Methods and apparatus for supporting communication with cells using different wireless access technologies

Abstract

This document describes methods and apparatus for supporting communication with cells using different radio access technologies. A user equipment (UE) is configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology. The UE includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: receive configuration information from a first network node associated with the first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; determine, based on the configuration information, a monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell; and, at the determined monitoring timing, receive cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to mobile or wireless telecommunications systems, and particularly to systems and / or methods for transmitting information elements with user equipment (UE) for accessing a radio access network (RAN) via cells of different radio access technologies (RATs). Background Technology

[0002] Any discussion of the background art throughout the specification should not be construed as an admission that the art is well-known or constitutes part of the general knowledge in the field.

[0003] With the development of new radio access technologies, Multi-RAT Spectrum Sharing (MRSS) is becoming increasingly important. Spectrum sharing involves at least two radio access technologies (RATs) sharing the same spectrum. In particular, MRSS has been a key feature for the migration from 5G to 6G networks because it allows new radio (NR) and 6G cells to share (multiple) the same carriers to dynamically adapt to service requirements. Especially for the independent design of 6G networks, MRSS is considered the most promising candidate for achieving 5G to 6G migration. In the MRSS scenario, it is assumed that 5G and 6G cells share the same radio unit (RU), such as... Figure 1 As shown, the expected coverage areas of 5G MRSS cells and 6GMRSS cells are the same.

[0004] Another aspect of the information supplied for access to the Radio Access Network (RAN), such as On-Demand (OD) System Information (SI), is currently being studied in the Release 19 (Rel-19) proposal. This proposal extends the OD SI process to be applied to System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1) broadcast by RAN network nodes (e.g., base stations (gNBs)) to provide basic system parameters and configuration information to User Equipment (UE) or devices within the network coverage area. Specifically, Rel-19 considers multi-cell scenarios where OD-SIB1 communication is performed between the UE and multiple cells using various RATs. However, the OD-SIB1 features resulting from Rel-19 require additional handover procedures between the UE and individual cells.

[0005] In some cases, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of information communication when accessing the RAN in a multi-cell context (e.g., the OD-SIB1 procedure as described above). In particular, it may be necessary to reduce bandwidth and energy consumption in both user mobile devices and network systems, while ensuring a smooth and cost-effective migration to 6G networks. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This disclosure particularly relates to apparatus, systems, and methods for efficiently supplying on-demand system information (e.g., OD-SIB1 procedures) for accessing one or more radio access networks in an MRSS scenario.

[0007] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: Receive configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the configuration information, a first request message is sent to the first network node, requesting cell access information related to the first and second cells; and Receive cell access information for the first and second cells.

[0008] In some examples, cell access-related information includes: a first type of system information block (SIB1) of the first cell and the second cell, or differences in SIB1 related to the first cell or the second cell (e.g., by comparing the SIB1 of the first cell with the SIB1 of the second cell). Furthermore, the UE is also enabled to receive from the first network node: The SIB1 of the first cell, or the difference in SIB1 related to the first cell relative to the second cell, or SIB1 of the first cell and SIB1 of the second cell, or The difference in SIB1 between the second cell and the first cell, and the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0009] In some examples, the UE is also configured to receive the SIB1 of the second cell from the second network node if the UE receives the SIB1 of the first cell from the first network node, or if the difference between the SIB1 of the second cell and the SIB1 of the first cell relative to the second cell is received.

[0010] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: at least one uplink power control parameter for sending the first request message, a set (or subset) of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control, resource information associated with the physical random access channel (PRACH) for sending the first request message, and information for monitoring the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0011] In some examples, a first network node is associated with a first wireless access technology, and a second network node is associated with a second wireless access technology, with the first and second wireless access technologies sharing the spectrum.

[0012] In some examples, the UE is also configured to identify the first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) sent from the first network node. Alternatively or additionally, the UE is also configured to select or reselect the first cell based on the SSB sent from the first network node.

[0013] In some examples, the configuration information includes monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about a first cell and / or a second cell. Therefore, the UE is also configured to: determine, based on the configuration information, a common monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell in response to a determination that the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell is aligned with the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell.

[0014] In some examples, the UE is also configured to receive cell access information about the first and second cells during a determined public monitoring period.

[0015] In some examples, the configuration information includes the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about a first cell and / or a second cell. Therefore, the UE is also configured to: determine, based on the configuration information, the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell, wherein the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell differs from the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell.

[0016] In some examples, the UE is also made to: Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, or Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell is determined.

[0017] In some examples, the UE is also made to: During the determined monitoring period for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell, cell access-related information about the first cell is received; and during the determined monitoring period for the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell, cell access-related information about the second cell is received.

[0018] In some examples, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell includes: the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing for receiving the first type system information block (SIB1) of the first cell and the second cell.

[0019] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: determine the uplink power for sending the first request message based on at least one uplink power control parameter and / or at least one reference signal included in the configuration information and associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0020] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is derived from the configuration information.

[0021] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is determined based on a first reference signal received from a first network node and / or a second reference signal received from a second network node.

[0022] In some examples, the first reference signal and the second reference signal include different transmit power parameters or modes. Furthermore, the UE is also configured to determine path loss by at least one of the following: The larger of the first path loss determined based on the first reference signal and the second path loss determined based on the second reference signal is selected as the path loss used to determine the uplink power. Determine the average path loss of the first path loss and the second path loss, and The combination function is applied based on the predefined rules included in the configuration information to smooth the first path loss and the second path loss.

[0023] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a network node of a radio access network is provided, the network node being configured to support communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the network node comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node to at least: The configuration information is sent to the UE to request cell access information about a first cell and a second cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by a network node and the second cell is controlled by another network node. The UE receives a first request message associated with configuration information, the first request message being used to request cell access information about a first cell and a second cell; and Send at least some cell access information about the first cell to the UE.

[0024] In some examples, a network node is also configured to receive at least one of the following from another network node: Configuration information used to request cell access-related information about the second cell; and Information regarding access to the second community.

[0025] In some examples, upon receiving a first request message from the UE, the network node is also instructed to send a second request message to another network node, the second request message requesting cell access information about the second cell.

[0026] In some examples, cell access-related information includes the first type of system information block (SIB1) for the first cell and the second cell, or differences in SIB1 related to the first cell or the second cell. Furthermore, the network node is also instructed to send the following to the UE: The SIB1 of the first cell, or the difference in SIB1 related to the first cell relative to the second cell, or SIB1 of the first cell and SIB1 of the second cell, or The difference in SIB1 between the second cell and the first cell, and the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0027] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: at least one uplink power control parameter for sending the first request message, a set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control, resource information associated with the physical random access channel (PRACH) for sending the first request message, and information for monitoring the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0028] In some examples, the configuration information includes: monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell, and optionally, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell includes: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing for the transmission of first type system information blocks SIB1 of the first cell and the second cell.

[0029] According to a third aspect of this disclosure, a network node of a radio access network is provided, the network node being configured to support communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the network node comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node to at least: Receive a first request message from another network node, the first request message requesting cell access information about a first cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by the network node; and Send cell access information about the first cell to the UE or another network node.

[0030] In some examples, before receiving the first request message, the network node is also configured to send configuration information to another network node, which is used to request cell access information about the first cell.

[0031] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: at least one uplink power control parameter for the UE to communicate with the first cell, a set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell for uplink power control, resource information related to the physical random access channel (PRACH) for the UE to communicate with the first cell, and information for monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell.

[0032] In some examples, cell access-related information includes: a first type system information block (SIB1) of the first cell or a difference in SIB1 associated with the first cell. Therefore, the network node is also configured to: send the SIB1 of the first cell, or a difference in SIB1 associated with the first cell relative to a second cell, to the UE or another network node.

[0033] In some examples, the configuration information includes: monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell, and optionally, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell includes: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing for the transmission of the first type of system information block SIB1 of the first cell.

[0034] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for a user equipment (UE) that supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the method comprising: Receive configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the configuration information, a first request message is sent to the first network node, requesting cell access information related to the first and second cells; and Receive cell access information for the first and second cells.

[0035] According to a fifth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for a network node in a radio access network, the network node supporting communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the method comprising: The configuration information is sent to the UE to request cell access information about a first cell and a second cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by a network node and the second cell is controlled by another network node. The UE receives a first request message associated with configuration information, the first request message being used to request cell access information about a first cell and a second cell; and Send at least some cell access information about the first cell to the UE.

[0036] According to a sixth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for a network node in a radio access network, the network node supporting communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the method comprising: Receive a first request message from another network node, the first request message requesting cell access information about a first cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by the network node; and Send cell access information about the first cell to the UE or another network node.

[0037] According to a seventh aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the received configuration information, a first request message is sent to the first network node, requesting cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and Receive cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0038] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first configuration for requesting cell access-related information about a first cell, a second configuration for requesting cell access-related information about a second cell, and a third configuration for requesting cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell.

[0039] In some examples, cell access-related information includes a first type of system information block (SIB1) for the first cell and / or the second cell. The UE is also configured to receive SIB1 of at least one of the first and second cells from the first network node. Optionally, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first dedicated configuration for requesting SIB1 from the first network node, a second dedicated configuration for requesting SIB1 from the second network node, and a shared configuration for requesting SIB1 from the first and second network nodes.

[0040] In some examples, the UE is also enabled to receive SIB1 from at least one of the first and second cells from the second network node.

[0041] In some examples, at least one of the first configuration, the second configuration, and the third configuration includes at least one of the following: At least one uplink power control parameter used to send the first request message, A set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control. Resource information related to the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) used to send the first request message, and Information used to monitor the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0042] In some examples, the resource information may optionally include at least one PRACH preamble associated with the first request message, which requests at least one of the following: cell access information related to a first cell, cell access information related to a second cell, and cell access information related to both the first and second cells.

[0043] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: send a second request message to a second network node based on configuration information, the second request message requesting cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0044] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: identify the first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) sent from the first network node, and / or select or reselect the first cell based on the SSB sent from the first network node.

[0045] In some examples, the configuration information includes monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about a first cell and / or a second cell. Furthermore, the UE is also configured to: determine, based on the configuration information, a common monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell in response to a determination that the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell is aligned with the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell.

[0046] In some examples, the UE is also configured to receive cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells during a determined public monitoring period.

[0047] In some examples, the configuration information includes the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about a first cell and / or a second cell. Furthermore, the UE is also configured to: determine, based on the configuration information, the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell, wherein the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell differs from the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell.

[0048] In some examples, the UE is also made to: Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, or Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell is determined.

[0049] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: receive cell access information about the first cell during a determined monitoring period for the transmission of cell access information about the first cell, and / or receive cell access information about the second cell during a determined monitoring period for the transmission of cell access information about the second cell.

[0050] In some examples, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell includes: the monitoring timing for receiving the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the first type system information block SIB1 of the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0051] In some examples, the UE is also configured to determine the uplink power for sending the first request message based on at least one uplink power control parameter and / or at least one reference signal included in the configuration information and associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0052] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is derived from the configuration information.

[0053] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is determined based on a first reference signal received from the first network node and / or a second reference signal received from the second network node, as included in the configuration information.

[0054] In some examples, the first reference signal and the second reference signal include different transmit power parameters or modes. Therefore, the UE is also configured to determine the path loss by at least one of the following: The larger of the first path loss determined based on the first reference signal and the second path loss determined based on the second reference signal is selected as the path loss used to determine the uplink power. Determine the average path loss of the first path loss and the second path loss, and Based on the predefined rules included in the configuration information, a combination function is applied to smooth the first path loss and the second path loss.

[0055] In some examples, a first network node is associated with a first wireless access technology, and a second network node is associated with a second wireless access technology, with the first and second wireless access technologies sharing the spectrum.

[0056] According to an eighth aspect of this disclosure, a network node of a radio access network is provided, the network node being configured to support communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the network node comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node to at least: The configuration information is sent to the UE to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by a network node and the second cell is controlled by another network node. The UE receives a first request message associated with configuration information, the first request message being used to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell; and Send cell access related information to the UE about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0057] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first configuration for requesting cell access-related information about a first cell, a second configuration for requesting cell access-related information about a second cell, and a third configuration for requesting cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell.

[0058] In some examples, a network node is also configured to receive at least one of the following from another network node: A second configuration for requesting cell access information about the second cell; and Information regarding access to the second community.

[0059] In some examples, upon receiving a first request message from the UE, the network node is also instructed to send a second request message to another network node, the second request message requesting cell access information about the second cell.

[0060] In some examples, cell access-related information includes a first type of system information block (SIB1) for the first cell and / or the second cell. Therefore, the network node is also configured to send the SIB1 of at least one of the first and second cells to the UE. Optionally, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first dedicated configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the first network node, a second dedicated configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the second network node, and a shared configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the first and second network nodes.

[0061] In some examples, at least one of the first configuration, the second configuration, and the third configuration includes at least one of the following: At least one uplink power control parameter used to send the first request message, A set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control. Resource information related to the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) used to send the first request message, and Information used to monitor the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0062] In some examples, the resource information may optionally include at least one PRACH preamble associated with the first request message, which requests at least one of the following: cell access information related to a first cell, cell access information related to a second cell, and cell access information related to both the first and second cells.

[0063] In some examples, the configuration information includes: monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell, and optionally, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell includes: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing for the transmission of first type system information blocks (SIB1) for the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0064] According to a ninth aspect of this disclosure, a network node of a wireless access network is provided, the network node being configured to support communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first wireless access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second wireless access technology different from the first wireless access technology, the first wireless access technology and the second wireless access technology sharing a spectrum, the network node comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node to at least: Receive a first request message from another network node or UE, the first request message requesting cell access information about a first cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by the network node; and Send cell access information about the first cell to the UE or another network node.

[0065] In some examples, when the first request message is received from the UE, the first request message also requests cell access information about a second cell controlled by another network node.

[0066] In some examples, before receiving the first request message, the network node is also configured to send configuration information to another network node, which is used to request cell access information about the first cell.

[0067] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: at least one uplink power control parameter for UE communication with the first cell, a set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell for uplink power control, resource information related to the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) for UE communication with the first cell, and information for monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell. Optionally, the resource information includes at least one PRACH preamble for requesting cell access-related information about the first cell.

[0068] In some examples, cell access-related information includes: a first type of system information block (SIB1) for the first cell and / or the second cell. Therefore, the network node is also configured to: transmit the SIB1 of at least one of the first and second cells to the UE or another network node.

[0069] In some examples, the configuration information includes: the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell. Optionally, the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell includes the timing of monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the transmission of the first type of system information block (SIB1) of the first cell.

[0070] According to a tenth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for a user equipment (UE) that supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the method comprising: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the received configuration information, a first request message is sent to the first network node, requesting cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and Receive cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0071] According to the eleventh aspect of this disclosure, a method for a network node is provided, the network node supporting communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the method comprising: The configuration information is sent to the UE to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by a network node and the second cell is controlled by another network node. The UE receives a first request message associated with configuration information, the first request message being used to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell; and Send cell access related information to the UE about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0072] According to a twelfth aspect of this disclosure, a method for a network node is provided, the network node supporting communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the method comprising: Receive a first request message from another network node or UE, the first request message requesting cell access information about a first cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by the network node; and Send cell access information about the first cell to the UE or another network node.

[0073] According to a thirteenth aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: Receive configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the configuration information, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first and second cells; and During the determined monitoring period, receive cell access information for the first and second cells.

[0074] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: determine that the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about a first cell is aligned with the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about a second cell. Specifically, the determined monitoring timing includes a common monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first and second cells.

[0075] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: determine that the timing of monitoring for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell is different from the timing of monitoring for the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell.

[0076] In some examples, the UE is also made to: Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, or Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell is determined.

[0077] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: receive cell access information about the first cell during a determined monitoring period for the transmission of cell access information about the first cell, and receive cell access information about the second cell during a determined monitoring period for the transmission of cell access information about the second cell.

[0078] In some examples, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell includes: the monitoring timing for receiving the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the first type system information block SIB1 of the first cell and the second cell.

[0079] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: send a first request message to a first network node based on the received configuration information, the first request message requesting cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell.

[0080] In some examples, cell access-related information includes: a first type of system information block (SIB1) for the first cell and the second cell, or differences in SIB1 related to the first cell or the second cell. Specifically, the UE is also enabled to receive from the first network node: The SIB1 of the first cell, or the difference in SIB1 related to the first cell relative to the second cell, or SIB1 of the first cell and SIB1 of the second cell, or The difference in SIB1 between the second cell and the first cell, and the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0081] In some examples, the UE is also configured to receive the SIB1 of the second cell from the second network node if the UE receives the SIB1 of the first cell from the first network node, or if the difference between the SIB1 of the second cell and the SIB1 of the first cell relative to the second cell is received.

[0082] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: at least one uplink power control parameter for sending the first request message, a set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control, resource information associated with the physical random access channel (PRACH) for sending the first request message, and information for monitoring the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0083] In some examples, a first network node is associated with a first wireless access technology, and a second network node is associated with a second wireless access technology, with the first and second wireless access technologies sharing the spectrum.

[0084] In some examples, the UE is also configured to identify the first cell based on a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) sent from the first network node. Alternatively or additionally, the UE is also configured to select or reselect the first cell based on the SSB sent from the first network node.

[0085] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: determine the uplink power for sending the first request message based on at least one uplink power control parameter and / or at least one reference signal included in the configuration information and associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0086] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is derived from the configuration information.

[0087] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is determined based on a first reference signal received from a first network node and / or a second reference signal received from a second network node.

[0088] In some examples, the first reference signal and the second reference signal include different transmit power parameters or modes. Therefore, the UE is also configured to determine the path loss by at least one of the following: The larger of the first path loss determined based on the first reference signal and the second path loss determined based on the second reference signal is selected as the path loss used to determine the uplink power. Determine the average path loss of the first path loss and the second path loss, and The combination function is applied based on the predefined rules included in the configuration information to smooth the first path loss and the second path loss.

[0089] According to the fourteenth aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on configuration information, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and During the determined monitoring period, receive cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0090] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: determine that the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell is aligned with the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell. Specifically, the determined monitoring timing includes a common monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first and second cells.

[0091] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: determine that the timing of monitoring for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell is different from the timing of monitoring for the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell.

[0092] In some examples, the UE is also made to: Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, or Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell is determined.

[0093] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: receive cell access information about the first cell during a determined monitoring period for the transmission of cell access information about the first cell, and / or receive cell access information about the second cell during a determined monitoring period for the transmission of cell access information about the second cell.

[0094] In some examples, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell includes: the monitoring timing for receiving the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the first type system information block SIB1 of the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0095] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: send a first request message to a first network node based on the received configuration information, the first request message requesting cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell.

[0096] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first configuration for requesting cell access-related information about a first cell, a second configuration for requesting cell access-related information about a second cell, and a third configuration for requesting cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell.

[0097] In some examples, cell access-related information includes: a first type of system information block (SIB1) for the first cell and / or the second cell. Therefore, the UE is also configured to receive the SIB1 of at least one of the first and second cells from the first network node. Optionally, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first dedicated configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the first network node, a second dedicated configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the second network node, and a shared configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the first and second network nodes.

[0098] In some examples, the UE is also configured to receive SIB1 from at least one of the first and second cells from the second network node.

[0099] In some examples, at least one of the first configuration, the second configuration, and the third configuration includes at least one of the following: At least one uplink power control parameter used to send the first request message, A set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control. Resource information related to the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) used to send the first request message, and Information used to monitor the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0100] In some examples, the resource information may optionally include at least one PRACH preamble associated with the first request message, which requests at least one of the following: cell access information related to a first cell, cell access information related to a second cell, and cell access information related to both the first and second cells.

[0101] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: send a second request message to a second network node based on configuration information, the second request message requesting cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0102] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: identify the first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) sent from the first network node, and / or select or reselect the first cell based on an SSB sent from the first network node.

[0103] In some examples, the UE is also configured to: determine the uplink power for sending the first request message based on at least one uplink power control parameter and / or at least one reference signal included in the configuration information and associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0104] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is derived from the configuration information.

[0105] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is determined based on a first reference signal received from the first network node and / or a second reference signal received from the second network node, as included in the configuration information.

[0106] In some examples, the first reference signal and the second reference signal include different transmit power parameters or modes. Therefore, the UE is also configured to determine the path loss by at least one of the following: The larger of the first path loss determined based on the first reference signal and the second path loss determined based on the second reference signal is selected as the path loss used to determine the uplink power. Determine the average path loss of the first path loss and the second path loss, and The combination function is applied based on the predefined rules included in the configuration information to smooth the first path loss and the second path loss.

[0107] In some examples, a first network node is associated with a first wireless access technology, and a second network node is associated with a second wireless access technology, with the first and second wireless access technologies sharing the spectrum.

[0108] According to the fifteenth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for a user equipment (UE) that supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the method comprising: Receive configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the configuration information, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first and second cells; and During the determined monitoring period, receive cell access information for the first and second cells.

[0109] According to a sixteenth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for a user equipment (UE) that supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the method comprising: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on configuration information, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and During the determined monitoring period, receive cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0110] According to the seventeenth aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based at least on configuration information, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined, the first request message requesting cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and Using the determined uplink power, send a first request message to the first network node.

[0111] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is also determined based on at least one uplink power control parameter and / or at least one reference signal included in the configuration information and associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0112] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is derived from the configuration information.

[0113] In some examples, the uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is determined based on a first reference signal received from the first network node and / or a second reference signal received from the second network node, as included in the configuration information.

[0114] In some examples, the first reference signal and the second reference signal include different transmit power parameters or modes. Therefore, the UE is also configured to determine the path loss by at least one of the following: The larger of the first path loss determined based on the first reference signal and the second path loss determined based on the second reference signal is selected as the path loss used to determine the uplink power. Determine the average path loss of the first path loss and the second path loss, and Based on the predefined rules included in the configuration information, a combination function is applied to smooth the first path loss and the second path loss.

[0115] In some examples, the UE is also configured to receive cell access-related information about at least one of the first and second cells. Optionally, the UE is also configured to send a second request message to a second network node based on configuration information, the second request message requesting cell access-related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0116] In some examples, cell access-related information includes a first type system information block (SIB1) of the first cell and / or the second cell, wherein the UE is also configured to receive the SIB1 of at least one of the first and second cells from a first network node. Optionally, the UE is also configured to receive the SIB1 of at least one of the first and second cells from a second network node.

[0117] In some examples, the first request message is a single request for cell access-related information about the first and second cells.

[0118] In some examples, cell access information includes differences in SIB1 related to the first or second cell. Therefore, the UE is also enabled to receive from the first network node: The SIB1 of the first cell, or the difference in SIB1 related to the first cell relative to the second cell, or SIB1 of the first cell and SIB1 of the second cell, or The difference in SIB1 between the second cell and the first cell, and the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0119] In some examples, the UE is also configured to receive the SIB1 of the second cell from the second network node if the UE receives the SIB1 of the first cell from the first network node, or if the difference between the SIB1 of the second cell and the SIB1 of the first cell relative to the second cell is received.

[0120] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: at least one uplink power control parameter for sending the first request message, a set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control, resource information associated with the physical random access channel (PRACH) for sending the first request message, and information for monitoring the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0121] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first dedicated configuration for SIB1 to request a first network node, a second dedicated configuration for SIB1 to request a second network node, and a shared configuration for SIB1 to request a first network node and SIB1 to request a second network node.

[0122] In some examples, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first configuration for requesting cell access-related information about a first cell, a second configuration for requesting cell access-related information about a second cell, and a third configuration for requesting cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell.

[0123] In some examples, at least one of the first configuration, the second configuration, and the third configuration includes at least one of the following: At least one uplink power control parameter used to send the first request message, A set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control. Resource information related to the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) used to send the first request message, and Information used to monitor the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0124] In some examples, the resource information may optionally include at least one PRACH preamble associated with the first request message, which requests at least one of the following: cell access information related to a first cell, cell access information related to a second cell, and cell access information related to both the first and second cells.

[0125] In some examples, a first network node is associated with a first wireless access technology, and a second network node is associated with a second wireless access technology, with the first and second wireless access technologies sharing the spectrum.

[0126] In some examples, the UE is also configured to identify the first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) sent from the first network node, and / or the UE is also configured to select or reselect the first cell based on the SSB sent from the first network node.

[0127] In some examples, the configuration information includes monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about a first cell and / or a second cell. Therefore, the UE is also configured to: determine, based on the configuration information, a common monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell in response to a determination that the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell is aligned with the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell.

[0128] In some examples, the UE is also configured to receive cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells during a determined public monitoring period.

[0129] In some examples, the configuration information includes the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about a first cell and / or a second cell. Therefore, the UE is also configured to determine, based on the configuration information, the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell, which differs from the timing of monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the second cell.

[0130] In some examples, the UE is also made to: Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, or Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell is determined.

[0131] In some examples, the UE is also made to: Receive cell access information about the first cell during the determined monitoring time for the transmission of cell access information about the first cell, and / or receive cell access information about the second cell during the determined monitoring time for the transmission of cell access information about the second cell.

[0132] In some examples, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell includes: the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing for receiving the first type system information block (SIB1) of the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0133] According to the eighteenth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for a user equipment (UE) that supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the method comprising: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; The uplink power used to send the first request message is determined based at least on configuration information. The first request message requests cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and The first request message is sent to the first network node using the determined uplink power.

[0134] In some examples, the first request message is a single request for cell access-related information about the first and second cells.

[0135] According to the nineteenth aspect of this disclosure, a computer program is provided, the computer program including instructions for causing a device to perform any one of the methods according to the fourth to sixth aspects, for causing a device to perform any one of the methods according to the tenth to twelfth aspects, for causing a device to perform any one of the methods according to the fifteenth to sixteenth aspects, or for causing a device to perform the method according to the eighteenth aspect.

[0136] According to the twenty-first aspect of this disclosure, a memory is provided for storing computer-readable instructions for causing an apparatus to perform any one of the methods according to the fourth to sixth aspects, for causing an apparatus to perform any one of the methods according to the tenth to twelfth aspects, for causing an apparatus to perform any one of the methods according to the fifteenth to sixteenth aspects, or for causing an apparatus to perform the method according to the eighteenth aspect.

[0137] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: A component for receiving configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; A component for sending a first request message to a first network node based on configuration information, the first request message requesting cell access-related information about a first cell and a second cell; and A component used to receive cell access-related information about the first and second cells.

[0138] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a network node in a radio access network is provided, the network node being configured to support communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the network node comprising: A component for sending configuration information to the UE, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by a network node and the second cell is controlled by another network node; A component for receiving a first request message associated with configuration information from a UE, the first request message being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell; and A component used to send at least some cell access information about the first cell to the UE.

[0139] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a network node in a radio access network is provided, the network node being configured to support communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the network node comprising: Components for receiving a first request message from another network node, the first request message requesting cell access-related information about a first cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by the network node; and A component used to send cell access-related information about a first cell to a UE or another network node.

[0140] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: A component for receiving configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; A component for sending a first request message to a first network node based on received configuration information, the first request message requesting cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell; and A component for receiving cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0141] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a network node in a radio access network is provided, the network node being configured to support communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the network node comprising: A component for sending configuration information to a UE, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by a network node and the second cell is controlled by another network node; A component for receiving a first request message associated with configuration information from a UE, the first request message being used to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell; and A component for sending cell access related information to the UE about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0142] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a network node in a radio access network is provided, the network node being configured to support communication with a user equipment (UE) using a first radio access technology, the UE being operable to communicate with another network node via a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum, the network node comprising: Components for receiving a first request message from another network node or a UE, the first request message requesting cell access-related information about a first cell, wherein the first cell is controlled by a network node; and A component used to send cell access-related information about a first cell to a UE or another network node.

[0143] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: A component for receiving configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; A component for determining the timing of monitoring for transmitting cell access-related information about the first and second cells based on configuration information; and A component for receiving cell access information about the first and second cells at a determined monitoring time.

[0144] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: A component for receiving configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; A component for determining, based on configuration information, the timing of monitoring for transmitting cell access-related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and A component for receiving cell access-related information about at least one of the first and second cells at a determined monitoring time.

[0145] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE being configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: A component for receiving configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; A component for determining the uplink power for sending a first request message based at least on configuration information, wherein the first request message requests cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell; and A component for sending a first request message to a first network node using the determined uplink power.

[0146] Furthermore, according to some other example embodiments, for example, a computer program product for a wireless communication device is provided, the computer program product including at least one processor and a software code portion for performing corresponding steps disclosed herein when the product is run on the device. The computer program product may include a computer-readable medium storing the software code portion. Additionally, the computer program product may be directly loadable into a computer's internal memory and / or transmitted via a network through at least one of the processes of uploading, downloading, and pushing.

[0147] While some exemplary embodiments will be described herein with particular reference to the above applications, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to such areas of use, but applies to a broader context.

[0148] It is worth noting that the methods according to this disclosure relate to methods of operating the apparatus according to the above-described exemplary embodiments and variations thereof, and the corresponding statements regarding the apparatus also apply to the corresponding methods, and vice versa; therefore, for the sake of brevity, similar descriptions may be omitted. Furthermore, even without explicit disclosure, the above aspects can be combined in various ways. Those skilled in the art will understand that combinations of these aspects and features / steps are possible unless they create an explicit exclusionary contradiction.

[0149] Implementations of the disclosed device may include, but are not limited to, the use of one or more processors, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Implementations of the device may also include the use of other conventional and / or custom hardware, such as software-programmable processors, such as graphics processing unit (GPU) processors.

[0150] Other and additional exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will become clear during the following discussion, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0151] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0152] Figure 1 An example of an MRSS with 5G standalone and 6G standalone deployments is illustrated schematically;

[0153] Figure 2(a) schematically illustrates an example of the OD-SIB1 process in a non-independent case;

[0154] Figure 2(b) schematically illustrates an example of the OD-SIB1 process in the stand-alone (6G) case;

[0155] Figure 3 An exemplary signaling diagram is schematically illustrated for implementing the OD-SIB1 procedure in an MRSS scenario based on a single WUS request to OD-5G OD-SIB1 and 6G OD-SIB1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0156] Figure 4 An exemplary signaling diagram is schematically illustrated for implementing the OD-SIB1 process in an MRSS scenario based on a single WUS configuration of OD-5G and OD-6GSIB1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0157] Figure 5(a) schematically illustrates an example of UE monitoring SIB1 transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein PDCCH monitoring of OD-SIB1 is aligned between 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells.

[0158] Figure 5(b) schematically illustrates an example of UE monitoring SIB1 transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, including OD-SIB1 PDCCH monitoring with a first RAT and Type0-PDCCH of a second RAT determined based on Type0-PDCCH of the first RAT.

[0159] Figure 6 An exemplary signaling diagram for determining uplink power during the OD-SIB1 process, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, is illustrated schematically.

[0160] Figure 7 An example of a signaling diagram of the Xn interface between a 5G network node and a 6G network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated schematically.

[0161] Figure 8 An example of a method 800 of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0162] Figure 9 An example of a method 900 of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated; and

[0163] Figure 10 An example of a method 1000 of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0164] In the following description, various exemplary embodiments will be used as examples of communication networks based on 3GPP standards (such as 5G / NR) for which embodiments can be applied, without limiting the embodiments to this architecture. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments can also be applied to other types of communication networks where mobile communication principles are integrated with D2D (device-to-device) or V2X (vehicle-to-everything) configurations, such as SL (sidelink), e.g., Wi-Fi, Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX), Bluetooth®, Personal Communication Services (PCS), ZigBee®, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), systems using Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET), wired access, etc. Furthermore, without loss of generality, while some examples of the embodiments are described in relation to mobile communication networks, the principles of this disclosure can be extended and applied to any other type of communication network, such as wired communication networks.

[0165] The following examples and embodiments are to be understood as illustrative only. Although the specification may refer to "an," "one," or "some" examples or embodiments in multiple places, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference relates to the same example(s) or embodiment(s), nor does it necessarily mean that the feature applies only to a single example or embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Furthermore, terms such as "comprising" and "including" should be understood not to limit the described embodiments to including only those features already mentioned; such examples and embodiments may also include features, structures, units, modules, etc., not specifically mentioned.

[0166] The basic system architecture of a communication (telecommunications) network, including a mobile communication system (some examples of which are applicable), may include the architecture of one or more communication networks, including (multiple) radio access network subsystems and (multiple) core networks. This architecture may include one or more communication network control elements or functions, access network elements, radio access network elements, access service network gateways or base transceiver stations (such as base stations (BS), access points (AP), NodeBs (NBs), eNBs, or gNBs), distributed units (DUs) or centralized / central units (CUs) that control a corresponding coverage area or (multiple) cells, and one or more communication stations (such as communication elements or functions, such as user equipment or terminal equipment, such as user equipment (UE), or another device with similar functionality, such as modem chipsets, chips, modules, etc., which may also be part of a communication-enabled station, element, function, or application, such as a UE, element, or function that can be used in a machine-to-machine communication architecture, or attached as a separate element to a communication-enabled element, function, or application, etc.) that can communicate via one or more channels and one or more communication beams for transmitting several types of data in multiple access domains. In addition, it may include core network elements or network functions, such as gateway network elements / functions, mobility management entities, mobile switching centers, servers, databases, etc.

[0167] The following description may provide further details on alternatives, modifications and variations: gNB includes, for example, a node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination toward the UE and is connected to 5GC via an NG interface, for example, according to Section 3.2 of 3GPP TS 38.300 V16.6.0 (2021-06) incorporated by reference.

[0168] The gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) includes, for example, a logical node that hosts, for example, the gNB's RRC, SDAP, and PDCP protocols, or the en-gNB's RRC and PDCP protocols that control the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the F1 interface connected to the gNB-DU.

[0169] A gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU) includes, for example, a logical node that hosts the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers of, for example, a gNB or en-gNB, and whose operation is partially controlled by the gNB-CU. A gNB-DU supports one or more cells. A cell is supported by only one gNB-DU. The gNB-DU terminates the F1 interface connected to the gNB-CU.

[0170] The gNB-CU control plane (gNB-CU-CP) includes, for example, a logical node that hosts the control plane portion of the gNB-CU's RRC and PDCP protocols, for example, for en-gNB or gNB. The gNB-CU-CP terminates the E1 interface connected to the gNB-CU-UP and the F1-C interface connected to the gNB-DU.

[0171] The gNB-CU user plane (gNB-CU-UP) includes, for example, a logical node that hosts, for example, the user plane portion of the PDCP protocol for the gNB-CU for the en-gNB, and the user plane portion of the PDCP protocol for the gNB-CU for the gNB and the SDAP protocol. The gNB-CU-UP terminates the E1 interface connected to the gNB-CU-CP and the F1-U interface connected to the gNB-DU, for example, according to Section 3.1 of 3GPP TS 38.401 V16.6.0 (2021-07) incorporated by reference.

[0172] Different functional divisions between central and distributed units are possible, for example, as the following options: Option 1 (Class 1A split): • The functional breakdown in this option is similar to the 1A architecture in a DC. The RRC is located in the central unit. PDCP, RLC, MAC, physical layer, and RF are located in the distributed units. Option 2 (3C category split): • The functional breakdown in this option is similar to the 3C architecture in a DC (Distributed Control) system. RRC and PDCP reside in the central unit. RLC, MAC, physical layer, and RF reside in the distributed units. Option 3 (Split within RLC): • Low RLC (part of the RLC functionality), MAC, physical layer, and RF are located in the distributed unit. PDCP and high RLC (another part of the RLC functionality) are located in the central unit. Option 4 (RLC-MAC split): • MAC, physical layer, and RF are located in the distributed unit. PDCP and RLC are located in the central unit. Otherwise, for example, according to Section 11 of 3GPP TR 38.801 V14.0.0 (2017-03) incorporated by reference.

[0173] gNB supports different protocol layers, such as Layer 1 (L1) – the physical layer.

[0174] NR's Layer 2 (L2) is divided into the following sublayers: Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), among which: • The physical layer provides a transmission channel to the MAC sublayer; • The MAC sublayer provides logical channels to the RLC sublayer; • The RLC sublayer provides RLC channels to the PDCP sublayer; • The PDCP sublayer provides radio bearers to the SDAP sublayer; • The SDAP sublayer provides QoS flows to 5GC; •Comp. refers to header compression, and Segm. refers to segmentation; • Control channels include (BCCH, PCCH).

[0175] Layer 3 (L3) includes, for example, Radio Resource Control (RRC), as per Section 6 of 3GPP TS 38.300 V16.6.0 (2021-06) incorporated by reference.

[0176] RAN (Radio Access Network) nodes or network nodes (such as gNBs, base stations, gNB CUs or gNB DUs or portions thereof) may be implemented using, for example, means having at least one processor and / or at least one memory (with computer-readable instructions (computer programs)) configured to support and / or provide and / or process CU and / or DU related functions and / or features, and / or at least one protocol (sub) layer of the RAN (Radio Access Network), such as layer 2 and / or layer 3.

[0177] The gNB CU and gNB DU portions may, for example, be co-located or physically separated. The gNB DU may even be further divided into, for example, two parts, one including processing equipment and the other including an antenna. The Central Unit (CU) may also be referred to as BBU / REC / RCC / C-RAN / V-RAN, O-RAN, or a portion thereof. The Distributed Unit (DU) may also be referred to as RRH / RRU / RE / RU, or a portion thereof. In the various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure herein, the CU-CP (or more generally, the CU) may also be referred to as a (first) network node supporting at least one of the Layer 3 protocols of the Central Unit Control Plane Function or the Radio Access Network; and similarly, the DU may be referred to as a (second) network node supporting at least one of the Layer 2 protocols of the Distributed Unit Function or the Radio Access Network.

[0178] gNB-DU supports one or more cells and can therefore be used as a serving cell for, for example, a user equipment (UE).

[0179] User equipment (UE) may include wireless or mobile devices, devices with a wireless interface for interacting with the RAN (Radio Access Network), smartphones, in-vehicle devices, IoT devices, M2M (Machine-to-Machine) devices, etc. Such a UE or device may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the device to perform at least certain operations, such as an RRC connection to the RAN. The UE may be configured, for example, to generate messages (e.g., including a cell ID) for wireless transmission to the RAN (e.g., to reach and communicate with the serving cell). The UE may generate, transmit, and receive RRC messages containing one or more RRC PDUs (Packet Data Units).

[0180] The UE can have different states (e.g., according to sections 42.1 and 4.4 of 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.5.0 (2021-06) incorporated herein by reference).

[0181] When an RRC connection has been established, the UE is in a state such as RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_INACTIVE.

[0182] In the RRC_CONNECTED state, the UE can: • Store the AS context; • Transmit unicast data to / from the UE; • Monitor the control channel associated with the shared data channel to determine whether it is data channel scheduling data; • Provides channel quality and feedback information; • Perform neighboring cell measurements and measurement reports.

[0183] The RRC protocol includes, for example, the following main functions: •RRC connection control; • Measurement configuration and reporting; • Create / modify / publish measurement configurations (e.g., intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT measurements); • Establishment and release of the measurement gap; • Measurement report.

[0184] The general functions and interconnections of the described elements and features (which also depend on the actual network type) are known to those skilled in the art and are described in the corresponding specifications; therefore, for the sake of brevity, their detailed description may be omitted here. However, it should be noted that, in addition to those described in detail below, several additional network elements and signaling links may be employed for communication to or from elements, features, or applications (such as communication endpoints), communication network control elements (such as servers, gateways, wireless network controllers), and other elements of the same or other communication networks.

[0185] The communication network architecture considered in the examples of the embodiments may also be able to communicate with other networks such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet. The communication network may also be able to support cloud services for virtual network elements or their functions. It should be noted that the virtual network portion of a telecommunications network may also be provided by non-cloud resources, such as internal networks. It should be understood that network elements and / or corresponding functions of access systems, core networks, etc., can be implemented using any node, host, server, access node, or entity suitable for such purposes. Typically, network functions can be implemented as network elements on dedicated hardware, software instances running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a suitable platform (e.g., cloud infrastructure).

[0186] Furthermore, network elements (such as communication elements, such as UEs, terminal equipment, control elements or functions, such as access network elements, such as base stations / BSs, gNBs, radio network controllers, core network control elements or functions, such as gateway elements, or other network elements or functions described herein), and any other elements, functions, or applications, may be implemented in software, for example, by a computer program product of a computer; and / or in hardware. To perform their respective processing, the corresponding devices, nodes, functions, or network elements used may include several parts, modules, units, components, etc. (not shown) required for control, processing, and / or communication / signaling functions. For example, such components, modules, units, and parts may include one or more processors or processor units, including one or more processing sections for executing instructions and / or programs and / or processing data; storage devices or memory units or components (e.g., ROM, RAM, EEPROM, etc.) serving as work areas for storing instructions, programs, and / or data, acting as processors or processing sections; input or interface components (e.g., floppy disks, CD-ROMs, EEPROMs, etc.) for inputting data and instructions via software; user interfaces (e.g., screens, keyboards, etc.) for providing users with the possibility of monitoring and manipulation; and other interfaces or components for establishing links and / or connections under the control of processor units or sections (e.g., wired and wireless interface components, wireless interface components including, for example, antenna units, components for forming wireless communication sections, etc.), wherein the corresponding components forming the interfaces (such as wireless communication sections) may also be located at remote sites (e.g., wireless headends or wireless stations, etc.). It should be noted that in this specification, a processing section should not be considered merely as a physical part representing one or more processors, but may also be considered as a logical division of the referred processing tasks performed by one or more processors. It should be understood that, based on some examples, a so-called "liquid" or flexible network concept can be adopted, in which the operation and function of network elements, network functions, or another entity of the network can be performed in a flexible manner in different entities or functions, such as in nodes, hosts, or servers. In other words, the "division of labor" among the network elements, functions, or entities involved can vary depending on the circumstances.

[0187] This disclosure generally seeks to provide a solution for efficiently transmitting cell access-related information (e.g., on-demand system information block type 1 (OD-SIB1) procedures) to a UE in the context of multiple RAT spectrum sharing (MRSS), thereby allowing a smooth migration to 6G network deployment.

[0188] Based on the RAN1 and RAN2 conventions, Rel-19 proposes the following scenarios as shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b). For example, as shown in Figure 2(a), it is assumed that the UE is within the coverage area of ​​two cells: the anchor cell (referred to as Cell A) and the capacity cell (referred to as the Network Energy Saving (NES) cell). In the proposed multi-cell scenario, the capacity cell (referred to as the NES cell in 3GPP) operating in OD-SIB1 mode may not periodically broadcast SIB1. Instead, the cell's SIB1 can be provided on demand, for example, based on a UE requesting its transmission when it is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle or RRC inactive state. The UE can then trigger the transmission of SIB1 by sending a Wake-up Signal (WUS), which can be, for example, a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), i.e., a preamble. For this purpose, the UE can be configured with resources and information useful for sending the WUS.

[0189] In the non-independent case shown in Figure 2(a), consider the following process: • The UE obtains the WUS configuration from cell A; • The UE sends an uplink (UL) WUS, i.e., random access channel (RACH) / random access preamble (Msg1), to the NES cell. • The UE receives cell monitoring / Random Access Response (RAR) from the WUS; and • The UE receives OD-SIB1 from the NES cell.

[0190] For 6G networks, a separate scenario is expected to be specified, as shown in Figure 2(b). This scenario is considered to have a significant specification impact on 5G implementation due to the modification of the Master Information Block (MIB). In this scenario, the UE communicates with the NES cell to obtain the WUS configuration from the NES cell, sends the UL WUS to the NES cell, and receives OD-SIB1 from the NES cell.

[0191] This disclosure addresses OD-SIB1 with MRSS by considering the following scenario:

[0192] At the network node: • 6G MRSS cells can operate in standalone OD-SIB1 mode; • Based on scenario 2 agreed upon in Rel-19, 5G MRSS cells can operate in non-standalone OD-SIB1 mode; and • (Optional) In MRSS scenarios, 6G MRSS cells and 5G MRSS cells can have the same coverage area.

[0193] At UE: • The 6G UE (which is backward compatible with 5G, i.e., also supports 5G) can support both standalone and non-standalone modes for OD-SIB1; and • 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells can be regarded as two candidate cells for reselection by 6G UE.

[0194] However, the proposed OD-SIB1 solution based on Rel-19 has a drawback: the UE must switch to another cell (e.g., a different frequency layer) to receive the WUS configuration in order to request On-Demand SIB1 (for NES cells). Handover is a major drawback that can be mitigated in MRSS scenarios. The required handover process necessitates switching the UE oscillator / RF components to another frequency layer, and the UE needs to reselect and camp on another cell (e.g., cell A in Figure 2(a)) to obtain the WUS configuration. Another drawback is that network deployment needs to ensure that UEs under NES cells can reselect and connect to another cell (e.g., the anchor cell referred to as cell A in Figure 2(a)) to obtain the WUS configuration. Furthermore, despite the significant Xn signaling overhead (potentially due to the required inter-gNB switching), it is anticipated that multiple anchor cells (e.g., cell A in Figure 2(a)) will be deployed associated with a single NES cell.

[0195] Therefore, this disclosure is specifically designed to enable more efficient transmission of cell access-related information (especially OD-SIB1 transmission, for example) to the UE in MRSS scenarios for use with different RATs accessing the RAN. Specifically, improved methods are provided to achieve efficient OD-SIB1 procedures suitable for MRSS scenarios.

[0196] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the following description Figures 3 to 7 The figure illustrates a practical example of the proposed method for transmitting / transferring cell access-related information (e.g., the OD-SIB1 procedure) to address the aforementioned problems. Although the following embodiments are explicitly provided with reference to OD-SIB1 as an example, other types of information that the UE can use to access the radio access network are also feasible and within the scope of this disclosure.

[0197] Referring now to the accompanying drawings. In particular, it should be noted that, unless otherwise stated, the same or similar reference numerals used in the drawings of this disclosure may denote the same or similar elements, and thus their repeated description may be omitted for the sake of brevity. Unified / Single Request for 5G-SIB1 and 6G-SIB1

[0198] Figure 3An exemplary signaling diagram for implementing the OD-SIB1 procedure in an MRSS scenario is schematically illustrated according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In the MRSS scenario, 5G network nodes (associated with 5G cells) can share spectrum with 6G network nodes (associated with 5G cells). Further note that the 5G cell and the 6G cell can provide overlapping coverage areas for communication with the UE. Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the OD-SIB1 process is based on a single WUS request for both 5G OD-SIB1 and 6G OD-SIB1, as described below.

[0199] At step S31, the UE can select / reselect a 6G cell, for example, based on a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). Furthermore, the UE can identify (e.g., based on the SSB) that a 6G cell is an MRSS cell. It should be noted that in this step, the UE may not be able to acquire either 5G SIB1 or 6G SIB1.

[0200] At step S32, the UE can obtain configuration information from the 6G cell (e.g., whenever the 6G cell works with independent OD-SIB1) as a 6G WUS configuration. For example, the 6G WUS configuration may include uplink (UL) power control parameters for WUS (e.g., as a request message for requesting SIB1), a 5G and / or 6G downlink reference signal list set, such as SSBs for uplink (UL) power control, WUS resources (e.g., resource information related to the Physical Random Access Channel PRACH), and OD-SIB1 monitoring information, etc. Therefore, the UE can receive indications of the WUS power control parameters and other factors included in the WUS configuration for UL power control (e.g., for sending request messages).

[0201] At step S33, the UE can calculate the path loss for UL power control based on the indication at step S32. However, this step is optional for determining the optimal UL power.

[0202] At step S34, the UE can use the WUS configuration received at step 32 to send a single request to either the 6G cell (step S34-2) or the 5G cell (step S33-1) to request OD-SIB1 for both 6G and 5G. In particular, this single request can be sent using, for example, UL power control parameters received in the WUS configuration.

[0203] At step S35, upon receiving the request from the UE, the 6G MRSS cell can send (step S35-2) 6GSIB1 or incremental 6G SIB1 (i.e., an increment / difference relative to 5G SIB1), and trigger (step S36) the 5G MRSS cell to send 5G SIB1 (step S35-1). Alternatively, upon receiving the UE request, the 6G MRSS cell can send both 5G SIB1 and 6G SIB1, or 5G SIB1 and incremental 6G SIB1 (an increment / difference relative to 5G SIB1), meaning that both 5GSIB1 and 6G SIB1 can be sent by a single RAT (e.g., the 6G cell).

[0204] Subsequently, the UE may assume or be configured with monitoring timings for OD-SIB1 that are aligned (identical) between 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells. In other cases, the UE may assume or be configured with monitoring timings for OD-SIB1 that differ between 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells. For example, the UE may first monitor SIB1 transmissions for 5G and then monitor SIB1 transmissions for 6G, so that the UE can acquire 5G SIB1 first and then (incrementally) acquire 6G SIB1.

[0205] It should be noted that in MRSS scenarios, 5G and 6G cells are expected to provide the same radio coverage (i.e., the same radio element can support two MRSS cells, using the same frequency, transmitter power, and transmitter antenna for both technologies). Therefore, a UE that selects a 5G cell as its strongest cell can measure a 6G cell as its second strongest cell, and vice versa. By using RAT and frequency-specific priorities (e.g., absolute priority for cell reselection), it is possible to ensure that the selection of 6G cells takes precedence over 5G cells, thus ensuring that 6G UEs prefer 6G cells and improving 6G network utilization. However, despite the existence of 6G cells, 6G UEs can also move to 5G cells, for example, due to the lack of (optimized) support for certain services such as 6G voice in the initial deployment.

[0206] Therefore, SIB1 can be obtained for both 5G and 6G cells using a single UE request. In this way, the UE does not need to perform cell handover between MRSS cells (e.g., UE oscillator / RF handover is required). Depending on the use case, for example, when the UE attempts to hand over from an MRSS cell using a first RAT (e.g., 6G) to another MRSS cell using a second RAT (e.g., 5G), an active approach can be applied in cell reselection. Unified / Single Request for WUS Configuration of 5G-SIB1 and 6G-SIB1

[0207] Figure 4 An exemplary signaling diagram for implementing the OD-SIB1 procedure in an MRSS scenario, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, is schematically illustrated. Figure 3 Similar to other implementations, 5G network nodes (associated with 5G cells) can share spectrum with 6G network nodes (associated with 5G cells), and the 5G and 6G cells can provide overlapping coverage areas for communication with the UE. Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the OD-SIB1 process is based on a single WUS configuration for requesting 5G OD-SIB1 and 6G OD-SIB1, as described below.

[0208] At step S41: Similar to step S31, the UE can select / reselect on the 6G cell, for example, based on the SSB. Furthermore, the UE can also identify (e.g., based on the SSB) that the 6G cell is an MRSS cell. It should be noted that in this step, the UE may not be able to obtain 5G SIB1 or 6G SIB1.

[0209] At step S42: Similar to step S32, the UE can obtain the WUS configuration from the 6G cell. The 6G cell can work with a standalone OD-SIB1. As a single configuration message, the WUS configuration can include, for example, a 5G WUS configuration and a 6G WUS configuration. For example, the WUS configuration can indicate that the WUS configuration is valid only for the 5G cell (i.e., a dedicated configuration associated with the 5G cell), valid for both the 5G and 6G cells (i.e., a shared configuration associated with both the 5G and 6G cells), or valid only for the 6G cell (i.e., a dedicated configuration associated with the 6G cell). Furthermore, different PRACH resources (time / frequency resources, preambles, etc.) can be allocated to request only the 5G cell, 5G and 6G cells, or only the 6G cell. In addition, similar to the configuration information obtained in step S32, a single configuration message may also contain information elements indicating dedicated or shared configurations, such as uplink (UL) power control parameters for the corresponding WUS, the corresponding downlink reference signal list set, such as SSB for UL power control, corresponding WUS resources, and OD-SIB1 monitoring information.

[0210] At step S43, the UE can calculate the path loss for UL power control based on the indication at step S42. For example, the UE can calculate the UL power based on the path loss calculated from the 5G SSB and / or 6G SSB. Furthermore, the UE can assume, based on the indication provided in the WUS configuration received at step S42, that the path loss calculated based on the 5G SSB also applies to the 6G SSB. As mentioned above, this step is optional for determining the optimal UL power.

[0211] At step S44, the UE can send a request for OD-SIB1 for either the 5G or 6G cell based on an indication received in the WUS configuration. For example, as shown in step S44-1, based on the WUS configuration, if the UE only requests OD-SIB1 for 5G, the UE can send UL WUS to the 5G cell using a dedicated WUS configuration; or if the UE requests OD-SIB1 for both 5G and 6G, the UE can send UL WUS to the 5G cell using a shared configuration. Alternatively or additionally, as shown in step S44-2, based on the WUS configuration, if the UE only requests OD-SIB1 for 6G, the UE can send UL WUS to the 6G cell using a dedicated WUS configuration; or if the UE requests OD-SIB1 for both 5G and 6G, the UE can send UL WUS to the 6G cell using a shared configuration. Therefore, in Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the corresponding request can be sent to the corresponding cell (5G / 6G) using, for example, UL power control parameters received in a single WUS configuration.

[0212] At step S45: Upon receiving the request(s) from the UE, the 5G and / or 6G MRSS cell may send SIB1 based on the received request(s). Specifically, if the UE requests only OD-SIB1 for 5G or requests OD-SIB1 for both 5G and 6G, the 5G MRSS cell may send OD-SIB1 to the UE (step S45-1). Alternatively or additionally, if the UE requests only OD-SIB1 for 6G or requests OD-SIB1 for both 5G and 6G, the 6G MRSS cell may send OD-SIB1 to the UE (step S55-2).

[0213] and Figure 3 Similar to the implementation, the UE may subsequently assume or be configured with monitoring timings for OD-SIB1 that are aligned (identical) between 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells. In other cases, the UE may assume or be configured with monitoring timings for OD-SIB1 that differ between 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells (e.g., the UE may first monitor SIB1 transmissions for 5G and then monitor SIB1 transmissions for 6G, so that the UE can acquire 5G SIB1 first and then (incrementally) acquire 6G SIB1). It should be further understood that, depending on the use case, in Figure 4 In the embodiments, similar to Figure 3 The triggering event of step S36 in the embodiment can also occur between 5G cells and 6G cells.

[0214] Therefore, WUS configuration for both 5G and 6G MRSS cells can be provided by a single cell (e.g., by a 6G cell or a 5G cell). Thus, cell handover between MRSS cells is unnecessary for the UE (e.g., UE oscillator / RF handover). It should also be noted that a 6G cell can act as an anchor cell for a 5G cell, and vice versa. In this way, since SIB1 transmissions using MRSS cells with different RATs can assume the same monitoring timing, lower UE power consumption can be expected. Monitoring of OD-SIB1 transmission

[0215] As described above, the UE can monitor SIB1 transmissions in 5G and / or 6G cells based on monitoring information included in the acquired configuration information / configuration message. Figures 5(a) and 5(b) schematically illustrate examples of UE monitoring SIB1 transmissions according to embodiments of this disclosure. Specifically, Figure 5(a) illustrates the case where the above-described monitoring timing for OD-SIB1 is aligned (identical) between 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells, while Figure 5(b) illustrates the case where the above-described monitoring timing for OD-SIB1 in 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells are different. Specifically, the monitoring timing for SIB1 transmissions in 5G and 6G cells can be, for example, a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring timing. However, other types of monitoring timings that the UE can use to monitor the transmission of cell access-related information are feasible and within the scope of this disclosure. It should be further understood that the example shown in Figure 5 can be applied to transmissions related to the above-described... Figure 3 Implementation examples and Figure 4 The embodiments are combined.

[0216] In the example of Figure 5(a), the monitoring timing for OD-SIB1 is aligned between 5G MRSS cells and 6G MRSS cells. The network node (associated with the 5G / 6G cell) can configure the UE with the monitoring timing of Type 0-PDCCH for OD-SIB1 for 5G and / or 6G cells using WUS configuration or Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) payload. Based on the network configuration, the UE can determine the common monitoring timing 501a for Type 0-PDCCH of OD-SIB1 for both 5G and 6G cells. The UE can determine the alignment of the monitoring timings for Type 0-PDCCH of OD-SIB1 for 5G and 6G. The UE can then acquire the Type 0-PDCCH of 5G OD-SIB1 and the Type 0-PDCCH of 6G OD-SIB1 within the determined common monitoring timing.

[0217] In the example of Figure 5(b), the monitoring timing for OD-SIB1 differs between the 5G MRSS cell and the 6G MRSS cell. The UE can sequentially determine the monitoring timing for the Type 0-PDCCH of OD-SIB1 for one cell (using the first RAT, e.g., 6G) and the monitoring timing for the Type 0-PDCCH of OD-SIB1 for the other cell (using the second RAT, e.g., 5G). For example, the UE can determine the Type 0-PDCCH of OD-SIB1 for one cell using the second RAT based on the Type 0-PDCCH of OD-SIB1 for another cell using the first RAT. In another example, the UE can determine the monitoring timing for the Type 0-PDCCH of OD-SIB1 for one cell using the second RAT based on the monitoring timing of the Type 0-PDCCH of OD-SIB1 for another cell using the first RAT. The example in Figure 5(b) illustrates that the UE can monitor the Type 0-PDCCH for the first RAT, as shown in 501b, and after decoding the Type 0-PDCCH for the first RAT, the UE can determine the Type 0-PDCCH for the second RAT, as shown in 502. Uplink power determination

[0218] Figure 6 An exemplary signaling diagram for determining uplink power during the OD-SIB1 process, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, is illustrated schematically. It should be understood that... Figure 6 The illustrated embodiments can be used in conjunction with those described above. Figure 3 Implementation examples (where a single WUS request is used to request 5G OD-SIB1 and 6G OD-SIB1) and Figure 4 The embodiments (where a single WUS configuration is used to request 5G OD-SIB1 and 6G OD-SIB1) are combined.

[0219] At step S61: Similar to S31 and S41, the UE can select / reselect on a 6G cell, for example, based on the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). Furthermore, the UE can identify (e.g., based on the SSB) that the 6G cell is an MRSS cell. It should be noted that at this step, the UE may not be able to acquire 5G SIB1 or 6G SIB1.

[0220] At step S62, similar to S32 and S42, the UE can obtain configuration information from the 6G cell (e.g., whenever the 6G cell works with independent OD-SIB1) as a 6G WUS configuration. For example, the 6G WUS configuration may also include uplink (UL) power control parameters for WUS (e.g., as a request message for requesting SIB1), a 5G and / or 6G downlink reference signal list set, and, for example, an SSB for UL power control. Figure 6 In some embodiments, the 6G WUS configuration may also include a combination rule of 5G cells and 6G cells for path loss calculation.

[0221] At step S63, the UE can calculate the path loss for UL power control based on the instruction at step S62. To send UL WUS to a cell (e.g., a request for OD-SIB1), the UE can measure the path loss of that cell and use it when calculating the transmission power for the UL WUS. At step S62, the UE can measure the path loss for, for example, a 6G cell. In MRSS scenarios, the UE can reuse the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal of the 6G cell to calculate the transmission power for the UL WUS to the 5G cell. Therefore, a single request can be sent to both the 5G and 6G cells based on the reference signal of the 6G cell.

[0222] However, if the transmission power or mode of the reference signal in a 6G cell differs from that in a 5G cell, the following implementation can be applied at the UE to achieve power control for UL WUS: For example, a UE can calculate UL path loss based on a (downlink) reference signal from one cell using a first RAT (RAT1) and a (downlink) reference signal from another cell using a second RAT (RAT2). Therefore, the UE can signal or not apply one or more of the following: • Path loss for power control in UL WUS = max{path loss of RAT1, path loss of RAT2}. • Path loss for power control = Average{path loss of RAT1, path loss of RAT2}; and • The UE can apply another combination function (e.g., included in the WUS configuration) to smooth the path loss calculated by RAT1 and RAT2.

[0223] Therefore, the UE can calculate the path loss based on the configured reference signal. Based on the measured path loss and the configured maximum output power, as well as other parameters such as the PRACH target receive power, the UE can calculate the PRACH transmit power as described above. In this way, different downlink reference signals can be configured for different RATs, and the UE can be requested to measure the path loss based on the configured reference signals for different RATs. The proposed solution is also able to consider path loss information obtained from (multiple) WUS configurations for UL power control of PRACH.

[0224] It should be understood that the (downlink) reference signal can be used for path loss calculation (for UL power control). In MRSS scenarios for OD-SIB and UE handover between 5G and 6G cells, the solution proposed according to this disclosure utilizes the fact that the path loss calculation performed by one RAT remains valid for the second RAT. The path loss calculation can then be used to determine the PRACH power (for transmitting WUS) used to request OD-SIB1 from the 5G network node and / or 6G network node. Xn interface between 5G RAN and 6G RAN

[0225] Regarding the above Figure 3 and Figure 4 In the embodiments provided, the Xn interface between a 5G network node (associated with a 5G MRSS cell) and a 6G network node (associated with a 6G MRSS cell) can support the following functions: •for Figure 3 In one embodiment, a single WUS request is used to request both 5G OD-SIB1 and 6G OD-SIB1. The 6G MRSS cell can send both 5G SIB1 and 6G SIB1, or 5G SIB1 and incremental 6G SIB1, or 5G SIB1 and incremental 6G SIB1, and trigger the 5G MRSS cell to send 5G SIB1. Furthermore, the 6G MRSS cell can also send a WUS configuration for both the 5G and 6G cells. •for Figure 4 In one embodiment, a single WUS configuration is used to request both 5G OD-SIB1 and 6G OD-SIB1, and the 6GMRSS cell can send both the 5G WUS configuration and the 6G WUS configuration (included in a single configuration message / information).

[0226] Therefore, support for the Xn interface between 5G and 6G network nodes can include the sharing of 5G SIB1 and 6G SIB1 between RATs (e.g., 6G and 5G cells), and the triggering of one RAT by another RAT (e.g., a 6G cell triggering a 5G cell to send 5G SIB1). More specifically... Figure 7 An example of a signaling diagram for the Xn interface between a 5G network node and a 6G network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated schematically.

[0227] At step A1, the 6G RAN (controlled by a 6G cell, such as a 6G-gNB-DU) may share its WUS configuration and / or OD-SIB1 with the 5G RAN (controlled by a 5G cell, such as a 5G-gNB-DU). At step A2, the 5G RAN may store the 6G WUS configuration and / or OD-SIB1 for broadcast to the UE (in conjunction with the 5G RAN). Similarly, at steps B1 and B2, the 5G RAN may share its WUS configuration and / or OD-SIB1 with the 6G RAN, which may store these and use them in broadcasts to its UEs. It should be noted that the activation of the OD-SIB1 feature can be implicit or explicit. In the implicit case, when the WUS configuration is sent from one RAT to another RAT, it can be assumed that OD-SIB1 is activated (i.e., based on the WUS configuration). On the other hand, the OD-SIB1 feature can be explicitly activated by additional Xn signaling (in addition to WUS configuration) that involves activating (or deactivating) the OD-SIB1 feature.

[0228] Subsequently, in steps C1 to C3, the 5G RAN can trigger the 6G RAN to broadcast 6G OD-SIB1, which can perform the same request (the same request used to request 5G OD-SIB1). Similarly, in steps D1 to D3, the 6G RAN can trigger the 5G RAN to broadcast 5G OD-SIB1, which can perform the same request (the same request used to request 6G OD-SIB1).

[0229] It should be noted that Figure 7 The Xn interface shown explicitly depicts Xn signaling between two DUs, but should not be limited to signaling exchange between DUs. In some practical implementations, the actual interface can be established directly between 5G and 6G DUs, or it can be established through the corresponding CU based on the 3GPP's decision on the interface between RATs.

[0230] In embodiments according to this disclosure, it can be assumed that the on-demand signal in the 6G network is, for example, a PRACH preamble. For example, a common PRACH preamble used for both 5G RAT and 6G RAT can be considered for OD-SIB1. Using this common preamble, the UE can send Msg1 (PRACH preamble), and the corresponding network nodes(s) can interpret the request as OD-SIB1 for both 5G and 6G cells.

[0231] like Figure 4 As described in the embodiments, user equipment identifying a 6G cell as a 6G MRSS cell (e.g., based on a 6G SSB) can assume that the WUS configuration provided by the 6G cell is also applicable to requesting 5G MRSS SIB1 from a 6G cell or a 5G cell. That is, a 6G network node or a 5G network node can send WUS configurations for requesting 5G SIB1 and / or 6G SIB1. Assuming that the 5G cell is a cell that receives WUS requests for 5G SIB1 and / or 6G SIB1, the 5G cell can receive requests for SIB1 from the 6G cell and / or the 5G cell. The 5G cell can send 5G OD-SIB1 and / or 6G OD-SIB1 based on the received requests.

[0232] like Figure 3 As described in the embodiments, a 6G network node or a 5G network node can send WUS configurations for both the 5G and 6G cells. Assuming the 5G cell is a cell that receives WUS requests for OD-SIB1 for both the 5G and 6G cells, the 5G cell can receive requests for SIB1 from both the 6G and 5G cells. The 5G cell can send 5G OD-SIB1 and trigger the 6G cell to send 6G OD-SIB1, or send 5G SIB1 and 6G incremental SIB1, or send both 5G SIB1 and 6G SIB1.

[0233] Furthermore, as mentioned above, a user equipment requesting OD-SIB1 from a 6G cell can assume that the monitoring timing (monitoring window) for 6G OD-SIB1 is the same as that for 5G OD-SIB1. Additionally, the user equipment can also calculate path loss for UL power control (e.g., Random Access Channel (RACH)) based on the 5G SSB or 6G SSB configured in the WUS configuration.

[0234] It should be understood that the proposed solution allows for requesting cell access-related information based on a single request sent from the UE. According to this disclosure, a single request is defined for requesting SIB1 from both 6G and 5G cells. In this way, cell handover (e.g., UE oscillator / RF handover) between MRSS cells for requesting SIB1 from 5G and 6G cells is eliminated or reduced.

[0235] It can also be understood that, as explicitly shown in the above embodiments, the 6G cell provides WUS configuration to the UE (acting as the anchor), and the UE sends an on-demand request to the 6G cell to obtain SIB1 from both the 6G and 5G cells. However, in other cases, the 5G cell can also act as the anchor cell.

[0236] Figure 8 An example of a method 800 for a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. The UE supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology. Specifically, the second radio access technology may be different from the first radio access technology, and the first and second cells may provide overlapping coverage areas for communication with the UE. Method 800 can be performed by any suitable device / apparatus (e.g., a mobile device, a computer, etc.), including any suitable components for performing method 800. Specifically, method 800 can be implemented during communication between the UE and one or more network nodes of a radio access network (e.g., 5G network nodes and / or 6G network nodes) according to configuration information, such as, for example... Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 6 As described in the embodiments.

[0237] At step S801, method 800 includes receiving configuration information from a first network node (e.g., a 6G network node) associated with the first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information (e.g., SIB1 as described above) about the first cell and / or the second cell. Specifically, the first cell may be controlled by the first network node, and the second cell may be controlled by a second network node (e.g., a 5G network node).

[0238] At step S802, method 800 includes sending a first request message to a first network node based on the received configuration information, the first request message requesting cell access related information about a first cell and / or a second cell.

[0239] At step S803, method 800 includes receiving cell access related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0240] It should be noted that, such as Figure 3As explicitly shown in the embodiments, the method can receive configuration information for requesting cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell (at step S801), send a first request message (i.e., a single request) requesting cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell (at step S02), and receive cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell (at step S803).

[0241] Figure 9 An example of a method 900 for a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. The UE supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology. Specifically, the second radio access technology may be different from the first radio access technology, and the first and second cells may provide overlapping coverage areas for communication with the UE. Method 900 can be performed by any suitable device / apparatus (e.g., a mobile device, a computer, etc.), including any suitable components for performing method 900. Specifically, method 900 can be implemented during communication between the UE and one or more network nodes of a radio access network (e.g., 5G network nodes and / or 6G network nodes) according to configuration information, such as, for example... Figures 3 to 6 As described in the embodiments.

[0242] At step S901, method 900 includes receiving configuration information from a first network node (e.g., a 6G network node) associated with the first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information (e.g., SIB1 as described above) about the first cell and / or the second cell. Specifically, the first cell may be controlled by the first network node, and the second cell may be controlled by a second network node (e.g., a 5G network node).

[0243] At step S902, method 900 includes determining, based on configuration information, the timing of monitoring for the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0244] At step S903, method 900 includes receiving cell access related information about the first cell and / or the second cell at the determined monitoring time.

[0245] It should be noted that, such as Figure 3 As explicitly shown in the embodiments, the method can receive configuration information for requesting cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell (at step S901), determine a monitoring timing for transmitting cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell (at step S902), and receive cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell at the determined monitoring timing (at step S903).

[0246] Figure 10 An example of a method 1000 for a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. The UE supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology. Specifically, the second radio access technology may be different from the first radio access technology, and the first and second cells may provide overlapping coverage areas for communication with the UE. Method 1000 can be performed by any suitable device / apparatus (e.g., a mobile device, a computer, etc.), including any suitable components for performing method 1000. Specifically, method 1000 can be implemented during communication between the UE and one or more network nodes of a radio access network (e.g., 5G network nodes and / or 6G network nodes) according to configuration information, such as, for example... Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 6 As described in the embodiments.

[0247] At step S1001, method 1000 includes receiving configuration information from a first network node (e.g., a 6G network node) associated with the first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information (e.g., SIB1 as described above) about the first cell and / or the second cell. Specifically, the first cell may be controlled by the first network node, and the second cell may be controlled by a second network node (e.g., a 5G network node).

[0248] At step S1002, method 1000 includes determining, at least based on configuration information, the uplink power for sending a first request message, the first request message requesting cell access related information about a first cell and / or a second cell.

[0249] At step S1003, method 1000 includes sending a first request message to a first network node using the determined uplink power.

[0250] It should be noted that, such as Figure 3 As explicitly shown in the embodiments, the method can receive configuration information for requesting cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell (at step S1001), and determine the uplink power for sending a first request message, the first request message requesting cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell (at step S1002).

[0251] It should be noted that although in the above example embodiments (refer to the accompanying drawings), messages transmitted / exchanged between network components / elements may appear to have specific / explicit names, depending on various implementations (e.g., emphasis techniques), these messages may have different names and / or be transmitted / exchanged in different forms / formats, as understood and recognized by those skilled in the art.

[0252] According to some example embodiments, corresponding methods suitable for execution by the devices (network elements / components) described above (such as UE, CU, DU, etc.) are also provided.

[0253] However, it should be noted that the aforementioned device (equipment) features correspond to corresponding method features, but for the sake of brevity, these method features may not be explicitly described. The disclosure of this document is also intended to extend to such method features. In particular, this disclosure is understood to relate to methods of operating the aforementioned equipment and / or providing and / or arranging the corresponding elements of such equipment.

[0254] In addition, according to some other example embodiments, a corresponding device (e.g., implementing the UE, CU, DU, etc. as described above) is also provided, the device including at least one processing circuit system and at least one memory for storing instructions executed by the processing circuit system, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions are configured together with the at least one processing circuit system such that the corresponding device performs at least the corresponding steps as described above.

[0255] However, in some other example embodiments, a corresponding device (e.g., implementing the UE, CU, DU, etc. as described above) is provided, which includes corresponding components configured to perform at least the corresponding steps as described above.

[0256] It should be noted that the examples of embodiments of this disclosure are applicable to a variety of different network configurations. In other words, the examples shown in the above drawings, which serve as the basis for the above examples, are merely illustrative and do not limit this disclosure in any way. That is, based on the defined principles, other existing and proposed new functionalities available in corresponding operating environments can be used in conjunction with the examples of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0257] It should also be noted that the disclosed example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of ways using hardware and / or software configurations. For example, the disclosed embodiments can be implemented using dedicated hardware and / or hardware associated with software that can be executed thereon. The components and / or elements in the drawings are merely examples and do not limit the scope or functionality of any hardware, software and hardware combinations, firmware, embedded logic components, or combinations of two or more such components that implement a particular embodiment of this disclosure.

[0258] It should be further noted that the specification and drawings only illustrate the principles of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will be able to implement various arrangements, which, although not expressly described or shown herein, embody the principles of this disclosure and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and embodiments outlined in this disclosure are primarily for illustrative purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the proposed methods. Moreover, all statements and specific examples of the principles, aspects, and embodiments of this disclosure provided herein are intended to cover their equivalents.

[0259] Example 1. A user equipment (UE) configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: Receive configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the configuration information, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first and second cells; and During the determined monitoring period, receive cell access information for the first and second cells.

[0260] Example 2. The UE according to Example 1, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine a monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about a first cell that is aligned with a monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about a second cell, and wherein the determined monitoring timing includes: a common monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell.

[0261] Example 3. The UE according to Example 1, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine that the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell is different from the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about the second cell.

[0262] Example 4. The UE according to Example 3, wherein the UE is further configured such that: Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, or Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell is determined.

[0263] Example 5. The UE according to Example 4, wherein the UE is further configured to: receive cell access information about the first cell during a determined monitoring time for the transmission of cell access information about the first cell, and receive cell access information about the second cell during a determined monitoring time for the transmission of cell access information about the second cell.

[0264] Example 6. According to any one of Examples 1 to 5, the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell includes: the monitoring timing for receiving the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the first type system information block (SIB1) of the first cell and the second cell.

[0265] Example 7. A UE according to any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein the UE is further configured to: send a first request message to a first network node based on received configuration information, the first request message requesting cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell.

[0266] Example 8. A UE according to any one of Examples 1 to 7, wherein cell access related information includes: a first type system information block (SIB1) of a first cell and a second cell, or a difference in SIB1 related to the first cell or the second cell, wherein the UE is further configured to receive from a first network node: The SIB1 of the first cell, or the difference in SIB1 related to the first cell relative to the second cell, or SIB1 of the first cell and SIB1 of the second cell, or The difference in SIB1 between the second cell and the first cell, and the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0267] Example 9. The UE according to Example 8, wherein the UE is further configured to: receive the SIB1 of the second cell from the second network node if the UE receives the SIB1 of the first cell from the first network node, or the difference between the SIB1 of the second cell and the SIB1 of the first cell relative to the second cell.

[0268] Example 10. A UE according to any one of Examples 7 to 9, wherein the configuration information includes at least one of the following: at least one uplink power control parameter for sending a first request message, a set of downlink reference signals associated with a first cell and / or a second cell for uplink power control, resource information related to the physical random access channel (PRACH) for sending the first request message, and information for monitoring the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0269] Example 11. A UE according to any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein a first network node is associated with a first radio access technology and a second network node is associated with a second radio access technology, and the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology share a spectrum.

[0270] Example 12. A UE according to any one of Examples 1 to 11, wherein the UE is further configured to: identify a first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) sent from a first network node, and / or wherein the UE is further configured to: select or reselect a first cell based on an SSB sent from a first network node.

[0271] Example 13. A UE according to any one of Examples 7 to 12, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine an uplink power for transmitting a first request message based on at least one uplink power control parameter and / or at least one reference signal included in the configuration information and associated with a first cell and / or a second cell.

[0272] Example 14. The UE according to Example 13, wherein the uplink power for sending the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is derived from the configuration information.

[0273] Example 15. The UE according to Example 13 or 14, wherein the uplink power for sending the first request message is determined based on the path loss of the first cell, and the path loss of the first cell is determined based on a first reference signal received from a first network node and / or a second reference signal received from a second network node.

[0274] Example 16. The UE according to Example 15, wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal include different transmit power parameters or modes, and wherein the UE is further configured to determine path loss by at least one of the following: The larger of the first path loss determined based on the first reference signal and the second path loss determined based on the second reference signal is selected as the path loss used to determine the uplink power. Determine the average path loss of the first path loss and the second path loss, and Based on the predefined rules included in the configuration information, a combination function is applied to smooth the first path loss and the second path loss.

[0275] Example 17. A user equipment (UE) configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on configuration information, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and During the determined monitoring period, receive cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells.

[0276] Example 18. The UE according to Example 17, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine a monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about a first cell that is aligned with a monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about a second cell, and wherein the determined monitoring timing includes a common monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell.

[0277] Example 19. The UE according to Example 17, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine that the timing of monitoring for the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell is different from the timing of monitoring for the transmission of cell access related information about the second cell.

[0278] Example 20. The UE according to Example 19, wherein the UE is further configured such that: Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, or Based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell is determined.

[0279] Example 21. The UE according to Example 20, wherein the UE is further configured to: receive cell access information about the first cell during a determined monitoring time for the transmission of cell access information about the first cell, and / or receive cell access information about the second cell during a determined monitoring time for the transmission of cell access information about the second cell.

[0280] Example 22. According to any one of Examples 17 to 21, the monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access related information about the first cell and / or the second cell includes: the monitoring timing for receiving the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the first type system information block (SIB1) of the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0281] Example 23. A UE according to any one of Examples 17 to 22, wherein the UE is further configured to: send a first request message to a first network node based on received configuration information, the first request message requesting cell access related information about at least one of a first cell and a second cell.

[0282] Example 24. The UE according to any one of Examples 17 to 23, wherein the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first configuration for requesting cell access related information about a first cell, a second configuration for requesting cell access related information about a second cell, and a third configuration for requesting cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell.

[0283] Example 25. A UE according to any one of Examples 17 to 24, wherein cell access related information includes: a first type system information block (SIB1) of a first cell and / or a second cell, wherein the UE is further configured to receive the SIB1 of at least one of the first cell and the second cell from a first network node, and optionally, wherein the configuration information includes at least one of the following: a first dedicated configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the first network node, a second dedicated configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the second network node, and a shared configuration for requesting the SIB1 of the first network node and the SIB1 of the second network node.

[0284] Example 26. The UE according to Example 25, wherein the UE is further configured to: receive SIB1 of at least one of the first cell and the second cell from the second network node.

[0285] Example 27. A UE according to any one of Examples 24 to 26, which are subordinate to Example 23, wherein at least one of the first configuration, the second configuration, and the third configuration includes at least one of the following: At least one uplink power control parameter used to send the first request message, A set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control. Resource information related to the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) used to send the first request message, and Information for monitoring the transmission of cell access related information about a first cell and / or a second cell, wherein optionally, the resource information includes at least one PRACH preamble associated with a first request message, the first request message requesting at least one of the following: cell access related information about a first cell, cell access related information about a second cell, and cell access related information about both the first and second cells.

[0286] Example 28. A UE according to any one of Examples 17 to 27, wherein the UE is further configured to: send a second request message to a second network node based on configuration information, the second request message requesting cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell.

[0287] Example 29. A UE according to any one of Examples 17 to 28, wherein the UE is further configured to: identify a first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) sent from a first network node, and / or select or reselect a first cell based on an SSB sent from a first network node.

[0288] Example 30. A UE according to any one of Examples 23 to 29, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine an uplink power for transmitting a first request message based on at least one uplink power control parameter and / or at least one reference signal included in the configuration information and associated with a first cell and / or a second cell.

[0289] Example 31. The UE according to Example 30, wherein the uplink power for sending the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, which is available from the configuration information.

[0290] Example 32. The UE according to Example 30 or 31, wherein the uplink power for sending the first request message is determined based on the path loss for the first cell, the path loss of the first cell being determined based on a first reference signal received from a first network node and / or a second reference signal received from a second network node, as included in the configuration information.

[0291] Example 33. The UE according to Example 32, wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal include different transmit power parameters or modes, and wherein the UE is further configured to determine path loss by at least one of the following: The larger of the first path loss determined based on the first reference signal and the second path loss determined based on the second reference signal is selected as the path loss used to determine the uplink power. Determine the average path loss of the first path loss and the second path loss, and Based on the predefined rules included in the configuration information, a combination function is applied to smooth the first path loss and the second path loss.

[0292] Example 34. The UE according to any one of Examples 17 to 33, wherein a first network node is associated with a first radio access technology and a second network node is associated with a second radio access technology, and the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology share a spectrum.

[0293] Example 35. A method for a user equipment (UE) that supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the method comprising: Receive configuration information from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about a first cell and a second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the configuration information, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first and second cells; and During the determined monitoring period, receive cell access information for the first and second cells.

[0294] Example 36. A method for a user equipment (UE) that supports communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the method comprising: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with a first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about at least one of the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on configuration information, determine the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about at least one of the first and second cells; and During the determined monitoring period, receive cell access related information about at least one of the first and second cells. List of abbreviations: UE: User Equipment RRC: Radio Resource Control MAC: Media Access Control BBU: Baseband Unit REC: Wireless Device Controller RCC: Wireless Cloud Center C-RAN: Cloud Radio Access Network V-RAN: Virtualized RAN O-RAN: Open RAN

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE) configured to support communication with a first cell using a first radio access technology and communication with a second cell using a second radio access technology different from the first radio access technology, the UE comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: Configuration information is received from a first network node associated with the first cell, the configuration information being used to request cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell, the first cell being controlled by the first network node and the second cell being controlled by the second network node; Based on the configuration information, the timing for monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell is determined; as well as During the determined monitoring period, cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell is received.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine a monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information concerning the first cell, which is aligned with a monitoring timing for the transmission of cell access-related information concerning the second cell, and wherein the determined monitoring timing includes: Public monitoring opportunities for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell.

3. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine that the monitoring timing for transmitting the cell access related information about the first cell is different from the monitoring timing for transmitting the cell access related information about the second cell.

4. The UE of claim 3, wherein the UE is further configured to include one or more of the following: The monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell is determined based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, or the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell is determined based on the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell; or During the determined monitoring period for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell, the cell access-related information about the first cell is received; and during the determined monitoring period for transmitting cell access-related information about the second cell, the cell access-related information about the second cell is received.

5. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the monitoring timing for transmitting cell access-related information about the first cell and the second cell includes: The timing for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) for receiving the first type of system information block (SIB1) from the first cell and the second cell, or The UE is further configured to: send a first request message to the first network node based on the received configuration information, the first request message requesting cell access related information about the first cell and the second cell.

6. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cell access related information includes: The differences between the first type of system information block (SIB1) of the first cell and the second cell, or the differences between the SIB1 related to the first cell or the second cell. The UE is also configured to receive from the first network node: The difference between the SIB1 of the first cell and the SIB1 of the second cell related to the first cell, or The SIB1 of the first cell and the SIB1 of the second cell, or The difference between the SIB1 of the second cell and the SIB1 of the first cell; or The UE is further configured to receive the SIB1 of the second cell from the second network node if the UE receives the SIB1 of the first cell from the first network node, or the difference between the SIB1 of the second cell and the SIB1 of the first cell relative to the second cell.

7. The UE of claim 5, wherein the configuration information includes at least one of the following: at least one uplink power control parameter for sending the first request message, a set of downlink reference signals associated with the first cell and / or the second cell for uplink power control, resource information related to the physical random access channel (PRACH) for sending the first request message, and information for monitoring the transmission of cell access-related information concerning the first cell and / or the second cell.

8. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first network node is associated with the first radio access technology, and the second network node is associated with the second radio access technology, the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology sharing a spectrum; or The UE is further configured to: identify the first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) sent from the first network node, and / or wherein the UE is further configured to: select or reselect the first cell based on the SSB sent from the first network node.

9. The UE of claim 5, wherein the UE is further configured to: determine an uplink power for transmitting the first request message based on at least one uplink power control parameter and / or at least one reference signal included in the configuration information and associated with the first cell and / or the second cell, wherein the uplink power for transmitting the first request message is determined based on path loss for the first cell that is deriveable from the configuration information.

10. The UE of claim 9, wherein the uplink power for transmitting the first request message is determined based on the path loss of the first cell, the path loss of the first cell is determined based on a first reference signal received from the first network node and / or a second reference signal received from the second network node, wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal include different transmit power parameters or modes, and wherein the UE is further configured to determine the path loss by at least one of the following: The larger of the first path loss determined based on the first reference signal and the second path loss determined based on the second reference signal is selected as the path loss used to determine the uplink power. Determine the average path loss of the first path loss and the second path loss, and Based on the predefined rules included in the configuration information, a combination function is applied to smooth the first path loss and the second path loss.

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