Method and apparatus for configuring connections in a network

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. According to various examples, a user equipment (UE) is provided, including: a transmitter; a receiver; and at least one processor configured to: receive, from a first network entity associated with at least one first cell, configuration information for establishing dual connectivity (DC) or carrier aggregation (CA), the configuration information including information about at least one second cell; and establish the at least one second cell as at least one secondary cell (SCell) for CA or a secondary cell group (SCG) for DC based on the configuration information; wherein the establishing the at least one second cell includes: applying, to the at least one second cell, synchronization associated with the at least one first cell, or applying, to the at least one second cell, synchronization based on first synchronization information included in the configuration information. According to various examples, a network entity associated with at least one first cell is provided, the network entity configured to: determine to establish at least one second cell as at least one secondary cell (SCell) for carrier aggregation (CA) of a user equipment (UE) or a secondary cell group (SCG) for dual connectivity (DC); and transmit, to the UE on the at least one first cell, configuration information for establishing the CA or the DC; wherein, based on determining a synchronization difference between the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell, the network entity is configured to: include, in the configuration information, first synchronization information for synchronization applicable to the at least one second cell. Corresponding methods for the UE and for the network entity are also provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Some examples of this disclosure relate to methods, apparatus, and / or systems for establishing or configuring carrier aggregation and / or dual connectivity in a network. In particular, in various examples, the network is an air-to-ground network or a non-terrestrial network. In various examples, SCell addition for a UE in the network is described. In various examples, SCG addition for a UE in the network is described. Other examples include methods and / or apparatus in which a UE transmits timing advance information in the network, wherein carrier aggregation and / or dual connectivity are configured for the UE. Various examples disclose an enhanced timing advance reporting MAC CE transmitted by the UE. In various examples, a Koffset MAC CE is provided. Background Technology

[0002] 5G mobile communication technology defines a wide frequency band, enabling high transmission rates and new services. It can be implemented not only in "below 6 GHz" bands such as 3.5 GHz, but also in "above 6 GHz" bands, including 28 GHz and 39 GHz, known as mmWave. Furthermore, 6G mobile communication technology (referred to as "super 5G systems") is being considered in terahertz bands (e.g., the 95 GHz to 3 THz band) to achieve transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G and ultra-low latency one-tenth that of 5G.

[0003] At the outset of 5G mobile communication technology development, standardization was underway regarding beamforming and massive MIMO to support services and meet performance requirements associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC). This standardization aimed to mitigate radio wave path loss in millimeter waves and increase radio wave transmission distance; support parameter sets for dynamic operation (e.g., operating multiple subcarrier spacings) to efficiently utilize millimeter wave resources and time slot formats; initial access technologies to support multi-beam transmission and broadband; the definition and operation of bandwidth portions (BWP); new channel decoding methods (such as low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes for large data transmissions and polar codes for highly reliable transmission of control information); L2 preprocessing; and network slicing for providing dedicated networks for specific services.

[0004] Currently, given the services supported by 5G mobile communication, discussions are underway regarding improvements and performance enhancements to the initial 5G mobile communication technology. Physical layer standardization for technologies such as Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) is also in place, designed to assist autonomous vehicle driving decisions based on information about the vehicle's location and status transmitted by the vehicle, and to enhance user convenience. This includes NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) and NR UE Energy Saving (NTN), which are UE-satellite direct communication technologies used to provide coverage and positioning in areas where communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable.

[0005] Furthermore, standardization is ongoing for technologies within the air interface architecture / protocol, such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interoperability and convergence with other industries, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) for providing nodes for network service area extension by supporting wireless backhaul and access links in an integrated manner, mobility enhancements including conditional handover and Dual Active Protocol Stack (DAPS) handover, and two-step random access (two-step RACH for NR) for simplifying the random access process. Standardization is also underway for 5G baseline architectures (e.g., service-based architectures or service-based interfaces) for combining Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, as well as system architectures / services for Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) based on UE location reception services.

[0006] With the commercialization of 5G mobile communication systems, the number of connected devices will increase exponentially, necessitating enhanced functionality and performance of 5G mobile communication systems as well as integrated operation of connected devices. To this end, new research related to extended reality (XR) has been initiated to effectively support augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), etc., by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), AI service support, metaspace service support, and drone communication to improve 5G performance and reduce complexity.

[0007] Furthermore, this development of 5G mobile communication systems will not only serve as the foundation for developing new waveforms for providing terahertz band coverage in 6G mobile communication technologies, such as multi-antenna transmission technologies like full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and massive MIMO; metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving terahertz band signal coverage; high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technologies using orbital angular momentum (OAM); and reconfigurable smart surfaces (RIS); it will also serve as the foundation for developing full-duplex technologies to improve the frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technologies and enhance system networks; AI-based communication technologies to achieve system optimization by leveraging satellites and AI from the design phase and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions; and next-generation distributed computing technologies to achieve services with complexity levels exceeding the operational capabilities of UEs by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0008] The following documents are mentioned below and / or their contents provide background information, and the following disclosures should be considered in that context:

[0009] [1] 3GPP TS 38.331-5G; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol specification, version 18 (e.g., V18.0.0).

[0010] [2] 3GPP RP-221369-CMCC, " Revised WID on Air-to-ground network for NR 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #96; Budapest, Hungary, June 6-9, 2022.

[0011] [3] 3GPP RP-211557-Thales, " Solutions for NR to support non- terrestrial networks (NTN) 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #91-e; Electronic Meeting, March 22-26, 2021.

[0012] [4] 3GPP RP-202689-MediaTek Inc., " New Study WID on NB-IoT / eTMC support for NTN 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #90; Electronic Meeting, December 7-11, 2020.

[0013] [5] 3GPP RP-220953-Thales, " NR NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks) enhancements 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #95e; Electronic Meeting, March 17-23, 2022.

[0014] [6] 3GPP RP-220979 - MediaTek, " Revised WID on IoT NTN enhancements 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #95e; Electronic Meeting, March 17-23, 2022.

[0015] [7] 3GPP RP-222654-Thales, " Revised WID: NR NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network enhancements 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #97-e; Electronic Meeting, September 12-16, 2022.

[0016] [8] 3GPP RP-240839 - Moderator (Apple Inc.), “New WID on Enhancements for Air-to-ground network for NR”; 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #103; Maastricht, Netherlands, March 18-21, 2024.

[0017] Note: Version numbers are provided for illustrative purposes, and other aspects of these documents (including those not specified) are also taken into account. (Later version)

[0018] Wireless or mobile (cellular) communication networks, in which mobile terminals (e.g., user equipment such as mobile phones) communicate with base stations (BSs) or other wireless access points (APs) or nodes via radio links, have undergone rapid development through several generations. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) designs, specifies, and standardizes technologies used in mobile wireless communication networks. Fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G) systems (5GS) are now widely deployed, while beyond-5G (B5G) and 6G systems are being considered.

[0019] The 3GPP standards for 4G systems include the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and Enhanced UTRAN (E-UTRAN: Enhanced Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network). E-UTRAN uses Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology. LTE is generally used to refer to the entire system including both EPC and E-UTRAN, and will be used in this sense for the remainder of this document. LTE should also be considered to include LTE enhancements, such as LTE Advanced and LTE Pro, which offer enhanced data rates compared to LTE.

[0020] In 5G systems, a new air interface has been developed, which can be called 5G New Radio (5G NR) or simply NR. NR is designed to support a wide variety of services and use case scenarios envisioned for 5G networks, although it builds on the established LTE technology. 5G systems such as 6G are currently being considered and developed, and are expected to be at least partially built upon 5G systems.

[0021] New frameworks and architectures are being developed as part of 5G networks (and other networks such as 6G networks) to increase the range of features and use cases available through 5G networks.

[0022] One area currently under development in 3GPP 5G wireless technology is air-to-ground (ATG) networks. Air-to-ground (ATG) networks are cellular networks that provide connectivity in the air via ground-based base stations. Figure 1 An example of an ATG network is shown. An ATG network differs from a non-terrestrial network (NTN) because the access link is from the ground to the UE in the sky, whereas in an NTN, the access link is from space / sky to the ground. An example of an NTN is shown in... Figure 2 As shown in the image.

[0023] refer to Figure 1 The ATG network is shown as including ATG cell 110 and ATG cell 120. ATG cell 110 is associated with (e.g., controlled or configured by) eNB / gNB 130 (i.e., this entity can be an eNB or a gNB). ATG cell 120 is associated with eNB / gNB 140. eNB / gNB 130 and eNB / gNB 140 are connected to core network 150. UE 160 is shown within ATG cell 120. UE 160 is connected to eNB / gNB 140 via access link 170; for example, UE 160 is communicatively connected to core network 150 via eNB / gNB 140.

[0024] refer to Figure 2 The NTN is shown as including NTN cell 210 and NTN entity 280 associated with (e.g., controlling or configuring NTN cell 210). NTN entity 280 is connected to gateway 220 via feeder link 270. Gateway 220 is connected to eNB / gNB 230, which communicates with core network 240. It should be understood that gateway 220 and eNB / gNB 230 may be co-located or implemented together. UE 250 is located within NTN cell 210. UE 250 is connected to NTN entity 280 via access link 260. Therefore, UE 250 is connected to core network 240 via NTN entity 280.

[0025] One of the main use cases for ATG / A2G networks is to provide backhaul connectivity for access points in aircraft, such as passenger planes.

[0026] A research project was initiated in Rel-18 (RP-221369[2]) of RAN4 to define the requirements for coexistence between ATG and IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) terrestrial networks. In addition, the RRM (Radio Resource Management) performance requirements for ATG UEs, the demodulation performance requirements for ATG BS / UEs, and the test procedures for ATG BS conformance testing were defined.

[0027] ATG networks are similar to NTN networks because cells can be very large, synchronization must be different, and there are network elements that can move very quickly.

[0028] Some characteristics of ATG networks from an RF perspective are listed in RP-221369[2]:

[0029] 1. Extremely large distances between sites and wide coverage area

[0030] 2. Utilizing non-disjoint frequencies to deploy ATG and terrestrial networks

[0031] 3. Enhanced onboard ATG terminal capacity

[0032] Air-to-ground system information

[0033] In the air-to-ground work project, the following new System Information Blocks (SIBs) (from TS 38.331[1]) were introduced:

[0034] - SIB22

[0035] SIB22 contains ATG auxiliary information.

[0036]

[0037] - ATG-Config

[0038] IE ATG-Config provides the parameters required for the UE to access NR via ATG access.

[0039]

[0040] Further information provided in TS 38.331[1] is as follows:

[0041] The following fields can be configured in the ATG network within SIB22 (and ATG-config):

[0042] - ATG-Config

[0043] Among them: atg-gNB-Location and heightgNB. These together form the location of the ATG gNB, which is used for UE synchronization, i.e., to perform self-pre-compensation for timing advance.

[0044] Among them: cellSpecificKoffset...

[0045] Among them: ta-reportATG. Indicates whether TARMAC CE should be triggered during RRC establishment, RRC recovery, RRC re-establishment, etc.

[0046] - ATG-NeighCellConfig. This gives the location of the adjacent ATG gNB.

[0047] Non-terrestrial networks

[0048] NR NTN (NR_NTN_solutions-Core) (RP-211557[3]) is a 3GPP working project in 3GPP Release 17, which defines solutions for enabling New Radio (NR) and NG-RAN to support non-terrestrial networks. It addresses solutions for transparent payloads in both ground-stationary and non-ground-stationary network scenarios, where the UE has GNSS capabilities and the satellite beams are either ground-fixed or ground-mobile.

[0049] IoT (Internet of Things) NTN is a 3GPP research and work project in 3GPP Release 17, which is used to provide non-terrestrial network access for E-UTRAN IoT devices (NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) and LTE-M / eMTC) (RP-202689[4]).

[0050] NR NTN is a working item in Rel-17 that specifies adaptations to allow NR to function on NTN (RP-211557[3]). NTN access can be via Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and / or Geostationary Orbit (GEO), as well as via High Altitude Platform System (HAPS).

[0051] Following the work item in version 17, there are work items in version 18 for enhanced NR NTN (RP-220953[5]) and IoTNTN (RP-220979[6]).

[0052] NR NTN Enhancement (RP-222654[7]) is a 3GPP work item in 3GPP Release 18, which continues to enhance NR NTN through coverage enhancement, NR NTN deployment above 10 GHz, network-verified UE locations and some mobility enhancements.

[0053] Carrier aggregation and dual connectivity

[0054] Carrier aggregation (CA) is a technology introduced for modern cellular connectivity in Rel-10 for LTE. It is a native feature of the first 5G NR release and is a crucial technology for ensuring higher speeds.

[0055] As the name suggests, CA allows the aggregation of multiple carriers for a single gNB (or eNB, which will be understood below as being included as another option when referring to gNB in ​​a similar context). In addition to the primary cell (i.e., PCell or PSCell) to which the UE RRC connects, the gNB also configures a secondary cell (SCell). Each carrier is sometimes referred to as a component carrier (CC).

[0056] Dual connectivity (DC) is a technology introduced for LTE in Rel-12 and is native to 5G NR, with several different features / types, such as E-UTRAN-NR DC, NR-E-UTRAN DC, and NR DC. Dual connectivity enables a UE to connect to both the primary node (MR) and the secondary node (SN) simultaneously, i.e., two different gNBs (or eNBs, which will be understood below as also included as another option when gNBs are mentioned in similar contexts; or a mixture of eNBs and gNBs).

[0057] In NR, the MN will have an associated primary cell group (MCG), and the SN will have an associated secondary cell group (SCG), allowing dual connectivity and carrier aggregation to coexist. A cell group refers to either an MCG or an SCG. A primary cell (PCell) is a non-secondary cell of an MCG, and a primary SCG cell (PSCell) is a non-secondary cell of an SCG. A special cell (SpCell) refers to either a PCell or a PSCell. These gNBs (or eNBs) may or may not be co-located, and each node can have multiple SCells, i.e., carriers. In 5G NR, a common use case is that the MN / MCG is in FR1 (frequency range 1), and the SN / SCG is in FR2 (frequency range 2).

[0058] Compared to CA, in DC, MN and SN will operate more independently, thus allowing MN and SN to be configured for the UE, for example, by utilizing separate measurements at each cell group.

[0059] Add SCell

[0060] SCell addition or CA establishment is the process of adding a secondary cell. This is accomplished using carrier aggregation. An example of this process can be found as follows: Figure 3 As shown.

[0061] Figure 3This is a call flow diagram illustrating the methods performed by the UE and the gNB, including (e.g., controlling) the PCell and SCell.

[0062] generally, Figure 3 The steps can be described as follows:

[0063] ● S310-SCell establishment decision.

[0064] ● S320-RRCReconfiguration.

[0065] ● S330-RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0066] ● S340-UE configuration SCell.

[0067] ● S350-PDCCH commands are accessed randomly.

[0068] ● S360 - Random Access SCell.

[0069] In more detail, Figure 3 The method is as follows:

[0070] In S310 operation, the network (e.g., gNB or CN) decides whether to establish a SCell. This can be based, for example, on determining that service requirements necessitate another SCell, such as if throughput is too low. Prior to this, for example, it could involve measurements of different carriers to ensure signal strength and quality are adequate.

[0071] In S320 operation, the network configures the UE to add an SCell via RRCReconfiguration. This is configured via sCellToAddModList in CellGroupConfig. Upon receiving RRCReconfiguration, the UE configures the SCell. At this time, the SCell cannot be used for transmission because it is not fully synchronized.

[0072] In operation S330, the UE responds with RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0073] In operation S340, the UE configures the SCell (e.g., configure the use of the SCell at the UE).

[0074] In S350 and S360 operations, the network uses a PDCCH command to trigger a random access procedure in order to synchronize SCells. This causes the UE to perform a random access procedure, during which the UE receives a Random Access Response (RAR) with a timing advance (TA), thereby synchronizing the UE to the SCell.

[0075] NR DC SCG Add

[0076] SCG addition (also known as SN addition, SCG creation, or DC creation) is the process of creating a DC by adding another SCG. Figure 4 You can see an example of the process of adding SCG from the UE's perspective.

[0077] Figure 4 This is a call flow diagram illustrating the method performed by the UE, MN (i.e., gNB), and SN (i.e., another gNB).

[0078] generally, Figure 4 The steps can be described as follows:

[0079] ● S410-SCG Establishment Decision.

[0080] ● S420-SN Add Request / SN Add Request Confirmation.

[0081] ● S430-RRCReconfiguration.

[0082] ● S440-RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0083] ● S450 - Random Access SgNB (Secondary gNB, i.e., gNB associated with SN or SCG).

[0084] In more detail, Figure 4 The method is as follows:

[0085] In operation S410, a decision is made to attempt to establish an SCG.

[0086] In operation S420, the MN initiates SCG addition by sending an S-node add request to the SN. If the SN can accommodate the UE and the SCG role, the SN generates an SCG RRC configuration and replies with an S-node add request confirmation, which includes the RRC configuration of the SCG that the UE should apply.

[0087] In operation S430, an RRCReconfiguration is sent to the UE to configure the SCG. For example, for NR SCG addition, mrdc-SecondaryCellGroupConfig is set to nr-SCG, and the gNB includes the CellGroupConfig field.

[0088] In operation S440, the UE sends RRCReconfigurationComplete to the MN. RRCReconfigurationComplete can be generated before or after performing random access to the SN (i.e., performing operation S450). The UE can configure the SCG before, during, or after sending RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0089] In operation S450, the UE performs random access to the SgNB.

[0090] The RRC message SCGFailureInformation can be used to indicate to the MN that the UE has experienced a failure on the SCG link. This could be due to a radio link failure, failure to synchronize on the SCG, or an SCG configuration failure. SCGFailureInformation contains the field FailureReportSCG, which can include the fault type, possible UE measurements, location information, previously visited cells, etc.

[0091] EN-DC SCG Addition

[0092] From the UE's perspective, an example of the process of adding NR SCG from E-UTRAN MN can be found in Figure 5 I saw it in the middle.

[0093] Figure 5 This is a call flow diagram illustrating the methods performed by the UE, MN (i.e., eNB), and SN (i.e., en-gNB).

[0094] generally, Figure 5 The steps can be described as follows:

[0095] ● S510-SCG Establishment Decision.

[0096] ● Add a request to S520-SgNB / Add a request and response to SGNB.

[0097] ● S530-RRCConnectionReconfiguration.

[0098] ● S540-RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete.

[0099] ● S550 - Random access to SgNB.

[0100] In more detail, Figure 5 The method is as follows:

[0101] In operating S510, a decision is made to attempt to establish an SCG.

[0102] In operation S520, the MN initiates SCG addition by sending an SGNB add request to the SN. If the SN can accommodate the UE and the SCG role, the SN generates an SCG RRC configuration and replies with an SGNB add request confirmation, which includes the RRC configuration of the SCG that the UE should apply.

[0103] In operation S530, an RRCConnectionReconfiguration is sent to the UE to configure the SCG. For example, for NR SCG addition, nr-SecondaryCellGroupConfig is included in the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message as a transparent NR RRC container, and nr-SecondaryCellGroupConfig contains the configuration to be used in the NRSCG.

[0104] In operation S540, the UE sends RRCReconfigurationComplete to the MN. RRCReconfigurationComplete can be generated before or after performing random access to the SN (i.e., performing operation S550).

[0105] In operating the S550, a random access to the SgNB is performed.

[0106] Report in advance regularly

[0107] In NR Release 15 and LTE, timing advance (TA) is signaled by the network in a timing advance command (TAC). Once received, the UE applies the TA, so timing is entirely controlled by the network.

[0108] Timing advance reporting is a feature introduced for NR NTN in version 17. This is because in NR NTN, UEs extensively perform self-compensation for timing advance. In other words, the UE autonomously estimates and applies timing advance. Therefore, in order for the network to know which timing advance the UE applies, the UE can be configured to report its timing advance under certain conditions. These conditions are:

[0109] - Based on instructions from trigger reports from higher levels. This can occur after a set of RRC procedures such as RRC establishment, switchover (RRC reconfiguration with synchronization), RRC reconstruction, and RRC connection restoration.

[0110] - If the change between the current advance timer value and the last reported advance timer (TA) is greater than the configured threshold (offsetThresholdTA). It will also be triggered when offsetThresholdTA is configured and no advance timer report has been sent yet.

[0111] Reporting TA via periodic advance reporting to the MAC (Media Access Control) CE (Control Element), an example of which can be found in... Figure 6 I saw it in the middle.

[0112] Figure 6 This shows an example of a MAC CE 600 that reports in advance on a timed basis.

[0113] In 3GPP Release 18, support for timed advance MAC CE was also agreed upon for ATG.

[0114] Koffset

[0115] Another important part of timing is Koffset, which is the scheduling offset. Koffset includes the cell-specific portion signaled in the CellSpecificKoffset field of the NTN-Config information element in NTN SIB19. The unit of Koffset is the number of time slots. Koffset is calculated as Koffset_cellspecific - Koffset_UE-specific.

[0116] This is also agreed to apply to ATG in version 18.

[0117] In the version 18 work project air-to-ground, several enhancements were introduced, with key concepts drawn from work on NR NTN:

[0118] -SIB22, which sends signals to notify information that is crucial for cell access in ATG cells:

[0119] The ATG gNB position consists of the ATG BS reference position and the ATG BS height. This is required for the ATG UE to calculate the propagation delay to the ATG BS and to perform self-pre-compensation for timing advance and Doppler frequency offset.

[0120] Among them: the location of the adjacent cell ATG gNB, for synchronization and self-precompensation when measuring adjacent cells.

[0121] -TA Report

[0122] Among them: ATG UE can trigger and report timed advance reports.

[0123] -Barring

[0124] Wherein: A bit indicating whether ATG UE is disabled.

[0125] The main enhancement to be introduced in version 19 is carrier aggregation (RP-240839, New WID on Enhancements for Air-to-Ground network for NR[8]):

[0126] -Specify the RF and RRM core requirements for in-band co-address and inter-band co-address DL CA[RAN4]:

[0127] Among them: FR1 band continuous CA

[0128] ■ Example combination: n79

[0129] Among them: FR1+FR1 interband CA

[0130] ■ Example combination: n3+n39

[0131] - Specify the RF requirement for a single CC of the UE to support UL MIMO with 2TX. [RAN4]

[0132] - Specify signaling and UE capabilities [RAN2] as necessary.

[0133] The aim of this is to maximize throughput, which is important because one of the primary use cases for ATG is providing backhaul for passenger aircraft. The limited frequency and bandwidth available for ATG also suggests that all available frequency bands should be aggregated if not necessary.

[0134] However, CA for ATG has not yet been discussed, and several important signaling and synchronization issues will be new compared to terrestrial networks. This is because all discussions in NTN and ATG networks assume only a single carrier. For example, these issues include how the UE performs self-precompensation on two different links, and what signaling is needed to support these issues. DC in NTN and ATG networks also remains to be discussed. Summary of the Invention

[0135] [Technical Issues]

[0136] The purpose of certain examples of this disclosure is to at least partially address, resolve, and / or mitigate at least one of the problems and / or disadvantages associated with related technologies, such as at least one of the problems and / or disadvantages described herein. The purpose of certain examples of this disclosure is to provide at least one advantage over related technologies, such as at least one of the advantages described herein.

[0137] There is a need to develop communication technologies for air-to-ground networks.

[0138] Solution to the problem

[0139] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, comprising: a transmitter; a receiver; and at least one processor configured to: receive configuration information for establishing dual connectivity (DC) or carrier aggregation (CA) from a first network entity associated with at least one first cell, the configuration information including information about at least one second cell; and based on the configuration information, establish the at least one second cell as at least one secondary cell (SCell) for CA or a secondary cell group (SCG) for DC; wherein establishing the at least one second cell includes: applying synchronization associated with the at least one first cell to the at least one second cell, or applying synchronization based on first synchronization information included in the configuration information to the at least one second cell.

[0140] According to various examples, synchronization associated with at least one first cell is used to self-compensate for propagation delays in at least one first cell.

[0141] According to various examples, when synchronization associated with at least one first cell is applied to at least one second cell, the first synchronization information is not included in the configuration information.

[0142] According to various examples, the synchronization associated with the first cell is based on second synchronization information received from the first network entity before receiving configuration information.

[0143] According to various examples, when synchronization associated with at least one first cell is applied to at least one second cell, the at least one second cell is in the same timing advance group as the at least one first cell.

[0144] According to various examples, when synchronization based on first synchronization information is applied to at least one second cell, the synchronization associated with at least one first cell is different from the synchronization associated with at least one second cell.

[0145] According to various examples, the at least one processor is configured to: perform self-pre-compensation for propagation delay in at least one established SCell or SCG; and apply the self-compensation in the at least one first cell.

[0146] According to various examples, the at least one processor is also configured to perform a timed advance report based on the establishment of the at least one SCell or the SCG or based on receiving the configuration information.

[0147] According to various examples, one or more of the following are included: the timing advance report is performed after the establishment of the at least one SCell or the SCG; the timing advance report is performed when the random access (RA) of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) command is triggered on the at least one SCell; the timing advance report is performed based on configuration information including an indication of secondaryCellGroup or DC establishment; the configuration information is included in an RRCReconfiguration message; performing the timing advance report includes: including the timing advance report in a message sent in the at least one SCell or the SCG after the establishment of the at least one SCell or the SCG; and the message sent in the at least one SCell or the SCG is Msg3.

[0148] According to various examples, one of the following holds true: the UE is configured to perform the timing advance reporting based on establishing at least one SCell or the SCG or based on receiving the configuration information as the default operation of the UE; or, the configuration information includes a field for configuring the UE to perform the timing advance reporting based on establishing at least one SCell or SCG or based on receiving the configuration information as the default operation of the UE.

[0149] According to various examples, the at least one processor is configured to trigger a timed advance report when the mobility of the SCG is present.

[0150] According to various examples, at least one first cell is a primary cell; and wherein one or more of the following are true: the primary cell and at least one SCell are in the same frequency range; the primary cell and the at least one SCell have the same subcarrier spacing (SCS); and the primary cell and at least one SCell are consecutive.

[0151] According to various examples, at least one first cell is included in a primary cell group (MCG); and wherein one or more of the following are true: the MCG and the SCG are in the same frequency range, or the primary cell (PCell) of the MCG and the primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the SCG are in the same frequency range; the MCG and the SCG have the same subcarrier spacing (SCS), or the PCell and the PSCell have the same SCS; and the MCG and the SCG are co-located, or the PCell and the PSCell are co-located.

[0152] According to various examples, the first synchronization information includes air-to-ground (ATG) information, non-terrestrial network (NTN) information, SIB19 or SIB22 included in the configuration information; and the configuration information also includes information for adding at least one second cell as at least one SCell for CA or SCG for DC.

[0153] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a network entity associated with at least one first cell is provided, the network entity being configured to: determine to establish at least one second cell as at least one secondary cell (SCell) for carrier aggregation (CA) for a user equipment (UE) or a secondary cell group (SCG) for dual connectivity (DC); and transmit configuration information for establishing CA or DC to the UE on the at least one first cell; wherein, based on determining a synchronization difference between the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell, the network entity is configured to include in the configuration information first synchronization information for synchronization applicable to the at least one second cell.

[0154] According to various examples, the network entity is configured to send second synchronization information to the UE on at least one first cell for synchronization applicable in at least one first cell before determining that at least one second cell will be established as at least one SCell or SCG.

[0155] According to various examples, the at least one second cell is in a different timing advance group than the at least one first cell.

[0156] According to various examples, the network entity is configured to receive a timing advance report from the UE based on the configuration information being sent or the establishment of at least one SCell or the SCG.

[0157] According to various examples, one or more of the following are true: the timing advance report is received after at least one SCell or the SCG is established; the timing advance report is received after a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDDCH) command for triggering Random Access (RA) is sent to the UE; the configuration information includes an indication of a secondaryCellGroup or a DC establishment; and the configuration information includes a field for configuring the UE to perform the timing advance report based on the establishment of at least one SCell or SCG or based on receiving configuration information as the default operation for the UE.

[0158] Based on various examples, after establishing at least one SCell or SCG, a timed advance report is received in the messages received in at least one SCell or SCG.

[0159] According to various examples, at least one first cell is a primary cell; and wherein one or more of the following are true: the primary cell and at least one SCell are in the same frequency range; the primary cell and the at least one SCell have the same subcarrier spacing (SCS); and the primary cell and at least one SCell are consecutive.

[0160] According to various examples, at least one first cell is included in a primary cell group (MCG); and wherein one or more of the following are true: the MCG and the SCG are in the same frequency range, or the primary cell (PCell) of the MCG and the primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the SCG are in the same frequency range; the MCG and the SCG have the same subcarrier spacing (SCS), or the PCell and the PSCell have the same SCS; and the MCG and the SCG are co-located, or the PCell and the PSCell are co-located.

[0161] According to various examples, the first synchronization information is included in the air-to-ground (ATG) information, non-terrestrial network (NTN) information, SIB19 or SIB22 included in the configuration information; and / or the configuration information also includes information for adding at least one second cell as at least one SCell for CA or SCG for DC.

[0162] According to a third aspect of this disclosure, a method for providing a user equipment (UE) is provided, the method comprising: receiving configuration information for establishing dual connectivity (DC) or carrier aggregation (CA) from a first network entity associated with at least one first cell, the configuration information including information about at least one second cell; and establishing the at least one second cell as at least one secondary cell (SCell) for CA or a secondary cell group (SCG) for DC based on the configuration information; wherein establishing the at least one second cell comprises: applying synchronization associated with the at least one first cell to the at least one second cell, or applying synchronization based on first synchronization information included in the configuration information to the at least one second cell.

[0163] According to various examples, the UE's method includes features and / or operations corresponding to any of the features and / or operations described in the examples relating to the first aspect above.

[0164] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for a network entity associated with at least one first cell, the method comprising: determining to establish at least one second cell as at least one secondary cell (SCell) for carrier aggregation (CA) for a user equipment (UE) or a secondary cell group (SCG) for dual connectivity (DC); and transmitting configuration information for establishing CA or DC to the UE on the at least one first cell; wherein, based on determining a synchronization difference between the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell, the method includes including first synchronization information applicable to the synchronization of the at least one second cell in the configuration information.

[0165] According to various examples, the network entity's method includes features and / or operations corresponding to any of those features and / or operations described in the examples relating to the second aspect above.

[0166] According to a fifth aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that includes instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of an electronic device (e.g., a UE or a network entity), cause the electronic device to perform a method according to any of the foregoing aspects or examples.

[0167] Other aspects, advantages and salient features of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0168] [Beneficial effects of the invention]

[0169] Various embodiments of this disclosure propose the use of carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, cell addition, secondary cell group addition, and other techniques for air-to-ground networks. Attached Figure Description

[0170] Embodiments / examples of this disclosure are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0171] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example ATG network is shown.

[0172] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an example of NTN is shown.

[0173] Figure 3 This is a call flow diagram illustrating the methods for adding or creating SCells based on various examples.

[0174] Figure 4 This is a call flow diagram illustrating the methods for adding or creating an SCG based on various examples.

[0175] Figure 5 This is a call flow diagram illustrating methods for adding or establishing NR SCGs based on various examples.

[0176] Figure 6 A schematic representation of a MAC CE with advance timing reporting is shown based on various examples.

[0177] Figure 7a and 7b It is a call flowchart illustrating the different methods for adding or creating SCells based on various examples.

[0178] Figure 8a and 8b This is a call flow diagram illustrating different methods for adding or establishing an SCG, based on various examples.

[0179] Figure 9 A schematic representation of an enhanced timing advance reporting MAC CE is shown, based on various examples.

[0180] Figure 10 This is a call flowchart illustrating methods for sending a timed advance report MAC CE according to various examples.

[0181] Figure 11a and 11b This is a call flowchart illustrating different methods for sending a timed advance report MAC CE, based on various examples.

[0182] Figure 12 A schematic representation of the differential Koffset MAC CE is shown based on various examples.

[0183] Figure 13 This is a block diagram illustrating an example structure of an entity according to certain examples of this disclosure.

[0184] Figure 14 This is a flowchart illustrating various examples of methods according to this disclosure.

[0185] Figure 15 This is a flowchart illustrating various examples of methods according to this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0186] The following description of examples of this disclosure is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings to aid in a comprehensive understanding of certain examples of this disclosure. This description includes various specific details to aid understanding, but these are merely exemplary. Therefore, those skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the invention or the disclosure.

[0187] Identical or similar parts may be indicated by the same or similar reference numerals, although they may be shown in different figures.

[0188] For clarity and brevity, and to avoid obscuring the subject matter of this disclosure, detailed descriptions of techniques, structures, constructions, functions, or processes known in the art may be omitted.

[0189] The terms and words used herein are not limited to their bibliographical or standard meanings, but are used solely to achieve a clear and consistent understanding of this disclosure.

[0190] Throughout this description, the words “comprising,” “including,” and “containing,” as well as variations thereof such as “comprising” and “including,” mean “including, but not limited to,” and are not intended to exclude other features, elements, components, integers, steps, processes, operations, functions, characteristics, properties, and / or groups thereof.

[0191] Throughout this description, unless the context otherwise requires, singular forms such as “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural forms. For example, a reference to “object” includes a reference to one or more such objects.

[0192] Throughout the specification, the expressions “at least one of A, B and / or C” (or similar expressions), the expression “and / or”, and the expression “one or more of A, B and / or C” (or similar expressions) shall be regarded as including all possible combinations, such as: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, A and B and C.

[0193] Throughout this description, the language in the general form of “X for Y” (where Y is an action, process, operation, function, activity or step, and X is a means for performing that action, process, operation, function, activity or step) includes means X that are specifically, but not necessarily exclusively adapted, configured or arranged to perform Y.

[0194] Features, elements, components, integers, steps, processes, operations, functions, characteristics, properties, and / or groups thereof described or disclosed in connection with a particular aspect, implementation, or embodiment shall be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, implementation, or embodiment described herein, unless incompatible therewith.

[0195] Some examples of this disclosure relate to methods, apparatus, and / or systems for establishing or configuring carrier aggregation and / or dual connectivity in a network. In particular, in various examples, the network is an air-to-ground network or a non-terrestrial network. In various examples, SCell addition for a UE in the network is described. In various examples, SCG addition for a UE in the network is described. Other examples include methods and / or apparatus in which a UE transmits timing advance information in the network, wherein carrier aggregation and / or dual connectivity are configured for the UE. Various examples disclose timing advance reporting MAC CEs transmitted by the UE. In various examples, Koffset MAC CEs are provided.

[0196] The following examples apply to 3GPP 5G and use terminology associated with 3GPP 5G. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the techniques disclosed herein are not limited to these examples or 3GPP 5G and can be applied to any suitable system or standard, such as one or more existing and / or next-generation wireless communication systems or standards. Those skilled in the art will understand that the techniques disclosed herein can be applied to any existing or future version of 3GPP 5G NR or any other related standard. For example, the functionality of the various network entities and other features disclosed herein can be applied to corresponding or equivalent entities or features in other communication systems or standards. Corresponding or equivalent entities or features can be considered as entities or features performing the same or similar roles, functions, operations, or purposes within a network. In particular, the following disclosure should also be considered with respect to at least 6G, which is anticipated to use at least a portion of or equivalent of the 5G architecture, and this disclosure also relates to 6G.

[0197] A specific network entity can be implemented as a network element on dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on dedicated hardware, and / or as a virtualization function instantiated on an appropriate platform (e.g., on cloud infrastructure).

[0198] Those skilled in the art will understand that this disclosure is not limited to the specific examples disclosed herein. For example:

[0199] ● The technologies disclosed in this article are not limited to 3GPP 5G, B5G or 6G.

[0200] ● One or more entities in the examples disclosed herein can be replaced by one or more alternative entities that perform equivalent or corresponding functions, procedures, or operations.

[0201] ● One or more messages in the examples disclosed herein can be replaced by one or more alternative messages, signals, or other types of information carriers that convey equivalent or corresponding information.

[0202] ● One or more other elements, entities, and / or messages may be added to the examples disclosed herein.

[0203] ● In some examples, one or more unnecessary elements, entities, and / or messages may be omitted.

[0204] ● The functionality, process, or operation of a specific entity in one example can be divided among two or more separate entities in an alternative example.

[0205] ● The functions, procedures, or operations of two or more separate entities in one example can be performed by a single entity in an alternative example.

[0206] ● Information carried by a specific message in one example can be carried by two or more separate messages in an alternative example.

[0207] ● Information carried by two or more separate messages in one example can be carried by a single message in an alternative example.

[0208] ● In alternative examples, the order of operations can be modified if possible.

[0209] ● Information transmission between network entities is not limited to the specific form, type, and / or order of messages described in the examples disclosed herein.

[0210] Some examples of this disclosure may be provided in the form of an apparatus / device / network entity and / or a method thereof configured to perform one or more defined network functions. Such an apparatus / device / network entity may include one or more elements, such as receivers, transmitters, transceivers, processors, controllers, modules, units, etc., each element configured to perform one or more corresponding process, operation, and / or method steps for implementing the techniques described herein. For example, operation / function of X may be performed by a module (or X module) configured to perform X. Some examples of this disclosure may be provided in the form of a system (e.g., a network) and / or a method thereof including one or more such apparatus / device / network entities.

[0211] It should be understood that the examples of this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Certain examples of this disclosure may provide a computer program comprising instructions or code that, when executed, implement a method, system, and / or apparatus according to any aspect, example, and / or embodiment of this disclosure. Certain embodiments of this disclosure provide a machine-readable storage medium for storing such a program.

[0212] A network according to one or more examples disclosed herein may include one or more of the following entities: Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF) entity, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) entity, Session Management Function (SMF) entity, Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) entity, Network Repository Function (NRF) entity, Application Function (AF) entity, and Operation and Maintenance (OAM) entity. The network may include one or more service consumers (including one or more of the entities described above and / or one or more other entities) that receive analysis from the NWDAF. Those skilled in the art will understand that the network may omit one or more of the entities described above and / or may include one or more additional entities.

[0213] As mentioned above, there are issues related to the CA and DC in ATG networks and NTNs that have not been discussed and currently have no solutions. Furthermore, timing advance reporting is important for ensuring the network is aware of the timing advance of the gNB. To date, timing advance reporting has only been considered in single-cell scenarios. Various examples, embodiments, aspects, etc., of this disclosure are intended to address one or more of these issues.

[0214] According to one aspect of this disclosure, methods for configuring CA and / or DC in an ATG scenario are provided, with particular focus on how to handle synchronization information and configuration.

[0215] While the examples disclosed herein are primarily described in accordance with NR ATG, it should be understood that some features can also be applied to establishing and operating CA and / or DC in NR NTN and E-UTRA NTN or even E-UTRA ATG. This is particularly true in the case of NR NTN, as CA and DC have not yet been introduced. For example, “ATG-Config” can be replaced by “NTN-Config”, SIB22 can be replaced by SIB19, etc. In other words, the examples disclosed herein should not be considered limited to NR ATG – they are merely for illustrative purposes. The examples (or similar examples) can also be applied to NR NTN, E-UTRA NTN, and / or E-UTRA ATG, for example with appropriate modifications, such as replacing “ATG-Config” with “NTN-Config” and SIB22 with SIB19, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0216] In the following text, "ATG information" can be or includes information required for an ATG UE (i.e., a UE capable of operating in an ATG network) to establish an ATG connection. For example, this can be synchronization information, which may include one or more of the following: ATG BS location, Koffset, Kmac, etc. It should be understood that Kmac is a scheduling offset used when downlink and uplink frame timings are misaligned at the gNB. Kmac is used to delay the application of downlink configuration indicated by the MAC CE when estimating the UE-to-gNB round-trip delay during the random access procedure. For example, ATG information or synchronization information includes the information element ATG-Config. ATG information may be more generally referred to as information, configuration information, etc.

[0217] In the following text, reference may be made to specific types of signaling, such as RRC, associated with certain operations. However, it should be understood that this disclosure contemplates examples of signaling in these operations that are not limited to specific types (e.g., RRC), and therefore supports a more general reference to the sending / receiving of signaling or messages.

[0218] Since CA can be used in DC, the following methods should not be viewed in isolation. That is, methods used for DC can also be applied to CA, and vice versa.

[0219] When configuring a DC, the node that configures the relevant ATG configuration can be an MN or SN, or a base station (if it is implemented as a single node).

[0220] In this document, when referring to PCell, other cells such as Special Cell (SpCell) or Primary SCG Cell may also be used (i.e., alternatively or additionally), because CA can be configured in SCG. Furthermore, the terms "configure SCG" or "add SCG" can also mean that a PS cell has been established, not that an SCG S cell has been established. Additionally, SN can also be referred to as PSCell.

[0221] According to various examples in this disclosure, when an SCell (for CA) or SCG (for DC) is added or established, the network signals ATG information. This can mean signaling ATG-Config. For example, this means that atg-gNB-Location, heightgNB, cellSpecifickOffset, and ta-ReportATG are all applied in the SCell or SCG.

[0222] For example, the UE is configured to receive ATG information from the network (e.g., from gNB / eNB (in the case of CA) or from MN (in the case of DC) after the network decides to add (or establish) SCell (for CA) or SCG (for DC).

[0223] In various examples, there are conditions under which this is done (i.e., when the network signals ATG information), such as whether there is sufficient difference in how the UE will synchronize to a particular SCell or PSCell. As an example, one condition is whether there is sufficient frequency difference, such as the PCell or MCG being in FR1 and the SCell, PSCell, or SCG being in FR2. Other examples of conditions are that the SCS (subcarrier spacing) between the PCell or MCG and the SCell, PSCell, or SCG is different. In other words, generally, if one or more of the above conditions are met (or more generally, when conditions are met), it may be necessary to provide ATG information.

[0224] Figure 7a An example of a method for the network to signal ATG information when establishing an SCell is shown. Figure 7aThe method is performed between the UE and a gNB (or eNB) that includes (e.g., control) PCells and SCells. Various examples in this disclosure include the operation of each individual entity isolated.

[0225] generally, Figure 7a The steps can be described as follows:

[0226] ● S710a-SCell establishment decision.

[0227] ● S720a-RRCReconfiguration configures SCell, including ATG configuration.

[0228] ● S730a-RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0229] ● The S740a-UE uses the configured ATG configuration to configure the SCell.

[0230] ● S750a-PDCCH-Command Random Access.

[0231] ● S760a - Random Access SCell.

[0232] In more detail:

[0233] In S710a operation, the network (e.g., gNB or CN) decides whether to establish a SCell. This can be based, for example, on determining that service requirements necessitate another SCell, such as if throughput is too low. Prior to this, for example, it could involve measurements of different carriers to ensure signal strength and quality are adequate.

[0234] In S720a operation, the network configures the UE to add an SCell via RRCReconfiguration. Furthermore, when adding or establishing an SCell (for CA) or SCG (for DC), the network signals ATG information. This can mean signaling ATG-Config. For example, as part of S720a operation, the UE receives ATG information (or, in the case of NTN, NTN information). This can be received via RRC signaling (such as RRCReconfiguration). For example, this means that atg-gNB-Location, heightgNB, cellSpecifickoffset, and ta-ReportATG are all applied in the SCell.

[0235] In operation S730a, the UE replies to the gNB with an RRCReconfigurationComplete message (e.g., on the PCell).

[0236] In operation S740a, the UE configures the SCell based on the received RRCReconfiguration message. Here, the UE configures the SCell based on (for example, using) ATG information.

[0237] The order in which operations S730a and S740a are executed can be changed. For example, operation S730a can be executed before, after, or simultaneously with operation S740a (e.g., overlapping).

[0238] In S750a and S760a operations, the network uses the PDCCH command to trigger a random access procedure to synchronize SCells. This causes the UE to perform a random access procedure, during which the UE receives a RAR with a TA, thereby synchronizing the UE to the SCell.

[0239] It should be understood that it can be based on Figure 7a Operations S750a and S760a are omitted in the example.

[0240] For CA, the required information (e.g., ATG information or equivalent NTN information) can be included in SCellToAddModList in CellGroupConfig, or added to SCellConfig (an example of how this is implemented (e.g., the change introduced in TS38.331[1]) can be seen in Example #1 in the appendix below). Alternatively, it can be a separate list, such as atg-ConfigToAddModList in CellGroupConfig.

[0241] Figure 8a An example of a method for the network to signal ATG information when establishing an SCG is shown. Figure 8a The method is performed between the UE, MN, and SN. Various examples in this disclosure include operations for each individual entity isolated.

[0242] generally, Figure 8a The steps can be described as follows:

[0243] ● S810a-SCG Establishment Decision.

[0244] ● S820a-RRCReconfiguration configures SCG, including ATG configuration.

[0245] ● S830a-RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0246] ● The S840a-UE uses the configured ATG configuration to configure the SCG.

[0247] ● S850a - Random Access SN.

[0248] In more detail:

[0249] In operation S810a, a decision is made to attempt to establish an SCG. For example, the MN (e.g., the corresponding gNB or CN) is determined to establish an SCG for the UE.

[0250] In various examples ( Figure 8a (Not shown in the image), the MN initiates SCG addition by sending an S-Node Add Request to the SN. If the SN can accommodate the UE and the SCG role, the SN generates an SCG RRC configuration and replies with an S-Node Add Request Confirmation, which includes the RRC configuration of the SCG that the UE should apply. It should be understood that this can be derived from... Figure 8a These details are omitted in the examples.

[0251] In operation S820a, the MN sends an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE for adding or establishing an SCG. In operation S820a, the MN also sends ATG information (or NTN information in the case of NWN) or information for ATG configuration (e.g., ATG configuration) to the UE. That is, for example, the UE receives an RRCReconfiguration message that includes information for adding an SCG and ATG information.

[0252] In operation S830a, the UE responds with RRCReconfigurationComplete. For example, the UE sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the MN.

[0253] In operation S840a, the UE uses ATG information to configure the SCG. Alternatively, the UE can also use other information within RRCReconfiguration to configure the SCG.

[0254] The order in which operations S830a and S840a are executed can be changed. For example, operation S830a can be executed before, after, or simultaneously with operation S840a (e.g., overlapping).

[0255] In operation S850a, the UE performs random access to the SgNB (i.e., SN gNB). It should be understood that this operation can be omitted.

[0256] For a DC, the required information (e.g., ATG information or NTN equivalents) can be included in CellGroupConfig, SpCellConfig, spCellConfigDedicated, or reconfigurationWithSync.

[0257] The ATG information used for SCell or SCG may differ from the ATG information in the serving cell, i.e., from the ATG information in PCell (for CA) or MCG (for DC). For example, it may differ due to more stringent synchronization requirements; in this case, the ATG synchronization information (e.g., ATG BS location) for SCell or SCG can be more accurate.

[0258] In the alternatives described above in relation to other examples of this disclosure, if different synchronizations are not required (e.g., regarding how the UE synchronizes to SCell and PCell, or regarding how the UE synchronizes to MCG or SCG), the network may not signal ATG information when establishing CA or DC.

[0259] In such an example, the UE is configured to apply PCell synchronization in the SCell or in the PSCell or SCG cell. In other words, when the UE self-pre-compensates for propagation delay in the PCell, the UE uses the same self-pre-compensation in the SCell, PSCell, or SCG. Figure 7b You can see examples like this in the text.

[0260] Figure 7b An example of how a UE can use a PCell or an existing ATG configuration (e.g., existing ATG information) when configuring an SCell is shown. Figure 7b The method is performed between the UE and a gNB (or eNB) that includes (e.g., control) PCells and SCells. Various examples in this disclosure include the operation of each individual entity isolated.

[0261] generally, Figure 7b The steps can be described as follows:

[0262] ● S710b-SCell establishment decision.

[0263] ● S720b-RRCReconfiguration configures SCell.

[0264] ● S730b-RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0265] ● S740b-UE uses PCell ATG configuration to configure SCell.

[0266] ● S750b-PDCCH commands are accessed randomly.

[0267] ● S760b - Random Access SCell.

[0268] In more detail:

[0269] In S710b operation, the network (e.g., gNB or CN) decides whether to establish a SCell. This can be based, for example, on determining that service requirements necessitate another SCell, such as if throughput is too low. Prior to this, for example, it could involve measurements of different carriers to ensure signal strength and quality are adequate.

[0270] In S720b operation, the network configures the UE to add SCell via RRCReconfiguration.

[0271] In operation S730b, the UE replies to the gNB with an RRCReconfigurationComplete message (e.g., on the PCell).

[0272] In operation S740b, the UE configures the SCell based on the PCell ATG configuration. Here, the UE configures the SCell based on (e.g., using) existing ATG information associated with the PCell, as described above. For example, operation S740b is performed without requiring different synchronizations. It should be understood that in various examples of this disclosure, if ATG information for the SCell is received, the UE configures the SCell based on the received ATG information (e.g., as in operation S740a), and if ATG information for the SCell is not received, the SCell is configured based on the PCell ATG information as in operation S740b. In other words, various examples of this disclosure include... Figure 7a and Figure 7b A combination of methods, such as where the UE configures the SCell (to be added) based on (e.g., based on) whether it utilizes RRCReconfiguration / receives ATG information in RRCReconfiguration.

[0273] The order in which operations S730b and S740b are executed can be changed. For example, operation S730b can be executed before, after, or simultaneously with operation S740b (e.g., overlapping).

[0274] In S750b and S760b operations, the network uses the PDCCH command to trigger a random access procedure to synchronize SCells. This causes the UE to perform a random access procedure, during which the UE receives a RAR with a TA, thereby synchronizing the UE to the SCell.

[0275] It should be understood that it can be based on Figure 7b Operations S750b and S760b are omitted in the example.

[0276] Figure 8b An example of how a UE can use an MN or an existing ATG configuration when configuring an SCG is shown. Figure 8b The method is performed between the UE, MN, and SN. Various examples in this disclosure include operations for each individual entity isolated.

[0277] generally, Figure 8b The steps can be described as follows:

[0278] ● S810b-SCG establishment decision.

[0279] ● S820b-RRCReconfiguration configures SCG.

[0280] ● S830b-RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0281] ● S840b-UE uses MCG ATG configuration to configure SCG.

[0282] ● S850b - Random Access SN.

[0283] In more detail:

[0284] In operation S810b, a decision is made to attempt to establish an SCG. For example, the MN (e.g., the corresponding gNB or CN) is determined to establish an SCG for the UE.

[0285] In various examples ( Figure 8b (Not shown in the image) The MN initiates SCG addition by sending an S-Node Add Request to the SN. If the SN can accommodate the UE and the SCG role, the SN generates an SCG RRC configuration and replies with an S-Node Add Request Confirmation, which includes the RRC configuration of the SCG that the UE should apply.

[0286] In operation S820b, the MN sends RRCReconfiguration to the UE to add or establish an SCG.

[0287] In operation S830b, the UE responds with RRCReconfigurationComplete. For example, the UE sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the MN.

[0288] In operation S840b, the UE uses MCG ATG information to configure the SCG. For example, the UE uses the existing ATG configuration of the MCG to configure the SCG. Here, the UE may also use other information within RRCReconfiguration to configure the SCG. It should be understood that in the various examples of this disclosure, if ATG information for the SCG is received, the UE configures the SCG based on the received ATG information (e.g., as in operation S840a), and if ATG information for the SCG is not received, the UE configures the SCG based on the MCG ATG information as in operation S840b. In other words, the various examples of this disclosure include... Figure 8a and 8b A combination of methods, such as where the UE configures the SCG (to be added) based on (e.g., based on) whether it receives ATG information along with / in RRCReconfiguration.

[0289] The order in which operations S830b and S840b are executed can be changed. For example, operation S830b can be executed before, after, or simultaneously with operation S840b (e.g., overlapping).

[0290] In operation S850b, the UE performs random access to the SgNB (i.e., SN gNB). It should be understood that this operation can be omitted.

[0291] In other examples, similar to those described above, the UE is configured to perform self-precompensation in the SCell, PSCell, or SCG, and use the same or similar self-precompensation in the PCell. This can be relevant if the SCS or frequency is higher in the SCell, PSCell, or SCG (e.g., higher than in the PCell or MCG). This could mean first calculating timing advance in the SCell, PSCell, or SCG, and then quantizing the same timing advance to the lower SCS in the PCell.

[0292] In both cases (i.e., when PCell ATG information is used in the SCell configuration at the UE), the UE uses the information signaled in the PCell (e.g., via SIB22 and dedicated information) to perform self-pre-compensation in both the PCell and SCell, or in both the PCell and PSCell and / or SCG. The difference between these methods is that in the first case, the estimated TA differs between the PCell and SCell, or between the PCell and PSCell or SCG; and in the second case, the estimated TA is identical in both the PCell and SCell, or between the PCell and PSCell or SCG. It should be understood that the information signaled in the PCell (used by the UE to perform self-pre-compensation) can be signaled before the network decides to add or establish the SCell (i.e., the PCell's ATG information may have been transmitted to the UE earlier).

[0293] To establish a CA or DC, in various examples within this disclosure, the network includes SIB22 for SCell, PSCell, or SCG. For example, SIB22 includes ATG information (or, in the case of NTN, consider SIB19 instead of SIB22). This is because in some cases, the UE will not need to obtain system information within the cell when establishing an SCell. In alternative examples, if the SCell or SN SIB22 is identical to the PCell, the network may not configure SIB22, and the UE will be configured to apply the same information signaled to the PCell by SIB22 as in the SCell. This can also be a condition for the UE; if SIB22 is provided when establishing a CA or DC, the UE performs synchronization based on the provided ATG information, and if SIB22 is not present, the UE performs synchronization based on the MN or PCell SIB22.

[0294] Different methods can be applied to CA and DC. For example, in DC, it may be necessary to configure ATG information when establishing DC (e.g., similar to the case of operation 840a); while establishing CA in DC settings (e.g., SCell in SCG) may not require ATG information, and instead the SCG SCell uses the synchronization of PSCell (e.g., ATG information of PCell, such as the case of operation 840b).

[0295] In other examples, in an ATG network (e.g., the typical case for ATG), it may be necessary for the SCell, SCG, or PSCell to be in the same timing advance group as the PCell. In yet another example, the condition for the SCell, SCG, or PSCell to use the PCell for synchronization (e.g., in addition to or as an alternative to any of the above conditions) is that the cell and the PCell are in the same TAG.

[0296] In various examples, when establishing an SCell, SCG, or PSCell, the applied Koffset is based on the Koffset signaled in the PCell SIB19. Alternatively, the applied Koffset can be the same Koffset applied in the PCell, which can be both the Koffset signaled in the SIB19 and a specially configured Koffset signaled via the differential Koffset MAC CE.

[0297] Based on the various examples in this disclosure, you can trigger scheduled advance reports in CA settings.

[0298] In various examples, the network (e.g., gNB, eNB) configures the triggering of TA reports based on an offset threshold. In other words, the UE can be configured to trigger a Timing Advance Report (MAC CE) if the change between the current estimate of the timing advance value and the last reported timing advance value is equal to or greater than a configured timing advance offset threshold. This can be configured via offsetThresholdTA for a specific SCell. Alternatively, it can be a threshold configured for all SCells in a cell group (offsetThresholdTA-SCell). In another alternative, offsetThresholdTA and timingAdvanceSR are applied to all SCells in the cell group.

[0299] In another example, if TA reporting is configured for a SCell, for example via TAR-Config, the UE is not configured to trigger TAR MAC CE at configuration time, as is done for a PCell in related technologies. This can be useful because it might be useful to trigger TAR MAC CE only based on when the timing advance changes (i.e., the estimated change in timing advance is higher than the threshold offsetThresholdTA). Therefore, when offsetThresholdTA is configured for a cell (PCell or SCell), TAR MAC CE is triggered only for PCell, and not when offsetThresholdTA is configured for SCell.

[0300] In another example of triggering TAR MAC CE, the condition could be that the difference between the reported PCell timing advance and the estimated SCell timing advance is greater than offsetThresholdTA or offsetThresholdTA-SCell. In other words, the PCell and SCell timings are compared to trigger TAR MAC CE. The comparison of PCell and SCell timing advances can be configured by the network in TAR-Config.

[0301] In some cases, one problem when triggering a TAR MAC CE is that it only causes a single MAC entity to trigger a single TAR MAC CE. Furthermore, the TAR MAC CE is only defined for the 15kHz SCS, and the TAR MAC CE is only signaled for a single carrier.

[0302] Therefore, in the various examples disclosed herein, the TAR MAC CE is sent only on a specific cell (i.e., PCell or SCell) depending on the cell that triggers the TAR MAC CE. This may mean that two different TAR MAC CEs can be triggered and queued, and the newer (or later) TAR MAC CE should not cancel the TAR MAC CE (or earlier) of another cell. Similarly, in the example where reporting is performed on a per-serving-cell basis, the final reporting timing advance value is only per-cell. Therefore, the TAR MAC CE reporting process is per-cell.

[0303] In an alternative example, the TAR MAC CE is sent on any serving cell (PCell or SCell). In another alternative, the TAR MAC CE can only be sent on PCell, PSCell, or SpCell.

[0304] An example of reporting TAR MAC CE actions during CA operations can be found in Figure 10 I saw it in the middle. Figure 10 This is a call flowchart illustrating a method for triggering the sending of a timed advance report, as exemplified by this disclosure. That is, it can be seen that... Figure 10 This demonstrates how to trigger a TAR MAC CE based on SCell, and send the TAR MAC CE to PCell or SCell.

[0305] Figure 10 The method is performed between the UE and a gNB (or eNB) that includes (e.g., control) PCells and SCells. Various examples in this disclosure include the operation of each individual entity isolated.

[0306] generally, Figure 10 The steps can be described as follows:

[0307] ● S1010 - Configure scheduled advance reports for SCell.

[0308] ● S1020-SCell triggers TAR MAC CE.

[0309] ● S1030 - Triggers and sends TAR MAC CE (to PCell or SCell).

[0310] An example of how to implement (e.g., the change introduced in TS 38.331[1]) reporting TAR MAC CE for each serving cell can be seen in Example #4 in the appendix below.

[0311] If an SCell can trigger a TAR MAC CE, but the TAR MAC CE can be sent on a PCell, then providing a method to ensure the network can distinguish between different TAR MAC CEs can be useful. Otherwise, the network may not know which cells triggered the MAC CE. Therefore, various examples in this disclosure introduce SCell TAR MAC CEs. In addition to timing advance estimation, SCell TAR MAC CEs may also include an SCell index. In various examples, the network (e.g., a gNB or CN) determines which cell triggered the TAR MAC CE based on whether the TAR MAC CE includes an SCell index or an indication of the SCell.

[0312] In other examples, a new MAC CE specifically for CA is introduced to signal the TAR used for any serving cell (including PCell). This could be called an enhanced TAR MAC CE or a carrier aggregation TAR MAC CE, for example. In addition to timing advance estimation, this MAC CE will also include a cell index. Therefore, the network will know the resolution of the timing advance field because the network will know the SCS of a particular cell. To support larger SCSs compared to 15 kHz, the timing advance field can be increased because the number of time slots increases with higher SCSs, thus requiring a larger timing advance field. Figure 9 An example of the enhanced TAR MAC CE can be seen in the image.

[0313] Figure 9 An example of the Enhanced Timely Advance Report (TAR) MAC CE 900 is shown. The Enhanced TAR MAC CE includes an added TA field and a serving cell ID indicating the serving cell to which the TAR corresponds.

[0314] In other examples, SCell cannot trigger timed advance reports. This means that triggering is only based on PCell or SpCell.

[0315] In another example, if the ATG gNB location is the same across different serving cells, the cell with the larger SCS triggers a TAR MAC CE. This can be meaningful because the larger the SCS, the more granular and therefore earlier the TAR MAC CE triggers. For example, the UE is configured to send a TAR MAC CE for the cell with the largest SCS based on (e.g., the ATG gNB location and / or SCS of each cell, both in the PCell and SCell).

[0316] If cells in a CA scenario have different SCS and / or different ATG synchronizations, some of the methods described above may only apply. Therefore, the above configurations can have different SCS or configured ATG gNB locations. Similarly, in some cases, if there are sets of cells with the same SCS and sets of cells with different SCS, the TAR MAC CE report may only be different for these two sets of cells. For example, within a single cell set, the TAR MAC CE report may be identical.

[0317] According to various examples in this disclosure, a timed advance report is performed when the UE performs CA or DC establishment. For example, a TA report is triggered after CA or DC establishment.

[0318] In some examples, for the timing advance report during DC setup, this is done when the UE receives the secondaryCellGroup in the RRCReconfiguration message. In this case, the timing advance report MAC CE can be included in Msg3. This can be configured as the default operation when the UE establishes the SCG, or it can be configured via ta-Report in the SCG configuration, or it can be configured using a separate bit ta-ReportSCG. An example of how this is implemented (e.g., the change introduced in TS 38.331[1]) can be seen in Example #2 in the appendix below.

[0319] Similarly, according to various examples, when SCG mobility is present, the UE is configured to trigger a timed advance MACCE report.

[0320] In various examples, for advance timing reporting, to trigger an advance timing reporting MAC CE, if a SCell is established, the UE can be triggered to include the MAC CE. Alternatively, if a random access PDCCH command is triggered on the SCell, the UE can be triggered to report (or configured to report) an advance timing reporting MAC CE. These two actions can be the default operations, or they can be specifically configured via, for example, a ta-Report or a specific bit ta-ReportSCell configured on the SCell. Examples can be found in... Figure 11a and 11b As seen in the document, this involves both CA and DC cases. Furthermore, an example of how this is implemented (e.g., the changes introduced in TS38.331[1]) can be seen in Example #3 in the appendix below.

[0321] Figure 11a This is a call flowchart illustrating the method for sending a timed advance report according to an example. That is, you can see... Figure 11a This shows the sending of TAR MAC CE during SCell addition.

[0322] Figure 11a The method is performed between the UE and a gNB (or eNB) that includes (e.g., control) PCells and SCells. Various examples in this disclosure include the operation of each individual entity isolated.

[0323] generally, Figure 11a The steps can be described as follows:

[0324] ● S1110a-SCell establishment decision.

[0325] ● S1120a-RRCReconfiguration configures SCell.

[0326] ● S1130a-RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0327] ● S1140a-UE configuration SCell.

[0328] ● S1150a-PDCCH-Command Random Access.

[0329] ● S1160a - Random Access SCell.

[0330] ● S1170a - Triggers and sends TAR MAC CE (to PCell or SCell).

[0331] In the example above, referring to operation S1140a, the UE is configured to send a TA report after establishing the SCell (e.g., sending an RA report is set as the default behavior in the UE in this case). This could be an alternative to sending a TARMAC CE in S1170a, or something other than sending a TARMAC CE in S1170a.

[0332] Figure 11b This is a call flowchart illustrating the method for sending a timed advance report according to an example. That is, you can see... Figure 11b This shows the sending of TAR MAC CE during SCell addition.

[0333] Figure 11b The method is performed between the UE, MN, and SN. Various examples in this disclosure include operations for each individual entity isolated.

[0334] generally, Figure 11b The steps can be described as follows:

[0335] ● S1110b-SCG Establishment Decision.

[0336] ● S1120b-RRCReconfiguration configures SCG.

[0337] ● S1130b-RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0338] ● S1140b-UE uses MCG ATG configuration to configure SCG.

[0339] ● S1150b - Random Access SN.

[0340] ● S1160b - Triggers and sends TAR MAC CE to SN.

[0341] In the example above, referring to operation S1140b, the UE is configured to send a TA report after the SCG is established (e.g., sending an RA report is set as the default behavior in the UE in this case). This could be an alternative to sending a TARMAC CE in S1160b, or something else entirely.

[0342] In another example, a TA report is triggered during SCG mobility (i.e., when the MCG remains the same but the SCG or SN changes). For example, the UE is configured to send a TA report to the new SCG when the SCG changes from a previously established SCG to a new SCG.

[0343] Based on various examples, certain conditions may need to be met when establishing carrier aggregation or dual connectivity.

[0344] Some examples of these conditions of CA are:

[0345] -PCell and SCell must be in the same frequency range, i.e., in FR1, FR2-1 or FR2-2.

[0346] -PCell and SCell must have the same SCS.

[0347] -PCell and SCell must be consecutive.

[0348] Some examples of these conditions for DC are:

[0349] - The MCG or PCell and the SCG or PSCell must be in the same frequency range, i.e., in FR1, FR2-1 or FR2-2.

[0350] -MCG or PCell and SCG or PSCell must have the same SCS.

[0351] -MCG or PCell and SCG or PSCell must be co-located.

[0352] The various examples disclosed herein include any combination of the above-described conditional examples.

[0353] In various examples, the MAC CE is used to signal the differential Koffset. In various examples, the differential Koffset MAC CE is enhanced to indicate which serving cell should change its Koffset. Due to different SCSs, the differential Koffset field may be larger. Figure 12 An example of the differential Koffset MAC CE 1200 is shown.

[0354] According to examples in this disclosure, a first entity (e.g., a UE) in an ATG network is provided, which is configured to: receive first information for configuring cells in the ATG network and second information for adding cells associated with the second entity from a second entity (e.g., a gNB) in the ATG network; and configure cells based on the first and second information. Optionally, the first and second information are received via RRC signaling. Optionally, the first and second information are included in an RRCReconfiguration message. Optionally, the cell is a SCell, and the first and second information are received on a PCell associated with the second entity. Optionally, the first information includes synchronization information of the ATG network, such as one or more of ATG BS location, Koffset, Kmac, etc.

[0355] According to another example of this disclosure, a first entity (e.g., a UE) in an NTN is provided, which is configured to: receive first information for configuring cells in the NTN network and second information for adding cells associated with the second entity from a second entity (e.g., a gNB) in the NTN; and configure cells based on the first and second information. Optionally, the first and second information are received via RRC signaling. Optionally, the first and second information are included in an RRCReconfiguration message. Optionally, the cell is a SCell, and the first and second information are received on a PCell associated with the second entity. Optionally, the first information includes NTN synchronization information.

[0356] According to examples in this disclosure, a first entity (e.g., a UE) in an ATG network is provided, which is configured to: receive first information for configuring cell groups in the ATG network and second information for adding cell groups associated with a third entity in the ATG network from a second entity (e.g., a gNB) in the ATG network; and configure the cell groups based on the first and second information. Optionally, the first and second information are received via RRC signaling. Optionally, the first and second information are included in an RRCReconfiguration message. Optionally, the cell group is an SCG, and the first and second information are received from an MCG associated with the second entity. Optionally, the first information includes synchronization information of the ATG network, such as one or more of ATG BS location, Koffset, Kmac, etc.

[0357] According to another example of this disclosure, a first entity (e.g., a UE) in an NTN is provided, which is configured to: receive first information for configuring cell groups in the NTN network and second information for adding cell groups associated with a third entity in the NTN from a second entity (e.g., a gNB) in the NTN; and configure the cell groups based on the first and second information. Optionally, the first and second information are received via RRC signaling. Optionally, the first and second information are included in an RRCReconfiguration message. Optionally, the cell group is an SCG, and the first and second information are received from an MCG associated with the second entity. Optionally, the first information includes NTN synchronization information.

[0358] According to another example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) in an ATG network or a non-terrestrial network is provided, the first entity being configured to: receive configuration information from a second entity in the network for TA reports for cells associated with the second entity; detect conditions for reporting TA for the cell; and, based on the detection of the conditions, send a TA report to the cell or another cell associated with the second entity. Optionally, the cell is an SCell and / or the other cell is a PCell. Optionally, the TA report is a TAR MAC CE. Optionally, the conditions are based on an offset threshold; for example, the first entity sends a TA report if the change between the current estimate of the timing advance value and the last reported timing advance value is equal to or greater than a configured (e.g., predetermined) timing advance offset threshold. Optionally, the TA report includes an indication of the cell (e.g., an SCell index) and / or an added TA field (e.g., an added TA field provided based on whether an SCS greater than 15 kHz is supported).

[0359] According to another example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) in an ATG network or a non-terrestrial network is provided, the first entity being configured to: receive configuration information from a second entity in the network for TA reports for cells associated with the second entity; detect conditions for reporting TA for the cell; and, based on the detection of the conditions, send a TA report to the cell or another cell associated with the second entity. Optionally, the cell is an SCell and / or the other cell is a PCell. Optionally, the TA report is a TAR MAC CE. Optionally, the conditions are based on an offset threshold; for example, the first entity sends a TA report if the change between the current estimate of the timing advance value and the last reported timing advance value is equal to or greater than a configured (e.g., predetermined) timing advance offset threshold. Optionally, the TA report includes an indication of the cell (e.g., an SCell index) and / or an added TA field (e.g., an added TA field provided based on whether an SCS greater than 15 kHz is supported).

[0360] According to another example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) in an ATG network or non-terrestrial network is provided, wherein the first entity is configured to send a TA report to a second entity based on the satisfaction of pre-configuration conditions (e.g., default behavior), the pre-configuration conditions including one of the following: establishing a cell (e.g., SCell) associated with the second entity or a cell group (e.g., SCG) associated with a third entity for the first entity, or performing (e.g., completing) random access for the established cell or cell group. The TA report is sent to the cell associated with the second entity or another cell (e.g., PCell), or is sent to the third entity. Optionally, the pre-configuration conditions alternatively or additionally include determining a change in the cell group established for the first entity, in which case the TA report is sent to the entity associated with the new cell group established for the first entity.

[0361] Figure 13 This is a block diagram of an exemplary device or network entity that may be used in the examples of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the entity may be implemented as, for example, a network element on dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on dedicated hardware, and / or as a virtualization function instantiated on a suitable platform (e.g., on cloud infrastructure).

[0362] Entity 1300 includes a processor (or controller) 1301, a transmitter 1303, and a receiver 1305. Receiver 1305 is configured to receive one or more messages from one or more other network entities, as described above. Transmitter 1303 is configured to send one or more messages to one or more other network entities, as described above. Processor 1301 is configured to perform one or more operations, for example, according to the operations described above.

[0363] Figure 14 This is a flowchart illustrating various examples of methods according to this disclosure. The method is executed by the UE.

[0364] In operation S1410, the UE receives configuration information for establishing dual connectivity (DC) or carrier aggregation (CA) from a first network entity associated with at least one first cell. This configuration information includes information about at least one second cell.

[0365] In operation S1420, the UE establishes at least one second cell as at least one secondary cell (SCell) for CA or a secondary cell group (SCG) for DC based on configuration information. Establishing the at least one second cell includes: applying synchronization associated with the at least one first cell to the at least one second cell, or applying synchronization based on first synchronization information included in the configuration information to the at least one second cell. It should be understood that establishing at least one second cell may include additional operations.

[0366] Figure 15 This is a flowchart illustrating various examples of methods according to this disclosure. The method is performed by a network entity.

[0367] In operation S1510, the network entity determines to establish at least one second cell for the user equipment (UE) as at least one secondary cell (SCell) for carrier aggregation (CA) or a secondary cell group (SCG) for dual connectivity (DC).

[0368] In operation S1520, based on determining the synchronization difference between at least one first cell and at least one second cell, the network entity includes first synchronization information for synchronization applicable to at least one second cell in the configuration information used to establish CA or DC to the UE.

[0369] In operation S1530, the network entity sends configuration information for establishing CA or DC to the UE on at least one first cell.

[0370] It should be understood that in the operation of the network entity sending configuration information for establishing CA or DC to the UE on at least one first cell, operations S1520 and S1530 can be combined, wherein, based on determining the synchronization difference between at least one first cell and at least one second cell, the network entity is configured to include first synchronization information for synchronization applicable to at least one second cell in the configuration information.

[0371] It should be understood that in each of the examples / embodiments / aspects above, one or more features or operations may be omitted, modified, or moved (e.g., to change the order of features or operations) if desired and appropriate. Furthermore, one or more features or operations from any example / embodiment may be combined with features or operations from any other example / embodiment. In particular, regardless of whether pointers to combinations of features / examples are found herein, this disclosure should be considered to include all combinations of two or more embodiments, examples, etc., disclosed herein, and all combinations of two or more features disclosed herein.

[0372] The techniques described herein can be implemented using any suitably configured apparatus and / or system. Such apparatus and / or system can be configured to perform methods according to any aspect, embodiment, or example disclosed herein. Such apparatus may include one or more elements, such as receivers, transmitters, transceivers, processors, controllers, modules, units, etc., each element configured to perform one or more corresponding process, operational, and / or method steps for implementing the techniques described herein. For example, operation / function of X can be performed by a module (or X module) configured to perform X. One or more elements can be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination of hardware and software.

[0373] It should be understood that the examples of this disclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or any combination of hardware and software. Any such software can be stored in the form of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as a storage device like ROM, whether erasable or rewritable, or in the form of memory, such as RAM, memory chips, devices, or integrated circuits, or stored on optically or magnetically readable media, such as CDs, DVDs, disks, or magnetic tapes.

[0374] It should be understood that storage devices and storage media are embodiments of machine-readable storage suitable for storing one or more programs including instructions that, when executed, implement certain examples of this disclosure. Thus, some examples provide a program comprising code for implementing methods, apparatus, or systems according to any example, embodiment, and / or aspect of this disclosure, and / or a machine-readable storage device for storing such a program. Furthermore, such programs can be transmitted electronically via any medium, such as communication signals carried by a wired or wireless connection.

[0375] While this disclosure has been shown, illustrated and described with reference to certain examples, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0376] The reader’s attention is directed to all documents and references relating to this application that were submitted concurrently with or prior to this specification and that are publicly available together with this specification, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0377] Annex - Examples of specification text and / or changes based on this disclosure

[0378] Four examples are now provided of how to implement the various teachings of this disclosure in a technical specification (e.g., TS 38.331 (e.g., v18.0.0)). In these embodiments, where the expression "omitted" (or similar) is used, this is merely to indicate that a portion of the technical specification that is not necessary for implementing the teachings in a particular embodiment has been omitted. In these embodiments, the wording used to implement the teachings of this disclosure is shown in underlined and bold text.

[0379] Example #1

[0380] ---------------- TS 38.331 V18.0.0 ----------------

[0381] - CellGroupConfig

[0382] The CellGroupConfig IE is used to configure a primary cell group (MCG) or a secondary cell group (SCG). A cell group includes a MAC entity, a set of logical channels with associated RLC entities, a primary cell (SpCell), and one or more secondary cells (SCells). For NCR-MT, the CellGroupConfig IE is also used to configure side control information for NCR-Fwd access links.

[0383]

[0384] Example #2

[0385] ---------------- TS 38.331 V18.0.0 ----------------

[0386] 5.3.5.3 UE receives RRCReconfiguration

[0387] The UE should perform the following actions when receiving an RRCReconfiguration, when performing a conditional reconfiguration (CHO, CPA, or CPC), or when performing an LTM cell handover:

[0388] ...omitted...

[0389] 1> Otherwise, if the RRCReconfiguration message is received via SRB3 (UE in NR-DC):

[0390] 2> If an RRCReconfiguration message is received within DLInformationTransferMRDC:

[0391] 3> If an RRCReconfiguration message (NR SCG RRC reconfiguration) is received in nr-SCG within mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup:

[0392] 4> If the RRCReconfiguration message that includes the RRCReconfiguration message does not include scg-State:

[0393] 5> If reconfigurationWithSync is included in spCellConfig in nr-SCG:

[0394] 6> Initiate a random access procedure on the PSCell, as specified in TS 38.321[3];

[0395] 6> If the UE is configured with successPSCell-Config by PCell or source PSCell:

[0396] 7> After successfully completing the random access procedure triggered by reconfigurationWithSync in spCellConfig for SCG, perform the action specified in Clause 5.7.10.7 to confirm the success of the PSCell change report;

[0397] 5> Other: 6> Program End;

[0398] 4> Otherwise:

[0399] 5> Perform the SCG deactivation as specified in 5.3.5.13b;

[0400] 5> The process is over.

[0401] 3> Otherwise:

[0402] 4> If RRCReconfiguration does not include mrdc-SecondaryCellGroupConfig

[0403] 5> If RRCReconfiguration includes scg-State:

[0404] 6> Perform the SCG deactivation as specified in 5.3.5.13b;

[0405] 4> Submit the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the lower layer via SRBI so that the new configuration can be transmitted;

[0406] 2> Otherwise:

[0407] 3> If RRCReconfiguration includes reconfigurationWithSync in spCellConfig used for SCG; and

[0408] 3> If the UE is configured with successPSCell-Config:

[0409] 4> After successfully completing the random access procedure triggered by the ConfigurationWithSync configuration in spCellConfig for SCG, perform the action specified in Clause 5.7.10.7 to confirm the success of the PSCell change report;

[0410] 3> If the UE has successful PSCell change or addition information available in the VarSuccessPSCell-Report, and if the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in the VarSuccessPSCell-Report; or

[0411] 3> If the UE has successful PSCell change or addition information available in the VarSuccessPSCell-Report, and if the currently registered SNPN is included in the snpn-IdentityList stored in the VarSuccessPSCell-Report:

[0412] 4> Include successPSCell-InfoAvailable in the RRCReconfigurationComplete message;

[0413] 3> Submit the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the lower layer via SRB3 so that the new configuration can be transmitted;

[0414] 1> Otherwise (receive RRCReconfiguration via SRB1): 2> If the UE is in NR-DC and;

[0415] 2> If RRCReconfiguration does not include mrdc-SecondaryCellGroupConfig:

[0416] 3> If RRCReconfiguration includes scg-State:

[0417] 4> Perform the SCG deactivation as specified in 5.3.5.13b;

[0418] 3> Otherwise:

[0419] 4> Perform SCG activation without SN message as specified in 5.3.5.13b1;

[0420] 2> If `reconfigurationWithSync` is included in `spCellConfig` of `MCG`:

[0421] 3> If ta-Report or TA-ReportATG is configured with a value of enabled and the UE supports TA reporting:

[0422] 4> Instruct the lower level to initiate the TA report;

[0423] 2> If the RRCReconfiguration message includes mrdc-SecondaryCellGroupConfig, where mrdc-SecondaryCellGroupConfig is set to nr-SCG:

[0424] 3> If ta-Report or ta-ReportATG is configured with a value of enabled and the UE supports TA reporting:

[0425] 4> Instruct the SCG MAC entity to initiate a TA report;

[0426] 2> Submit the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the lower layer via SRB1 so that the new configuration can be transmitted;

[0427] 2> If this is the first RRCReconfiguration message after a successful RRC reconstruction process:

[0428] 3> Restore the suspended IAB-MT SRB2, SRB4, DRB, multicast MRB, BH RLC channels, and the Uu relay RLC channel of L2 U2N relay UEs;

[0429] Example #3

[0430] ---------------- TS 38.321 V18.0.0 ----------------

[0431] 5.4.8 Report in advance on a regular basis

[0432] The timing advance reporting procedure is used in non-terrestrial or air-to-ground networks to provide the gNB with an estimate of the timing advance value of the UE (i.e., TTA as defined in the UE’s TA formula, see TS 38.211 [8] Clause 4.3.1).

[0433] RRC controls the timing of advance reporting by configuring the following parameters:

[0434] -offsetThresholdTA;

[0435] -timingAdvanceSR.

[0436] A Timely Advance Report (TAR) should be triggered if any of the following events occur:

[0437] -When an instruction from above triggers a timed advance report;

[0438] - When offsetThresholdTA is configured by the upper layer, if the UE has not previously reported the timing advance value to the current serving cell;

[0439] - If the change between the current estimate of the timing advance value and the last reported timing advance value is equal to or greater than offsetThresholdTA, if configured.

[0440] - If a PDCCH command is triggered on the SCell and the UE is configured with ta-Report ;

[0441] MAC entities should:

[0442] 1> If the scheduled advance reporting process determines that at least one TAR has been triggered and has not been canceled:

[0443] 2> If the UL-SCH resource is available for a new transmission, and the UL-SCH resource can accommodate the advance timing report MAC CE plus its sub-header due to logical channel priority ordering:

[0444] 3> Instruct the multiplexing and assembly process to generate the timing advance report MAC CE as defined in Clause 6.1.3.56.

[0445] 2> Otherwise

[0446] 3> If timingAdvanceSR is configured with the value enabled:

[0447] 4> Trigger a scheduling request.

[0448] Note: UL-SCH resources are considered available if the MAC entity has configured, received, or determined uplink authorization. However, if the MAC entity has determined that UL-SCH resources are available at a given point in time, this does not necessarily mean that the UL-SCH resources are available at that point in time.

[0449] Each MAC PDU should contain at most one Timing Advance Report (MAC CE), even if multiple events trigger the timing advance report. The Timing Advance Report (MAC CE) should be generated based on the latest available estimate of the UE's timing advance value prior to MAC PDU assembly.

[0450] When a MAC PDU is sent and that PDU includes a timed advance report MAC CE, all triggered timed advance reports should be canceled.

[0451] Example #4

[0452] ---------------- TS 38.321 V18.0.0 ----------------

[0453] 5.4.8 Report in advance on a regular basis

[0454] The timing advance reporting procedure is used in non-terrestrial or air-to-ground networks to provide the gNB with an estimate of the timing advance value of the UE (i.e., TTA as defined in the UE’s TA formula, see TS 38.211 [8] Clause 4.3.1).

[0455] RRC controls the timing of advance reporting by configuring the following parameters:

[0456] -offsetThresholdTA;

[0457] -timingAdvanceSR.

[0458] A Timely Advance Report (TAR) should be triggered if any of the following events occur:

[0459] -When an instruction from above triggers a timed advance report;

[0460] - When offsetThresholdTA is configured by the upper layer, if the UE has not previously reported the timing advance value to the current serving cell;

[0461] -if Serving the community Current estimate of timing advance value and To the same service area The change between the previously reported timing advance values ​​is equal to or greater than offsetThresholdTA, if configured.

[0462] MAC entities should:

[0463] 1> If the timed advance reporting process determines that at least one TAR has For the service community Triggered and not canceled:

[0464] 2> If the UL-SCH resource is available for a new transmission, and the UL-SCH resource can accommodate the timing advance report MAC CE plus its sub-header as a result of logical channel prioritization:

[0465] 3> Instruct the multiplexing and assembly process to generate the timing advance report MAC CE as defined in Clause 6.1.3.56.

[0466] 2> Otherwise

[0467] 3> If timingAdvanceSR is configured with the value enabled:

[0468] 4> Trigger a scheduling request.

[0469] Note: UL-SCH resources are considered available if the MAC entity has been configured, received, or determined an uplink authorization. However, if the MAC entity has determined that UL-SCH resources are available at a given point in time, this does not necessarily mean that the UL-SCH resources are available at that point in time.

[0470] Each MAC PDU should contain at most one timing advance report MAC CE per serving cell, even if multiple events have triggered the timing advance report. The timing advance report MAC CE should be generated based on the latest available estimate of the UE's timing advance value before MAC PDU assembly.

[0471] When a MAC PDU is sent and that PDU includes a timed advance report MAC CE, all triggered timed advance reports for each serving cell will be cancelled.

[0472] Acronyms and definitions (as may be used in this article)

[0473] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0474] 5G (Fifth Generation)

[0475] 5GC 5G core

[0476] 5QI 5G QoS identifier

[0477] 5GS Fifth Generation System

[0478] 5GSM 5G system session management

[0479] 5GMM 5G System Mobility Management

[0480] AF application functions

[0481] AI (Artificial Intelligence)

[0482] AIML (Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning)

[0483] AM Confirmation Mode

[0484] AMF Access and Mobility Management Functions

[0485] AS Application Server

[0486] ASP application service provider

[0487] ATSSS Access Traffic Direction Switching & Splitting

[0488] AUSF Authentication Server Functionality

[0489] CDRX connection mode discontinuous reception

[0490] CSI Channel State Information

[0491] DCAF Data Collection Application Functions

[0492] DNAI Data Network Access Identifier

[0493] DNN Data Network Name

[0494] DNS Domain Name Server

[0495] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0496] eNB Evolution Node B

[0497] EPS Evolution Grouping System

[0498] FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name)

[0499] GBR guarantees bit rate

[0500] GMLC Gateway Mobile Location Center

[0501] gNB Next Generation Node B

[0502] GPSI General Public Subscription Identifier

[0503] IAB Integrated Access Backhaul

[0504] ID Identity / Identifier

[0505] IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things)

[0506] IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity

[0507] IP Internet Protocol

[0508] I-SMF Intermediate SMF

[0509] LMF location management function

[0510] MA-PDU (Multi-access PDU)

[0511] ML Machine Learning

[0512] MME (Mobility Management Entity)

[0513] MN master node

[0514] MNO mobile network operator

[0515] MPTCP Multipath TCP

[0516] MT mobile terminal

[0517] NAS Non-Access Layer

[0518] NEF Network Open Functions

[0519] NRF Network Repository Functionality

[0520] NG-RAN (Next Generation Radio Access Network)

[0521] NG-eNB Next-Generation eNB

[0522] NSA Non-Standalone Networking

[0523] NSSF Network Slice Selection Function

[0524] NW Network

[0525] NWDAF Network Data Analysis Function

[0526] OAM Operations and Management

[0527] OS operating system

[0528] PCF policy control function

[0529] PCC policy and billing control

[0530] PCO Protocol Configuration Options

[0531] PDR Group Detection Rules

[0532] PDU Protocol Data Unit

[0533] PMF performance measurement function

[0534] PRS Positioning Reference Signal

[0535] PRU Positioning Reference Element

[0536] PSA PDU Session Anchor

[0537] QFI QoS Flow Identifier (ID)

[0538] QoE (Quality of Experience)

[0539] QoS (Quality of Service)

[0540] RACH Random Access Channel

[0541] RAN (Radio Access Network)

[0542] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0543] RLC-AM Radio Link Control Acknowledgment Mode

[0544] RLC-UM Radio Link Control Unacknowledged Mode

[0545] RSD route selection descriptor

[0546] SA standalone networking

[0547] SBA Service-Based Architecture

[0548] SBI Service-Based Interface

[0549] SCEF Service Capability Opening Function

[0550] SCP Service-Based Communication Agent

[0551] SCTP (Stream Control Transfer Protocol)

[0552] SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

[0553] SDU Service Data Unit

[0554] SIM subscriber identity module

[0555] SLA (Service Level Agreement)

[0556] SM Session Management

[0557] SMF Session Management Function

[0558] SN auxiliary node

[0559] S-NSSAI Single Network Slice Selection Auxiliary Information

[0560] SRS Detection Reference Signal

[0561] SSC Session and Service Continuity

[0562] SUPI subscription permanent identifier

[0563] TAI Tracking Area Identifier

[0564] TE terminal equipment

[0565] TM Transparent Mode

[0566] TS Technical Specifications

[0567] UDM Unified Data Manager

[0568] UDR Unified Data Repository

[0569] UE User Equipment

[0570] UL uplink

[0571] UM Unconfirmed Mode

[0572] UP User Plane

[0573] UPF User Plane Functions

[0574] URLLC ultra-reliable and low-latency communication

[0575] URSP UE routing policy

[0576] XRM Extended Reality and Media

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Transmitter; Receiver; and At least one processor is configured as follows: Receive configuration information for establishing dual connectivity DC or carrier aggregation CA from a first network entity associated with at least one first cell, the configuration information including information about at least one second cell; and based on the configuration information, establish the at least one second cell as at least one secondary cell SCell for CA or a secondary cell group SCG for DC; Establishing the at least one second cell includes: The synchronization associated with the at least one first cell is applied to the at least one second cell, or the synchronization based on the first synchronization information included in the configuration information is applied to the at least one second cell.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, The synchronization associated with the at least one first cell is used to perform self-pre-compensation for propagation delay in the at least one first cell. Wherein, if the synchronization associated with the at least one first cell is applied to the at least one second cell, the first synchronization information is not included in the configuration information.

3. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, The synchronization associated with the first cell is based on second synchronization information received from the first network entity before the configuration information is received.

4. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, When the synchronization associated with the at least one first cell is applied to the at least one second cell, the at least one second cell is in the same timing advance group as the at least one first cell.

5. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, When the synchronization based on the first synchronization information is applied to the at least one second cell, the synchronization associated with the at least one first cell is different from the synchronization associated with the at least one second cell.

6. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one processor is configured to: Self-pre-compensation is performed on the propagation delay in at least one established SCell or the SCG; and The self-pre-compensation is applied in at least one first cell.

7. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: The timing advance report is performed based on the establishment of at least one SCell or the SCG, or based on the receipt of the configuration information.

8. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one first cell is included in the primary cell group (MCG); and At least one of the following is true: The MCG and the SCG are in the same frequency range, or the main cell PCell of the MCG and the main SCG cell PSCell of the SCG are in the same frequency range; MCG and SCG have the same subcarrier spacing (SCS), or PCell and PSCell have the same SCS; or MCG and SCG can be co-located, or PCell and PSCell can be co-located.

9. A network entity associated with at least one first cell, said network entity being configured to: Determine whether to establish at least one second cell for the User Equipment (UE) as at least one secondary cell SCell for Carrier Aggregation (CA) or a secondary cell group SCG for Dual Connectivity (DC); and On the at least one first cell, configuration information for establishing CA or DC is sent to the UE; in, Based on determining the synchronization difference between the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell, the network entity is configured to include in the configuration information first synchronization information for synchronization applicable to the at least one second cell.

10. The network entity according to claim 9, configured as follows: Before determining whether to establish the at least one second cell as at least one SCell or SCG, the UE is sent second synchronization information on the at least one first cell for synchronization applicable in the at least one first cell.

11. The network entity according to claim 9, wherein, The at least one second cell is in a different timing advance group than the at least one first cell.

12. The network entity according to claim 9, configured as follows: Based on the configuration information being sent or the establishment of at least one SCell or the SCG, a timed advance report is received from the UE.

13. The network entity according to claim 9, wherein, After establishing the at least one SCell or the SCG, the timing advance report is received in the messages received in the at least one SCell or the SCG.

14. A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Receive configuration information for establishing dual connectivity DC or carrier aggregation CA from a first network entity associated with at least one first cell, the configuration information including information about at least one second cell; and Based on the configuration information, the at least one second cell is established as at least one secondary cell SCell for CA or a secondary cell group SCG for DC; Establishing the at least one second cell includes: The synchronization associated with the at least one first cell is applied to the at least one second cell, or the synchronization based on the first synchronization information included in the configuration information is applied to the at least one second cell.

15. A method for associating a network entity with at least one first cell, the method comprising: Determine at least one second cell to be established for the user equipment (UE) as at least one secondary cell SCell for carrier aggregation (CA) or a secondary cell group SCG for dual connectivity (DC). and On the at least one first cell, configuration information for establishing CA or DC is sent to the UE; The method, based on determining the synchronization difference between the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell, includes including first synchronization information in the configuration information for synchronization applicable to the at least one second cell.

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