. In other embodiments, communication interface 1606 includes one or more ports or terminals 1616, radio front-end circuitry 1618, and RF transceiver circuitry 1612 (as part of a radio unit (not shown),) and communication interface 1606 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 1614 (as part of a digital unit (not shown)).

[0235] Antenna 1610 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1610 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1618 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1610 is decoupled from network node 1600 and may be connected to network node 1600 via an interface or port.

[0236] Antenna 1610, communication interface 1606, and / or processing circuitry 1602 can be configured to perform any receive operation and / or certain acquire operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals can be received from the UE, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1610, communication interface 1606, and / or processing circuitry 1602 can be configured to perform any transmit operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals can be transmitted to the UE, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0237] Power supply 1608 provides power to the various components of network node 1600 in a form suitable to the individual components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). Power supply 1608 may also include or be coupled to power management circuitry to provide power to the components of network node 1600 to perform the functions described herein. For example, network node 1600 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., mains, power outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as a cable, thereby supplying power to the power circuitry of power supply 1608. As another example, power supply 1608 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack, which is connected to or integrated into the power circuitry. The battery can provide backup power if the external power source fails.

[0238] Embodiments of network node 1600 may include more than Figure 16Additional components of the components shown are provided to offer certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functions described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1600 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into and output from network node 1600. This allows users to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on network node 1600.

[0239] Figure 17 This is a block diagram of host 1700 based on the various aspects described herein, which host 1700 can be Figure 14 An embodiment of host 1416. As used herein, host 1700 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software, including standalone servers, blade servers, cloud-implemented servers, distributed servers, virtual machines, containers, or processing resources in a server farm. Host 1700 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0240] Host 1700 includes processing circuitry 1702 operably coupled via bus 1704 to input / output interface 1706, network interface 1708, power supply 1710, and memory 1712. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those shown with respect to the previous figures (e.g., Figure 15 and Figure 16 The characteristics described for the device make its description generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 1700.

[0241] Memory 1712 may include one or more computer programs, including data 1716 and one or more host applications 1714. Data 1716 may include user data, such as data generated by the UE for the host 1700, or data generated by the host 1700 for the UE. Embodiments of host 1700 may utilize only a subset or all of the illustrated components. Host application 1714 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Universal Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including code translation for multiple different categories, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). Host application 1714 may also provide user authentication and authorization checks and may periodically report health status, routing, and content availability to a central node (e.g., a device in the core network or a device at the edge of the core network). Therefore, host 1700 can select and / or indicate different hosts for over-the-top (OTT) services for the UE. Host application 1714 can support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Real-time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), HTTP-based Dynamic Adaptive Streaming (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0242] Figure 18 This is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1800 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating virtual versions of devices or equipment, which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device or component thereof described herein, and involves at least a portion of its functionality being implemented as an implementation of one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functionality described herein can be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1800 hosted on one or more hardware nodes (e.g., hardware computing devices operating as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hosts). Furthermore, in embodiments where virtual nodes do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes or hosts), the nodes can be fully virtualized in this case.

[0243] Application 1802 (which may also be referred to as a software instance, virtual device, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) runs in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0244] Hardware 1804 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices described herein (e.g., network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc.). The software can be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1808a and 1808b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as VM 1808), and / or perform any functionality, features, and / or benefits described in relation to some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1806 can present a virtual operating platform that appears as networked hardware to VM 1808.

[0245] Virtual machine 1808 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1806. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device 1802 can be implemented on one or more VMs 1808, and these implementations can be made in different ways. In some contexts, hardware virtualization is referred to as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to unify many types of network devices into industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can reside in data centers and customer residential equipment.

[0246] In the context of NFV, VM 1808 can be a software implementation of a physical machine, whose programs run as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1808, along with the portion of hardware 1804 that executes that VM (which can be hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM and other VMs within it), forms a separate virtual network element. Still within the context of NFV, virtual network functions are responsible for handling specific network functions running on one or more VMs 1808 above hardware 1804, and correspond to application 1802.

[0247] Hardware 1804 can be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. Hardware 1804 can implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1804 can be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and coordination 1810, which oversees the lifecycle management of application 1802. In some embodiments, hardware 1804 is coupled to one or more radio units, each radio unit including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that can be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units can communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more suitable network interfaces and can be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide a radio-capable virtual node, such as a radio access node or base station. In some embodiments, control system 1812 can be used to provide some signaling; control system 1812 can alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0248] Figure 19 A communication diagram is shown illustrating communication between host 1902 and UE 1906 via network node 1904 through a partial wireless connection according to some embodiments. Reference will now be made to... Figure 19 Describe the UE discussed in the preceding paragraphs (e.g., Figure 14 UE1412a and / or Figure 15 UE 1500), network nodes (e.g., Figure 14 Network node 1410a and / or Figure 16 Network node 1600) and host (e.g., Figure 14 Host 1416 and / or Figure 17 Example implementations of the host 1700 according to various embodiments.

[0249] Similar to host 1700, embodiments of host 1902 include hardware such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. Host 1902 also includes software stored in or accessible by host 1902 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application operable to provide services to remote users, for example, UE 1906 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1950 extended between UE 1906 and host 1902. When providing services to remote users, the host application can provide user data transmitted using OTT connection 1950.

[0250] Network node 1904 includes hardware that enables it to communicate with host 1902 and UE 1906. Connection 1960 can be direct or can be via a core network (such as...). Figure 14The core network (1406) and / or one or more other intermediate networks (e.g., one or more public, private, or hosted networks). For example, an intermediate network could be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0251] UE 1906 includes hardware and software, the software being stored in or accessible by UE 1906 and executable by the UE's processing circuitry. This software includes client applications (e.g., a web browser or operator-specific "application") operable to provide services to human or non-human users via UE 1906, supported by host 1902. In host 1902, the executing host application can communicate with the executing client application via OTT connection 1950 terminated at both UE 1906 and host 1902. When providing services to users, the UE's client application can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 1950 can transmit both request data and user data. The UE's client application can interact with users to generate user data provided to the host application via OTT connection 1950.

[0252] OTT connection 1950 can be extended via connection 1960 between host 1902 and network node 1904, and via wireless connection 1970 between network node 1904 and UE 1906, to provide connectivity between host 1902 and UE 1906. Connection 1960 and wireless connection 1970, which can provide OTT connection 1950, have been abstractly drawn to illustrate communication between host 1902 and UE 1906 via network node 1904, without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices or the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0253] As an example of sending data via OTT connection 1950, in step 1908, host 1902 provides user data, which can be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with UE 1906. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE 1906, which shares data with host 1902 without explicit human interaction. In step 1910, host 1902 initiates a transmission carrying user data to UE 1906. Host 1902 may initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by UE 1906. This request may be caused by human-computer interaction with UE 1906 or by an operation of a client application executed on UE 1906. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission may be via network node 1904. Therefore, in step 1912, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, network node 1904 sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host 1902 to UE 1906. In step 1914, UE 1906 receives user data carried in the transmission, which can be performed by a client application running on UE 1906, which is associated with a host application running by host 1902.

[0254] In some examples, UE 1906 executes a client application that provides user data to host 1902. User data can be provided as a response to data received from host 1902. Therefore, in step 1916, UE 1906 can provide user data, which can be done by executing the client application. When providing user data, the client application may also consider user input received from a user via the input / output interface of UE 1906. Regardless of the specific manner in which user data is provided, in step 1918, UE 1906 initiates a transmission of user data to host 1902 via network node 1904. In step 1920, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, network node 1904 receives user data from UE 1906 and initiates a transmission of the received user data to host 1902. In step 1922, host 1902 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 1906.

[0255] One or more embodiments in various implementations improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1906 using OTT connection 1950, wherein radio connection 1970 forms the final segment in OTT connection 1950. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments enable the reconfiguration of the QoE configuration in the UE as part of the SCG deactivation process. In some embodiments, the QoE configuration reconfiguration can be performed without the additional latency of the SCG deactivation process. In some examples, this is beneficial to the UE because power consumption in the UE is reduced when the SCG is deactivated. In additional or alternative examples, it may be desirable to reconfigure the UE during SCG deactivation to avoid losing any SN-related QoE reports when deactivating the SCG for the UE.

[0256] In the example scenario, host 1902 can collect and analyze plant status information. As another example, host 1902 can process audio and video data that can be retrieved from the UE for map creation. As another example, host 1902 can collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling traffic congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, host 1902 can store surveillance video uploaded by the UE. As another example, host 1902 can store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR, which host 1902 can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. As other examples, host 1902 can be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads to balance generation demand, location services, demonstration services (e.g., compiling charts based on data collected from remote devices), or any other function that collects, retrieves, stores, analyzes, and / or transmits data.

[0257] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors improved in one or more embodiments. Optional network functions may also be present for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1950 between host 1902 and UE 1906 in response to changes in measurement results. The measurement process and / or the network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of host 1902 and / or UE 1906. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other communication devices traversed by the OTT connection 1950; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities illustrated above or by providing values ​​of other physical quantities that software can use to calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1950 may include message formatting, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; reconfiguration does not require a direct change in the operation of network node 1904. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates host 1902's measurement of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. This measurement can be achieved by having the software monitor propagation time, errors, etc., while enabling the sending of messages (specifically, empty messages or "fake" messages) via an OTT connection 1950.

[0258] While the computing devices described herein (e.g., UE, network node, host) may include combinations of the hardware components shown, other embodiments may include computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, acquisition, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry that processes information by, for example, converting acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or converted information with information stored in a network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information, and making a determination based on the result of said processing. Furthermore, although components are depicted as single boxes located within larger boxes or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a computing device may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between individual components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of a component may be partitioned between processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0259] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be provided by processing circuitry that executes instructions stored in memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by the processing circuitry, for example, in a hard-wired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of these particular embodiments, the processing circuitry may be configured to perform the described functions regardless of whether instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to the individual processing circuitry or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed as a whole by the computing device and / or generally by the end user and wireless network.

Claims

1. A method for operating a primary network node MN in a communication network including a secondary network node SN, wherein the MN and the SN are configured to provide dual connectivity for a communication device, the method comprising: Send a (1110) message to the SN, the message including a request from the SN to modify the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN; The configuration information (1120) is determined based on the modification of the operation of the SCG; as well as Instructions to send (1130) the configuration information to the communication device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Sending the message to the SN includes sending one of the following: Deactivate the request for the SCG; or Request to activate the SCG.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The message is the first message, and The determination of the configuration information includes: in response to sending the first message, receiving a second message from the SN, the second message including an indication of the configuration information, and The second message includes a response to the modification of the operation of the SCG.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The configuration information includes at least one of the following: Experience Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration information; and The QoE "RVQoE" configuration information is visible on the radio access network.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The configuration information includes instructions for the configuration to be used by the communication device to report information to the SN.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, The message is the first message, and The instruction to send the configuration information includes: sending a third message to the communication device, the third message including the instruction to the configuration information and an instruction to modify the operation of the SCG, and The third message includes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: In response to an instruction to send the configuration information to the communication device, a response to the configuration information is received from the communication device (1140).

8. A method for operating a secondary network node SN in a communication network including a primary network node MN, wherein the MN and the SN are configured to provide dual connectivity for a communication device, the method comprising: Receive message (1210) from the MN, the message including a request from the SN to modify the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN; In response to receiving the message, configuration information (1220) is determined based on the modification of the operation of the SCG; In response to receiving the message, modify the operation of the SCG (1230); as well as Send the configuration information (1240) to the MN.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, Receiving the message from the MN includes receiving a request to deactivate the SCG, and The operation of modifying the SCG includes deactivating the SCG.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein, Receiving the message from the MN includes receiving a request to activate the SCG, and The operation of modifying the SCG includes activating the SCG.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein, The message is the first message, and The instruction to send the configuration information to the MN includes sending a second message to the MN, the second message including the instruction to the configuration information and a response to the modification of the operation of the SCG.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein, The configuration information includes at least one of the following: Experience Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration information; and The QoE "RVQoE" configuration information is visible on the radio access network.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein, The configuration information includes instructions for the configuration to be used by the communication device to report information to the SN.

14. A method for operating a communication device in a communication network including a primary network node MN and a secondary network node SN, wherein the MN and the SN provide dual connectivity for the communication device, the method comprising: Receive message (1310) from the MN, the message including an indication of modification to the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN and an indication of configuration information associated with reporting to the SN; and Send a (1330) report based on the configuration information.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The message includes an indication that the SCG is being deactivated, and Sending the report includes sending the report to the MN via a path separate from the SCG.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, The message includes an indication that the SCG is being activated, and Sending the report includes sending the report to the SN via the SCG.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein, The configuration information includes at least one of the following: Experience Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration information; and The QoE "RVQoE" configuration information is visible on the radio access network.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein, The message includes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, further comprising: In response to receiving the information, a response to the configuration information is sent to the MN (1320).

20. A network node (1600) adapted to perform operations, said operations including: Send a (1110) message to the SN, the message including a request from the SN to modify the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN; The configuration information (1120) is determined based on the modification of the operation of the SCG; as well as Instructions to send the configuration information (1130) to the communication device.

21. The network node of claim 20 is also adapted to perform any of the operations described in claims 2 to 7.

22. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1602) of a network node (1600), wherein execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations, the operations including: Send a (1110) message to the SN, the message including a request from the SN to modify the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN; The configuration information (1120) is determined based on the modification of the operation of the SCG; as well as Instructions to send the configuration information (1130) to the communication device.

23. The computer program of claim 22, wherein the operation further comprises any operation of claims 2 to 7.

24. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (1604) including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1602) of a network node (1600), wherein execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations including: Send a (1110) message to the SN, the message including a request from the SN to modify the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN; The configuration information (1120) is determined based on the modification of the operation of the SCG; as well as Instructions to send the configuration information (1130) to the communication device.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the operation further comprises any operation of claims 2 to 7.

26. A network node (1600) adapted to perform operations, said operations including: Receive message (1210) from MN, the message including a request from SN to modify the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by SN; In response to receiving the message, configuration information (1220) is determined based on the modification of the operation of the SCG; In response to receiving the message, modify the operation of the SCG (1230); as well as Send the configuration information (1240) to the MN.

27. The network node of claim 26 is also adapted to perform any of the operations described in claims 9 to 13.

28. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1602) of a network node (1600), wherein execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations, the operations including: Receive message (1210) from MN, the message including a request from SN to modify the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by SN; In response to receiving the message, configuration information (1220) is determined based on the modification of the operation of the SCG; In response to receiving the message, modify the operation of the SCG (1230); as well as Send the configuration information (1240) to the MN.

29. The computer program of claim 28, wherein the operation further comprises any operation of claims 9 to 13.

30. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (1604) including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1602) of a network node (1600), wherein execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations including: Receive message (1210) from MN, the message including a request from SN to modify the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by SN; In response to receiving the message, configuration information (1220) is determined based on the modification of the operation of the SCG; In response to receiving the message, modify the operation of the SCG (1230); as well as Send the configuration information (1240) to the MN.

31. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the operation further includes any operation of claims 9 to 13.

32. A communication device (1500) adapted to perform operations, said operations including: Receive message (1310) from MN, the message including an indication of modification to the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN and an indication of configuration information associated with reporting to the SN; and Send a (1330) report based on the configuration information.

33. The communication device of claim 32, wherein the operation further includes any operation of claims 15 to 19.

34. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1502) of a communication device (1500), wherein execution of the program code causes the communication device to perform operations, the operations including: Receive message (1310) from MN, the message including an indication of modification to the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN and an indication of configuration information associated with reporting to the SN; and Send a (1330) report based on the configuration information.

35. The computer program of claim 34, wherein the operation further comprises any operation of claims 15 to 19.

36. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (1510) including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1502) of a communication device (1500), wherein execution of the program code causes the communication device to perform operations, the operations including: Receive message (1310) from MN, the message including an indication of modification to the operation of the secondary cell group SCG controlled by the SN and an indication of configuration information associated with reporting to the SN; and Send a (1330) report based on the configuration information.

37. The computer program product of claim 36, wherein the operation further includes any operation of claims 15 to 19.

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