Seamless ground and non-ground link recovery

Abstract

A user equipment in communication session with a terrestrial radio network node can receive, from the terrestrial node, a link recovery configuration including a context identifier indicating context information corresponding to the communication session. Based on a poor radio link condition or a radio link failure, the user equipment can determine to transmit, to a non-terrestrial node identified in the link recovery configuration, a session transfer request including the context identifier. The session transfer request can be transmitted according to a timing advance or according to a non-terrestrial resource associated with a non-terrestrial node identifier in the link recovery configuration corresponding to the non-terrestrial node. The session transfer request can request a transfer of an existing communication session from the terrestrial node to the non-terrestrial node. The non-terrestrial node can retrieve, from the terrestrial node, session context information usable to facilitate the existing communication session based on the context identifier.

Description

Related applications

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. nonprovisional patent application No. 18 / 389,646, filed December 19, 2023, entitled “SEAMLESS TERRESTRIAL AND NON-TERRESTRIAL LINK RECOVERY,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology

[0002] The term “New Radio” (NR), associated with fifth-generation mobile wireless communication systems (“5G”), refers to the technical aspects used in a radio access network (“RAN”) that encompass multiple Quality of Service (“QoS”) categories, including Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (“URLLC”), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (“eMBB”), and Massive Machine-Type Communication (“mMTC”). The URLLC QoS category is associated with stringent latency requirements (e.g., low latency or low signal / message delay) and high reliability of radio performance, while traditional eMBB use cases can be associated with high-capacity wireless communication, which allows for less stringent latency requirements (e.g., higher latency than URLLC) and less reliable radio performance compared to URLLC. Performance requirements for mMTC can be lower than those for eMBB use cases. Some use cases involving mobile devices or mobile user equipment (such as smartphones, wireless tablets, smartwatches, etc.) can impose varying loads or demands on given RAN resources. RAN nodes can activate network power-saving modes to reduce power consumption. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The following is a simplified overview of the disclosed subject matter to provide a basic understanding of some embodiments in various examples. This invention is not a broad overview of all embodiments. It is neither intended to identify key or essential elements of the various embodiments nor to define the scope of the various embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of this disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

[0004] In an example embodiment, a method may include a first radio network node, including at least one processor, facilitating the reception of an adaptive session transfer configuration from a network computing device, the adaptive session transfer configuration including at least one session transfer criterion; the first radio network node determining at least one radio characteristic corresponding to a user equipment; and the first radio network node analyzing the at least one radio characteristic with respect to the at least one session transfer criterion to obtain at least one analyzed radio characteristic. Based on the at least one analyzed radio characteristic corresponding to satisfying at least one session transfer criterion, the method may further include the first radio network node facilitating the transmission to the user equipment of context information corresponding to an existing communication session between the first radio network node and the user equipment, the context information being usable by the user equipment to facilitate the continuation of the existing communication session with a second radio network node.

[0005] The first radio network node can be a terrestrial radio network node, while the second radio network node can include a satellite. In one embodiment, the first radio network node can include a gateway or be communicatively coupled to a gateway. In another embodiment, the second radio network node can include a gateway or be communicatively coupled to a gateway.

[0006] In an embodiment, the context information may include a link recovery configuration, which includes a timing advance indication that indicates a timing advance corresponding to a second radio network node.

[0007] At least one radio characteristic may be the number of communication link failures between the user equipment and the first radio network node, determined by the first radio network node, to obtain the determined number of link failures, and wherein satisfying at least one session transfer criterion corresponds to the determined number of link failures not being less than a threshold specified by at least one session transfer criterion.

[0008] The method may further include a first radio network node facilitating the reception of a radio parameter measurement report from a user equipment, the radio parameter measurement report including an indication of at least one radio characteristic. The at least one radio characteristic may be a signal strength measurement value determined by the user equipment corresponding to a downlink signal transmitted by the first radio network node. Determining the at least one radio characteristic corresponding to the user equipment may include retrieving the indication of the at least one radio characteristic from the radio parameter measurement report. Satisfying at least one session transition criterion may correspond to the signal strength measurement value failing to exceed a threshold specified by at least one session transition criterion.

[0009] In this embodiment, the context information may include a link recovery configuration, which includes a context information identifier indicating context information corresponding to an existing communication session. The context information identifier can be used by the user equipment to send a session transfer request message to a second radio network node. The session transfer request message includes the context information, which the second radio network node can use to facilitate the delivery of services associated with the existing communication session. The link recovery configuration may also include at least one non-terrestrial resource indication, indicating at least one non-terrestrial resource, which the user equipment can use to send the session transfer request message to the second radio network node.

[0010] The method may further include a first radio network node facilitating the transmission of a session context retrieval report to a second radio network node. The session context retrieval report may include session information corresponding to an existing communication session, which the second radio network node may use to facilitate the delivery of services associated with the existing communication session with the user equipment. The session information may include at least one of the following: at least one capability indication indicating at least one capability associated with the user equipment; at least one encryption indication indicating at least one encryption corresponding to the existing communication session; and at least one retransmission indication indicating at least one service packet corresponding to the existing communication session scheduled for retransmission from the first radio network node to the user equipment, or at least one service payload packet corresponding to the existing communication session scheduled for transmission from the first radio network node to the user equipment.

[0011] In this embodiment, the first radio network node may be a terrestrial radio network node. The second radio network node may also be a terrestrial radio network node. Context information may be transmitted from the second radio network node to a third radio network node, which may include a satellite. The context information may be used by the third radio network node to facilitate existing communication sessions with user equipment. The second radio network node may include a satellite gateway communicatively coupled to the third radio network node. The second radio network node may also include a radio access network node, which may be communicatively coupled to a satellite gateway, which in turn is communicatively coupled to the third radio network node.

[0012] In one embodiment, the network computing device may include a core network computing device to which a first radio network node is communicatively coupled.

[0013] In another example embodiment, the first radio network node may include a processor configured to process executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate the execution of operations, including receiving a session information message from a second radio network node. The session information message includes session information corresponding to an existing communication session associated with a user equipment, which the first radio network node can use to facilitate the existing communication session with the user equipment. The method may further include receiving a session transfer request message from the user equipment, the session transfer request message including a session transfer instruction to the first radio network node instructing it to initiate an existing communication session with the user equipment based on the session information. The method may also include initiating an existing communication session with the user equipment based on the session information.

[0014] In this embodiment, the first radio network node may include a satellite. The second radio network node may be a satellite gateway communicatively coupled to the third radio network node, which may include a terrestrial radio access network node. Session information may be received by the second radio network node from the third radio network node.

[0015] Session information can be received by a third radio network node from a fourth radio network node, which may include a terrestrial radio access network node. An existing communication session can be established between the fourth radio network node and the user equipment before an existing communication session is established between the first radio network node and the user equipment, as indicated by a session transfer instruction.

[0016] In another example embodiment, the non-transitory machine-readable medium may include executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a terrestrial radio access network node, facilitate the execution of operations including receiving an adaptive session transfer configuration from a network computing device, the adaptive session transfer configuration including at least one session transfer criterion. The operations may further include determining at least one radio characteristic corresponding to a user equipment (UE) with which the terrestrial radio access network node is conducting an existing communication session; and analyzing the at least one radio characteristic with respect to the at least one session transfer criterion to obtain at least one analyzed radio characteristic. Based on the at least one analyzed radio characteristic corresponding to satisfying the at least one session transfer criterion, the operations may further include sending context information corresponding to the existing communication session to the UE, the context information which the UE can use to facilitate the continuation of the existing communication session with a second radio network node. The operations may further include directing the transmission of session information corresponding to the existing communication session to a non-terrestrial radio network node, the session information which the non-terrestrial radio network node can use to facilitate the existing communication session with the UE.

[0017] Session information may include at least one of the following: at least one capability indication indicating at least one capability associated with the user equipment; at least one encryption indication indicating at least one encryption corresponding to an existing communication session; at least one retransmission indication indicating at least one service packet corresponding to an existing communication session scheduled for retransmission from a terrestrial radio access network node to the user equipment, or at least one service payload packet scheduled for transmission from a terrestrial radio access network node to the user equipment.

[0018] Another example method embodiment may include a user equipment including a processor receiving a link recovery configuration from a terrestrial network node. The link recovery configuration includes a context information identifier indicating context information corresponding to a communication session between the user equipment and the terrestrial network node. The method may further include the user equipment determining to transfer the communication session from service by the terrestrial network node to service by a non-terrestrial network node. The method may further include: the user equipment sending the context information identifier to the non-terrestrial network node, the context information identifier being usable by the non-terrestrial network node to obtain context information; and the user equipment and the non-terrestrial network node initiating a communication session based on the context information indicated by the context information identifier.

[0019] In an embodiment, the link recovery configuration may further include a timing advance value corresponding to a non-terrestrial network node, which can be used by the user equipment to establish a communication session with the non-terrestrial network node.

[0020] In this embodiment, the communication session between the user equipment and the terrestrial network node may be associated with session quality of service. The link recovery configuration may further include a resource indication indicating at least one non-terrestrial resource corresponding to a non-terrestrial network node, which the user equipment can use to conduct a communication session with the non-terrestrial network node. The at least one non-terrestrial resource facilitates communication sessions between the user equipment and the non-terrestrial network node based on session quality of service.

[0021] User equipment (UE) can avoid clearing the context information corresponding to the communication session. UE can resume the communication session with the non-terrestrial network node instead of the terrestrial network node based on information included in the link recovery configuration. UE can avoid sending a random access preamble to the non-terrestrial network node before initiating a communication session with it.

[0022] In one embodiment, the context information identifier may be a user equipment identifier corresponding to a user equipment. In another embodiment, the context information identifier may be a session identifier corresponding to a communication session. In yet another embodiment, the link recovery configuration may further include a non-terrestrial network node identifier, which indicates a non-terrestrial network node and can be used by the user equipment to facilitate the sending of the context information identifier to the non-terrestrial network node.

[0023] In this embodiment, the non-terrestrial network node can be a first non-terrestrial network node. The non-terrestrial network node identifier can be a first non-terrestrial network node identifier. The link recovery configuration may further include a second non-terrestrial network node identifier corresponding to a second non-terrestrial network node. The method may further include the user equipment determining a first signal strength corresponding to the first non-terrestrial network node and a second signal strength corresponding to the second non-terrestrial network node; and the user equipment determining the higher of the first and second signal strengths to obtain the determined highest signal strength. A context information identifier may be sent by the user equipment based on the determined highest signal strength, based on the first or second non-terrestrial network node (e.g., the user equipment may send the context information identifier to the non-terrestrial network node corresponding to the determined highest signal strength). A communication session can be established with the non-terrestrial network node corresponding to the determined highest signal strength.

[0024] In an example embodiment of the user equipment, the user equipment may include a processor configured to process executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate the execution of operations, including establishing a communication session with a terrestrial radio network node based on context. The operations may further include: receiving a link recovery configuration from the terrestrial radio network node including context information corresponding to the context; and determining to transfer the communication session from the terrestrial radio network node to a non-terrestrial radio network node. The operations may further include sending a session transfer request message to the non-terrestrial radio network node, the session transfer request message including context information that the non-terrestrial radio network node can use to facilitate the communication session. The operations may include establishing a communication session with the non-terrestrial radio network node based on context.

[0025] A terrestrial radio network node may be a serving terrestrial radio network node. A non-terrestrial radio network node may be a determined non-terrestrial radio network node from a set of at least one non-terrestrial radio network node to which the user equipment is capable of communicating. Link recovery configuration may include at least one non-terrestrial radio network node identifier associated with the set of at least one non-terrestrial radio network node. Determining to transfer a communication session from the serving terrestrial radio network node to the determined non-terrestrial radio network node may further include: determining that the communication link between the user equipment corresponding to the communication session and the serving terrestrial radio network node has failed; determining that there are no other terrestrial radio network nodes besides the serving terrestrial radio network node capable of facilitating the communication session regarding the user equipment; and determining that the determined non-terrestrial radio network node corresponds to a signal strength measurement value higher than at least one signal strength measurement value corresponding to the set of at least one non-terrestrial radio network node.

[0026] In an embodiment, context information may include a context identifier indicating the context. In an embodiment, conducting a communication session with a non-terrestrial radio network node based on the context may include avoiding random access procedures with respect to the non-terrestrial radio network node. In an embodiment, link recovery configuration may include at least one non-terrestrial uplink resource indication, indicating at least one non-terrestrial uplink resource that can be used by the user equipment to facilitate communication with the non-terrestrial radio network node. A session transfer request message may be sent via at least one non-terrestrial uplink resource.

[0027] In this embodiment, the user equipment may be an extended reality device. The radio link facilitating a communication session with the extended reality device may fail, and the communication session may be transferred to a non-terrestrial radio network node, allowing the extended reality device to communicate the services associated with the communication session directly with the non-terrestrial radio network node.

[0028] In yet another example embodiment, the non-transitory machine-readable medium may include executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment, facilitate the execution of operations including: establishing a communication session with a serving terrestrial radio network node based on context; and receiving a link recovery configuration from the serving terrestrial radio network node including a context identifier corresponding to the context. The operations may further include: determining to transfer the communication session from the serving terrestrial radio network node to a determined non-terrestrial radio network node; and sending a session transfer request message to the determined non-terrestrial radio network node, the session transfer request message including a context identifier that the determined non-terrestrial radio network node can use to obtain context information corresponding to the context. The method may further include establishing a communication session with the determined non-terrestrial radio network node based on the context.

[0029] In one embodiment, the link recovery configuration may include a timing advance indication corresponding to a timing advance associated with a determined non-terrestrial radio network node.

[0030] In this embodiment, context information corresponding to the context can be stored in the memory of the user equipment. A session transfer request message can be sent in advance according to a timing associated with the determined non-terrestrial radio network node. The operation may further include: avoiding clearing the context information from the user equipment's memory; and avoiding random access with respect to the determined non-terrestrial radio network node to facilitate a communication session with the determined non-terrestrial radio network node.

[0031] In an embodiment, determining to transfer a communication session from a serving terrestrial radio network node to a determined non-terrestrial radio network node may further include: determining that the communication link between the user equipment corresponding to the communication session and the serving terrestrial radio network node has failed; and determining that there are no other terrestrial radio nodes besides the serving terrestrial radio network node to which the user equipment can be switched to facilitate the communication session. Determining to transfer the communication session may further include: determining that the determined non-terrestrial radio network node corresponds to a signal strength measurement result higher than one or more signal strength measurements, wherein the one or more signal strength measurements correspond to one or more non-terrestrial radio network nodes other than the determined non-terrestrial radio network node.

[0032] In an embodiment, a communication session between a user equipment and a serving terrestrial radio network node may be associated with session quality of service, wherein the link recovery configuration further includes a resource indication indicating at least one non-terrestrial resource corresponding to the identified non-terrestrial radio network node, the at least one non-terrestrial resource being usable by the user equipment for a communication session, and wherein the at least one non-terrestrial resource is capable of facilitating a communication session according to session quality of service. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates the environment of a wireless communication system.

[0034] Figure 2 The illustration depicts an environment with a satellite base station and satellites capable of transmitting services corresponding to a wireless access network.

[0035] Figure 3 The illustration depicts an example environment where a terrestrial radio access network node facilitates a communication session with a user equipment and determines whether to transfer that session to a non-terrestrial network node.

[0036] Figure 4 The illustration shows an example adaptive session transfer configuration.

[0037] Figure 5 The illustration shows an example environment where a user equipment is having a communication session with a terrestrial network node and decides to transfer the communication session to a non-terrestrial network node.

[0038] Figure 6 The illustration shows an example link recovery configuration.

[0039] Figure 7 The illustration shows a timing diagram of an example embodiment where the identification of terrestrial network nodes facilitates the transfer of communication sessions to non-terrestrial network nodes.

[0040] Figure 8 The illustration shows a timing diagram of an example embodiment of a user equipment determining to transfer a communication session from a terrestrial network node to a non-terrestrial network node.

[0041] Figure 9 The flowchart of the method of the example embodiment is illustrated.

[0042] Figure 10 A block diagram illustrating an example method embodiment is shown.

[0043] Figure 11 The diagram illustrates a block diagram of an example first radio network node.

[0044] Figure 12 A block diagram illustrating an example of a non-transitory machine-readable medium embodiment is shown.

[0045] Figure 13 The illustration shows an example computer environment.

[0046] Figure 14 The diagram illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless user equipment. Detailed Implementation

[0047] As will be readily understood by those skilled in the art as a preliminary observation, this embodiment has broad applicability and utility. In addition to those described herein, numerous methods, embodiments, and adaptations, as well as many variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the spirit or scope of the various embodiments of this application.

[0048] Therefore, although this application has been described in detail herein with reference to various embodiments, it will be understood that this disclosure illustrates one or more concepts expressed by various exemplary embodiments and is made solely for the purpose of providing a complete and feasible disclosure. The following disclosure is not intended to limit this application, nor should it be construed as limiting this application or otherwise excluding any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, and the embodiments described herein are limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0049] As used in this disclosure, in some embodiments, the terms "component," "system," etc., are intended to refer to or include computer-related entities or entities associated with operating means having one or more specific functions, wherein the entity may be hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. As an example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread in execution, computer-executable instructions, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration and not limitation, both an application running on a server and the server itself can be components.

[0050] One or more components may reside within a process and / or execution thread, and components may be located on a single computer and / or distributed across two or more computers. Furthermore, these components may be executed from various computer-readable media containing various data structures. Components may communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from a component that interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or with other systems across a network such as the Internet). As another example, a component may be a device having a specific function provided by mechanical parts operated by electrical or electronic circuitry, operated by a software or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor may be internal or external to the device and executes at least a portion of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component may be a device providing a specific function through an electronic component without mechanical parts, the electronic component including a processor therein to execute software or firmware that at least partially endows the electronic component with the function. Although the various components have been illustrated as separate components, it should be understood that multiple components can be implemented as a single component, or a single component can be implemented as multiple components, without departing from the example embodiments.

[0051] As used herein, the term "facilitate" refers to, in relation to the nature of a complex computing environment, in the context of a system, device, or component "facilitating" one or more actions or operations, in which multiple components and / or devices may be involved in some computational operation. Non-limiting examples of actions that may or may not involve multiple components and / or devices include: sending or receiving data, establishing connections between devices, determining intermediate results toward obtaining a result, and so on. In this regard, a computing device or component can facilitate an operation by playing any role in accomplishing the operation. Therefore, when describing the operation of a component herein, it will be understood that, where an operation is described as being facilitated by a component, the operation may optionally be accomplished in cooperation with one or more other computing devices or components, such as, but not limited to, sensors, antennas, audio and / or visual output devices, other devices, etc.

[0052] Furthermore, various embodiments can be implemented as methods, apparatus, or articles of art using standard programming and / or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosed subject matter. As used herein, the term "article of art" is intended to cover a computer program accessible from any computer-readable (or machine-readable) device or computer-readable (or machine-readable) storage / communication medium. For example, computer-readable storage media may include, but is not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic stripes), optical discs (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, key drives). Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications can be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

[0053] Now turn to the attached diagram. Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting blind decoding of PDCCH candidate or search space according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more base stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communication, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communication, low-latency communication, communication with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof. As shown, examples of UE 115 may include smartphones, cars or other vehicles, or drones or other aircraft. Another example of a UE may be a virtual reality device 117, such as smart glasses, a virtual reality headset, an augmented reality headset, and other similar devices that can provide the wearer with images, video, audio, touch, taste, or smell. A UE (such as VR device 117) can transmit or receive wireless signals with RAN base station 105 via a long-range wireless link 125, or the UE / VR device can receive or transmit wireless signals via a short-range wireless link 137, which may include a wireless link with UE device 115, such as a Bluetooth link, a Wi-Fi link, etc. A UE such as device 117 can communicate simultaneously via multiple wireless links, such as communicating with base station 105 via link 125 and via short-range wireless links. VR device 117 can also communicate with the wireless UE via a cable or other wired connection. RAN or its components may be referenced. Figure 13 This is achieved through one or more computer components as described.

[0054] Continue the discussion Figure 1Base stations 105 can be distributed throughout a geographical area to form a wireless communication system 100, and can be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. Base stations 105 and UE 115 can communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125. Base station 105 can be referred to as a RAN node. Each base station 105 can provide a coverage area 110, within which UE 115 and base station 105 can establish one or more communication links 125. Coverage area 110 can be an example of a geographical area over which base station 105 and UE 115 can support signal communication according to one or more radio access technologies.

[0055] UE 115 can be distributed throughout the entire coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 can be stationary or mobile at different times, or both. UE 115 can be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 The diagram illustrates some example UE 115s. The UE 115 described herein can communicate with various types of devices, such as other UE 115s, base station 105, or network devices (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network devices). Figure 1 As shown in the image.

[0056] Base station 105 may communicate with core network 130, communicate with each other, or both. For example, base station 105 may interface with core network 130 via one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). Base station 105 may communicate directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130) or both via backhaul links 120 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces). In some examples, backhaul link 120 may include one or more radio links.

[0057] One or more base stations in the base station 105 described herein may include, or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as, base station, radio base station, access point, radio transceiver, NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB or gigabit NodeB (any of which may be referred to as bNodeB or gNB), home NodeB, home eNodeB or other suitable terms.

[0058] UE 115 may include or be referred to as a mobile device, wireless device, remote device, handheld device, or subscriber device, wireless transceiver unit (“WTRU”), or some other suitable term, wherein “device” may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client, etc. UE 115 may also include or be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computer, laptop computer, personal computer, terminal extended reality device, extended reality processing unit, or router. In some examples, UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, Internet of Things (IoT) device, Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, etc., which can be implemented in various objects, such as appliances, vehicles, or smart meters, etc.

[0059] like Figure 1 As shown, UE 115 can communicate with various types of devices, such as other UE 115s that can sometimes act as relays, base station 105, and network devices including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations.

[0060] UE 115 and base station 105 can wirelessly communicate with each other via one or more communication links 125 on one or more carriers. The term "carrier" can refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communication link 125. For example, a carrier for communication link 125 may include a portion of the radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth portion (BWP)) operating according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling coordinating operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. Wireless communication system 100 can support communication with UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, UE 115 can be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation can be used in conjunction with both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers.

[0061] In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition or control signaling that coordinates operation against other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by UE 115. A carrier may operate in standalone mode, where initial acquisition and connection can be performed by UE 115 via that carrier, or in non-standalone mode, where connections are anchored using different carriers (e.g., carriers of the same or different radio access technologies).

[0062] The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include uplink transmission from UE 115 to base station 105, or downlink transmission from base station 105 to UE 115. The carrier may carry downlink or uplink communication (e.g., in FDD mode), or may be configured to carry both downlink and uplink communication (e.g., in TDD mode).

[0063] A carrier can be associated with a specific bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth can be referred to as the carrier or the “system bandwidth” of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth can be a specific bandwidth (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz) of a carrier for a specific radio access technology. Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base station 105, UE 115, or both) can have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a specific carrier bandwidth, or can be configured to support communication over a single carrier bandwidth within a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 or UE 115 that supports simultaneous communication via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured to operate over a portion (e.g., a subband, BWP) or the entire carrier bandwidth.

[0064] The signal waveform transmitted on a carrier can consist of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform extended OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM, a resource element can consist of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of a modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element can depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Therefore, the more resource elements the UE 115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate that can be used for the UE. Wireless communication resources can refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, temporal resources (e.g., search space), or spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers can further increase the data rate or data integrity of communication with the UE 115.

[0065] One or more parameter sets for a carrier can be supported, where the parameter sets may include subcarrier spacing (Δf) and cyclic prefix. A carrier can be divided into one or more BWPs with the same or different parameter sets. In some examples, UE 115 can be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier can be active at a given time, and communication for UE 115 can be restricted to one or more active BWPs.

[0066] The time interval of base station 105 or UE 115 can be expressed as a multiple of a basic time unit, which can be, for example, a... A sampling period of seconds, where Δf max This can represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and N f This can represent the maximum supported Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) size. The time interval of a communication resource can be organized according to radio frames, each with a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame can be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0067] Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into multiple time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include multiple symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix preceding each number of symbols). In some wireless communication systems 100, time slots may be further divided into multiple micro-time slots containing one or more symbols. In addition to the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., N) symbols. f The sampling period. The duration of the symbol period can depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band.

[0068] A subframe, time slot, micro-time slot, or symbol can be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., in the time domain) and can be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the duration of the TTI (e.g., the number of symbol cycles in the TTI) can be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 can be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).

[0069] Physical channels can be multiplexed on a carrier using various techniques. For example, physical control channels and physical data channels can be multiplexed on a downlink carrier using one or more of time-division multiplexing (TDM), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for physical control channels can be defined by multiple symbol periods and can extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of a carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) can be configured for a set of UEs 115. For example, one or more UEs in UE 115 can monitor or search control regions or spaces for control information based on one or more search space sets, and each search space set can include one or more control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level for control channel candidates can refer to the number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with coded information for a control information format having a given payload size. The search space set may include a common search space set configured to send control information to multiple UEs 115 and a UE-specific search space set used to send control information to a specific UE 115. This document discloses additional search spaces and configurations for monitoring and decoding them, which are novel and non-traditional.

[0070] Base station 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells (e.g., macro cells, small cells, hotspots, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof). The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with base station 105 (e.g., via a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier used to distinguish neighboring cells (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID), or other identifier). In some examples, a cell may also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion of geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) on which a logical communication entity operates. The extent of such a cell can range from a small area (e.g., a structure, a subset of structures) to a large area, depending on various factors such as the capabilities of base station 105. For example, a cell may be or include buildings, subsets of buildings, or external space between or overlapping geographic coverage areas 110.

[0071] Macro cells typically cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and can allow unrestricted access by UE 115 with a service subscription to a network provider supporting the macro cell. In contrast, small cells can be associated with a lower-power base station 105 and can operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells can provide unrestricted access to UE 115 with a service subscription to a network provider, or restricted access to UE 115 associated with a small cell (e.g., UE 115 in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), or UE 115 associated with a user in a home or office). Base station 105 can support one or more cells and can also use one or more component carriers to support communication on one or more cells.

[0072] In some examples, a carrier can support multiple cells, and different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)), which can provide access for different types of devices.

[0073] In some examples, base station 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for mobile geographic coverage areas 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations 105. Wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network, in which different types of base stations 105 use the same or different radio access technologies to provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

[0074] The wireless communication system 100 can support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, base stations 105 can have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 can be approximately time-aligned. For asynchronous operation, base stations 105 can have different frame timing, and in some examples, transmissions from different base stations 105 can be time-disaligned. The techniques described herein can be used for both synchronous and asynchronous operation.

[0075] Some UE 115 devices (such as MTC or IoT devices) can be low-cost or low-complexity devices and can provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC can refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with each other or with base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC can include communication from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application, which utilizes the information or presents it to humans interacting with the application. Some UE 115 devices can be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based billing.

[0076] Some UE 115s can be configured to operate in a power-saving mode, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., supporting unidirectional communication via transmit or receive, but not simultaneous transmit and receive). In some examples, half-duplex communication can be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power-saving techniques for UE 115s include entering a power-saving deep sleep mode when not engaged in active communication, operating on limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communication), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UE 115s can be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., a set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within the carrier, within the carrier's guard band, or outside the carrier.

[0077] Wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication, or various combinations thereof. For example, wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) or mission-critical communication. UE 115 can be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or mission-critical functions (e.g., mission-critical functions). Ultra-reliable communication may include dedicated or group communication and may be supported by one or more mission-critical services, such as mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission-critical video (MCVideo), or mission-critical data (MCData). Support for mission-critical functions may include service prioritization, and mission-critical services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission-critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency are used interchangeably herein.

[0078] In some examples, UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UE 115 via device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocols). Communication link 135 may include a sidelink communication link. One or more UE 115s utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 105. Other UE 115s in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 105, or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from base station 105. In some examples, a group of UE 115s communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where a UE transmits to each other UE in the group. In some examples, base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UE 115s without involving base station 105.

[0079] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel (such as a sidelink communication channel) between vehicles (e.g., UE 115). In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or some combination thereof. Vehicles may use signals to transmit information related to traffic conditions, signal control, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure (such as roadside units), or communicate with the network via one or more RAN network nodes (e.g., base station 105) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, or communicate with both.

[0080] Core network 130 can provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. Core network 130 can be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), and can include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), access and mobility management function (AMF)) managing access and mobility, and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or user plane function (UPF)) routing packets or interconnects to external networks. The control plane entity can manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UE 115 served by base station 105 associated with core network 130. User IP packets can be transmitted through the user plane entity, which can provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity can connect to IP service 150 for one or more network operators. IP service 150 may include access to the Internet, intranet(s), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or packet-switched streaming services.

[0081] Some network devices (such as base station 105) may include sub-components, such as access network entity 140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with UE 115 through one or more other access network transmitting entities 145, which may be referred to as a radio headend, smart radio headend, or transmit / receive point (TRP). Each access network transmitting entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio headends and ANCs) or combined into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0082] Wireless communication system 100 can operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. The region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is generally referred to as the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelength range is from approximately one decimeter to one meter. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but these waves can penetrate structures sufficiently to provide service to UE 115 located indoors via macrocells. Compared to transmissions using smaller frequencies and longer waves in the High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz, UHF wave transmissions can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 km).

[0083] The wireless communication system 100 can also operate in the ultra-high frequency (SHF) region (also known as the centimeter band) using a frequency band from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, or in the extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, also known as the millimeter band). In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 can support millimeter-wave (mmW) communication between UE 115 and base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the individual devices can be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this can facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the devices. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions can be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and a shorter range than that of SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein can be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the specified frequency band use across these frequency regions can vary by country or regulatory body.

[0084] Wireless communication system 100 can utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, wireless communication system 100 can employ Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in unlicensed bands such as the 5 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as base station 105 and UE 115 can employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operation in unlicensed bands can be based on carrier aggregation configurations that combine component carriers operating in licensed bands (e.g., LAA). Operation in unlicensed spectrum can include downlink transmission, uplink transmission, P2P transmission, or D2D transmission, etc.

[0085] Base station 105 or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which can be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. The antennas of base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels that can support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be located together at an antenna assembly (such as an antenna tower). In some examples, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with base station 105 may be located in different geographical locations. Base station 105 may have an antenna array with multiple rows and columns of antenna ports, which base station 105 can use to support beamforming for communication with UE 115. Similarly, UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that can support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for signals transmitted via the antenna ports.

[0086] Base station 105 or UE 115 can use MIMO communication to utilize multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. This technique can be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, multiple signals can be transmitted by a transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Similarly, multiple signals can be received by a receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals can be referred to as a separate spatial stream and can carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers can be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) (where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device) and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) (where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices).

[0087] Beamforming (also known as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that can be used at a transmitting or receiving device (e.g., base station 105, UE 115) to shape or manipulate an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting and receiving devices. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals transmitted via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating with respect to a particular orientation of the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to the signals transmitted via the antenna elements can include the transmitting or receiving device applying amplitude offset, phase offset, or both to the signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each antenna element can be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting or receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

[0088] Base station 105 or UE 115 may use beam scanning technology as part of beamforming operations. For example, base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times by base station 105 in different directions. For example, base station 105 may transmit signals according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used (by the transmitting device (such as base station 105) or by the receiving device (such as UE 115)) to identify the beam direction for later transmission or reception by base station 105.

[0089] Some signals (such as data signals associated with a specific receiving device) may be transmitted by base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., the direction associated with the receiving device, such as UE 115). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based on signals transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by base station 105 in different directions and may report to the base station an indication of the signal received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or otherwise acceptable signal quality.

[0090] In some examples, transmission by a device (e.g., by base station 105 or UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from base station 105 to UE 115). UE 115 may report feedback indicating precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and this feedback may correspond to the number of beam configurations across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. Base station 105 may transmit reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)), which may be precoded or unprecoded. UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., multi-panel type codebook, linear combination type codebook, port selection type codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques to transmit signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify the beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115) or to transmit signals in a single direction (e.g., to transmit data to a receiving device).

[0091] A receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may attempt multiple receiving configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from base station 105. For example, the receiving device may attempt multiple receiving directions by: receiving via different antenna subarrays, processing the received signal according to different antenna subarrays, receiving according to different sets of receiving beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array (e.g., different sets of directional listening weights), or processing the received signal according to different sets of receiving beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array, any of which can be referred to as "listening" according to different receiving configurations or receiving directions. In some examples, the receiving device may use a single receiving configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving data signals). This single receiving configuration may be aligned on beam directions determined based on listening according to different receiving configuration directions (e.g., beam directions determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0092] The wireless communication system 100 can be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communication at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer can be IP-based. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer can perform packet segmentation and reassembly for communication over logical channels. The Medium Access Control (MAC) layer can perform priority processing and multiplexing from logical channels to transmit channels. The MAC layer can also use error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer can provide the establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections between the UE 115 and the base station 105 or core network 130 that support radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transmit channels can be mapped to physical channels.

[0093] UE 115 and base station 105 can support data retransmission to increase the likelihood of successful data reception. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback is a technique used to increase the likelihood of data being correctly received on communication link 125. HARQ can include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve MAC layer throughput under adverse radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some examples, the device can support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device can provide HARQ feedback in a specific time slot for data received in a previous symbol within that time slot. In other cases, the device can provide HARQ feedback in subsequent time slots or according to some other time interval.

[0094] The development of communication networks has witnessed remarkable progress over the past few decades. The significant expansion of 5G's potential may lie beyond traditional terrestrial infrastructure, giving rise to so-called 5G non-terrestrial networks (“NTN”).

[0095] Non-terrestrial networks can encompass a wide variety of technologies and architectures, including space-based, airborne, and maritime platforms, to enhance global communications capabilities. The integration of 5G with non-terrestrial environments can facilitate the establishment, maintenance, and optimization of connectivity in remote and underserved areas.

[0096] Satellites equipped with 5G capabilities constitute an aspect of 5G NTN. Satellites positioned in low Earth orbit (“LEO”), medium Earth orbit (“MEO”), or geostationary orbit (“GEO”) can form a complex web of interconnected nodes. These satellites can provide extensive coverage, thereby offering high-speed data connectivity, low-latency communications, and global mobility. Satellites can facilitate broadband access in rural and remote areas, disaster-stricken regions, and on mobile vehicles, ships, and aircraft, thus bridging the digital divide.

[0097] Satellite-based NTN can bridge connectivity gaps in remote and rural areas, provide disaster recovery communications, and offer enhanced coverage for maritime and aviation services. High-altitude platforms and drones equipped with cellular capabilities can serve as temporary network relays for areas affected by events, emergencies, or insufficient signal coverage. Such applications can benefit not only traditional voice and data services but also technologies such as the Internet of Things (“IoT”), where connectivity is often a desirable or fundamental requirement.

[0098] A non-terrestrial base station 106, which may include a satellite antenna, may be coupled to a core network 130. The non-terrestrial base station 106 may communicate with a satellite 107, which in turn may communicate with a user equipment 115. The non-terrestrial base station 106 (which may be referred to as a non-terrestrial network gateway) and the satellite 107 may facilitate the delivery of services corresponding to a radio access network, which may include a RAN node 105, a core network 130, a backhaul link 120, and a remote radio link 125, reaching user equipment that may be located outside the coverage area of ​​the RAN node 105. The link 121 between the RAN node 105 and the satellite base station / gateway 106 may include coaxial cable, fiber optic, or wireless links, which may be similar to link 120. The link 122 to the satellite node 107 and the link 123 from the satellite / node 107 to the UE 115 may include line-of-sight microwave signal transmission. The UE 115 may be configured with at least one antenna or at least one processor to facilitate the transmission of microwave signals to or from the satellite node 107. Descriptions or references to radio nodes or radio network nodes in this document may refer to terrestrial RAN node 105, non-terrestrial gateway 106, non-terrestrial satellite node 107, or a combination of one or more of these. A terrestrial network node may be referred to as a "TN" node. References to satellite nodes or non-terrestrial network nodes may include references to satellite 107, base station gateway 106, or a combination of satellite 107 and base station / gateway 106.

[0099] It should be understood that while NTN nodes can benefit most from the embodiments disclosed herein, the techniques disclosed herein can also be beneficial to terrestrial RAN nodes. Therefore, the use of "radio network node" can be interpreted as referring to either a terrestrial RAN node or a satellite node, which may include gateway 106 or satellite 107.

[0100] NTN can enhance the limited coverage of terrestrial RAN, making it cost-effective in remote rural areas, mountainous regions, and locations where terrestrial cellular deployment is typically impossible or uneconomical. The embodiments described herein facilitate dynamic and seamless recovery of existing communication sessions ongoing via potentially failed TN radio links via available NTN (e.g., accessible by the user equipment). TN radio link failures can occur due to a lack of TN terrestrial coverage (e.g., insufficient signal strength) corresponding to the geographic area where the user equipment associated with the existing communication session is located. According to conventional techniques, when a user equipment experiences a terrestrial / TN radio link coverage failure, it may attempt to search for neighboring terrestrial RAN nodes / cells for connection reconstruction. However, in the absence of available terrestrial coverage corresponding to another terrestrial RAN node / cell, the user equipment may experience a final link radio failure, potentially terminating and erasing all existing session context information, regardless of satellite / NTN coverage availability. The embodiments described herein facilitate seamless session transfer and recovery, as well as the transfer of device context information from terrestrial networks to satellite networks in the event of a potential terrestrial radio link failure, thus avoiding the need to establish entirely new cellular connections and the loss of session-related context and data information. The embodiments disclosed herein can facilitate the dynamic recovery of session information via NTN node paths.

[0101] According to conventional techniques, if another ground RAN node is available to facilitate an existing communication session with the user equipment, the communication session can be completely terminated, and the end-user experience may be severely impacted. However, conventional techniques lack support for seamless device context retrieval and adaptive TN-to-NTN session recovery. Therefore, according to conventional techniques, regardless of NTN coverage availability, the existing communication session context is not transferred from the TN node to the NTN node that can facilitate the communication session with the user equipment because the TN-to-NTN radio link recovery process is not integrated.

[0102] According to the embodiments described herein, an adaptive and seamless TN-to-NTN session transfer process facilitates the transfer of communication sessions, along with associated context information, from TN nodes to NTN nodes. This enables NTN-enabled user equipment to seamlessly and dynamically resume sessions previously facilitated via faulty TN radio links via available NTN. This document describes novel TN RAN behavior that facilitates dynamic TN-to-NTN session transfer, along with a description of associated novel TN / terrestrial signaling procedures and configuration information.

[0103] Conventional techniques do not facilitate the transfer of ground / ground RAN sessions to available NTN nodes without triggering a measurement handover. According to conventional techniques, the source TN RAN node only transfers device context information to the target RAN node to which the device is being handed over. Conventional techniques do not facilitate the transfer of session context information. The embodiments described herein can facilitate the transfer of device-specific and / or device-group common session information to the target NTN node, or to a RAN node (to which the device may not directly hand over), which may be communicatively coupled to a gateway to which the target NTN node is connected.

[0104] According to conventional techniques, an active communication session is completely terminated when the current radio link facilitating the communication session fails and other RAN nodes near the currently serving RAN node are unavailable for acceptable measurement coverage / signal strength. The embodiments described herein facilitate the dynamic recovery, via an NTN-enabled user equipment device, of a communication session previously facilitated by a subsequently failed terrestrial radio link (corresponding to the source / serving RAN node) via an NTN node, for which coverage levels may not yet have been measured by the user equipment. The NTN node can be directly instructed to continue a session previously facilitated by a failed terrestrial radio link, based on the fact that the coverage level corresponding to the NTN node is substantially uniform and therefore "known" to most (if not all) NTN-enabled user equipment devices near the source RAN node. The novel transfer and corresponding retrieval process of session context information can be device-specific or device-group-specific because the retrieval of novel session context information is related to the communication session itself, rather than merely to a single device that was / is currently having a session. Therefore, unlike conventional techniques, a communication session that can be transferred from a TN RAN node to an NTN node according to the embodiments disclosed herein can be associated with multiple devices corresponding to an active session.

[0105] Turn now Figure 2The figure illustrates a terrestrial RAN node 105A, a base station 106, and an NTN node 107, any one or more of which may be referred to as a radio network node. Referring to some embodiments disclosed herein, a reference to a TN node may include a reference to node 108, which may include one or more of terrestrial RAN node 105A or gateway 106. Referring to some embodiments disclosed herein, a reference to an NTN node may include a reference to node 109, which may include one or more of gateway 106 or satellite 107. In some embodiments, a communication session with UE 115 may be served by RAN node 105A. However, in some embodiments, a communication session with UE 115 may be served by RAN node 105B, which may transfer session context information corresponding to the session to RAN node 105A for relaying directly or via gateway 106 to satellite NTN node 107.

[0106] Adaptive ground and non-ground session transfer.

[0107] Turn now Figure 3 The terrestrial network node 105A may or may have received the non-terrestrial network adaptive session transfer configuration 310 from the core network via a backhaul link. The RAN node 105A may receive configuration 310 before or after a failure of link 125 between UE 115 and node 105A, which may occur at action 301. Link 125 corresponding to the link failure that may occur at action 301 may currently be used to facilitate the delivery of active or existing communication sessions 311 between UE 115 and RAN node 105A. The adaptive session transfer configuration 310 may include any of the following information elements: a minimum coverage threshold, which may be specified by a standard, and can be used by RAN node 105A to trigger the transmission of a TN-NTN session transfer configuration, which may be referred to as link recovery configuration 313; or the maximum number of radio link failures during the configured sampling period or time length in the absence of a TN-RAN node handover for UE 115. The configured link failure threshold can be used by the receiving TN RAN node 105A to trigger the transmission of link recovery configuration 313 to a user equipment (such as UE 115) for the user equipment, which specifies the number of configured link failures that have occurred within a period, time length, or time window of length equal to the configured period / time length (during which link failures are sampled / determined and analyzed with respect to the number of configured link failures specified by the standard).

[0108] At action 302, upon receiving a radio parameter measurement report 312 including an indication of at least one radio characteristic, such as a signal strength indication corresponding to a signal strength received by UE 115 from RAN node 105A, RAN node 105A may determine that the signal strength indicated in report 312 meets the minimum coverage threshold level suitable for determining the configuration that causes the adaptive NTN session transfer of communication session 311. At action 302, instead of determining from report 312 that the signal strength corresponding to RAN node 105A, as determined by UE 115, has dropped below a configured threshold, and provided that the number of radio link failures with UE 115, as determined by RAN node 105A, exceeds or otherwise meets at least one session transfer criterion included in or indicated therein in configuration 310, which may be a maximum threshold or the number of link failures occurring between UE 115 and RAN node 105A during a configured sampling period (e.g., configured via configuration 310), TN RAN node 105A may determine to send TN-NTN session link recovery configuration 313 to WTRU / UE 115. Configuration information 313 may include any one or more of the following information elements: one or more target NTN identifiers corresponding to NTN nodes (e.g., node 107) that can facilitate seamless link recovery / session recovery for session 311; device-specific context retrieval indications or identifiers that may correspond to session context information associated with session 311; one or more NTN node-specific timing advance value indications that indicate timing advance values ​​that can be used by UE 115 to establish communication with the NTN node corresponding to the identified NTN node (e.g., node 107); or one or more indications of one or more NTN-specific uplink control search spaces or one or more TN-NTN shared uplink control search spaces that indicate predefined search spaces through which (multiple) seamless link recovery requests (such as references) are made. Figure 5 The described session transfer request message 513 can be sent to an NTN node (which can be indicated by the NTN identifier indicated in configuration 313) that will facilitate the delivery of services corresponding to session 311 to UE 115. TN node 105A can send link recovery configuration 313 to the UE at action 303.

[0109] continue Figure 3As described in the description, at action 304, under the condition that the WTRU / UE 115, which has been determined to support NTN, has experienced a TN radio link failure corresponding to the maximum number of link failures and the handover waiting period has expired (e.g., the handover period corresponding to the possibility that UE 115 may be handed over to another TN RAN node 105), TN RAN node 105A can compile a context retrieval report 315. The context retrieval report 315 may include capability information indicating the capabilities of UE 115 (e.g., the ability to communicate with NTN node 107, battery capabilities, processing capabilities, etc.), encryption information corresponding to UE 115, pending packet retransmission information corresponding to session 311, or actual buffered payload corresponding to session 311, which is buffered for scheduling and transmission to UE 115.

[0110] Under the condition that an active connection to the NTN gateway associated with the NTN node is available, for example, refer to Figure 2 The described gateway 106 and TN RAN node 105A can send a compiled WTRU context retrieval report 315 to the active NTN gateway via the backhaul link, so that the gateway can further forward it to the corresponding NTN node, for example... Figure 3 Node 107 is shown. (It should be understood that...) Figure 3 (A gateway capable of communicating with node 107 is not shown.) It should be understood that in some embodiments, TN RAN node 105A may be able to communicate directly with NTN node 107 without using an intermediate gateway 106. If RAN node 105A is communicatively coupled to or otherwise associated with a gateway, the context retrieval report 315 may be sent to node 107 via the gateway associated with node 107, or if another TN RAN node is communicatively coupled to a gateway capable of communicating with node 107, but TN RAN node 105A is not communicatively coupled to a gateway capable of communicating with node 107, the context retrieval report 315 may be sent to that other TN RAN node, such as node 105B. If an active connection toward an NTN gateway is unavailable, whether directly or via another TN RAN node, the TN RAN node may send a compiled WTRU context retrieval report 315 to core network 130 for delivery to one or more TN RAN nodes that may have an active connection to an NTN gateway. Therefore, TN RAN node 105A can dynamically and proactively facilitate the transfer of a failed TN radio communication session 311 to continue via NTN node 107.

[0111] Turn now Figure 4 The diagram illustrates an example adaptive session transition configuration message 400, which includes a reference... Figure 3The adaptive session transfer configuration information 310 is described. Configuration information 310 may include a minimum coverage threshold / standard value contained in field 415. The value or function indicated in field 415 may be referred to as a session transfer criterion. The minimum coverage criterion can be used to trigger the transmission of TN-NTN session link recovery configuration 313 to a user equipment (UE) that has reported a signal strength corresponding to the serving RAN node, which has decreased to below the criterion value configured in field 415. For example, the RAN node serving the UE can analyze the signal strength reported by the UE in report 312 with respect to the criterion value contained in field 415. In an example where the TN RAN node is facilitating an existing communication session with the UE, the UE reporting a signal strength less than or equal to the session transfer criterion value configured in field 415 may correspond to meeting at least one session transfer criterion. Meeting the session transfer value configured in field 415 can cause the TN RAN node, which is performing an analysis of the reported signal strength with respect to the configured session transfer criterion, to send context information to the UE corresponding to an existing communication session that will transition from service delivery facilitated by the TN RAN node to service delivery facilitated by the NTN node. The context information sent by the TNRAN node to the user equipment can be used by the user equipment to facilitate the continuation of existing communication sessions with the NTN node.

[0112] Configuration information 310 may include a radio link failure criterion in field 420, which may be the maximum number of radio link failures between the TN RAN node and the user equipment. The criterion value included in field 420 may be analyzed by the serving RAN node that is facilitating the delivery of an existing communication session with the user equipment regarding the configured handover period. Analyzing the number of radio link failures regarding the handover period can minimize attempts to transfer an existing communication session from the TN RAN node to the NTN node when the user equipment switches from the serving TN RAN node to another TN RAN node according to conventional handover techniques. If the configured handover period (which may begin when the number of radio link failures equals the number configured via field 420 in configuration 310) expires without any user equipment or its corresponding existing communication session being switched to the TN RAN node, the serving TN RAN node may determine to initiate facilitation of transferring the existing communication session to the NTN node. Initiating facilitation of transferring the existing communication session may include the TN RAN node currently facilitating the delivery of the existing communication session facilitating the sending of link recovery configuration 313 to the user equipment corresponding to the existing communication session. Facilitating the transfer of existing communication sessions initiated by the serving TN RAN may also include the serving TN RAN node compiling a context retrieval report 315 and sending it to another TN RAN node, gateway, or NTN node, as referenced. Figure 3The user equipment can use the information contained in the link recovery configuration 313 to request the delivery of services corresponding to existing communications that are being transferred, as described in reference [reference]. Figure 5 As stated above.

[0113] Seamless restoration of ground and non-ground links.

[0114] Turn now Figure 5 The NTN-enabled user equipment device 115 can receive a TN-to-NTN seamless link recovery configuration 313, which may include one or more of the following information elements: NTN or satellite identification information corresponding to (multiple) NTN nodes 107, which may be configured to facilitate the transmission of communication sessions with ground RAN nodes 105 that are dynamically continued and / or restored after one or more ground / TN radio link failures without a ground handover; one or more device-specific and / or device group common context identifiers / indicators indicating context information corresponding to ground UE device 115 or device group, which is stored by the last serving TN-RAN node 105 that has always / has facilitated communication sessions 311 between TN-RAN nodes and UE 115 (or user equipment group to which UE 115 is a member); one or more NTN node-specific timing advance levels or values; or one or more indications of uplink control channel resource timing, which may be NTN node-specific, NTN group common, and / or TN and NTN... Devices shared among RAN nodes and supporting NTN (such as UE 115 corresponding to a faulty TN radio link) can use these resource opportunities to send associated context and link retrieval requests 515 to one or more target NTNs.

[0115] At action 503, when the NTN-enabled user equipment 115 experiences a terrestrial RAN radio link failure, where another neighboring TN RAN node that can facilitate the delivery of services corresponding to the session is unavailable, the user equipment 115 can determine an NTN node identifier from a list of NTNs used for TN link recovery (which may be included in configuration 313). This NTN node identifier may correspond to the best / highest received coverage / signal strength of the other NTN nodes identified in configuration 313 at the UE 115. For example, node 107A may correspond to a higher signal strength than node 107B determined by the UE 115. Therefore, at action 504, the NTN-enabled UE 115 can send a session transfer request message 515 to the determined NTN node 107A via the uplink control channel resources of the first available configuration corresponding to NTN node 107A to request the recovery of session 311. This request message may be referred to as a link recovery request, and the uplink control channel resources of the first available configuration can be used to facilitate TN radio link / session recovery. Request 515 may include a context information identifier as indicated in configuration 313 and corresponding to session 311, which can be used by non-terrestrial network node 107A to request context information 525 corresponding to session 311 via context retrieval request 520.

[0116] At action 505, upon receiving a context retrieval request 515 and an associated context identifier from an NTN-enabled device, NTN node 107A may send a downlink ground context retrieval and path switching request 520 to TN RAN node 105 or to a gateway communicatively coupled thereto. In response to sending request 520, at action 506, NTN node 107A may receive context information 525 or device group context information from TN RAN node 105 or from a gateway coupled to TN RAN node 105. Therefore, because context information 525 (which may include session context information corresponding to communication session 311) can be maintained by RAN node 105 and can thus be transferred to NTN node 107A in response to or based on a context information identifier (included in request 520, which indicates the context information corresponding to communication session 311), pending and new service payloads associated with communication session 311 can be switched from the path served by RAN node 105 to the path served by NTN RAN node 107A. If the user equipment 115 does not clear the context information corresponding to the communication session, or if the user equipment does not send a random access preamble to the non-terrestrial network node 107A and performs a random access procedure with the NTN node 107A before establishing a communication session with the user equipment and the non-terrestrial network node 107A, the transfer of the delivery of services corresponding to communication session 311 from the TN RAN node 105 to the NTN node 107A can be performed. At action 507, the NTN-enabled user equipment 115 can continue session 311, which was suspended due to the radio link failure at action 503, via the identified NTN node 107A.

[0117] Turn now Figure 6 The diagram illustrates an example link recovery configuration message 600, which includes references... Figure 3 and Figure 5The described link recovery configuration information 313 may include a non-terrestrial node identifier field 605. One or more non-terrestrial node identifiers, each corresponding to one or more network nodes that may be potential targets for the transfer of a communication session, may be included in field 605. Field 610 may include a device-specific context information identifier, which may be used by the user equipment receiving configuration 315 to request the transfer of a communication session from the terrestrial radio access network node currently serving the communication session to the non-terrestrial network node corresponding to the identifier included in field 605. Therefore, field 610 may include a context identifier that can be used to facilitate the transfer of context information from the currently serving radio access network node to a non-terrestrial network node. By transferring the context information corresponding to an existing communication session, the communication session can be transferred from the terrestrial radio access network node to a non-terrestrial network node without the user equipment corresponding to the communication session having to clear the session context information, and the user equipment not having to perform a random access procedure with respect to the non-terrestrial network node. Field 615 may include one or more timing advance values ​​or indications, each indicating one or more timing advance values ​​corresponding to one or more non-terrestrial network nodes indicated in field 605. Therefore, a user equipment (UE) that requests to transfer an existing communication session by sending a context identifier included in field 610 to a non-terrestrial network node can use the timing advance value indicated in field 615 to send a message to the corresponding NTN node that may include the context identifier included in field 610. Using the timing advance value indicated in field 615 facilitates avoiding the need for the UE to send a random access preamble to the non-terrestrial network node. Field 620 may include information corresponding to or indicating non-terrestrial resources, such as a search space and time and frequency resource information corresponding to the search space, which can be used to send a message that may include the context identifier included in field 610. Therefore, even if the UE may not have previously established a communication session with the non-terrestrial network node identified in field 605, the UE can still seamlessly continue a communication session previously facilitated by a terrestrial radio access network node (e.g., the UE already has a timing advance value and uplink resource information that can be used to send a session transfer request, and the non-terrestrial network node retrieves the context information corresponding to the existing session based on the context identifier sent to the non-terrestrial network node according to the timing advance value and uplink resource information).

[0118] Turn now Figure 7The figure illustrates a timing diagram of method 700 in an example embodiment. At action 705, terrestrial network node 107 may receive a non-terrestrial network adaptive session transfer configuration. The non-terrestrial network adaptive session transfer configuration may be received from the computing equipment of core network 130 via backhaul link 120, which couples the core network to RAN nodes 105A and 105B. The non-terrestrial network adaptive session transfer configuration may include any of the following information elements: (1) a minimum coverage threshold for triggering the transmission of TN-NTN session transfer configuration (which may be referred to as link recovery configuration) to UE 115; or (2) the maximum number of past radio link failures in the absence of TN-RAN node handover within a predefined subsequent time period. At action 715, if the received coverage signal strength indication received at action 710 from the NTN-enabled WTRU / UE 115 in the user equipment radio parameter measurement report meets the minimum configured coverage threshold for adaptive NTN session transfer, or if the number of WTRU radio link failures exceeding the configured maximum link failure threshold within a subsequent configured time period is determined, the TN RAN 105A node may send a TN-NTN session transfer configuration to the WTRU / UE 115 at action 720. This TN-NTN session transfer configuration may be referred to as the link recovery configuration. The TN-NTN session transfer configuration may include any of the following information elements: (1) one or more NTN identifiers associated with one or more potential target NTN nodes for use in seamless link / session recovery; (2) device-specific context retrieval indication or ID; (3) NTN-ID specific timing advance level indication; or (4) indications of one or more NTN-specific or TN-NTN shared uplink control search space resources, via which seamless link recovery requests (such as...) are made. Figure 5 The request (515) shown can be sent to the target NTN node 107 identified in the TN-NTN session transfer configuration. If it is determined that the NTN-enabled WTRU / UE 115 is experiencing a radio link failure with respect to TN RAN node 105A and that the handover wait period has expired, TN RAN node 105A can compile a WTRU context retrieval report at action 725, for example, referring to... Figure 3The described report 315 may include capability information corresponding to UE 115, encryption information corresponding to UE 115, pending packet retransmission information, and a buffered payload used for scheduling and transmission, corresponding to an existing communication session between RAN node 105A and UE 115. When an active connection to the NTN gateway exists, TN RAN node 105A may send a compiled WTRU context retrieval report to active NTN gateway 106 via a backhaul link at action 730. When no active connection to the NTN gateway is available, TN RAN node 105A may send the compiled WTRU context retrieval report to core network 130 or to another TN RAN node 105B, which may be communicatively coupled to gateway 106, at action 735, and this other TN RAN node 105B may forward the compiled WTRU context retrieval report to NTN node 107. NTN node 107 can use information from the WTRU context retrieval report to facilitate the delivery of an existing communication session with UE 116 that has been transferred from RAN node 105A, without UE 115 having to clear the session context information associated with the existing communication session, or having to perform a random access procedure with the NTN node before the delivery of the existing communication session with the user equipment can continue.

[0119] Turn now Figure 8 The figure illustrates a timing diagram of method 800 of the example embodiment. At action 805, the WTRU / UE may receive a seamless link recovery configuration for both terrestrial and non-terrestrial (TN and NTN) connections from the currently serving TN RAN node 105, which may be referred to as a TN-NTN session transfer configuration or a link recovery configuration. The link recovery configuration may include any of the following information elements: (1) one or more target NTN identifiers corresponding to one or more NTN nodes (e.g., NTN node 107) that may be able to facilitate the seamless transfer and recovery of existing communication sessions with UE 115 currently served by RAN node 105; (2) a device-specific context retrieval indication / identifier; (3) an NTN-ID specific timing advance level indication associated with one or more identified NTN nodes; or (4) one or more indications of one or more NTN-specific or TN-NTN shared uplink control search space resources or resource indications, indicating predefined search spaces through which UE 115 may send a seamless link / session recovery request to the NTN node identified in the configuration received at action 810.

[0120] At action 815, upon determining that a radio link failure has occurred with respect to the currently serving TN RAN node 105, and upon determining that no adjacent TN RAN node is available to facilitate the delivery of the existing communication session, WTRU / UE 115 can determine the active NTN node from one or more NTN nodes identified in the configuration received at action 810 to restore the TN RAN link / session, based on the NTN node among the identified NTN nodes corresponding to the optimal signal strength coverage level determined by the WTRU / UE. At action 820, WTRU / UE 115 can send a context retrieval request to the NTN node (e.g., NTN node 107) determined at action 815 via the first available uplink control channel timing resource indicated in the configuration received at action 810, associated with the NTN auxiliary link / session recovery. Figure 5 The request 515 is shown. At action 825, the WTRU / UE 115 can continue the existing communication session via the NTN node 107 identified at action 815, the service delivery corresponding to the existing communication session being facilitated by a faulty radio link (e.g., link 125), and can continue to receive and / or transmit the payload corresponding to the existing communication session without having to clear the session context information corresponding to the existing communication session or without having to perform a random access procedure with respect to NTN node 107.

[0121] Turn now Figure 9 The figure illustrates a flowchart of example embodiment 900. Method 900 begins at action 905. At action 910, a communication session may be established or may already be established between the user equipment and the terrestrial radio access network node. At action 915, the terrestrial radio access network node may receive adaptive session transfer configuration from a network computing device (e.g., a component of the core network). At action 920, the terrestrial radio access network node may send link recovery configuration to the user equipment, for example, referring to... Figure 3 The configuration described is 313. At action 925, this can occur during the operation of an existing communication session, whereby the user equipment can send one or more user equipment radio parameter measurement reports to the terrestrial radio access network node, such as reference... Figure 3The description includes one or more reports 312. At action 930, the terrestrial radio access network node can analyze one or more measured signal strength values ​​indicated in one or more radio parameter measurement reports sent at action 925 with respect to signal strength value standards or signal coverage standards to determine whether the user equipment may be experiencing poor signal strength corresponding to the terrestrial radio access network node. At action 930, the terrestrial radio access network node can assess the number of link failures between the terrestrial radio access network node and the user equipment associated with radio links that may be facilitating existing communication sessions or other communications with respect to the user equipment. The result of the assessment of the number of link failures may be the determined number of link failures. At action 935, the terrestrial radio access network node can determine whether the number of radio link failures determined during the measured signal strength or configured handover period included in the radio parameter measurement reports corresponds to the satisfaction of one or more standards, such as the maximum number of radio link failures during the signal strength standard or configured time period.

[0122] If, at action 935, it is determined that the measured signal strength value or the determined number of link failures does not correspond to the satisfaction of the configured criteria, which can be configured via the adaptive session transfer configuration received at action 915, then method 900 can return to action 910, and the terrestrial radio access network node can continue to facilitate the delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session.

[0123] However, if at action 935 the terrestrial radio access network node determines that a signal strength criterion or a radio link failure criterion is met (e.g., one or more measured signal strength values ​​reported in one or more radio parameter measurement reports are equal to or lower than the configured coverage criterion, or the number of radio link failures determined during the handover period is equal to or higher than the configured link failure criterion), then method 900 can proceed to action 940. At action 940, the terrestrial radio access network node can compile a context retrieval report and send it to the non-terrestrial radio node. The context retrieval report may include one or more of the following: capability information, WTRU encryption information, pending packet retransmission information, or an actual buffered payload buffered for scheduling and transmission, which is associated with a communication session existing or established at action 910. Figure 9The output line from box 940 in the diagram is shown in dashed lines to indicate that after a terrestrial radio access network node sends a context retrieval report to a non-terrestrial radio node, if the user equipment does not request or does not request the transfer of the communication session to the non-terrestrial radio node, either the terrestrial radio access network node or the non-terrestrial radio node may suspend or not take any action relative to the transfer reference action 910 for the communication session. Therefore, the session context information contained in the context retrieval report can be available at the non-terrestrial radio node, which can facilitate the continued delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session. However, if, for example, the user equipment does not request the transfer of the communication session, the non-terrestrial radio network node may not take further action regarding the context information, and method 900 can proceed to action 980 and end.

[0124] Returning to the description of action 930, after the terrestrial radio access network node can analyze and measure signal strength values ​​or determine the number of link failures based on one or more criteria included in the adaptive session handover configuration received at action 915, method 900 can proceed to action 945. At action 945, the user equipment can evaluate the signal strength values ​​associated with one or more signals received from the terrestrial radio access network node. The user equipment can also determine that a radio link failure has occurred corresponding to a radio link that may be facilitating the communication session described with reference to action 910, and that alternative terrestrial radio access network nodes other than the serving terrestrial radio access network node that has been facilitating the existing communication session are unavailable or do not correspond to signal strength values ​​sufficient to facilitate handover of the user equipment to facilitate an existing communication session with another terrestrial radio access network node. At action 950, if the user equipment determines that the serving terrestrial radio access network node currently facilitating the delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session is providing sufficient signal strength to continue facilitating the existing communication, or that no link failure has occurred that cannot be remedied by switching to another terrestrial radio access network node with an easier device, then method 900 may return to action 910, and the existing communication session may be facilitated by the currently serving terrestrial radio access network node, or the user equipment may be switched to another terrestrial radio access network node according to conventional techniques to continue facilitating the delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session.

[0125] However, if the user equipment determines at action 950 that a link failure has occurred and another nearby terrestrial radio access network node that could facilitate the continued delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session is unavailable, then 900 can proceed to action 955. At action 955, the user equipment can identify a non-terrestrial radio network node from one or more non-terrestrial radio network nodes indicated in the link recovery configuration sent by the currently serving terrestrial radio access network node at action 920, to request the continued delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session. The user equipment can determine one or more signal strength values ​​corresponding to the one or more non-terrestrial radio network nodes indicated in the link recovery configuration, and the user equipment can identify at action 960 one of the indicated non-terrestrial radio network nodes that corresponds to the highest signal strength of the non-terrestrial radio access network node indicated in the link recovery configuration.

[0126] At action 962, the user equipment (UE) may send a session transfer request message to the non-terrestrial radio network node identified at action 960. This session transfer request message may include a context information identifier indicating context information corresponding to an existing communication session. This context information identifier can be used by the non-terrestrial radio network node to facilitate the transfer of existing communication served by the non-terrestrial network node rather than the terrestrial radio access network node. The UE may use the context information identifier included in the link recovery configuration sent by the terrestrial radio access network node at action 920 as its context information identifier. In an embodiment, the UE may use an identifier corresponding to the UE as its context information identifier. In an embodiment, the UE may use a session identifier corresponding to an existing communication session as its context information identifier. The UE may use the timing advance value or uplink non-terrestrial resources indicated in the link recovery configuration sent by the terrestrial radio access network node at action 920 to send the session context identifier to the non-terrestrial radio network node at action 962, without having to perform a random access procedure with respect to the non-terrestrial radio network node.

[0127] At action 965, before a radio link failure or poor signal strength causes the user equipment to request the transfer of an existing communication session to a non-terrestrial radio network node, the non-terrestrial network node identified by the user equipment at action 960 may send a request to a terrestrial radio network node that has been facilitating the delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session (e.g., Figure 5 In request 520 (shown), the context information identifier sent by the user equipment at action 962 is received and used. The terrestrial radio access network node can receive the message containing the context information identifier sent at action 962 to determine session context information corresponding to an existing communication session (e.g., ...). Figure 5 The session information 525 shown is sent to the non-terrestrial radio network node. In response to sending a session transfer request to the terrestrial radio access network node at action 965, the non-terrestrial network node can receive session context information (e.g., session information 525) from the serving terrestrial radio access network node at action 970. It should be understood that if the terrestrial radio access network node that has been facilitating the delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session is not communicatively coupled to a satellite gateway that can communicate with the non-terrestrial network node (e.g., [missing information]), the non-terrestrial network node may receive session context information (e.g., session information 525) from the serving terrestrial radio access network node. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in gateway 106, a terrestrial radio access network node can send context session information associated with an existing communication session to another terrestrial radio access network node, which can be communicatively coupled to the gateway. The gateway can then forward the session context information to the non-terrestrial radio network node determined by the user equipment at action 960. At action 975, the non-terrestrial radio network node determined by the user equipment at action 960 can begin facilitating the delivery of services corresponding to the existing communication session, and based on the session context information received at action 970, the existing communication session with the user equipment is established without the user equipment clearing the session context information corresponding to the existing communication session, and without the user equipment sending a random access preamble and performing a random access procedure with respect to the non-terrestrial radio network node determined at action 960. Method 900 proceeds to action 980 and ends.

[0128] Turn now Figure 10 The figure illustrates an example embodiment of method 1000, in which, at block 1005, a user equipment including a processor receives a link recovery configuration from a terrestrial network node, the link recovery configuration including a context information identifier indicating context information corresponding to a communication session between the user equipment and the terrestrial network node; at block 1010, the user equipment determines to transfer the communication session from service by the terrestrial network node to service by a non-terrestrial network node; at block 1015, the user equipment sends the context information identifier to the non-terrestrial network node, the context information identifier being usable by the non-terrestrial network node to obtain context information; and at block 1020, the user equipment and the non-terrestrial network node conduct a communication session based on the context information indicated by the context information identifier.

[0129] Turn now Figure 11The figure illustrates an example user equipment 1100, including a processor at block 1105 configured to process executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate the execution of operations, including establishing a communication session with a terrestrial radio network node based on context; at block 1110, receiving a link recovery configuration from the terrestrial radio network node including context information corresponding to the context; at block 1115, determining to transfer the communication session from the terrestrial radio network node to a non-terrestrial radio network node; at block 1120, sending a session transfer request message to the non-terrestrial radio network node, the session transfer request message including context information that can be used by the non-terrestrial radio network node to facilitate the communication session; and at block 1125, establishing a communication session with the non-terrestrial radio network node based on the context.

[0130] Turn now Figure 12 The figure illustrates a non-transitory machine-readable medium 1200. At block 1205, executable instructions are included that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment, facilitate the execution of operations, including establishing a communication session with a serving terrestrial radio network node based on context; at block 1210, receiving a link recovery configuration from the serving terrestrial radio network node including a context identifier corresponding to the context; at block 1215, determining to transfer the communication session from the serving terrestrial radio network node to a determined non-terrestrial radio network node; at block 1220, sending a session transfer request message to the determined non-terrestrial radio network node, the session transfer request message including a context identifier that can be used by the determined non-terrestrial radio network node to obtain context information corresponding to the context; and at block 1225, establishing a communication session with the determined non-terrestrial radio network node based on the context.

[0131] To provide additional context for the various embodiments described herein, Figure 13 The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment 1300 in which various embodiments of the embodiments described herein may be implemented. While the embodiments have been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that these embodiments may also be implemented in combination with other program modules and / or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0132] Typically, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that these methods can be practiced using other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframes, IoT devices, distributed computing systems, and personal computers, handheld computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

[0133] The embodiments described herein can also be practiced in a distributed computing environment, where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices linked via a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can reside on both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0134] Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which may include computer-readable storage media, machine-readable storage media, and / or communication media, these terms being used herein in ways distinct from each other. A computer-readable storage medium or a machine-readable storage medium can be any available storage medium accessible by a computer, and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable storage medium or a machine-readable storage medium can be implemented in conjunction with any method or technique used for storing information, such as computer-readable or machine-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data.

[0135] Computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD) or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic cartridges, magnetic tapes, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, solid-state drives or other solid-state storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transitory media that can be used to store desired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or “non-transitory” as used herein for storage devices, memories, or computer-readable media shall be understood to exclude only the propagated transient signal itself as a modifier, and shall not waive the rights to all standard storage devices, memories, or computer-readable media that do not merely propagate transient signals themselves.

[0136] A computer-readable storage medium can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices, for example via access requests, queries or other data retrieval protocols, for various operations relating to the information stored on the medium.

[0137] Communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in the form of data signals (such as modulated data signals, like carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms), and include any medium for delivering or transmitting information. The term "modulated data signal" or signal refers to a signal whose characteristics are set or altered in a manner that encodes information in one or more signals. By way of example and not limitation, communication media include wired media (such as wired networks or direct wired connections) and wireless media (such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media).

[0138] Refer again Figure 13 An example environment 1300 for implementing the various embodiments described herein includes a computer 1302, which includes a processing unit 1304, system memory 1306, and a system bus 1308. The system bus 1308 couples system components (including, but not limited to, system memory 1306) to the processing unit 1304. The processing unit 1304 can be any processor from a variety of commercially available processors and may include cache memory. Dual microprocessors and other multiprocessor architectures may also be used as the processing unit 1304.

[0139] System bus 1308 can be any type of bus architecture among several types of bus architectures, which can be further interconnected to memory buses (with or without memory controllers), peripheral buses, and local buses using any of the various commercially available bus architectures. System memory 1306 includes ROM 1310 and RAM 1312. The Basic Input / Output System (BIOS) can be stored in non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or EEPROM, containing basic routines that facilitate the transfer of information between components within computer 1302 (such as during startup). RAM 1312 may also include high-speed RAM, such as static RAM, for caching data.

[0140] Computer 1302 also includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1314 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), one or more external storage devices 1316 (e.g., floppy disk drive (FDD), memory stick or flash drive reader, memory card reader, etc.), and an optical disc drive 1320 (e.g., capable of reading from or writing to disks such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, BDs, etc.). Although the internal HDD 1314 is illustrated as being located within computer 1302, the internal HDD 1314 can also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown). Additionally, although not shown in environment 1300, a solid-state drive (SSD) may be used in addition to, or in place of, HDD 1314. HDD 1314, external storage devices(s) 1316, and optical disc drive 1320 may be connected to system bus 1308 via HDD interface 1324, external storage interface 1326, and optical disc drive interface 1328, respectively. The interface 1324 for external driver implementation may include at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interface technologies. Other external driver connectivity technologies are also within the scope of the embodiments described herein.

[0141] The drive and its associated computer-readable storage medium provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, etc. For computer 1302, the drive and storage medium accommodate storage of any data in a suitable digital format. While the above description of computer-readable storage media refers to a corresponding type of storage device, those skilled in the art will understand that other types of computer-readable storage media (whether currently existing or developed in the future) may also be used in the example operating environment, and further, any such storage medium may contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods described herein.

[0142] Multiple program modules can be stored in the drive and RAM 1312, including an operating system 1330, one or more application programs 1332, other program modules 1334, and program data 1336. All or part of the operating system, applications, modules, and / or data can also be cached in RAM 1312. The systems and methods described herein can be implemented using various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0143] Computer 1302 may optionally include emulation technology. For example, a hypervisor (not shown) or other intermediary may emulate a hardware environment for operating system 1330, and the emulated hardware may optionally be compatible with... Figure 13The hardware shown differs. In such an embodiment, the operating system 1330 may include one of a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) hosted at the computer 1302. Furthermore, the operating system 1330 may provide a runtime environment for the application 1332, such as the Java Runtime Environment or the .NET Framework. A runtime environment is a consistent execution environment that allows the application 1332 to run on any operating system that includes that runtime environment. Similarly, the operating system 1330 may support containers, and the application 1332 may be in the form of a container, which is a lightweight, standalone, executable software package that includes, for example, code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and settings for the application.

[0144] Furthermore, computer 1302 may include a security module, such as a Trusted Processing Module (TPM). For example, before loading the next boot component, the boot component uses the TPM to hash the next boot component in time and wait for the result to match a security value. This process can occur at any layer of the computer 1302's code execution stack, such as at the application execution level or the operating system (OS) kernel level, thereby achieving security at any level of code execution.

[0145] Users can input commands and information into computer 1302 through one or more wired / wireless input devices, such as keyboard 1338, touchscreen 1340, and pointing devices (such as mouse 1342). Other input devices (not shown) may include microphones, infrared (IR) remote controls, radio frequency (RF) remote controls or other remote controls, joysticks, virtual reality controllers and / or virtual reality headsets, game controllers, styluses, image input devices (such as cameras), gesture sensor input devices, visual motion sensor input devices, emotion or face detection devices, biometric input devices (such as fingerprint or iris scanners), etc. These and other input devices are typically connected to processing unit 1304 via input device interface 1344, which can be coupled to system bus 1308, but may also be connected via other interfaces, such as parallel ports, IEEE 1394 serial ports, game ports, USB ports, IR interfaces, BLUETOOTH® interfaces, etc.

[0146] Monitor 1346 or other types of display devices can also be connected to system bus 1308 via an interface such as video adapter 1348. In addition to monitor 1346, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

[0147] Computer 1302 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers (such as (multiple) remote computers 1350) via wired and / or wireless communications. The (multiple) remote computers 1350 can be workstations, server computers, routers, personal computers, laptops, microprocessor-based entertainment devices, peer-to-peer devices, or other public network nodes, and typically include many or all of the elements described relative to computer 1302, although for simplicity, only memory / storage device 1352 is illustrated. The depicted logical connections include wired / wireless connections to a local area network (LAN) 1354 and / or a larger network (e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1356). Such LAN and WAN networking environments are common in offices and companies and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks (such as intranets), all of which can connect to global communications networks such as the Internet.

[0148] When used in a LAN networking environment, computer 1302 can connect to local area network 1354 via a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1358. Adapter 1358 can facilitate wired or wireless communication to LAN 1354, which may also include a wireless access point (AP) configured thereon for communicating with adapter 1358 in wireless mode.

[0149] When used in a WAN networking environment, computer 1302 may include modem 1360, or may be connected to a communication server on WAN 1356 via other means (such as via the Internet) for establishing communication over WAN 1356. Modem 1360 (which may be internal or external, wired or wireless) may be connected to system bus 1308 via input device interface 1344. In a networking environment, program modules depicted relative to computer 1302 or parts thereof may be stored in remote memory / storage device 1352. It will be understood that the network connection shown is an example, and other means of establishing communication links between computers may be used.

[0150] When used in a LAN or WAN networking environment, computer 1302 can access cloud storage systems or other network-based storage systems in addition to or in place of external storage device 1316. Typically, the connection between computer 1302 and the cloud storage system can be established, for example, on LAN 1354 or WAN 1356 via adapter 1358 or modem 1360, respectively. When computer 1302 is connected to an associated cloud storage system, external storage interface 1326 can manage the storage provided by the cloud storage system with the help of adapter 1358 and / or modem 1360, just as it manages other types of external storage. For example, external storage interface 1326 can be configured to provide access to cloud storage sources as if these sources were physically connected to computer 1302.

[0151] Computer 1302 can be operable to communicate with any wireless device or entity operably configured for wireless communication, such as printers, scanners, desktop and / or portable computers, portable data assistants, communication satellites, any device or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., newsstands, newsstands, store shelves, etc.), and telephones. This can include Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Therefore, communication can be a predefined structure like a traditional network, or simply self-organizing communication between at least two devices.

[0152] Turn now Figure 14 The figure illustrates a block diagram of example UE 1460. UE 1460 may include a smartphone, wireless tablet, wirelessly capable laptop computer, wearable device, machine equipment that can facilitate vehicle telematics, intermediate XR processing unit, etc. UE 1460 may include a first processor 1430, a second processor 1432, and shared memory 1434. UE 1460 may include a radio front-end circuitry 1462, which may be referred to herein as a transceiver, but should be understood to generally include transceiver circuitry, separate filters, and separate antennas for facilitating communication via wireless links (such as...). Figure 1 Transceiver 1462 may transmit and receive signals from one or more wireless links 145, 135, or 137 as shown. Furthermore, transceiver 1462 may include multiple sets of circuitry, or may be tunable to accommodate different frequency ranges, different modulation schemes, or different communication protocols to facilitate long-range wireless links (such as link 125), device-to-device links (such as link 135), and short-range wireless links (such as link 137).

[0153] Continue to Figure 14As described above, UE 1460 may also include SIM 1464 or SIM profile, which may include memory (memory 1434 or a separate memory portion) for facilitating communication with... Figure 1 Information on wireless communication of RAN 105 or core network 130 shown. Figure 14 The SIM 1464 is presented as a single component in the shape of a traditional SIM card, but it will be understood that the SIM 1464 can represent multiple SIM cards, multiple SIM profiles, or multiple eSIMs, some or all of which can be implemented in hardware or software. It will be understood that a SIM profile may include security credentials (e.g., encryption keys, values ​​that can be used to generate encryption keys, or credentials between the SIM 1464 and another device, which may be...) Figure 1 Information shared between components of RAN 105 or core network 130 (as shown in the diagram). SIM profile 1464 may also include unique identifying information for the SIM or SIM profile, such as, for example, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (“IMSI”) or information that may constitute an IMSI.

[0154] SIM 1464 is shown coupled to both the first processor portion 1430 and the second processor portion 1432. This implementation offers the advantage that the first processor portion 1430 does not need to request or receive information or data that the second processor 1432 might request from SIM 1464, thus eliminating the first processor's role as a "man-in-the-middle" when the second processor uses information from the SIM in performing its functions and executing applications. The first processor 1430 (which may be a modem processor or a baseband processor) is shown smaller than the second processor 1432 (which may be a more complex application processor than the first processor) to visually indicate the relative level of complexity (i.e., processing power and performance) and the corresponding relative level of operating power consumption between the two processor portions. When the UE 1460 does not require the second processor to execute applications and process application-related data, keeping the second processor portion 1432 in sleep / inactive / low-power state provides the following advantages: reduced power consumption when the UE only needs to use the first processor portion 1430 in bearer management and mobility management / maintenance processes for monitoring routine configuration, or in listening mode for monitoring the search space that the UE has been configured to monitor while the second processor portion is inactive / sleep.

[0155] UE 1460 may also include sensors 1466, such as temperature sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, humidity sensors, light sensors, etc., which can provide signals to the first processor 1430 or the second processor 1432. Output devices 1468 may include, for example, one or more visual displays (e.g., computer monitors, VR devices, etc.), acoustic transducers (such as speakers or microphones), vibration components, etc. Output devices 1468 may include software that interfaces with output devices (e.g., visual displays, speakers, microphones, haptic devices, olfactory or gustatory devices, etc., which are external to UE 1460).

[0156] The following glossary of terms given in Table 1 can be applied to one or more descriptions of the embodiments disclosed herein. Table 1

[0157] The above description includes non-limiting examples of various embodiments. It is certainly not possible to describe every contemplative combination of components or methods for the purpose of describing the disclosed subject matter, and those skilled in the art will recognize that further combinations and arrangements of various embodiments are possible. The disclosed subject matter is intended to cover all such changes, modifications, and variations falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

[0158] In relation to the various functions performed by the aforementioned components, devices, circuits, systems, etc., the terminology used to describe such components (including references to "apparatus") is also intended (unless otherwise stated) to include any structure(s) performing the specified functions of the described component (e.g., functional equivalents), even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure. Furthermore, while specific features of the disclosed subject matter may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such features may be combined with one or more other features that may be desirable and advantageous for any given or particular application.

[0159] The terms “exemplary” and / or “illustrative” or variations thereof, as may be used herein, are intended to refer to examples, instances, or illustrations. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited to such examples. Furthermore, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” and / or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor does it imply the exclusion of equivalent structures and techniques known to those skilled in the art. Moreover, with respect to the use of the terms “include,” “have,” “comprising,” and other similar words in the context of the detailed description or claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive—in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open-ended transitional phrase—without excluding any additional or other elements.

[0160] The term “or” as used herein is intended to mean inclusive rather than exclusive. For example, the phrase “A or B” is intended to include instances of A, instances of B, and instances of both A and B. Additionally, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted as meaning “one or more” unless otherwise specified or clearly indicated from the context as referring to the singular form.

[0161] The term "set" as used herein excludes the empty set, i.e., a set containing no elements. Therefore, "set" as used in this disclosure includes one or more elements or entities. Similarly, the term "group" used herein refers to a collection of one or more entities.

[0162] The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., used in the claims are for clarity only and do not otherwise indicate or imply any order of time, unless the context clearly states otherwise. For example, “first determination,” “second determination,” and “third determination” do not indicate or imply that the first determination is made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

[0163] The description of the illustrative embodiments of this disclosure provided herein (including those described in the abstract) is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples have been described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In this regard, although the subject matter has been described in conjunction with various embodiments and corresponding drawings, it should be understood where applicable that other similar embodiments may be used, or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments to perform the same, similar, alternative, or substitute functions of the disclosed subject matter without departing from the disclosed subject matter. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted broadly and comprehensively in accordance with the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: A user equipment including a processor receives a link recovery configuration from a ground network node, the link recovery configuration including a context information identifier that indicates context information corresponding to a communication session between the user equipment and the ground network node; The user equipment determines to transfer the communication session from being served by the terrestrial network node to being served by a non-terrestrial network node; The user equipment sends the context information identifier to the non-terrestrial network node, and the context information identifier can be used by the non-terrestrial network node to obtain the context information. as well as The communication session is conducted between the user equipment and the non-terrestrial network node based on the context information indicated by the context information identifier.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the link recovery configuration further includes a timing advance value corresponding to the non-terrestrial network node, the timing advance value being usable by the user equipment to establish the communication session with the non-terrestrial network node.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication session between the user equipment and the terrestrial network node is associated with session quality of service, wherein the link recovery configuration further includes a resource indication indicating at least one non-terrestrial resource corresponding to the non-terrestrial network node, the at least one non-terrestrial resource being usable by the user equipment for the communication session with the non-terrestrial network node, and wherein the at least one non-terrestrial resource is capable of facilitating the communication session between the user equipment and the non-terrestrial network node according to the session quality of service.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user equipment avoids clearing the context information corresponding to the communication session.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user equipment avoids sending a random access preamble to the non-terrestrial network node before engaging in the communication session with the non-terrestrial network node.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the context information identifier is a user equipment identifier corresponding to the user equipment.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the context information identifier is a session identifier corresponding to the communication session.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the link recovery configuration further includes a non-terrestrial network node identifier, the non-terrestrial network node identifier indicating the non-terrestrial network node, the non-terrestrial network node identifier being usable by the user equipment to facilitate sending the context information identifier to the non-terrestrial network node.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the non-terrestrial network node is a first non-terrestrial network node, wherein the non-terrestrial network node identifier is a first non-terrestrial network node identifier, wherein the link recovery configuration further includes a second non-terrestrial network node identifier corresponding to a second non-terrestrial network node, and wherein the method further includes: The user equipment determines a first signal strength corresponding to the first non-terrestrial network node and a second signal strength corresponding to the second non-terrestrial network node; as well as The user equipment determines the higher of the first signal strength and the second signal strength to obtain the determined highest signal strength. The context information identifier is sent by the user equipment based on the determined highest signal strength, based on the first non-terrestrial network node or the second non-terrestrial network node, and the communication session is conducted with the non-terrestrial network node corresponding to the determined highest signal strength.

10. A user equipment, comprising: A processor configured to process executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate the execution of operations, including: Establish a communication session with the terrestrial radio network node based on the context; Receive link recovery configuration from the terrestrial radio network node, the link recovery configuration including context information corresponding to the context; Determine to transfer the communication session from the terrestrial radio network node to a non-terrestrial radio network node; Sending a session transfer request message to the non-terrestrial radio network node, the session transfer request message including the context information, the context information being usable by the non-terrestrial radio network node to facilitate the communication session; and The communication session is conducted with the non-terrestrial radio network node according to the context.

11. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the terrestrial radio network node is a serving terrestrial radio network node, wherein the non-terrestrial radio network node is a determined non-terrestrial radio network node from a set of at least one non-terrestrial radio network node, the user equipment being capable of communicating with the determined non-terrestrial radio network node, wherein the link recovery configuration includes at least one non-terrestrial radio network node identifier associated with the set of at least one non-terrestrial radio network node, and wherein determining to transfer the communication session from the serving terrestrial radio network node to the determined non-terrestrial radio network node further comprises: It has been determined that the communication link between the user equipment corresponding to the communication session and the serving terrestrial radio network node has failed; It is determined that there are no terrestrial radio network nodes other than the serving terrestrial radio network node that can facilitate the communication session regarding the user equipment; as well as The determined non-terrestrial radio network node corresponds to a signal strength measurement result higher than at least one signal strength measurement result, which corresponds to the set of at least one non-terrestrial radio network node.

12. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the context information includes a context identifier indicating the context.

13. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein conducting the communication session with the non-terrestrial radio network node according to the context comprises: Avoid performing random access on the non-terrestrial radio network nodes.

14. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the link recovery configuration includes at least one non-terrestrial uplink resource indication indicating at least one non-terrestrial uplink resource, the at least one non-terrestrial uplink resource being usable by the user equipment to facilitate communication with the non-terrestrial radio network node, and wherein the session transfer request message is transmitted via the at least one non-terrestrial uplink resource.

15. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the user equipment is an extended reality device.

16. A non-transitory machine-readable medium, the non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user device, facilitate the execution of operations, the operations comprising: Establish a communication session with the serving terrestrial radio network node, depending on the context. Receive a link recovery configuration from the serving terrestrial radio network node, the link recovery configuration including a context identifier corresponding to the context; Determine to transfer the communication session from the serving terrestrial radio network node to a determined non-terrestrial radio network node; A session transfer request message is sent to the determined non-terrestrial radio network node. The session transfer request message includes the context identifier, which can be used by the determined non-terrestrial radio network node to obtain context information corresponding to the context. as well as Based on the context, the communication session is conducted with the identified non-terrestrial radio network node.

17. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the link recovery configuration includes a timing advance indication corresponding to a timing advance, the timing advance being associated with the determined non-terrestrial radio network node.

18. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein context information corresponding to the context is stored in the memory of the user equipment, wherein the session transfer request message is sent according to the timing advance associated with the determined non-terrestrial radio network node, and wherein the operation further comprises: Avoid clearing the context information from the memory of the user equipment; as well as To avoid performing random access with respect to the identified non-terrestrial radio network nodes, in order to facilitate the communication sessions with the identified non-terrestrial radio network nodes.

19. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining to transfer the communication session from the serving terrestrial radio network node to the determined non-terrestrial radio network node further comprises: It has been determined that the communication link between the user equipment corresponding to the communication session and the serving terrestrial radio network node has failed; It is determined that there is no other terrestrial radio node besides the serving terrestrial radio network node to which the user equipment can be switched to facilitate the communication session; as well as The determined non-terrestrial radio network node corresponds to a signal strength measurement result higher than one or more signal strength measurements, which correspond to one or more non-terrestrial radio network nodes other than the determined non-terrestrial radio network node.

20. The nontransient machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the communication session between the user equipment and the serving terrestrial radio network node is associated with session quality of service, wherein the link recovery configuration further includes a resource indication indicating at least one non-terrestrial resource corresponding to the determined non-terrestrial radio network node, the at least one non-terrestrial resource being usable by the user equipment for the communication session, and wherein the at least one non-terrestrial resource is capable of facilitating the communication session according to the session quality of service.

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