Managing measurements of a pscell in a radio access network

Abstract

A method and system for managing measurements of a PSCell are provided. The method includes receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a configuration for logging a successful PSCell report (SPR). Further, determining whether the SPR needs to be logged during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change. Further, determining whether a random access is performed during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change. The measurements of a source PSCell are stored in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE, when the UE does not perform the random access. The measurements of the source PSCell are stored in the SPR until the UE sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message when the UE does not perform the random access. In addition, transmitting the SPR including the measurements upon request to a network apparatus.

Description

MANAGING MEASUREMENTS OF A PSCELL IN A RADIO ACCESS NETWORK

[0001] The disclosure relates to wireless communication networks. More particularly, the disclosure relates to methods, apparatus and systems for managing measurements of a PSCell in radio access networks.

[0002] Considering the development of wireless communication from generation to generation, the technologies have been developed mainly for services targeting humans, such as voice calls, multimedia services, and data services. Following the commercialization of 5G (5th-generation) communication systems, it is expected that the number of connected devices will exponentially grow. Increasingly, these will be connected to communication networks. Examples of connected things may include vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors connected to various infrastructures, construction machines, and factory equipment. Mobile devices are expected to evolve in various form-factors, such as augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and hologram devices. In order to provide various services by connecting hundreds of billions of devices and things in the 6G (6th-generation) era, there have been ongoing efforts to develop improved 6G communication systems. For these reasons, 6G communication systems are referred to as beyond-5G systems.

[0003] 6G communication systems, which are expected to be commercialized around 2030, will have a peak data rate of tera (1,000 giga)-level bps and a radio latency less than 100μsec, and thus will be 50 times as fast as 5G communication systems and have the 1 / 10 radio latency thereof.

[0004] In order to accomplish such a high data rate and an ultra-low latency, it has been considered to implement 6G communication systems in a terahertz band (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands). It is expected that, due to severer path loss and atmospheric absorption in the terahertz bands than those in mmWave bands introduced in 5G, technologies capable of securing the signal transmission distance (that is, coverage) will become more crucial. It is necessary to develop, as major technologies for securing the coverage, radio frequency (RF) elements, antennas, novel waveforms having a better coverage than orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), beamforming and massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and multiantenna transmission technologies such as large-scale antennas. In addition, there has been ongoing discussion on new technologies for improving the coverage of terahertz-band signals, such as metamaterial-based lenses and antennas, orbital angular momentum (OAM), and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).

[0005] Moreover, in order to improve the spectral efficiency and the overall network performances, the following technologies have been developed for 6G communication systems: a full-duplex technology for enabling an uplink transmission and a downlink transmission to simultaneously use the same frequency resource at the same time; a network technology for utilizing satellites, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), and the like in an integrated manner; an improved network structure for supporting mobile base stations and the like and enabling network operation optimization and automation and the like; a dynamic spectrum sharing technology via collison avoidance based on a prediction of spectrum usage; an use of artificial intelligence (AI) in wireless communication for improvement of overall network operation by utilizing AI from a designing phase for developing 6G and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions; and a next-generation distributed computing technology for overcoming the limit of UE computing ability through reachable super-high-performance communication and computing resources (such as mobile edge computing (MEC), clouds, and the like) over the network. In addition, through designing new protocols to be used in 6G communication systems, developing mecahnisms for implementing a hardware-based security environment and safe use of data, and developing technologies for maintaining privacy, attempts to strengthen the connectivity between devices, optimize the network, promote softwarization of network entities, and increase the openness of wireless communications are continuing.

[0006] It is expected that research and development of 6G communication systems in hyper-connectivity, including person to machine (P2M) as well as machine to machine (M2M), will allow the next hyper-connected experience. Particularly, it is expected that services such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram, and digital replica could be provided through 6G communication systems. In addition, services such as remote surgery for security and reliability enhancement, industrial automation, and emergency response will be provided through the 6G communication system such that the technologies could be applied in various fields such as industry, medical care, automobiles, and home appliances.

[0007] Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and / or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide apparatus, methods and systems for managing measurements of a primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell) in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN). Management of the PSCell measurements may be used for reporting and utilizing information for SON / MDT.

[0008] An aspect of the disclosure is to provide the methods and systems for self-optimization of PSCell Addition or PSCell Change in wireless networks.

[0009] An aspect of the disclosure is the UE reporting the SPR (Successful PSCell Report (also known as Successful PSCell change or addition information), the report in which UE includes information for optimising Successful PSCellChange, Successful PSCellAddition etc.) includes the source PSCell measurements and target PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment UE completes the random access successfully.

[0010] An aspect of the disclosure is that the UE does not perform random access if the SCG is deactivated in the target cell upon PSCell Addition or PSCell Change and also, does not log SPR.

[0011] An aspect of the disclosure is that the network (such as gNB in NR) releases the successPSCell-Configwhich the network has configured, while the network deactivates the SCG.

[0012] An aspect of the disclosure is to perform a self-optimization of inter-RAT (Radio Access Technology) mobility between 5G NR (New Radio) and LTE (Long Term Evolution) in wireless networks, which addresses logging and reporting of successful handover reports (SHR), inter-RAT successful handover reports (SHR), SPR, and other reports with information for enabling the network to retrieve the UE information. The reports are received at a different point in time.

[0013] An aspect of the disclosure is to configure and handle network configuration information (such as the "mobility Information") maintained by the UE.

[0014] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

[0015] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Fig. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a schematic of a UE implemented to carry out the disclosed subject matter according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

[0017] Fig. 2 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for managing measurements of the PSCell in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) for a source PSCell according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

[0018] Fig. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for setting measurements of the source PSCell based on SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

[0019] Fig. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for managing measurements of a target PSCell in the NG-RAN according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

[0020] Fig. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for managing the SPR when the target PSCell is deactivated;

[0021] Fig. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for reporting of the number of preambles send on a SSB in a random access report according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

[0022] Fig. 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for reporting of the number of preambles send on CSI-RS in the random access report according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

[0023] Fig. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for handling network configuration information for a master cell group (MCG) according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

[0024] Fig. 9 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for releasing received network configuration information for the MCG according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

[0025] Fig. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for releasing received network configuration information for the SCG according to the embodiment of the disclosure; and

[0026] Fig. 11 is a sequence diagram that illustrates performing of a NW-ConfigInfo handling through a MobilityFromNR command according to the embodiment of the disclosure.

[0027] The same reference numerals are used to represent the same elements throughout the drawings.

[0028] It may be noted that to the extent possible, like reference numerals have been used to represent like elements in the drawing. Further, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that elements in the drawing are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the drawing may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of aspects of the invention. Furthermore, the elements may have been represented in the drawing by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to the understanding of the embodiments of the invention so as not to obscure the drawing with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

[0029] The following description with reference to the - accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0030] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0031] It is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

[0032] It is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purposes of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The terms "comprising", "having" and "including" are to be construed as open-ended terms unless otherwise noted.

[0033] The words / phrases "exemplary", "example", "illustration", "in an instance", "and the like", "and so on", "etc.", "etcetera", "e.g.,", "i.e.," are merely used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the disclosure described herein using the words / phrases "exemplary", "example", "illustration", "in an instance", "and the like", "and so on", "etc.", "etcetera", "e.g.,", "i.e.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0034] Embodiments herein may be described and illustrated in terms of blocks which carry out a described function or functions. These blocks, which may be referred to herein as managers, units, modules, hardware components or the like, are physically implemented by analog and / or digital circuits such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits and the like, and may optionally be driven by a firmware. The circuits may, for example, be embodied in one or more semiconductor chips, or on substrate supports such as printed circuit boards and the like. The circuits constituting a block may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or by a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry), or by a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions of the block and a processor to perform other functions of the block. Each block of the embodiments may be physically separated into two or more interacting and discrete blocks without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, the blocks of the embodiments may be physically combined into more complex blocks without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0035] It should be noted that elements in the drawings are illustrated for the purposes of this description and ease of understanding and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flowcharts / sequence diagrams illustrate the method in terms of the steps required for understanding of aspects of the embodiments as disclosed herein. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the various embodiments so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Furthermore, in terms of the system, one or more components / modules which comprise the system may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the various embodiments so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

[0036] The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features and it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such, the disclosure should be construed to extend to any modifications, equivalents, and substitutes in addition to those which are particularly set out in the accompanying drawings and the corresponding description. Usage of words such as first, second, third etc., to describe components / elements / steps is for the purposes of this description and should not be construed as sequential ordering / placement / occurrence unless specified otherwise.

[0037] It should be appreciated that the blocks in each flowchart and combinations of the flowcharts may be performed by one or more computer programs which include instructions. The entirety of the one or more computer programs may be stored in a single memory device or the one or more computer programs may be divided with different portions stored in different multiple memory devices.

[0038] Any of the functions or operations described herein can be processed by one processor or a combination of processors. The one processor or the combination of processors is circuitry performing processing and includes circuitry like an application processor (AP, e.g. a central processing unit (CPU)), a communication processor (CP, e.g., a modem), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU) (e.g., an artificial intelligence (AI) chip), a Wi-Fi chip, a Bluetooth®chip, a global positioning system (GPS) chip, a near field communication (NFC) chip, connectivity chips, a sensor controller, a touch controller, a finger-print sensor controller, a display drive integrated circuit (IC), an audio CODEC chip, a universal serial bus (USB) controller, a camera controller, an image processing IC, a microprocessor unit (MPU), a system on chip (SoC), an integrated circuit (IC), or the like.

[0039] Generally, a 5G NR radio access network also known as NG-RAN (Next Generation Radio Network) comprises of a number of NR base stations knows as a gNodeBs (gNBs). The gNBs may be connected to each other through an Xn interface, and will be connected to various core network elements like an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function), a UPF (User Plane Function), and the like. Further, the gNBs can be divided into two physical entities named a CU (Centralized Unit) and a DU (Distributed Unit). The CU provides support for the higher layers of the protocol stack such as a SDAP (Session Data Application Protocol), a PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) and a RRC (Radio Resource Control) while DU provides support for the lower layers of the protocol stack such as a RLC (Radio Link Control), a MAC (Medium Access Control) and physical layer. Each of the gNB can have multiple cells serving many UEs (User Equipment).

[0040] In particular, determining the best radio settings may be　a challenging operation. Operators have relied on manual methods such as driving testing to determine the best values. However, because it depends on a lot of variables, including the number of users, neighbours, maximum throughput in the cell, average throughput in the cell, etc., this kind of manual parameter tuning is an expensive procedure. Furthermore, many of these manual activities must be redone each time a new service is added or a neighbouring gNB is deployed. In order to address this issue, 3gpp has used Self-Organizing Networks (SON) approaches into wireless technologies such as neural networks. In LTE, the SON was initially introduced in 3GPP version 9. Three categories may be used to group the SON solutions: self-configuration, self-optimization, and self-healing. Centralized, distributed, or hybrid solutions can be implemented with the SON architecture. One SON approach for optimizing mobility-related parameters is Mobility Robustness Optimization (MRO).

[0041] Mobility Robustness Optimization, as defined by 3GPP specifications such as TS 38.300 V17.0.0, attempts to identify and facilitate the resolution of the following issues: connection failure resulting from intra- or inter-system mobility; inter-system unnecessary HO (too early inter-system HO from NR to E-UTRAN with no radio link failure); and inter-system HO ping-pong. Additionally, the MRO offers tools for differentiating the aforementioned issues from issues pertaining to NR coverage and other issues unrelated to mobility. The UE provides the network with the Radio Link Failure (RLF) Report for the purpose of analyzing connection failures. For 48 hours following the detection of a connection breakdown, the UE keeps the most recent RLF Report, including both LTE and NR RLF reports, until the RLF report is fetched by the network.

[0042] The detection of connection failures brought on by Too Early or Too Late inter-system handovers is one of the tasks performed by Mobility Robustness Optimization in NR R17. These issues are described as follows: the Inter-system / Too Early Handover is the RLF occurs soon after a successful handover from a cell belonging to an E-UTRAN node to a target cell belonging to an NG-RAN node; the UE attempts to re-connect to the source cell or to another cell belonging to an E-UTRAN node. The Inter-system / Too Late Handover is the RLF occurs after the UE has stayed in a cell belonging to an NG-RAN node for an extended period of time; the UE attempts to re-connect to a cell belonging to an E-UTRAN node.

[0043] For the purpose of SON / MDT, the UE provides measurements of source and target　cells for use in successful PSCellChange or Addition reports, as well as successful handover reports. It is up to the UE to implement whether it transmits the SCG RRCReconfigurationComplete during PSCellChange / PSCellAddition before or after random access. The conventional techniques for reporting measurements until the　SCG RRC reconfiguration is complete thus may　not be appropriate and efficient　for the SPR.

[0044] Thus, it is desired to address the above mentioned disadvantages or other shortcomings or at least provide a useful alternative.

[0045] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. In addition, the various embodiments described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. The term "or" as used herein refers to a non-exclusive "or" unless otherwise indicated. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein can be practiced and to further enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.

[0046] As is traditional in the field, embodiments are described and illustrated in terms of blocks that carry out a described function or functions. These blocks, which are referred to herein as managers, units, modules, hardware components, or the like, are physically implemented by analog and / or digital circuits such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits, and the like, and optionally be driven by firmware and software. The circuits, for example, be embodied in one or more semiconductor chips or on substrate supports such as printed circuit boards and the like. The circuits constituting a block be implemented by dedicated hardware or by a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry) or by a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions of the block and a processor to perform other functions of the block. Each block of the embodiments be physically separated into two or more interacting and discrete blocks without departing from the scope of the proposed method. Likewise, the blocks of the embodiments be physically combined into more complex blocks without departing from the scope of the proposed method.

[0047] The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features, and it is understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such, the proposed method is construed to extend to any alterations, equivalents, and substitutes in addition to those which are particularly set out in the accompanying drawings. Although the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe various elements, these elements are not to be limited by these terms. These terms are generally used to distinguish one element from another.

[0048] In the related art, the UE reports source and target cell measurements for use in Successful PSCell Change or Addition Information Reports (SPR) as well as Succesful handover reports for SON / MDT. The source and target cell measurements are reported upto the moment the UE sends a Reconfiguration Complete. During a successful PSCell Change or PSCell Addition, the UE may send the SCG RRCReconfigurationComplete before or after random access. The source and target cell measurements included in SPR will be used by the network to optimise the handover thresholds. i.e. Network will adjust the thresholds of various measurement events based on the measurements in the SPR. Reporting the measurements till reconfiguration complete may not be suitable for adjusting the thresholds during a PSCell Addition or PSCell Change in some cases, as the failures, especially handover failures can occur even after sending the Reconfiguration Complete successfully. For e.g. UE may send the SCG reconfiguration complete to MN (master node), and may still experience a failure for PSCell change or addition. Therefore, the traditional methods of reporting measurements until the SCG RRC reconfiguration is finished might not be effective or suitable for the SPR.

[0049] In the proposed solution, the source and target PSCell measurements are included in the SPR by the UE reporting the SPR　up until the point at which the UE finishes the random access. This helps the network to identify the conditions of source and target cells till the UE is completely handed over to the target cell and adjust the mobility related thresholds and offsets. Therefore, the suggested method helps the network detect if there would be a handover failure when the source PSCell and the target PSCell conduct a PSCellChange or PSCellAddition. In addition, the UE which does not transmit any preamble due to LBT failures, informs the network that one preamble transmission is done on the SSB.

[0050] According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method for managing measurements of a primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell) in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) is provided. The method includes receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a configuration for logging a successful PSCell report (SPR). Further, the method includes determining, by the UE, whether the SPR needs to be logged during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change. Further, the method includes determining, by the UE, whether a random access is performed during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change. The method stores measurements of a source PSCell in a successful PSCell change or addition information report (SPR) up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE when the UE does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change. The method stores the measurements of the source PSCell in the SPR until the UE sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message when the UE does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change. In addition, the method includes transmitting, by the UE, the SPR including the measurements upon request to a network apparatus.

[0051] In an embodiment, the method includes determining, by the UE, synchronization signal block (SSB) measurements and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurements of the source PSCell. In addition, the method includes setting, by the UE, the measurements of the source PSCell to include at least one of a cell level reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), an available signal to interference noise ratio (SINR), and reference signal (RS) index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined, up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE.

[0052] In an embodiment, the method includes determining, by the UE, whether the random access is performed during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change of a target PSCell. In addition, the method includes storing, by the UE, measurements of the target PSCell in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE, when the UE performs the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change.

[0053] In an embodiment, the method includes determining, by the UE, SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements of the target PSCell. In addition, the method includes setting, by the UE, the measurements of the target PSCell to include at least one of the RSRP, the RSRQ, the SINR, and the RS index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined, up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE.

[0054] In an embodiment, the method includes receiving, by the UE, the RRC reconfiguration message that includes the reconfiguration with sync command from the network apparatus. The target PSCell is deactivated. In addition, the method includes skipping, by the UE, logging of the SPR when the target PSCell is deactivated.

[0055] According to an aspect of the disclosure, a user equipment (UE) for managing measurements of a primary secondary cell (PSCell) in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) is provided. The UE includes a memory, a processor coupled to the memory, and a random access controller communicatively coupled to the processor and the memory. The random access controller receives a configuration for logging a successful PSCell report (SPR). Further, the random access controller determines whether the SPR needs to be logged during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change. Further, the random access controller determines whether a random access is performed during the PSCell change or the PSCell addition. The random access controller stores measurements of a source PSCell in a successful PSCell change or addition information report (SPR) up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE when the UE does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change. The random access controller stores the measurements of the source PSCell in the SPR until the UE sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message when the UE does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change. In addition, the random access controller transmits the SPR including the measurements upon request to a network apparatus.

[0056] In an embodiment, the random access controller determines synchronization signal block (SSB) measurements and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurements of the source PSCell. In addition, the random access controller sets the measurements of the source PSCell to include at least one of a cell level reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), an available signal to interference noise ratio (SINR), and reference signal (RS) index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined, up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE.

[0057] In an embodiment, the random access controller determines whether the random access is performed during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change of a target PSCell. In addition, the random access controller stores measurements of the target PSCell in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE, when the UE performs the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change.

[0058] In an embodiment, the random access controller determines SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements of the target PSCell. In addition, the random access controller sets the measurements of the target PSCell to include at least one of the RSRP, the RSRQ, the SINR, and the RS index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined, up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE.

[0059] In an embodiment, the random access controller receives the RRC reconfiguration message that includes the reconfiguration with sync command from the network apparatus. The target PSCell is deactivated. In addition, the random access controller skips logging of the SPR when the target PSCell is deactivated.

[0060] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications be made within the scope of the embodiments herein.

[0061] Fig. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a schematic of the UE (102) implemented to carry out the disclosed subject matter according to the embodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the UE (102) includes a processor (104), a memory (106), an I / O interface (108), and a random access controller (110). The UE (102) may include, but not limited to a smart phone, laptop, personal computer (PC), tablet, and the like.

[0062] The processor (104) communicates with the memory (106), the I / O interface (108), and the random access controller (110). The processor (104) is configured to implement instructions stored in the memory (106) and to perform various methods. The processor (104) may include one or a plurality of methodors. It is a general-purpose processor such as a central methoding unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, a graphics-only methoding unit such as a graphics methoding unit (GPU), a visual methoding unit (VPU), and / or an Artificial Intelligence (AI) dedicated processor such as a neural methoding unit (NPU).

[0063] The UE (102) has a memory (106) that is accessed through the processor (104). The memory (106) is not restricted to volatile or non-volatile memory and may consist of one or more computer-readable storage media. Further, the memory (106) may contain non-volatile storage elements such as magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, EPROM, or EEPROM memories.

[0064] The I / O interface (108) transmits information between the memory (106) and external peripheral devices. The peripheral devices are the input-output devices associated with the UE (102). Furthermore, the random access controller (110) communicates with the I / O interface (108) and the memory (106). The random access controller (110) is an innovative hardware that is realized through the physical implementation of both analog and digital circuits, including logic gates, integrated circuits, micromethodors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive and active electronic components, as well as optical components.

[0065] The UE includes a transceiver. A receiver of the UE 102 and a transmitter of the UE 102 may be collectively referred to as the transceiver, and the transceiver may transmit or receive a signal to or from a UE or other network entity. Here, the transmitted or received signal may include control information and data. To this end, the transceiver may include a radio frequency (RF) transmitter for up-converting and amplifying a frequency of signals to be transmitted, and an RF receiver for low-noise-amplifying and down-converting a frequency of received signals. However, this is merely an example of the transceiver, and thus elements of the transceiver are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver. The transceiver may include a wired / wireless transceiver, and may include various configurations for transmitting and receiving signals.

[0066] AlsoIn addition, the transceiver may receive signals via communication channels (e.g., wireless channels) and output the signals to the processor (104), and may transmit signals output from the processor (104), via communication channels.

[0067] In addition, the transceiver may receive and output a communication signal to the processor (104), and may transmit a signal output from the processor (104) to a base station or other network entity via wired / wireless networks.

[0068] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) receives a configuration for logging a successful PSCell report (SPR). The SPR is a communication mechanism using in NG-RANs to manage and optimize the performance of secondary cells (PSCells) in dual connectivity scenarios. The SPR may report one or more metrics, like RSRP, RSRQ, interference, a current load on the PSCells to help in balancing a load of the network, and the like. The SPR ensures that the performance of the PSCells are continuously monitored and optimized, thus leading to a better overall network efficiency.

[0069] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) determines whether the SPR needs to be logged during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change. The PSCell addition refers to the process where the PSCell (for example, source PSCell or target PSCell) is added to the UE (102) as part of the dual connectivity feature. Dual connectivity allows the UE (102) to connect to multiple cells simultaneously. The PSCell addition may be useful in situations where a coverage of the PSCell is weak, balancing of a network traffic, achieving higher data throughput, and the like. Further, the PSCell change refers to the process where the PSCell for the UE (102) is switched to a different cell. The network may perform an analysis of the SPR and decide whether a PSCell change is beneficial. It selects a new cell that may provide better performance or meet the specific requirements of the UE (102). It may also decide to perform the PSCell Change earlier or later by adjusting the thresholds and offsets for mobility.

[0070] The PSCell change may be useful in situations where a signal quality of the current PSCell degrades, a change in network traffic is detected, neighboring cells have high interference levels, and the like.

[0071] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) determines or detects whether a random access is performed during the PSCell change or the PSCell addition. The random access procedure is a process that enables the UE (102) to establish a connection with a network. Random access is essential for initial access, handovers, and re-establishing connections when they are lost. The random access procedure is fundamental to the functioning of NG-RAN networks, ensuring an efficient and reliable connectivity. However for a PSCell, it is possible that random access is disabled during PSCell Addition or Change.

[0072] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) stores measurements of a source PSCell in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102), when the UE (102) performs the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change. For e.g. the source PSCell measurements at the moment the UE sends Reconfiguration Complete for the PSCell Change may be -100 dBm and the source PSCell measurements at the moment the random access is completed in -105 dBm. UE stores -105 dBM (storing x dBm means also storing a value which informs the network that measurement is x dBm) as the source PSCell measurements.Further, the random access controller (110) stores the measurements of the source PSCell in the SPR until the UE (102) sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message when the UE (102) does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change. For e.g. the source PSCell measurements at the moment the UE sends Reconfiguration Complete for the PSCell Change may be -100 dBm and the random access is not performed by the UE during PSCellChange. UE stores -100 dBm in the SPR. Thus, by performing an analysis of the reported measurements, possibilities of handover failures during the PSCellChange or the PSCellAddition may be identified. This may thus ensure that information is securely and successfully transferred between the UE (110) and the network apparatus. The SPR may be transmitted by the UR (110) to the network apparatus once the network apparatus places a request for reporting the SPR.

[0073] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) determines synchronization signal block (SSB) measurements and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurements of the source PSCell. SSB measurements may be used by the UE (102) to assess the quality and suitability of the source PSCell for initial access, mobility, and beam management. The SSB includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). These measurements help the UE (102) and the network apparatus make informed decisions about cell selection, reselection, and handover. Further, CSR-RS measurements may be used for assessing the quality of the radio channel between the UE (102) and the network apparatus. CSI-RS measurements provide detailed information about the channel conditions, which the network apparatus uses to optimize different aspects of communication, such as beamforming, link adaptation, mobility management, and the like.

[0074] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) sets the measurements of the source PSCell to include at least one of a cell level reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), an available signal to interference noise ratio (SINR), and reference signal (RS) index results in the SPR. The RSRP is used to assess the signal strength of the reference signals transmitted between the UE (102) and the network apparatus.

[0075] RSRP is the average power of the reference signal over a certain period and frequency range. The RSRP may be derived from the received power of the synchronization signal (SS) and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) within the SSB. The RSRQ combines the RSRP with a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) to provide a measure of the signal quality. The SINR measures the quality of the signal by comparing the signal power to the interference and noise levels. It provides a more comprehensive assessment of signal quality. Further, the RS index is used to identify and manage different reference signals within the NG-RAN. Reference signals are crucial for various functions, including synchronization, channel estimation, and measurement reporting. The UE (102) may use the RS index to report measurements back to the network apparatus. For example, when reporting CSI-RS measurements, the UE (102) includes the RS index to indicate which CSI-RS resource were measured. The RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RS index results are set based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined.This setting may be performed up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102). For e.g. the source PSCell measurements at the moment the UE sends Reconfiguration Complete for the PSCell Change may be -90 dBm for RS index 1 and -85 dNB for RS index 2 and the source PSCell measurements at the moment the random access is completed in -105 dBm for RS index 1 and -95 dNB for RS index 2. UE stores -105 dBM for RS index 1 and -95 dNB for RS index 2as the source PSCell measurements in the SPR.

[0076] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) determines whether the random access is performed during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change of a target PSCell. The target PSCell becomes the main secondary cell providing additional radio resources to the UE (102) once the transition from the source PSCell is complete. The target PSCell is identified and selected based on criteria such as better signal strength, lower interference, network load balancing requirements, and the like.

[0077] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) stores measurements of the target PSCell in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (110). For e.g. the target PSCell measurements at the moment the UE sends Reconfiguration Complete for the PSCell Change may be -105 dBm and the target PSCell measurements at the moment the random access is completed in -103 dBm. UE stores -103 dBM (storing x dBm means also storing a value which informs the network that measurement is x dBm) as the target PSCell measurements in the SPR. The measurements of the target PSCell are stored in the SPR when the UE (102) performs the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change.

[0078] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) determines SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements of the target PSCell. The random access controller (110) sets the measurements of the target PSCell to include at least one of the RSRP, the RSRQ, the SINR, and the RS index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined. These measurements are set by the random access controller (110) up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102). For e.g. the target PSCell measurements at the moment the UE sends Reconfiguration Complete for the PSCell Change may be -95 dBm for RS index 1 and -85 dNB for RS index 2 and the target PSCell measurements at the moment the random access is completed in -105 dBm for RS index 1 and -95 dNB for RS index 2. UE stores -105 dBM for RS index 1 and -95 dNB for RS index 2as the target PSCell measurements in the SPR.

[0079] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) receives the radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message that includes the reconfiguration with sync command from the network apparatus. The target PSCell is deactivated upon receipt of the RRC reconfiguration message. The RRC reconfiguration message is used to modify the radio resource configuration of the UE (102). For instance, the RRC reconfiguration message may include parameters related to radio bearers, physical channels, measurement configurations, mobility settings, and other network-related parameters. Further, the reconfiguration with sync command included in the RRC reconfiguration message is used to modify configurations on the UE (102) while ensuring that the UE (102) remains synchronized with the NG-RAN. This synchronization is crucial to maintaining seamless communication and preventing service interruptions.

[0080] In an embodiment, the random access controller (110) skips logging of the SPR when the target PSCell is deactivated. The deactivation of the target PSCell may occur due to as network optimization, load balancing, or changes in a mobility of the UE (102). UE may perform measurements while the PSCell is deactivated but there will not be any data transfer in such as cell.

[0081] In an embodiment, one of the purposes of inter-system Mobility Robustness Optimization in NR R17 is the detection of a non-optimal use of network resources. In particular, in case of inter-system operations and when NR is considered, the case known as Unnecessary HO to another system is identified. The problem is defined as the UE (102) is handed over from NR to E-UTRAN even though quality of the NR coverage was sufficient for the service used by the UE (102). The handover may therefore be considered as unnecessary HO to another system (i.e. EPS) (too early inter-system HO without connection failure).

[0082] In inter-system HO, if the serving cell threshold (NR cell) is set too high, and cell in another system (i.e. EPS) with good signal strength is available, a handover to another system may be triggered unnecessarily, resulting in an inefficient use of the networks. With a lower threshold the UE (102) could have continued in the source system (5GS).

[0083] In an embodiment, one of the functions of Mobility Robustness Optimization is to detect ping-pongs that occur in inter-system environment. The problem is defined as the UE (102) is handed over from a cell in a source system (e.g. 5GS) to a cell in a target system different from the source system (e.g. EPS), then within a predefined limited time the UE (102) is handed over back to a cell in the source system, while the coverage of the source system was sufficient for the service used by the UE (102). The event may occur more than once. The UE (102) may log various events and information and report to the network for supporting optimizations. Some of the information that may be logged are the RA-Report, the RLF-Report and the SHR. Contents of the message as per Release 17 NR specifications are given below.

[0084] RA-ReportList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxRAReport-r16)) OF RA-Report-r16

[0085] RA-Report-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0086] cellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0087] cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0088] pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16

[0089] },

[0090] ra-InformationCommon-r16 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0091] raPurpose-r16 ENUMERATED {accessRelated, beamFailureRecovery, reconfigurationWithSync, ulUnSynchronized,

[0092] schedulingRequestFailure, noPUCCHResourceAvailable, requestForOtherSI,

[0093] msg3RequestForOtherSI-r17, spare8, spare7, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3,

[0094] spare2, spare1},

[0095] ...,

[0096] [[

[0097] spCellID-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16 OPTIONAL

[0098] ]]

[0099] }

[0100] RA-InformationCommon-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0101] absoluteFrequencyPointA-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR,

[0102] locationAndBandwidth-r16 INTEGER (0..37949),

[0103] subcarrierSpacing-r16 SubcarrierSpacing,

[0104] msg1-FrequencyStart-r16 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0105] msg1-FrequencyStartCFRA-r16 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0106] msg1-SubcarrierSpacing-r16 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0107] msg1-SubcarrierSpacingCFRA-r16 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0108] msg1-FDM-r16 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0109] msg1-FDMCFRA-r16 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0110] perRAInfoList-r16 PerRAInfoList-r16,

[0111] ...,

[0112] [[

[0113] perRAInfoList-v1660 PerRAInfoList-v1660 OPTIONAL

[0114] ]],

[0115] [[ msg1-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndex-r16 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL

[0116] ]],

[0117] [[

[0118] msg1-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndexCFRA-r16 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL

[0119] ]],

[0120] [[

[0121] msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0122] msgA-RO-FrequencyStartCFRA-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0123] msgA-SubcarrierSpacing-r17 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0124] msgA-RO-FDM-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0125] msgA-RO-FDMCFRA-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0126] msgA-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndex-r17 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL,

[0127] msgA-TransMax-r17 ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4, n6, n8, n10, n20, n50, n100, n200} OPTIONAL,

[0128] msgA-MCS-r17 INTEGER (0..15) OPTIONAL,

[0129] nrofPRBs-PerMsgA-PO-r17 INTEGER (1..32) OPTIONAL,

[0130] msgA-PUSCH-TimeDomainAllocation-r17 INTEGER (1..maxNrofUL-Allocations) OPTIONAL,

[0131] frequencyStartMsgA-PUSCH-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0132] nrofMsgA-PO-FDM-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0133] dlPathlossRSRP-r17 RSRP-Range OPTIONAL,

[0134] intendedSIBs-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxSIB)) OF SIB-Type-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0135] ssbsForSI-Acquisition-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSSBs-r16)) OF SSB-Index OPTIONAL,

[0136] msgA-PUSCH-PayloadSize-r17 BIT STRING (SIZE (5)) OPTIONAL,

[0137] onDemandSISuccess-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0138] ]]

[0139] }

[0140] PerRAInfoList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRAInfo-r16

[0141] PerRAInfoList-v1660 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRACSI-RSInfo-v1660

[0142] PerRAInfo-r16 ::= CHOICE {

[0143] perRASSBInfoList-r16 PerRASSBInfo-r16,

[0144] perRACSI-RSInfoList-r16 PerRACSI-RSInfo-r16

[0145] }

[0146] PerRASSBInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0147] ssb-Index-r16 SSB-Index,

[0148] numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB-r16 INTEGER (1..200),

[0149] perRAAttemptInfoList-r16 PerRAAttemptInfoList-r16

[0150] }

[0151] PerRACSI-RSInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0152] csi-RS-Index-r16 CSI-RS-Index,

[0153] numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS-r16 INTEGER (1..200)

[0154] }

[0155] PerRACSI-RSInfo-v1660 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0156] csi-RS-Index-v1660 INTEGER (1..96) OPTIONAL

[0157] }

[0158] PerRAAttemptInfoList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRAAttemptInfo-r16

[0159] PerRAAttemptInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0160] contentionDetected-r16 BOOLEAN OPTIONAL,

[0161] dlRSRPAboveThreshold-r16 BOOLEAN OPTIONAL,

[0162] ...,

[0163] [[

[0164] fallbackToFourStepRA-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0165] ]]

[0166] }

[0167] SIB-Type-r17 ::= ENUMERATED {sibType2, sibType3, sibType4, sibType5, sibType9, sibType10-v1610, sibType11-v1610, sibType12-v1610,

[0168] sibType13-v1610, sibType14-v1610, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1}

[0169] RLF-Report-r16 ::= CHOICE {

[0170] nr-RLF-Report-r16 SEQUENCE {

[0171] measResultLastServCell-r16 MeasResultRLFNR-r16,

[0172] measResultNeighCells-r16 SEQUENCE {

[0173] measResultListNR-r16 MeasResultList2NR-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0174] measResultListEUTRA-r16 MeasResultList2EUTRA-r16 OPTIONAL

[0175] } OPTIONAL,

[0176] c-RNTI-r16 RNTI-Value,

[0177] previousPCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0178] nrPreviousCell-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0179] eutraPreviousCell-r16 CGI-InfoEUTRALogging

[0180] } OPTIONAL,

[0181] failedPCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0182] nrFailedPCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0183] cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0184] pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16

[0185] },

[0186] eutraFailedPCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0187] cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-InfoEUTRALogging,

[0188] pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-EUTRA-r16

[0189] }

[0190] },

[0191] reconnectCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0192] nrReconnectCellId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0193] eutraReconnectCellId-r16 CGI-InfoEUTRALogging

[0194] } OPTIONAL,

[0195] timeUntilReconnection-r16 TimeUntilReconnection-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0196] reestablishmentCellId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0197] timeConnFailure-r16 INTEGER (0..1023) OPTIONAL,

[0198] timeSinceFailure-r16 TimeSinceFailure-r16,

[0199] connectionFailureType-r16 ENUMERATED {rlf, hof},

[0200] rlf-Cause-r16 ENUMERATED {t310-Expiry, randomAccessProblem, rlc-MaxNumRetx,

[0201] beamFailureRecoveryFailure, lbtFailure-r16,

[0202] bh-rlfRecoveryFailure, t312-expiry-r17, spare1},

[0203] locationInfo-r16 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0204] noSuitableCellFound-r16 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL,

[0205] ra-InformationCommon-r16 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0206] ...,

[0207] [[

[0208] csi-rsRLMConfigBitmap-v1650 BIT STRING (SIZE (96)) OPTIONAL

[0209] ]],

[0210] [[

[0211] lastHO-Type-r17 ENUMERATED {cho, daps, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL,

[0212] timeConnSourceDAPS-Failure-r17 TimeConnSourceDAPS-Failure-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0213] timeSinceCHO-Reconfig-r17 TimeSinceCHO-Reconfig-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0214] choCellId-r17 CHOICE {

[0215] cellGlobalId-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0216] pci-arfcn-r17 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16

[0217] } OPTIONAL,

[0218] choCandidateCellList-r17 ChoCandidateCellList-r17 OPTIONAL

[0219] ]]

[0220] },

[0221] eutra-RLF-Report-r16 SEQUENCE {

[0222] failedPCellId-EUTRA CGI-InfoEUTRALogging,

[0223] measResult-RLF-Report-EUTRA-r16 OCTET STRING,

[0224] ...,

[0225] [[

[0226] measResult-RLF-Report-EUTRA-v1690 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL

[0227] ]]

[0228] }

[0229] }

[0230] SuccessHO-Report-r17 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0231] sourceCellInfo-r17 SEQUENCE {

[0232] sourcePCellId-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0233] sourceCellMeas-r17 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0234] rlf-InSourceDAPS-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0235] },

[0236] targetCellInfo-r17 SEQUENCE {

[0237] targetPCellId-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0238] targetCellMeas-r17 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r17 OPTIONAL

[0239] },

[0240] measResultNeighCells-r17 SEQUENCE {

[0241] measResultListNR-r17 MeasResultList2NR-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0242] measResultListEUTRA-r17 MeasResultList2EUTRA-r16 OPTIONAL

[0243] } OPTIONAL,

[0244] locationInfo-r17 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0245] timeSinceCHO-Reconfig-r17 TimeSinceCHO-Reconfig-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0246] shr-Cause-r17 SHR-Cause-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0247] ra-InformationCommon-r17 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0248] upInterruptionTimeAtHO-r17 UPInterruptionTimeAtHO-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0249] c-RNTI-r17 RNTI-Value OPTIONAL,

[0250] ...

[0251] }

[0252] MeasResultList2NR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE(SIZE (1..maxFreq)) OF MeasResult2NR-r16

[0253] MeasResultList2EUTRA-r16 ::= SEQUENCE(SIZE (1..maxFreq)) OF MeasResult2EUTRA-r16

[0254] MeasResult2NR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0255] ssbFrequency-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR OPTIONAL,

[0256] refFreqCSI-RS-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR OPTIONAL,

[0257] measResultList-r16 MeasResultListNR

[0258] }

[0259] MeasResultListLogging2NR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE(SIZE (1..maxFreq)) OF MeasResultLogging2NR-r16

[0260] MeasResultLogging2NR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0261] carrierFreq-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR,

[0262] measResultListLoggingNR-r16 MeasResultListLoggingNR-r16

[0263] }

[0264] One of the main issues with respect to self-optimization is the overhead with respect to the storage and reporting of the information. The UE (102) needs to reserve memory for storing the self-optimization data and from user's perspective this data is an overhead, as it is not related to any of the services. Similarly, there is a signaling overhead on the air interface for reporting this data. There are some impacts on the power consumption during the transfer of this information. Hence it is important to minimize the amount of data stored or reported for SON MDT purposes.

[0265] In an embodiment, when the NR operations in the unlicensed spectrum and according to TS 38.300, the Radio Access operating with shared spectrum channel access can support the following deployment scenarios:

[0266] Scenario A: Carrier aggregation between NR in licensed spectrum (SpCell) and NR in shared spectrum (SCell);

[0267] Scenario A.1: SCell is not configured with uplink (DL only);

[0268] Scenario A.2: SCell is configured with uplink (DL+UL).

[0269] Scenario B: Dual connectivity between LTE in licensed spectrum and NR in shared spectrum (PSCell);

[0270] Scenario C: NR in shared spectrum (PCell);

[0271] Scenario D: NR cell in shared spectrum and uplink in licensed spectrum;

[0272] Scenario E: Dual connectivity between NR in licensed spectrum (PCell) and NR in shared spectrum (PSCell).

[0273] Carrier aggregation of cells in shared spectrum is applicable to all above deployment scenarios.

[0274] In an embodiment, the gNB and the UE (102) applies Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) before performing a transmission on a cell configured with shared spectrum channel access. When LBT is applied, the transmitter listens to / senses the channel to determine whether the channel is free or busy and performs transmission only if the channel is sensed free. Further, when consistent uplink LBT failures are detected on SpCell, the UE (102) switches to another UL BWP with configured RACH resources on that cell, initiates RACH, and reports the failure via MAC CE. For the PSCell, if consistent uplink LBT failures are detected on all the UL BWPs with configured RACH resources, the UE (102) declares SCG RLF and reports the failure to the MN via SCGFailureInformation. For PCell, if the uplink LBT failures are detected on all the UL BWP(s) with configured RACH resources, the UE (102) declares RLF. If the UE (102) succeeds with a random access procedure in any of the BWPs, the UE (102) doesn't declare RLF.

[0275] The UE (102) logs information of multiple RA (random access) procedures related to consistent LBT failures. The UE (102) informs the network that the RA was initiated following a "consistent LBT failures" in the SpCell. In NR, this may be reported using raPurpose field in NR RA-Report. In addition, the UE (102) also logs the last successful RA procedure related information in the RACH activity (RA) report. Only the preamble transmission attempts for which LBT was successful are represented in the "per RA attempt info list" for a given beam. The UE (102) may also report the number of LBT failures (failure to access the channel before transmission) to the network. The UE (102) logs RA-InformationCommon including LBT info in the RLF-Report, in case of HOF and when the RLF cause is randomAccessProblem or beamFailureRecoveryFailure.

[0276] In an embodiment, the dual connectivity or more technically multi-radio dual connectivity is specified by 3gpp in specifications such as TS 37.340. A summary of the details on dual connectivity are given below.

[0277] The NG-RAN supports Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) operation whereby the UE (102) in RRC_CONNECTED is configured to utilize radio resources provided by two distinct schedulers, located in two different NG-RAN nodes connected via a non-ideal backhaul, one providing NR (New Radio) access and the other one providing either E-UTRA (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) or NR access. One node acts as the master node (MN) and the other as the secondary node (SN). The MN and SN are connected via a network interface and at least the MN is connected to the core network. NG-RAN supports NR-DC where both MN and SN are gNBs.NG-RAN also supports NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (NGEN-DC), in which the UE (102) is connected to one ng-eNB (a E-UTRA base station that can connect to 5G core) that acts as a MN and one gNB (5G base station) that acts as a SN. NG-RAN also supports NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC), in which the UE (102) is connected to one gNB that acts as a MN and one ng-eNB that acts as a SN. MN may move the SCG to different states: deactivated and activated. When carrier aggregation is supported, the secondary cells may be moved to deactivated / activated. When a radio link failure occurs in the SCG, the UE (102) sends a RRC message SCGFailureInformation.

[0278] The PSCell change may occur due to mobility and may or may not be associated with the Secondary Node Change (SN change).The Secondary Node Change procedure is initiated either by MN or SN and used to transfer the UE (102) context from a source SN to a target SN and to change the SCG configuration in the UE (102) from one SN to another.

[0279] A Conditional PSCell Change (CPC) is defined as a PSCell change that is executed by the UE (102) when execution condition(s) is met. The UE (102) may be configured with execution condition and the RRC message like RRC Reconfiguration for executing when the conditions are met for one or more of candidate cells. The UE (102) starts evaluating the execution condition(s) upon receiving the CPC configuration, and stops evaluating the execution condition(s) once PSCell change is triggered. Intra-SN CPC without MN involvement, inter-SN CPC initiated either by MN or SN are supported.

[0280] The following principles apply to CPC:

[0281] The CPC configuration contains the configuration of CPC candidate PSCell(s) and execution condition(s) and may contain the MN configuration for inter-SN CPC.

[0282] An execution condition may consist of one or two trigger condition(s) (CPC events A3 / A5, as defined in TS 38.331 [4]). Only single RS type is supported and at most two different trigger quantities (e.g. RSRP and RSRQ, RSRP and SINR, etc.) can be configured simultaneously for the evalution of CPC execution condition of a single candidate PSCell.

[0283] Before any CPC execution condition is satisfied, upon reception of PSCell change command or PCell change command, the UE (102) executes the PSCell change procedure as described in clause 10.3 and 10.5 or the PCell change procedure as described in clause 9.2.3.2 in TS 38.300[3] or clause 10.1.2.1 in TS 36.300 [2], regardless of any previously received CPC configuration. Upon the successful completion of PSCell change procedure or PCell change procedure, the UE (102) releases all stored CPC configurations.

[0284] While executing CPC, the UE (102) is not required to continue evaluating the execution condition of other candidate PSCell(s).

[0285] Once the CPC procedure is executed successfully, the UE (102) releases all stored CPC configurations.

[0286] Upon the release of SCG, the UE (102) releases the stored CPC configurations.

[0287] Further, the 3gpp release 18 enhances the CPC through selective activation of cellgroups where the UE (102) doesn't release the stored CPC configuration for one or more candidate PSCells and the source PSCell based on network's inputs. The UE (102) may also store the CPA configuration for one or more candidate PSCells.

[0288] Furthermore the MN adds PSCell during a PSCell addition procedure. A PSCell addition procedure that is executed only when PSCell addition condition(s) are met is called Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA). The Release 17.2.0 of the aforementioned specifications provided detailed description of the background information provided in the proposed invention.

[0289] Accordingly the embodiment is for a methods for the SON for dual connectivity scenarios. The methods are for configuration, reporting and releasing the configuration of the UE (102) for reporting information related to a successful PSCell Addition and a Successful PSCell Change. The informations are configured to store and report in a report called a Successful PSCell Report (SPR). The SPR may be also called the Successful PSCell Addition or the Change Report.

[0290] Accordingly the embodiment is the configuration for reporting information on successful PSCell Change or successful PSCell Addition may be referred to as successPSCell-Config, but it may be identified by a different abbreviation or variable name. In NR, successPSCell-Config may be defined using the same structure successHO-Config-r17, while it is used for the configuration for reporting information on successful PSCell Change or successful PSCell Addition and all the embodiments pertaining to successPSCell-Config are equally applicable for successHO-Config-r17 used for the configuration for reporting information on successful PSCell Change or successful PSCell Addition.

[0291] Accordingly the embodiment herein, the network (for e.g. gNB in NR) configures the UE (102) to log and report SPR through IE otherConfig in RRC Reconfiguration. The SPR configuration can include one or more of different triggering conditions such as:

[0292] T310 trigger: T310 trigger (i.e. threshold) (for eg. thresholdPercentageT310) will be configured by source PSCell. Alternatively, T310 trigger may be configured by the PCell. Source PSCell or PCell will configure T310 trigger in the configuration for SPR for reporting successful PSCell Change information and not in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Addition information.

[0293] T312 trigger: T312 trigger (i.e. threshold) (for eg. thresholdPercentageT312) will be configured by source PSCell. Alternatively, T312 trigger may be configured by the PCell. Source PSCell or PCell will configure T312 trigger in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Change information and not in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Addition information.

[0294] T304 trigger: T304 trigger (i.e. threshold) (for eg. thresholdPercentageT304) will be configured by target PSCell. Alternatively, T304 trigger may be configured by the PCell. Target PSCell / PCell configures T304 trigger in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Change information and in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Addition information, if the UE (102) is configured to perform random access after PSCell addition.

[0295] Further, a sample configuration is given below:

[0296] SuccessPSCell-Config ::= SEQUENCE {

[0297] thresholdPercentageT304-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0298] thresholdPercentageT310-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0299] thresholdPercentageT312-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p20, p40, p60, p80, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0300] ...

[0301] ... }

[0302]

[0303]

[0304]

[0305] [Table 1]

[0306] In the current systems, SPR contents may be as below:

[0307] SuccessPSCell-Report-r18 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0308] sourcePSCellInfo-r18 SEQUENCE {

[0309] sourcePSCellId-r18 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0310] sourcePSCellMeas-r18 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r17 OPTIONAL

[0311] },

[0312] targetPSCellInfo-r18 SEQUENCE {

[0313] targetPSCellId-r18 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0314] targetPSCellMeas-r18 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r17 OPTIONAL

[0315] },

[0316] measResultNeighCells-r18 SEQUENCE {

[0317] measResultListNR-r18 MeasResultList2NR-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0318] measResultListEUTRA-r18 MeasResultList2EUTRA-r16 OPTIONAL

[0319] }, OPTIONAL,

[0320] spr-Cause-r18 SPR-Cause-r18 OPTIONAL,

[0321] timeSinceCPAC-Reconfig-r18 TimeSinceCPAC-Reconfig-r18 OPTIONAL,

[0322] locationInfo-r18 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0323] ra-InformationCommon-r18 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL

[0324] ...}

[0325]

[0326]

[0327]

[0328] Table 2

[0329] Further the UE (102) variableVarSuccessPSCell-Reportincludes the successful PSCell addition or change information. TheVarSuccessPSCell-Reportis illustrated below:

[0330] -- ASN1START

[0331] -- TAG-VARSUCCESSPSCELL-Report-START

[0332] VarSuccessPSCell-Report-r18-IEs ::= SEQUENCE {

[0333] successPSCell-Report-r18 SuccessPSCell-Report-r18

[0334] }

[0335] -- TAG-VARSUCCESSPSCELL-Report-STOP

[0336] -- ASN1STOP

[0337] Further, actions for the successful PSCell addition / change report determination that the UE (102) perform the following for the PSCell:

[0338] 1> if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T304 and the configured value of the timer T304, included in the last applied RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including the reconfigurationWithSync, is greater than thresholdPercentageT304-SCG if included in the successPSCell-Config received before executing the last reconfiguration with sync for the SCG:

[0339] 1> if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T310 and the configured value of the timer T310, configured while the UE (102) was connected to the source PSCell before executing the last reconfiguration with sync for the SCG, is greater than thresholdPercentageT310-SCG included in the successPSCell-Config if configured before executing the last reconfiguration with sync; or

[0340] 1> if the T312 associated to the measurement identity of the target PSCell was running at the time of initiating the execution of the reconfiguration with sync procedure for the SCG and if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T312 and the configured value of the timer T312, configured while the UE (102) was connected to the source PSCell before executing the last reconfiguration with sync, is greater than thresholdPercentageT312-SCG included in the successPSCell-Config if configured before executing the last reconfiguration with sync; or

[0341] 2> clear the information included in VarSuccessPSCell-Report, if any;

[0342] 2> store the successful PSCell change / addition information in VarSuccessPSCell-Report and determine the content in VarSuccessPSCell-Report as follows:

[0343] 3> set the plmn-IdentityList to include the list of EPLMNs stored by the UE (102) (i.e., includes the RPLMN);

[0344] 3> for the source PSCell in which the last RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including reconfigurationWithSync was applied:

[0345] 4> set the sourcePSCellID in sourcePSCellInfo to the global cell identity and tracking area code, if available, of the source PSCell;

[0346] 4> set the sourcePSCellMeas in sourcePSCellInfo to include the cell level RSRP, RSRQ and the available SINR, of the source PSCell based on the available SSB and CSI-RS measurements collected up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG;

[0347] 4> set the rsIndexResults in sourceCellMeas to include all the available SSB and CSI-RS measurement quantities of the source PCell collected up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG;

[0348] 3> for the target PSCell indicated in the last applied RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including reconfigurationWithSync:

[0349] 4> set the targetPSCellID in targetPSCellInfo to the global cell identity and tracking area code, if available, of the target PSCell;

[0350] 4> set the targetPSCellMeas in targetPSCellInfo to include the cell level RSRP, RSRQ and the available SINR, of the target PCell based on the available SSB and CSI-RS measurements collected up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG;

[0351] 4> set the rsIndexResults in targetCellMeas to include all the available SSB and CSI-RS measurement quantities of the target PCell collected up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG;

[0352] 4> if the last applied RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including reconfigurationWithSync was included in the stored condRRCReconfig:

[0353] 5> set the timeSinceCPAC-Reconfig to the time elapsed between the initiation of the execution of conditional reconfiguration for the target PSCell and the reception of the last conditionalReconfiguration for the SCG including the condRRCReconfig of the target PCell in the source PCell;

[0354] 3> if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T304 and the configured value of the T304 timer, included in the last applied RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including the reconfigurationWithSync, is greater than thresholdPercentageT304-SCG if included in the successPSCell-Config received before executing the last reconfiguration with sync for the SCG:

[0355] 4> set t304-cause in spr-Cause to true;

[0356] 4> set the ra-InformationCommon to include the random-access related information associated to the random access procedure in the target PSCell, as specified in clause 5.7.10.5;

[0357] 3> for each of the measObjectNR:

[0358] 4> if measurements are available for the measObjectNR:

[0359] 5> if the SS / PBCH block-based measurement quantities are available:

[0360] 6> include in the measResultListNR in measResultNeighCells all the available measurement quantities of the best measured cells, other than the source PCell or target PCell, ordered such that the cell with highest SS / PBCH block RSRP is listed first if SS / PBCH block RSRP measurement results are available, otherwise the cell with highest SS / PBCH block RSRQ is listed first if SS / PBCH block RSRQ measurement results are available, otherwise the cell with highest SS / PBCH block SINR is listed first, based on the available SS / PBCH block based measurements collected up to the moment the UE (102) sends the RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG;

[0361] 6> for each neighbour cell included, include the optional fields that are available (including the CSI-RS based measurement quantities, if available);

[0362] 5> if the CSI-RS measurement quantities are available for the cells not yet included in measResultListNR in measResultNeighCells:

[0363] 6> include in the measResultListNR in measResultNeighCells all the available measurement quantities of the best measured cells, other than the source PCell and target PCell, ordered such that the cell with highest CSI-RS RSRP is listed first if CSI-RS RSRP measurement results are available, otherwise the cell with highest CSI-RS RSRQ is listed first if CSI-RS RSRQ measurement results are available, otherwise the cell with highest CSI-RS SINR is listed first, based on the available CSI-RS based measurements collected up to the moment the UE (102) sends the RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG;

[0364] 6> for each neighbour cell included, include the optional fields that are available;

[0365] 3> for each of the neighbour cells included in measResultNeighCells:

[0366] 4> if the cell was a candidate target cell included in the condRRCReconfig within the conditionalReconfiguration, in which the last RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including reconfigurationWithSync was applied:

[0367] 5> set the choCandidate to true in measResultNR;

[0368] 3> if available, set the locationInfo as in 5.3.3.7;

[0369] The UE (102) discards the successful PSCell addition / change information, i.e., release the UE (102) variableVarSuccessPSCell-Report, 48 hours after the last successful PSCell addition / change information is added to theVarSuccessPSCell-Reportor upon detaching from the network.

[0370] Accordingly the embodiment herein is for various issues related to the SON / MDT reporting by the UE (102). The disclosed invention illustrates how the UE (102) logs and reports source cell measurements and target cell measurements in the SPR during the successful PSCellChange or successful PSCellAddition. Further, illustrates how the UE (102) reports the number of preambles send on the SSB or CSI-RS, for e.g. as in perRASSBInfoList-r16 and PerRACSI-RSInfo-r16 structures in NR when there is no preamble transmission as all the attempts were not successful due to LBT failure, as it is mandatory to report a nonzero value to the network.

[0371] The UE (102) reporting SPR includes the source PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment UE (102) completes the random access, if the UE (102) performs random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange. If the UE (102) doesn't perform random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, the UE (102) includes the source PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment UE (102) sends the RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG.

[0372] Alternatively, if the UE (102) doesn't perform random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, the UE (102) includes the source PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) successfully acquires the downlink synchronisation.in the target SCG cell. Alternatively, if the UE (102) doesn't perform random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, the UE (102) includes the source PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) receives SCG RRCReconfiguration message including ReconfigurationWithSync. Alternatively, if the UE (102) doesn't perform random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, the UE (102) includes the source PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment UE (102) completes PSCellChange or PSCellAddition. The UE (102) does not perform random access if the SCG is deactivated in the target cell upon PSCell Addition or PSCell Change.

[0373] Further, actions for the successful PSCell addition / change report determination that the UE (102) perform the following for the PSCell:

[0374] 1> if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T304 and the configured value of the timer T304, included in the last applied RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including the reconfigurationWithSync, is greater than thresholdPercentageT304-SCG if included in the successPSCell-Config received before executing the last reconfiguration with sync for the SCG:

[0375] 1> if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T310 and the configured value of the timer T310, configured while the UE (102) was connected to the source PSCell before executing the last reconfiguration with sync for the SCG, is greater than thresholdPercentageT310-SCG included in the successPSCell-Config if configured before executing the last reconfiguration with sync; or

[0376] 1> if the T312 associated to the measurement identity of the target PSCell was running at the time of initiating the execution of the reconfiguration with sync procedure for the SCG and if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T312 and the configured value of the timer T312, configured while the UE (102) was connected to the source PSCell before executing the last reconfiguration with sync, is greater than thresholdPercentageT312-SCG included in the successPSCell-Config if configured before executing the last reconfiguration with sync; or

[0377] 2> clear the information included in VarSuccessPSCell-Report, if any;

[0378] 2> store the successful PSCell change / addition information in VarSuccessPSCell-Report and determine the content in VarSuccessPSCell-Report as follows:

[0379] 3> set the plmn-IdentityList to include the list of EPLMNs stored by the UE (102) (i.e., includes the RPLMN);

[0380] 3> for the source PSCell in which the last RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including reconfigurationWithSync was applied:

[0381] 4> set the sourcePSCellID in sourcePSCellInfo to the global cell identity and tracking area code, if available, of the source PSCell;

[0382] 4> set the sourcePSCellMeas in sourcePSCellInfo to include the cell level RSRP, RSRQ and the available SINR, of the source PSCell based on the available SSB and CSI-RS measurements collected up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access for PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, if the UE (102) performs random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange;otherwise up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG.

[0383] 4> set the rsIndexResults in sourceCellMeas to include all the available SSB and CSI-RS measurement quantities of the source PCell collected up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access for PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, if the UE (102) performs random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange;otherwise up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG;

[0384] In an embodiment, the UE (102) reporting SPR includes the target PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access, if the UE (102) performs random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange. If the UE (102) doesn't perform random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, the UE (102) includes the target PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) sends the RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG.

[0385] Alternatively, if the UE (102) doesn't perform random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, the UE (102) includes the target PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) successfully acquires the downlink synchronisation.in the target SCG cell. Alternatively, if the UE (102) doesn't perform random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, the UE (102) includes the target PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) receives SCG RRCReconfiguration message including ReconfigurationWithSync. Alternatively, if the UE (102) doesn't perform random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, the UE (102) includes the target PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) completes PSCellChange or PSCellAddition. The UE (102) may not perform random access if the SCG is deactivated in the target cell upon PSCell Addition or PSCell Change.

[0386] Further, actions for the successful PSCell addition / change report determination that the UE (102) perform the following for the PSCell:

[0387] 1> if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T304 and the configured value of the timer T304, included in the last applied RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including the reconfigurationWithSync, is greater than thresholdPercentageT304-SCG if included in the successPSCell-Config received before executing the last reconfiguration with sync for the SCG:

[0388] 1> if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T310 and the configured value of the timer T310, configured while the UE (102) was connected to the source PSCell before executing the last reconfiguration with sync for the SCG, is greater than thresholdPercentageT310-SCG included in the successPSCell-Config if configured before executing the last reconfiguration with sync; or

[0389] 1> if the T312 associated to the measurement identity of the target PSCell was running at the time of initiating the execution of the reconfiguration with sync procedure for the SCG and if the ratio between the value of the elapsed time of the timer T312 and the configured value of the timer T312, configured while the UE (102) was connected to the source PSCell before executing the last reconfiguration with sync, is greater than thresholdPercentageT312-SCG included in the successPSCell-Config if configured before executing the last reconfiguration with sync; or

[0390] 2> clear the information included in VarSuccessPSCell-Report, if any;

[0391] 2> store the successful PSCell change / addition information in VarSuccessPSCell-Report and determine the content in VarSuccessPSCell-Report as follows:

[0392] 3> set the plmn-IdentityList to include the list of EPLMNs stored by the UE (102) (i.e., includes the RPLMN);

[0393] 3> for the source PSCell in which the last RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including reconfigurationWithSync was applied:

[0394] 4> set the sourcePSCellID in sourcePSCellInfo to the global cell identity and tracking area code, if available, of the source PSCell;

[0395] 4> set the sourcePSCellMeas in sourcePSCellInfo to include the cell level RSRP, RSRQ and the available SINR, of the source PSCell based on the available SSB and CSI-RS measurements collected up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access for PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, if the UE (102) performs random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange; otherwise up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG

[0396] 4> set the rsIndexResults in sourceCellMeas to include all the available SSB and CSI-RS measurement quantities of the source PCell collected up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access for PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, if the UE (102) performs random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange;otherwise up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG;

[0397] 3> for the target PSCell indicated in the last applied RRCReconfiguration message for the SCG including reconfigurationWithSync:

[0398] 4> set the targetPSCellID in targetPSCellInfo to the global cell identity and tracking area code, if available, of the target PSCell;

[0399] 4> set the targetPSCellMeas in targetPSCellInfo to include the cell level RSRP, RSRQ and the available SINR, of the target PCell based on the available SSB and CSI-RS measurements collected up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access for PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, if the UE (102) performs random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange; otherwise up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG; and

[0400] 4> set the rsIndexResults in targetCellMeas to include all the available SSB and CSI-RS measurement quantities of the target PCell collected up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access for PSCell Addition or PSCellChange, if the UE (102) performs random access during PSCell Addition or PSCellChange;otherwise up to the moment the UE (102) sends RRCReconfigurationComplete message for the SCG.

[0401] In an embodiment, the UE (102) reporting SPR includes the source PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access.

[0402] In an embodiment, the UE (102) reporting SPR includes the target PSCell measurements in SPR up to the moment the UE (102) completes the random access. For the UE (102) reporting SPR, at least one of source or target PSCell measurements in SPR are logged till the moment the UE (102) performs random access.

[0403] In an embodiment, the network (such as gNB in NR) releases the successPSCell-Configwhich it has configured, when it deactivates SCG.

[0404] In an embodiment, the network (such as gNB in NR) releases the successPSCell-Configwhich it has configured, when it implicitly or explicitly configures the UE (102) not to perform random access upon PSCellChange or PSCellAddition.

[0405] In an embodiment, the UE (102) considers itself not to be configured to provide the successful PSCell addition / change information if it is not configured to perform random access upon a PSCellChange or PSCellAddition.

[0406] In an embodiment, the UE (102) considers itself not to be configured to provide the successful PSCell addition / change information if it is deactivated in the target PSCell during PSCellChange or PSCellAddition.

[0407] In an embodiment, the UE (102) reports for thr NR-U, where the UE (102) supports SON / MDT enhancements for the NR-U may report the information as below for the self-optimization:

[0408] RA-InformationCommon-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0409] absoluteFrequencyPointA-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR,

[0410] locationAndBandwidth-r16 INTEGER (0..37949),

[0411] subcarrierSpacing-r16 SubcarrierSpacing,

[0412] msg1-FrequencyStart-r16 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0413] msg1-FrequencyStartCFRA-r16 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0414] msg1-SubcarrierSpacing-r16 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0415] msg1-SubcarrierSpacingCFRA-r16 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0416] msg1-FDM-r16 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0417] msg1-FDMCFRA-r16 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0418] perRAInfoList-r16 PerRAInfoList-r16,

[0419] ...,

[0420] [[

[0421] perRAInfoList-v1660 PerRAInfoList-v1660 OPTIONAL

[0422] ]],

[0423] [[

[0424] msg1-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndex-r16 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL

[0425] ]],

[0426] [[

[0427] msg1-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndexCFRA-r16 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL

[0428] ]],

[0429] [[

[0430] msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0431] msgA-RO-FrequencyStartCFRA-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0432] msgA-SubcarrierSpacing-r17 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0433] msgA-RO-FDM-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0434] msgA-RO-FDMCFRA-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0435] msgA-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndex-r17 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL,

[0436] msgA-TransMax-r17 ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4, n6, n8, n10, n20, n50, n100, n200} OPTIONAL,

[0437] msgA-MCS-r17 INTEGER (0..15) OPTIONAL,

[0438] nrofPRBs-PerMsgA-PO-r17 INTEGER (1..32) OPTIONAL,

[0439] msgA-PUSCH-TimeDomainAllocation-r17 INTEGER (1..maxNrofUL-Allocations) OPTIONAL,

[0440] frequencyStartMsgA-PUSCH-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0441] nrofMsgA-PO-FDM-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0442] dlPathlossRSRP-r17 RSRP-Range OPTIONAL,

[0443] intendedSIBs-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxSIB)) OF SIB-Type-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0444] ssbsForSI-Acquisition-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSSBs-r16)) OF SSB-Index OPTIONAL,

[0445] msgA-PUSCH-PayloadSize-r17 BIT STRING (SIZE (5)) OPTIONAL,

[0446] onDemandSISuccess-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0447] ]],

[0448] [[

[0449] selectedFeatureCombination-r18 FeatureCombination-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0450] triggeredFeatureCombination-r18 FeatureCombination-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0451] attemptedBWPInfo-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofBWPs-1-r18)) OF AttemptedBWPInfo-r18 OPTIONAL,

[0452] numberOfLBTFailures-r18 INTEGER (1..25401) OPTIONAL

[0453] Editor's notes: numberOfLBTFailures may not be needed if there is better way to implement the number of preamble blocked by LBT, e.g. with reusing existing field.

[0454] ]]

[0455] }

[0456] AttemptedBWPInfo-r18::= SEQUENCE {

[0457] locationAndBandwidth-r18 INTEGER (0..37949),

[0458] subcarrierSpacing-r18 SubcarrierSpacing

[0459] }

[0460] PerRAInfoList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRAInfo-r16

[0461] PerRAInfoList-v1660 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRACSI-RSInfo-v1660

[0462] PerRAInfoList-v18xx ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRAInfo-v18xx

[0463] PerRAInfo-r16 ::= CHOICE {

[0464] perRASSBInfoList-r16 PerRASSBInfo-r16,

[0465] perRACSI-RSInfoList-r16 PerRACSI-RSInfo-r16

[0466] }

[0467] PerRAInfo-v18xx ::= CHOICE {

[0468] perRASSBInfoList-v18xx PerRASSBInfo-v18xx,

[0469] perRACSI-RSInfoList-v18xx PerRACSI-RSInfo-v18xx

[0470] }

[0471] PerRASSBInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0472] ssb-Index-r16 SSB-Index,

[0473] numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB-r16 INTEGER (1..200),

[0474] perRAAttemptInfoList-r16 PerRAAttemptInfoList-r16

[0475] }

[0476] PerRASSBInfo-v18xx ::= SEQUENCE {

[0477] lbtDetected-r18 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0478] }

[0479] PerRACSI-RSInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0480] csi-RS-Index-r16 CSI-RS-Index,

[0481] numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS-r16 INTEGER (1..200)

[0482] }

[0483] PerRACSI-RSInfo-v1660 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0484] csi-RS-Index-v1660 INTEGER (1..96) OPTIONAL

[0485] }

[0486] PerRACSI-RSInfo-v18xx ::= SEQUENCE {

[0487] lbtDetected-r18 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0488] }

[0489] PerRAAttemptInfoList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRAAttemptInfo-r16

[0490] PerRAAttemptInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0491] contentionDetected-r16 BOOLEAN OPTIONAL,

[0492] dlRSRPAboveThreshold-r16 BOOLEAN OPTIONAL,

[0493] ...,

[0494] [[

[0495] fallbackToFourStepRA-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0496] ]]}

[0497]

[0498]

[0499]

[0500]

[0501]

[0502]

[0503]

[0504]

[0505]

[0506] Table 3

[0507] Accordingly the embodiment herein, the UE (102), which experienced LBT failures for all the random access preamble transmission on a SSB in a RA attempt, informs the network that one preamble transmission is done on the SSB. Thus, the UE (102) which couldn't transmit any preamble due to LBT failures, informs the network that one preamble transmission is done on the SSB (i.e. number of preamble transmissions on the corresponding SSB is 1).

[0508] In an embodiment, the UE (102) while setting the parameters associated to individual random access attempt, is setting the associated random-access parameters for the successive random-access attempts associated to the same SS / PBCH block for one or more random-access attempts when the random-access resource used is associated to a SS / PBCH block and there were no preambles that were actually transmitted due to LBT failures (i.e. there was LBT failures for all the preamble transmission attempts), reports the number of preambles transmitted as one. I.e. even though no preambles are transmitted on the (beam associated with) SSB, the UE (102) informs the network that one preamble is transmitted on the (beam associated with) SSB.

[0509] The UE (102) sends numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB (information element as in TS 38.331 described in background) as one when all the preambles attempted to be send on (beam associated with) SSB are not send out due to UL LBT issues.

[0510] In an embodiment, where such method allows optimized reporting of SON / MDT information to the network. As any UE reporting random access information for a specific beam need to report numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB always due to the 3gpp design of random access report and the value of numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB should be between one and two hundred, if the above method is not applied, the UE (102) has to report numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB and also additional information to inform the network that the report information shouldn't be taken into account as such.

[0511] When the network (gNB or a Radio Access Network Node) receives from the UE (102) that numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB is one for a SSB and includes lbtDetected as true for the next SSB (next entry in PerRAInfoList), network understands that the actual number of preambles transmitted is zero. If the network (gNB) receives from the UE (102) that numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB as zero for a SSB and there is no further entry in PerRAInfoList, network can identify that there is no actual transmission based on the failure cause as LBT failure.

[0512] Accordingly the embodiment herein is be represented as below in TS 38.331:

[0513]

[0514] In an embodiment, the UE (102), which experienced LBT failures for all the random access preamble transmission on a CSI-RS, informs the network that one preamble transmission is done on the CSI-RS.

[0515] In an embodiment, the UE (102), which experienced LBT failures for all the random access preamble transmission on a CSI-RS in a RA attempt, informs the network that one preamble transmission is done on the CSI-RS. Thus, the UE (102), which couldn't transmit any preamble due to LBT failures, informs the network that one preamble transmission is done on the CSI-RS (number of preamble transmissions done on this CSI-RS is 1).

[0516] In an embodiment, the UE (102) while setting the parameters associated to individual random access attempt, is setting the associated random-access parameters for the successive random-access attempts associated to the same CSI-RS for one or more random-access attempts when the random-access resource used is associated to a CSI-RS and there was no preambles that were actually transmitted due to LBT failures (i.e. there was LBT failures for all the preamble transmission attempts), reports the number of preambles transmitted as one. I.e. even though no preambles are transmitted on the (beam associated with) CSI-RS, the UE (102) informs the network that one preamble is transmitted on the (beam associated with) CSI-RS.

[0517] The UE (102) sends numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS (information element as in TS 38.331 described in background ) as one, when all the preambles attempted to be send on (beam associated with) CSI-RS are not send out due to UL LBT issues.

[0518] In an embodiment, such method allows optimized reporting of SON / MDT information to the network. As any UE reporting random access information for a specific beam need to report numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS always due to the 3gpp design of random access report and the value of numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS should be between one and two hundred, if the above method is not applied, the UE (102) has to report numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS and also additional information to inform the network that the report information shouldn't be taken into account as such. When the network (gNB) receives from the UE (102) that numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS is one for a CSI-RS and includes lbtDetected as true for the next CSI-RS (next entry in PerRAInfoList), network understands that the actual number of preambles transmitted is zero. If the network (gNB) receives from the UE (102) that numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS as one for a CSI-RS and there is no further entry in PerRAInfoList, network can identify that there is no actual transmission based on the failure cause as LBT failure.

[0519] Accordingly, the embodiment is represented as Table 5 below in TS 38.331:

[0520]

[0521] Table 5

[0522] Accordingly, the embodiment extract includes the above embodiments is given below:

[0523] 1> set the parameters associated to individual random-access attempt, in the chronological order of attempts in the perRAInfoList as follows:

[0524] 2> if the random-access resource used is associated to a SS / PBCH block, set the associated random-access parameters for the successive random-access attempts associated to the same SS / PBCH block for one or more random-access attempts as follows:

[0525] 3> set the ssb-Index to include the SS / PBCH block index associated to the used random-access resource;

[0526] 3> if the UE (102) was not able to transmit even a single random access preamble on this SSB due to the reception of LBT failure indications from the lower layers

[0527] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB to one

[0528] else

[0529] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB to indicate the number of successive random-access attempts associated to the SS / PBCH block;

[0530] 3> if LBT failure indication was received from lower layers for the last random access preamble transmission attempt in the SS / PBCH block associated to the ssb-Index, before changing the SS / PBCH block for random access preamble transmission, set lbtDetected to true.

[0531] 3> for each random-access attempt performed on the random-access resource except the random-access attempts for which LBT failure indication was received from lower layers for operations with shared spectrum, include the following parameters in the chronological order of the random-access attempt:

[0532] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention based random-access resource and if raPurpose is not equal to 'requestForOtherSI', include contentionDetected as follows:

[0533] 5> if contention resolution was not successful as specified in TS 38.321 [6] for the transmitted preamble:

[0534] 6> set the contentionDetected to true;

[0535] 5> else:

[0536] 6> set the contentionDetected to false;

[0537] 4> if the random access attempt is a 2-step random access attempt:

[0538] 5> if fallback from 2-step random access to 4-step random access occurred during the random access attempt:

[0539] 6> set fallbackToFourStepRA to true;

[0540] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention based random-access resource; or

[0541] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention free random-access resource and if the random-access procedure was initiated due to the PDCCH ordering:

[0542] 5> if the random access attempt is a 4-step random access attempt and the SS / PBCH block RSRP of the SS / PBCH block corresponding to the random-access resource used in the random-access attempt is above rsrp-ThresholdSSB; or

[0543] 5> if the random access attempt is a 2-step random access attempt and the SS / PBCH block RSRP of the SS / PBCH block corresponding to the random-access resource used in the random-access attempt is above msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB:

[0544] 6> set the dlRSRPAboveThreshold to true;

[0545] 5> else:

[0546] 6> set the dlRSRPAboveThreshold to false;

[0547] 2> else if the random-access resource used is associated to a CSI-RS, set the associated random-access parameters for the successive random-access attempts associated to the same CSI-RS for one or more random-access attempts as follows:

[0548] 3> set the csi-RS-Index to include the CSI-RS index associated to the used random-access resource;

[0549] 3> if the UE (102) was not able to transmit even a single random access preamble on this CSI-RS due to the reception of LBT failure indications from the lower layers

[0550] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS to one

[0551] else

[0552] 3> set the numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS to indicate the number of successive random-access attempts associated to the CSI-RS;

[0553] 3> if LBT failure indication was received from lower layers for the last random access preamble transmission attempt in the CSI-RS associated to the csi-RS-Index before changing the CSI-RS for random access preamble transmission, set lbtDetected to true;

[0554] 1> if at least one LBT failure indication has been received from lower layer during the random-access procedure:

[0555] 2> set the numberOfLBTFailures to indicate the total number of random-access attempts for which LBT failure indications have been received from lower layer in the random-access procedure;

[0556] 1> if successive random-access procedures have been inititated due to consistent LBT failure prior to the last successful completed random-access procedure, and all the triggered consistent LBT failure(s) are cancelled due to successful completion of random-access procedure (as specified in subclause 5.21.2 of TS 38.321[3]), for each attemped BWP in which random access procedure is not successful, set the attemptedBWPInfo as below:

[0557] 2> set the locationAndBandwidth and subcarrierSpacing associated to the attempted UL BWP of the random-access resources used in the random-access procedure.

[0558] In an embodiment, the UE (102), which faced radio link failure or handover failure logs, the BWP information (locationAndBandwidth, subcarrierSpacing,) of all the BWPs in which the UE (102) detected the consistent UL LBT failure, right before the radio link failure or handover failure, in the RA-InformationCommon included in RLF-Report, if the RLF cause is not LBT failure.

[0559] In an embodiment, the UE (102) sets the field lbtDetected to true in the random access report (for e.g in RA-InformationCommon and in the PerRASSBInfo or PerRACSI-RSInfo) for a beam when there is at least one LBT failure indication received during the random access preamble transmission for the same beam for preamble transmission during RA procedure. In an embodiment, this parameter may be set only if there is a beam change for random access preamble transmission, from this beam.

[0560] Accordingly, the embodiment is represented using the below extract from TS 38.331:

[0561] 1> set the parameters associated to individual random-access attempt, in the chronological order of attempts in the perRAInfoList as follows:

[0562] 2> if the random-access resource used is associated to a SS / PBCH block, set the associated random-access parameters for the successive random-access attempts associated to the same SS / PBCH block for one or more random-access attempts as follows:

[0563] 3> set the ssb-Index to include the SS / PBCH block index associated to the used random-access resource;

[0564] 3> if the UE (102) was not able to transmit even a single random access preamble on this SSB due to the reception of LBT failure indications from the lower layers

[0565] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB to one

[0566] else

[0567] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB to indicate the number of successive random-access attempts associated to the SS / PBCH block;

[0568] 3> if at least one LBT failure indications were received from lower layers for the random access preamble transmission attempt in the SS / PBCH block associated to the ssb-Index, before changing the SS / PBCH block for random access preamble transmission, set lbtDetected to true.

[0569] 3> for each random-access attempt performed on the random-access resource except the random-access attempts for which LBT failure indication was received from lower layers for operations with shared spectrum, include the following parameters in the chronological order of the random-access attempt:

[0570] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention based random-access resource and if raPurpose is not equal to 'requestForOtherSI', include contentionDetected as follows:

[0571] 5> if contention resolution was not successful as specified in TS 38.321 [6] for the transmitted preamble:

[0572] 6> set the contentionDetected to true;

[0573] 5> else:

[0574] 6> set the contentionDetected to false;

[0575] 4> if the random access attempt is a 2-step random access attempt:

[0576] 5> if fallback from 2-step random access to 4-step random access occurred during the random access attempt:

[0577] 6> set fallbackToFourStepRA to true;

[0578] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention based random-access resource; or

[0579] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention free random-access resource and if the random-access procedure was initiated due to the PDCCH ordering:

[0580] 5> if the random access attempt is a 4-step random access attempt and the SS / PBCH block RSRP of the SS / PBCH block corresponding to the random-access resource used in the random-access attempt is above rsrp-ThresholdSSB; or

[0581] 5> if the random access attempt is a 2-step random access attempt and the SS / PBCH block RSRP of the SS / PBCH block corresponding to the random-access resource used in the random-access attempt is above msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB:

[0582] 6> set the dlRSRPAboveThreshold to true;

[0583] 5> else:

[0584] 6> set the dlRSRPAboveThreshold to false;

[0585] 2> else if the random-access resource used is associated to a CSI-RS, set the associated random-access parameters for the successive random-access attempts associated to the same CSI-RS for one or more random-access attempts as follows:

[0586] 3> set the csi-RS-Index to include the CSI-RS index associated to the used random-access resource;

[0587] 3> if the UE (102) was not able to transmit even a single random access preamble on this CSI-RS due to the reception of LBT failure indications from the lower layers

[0588] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS to one

[0589] else

[0590] 3> set the numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS to indicate the number of successive random-access attempts associated to the CSI-RS;

[0591] 3> if at least one LBT failure indication was received from lower layers for this random access preamble transmission attempt in the CSI-RS associated to the csi-RS-Index before changing the CSI-RS for random access preamble transmission, set lbtDetected to true;

[0592] 1> if at least one LBT failure indication has been received from lower layer during the random-access procedure:

[0593] 2> set the numberOfLBTFailures to indicate the total number of random-access attempts for which LBT failure indications have been received from lower layer in the random-access procedure;

[0594] 1> if successive random-access procedures have been inititated due to consistent LBT failure prior to the last successful completed random-access procedure, and all the triggered consistent LBT failure(s) are cancelled due to successful completion of random-access procedure (as specified in subclause 5.21.2 of TS 38.321[3]), for each attemped BWP in which random access procedure is not successful, set the attemptedBWPInfo as below:

[0595] 2> set the locationAndBandwidth and subcarrierSpacing associated to the attempted UL BWP of the random-access resources used in the random-access procedure.

[0596] Further, alternatively representation of some of the above embodiment is given below:

[0597] 1> set the parameters associated to individual random-access attempt, in the chronological order of attempts in the perRAInfoList as follows:

[0598] 2> if the random-access resource used is associated to a SS / PBCH block, set the associated random-access parameters for the successive random-access attempts associated to the same SS / PBCH block for one or more random-access attempts as follows:

[0599] 3> set the ssb-Index to include the SS / PBCH block index associated to the used random-access resource;

[0600] 3> if the UE (102) was not able to transmit even a single random access preamble on this SSB due to the reception of LBT failure indications from the lower layers

[0601] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB to one

[0602] else

[0603] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB to indicate the number of successive random-access attempts associated to the SS / PBCH block;

[0604] 3> if at least one LBT failure indications were received from lower layers for the random access preamble transmission attempt in the SS / PBCH block associated to the ssb-Index, set lbtDetected to true.

[0605] 3> for each random-access attempt performed on the random-access resource except the random-access attempts for which LBT failure indication was received from lower layers for operations with shared spectrum, include the following parameters in the chronological order of the random-access attempt:

[0606] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention based random-access resource and if raPurpose is not equal to 'requestForOtherSI', include contentionDetected as follows:

[0607] 5> if contention resolution was not successful as specified in TS 38.321 [6] for the transmitted preamble:

[0608] 6> set the contentionDetected to true;

[0609] 5> else:

[0610] 6> set the contentionDetected to false;

[0611] 4> if the random access attempt is a 2-step random access attempt:

[0612] 5> if fallback from 2-step random access to 4-step random access occurred during the random access attempt:

[0613] 6> set fallbackToFourStepRA to true;

[0614] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention based random-access resource; or

[0615] 4> if the random-access attempt is performed on the contention free random-access resource and if the random-access procedure was initiated due to the PDCCH ordering:

[0616] 5> if the random access attempt is a 4-step random access attempt and the SS / PBCH block RSRP of the SS / PBCH block corresponding to the random-access resource used in the random-access attempt is above rsrp-ThresholdSSB; or

[0617] 5> if the random access attempt is a 2-step random access attempt and the SS / PBCH block RSRP of the SS / PBCH block corresponding to the random-access resource used in the random-access attempt is above msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB:

[0618] 6> set the dlRSRPAboveThreshold to true;

[0619] 5> else:

[0620] 6> set the dlRSRPAboveThreshold to false;

[0621] 2> else if the random-access resource used is associated to a CSI-RS, set the associated random-access parameters for the successive random-access attempts associated to the same CSI-RS for one or more random-access attempts as follows:

[0622] 3> set the csi-RS-Index to include the CSI-RS index associated to the used random-access resource;

[0623] 3> if the UE (102) was not able to transmit even a single random access preamble on this CSI-RS due to the reception of LBT failure indications from the lower layers

[0624] 4> set numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS to one

[0625] else

[0626] 3> set the numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS to indicate the number of successive random-access attempts associated to the CSI-RS;

[0627] 3> if at least one LBT failure indication was received from lower layers for the random access preamble transmission attempt in the CSI-RS associated to the csi-RS-Index, set lbtDetected to true;

[0628] 1> if at least one LBT failure indication has been received from lower layer during the random-access procedure:

[0629] 2> set the numberOfLBTFailures to indicate the total number of random-access attempts for which LBT failure indications have been received from lower layer in the random-access procedure;

[0630] 1> if successive random-access procedures have been inititated due to consistent LBT failure prior to the last successful completed random-access procedure, and all the triggered consistent LBT failure(s) are cancelled due to successful completion of random-access procedure (as specified in subclause 5.21.2 of TS 38.321[3]), for each attemped BWP in which random access procedure is not successful, set the attemptedBWPInfo as below:

[0631] 2> set the locationAndBandwidth and subcarrierSpacing associated to the attempted UL BWP of the random-access resources used in the random-access procedure.

[0632] In an embodiment, the UE (102) logs RSSI measurements of the frequency associated to the last serving cell for the source PCell in the radio link failure report, if the RLF is not due to handover failure. The UE (102) avoids logging the RSSI measurements of the frequency associated to any of the neighbor cells or target cell in radio link failure report, if the RLF is not due to handover failure.

[0633] In an embodiment, the UE (102) avoids logging RSSI measurements of the frequency associated to the last serving cell for the source PCell in the radio link failure report, if the RLF is due to handover failure. The UE (102) logs the RSSI measurements of the frequency associated to the neighbor cells and target cell in radio link failure report, if the RLF is due to handover failure.

[0634] Fig. 2 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for managing measurements of the PSCell in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) for a source PSCell according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes operations (202 - 210). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0635] In operation (202), a configuration is received for logging a successful SPR. In situations with dual connectivity, the SPR communication mechanism in NG-RANs is used to control and improve the performance of secondary cell group.

[0636] At operation (204), it is determined whether the SPR needs to be logged during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change. The procedure of adding a PSCell (such as a source or target PSCell) to the UE (102) in order to enable dual connectivity is referred to as the PSCell addition. The PSCell addition could be helpful for balancing network traffic, attaining better data speed, and other scenarios when the PSCell coverage is inadequate. In addition, the PSCell change describes the procedure that changes the PSCell for the UE (102) to a new cell. The network may evaluate the SPR and determine if a PSCell modification is advantageous. It chooses a different cell that could function better or satisfy the　particular needs of the UE　(102). The PSCell modification might be helpful in cases when the present PSCell's signal quality deteriorates, a shift in network traffic is noticed, nearby cells exhibit significant levels of interference, and similar circumstances.

[0637] At operation (206), it is determined or detected whether a random access is performed during the PSCell change or the PSCell addition. The technique that allows the UE (102) to connect to a network is known as the random access procedure. First access, handovers, and reestablishing connections when they are lost all depend on random access. The random access technique is essential to NG-RAN networks' operation since it provides a dependable and effective connectivity.

[0638] At operation (208), the measurements of a source PSCell are stored in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102).

[0639] At operation (210), the measurements of the source PSCell are stored in the SPR until the UE (102) sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message. The measurements of the source PSCell are stored when the UE (102) does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change.

[0640] At operation (212), the SPR including the stored measurements determined in operation (208) or in operation (210) is transmitted to a network apparatus. The SPR may be transmitted by the UE (110) to the network apparatus once the network apparatus places a request for sending the SPR.

[0641] Fig. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for setting measurements of the source PSCell based on SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes operations (302 - 304). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0642] At operation (302), the SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements of the source PSCell are determined. The UE (102) may evaluate the quality and appropriateness of the source PSCell for beam management, mobility, and initial access using SSB measures. A physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a primary synchronization signal (PSS) are components of the SSB. The UE (102) and the network apparatus employ these measures to guide their decisions about cell selection, reselection, and handover. Furthermore, the quality of the radio channel between the network device and the UE (102) may be evaluated using CSR-RS measurements. The network apparatus leverages the comprehensive information provided by CSI-RS measurements to optimize many elements of communication, including beamforming, link adaption, mobility management, and the like.

[0643] At operation (304), the measurements of the source PSCell are set to include at least one of a cell level RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RS index results in the SPR. The reference signals that are transferred between the network apparatus and the UE (102) are evaluated for signal strength using the RSRP. To determine the signal quality, the RSRQ combines the RSRP and a received signal strength indicator (RSSI). By comparing the signal strength to the levels of noise and interference, the SINR calculates the signal quality. Additionally, within the NG-RAN, the RS index is employed to recognize and control various reference signals. The RS index can be used by the UE (102) to communicate measurements back to the network equipment. For instance, the UE (102) contains the RS index to identify which CSI-RS resource was monitored when reporting CSI-RS measurements. The RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RS index results are set based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined. This setting may be performed up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102).

[0644] Fig. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for managing measurements of a target PSCell in the NG-RAN according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes operations (402-408). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0645] At operation (402), it is determined whether the random access is performed during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change of a target PSCell. After the transition from the source PSCell is finished, the target PSCell takes over as the primary secondary cell, giving the UE (102) extra radio resources. Considerations like reduced interference, increased signal strength, the need for network load balancing, and similar factors are taken into consideration while identifying and choosing the target PSCell.

[0646] At operation (404), the measurements of the target PSCell is stored in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (110). The measurements of the target PSCell are stored in the SPR when the UE (102) performs the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change. If the UE (102) does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or PSCell change, the measurements of the target PSCell are stored in the SPR until the UE (102) sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message.

[0647] At operation (406), SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements of the target PSCell are determined. At operation (408), the measurements of the target PSCell are set to include at least one of the RSRP, the RSRQ, the SINR, and the RS index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined. These measurements are set by the random access controller (110) up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102).

[0648] Fig. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for managing the SPR when the target PSCell is deactivated. The method includes operations (502-504). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0649] At operation (502), the UE (102) receives the radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message that includes the reconfiguration with sync command from the network apparatus. The target PSCell is deactivated upon receipt of the RRC reconfiguration message. The UE (102) may have its radio resource configuration changed by using the RRC reconfiguration message. For example, parameters pertaining to measurement configurations, mobility settings, radio bearers, physical channels, and other network-related characteristics could be included in the RRC reconfiguration message. Moreover, the UE (102) may have its settings changed while maintaining NG-RAN synchronization by using the reconfiguration with sync instruction that is part of the RRC reconfiguration message. Maintaining uninterrupted service and avoiding communication breakdowns depend on this synchronization.

[0650] At operation (504), the logging of the SPR is skipped when the target PSCell is deactivated. For instance, the deactivation of the target PSCell may occur due to factors, such as the amount of data transfer, network optimization, load balancing, or changes in a mobility of the UE (102).

[0651] Fig. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for reporting of the number of preambles send on the SSB in a random access report according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes operations (602-604). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0652] At operation (602), preambles that are attempted to be send on a beam associated with the SSB are skipped. This skipping occurs due to detection of UL LBT issues. For instance, the number of preambles sent on the SSB for a SSB-Index is zero in a RA procedure.

[0653] At operation (604), the number of preambles send on the SSB are logged and reported as one. The UE (102) sends numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB (information element as in TS 38.331) as one when all the preambles attempted to be send on (beam associated with) SSB are not send out due to UL LBT issues. The UE (102) logs and reports a numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB as one in the PerRASSBInfo associated with the same SSB (for example, with the same ssb-index).

[0654] Fig. 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for reporting of the number of preambles send on CSI-RS in the random access report according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes operations (702-704). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0655] At operation (702), preambles attempted to be send on a beam associated with the CSI-RS are skipped due to UL LBT issues. For instance, the number of preambles sent on CSI-RS for a CSI-RS-Index is zero in a RA procedure.

[0656] At operation (704), the number of preambles send on the beam associated with the CSI-RS are logged and reported as one. The UE (102) sends a numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS (information element as in TS 38.331) as one, when all the preambles attempted to be send on the beam associated with CSI-RS are not send out due to UL LBT issues. The UE (102) logs and reports the numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS as one in the PerRACSI-RSInfo associated with the same CSI-RS (for example, with the same CSI-RS-index).

[0657] Fig. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for handling network configuration information for a master cell group (MCG) according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes operations (802-804). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0658] At operation (802), network configuration information for a master cell group (MCG) is received. For instance, the network configuration information may also be referred to as mobility information. The network configuration information may be used for retrieving the UE configuration in many scenarios and thus needn't be tied to the mobility alone. It can be any information configured by the network and stored and reported by the UE in one or more of SON / MDT reports.

[0659] At operation (804), the network configuration information received in operation (802) is stored and reported in at least one of a SHR report, a RLF report, and a RA report. The SHR report helps the network to manage and optimize the mobility of the UE (102). By analyzing the SHR report, the network can make more informed decisions about handovers, ensuring that the UE (1020 is always connected to the most suitable cell, thus improving the network performance. The RLF report is used to inform the network about instances where the radio link between the UE (102) and the serving cell has failed. The RLF report may be useful in enabling quick recovery from failures, optimizing mobility management, and supporting continuous improvement of the network. Further, the RA report refers to information related to the random access channel (RACH) activity of the UE (102). The RA report captures details of the random access attempts made by the UE (102). This includes information such as the number of attempts, the success or failure of each attempt, the reasons for any failures, and the like.

[0660] Fig. 9 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for releasing received network configuration information for the MCG according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes operations (902-906). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0661] At operation (902), network configuration information for the MCG is received. For instance, the network configuration information may also be referred to as mobility information.

[0662] At operation (904), an RRC reestablishment procedure is initiated once the network configuration information is received in operation (902). Upon initiating the RRC reestablishment, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the MCG. In an embodiment, upon MCG LTM (lower layer triggered mobility) (for example, upon receiving an indication from lower layers that cell switch has been received), the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the MCG.

[0663] At operation (906), the network configuration information for a secondary cell group (SCG) is released once the RRC reestablishment procedure in operation (904) has been initiated or completed. In an embodiment, upon SCG LTM (upon receiving an indication from lower layers that cell switch has been received), the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG.

[0664] Fig. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for releasing received network configuration information for the SCG according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes operations (1002-1006). Each operation is explained in further detail below.

[0665] At operation (1002), the network configuration information of the SCG is received. For instance, the network configuration information may be received during the PSCell change, an SCG release, an SCG failure, and the like.

[0666] At operation (1004), the RRC reestablishment procedure is initiated once the network configuration information is received in operation (1002). Upon initiating the RRC reestablishment, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG. In an embodiment, upon SCG LTM (upon receiving an indication from lower layers that cell switch has been received), the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG.

[0667] At operation (1006), the network configuration information received in operation (1002) is released once the RRC reestablishment procedure in operation (1004) has been initiated or completed.

[0668] Fig. 11 is a sequence diagram that illustrates performing of a NW-ConfigInfo handling through a MobilityFromNR command according to the embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in the sequence diagram, the UE (102) is in communication with a gNB (1102). For instance, the gNB (1102) may also be referred to as the network apparatus. At operation S1, the UE (102) receives a mobility from NR command including nw-ConfigInfo from the gNB (1102). The mobility from NR command is essential for maintaining seamless connectivity and service continuity as the UE (102) moves across different network types.

[0669] At operation S2, the UE (102) determines whether an inter-radio access technology (inter-RAT) SHR with a trigger condition has been satisfied. For instance, the trigger condition may be CPC events A3 / A5, as defined in TS 38.331 [4]. The inter-RAT refers to the reporting and management of a serving cell history of the UE (102) across different radio access technologies (RATs). At operation S3, the UE (102) logs the nw-ConfigInfo in the inter-RAT SHR.

[0670] According to 3GPP specifications like TS 38.300 V17.0.0, Mobility Robustness Optimization (MRO) aims at detecting and enabling correction of following problems:

[0671] - Connection failure due to intra-system or inter-system mobility;

[0672] - Inter-system Unnecessary HO (too early inter-system HO from NR to E-UTRAN with no radio link failure); and

[0673] - Inter-system HO ping-pong.

[0674] MRO provides means to distinguish the above problems from NR coverage related problems and other problems, not related to mobility. For analysis of connection failures, the UE (102) makes the Radio Link Failure (RLF) Report available to the network. The UE (102) stores the latest RLF Report, including both LTE and NR RLF report until the RLF report is fetched by the network or for 48 hours after the connection failure is detected.

[0675] One of the functions of Mobility Robustness Optimization in NR R17 is to detect connection failures that occurred due to Too Early or Too Late inter-system handovers. These problems are defined as follows:

[0676] - Inter-system / too late handover: An RLF occurs after the UE (102) has stayed in a cell belonging to an NG-RAN node for a long period of time; the UE (102) attempts to re-connect to a cell belonging to an E-UTRAN node.

[0677] - Inter-system / too early handover: an RLF occurs shortly after a successful handover from a cell belonging to an E-UTRAN node to a target cell belonging to an NG-RAN node; the UE (102) attempts to re-connect to the source cell or to another cell belonging to an E-UTRAN node.

[0678] One of the purposes of inter-system Mobility Robustness Optimization in NR R17 is the detection of a non-optimal use of network resources. In particular, in case of inter-system operations and when NR is considered, the case known as Unnecessary HO to another system is identified. Consider that the UE (102) is handed over from NR to E-UTRAN even though quality of the NR coverage was sufficient for the service used by the UE (102). The handover may therefore be considered as unnecessary HO to another system (i.e., EPS) (too early inter-system HO without connection failure).

[0679] In inter-system HO, if the serving cell threshold (NR cell) is set too high, and cell in another system (i.e., EPS) with good signal strength is available, a handover to another system may be triggered unnecessarily, resulting in an inefficient use of the networks. With a lower threshold the UE (102) could have continued in the source system (5GS).

[0680] One of the functions of Mobility Robustness Optimization is to detect ping-pongs that occur in inter-system environment. Consider that the UE (102) is handed over from a cell in a source system (e.g. 5GS) to a cell in a target system different from the source system (e.g. EPS), then within a predefined limited time the UE (102) is handed over back to a cell in the source system, while the coverage of the source system was sufficient for the service used by the UE (102). The event may occur more than once.

[0681] The UE (102) may log various events and information and report to the network for supporting optimizations. Some of the information that may be logged are RA-Report, RLF-Report and SHR. Contents of the message as per Release 17 NR specifications are given below.

[0682] RA-ReportList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxRAReport-r16)) OF RA-Report-r16

[0683] RA-Report-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0684] cellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0685] cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0686] pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16

[0687] },

[0688] ra-InformationCommon-r16 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0689] raPurpose-r16 ENUMERATED {accessRelated, beamFailureRecovery, reconfigurationWithSync, ulUnSynchronized,

[0690] schedulingRequestFailure, noPUCCHResourceAvailable, requestForOtherSI,

[0691] msg3RequestForOtherSI-r17, spare8, spare7, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3,

[0692] spare2, spare1},

[0693] ...,

[0694] [[

[0695] spCellID-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16 OPTIONAL

[0696] ]]

[0697] }

[0698] RA-InformationCommon-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0699] absoluteFrequencyPointA-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR,

[0700] locationAndBandwidth-r16 INTEGER (0..37949),

[0701] subcarrierSpacing-r16 SubcarrierSpacing,

[0702] msg1-FrequencyStart-r16 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0703] msg1-FrequencyStartCFRA-r16 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0704] msg1-SubcarrierSpacing-r16 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0705] msg1-SubcarrierSpacingCFRA-r16 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0706] msg1-FDM-r16 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0707] msg1-FDMCFRA-r16 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0708] perRAInfoList-r16 PerRAInfoList-r16,

[0709] ...,

[0710] [[

[0711] perRAInfoList-v1660 PerRAInfoList-v1660 OPTIONAL

[0712] ]],

[0713] [[

[0714] msg1-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndex-r16 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL

[0715] ]],

[0716] [[

[0717] msg1-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndexCFRA-r16 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL

[0718] ]],

[0719] [[

[0720] msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0721] msgA-RO-FrequencyStartCFRA-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0722] msgA-SubcarrierSpacing-r17 SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL,

[0723] msgA-RO-FDM-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0724] msgA-RO-FDMCFRA-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0725] msgA-SCS-From-prach-ConfigurationIndex-r17 ENUMERATED {kHz1dot25, kHz5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL,

[0726] msgA-TransMax-r17 ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4, n6, n8, n10, n20, n50, n100, n200} OPTIONAL,

[0727] msgA-MCS-r17 INTEGER (0..15) OPTIONAL,

[0728] nrofPRBs-PerMsgA-PO-r17 INTEGER (1..32) OPTIONAL,

[0729] msgA-PUSCH-TimeDomainAllocation-r17 INTEGER (1..maxNrofUL-Allocations) OPTIONAL,

[0730] frequencyStartMsgA-PUSCH-r17 INTEGER (0..maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-1) OPTIONAL,

[0731] nrofMsgA-PO-FDM-r17 ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight} OPTIONAL,

[0732] dlPathlossRSRP-r17 RSRP-Range OPTIONAL,

[0733] intendedSIBs-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxSIB)) OF SIB-Type-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0734] ssbsForSI-Acquisition-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSSBs-r16)) OF SSB-Index OPTIONAL,

[0735] msgA-PUSCH-PayloadSize-r17 BIT STRING (SIZE (5)) OPTIONAL,

[0736] onDemandSISuccess-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0737] ]]

[0738] }

[0739] PerRAInfoList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRAInfo-r16

[0740] PerRAInfoList-v1660 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRACSI-RSInfo-v1660

[0741] PerRAInfo-r16 ::= CHOICE {

[0742] perRASSBInfoList-r16 PerRASSBInfo-r16,

[0743] perRACSI-RSInfoList-r16 PerRACSI-RSInfo-r16

[0744] }

[0745] PerRASSBInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0746] ssb-Index-r16 SSB-Index,

[0747] numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB-r16 INTEGER (1..200),

[0748] perRAAttemptInfoList-r16 PerRAAttemptInfoList-r16

[0749] }

[0750] PerRACSI-RSInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0751] csi-RS-Index-r16 CSI-RS-Index,

[0752] numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS-r16 INTEGER (1..200)

[0753] }

[0754] PerRACSI-RSInfo-v1660 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0755] csi-RS-Index-v1660 INTEGER (1..96) OPTIONAL

[0756] }

[0757] PerRAAttemptInfoList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..200)) OF PerRAAttemptInfo-r16

[0758] PerRAAttemptInfo-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0759] contentionDetected-r16 BOOLEAN OPTIONAL,

[0760] dlRSRPAboveThreshold-r16 BOOLEAN OPTIONAL,

[0761] ...,

[0762] [[

[0763] fallbackToFourStepRA-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0764] ]]

[0765] }

[0766] SIB-Type-r17 ::= ENUMERATED {sibType2, sibType3, sibType4, sibType5, sibType9, sibType10-v1610, sibType11-v1610, sibType12-v1610,

[0767] sibType13-v1610, sibType14-v1610, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1}

[0768] RLF-Report-r16 ::= CHOICE {

[0769] nr-RLF-Report-r16 SEQUENCE {

[0770] measResultLastServCell-r16 MeasResultRLFNR-r16,

[0771] measResultNeighCells-r16 SEQUENCE {

[0772] measResultListNR-r16 MeasResultList2NR-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0773] measResultListEUTRA-r16 MeasResultList2EUTRA-r16 OPTIONAL

[0774] } OPTIONAL,

[0775] c-RNTI-r16 RNTI-Value,

[0776] previousPCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0777] nrPreviousCell-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0778] eutraPreviousCell-r16 CGI-InfoEUTRALogging

[0779] } OPTIONAL,

[0780] failedPCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0781] nrFailedPCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0782] cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0783] pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16

[0784] },

[0785] eutraFailedPCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0786] cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-InfoEUTRALogging,

[0787] pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-EUTRA-r16

[0788] }

[0789] },

[0790] reconnectCellId-r16 CHOICE {

[0791] nrReconnectCellId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0792] eutraReconnectCellId-r16 CGI-InfoEUTRALogging

[0793] } OPTIONAL,

[0794] timeUntilReconnection-r16 TimeUntilReconnection-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0795] reestablishmentCellId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0796] timeConnFailure-r16 INTEGER (0..1023) OPTIONAL,

[0797] timeSinceFailure-r16 TimeSinceFailure-r16,

[0798] connectionFailureType-r16 ENUMERATED {rlf, hof},

[0799] rlf-Cause-r16 ENUMERATED {t310-Expiry, randomAccessProblem, rlc-MaxNumRetx,

[0800] beamFailureRecoveryFailure, lbtFailure-r16,

[0801] bh-rlfRecoveryFailure, t312-expiry-r17, spare1},

[0802] locationInfo-r16 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0803] noSuitableCellFound-r16 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL,

[0804] ra-InformationCommon-r16 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0805] ...,

[0806] [[

[0807] csi-rsRLMConfigBitmap-v1650 BIT STRING (SIZE (96)) OPTIONAL

[0808] ]],

[0809] [[

[0810] lastHO-Type-r17 ENUMERATED {cho, daps, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL,

[0811] timeConnSourceDAPS-Failure-r17 TimeConnSourceDAPS-Failure-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0812] timeSinceCHO-Reconfig-r17 TimeSinceCHO-Reconfig-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0813] choCellId-r17 CHOICE {

[0814] cellGlobalId-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0815] pci-arfcn-r17 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16

[0816] } OPTIONAL,

[0817] choCandidateCellList-r17 ChoCandidateCellList-r17 OPTIONAL

[0818] ]]

[0819] },

[0820] eutra-RLF-Report-r16 SEQUENCE {

[0821] failedPCellId-EUTRA CGI-InfoEUTRALogging,

[0822] measResult-RLF-Report-EUTRA-r16 OCTET STRING,

[0823] ...,

[0824] [[

[0825] measResult-RLF-Report-EUTRA-v1690 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL

[0826] ]]

[0827] }

[0828] }

[0829] SuccessHO-Report-r17 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0830] sourceCellInfo-r17 SEQUENCE {

[0831] sourcePCellId-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0832] sourceCellMeas-r17 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0833] rlf-InSourceDAPS-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL

[0834] },

[0835] targetCellInfo-r17 SEQUENCE {

[0836] targetPCellId-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0837] targetCellMeas-r17 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r17 OPTIONAL

[0838] },

[0839] measResultNeighCells-r17 SEQUENCE {

[0840] measResultListNR-r17 MeasResultList2NR-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0841] measResultListEUTRA-r17 MeasResultList2EUTRA-r16 OPTIONAL

[0842] } OPTIONAL,

[0843] locationInfo-r17 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0844] timeSinceCHO-Reconfig-r17 TimeSinceCHO-Reconfig-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0845] shr-Cause-r17 SHR-Cause-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0846] ra-InformationCommon-r17 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0847] upInterruptionTimeAtHO-r17 UPInterruptionTimeAtHO-r17 OPTIONAL,

[0848] c-RNTI-r17 RNTI-Value OPTIONAL,

[0849] ...

[0850] }

[0851] MeasResultList2NR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE(SIZE (1..maxFreq)) OF MeasResult2NR-r16

[0852] MeasResultList2EUTRA-r16 ::= SEQUENCE(SIZE (1..maxFreq)) OF MeasResult2EUTRA-r16

[0853] MeasResult2NR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0854] ssbFrequency-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR OPTIONAL,

[0855] refFreqCSI-RS-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR OPTIONAL,

[0856] measResultList-r16 MeasResultListNR

[0857] }

[0858] MeasResultListLogging2NR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE(SIZE (1..maxFreq)) OF MeasResultLogging2NR-r16

[0859] MeasResultLogging2NR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0860] carrierFreq-r16 ARFCN-ValueNR,

[0861] measResultListLoggingNR-r16 MeasResultListLoggingNR-r16

[0862] }

[0863] A configuration for reporting successful handover is as follows:

[0864] SuccessHO-Config-r17 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0865] thresholdPercentageT304-r17 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0866] thresholdPercentageT310-r17 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0867] thresholdPercentageT312-r17 ENUMERATED {p20, p40, p60, p80, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0868] sourceDAPS-FailureReporting-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0869] ...

[0870] }

[0871] One of the main issues with respect to self optimization is the overhead with respect to the storage and reporting of the information. The UE (102) needs to reserve memory for storing the self optimization data and from user's perspective this data is an overhead, as it is not related to any of the services. Similarly, there is a signaling overhead on the air interface for reporting this data. There are some impacts on the power consumption during the transfer of this information. Hence it is important to minimize the amount of data stored or reported for SON MDT purposes.

[0872] Inter-RAT mobility in NR RRC_CONNECTED:

[0873] In 3GPP technologies like 5G NR or 4G LTE, the mobility in RRC_CONNECTED is network controlled. NR supports connected mode mobility (i.e., handover) from NR to LTE (E-UTRA). NR also supports connected mode mobility to 3G UMTS for voice services (SRVCC to UMTS FDD). Similarly, NR also supports mobility to NR from LTE.

[0874] According to 3GPP, Inter RAT mobility is characterized by the following:

[0875] - The Source RAT configures Target RAT measurement and reporting.

[0876] - The source RAT decides on the handover preparation initiation and provides the necessary information to the target RAT in the format required by the target RAT:

[0877] - Radio resources are prepared in the target RAT before the handover and target RAT sends an RRC Reconfiguration to source RAT embedded in a Xn (Xn in the interface between the gNB (1102) and eNB or between two eNBs) message.

[0878] - The RRC reconfiguration message from the target RAT is delivered to the source RAT via a transparent container, and is passed to the UE (102) by the source RAT in the handover command; i.e., in RRC Reconfiguration message:

[0879] - UE RRC decodes RRC Reconfiguration message, synchronises with the the target RAT cell and performs random access (RA). Once the random access is successful, the UE (102) sends the RRC Reconfiguration Complete on the target RAT.

[0880] Dual Connectivity:

[0881] Dual connectivity or more technically multi-radio dual connectivity is specified by 3gpp in specifications such as TS 37.340.

[0882] NG-RAN supports Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) operation whereby the UE (102) in RRC_CONNECTED is configured to utilize radio resources provided by two distinct schedulers, located in two different NG-RAN nodes connected via a non-ideal backhaul, one providing NR (New Radio) access and the other one providing either E-UTRA (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) or NR access. One node acts as the master node (MN) and the other as the secondary node (SN). The MN and SN are connected via a network interface and at least the MN is connected to the core network. NG-RAN supports NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (NGEN-DC), in which the UE (102) is connected to one ng-eNB (a E-UTRA base station that can connect to 5G core) that acts as a MN and one Gnb (5G base station) that acts as a SN. NG-RAN also supports NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC), in which the UE (102) is connected to one gNB that acts as a MN and one ng-eNB that acts as a SN. MN may move the SCG to different states: deactivated and activated. When carrier aggregation is supported, the secondary cells may be moved to deactivated / activated. When a radio link failure occurs in the SCG, the UE (102) sends RRC message SCGFailureInformation.

[0883] PSCell change and PSCell Addition:

[0884] PSCell change can occur due to mobility and may or may not be associated with the Secondary Node Change (SN change).The Secondary Node Change procedure is initiated either by MN or SN and used to transfer a context of the UE (102) from a source SN to a target SN and to change the SCG configuration in the UE (102) from one SN to another.

[0885] A Conditional PSCell Change (CPC) is defined as a PSCell change that is executed by the UE (102) when execution condition(s) is met. The UE (102) may be configured with execution condition and the RRC message like RRC Reconfiguration for executing when the conditions are met for one or more of candidate cells. The UE (102) starts evaluating the execution condition(s) upon receiving the CPC configuration, and stops evaluating the execution condition(s), once a PSCell change is triggered. Intra-SN CPC without MN involvement, inter-SN CPC initiated either by the MN or the SN are supported.

[0886] The following principles apply to CPC:

[0887] - The CPC configuration contains the configuration of CPC candidate PSCell(s) and execution condition(s) and may contain the MN configuration for inter-SN CPC.

[0888] - An execution condition may comprise of one or two trigger condition(s) (CPC events A3 / A5, as defined in TS 38.331 [4]). Only single RS type is supported and at most two different trigger quantities (e.g., RSRP and RSRQ, RSRP and SINR, etc.) can be configured simultaneously for the evaluation of CPC execution condition of a single candidate PSCell.

[0889] - Before any CPC execution condition is satisfied, upon reception of PSCell change command or PCell change command, the UE (102) executes the PSCell change procedure as described in clause 10.3 and 10.5 or the PCell change procedure as described in clause 9.2.3.2 in TS 38.300[3] or clause 10.1.2.1 in TS 36.300 [2], regardless of any previously received CPC configuration. Upon the successful completion of PSCell change procedure or PCell change procedure, the UE (102) releases all stored CPC configurations.

[0890] - While executing CPC, the UE (102) is not required to continue evaluating the execution condition of other candidate PSCell(s).

[0891] - Once the CPC procedure is executed successfully, the UE (102) releases all stored CPC configurations.

[0892] - Upon the release of SCG, the UE (102) releases the stored CPC configurations.

[0893] 3GPP release 18 enhances the CPC through selective activation of cellgroups where the UE (102) doesn't release the stored CPC configuration for one or more candidate PSCells and the source PSCell based on network's inputs. The UE (102) may also store the CPA configuration for one or more candidate PSCells.

[0894] The MN adds PSCell during a PSCell addition procedure. The network (for e.g., gNB in NR) configures the UE (102) to log and report SPR through IE otherConfig in RRC Reconfiguration. The SPR configuration can include one or more of different triggering conditions such as

[0895] T310 trigger: T310 trigger (i.e. threshold) (for e.g., thresholdPercentageT310) will be configured by source PSCell. Alternatively, T310 trigger may be configured by the PCell. Source PSCell or PCell will configure T310 trigger in the configuration for SPR for reporting successful PSCell Change information and not in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Addition information.

[0896] T312 trigger: T312 trigger (i.e., threshold) (for e.g., thresholdPercentageT312) will be configured by source PSCell. Alternatively, T312 trigger may be configured by the PCell. Source PSCell or PCell will configure T312 trigger in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Change information and not in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Addition information .

[0897] T304 trigger: T304 trigger (i.e., threshold) (for e.g., thresholdPercentageT304) will be configured by target PSCell. Alternatively, T304 trigger may be configured by the PCell. Target PSCell / PCell configures T304 trigger in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Change information and in the configuration for reporting successful PSCell Addition information, if the UE (102) is configured to perform random access after PSCell addition.

[0898] A sample configuration is given below:

[0899] SuccessPSCell-Config ::= SEQUENCE {

[0900] thresholdPercentageT304-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0901] thresholdPercentageT310-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0902] thresholdPercentageT312-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p20, p40, p60, p80, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0903] ...

[0904] ...

[0905] }

[0906] successPSCell-Config: Configuration for the UE (102) to report the successful PSCell addition / change information to the network.

[0907] t-SearchDeltaP-Stationary: Parameter "TSearchDeltaP-StationaryConnected" in 5.7.4.4. Value in seconds. Value s5 means 5 seconds, value s10 means 10 seconds and so on.

[0908] thresholdPercentageT304: This field indicates the threshold for the ratio in percentage between the elapsed T304 timer and the configured value of the T304 timer. Value p40 corresponds to 40%, value p60 corresponds to 60% and so on. This field is set in the otherConfig configured by the target cell of the handover.

[0909] thresholdPercentageT310: This field indicates the threshold for the ratio in percentage between the elapsed T310 timer and the configured value of the T310 timer. Value p40 corresponds to 40%, value p60 corresponds to 60% and so on. This field is set in the otherConfig configured by the source cell of the handover.

[0910] thresholdPercentageT312: This field indicates the threshold for the ratio in percentage between the elapsed T312 timer and the configured value(s) of the T312 timer. Value p20 corresponds to 20%, value p40 corresponds to 40% and so on. This field is set in the otherConfig configured by the source cell of the handover.

[0911] thresholdPercentageT304-SCG: This field indicates the threshold for the ratio in percentage between the elapsed T304 timer associated to the target PSCell and the configured value of the T304 timer. Value p40 corresponds to 40%, value p60 corresponds to 60% and so on.

[0912] thresholdPercentageT310-SCG: This field indicates the threshold for the ratio in percentage between the elapsed T310 timer associated to the source PSCell and the configured value of the T310 timer. Value p40 corresponds to 40%, value p60 corresponds to 60% and so on. This field is set in the otherConfig configured by the source cell of the handover.

[0913] thresholdPercentageT312-SCG: This field indicates the threshold for the ratio in percentage between the elapsed T312 timer associated to the measurement identity of the target PSCell and the configured value of the T312 timer. Value p20 corresponds to 20%, value p40 corresponds to 40% and so on.

[0914] threshPropDelayDiff: Threshold for service link propagation delay difference report as specified in 5.7.4.2.

[0915] ul-GapFR2-PreferenceConfig: Indicates whether the UE (102) is configured to request for FR2 UL gap activation / deactivation and preferred FR2 UL gap pattern.

[0916] In the current systems, SPR contents may be as below:

[0917] SuccessPSCell-Report-r18 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0918] sourcePSCellInfo-r18 SEQUENCE {

[0919] sourcePSCellId-r18 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0920] sourcePSCellMeas-r18 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r17 OPTIONAL

[0921] },

[0922] targetPSCellInfo-r18 SEQUENCE {

[0923] targetPSCellId-r18 CGI-Info-Logging-r16,

[0924] targetPSCellMeas-r18 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r17 OPTIONAL

[0925] },

[0926] measResultNeighCells-r18 SEQUENCE {

[0927] measResultListNR-r18 MeasResultList2NR-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0928] measResultListEUTRA-r18 MeasResultList2EUTRA-r16 OPTIONAL

[0929] }, OPTIONAL,

[0930] spr-Cause-r18 SPR-Cause-r18 OPTIONAL,

[0931] timeSinceCPAC-Reconfig-r18 TimeSinceCPAC-Reconfig-r18 OPTIONAL,

[0932] locationInfo-r18 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL,

[0933] ra-InformationCommon-r18 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL

[0934] ...

[0935] }

[0936] successPSCell-Report (SPR): This field is used to provide the successful PSCell change or addition report.

[0937] c-RNTI: This field indicates the C-RNTI assigned by the target PSCell of the PSCell Addition or PSCell Change for which the successful PAC report (successful PACreport stores SPR) was generated.

[0938] measResultListNR: This field refers to the last measurement results taken in the neighboring NR Cells when a successful PSCell Addition or PSCell Change is executed.

[0939] Spr-Cause: This field is used to indicate the cause of the successful PSCell report.

[0940] sourceCellMeas: This field refers to the last measurement results taken in the source PSCell of a PSCellChange in which the successful PSCell Change trigger SPR

[0941] sourcePSCellId: This field is used to indicate the source PSCell of a PSCell change in which the successful PSCell change triggers the SuccessPAC-Report.

[0942] targetPSCellId: This field is used to indicate the target PSCell of a PSCellChange in which the successful PSCell change or the PSCell where successful PSCell Addition triggers the SuccessPAC-Report

[0943] targetCellMeas: This field refers to the last measurement results taken in the target PSCell of a PSCell change or PSCell Addition in which the successful PSCell change or successful PSCell Addition triggers the SuccessPAC-Report

[0944] timeSinceCPAC-Reconfig: This field is used to indicate the time elapsed between the initiation of the last conditional PSCell addition or PSCell change execution towards the target cell and the reception of the latest conditional reconfiguration for this target cell. Actual value = field value * 100ms. The maximum value 1023 means 102.3s or longer.

[0945] VarSuccessPSCell-Report: The UE (102) variable VarSuccessPSCell-Report includes the successful PSCell addition or change information.

[0946] VarSuccessPSCell-Report variable:

[0947] -- ASN1START

[0948] -- TAG-VARSUCCESSPSCELL-Report-START

[0949] VarSuccessPSCell-Report-r18-IEs ::= SEQUENCE {

[0950] successPSCell-Report-r18 SuccessPSCell-Report-r18

[0951] }

[0952] -- TAG-VARSUCCESSPSCELL-Report-STOP

[0953] -- ASN1STOP

[0954] 3GPP release 17 (V17.5.0) of specifications like TS 38.331, TS38.300 and TS 38.321 can be considered as background herein.

[0955] Retrieval of the UE (102) context for SHR and SPR:

[0956] To support UE context retrieve in the source node, there are two options:

[0957] Option 1: The UE (102) includes source cell C-RNTI and Time between report generating and fetching in inter-RAT SHR.

[0958] Option 2: The UE (102) includes a configuration information, such as Mobility Information used in interfaces such AS xN.

[0959] The UE (102) only sends the inter-RAT SHR to the NG-RAN node when the UE (102) comes back to the gNB (1102) after successful HO from source gNB to the target ng-eNB. During that period, the C-RNTI has been re-assigned to other UEs. The source node cannot identify reported C-RNTI. To enable the retrieval, source node may send configuration information such as 'Mobility Information' to the UE (102). The UE (102) may include the received configuration information such as "Mobility Information" in the inter-RAT SHR or SHR or SPR. The Mobility Information is assigned by the source node and used by the source node. This configuration Information is used for group of UEs using the same HO strategy. The optimization for successful handover is not for each UE (102) as well Hence the source node doesn't need to save the individual context even if the UE (102) has moves away.

[0960] In an embodiment, the PSCell addition procedure that is executed only when PSCell addition condition(s) are met is called Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA). 3gpp TS 37.340, TS 38.331, TS 38.300 serve as a background. Release 17.2.0 of the aforementioned specifications provided detailed description of the background information disclosed herein.

[0961] Embodiments propose methods for SON for dual connectivity scenarios. Embodiments propose methods for configuration, reporting and releasing the configuration of the UE (102) for reporting information related to successful PSCell Addition and Successful PSCell Change. This information could be configured to be stored and reported in a report called Successful PSCell Report (SPR). The SPR may be also called Successful PSCell Addition or Change Report.

[0962] Configuration for reporting information on successful PSCell Change or successful PSCell Addition may be referred to as successPSCell-Config herein, but it may be identified by a different abbreviation or variable name. In NR, successPSCell-Config may be defined using the same structure successHO-Config-r17, while it is used for the configuration for reporting information on successful PSCell Change or successful PSCell Addition and all the embodiments pertaining to successPSCell-Config are equally applicable for successHO-Config-r17 used for the configuration for reporting information on successful PSCell Change or successful PSCell Addition.

[0963] In an embodiment, the UE (102) receives the configuration information (for e.g. nw-configInfo is used throughout herein to describe the configuration information described in the background) in a RRC message such as RRC Reconfiguration., RRC Resume or RRC Setup.

[0964] In an embodiment, the UE (102) receives a nw-configInfo for the successful handover configuration such as SuccessHO-Config in NR. An example configuration of nw-configInfo is as below:

[0965] SuccessHO-Config-r17 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0966] thresholdPercentageT304-r17 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0967] thresholdPercentageT310-r17 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0968] thresholdPercentageT312-r17 ENUMERATED {p20, p40, p60, p80, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0969] sourceDAPS-FailureReporting-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0970] nw-configInfo OCTET STRING (SIZE(32)) OPTIONAL, --Need M

[0971] ...

[0972] }

[0973] While storing the SHR, the UE (102) also stores the nw-ConfigInfo. Further, while reporting the nw-ConfigInfo, the UE (102) includes nw-ConfigInfo in the SHR send to the network. In an embodiment, nw-configInfo is configured for Intra-RAT SHR and Inter-RAT SHR. In an embodiment, nw-configInfo is configured for Inter-RAT SHR only.

[0974] In an embodiment, the UE (102) receives the nw-configInfo in the configuration for the UE (102) to report the successful PSCell addition / change information to the network such as successPSCell-Config in NR.

[0975] An example configuration of nw-configInfo is as below.

[0976] SuccessPSCell-Config ::= SEQUENCE {

[0977] thresholdPercentageT304-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0978] thresholdPercentageT310-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0979] thresholdPercentageT312-SCG-r18 ENUMERATED {p20, p40, p60, p80, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0980] nw-configInfo-r18 OCTET STRING (SIZE (32)) OPTIONAL, --Need R

[0981] ...

[0982] ...

[0983] }

[0984] While storing the SPR, the UE (102) also stores the nw-ConfigInfo. Further, while reporting the nw-ConfigInfo, the UE (102) includes nw-ConfigInfo in the SPR send to the network.

[0985] In an embodiment, the UE (102) receives nw-ConfigInfo in the OtherConfig IE in the RRC Reconfiguration message. The IE OtherConfig contains configuration related to miscellaneous other configurations.

[0986] An example OtherConfig information element is as follows:

[0987] -- ASN1START

[0988] -- TAG-OTHERCONFIG-START

[0989] OtherConfig ::= SEQUENCE {

[0990] delayBudgetReportingConfig CHOICE{

[0991] release NULL,

[0992] setup SEQUENCE{

[0993] delayBudgetReportingProhibitTimer ENUMERATED {s0, s0dot4, s0dot8, s1dot6, s3, s6, s12, s30}

[0994] }

[0995] }

[0996] }

[0997] OtherConfig-v1540 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0998] overheatingAssistanceConfig SetupRelease {OverheatingAssistanceConfig} OPTIONAL, -- Need M

[0999] ...

[1000] }

[1001] CandidateServingFreqListNR-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxFreqIDC-r16)) OF ARFCN-ValueNR

[1002] OtherConfig-v1800 ::= SEQUENCE

[1003] {

[1004] nw-configInfo OCTET STRING (SIZE (32)) OPTIONAL, --Need M

[1005] ...

[1006] }

[1007] In an embodiment, the UE (102) may receive nw-Config in MobilityFromNR RRC message. If the UE (102) has received nw-Config in MobilityFromNR RRC message, the UE (102) may include the same in Inter-RAT SHR. In an embodiment, the UE (102) may also include the same in NR RLF report and LTE RLF report which stores the handover failure information. In an embodiment, the network sends nw-Config in MobilityFromNR RRC message only when the target RAT is E-UTRA. Network avoids including nw-Config in MobilityFromNR RRC message, when the target RAT is UTRA

[1008] In an embodiment, the UE (102) receives nw-ConfigInfo in the RRCReconfiguration message or RRCResume message or RRCSetup message. In an embodiment, this may be outside SHR configuration or SPR configuration or OtherConfig.

[1009] In an embodiment, the UE (102) may receive nw-ConfigInfo in a RRC message per cell group; i.e., the UE (102) may receive separate values for nw-Config for each of the cell groups; i.e., the UE (102) may receive a value of nw-Config for MCG and another value of nw-Config for SCG. The UE (102) logs and reports the value received from SCG for at least one of SPR or SCG RACH report and other SCG SON / MDT reports. The UE (102) logs and reports the value received from MCG for at least one of SHR or MCG RACH report or RLF report or CEF report and other MCG SON / MDT reports.

[1010] In an embodiment, the nw-Config for SCG may be received in SRB3.

[1011] In an embodiment, the nw-Config for MCG is configured by MN. In an embodiment, the nw-Config for SCG may be configured by SN. In an embodiment, the nw-Config for SCG may be configured by the MN.

[1012] In an embodiment, the nw-configInfo is received as a Need M parameter. The UE (102) maintains the nw-configInfo and applies the maintained value if it receives SuccessHO-Config without including nw-configInfo. Alternatively, this may be a Need Rparameter. Need codes are as defined in the relevant sections of TS 38.331 V17.4.0. The UE (102) releases the nw-configInfo if it receives SuccessHO-Config without including nw-configInfo.

[1013] In an embodiment, upon handover (for e.g., upon receiving RRCReconfiguration containing Reconfigurationwithsync), the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for MCG. In an embodiment, upon moving to RRC_INACTIVE, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for MCG. In an embodiment, upon resuming RRC connection, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for MCG. In an embodiment, during RRC Reestablishment procedure, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for MCG.

[1014] In an embodiment, upon PSCell change, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG. In an embodiment, upon SCG Release, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG. In an embodiment, upon SCGFailure, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG.

[1015] In an embodiment, upon moving to RRC_INACTIVE, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG. In an embodiment, upon resuming RRC connection, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG. In an embodiment, during RRC Reestablishment procedure, the UE (102) releases nw-Config configured for the SCG.

[1016] In an embodiment, upon RRC Release, nw-Config for both the MCG and SCG are released.

[1017] In an embodiment, 'the UE (102) receives' means 'network sends', where the network may be the gNB (1102) in NR or any such RAN node.

[1018] In an embodiment, in NR, a nw-config which is included in the RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB3, or, alternatively, included within a RRCReconfiguration message embedded in a RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB1 is associated to the SCG.

[1019] In an embodiment, in NR, nw-config included in the RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB1 is associated to the MCG.

[1020] The various actions, acts, blocks, operations, or the like in the method is performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts, blocks, operations, or the like are omitted, added, modified, skipped, or the like without departing from the scope of the proposed method.

[1021] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the scope of the embodiments as described herein.

[1022] It will be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure according to the claims and description in the specification can be realized in the form of hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software.

[1023] Any such software may be stored in non-transitory computer readable storage media. The non-transitory computer readable storage media store one or more computer programs (software modules), the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform a method of the disclosure.

[1024] Any such software may be stored in the form of volatile or non-volatile storage such as, for example, a storage device like read only memory (ROM), whether erasable or rewritable or not, or in the form of memory such as, for example, random access memory (RAM), memory chips, device or integrated circuits or on an optically or magnetically readable medium such as, for example, a compact disk (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk or magnetic tape or the like. It will be appreciated that the storage devices and storage media are various embodiments of non-transitory machine-readable storage that are suitable for storing a computer program or computer programs comprising instructions that, when executed, implement various embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, various embodiments provide a program comprising code for implementing apparatus or a method as claimed in any one of the claims of this specification and a non-transitory machine-readable storage storing such a program.

[1025] While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1.A method performed by user equipment (UE) for managing measurements of a primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell) in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), comprising:receiving a configuration for logging a successful PSCell report (SPR);determining whether the SPR needs to be logged during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change;determining whether a random access is performed during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change;performing one of:storing measurements of a source PSCell in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE when the UE performs the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change; andstoring the measurements of the source PSCell in the SPR until the UE sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message when the UE does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change; andtransmitting the SPR including the measurements upon request to a network apparatus.2.The method of claim 1, comprising:determining synchronization signal block (SSB) measurements and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurements of the source PSCell; andsetting the measurements of the source PSCell to include at least one of a cell level reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), an available signal to interference noise ratio (SINR), and reference signal (RS) index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined.3.The method of claim 1, comprising:determining whether the random access is performed during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change of a target PSCell; andstoring measurements of the target PSCell in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102)4.The method of claim 3, comprising:determining SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements of the target PSCell; andsetting the measurements of the target PSCell to include at least one of the RSRP, the RSRQ, the SINR, and the RS index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined.5.The method of claim 1, comprising:receiving the RRC reconfiguration message that includes the reconfiguration with sync command from the network apparatus, wherein the target PSCell is deactivated; andskipping logging of the SPR when the target PSCell is deactivated.6.A user equipment (UE) for managing measurements of a primary secondary cell (PSCell) in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), comprising:transceiver;memory storing one or more computer programs; andprocessor coupled to the memory and the transceiver, wherein the processor is configured to: receive a configuration for logging a successful PSCell report (SPR);determine whether the SPR needs to be logged during a PSCell addition or a PSCell change;determine whether a random access is performed during the PSCell change or the PSCell addition;perform one of:storing measurements of a source PSCell in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE when the UE performs the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change; andstoring the measurements of the source PSCell in the SPR until the UE sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message when the UE does not perform the random access during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change; andtransmit the SPR including the measurements upon request to a network apparatus.7.The UE of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to:determine synchronization signal block (SSB) measurements and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurements of the source PSCell; andset the measurements of the source PSCell to include at least one of a cell level reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), an available signal to interference noise ratio (SINR), and reference signal (RS) index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined, up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102).8.The UE of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to:determine whether the random access is performed during the PSCell addition or the PSCell change of a target PSCell; andstore measurements of the target PSCell in the SPR up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE9.The UE of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to:determine SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements of the target PSCell; andset the measurements of the target PSCell to include at least one of the RSRP, the RSRQ, the SINR, and the RS index results in the SPR based on the SSB measurements and the CSI-RS measurements determined, up to the moment the random access is completed by the UE (102).10.The UE of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to:receive the RRC reconfiguration message that includes the reconfiguration with sync command from the network apparatus, wherein the target PSCell is deactivated; andskip logging of the SPR when the target PSCell is deactivated.

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