Enhanced mode 1 resource allocation for sl positioning

Abstract

Systems and methods related to requesting sidelink (SL) Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) resources are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending, to a network node, an indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources and receiving, from the network node, information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE. In this manner, positioning / ranging Quality of Service (QoS) can be guaranteed by having an indication from the UE that the resource request is for positioning / ranging purpose.

Description

ENHANCED MODE 1 RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR SL POSITIONINGRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63 / 513,759, filed July 14, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a cellular communications system and, more specifically, to sidelink positioning reference signal resource allocation in a cellular communications system.BACKGROUNDPositioning in Uu

[0003] Positioning has been a topic in Long Term Evolution (LTE) standardization since 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 9. The primary objective is to fulfill regulatory requirements for emergency call positioning. Positioning in New Radio (NR) is proposed to be supported by the architecture shown in Figure 1. The Location Management Function (LMF) is the location node in NR. There are also interactions between the location node and the gNodeB (gNB) via the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) protocol. The interaction between the gNB and the User Equipment (UE) is supported via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol.

[0004] In the legacy LTE standards, the following techniques are supported:• Enhanced Cell Identity (ID). Essentially, cell ID information to associate the UE to the serving area of a serving cell, and then additional information to determine a finer granularity position.• Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). GNSS information retrieved by the UE, supported by assistance information provided to the device from Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC).• Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA). The UE estimates the time difference of reference signals from different base stations and sends to the E-SMLC for multilateration.• Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UTDOA). The UE is requested to transmit a specific waveform that is detected by multiple location measurement units (e.g., an evolved NodeB (eNB)) at known positions. These measurements are forwarded to E-SMLC for multilateration.• Sensor methods such as Biometric pressure sensor which provides vertical position of the device and Inertial Motion Unit (IMU) which provides displacement.

[0005] NR supports the following Radio Access Technology (RAT)-dependent positioning methods:• DL-TDQA: The Downlink (DL) Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning method makes use of the DL Reference Signal Timing Difference (RSTD) (and optionally DL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)) of downlink signals received from multiple Transmission Points (TPs), at the UE. The UE measures the DL RSTD (and optionally DL PRS RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to locate the UE in relation to the neighboring TPs.• Multi- RTT : The Multi-Round Trip Time (RTT) positioning method makes use of the UE Receive (Rx)-Transmit (Tx) measurements and DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple Transmission Reception Points (TRPs), measured by the UE, and the measured gNB Rx-Tx measurements and Uplink (UL) Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) RSRP at multiple TRPs of uplink signals transmitted from UE.• UL-TDQA: The UL TDOA positioning method makes use of the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) at multiple Reception Points (RPs) of uplink signals transmitted from UE. The RPs measure the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE.• DL-AoD: The DL Angle of Departure (AoD) positioning method makes use of the measured DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TPs, at the UE. The UE measures the DL PRS RSRP of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to locate the UE in relation to the neighboring TPs.• UL-AoA: The UL Angle of Arrival (Ao A) positioning method makes use of the measured azimuth and zenith of arrival at multiple RPs of uplink signals transmitted from the UE. The RPs measure Azimuth AoA (A- Ao A) and Zenith AoA (Z-AoA) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE.• NR-ECID: NR Enhanced Cell ID (NR E-CID) positioning refers to techniques which use additional UE measurements and / or NR radio resource and other measurements to improve the UE location estimate.

[0006] The positioning modes can be categorized in the following three categories:• UE-Assisted: The UE performs measurements with or without assistance from the network and sends these measurements to the E-SMLC where the position calculation may take place.• UE-Based: The UE performs measurements and calculates its own position with assistance from the network.• Standalone: The UE performs measurements and calculates its own position without network assistance.Sidelink Transmissions in NR

[0007] Sidelink transmissions over NR are specified for Release 16. These are enhancements of the ProSe (PROximity-based SErvices) specified for LTE. Four new enhancements are particularly introduced to NR sidelink transmissions as follows:• Support for unicast and groupcast transmissions are added in NR sidelink. For unicast and groupcast, the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) is introduced for a receiver UE to send the decoding status to a transmitter UE.• Grant-free transmissions, which are adopted in NR uplink transmissions, are also provided in NR sidelink transmissions, to improve the latency performance.• To alleviate resource collisions among different sidelink transmissions launched by different UEs, it enhances channel sensing and resource selection procedures, which also lead to a new design of Physical Sidelink Common Control Channel (PSCCH).• To achieve a high connection density, congestion control and thus the Quality of Service (QoS) management is supported in NR sidelink transmissions.

[0008] To enable the above enhancements, new physical channels and reference signals are introduced in NR (available in LTE before):• PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel, SL version of PDSCH): The PSSCH is transmitted by a sidelink transmitter UE, which conveys sidelink transmission data, System Information Blocks (SIBs) for Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration, and a part of the Sidelink Control Information (SCI).• PSFCH (Physical Sidelink, SL version of PUCCH): The PSFCH is transmitted by a sidelink receiver UE for unicast and groupcast, which conveys 1 bit information over 1Resource Block (RB) for the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) and the negative ACK (NACK). In addition, Channel State Information (CSI) is carried in the Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) over the PSSCH instead of the PSFCH.• PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Common Control Channel, SL version of PDCCH): When the traffic to be sent to a receiver UE arrives at a transmitter UE, a transmitter UE should first send the PSCCH, which conveys a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information, SL version of DCI) to be decoded by any UE for the channel sensing purpose, including the reserved time-frequency resources for transmissions, Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) pattern and antenna port, etc.• Sidelink Primary / Secondary Synchronization Signal (S-PSS / S-SSS): Similar to downlink transmissions in NR, in sidelink transmissions, primary and secondary synchronization signals (called S-PSS and S-SSS, respectively) are supported. Through detecting the S-PSS and S-SSS, a UE is able to identify the Sidelink Synchronization Identity (SSID) from the UE sending the S-PSS / S-SSS. Through detecting the S-PSS / S-SSS, a UE is therefore able to know the characteristics of the UE transmitter the S-PSS / S-SSS. A series of process of acquiring timing and frequency synchronization together with SSIDs of UEs is called initial cell search. Note that the UE sending the S-PSS / S-SSS may not be necessarily involved in sidelink transmissions, and a node (UE / eNB / gNB) sending the S-PSS / S-SSS is called a synchronization source. There are 2 S-PSS sequences and 336 S-SSS sequences forming a total of 672 SSIDs in a cell.• Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH): The PSBCH is transmitted along with the S-PSS / S-SSS as a synchronization signal / PSBCH block (SSB). The SSB has the same numerology as PSCCH / PSSCH on that carrier, and an SSB should be transmitted within the bandwidth of the configured Bandwidth Part (BWP). The PSBCH conveys information related to synchronization, such as the Direct Frame Number (DFN), indication of the slot and symbol level time resources for sidelink transmissions, in-coverage indicator, etc. The SSB is transmitted periodically at every 160 milliseconds (ms).• DMRS, Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PT-RS), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSIRS): These physical reference signals supported by NR downlink / uplink transmissions are also adopted by sidelink transmissions. Similarly, the PT-RS is only applicable for Frequency Range 2 (FR2) transmission.

[0009] Another new feature is the two-stage SCI. This a version of the DCI for SL. Unlike the DCI, only part (first stage) of the SCI is sent on the PSCCH. This part is used for channel sensingpurposes (including the reserved time-frequency resources for transmissions, DMRS pattern and antenna port, etc.) and can be read by all UEs while the remaining (second stage) scheduling and control information such as a 8-bits source identity (ID) and a 16-bits destination ID, New Data Indicator (NDI), Redundancy Version (RV), and HARQ process ID is sent on the PSSCH to be decoded by the receiver UE.

[0010] Similar as for ProSe in LTE, NR sidelink transmissions have the following two modes of resource allocations:• Mode 1: Sidelink resources are scheduled by a gNB.• Mode 2: The UE autonomously selects sidelink resources from a (pre-)configured sidelink resource pool(s) based on the channel sensing mechanism.

[0011] For the in-coverage UE, a gNB can be configured to adopt Mode 1 or Mode 2. For the out-of-coverage UE, only Mode 2 can be adopted.

[0012] As in LTE, scheduling over the sidelink in NR is done in different ways for Mode 1 and Mode 2.

[0013] Mode 1 supports the following two kinds of grants:• Dynamic grant: When the traffic to be sent over sidelink arrives at a transmitter UE, this UE should launch the four-message exchange procedure to request sidelink resources from a gNB (SR on UL, grant, Buffer Status Report (BSR) on UL, grant for data on SL sent to UE). During the resource request procedure, a gNB may allocate a Sidelink Radio Network Temporary Identifier (SL-RNTI) to the transmitter UE. If this sidelink resource request is granted by a gNB, then a gNB indicates the resource allocation for the PSCCH and the PSSCH in the Downlink Control Information (DCI) conveyed by PDCCH with Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) scrambled with the SL-RNTI. When a transmitter UE receives such a DCI, a transmitter UE can obtain the grant only if the scrambled CRC of DCI can be successfully solved by the assigned SL-RNTI. A transmitter UE then indicates the timefrequency resources and the transmission scheme of the allocated PSSCH in the PSCCH, and launches the PSCCH and the PSSCH on the allocated resources for sidelink transmissions. When a grant is obtained from a gNB, a transmitter UE can only transmit a single Transport Block (TB). As a result, this kind of grant is suitable for traffic with a loose latency requirement.• Configured grant: For the traffic with a strict latency requirement, performing the four- message exchange procedure to request sidelink resources may induce unacceptable latency. In this case, prior to the traffic arrival, a transmitter UE may perform the four- message exchange procedure and request a set of resources. If a grant can be obtained froma gNB, then the requested resources are reserved in a periodic manner. Upon traffic arriving at a transmitter UE, this UE can launch the PSCCH and the PSSCH on the upcoming resource occasion. In fact, this kind of grant is also known as grant-free transmissions.

[0014] In both dynamic grant and configured grant, a sidelink receiver UE cannot receive the DCI (since it is addressed to the transmitter UE), and therefore a receiver UE should perform blind decoding to identify the presence of PSCCH and find the resources for the PSSCH through the SCI.

[0015] When a transmitter UE launches the PSCCH, CRC is also inserted in the SCI without any scrambling.Mode 2 Resource Allocation

[0016] In the Mode 2 resource allocation, when traffic arrives at a transmitter UE, this transmitter UE should autonomously select resources for the PSCCH and the PSSCH. To further minimize the latency of the feedback HARQ ACK7NACK transmissions and subsequently retransmissions, a transmitter UE may also reserve resources for PSCCH / PSSCH for retransmissions. To further enhance the probability of successful TB decoding at one shot and thus suppress the probability to perform retransmissions, a transmitter UE may repeat the TB transmission along with the initial TB transmission. This mechanism is also known as blind retransmission. As a result, when traffic arrives at a transmitter UE, then this transmitter UE should select resources for the following transmissions:1) The PSSCH associated with the PSCCH for initial transmission and blind retransmissions.2) The PSSCH associated with the PSCCH for retransmissions.

[0017] Since each transmitter UE in sidelink transmissions should autonomously select resources for the above transmissions, how to prevent different transmitter UEs from selecting the same resources turns out to be a critical issue in Mode 2. A particular resource selection procedure is therefore imposed to Mode 2 based on channel sensing. The channel sensing algorithm involves measuring RSRP on different subchannels and requires knowledge of the different UEs power levels of DMRS on the PSSCH or the DMRS on the PSCCH depending on the configuration. This information is known only after receiver SCI launched by (all) other UEs. The sensing and selection algorithm is rather complex.

[0018] As described in clause 6.3.2.2 in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 37.985 V17.1.1, Mode 2 is for UE autonomous resource selection. Its basic structure is of a UE sensing, within a (preconfigured resource pool, which resources are not in use by other UEs with higher-priority traffic, and choosing an appropriate amount of such resources for its own transmissions. Having selectedsuch resources, the UE can transmit and re-transmit in them a certain number of times, or until a cause of resource reselection is triggered.

[0019] The Mode 2 sensing procedure can select and then reserve resources for a variety of purposes reflecting that NR Vehicle to Anything (V2X) introduces sidelink HARQ in support of unicast and groupcast in the physical layer. It may reserve resources to be used for a number of blind (re-)transmissions or HARQ-feedback-based (re-)transmissions of a transport block, in which case the resources are indicated in the SCI(s) scheduling the transport block. Alternatively, it may select resources to be used for the initial transmission of a later transport block, in which case the resources are indicated in an SCI scheduling a current transport block, in a manner similar to the LTE-V2X scheme (clause 5.2.2.2). Finally, an initial transmission of a transport block can be performed after sensing and resource selection, but without a reservation.

[0020] The first-stage SCIs transmitted by UEs on PSCCH indicate the time-frequency resources in which the UE will transmit a PSSCH. These SCI transmissions are used by sensing UEs to maintain a record of which resources have been reserved by other UEs in the recent past. When a resource selection is triggered (e.g., by traffic arrival or a re-selection trigger), the UE considers a sensing window which starts a (pre-)configured time in the past and finishes shortly before the trigger time. The window can be either 1100 ms or 100 ms wide, with the intention that the 100 ms option is particularly useful for aperiodic traffic, and 1100 ms particularly for periodic traffic. A sensing UE also measures the SL-RSRP in the slots of the sensing window, which implies the level of interference which would be caused and experienced if the sensing UE were to transmit in them. In NR-V2X, SL-RSRP is a (pre-)configurable measurement of either PSSCH- RSRP or PSCCH-RSRP.

[0021] The sensing UE then selects resources for its (re-)transmission(s) from within a resource selection window. The window starts shortly after the trigger for (re-)selection of resources, and cannot be longer than the remaining latency budget of the packet due to be transmitted. Reserved resources in the selection window with SL-RSRP above a threshold are excluded from being candidates by the sensing UE, with the threshold set according to the priorities of the traffic of the sensing and transmitting UEs. Thus, a higher priority transmission from a sensing UE can occupy resources which are reserved by a transmitting UE with sufficiently low SL-RSRP and sufficiently lower-priority traffic.

[0022] If the set of resources in the selection window which have not been excluded is less than a certain proportion of the available resources within the window, the SL-RSRP exclusion threshold is relaxed in 3 decibel (dB) steps. The proportion is set by (pre-)configuration to 20%, 35%, or 50% for each traffic priority. The UE selects an appropriate amount of resources randomlyfrom this non-excluded set. The resources selected are not in general periodic. Up to three resources can be indicated in each SCI transmission, which can each be independently located in time and frequency. When the indicated resources are for semi-persistent transmission of another transport block, the range of supported periodicities is expanded compared to LTE-V2X, in order to cover the broader set of envisioned use cases in NR-V2X.

[0023] Shortly before transmitting in a reserved resource, a sensing UE re-evaluates the set of resources from which it can select, to check whether its intended transmission is still suitable, taking account of late-arriving SCIs due, typically, to an aperiodic higher-priority service starting to transmit after the end of the original sensing window. If the reserved resources would not be part of the set for selection at this time (73), then new resources are selected from the updated resource selection window. The cut-off time 73 is long enough before transmission to allow the UE to perform the calculations relating to resource re-selection.

[0024] The timeline of the sensing and resource (re-)selection windows with respect to the time of trigger n, are shown in Figure 6.3.2.2-2(a) in TR 37.985 V 17.1.1 (reproduced herein as Figure 3), and the effect of the possibility of re-evaluation before first use of the reservation in Figure 6.3.2.2-2(b) in TR 37.985 V 17.1.1 (reproduced herein as Figure 4).

[0025] There are a number of triggers for resource re-selection, several of which are similar to ETE-V2X in Clause 5.2.2.2 in TR 37.985 V 17.1.1. In addition, there is the possibility to configure a resource pool with a pre-emption function designed to help accommodate aperiodic sidelink traffic, so that a UE reselects all the resources it has already reserved in a particular slot if another nearby UE with higher priority indicates it will transmit in any of them, implying a high- priority aperiodic traffic arrival at the other UE, and the SL-RSRP is above the exclusion threshold. The application of pre-emption can apply between all priorities of data traffic, or only when the priority of the pre-empting traffic is higher than a threshold and higher than that of the pre-empted traffic. A UE does not need to consider the possibility of pre-emption later than time 73 before the particular slot containing the reserved resources.

[0026] Figure 2 is a reproduction of Figure 6.3.2.2-1 from TR 37.985 V 17.1.1, which illustrates a summary of sensing and resource (re-)selection procedures in TR 37.985 V 17.1.1.

[0027] Figure 3 is a reproduction of Figure 6.3.2.2-2(a) from TR 37.985 V 17.1.1, which illustrates a timeline of sensing and resource (re-) selection procedure triggered at time n, without re-evaluation before (m-T3). Its first reserved resource is at time m in TR 37.985 V 17.1.1.

[0028] Figure 4 is a reproduction of Figure 6.3.2.2-2(b) from TR 37.985 V 17.1.1, which illustrates a timeline of sensing and resource (re-)selection procedure originally triggered at time n, which has a first reserved resource at time m, when re-evaluation occurring at m-T3 determinesthe resources are no longer selectable. The new re-evaluation cut-off becomes (m'-T3) in TR 37.985 V 17.1.1.SL Synchronization References and Priorities

[0029] As described in clause 6.2.2.1 of TS 37.985 v 17.1.1, there are four basic sources, or references, from which a V2X UE can derive its own synchronization: GNSS, a gNB / eNB, another UE transmitting SLSS (here termed a SyncRef UE), or its own internal clock. In general, GNSS or eNB / gNB are regarded as the highest-quality sources. SyncRef UEs are distinguished between those which are directly synchronized to GNSS or a gNB / eNB, those which are 1 further step away, and those which are >2 further steps away from GNSS or gNB / eNB. As a last resort, a UE unable to find any other synchronization reference will use its own internal clock to transmit S- SSB. The V2X synchronization procedure defines a hierarchy or set of priorities among such synchronization references and requires all UEs to continuously search the hierarchy to get to the highest-quality one they can find. The general preference order is as follows:Level 1. Either GNSS or eNB / gNB, according to (pre-)configuration.Level 2. A SyncRef UE directly synchronized to a Level 1 source.Level 3. A SyncRef UE synchronized to a Level 2 source, i.e. indirectly synchronized to a Level 1 source.Level 4. Whichever of GNSS or eNB / gNB was not (pre-)configured as the Level 1 source.Level 5. A SyncRef UE directly synchronized to a Level 4 source.Level 6. A SyncRef UE synchronized to a Level 5 source, i.e. indirectly synchronized to a Level 4 source.Level 7. Any other SyncRef UE.Level 8. UE's internal clock.

[0030] The NR V2X scheme is intended to allow the merging of otherwise-separate hierarchies derived from GNSS and gNB / eNB, so that a UE is able to move between nearby such hierarchies without loss of sidelink service. However, since it is possible that a gNB / eNB does not itself have synchronization to GNSS, use of Levels 4-6 can be disabled when GNSS is used as Level 1, so that there is no deviation from the hierarchy being derived from GNSS.

[0031] As described in clause 6.2.2.2.1 of TS 37.985 v 17.1.1, the Sidelink synchronization signal identity (SLSSID) itself conveys information about the synchronization source of the transmitting UE. In general, the further a UE is away from a high-quality source of GNSS or gNB / eNB, the lower quality will be its own synchronization and thus the quality of an SLSS ittransmits. There are a series of association rules among SLSS IDs, designed to allow the identification, and propagation through the system of, high-quality synchronization sources. The operation of this procedure is essentially the same as LTE-V2X, described in Clause 5.1.2.2.1, with the main difference that there are 672 SLSS IDs in NR-V2X, divided into 0, 1, ..., 335 for in-coverage indication and 336, ..., 671 for out-of-coverage indication. The special SLSS IDs of 0, 336, and 337 in NR-V2X are used equivalently to 0, 168, and 169 respectively in LTE-V2X.SL based Positioning in 3GPP Rel-18

[0032] In 3GPP Rel-18, SL positioning is being studied. The following study objective has been defined in RP-213561 regarding SL positioning protocol architecture and signaling procedures:Study of positioning architecture and signalling procedures (e.g. configuration, measurement reporting, etc) to enable sidelink positioning covering both UE based and network based positioning

[0033] The studies need to be performed for the UE (i.e., the target UE which needs to be positioned) in various scenarios with different network coverage, including full coverage, partial coverage and out of coverage, as shown in Figure 5.

[0034] In Figure 5, the assisting UE (may be also referred to as the reference UE) provides SL measurement assistance to the target UE.

[0035] For a target UE out of coverage, there may be different options for the target UE to get positioned. In one option, the target UE may choose to connect to the network via a SL UE-to- Network (U2N) relay UE. In this case, the network can be involved in the positioning procedure for the target UE. In another option, the target UE may apply UE based positioning by involving an assisting UE. If there is not any assisting UE found in the proximity, the target UE can reach an assisting UE in further range via a UE-to-UE (U2U) relay UE.

[0036] The same positioning methods including DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, Multi-RTT, etc. are expected to be also applicable for SL based positioning. For these methods, multiple assisting / reference UEs would be required, as shown in the Figure 6 (SL positioning and ranging; Left illustrates TDOA and Right illustrates Multi-RTT).

[0037] For SL based positioning, certain method such as TDOA may require tight sync among multiple assisting / reference UEs so that the transmissions of positioning reference signals from these reference UEs can arrive at the target UE in synchronized fashion. This can improve both positioning accuracy and avoid interference among reference UEs.SUMMARY

[0038] Systems and methods related to requesting sidelink (SL) Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) resources are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending, to a network node, an indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources and receiving, from the network node, information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE. In this manner, positioning / ranging Quality of Service (QoS) can be guaranteed by having an indication from the UE that the resource request is for positioning / ranging purpose.

[0039] In one embodiment, the indication is an implicit indication. In another embodiment, the indication is an explicit indication.

[0040] In one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving, from the network node, information that configures the UE with one or more scheduling request (SR) resources for requesting SL PRS resources, wherein sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending a SR on a SR resource from among the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are associated to one or more SR configurations. In one embodiment, the SR resource is a SR resource that is dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the SR resource is a SR resource that is: in the frequency domain, associated to both requesting SL PRS resources and requesting SL communication resources; and in the time domain, comprises a plurality of time occasions including a first set of time occasions that are assigned to requesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the plurality of time occasions of the SR resource further includes a second set of time occasions that are assigned to requesting SL communication resources. In one embodiment, the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources.

[0041] In one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving, from the network node, information that configures the UE with either two or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources for two or more positioning requirements or two or more SR configurations for requesting SL PRS resources for requesting SL PRS resources for two or more positioning requirements. Sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending a SR either: on a SR resource from among the two or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources that corresponds to a desired positioning requirement; or using an SR configuration from among the two or more SR configurations for requesting SL PRS resources that corresponds to the desired positioning requirement.

[0042] In one embodiment, sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending the indication during a random access procedure.

[0043] In one embodiment, sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting a random access preamble on a random access channel resource that indicates that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources.

[0044] In one embodiment, sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting, to the network node, a random access channel message during a random access procedure, the random access channel message comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the random access channel message is MsgA of a 2-step random access channel procedure. In one embodiment, the random access channel message is Msg3 of a 4-step random access channel procedure. In one embodiment, the indication is carried by a MAC sub-header of a MAC CE within the random access channel message, the indication is carried by a MAC CE payload of a MAC CE (e.g., SL-BSR MAC CE or a new MAC CE) within the random access channel message, the indication is carried via a specific logical channel identity within a MAC (sub)PDU, or the indication is carried in an RRC message.

[0045] In one embodiment, the method further comprises sending a SR to the network node and receiving an uplink grant from the network node responsive to sending the SR, wherein sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting an uplink transmission using the uplink grant, the uplink transmission comprising the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the indication is carried by a MAC subheader of a MAC CE within the uplink transmission, the indication is carried by a MAC CE payload of a MAC CE (e.g., SL-BSR MAC CE or a new MAC CE) within the uplink transmission, the indication is carried via a specific logical channel identity within a MAC (sub)PDU, or the indication is carried in an RRC message.

[0046] In one embodiment, sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting, to the network node, a MAC CE comprising the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the indication comprised in the MAC CE comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures. In one embodiment, the indication comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE. In one embodiment, the MAC CE further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

[0047] In one embodiment, sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting, to the network node, a SR comprising the indication that the UE isrequesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the indication comprised in the SR comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures. In one embodiment, the indication comprised in the SR comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE. In one embodiment, the SR further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

[0048] In one embodiment, sending the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting, to the network node, an RRC message comprising the indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources. In one embodiment, the indication comprised in the RRC message comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures. In one embodiment, the indication comprised in the RRC message comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE. In one embodiment, the RRC further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

[0049] Corresponding embodiments of a UE are also disclosed.

[0050] Embodiments of a method performed by a network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a network node comprises receiving, from a UE, an indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources and sending, to the UE, information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE.

[0051] In one embodiment, sending the information that assigns the one or more SL PRS resources to the UE comprises sending the information in a DO, MAC CE, or RRC message.

[0052] In one embodiment, sending the information that assigns the one or more SL PRS resources to the UE comprises sending the information in a DCI, the DCI further comprising information that assigns SL resources to the UE.

[0053] In one embodiment, the indication is an implicit indication.

[0054] In one embodiment, the indication is an explicit indication.

[0055] In one embodiment, the indication is received via a scheduling request.

[0056] In one embodiment, the indication is received via a random access preamble or via a random access channel message.

[0057] In one embodiment, the indication is received via a MAC CE.

[0058] In one embodiment, the indication is received via an RRC message.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0060] Figure 1 illustrates the positioning architecture defined in 3GPP NR specifications;

[0061] Figure 2 is a reproduction of Figure 6.3.2.2-1 from 3GPP TR 37.985 V 17.1.1;

[0062] Figure 3 is a reproduction of Figure 6.3.2.2-2(a) from 3GPP TR 37.985 V 17.1.1;

[0063] Figure 4 is a reproduction of Figure 6.3.2.2-2(b) from TR 37.985 V 17.1.1;

[0064] Figure 5 illustrates different network coverage scenarios studied in 3GPP for positioning;

[0065] Figure 6 illustrates sidelink (SL) positioning and ranging;

[0066] Figures 7A-7C illustrate the operation of a SL User Equipment (UE) and a network node (e.g., a base station such as, e.g., a gNB) in accordance with at least some of the embodiments described herein;

[0067] Figure 8 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0068] Figure 9 shows a User Equipment device (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0069] Figure 10 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0070] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a host, which may be an embodiment of the host of Figure 8, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure described herein;

[0071] Figure 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized; and

[0072] Figure 13 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of theseconcepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0074] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0075] There currently exist certain challenge(s). Sidelink (SL) based positioning is being introduced in 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 18. The existing New Radio (NR) positioning mechanisms are expected to be reused for SL positioning as much as possible.

[0076] Regarding SL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) resource allocation, it has been agreed to support both Mode 1 Resource Allocation (RA) like operation and Mode 2 RA like operation. For the former, it is referred to as Scheme 1 RA. For the latter, it is referred to as Scheme 2 RA. It is up to network configuration on whether a User Equipment (UE) shall apply Scheme 1 RA or Scheme 2 RA for PRS resource allocation. The related RANI agreement (agreed in RAN1#112) is shown below:Agreement• A UE can be configured to perform either resource allocation Scheme 1 or Scheme 2, applicable to all resource pools (dedicated or shared resource pools).• SL PRS unicast / groupcast / broadcast can occur in either a shared or a dedicated resource pool.

[0077] Scheme 1 RA is assumed to reuse SL Mode 1 RA framework and procedure as the baseline. For Mode 1 RA operation, a SL UE needs to first send a Scheduling Request (SR) signaling to the gNodeB (gNB) indicating arrival of new data. After that, the gNB may provide a small uplink (UL) grant to allow the UE to send an SL Buffer Status Report (BSR) to provide more detailed information including SL buffer status. Based on that, the gNB may further provide a large SL grant to the UE to empty its SL buffer. It will not work to directly reuse the exact same Mode 1 RA signaling and procedure for Scheme 1 RA. The following issue needs to be addressed:• Issue 1 : How can the gNodeB (gNB) identify whether a received SL-SR and / or SL-BSR is intended for requesting SL-PRS resource rather requesting SL communication resource?This is because the existing SL-SR and SL-BSR were designed for SL UE to request SL communication resources. In order to indicate scheduling request for SL PRS resources, the existing SL-SR and SL-BSR need to be enhanced. Therefore, it is necessary to study this issue and develop corresponding solutions.

[0078] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Systems and methods are disclosed herein that provide various signalingoptions and procedures to enhance Mode 1 / Scheme 1 RA operation for SL positioning. Embodiments of the present disclosure may include any one or more of the following features:• UE uses a specific Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) SR resource (also referred to herein as a “PUCCH-SR” resource) to indicate to the network node (e.g., gNB) that UE requests SL PRS resources.• UE uses a specific Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resource to indicate to the network node (e.g., gNB) that UE requests SL PRS resources.• UE includes an indicator in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling to indicate to the network node (e.g., gNB) that UE requests SL PRS resources.• A MAC CE is defined for a SL UE to indicate to the network node (e.g., gNB) that the UE requests SL PRS resources. The MAC CE may, for example, be called a “SL PRS request indicator MAC CE”, but this name is only an example. The MAC CE is associated with a specific Logical Channel Identity (LCID). The MAC CE may include any one or any combination of two or more of the following information: o One or multiple indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or multiple positioning sessions or procedures,E.g., wherein each indicator is associated with a positioning session or procedure; o One or multiple indices of positioning sessions or procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE; o One or multiple time periods which indicate the time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE,E.g., wherein each time period is associated with a positioning session or procedure;E.g., There may be a common time period which is applicable to a subset of positioning sessions / procedures (where this subset includes two or more positioning sessions / procedure) or all positioning sessions / procedures.• Upon reception of a signaling (SR or a MAC CE) indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources, network actions (e.g., gNB actions) are defined.

[0079] Systems and methods are disclosed herein for distinguishing a UE resource request between communication and positioning / ranging. Positioning / ranging resource can be prioritized by the network node over other SL resources upon getting indication from UE that the resourcerequest is for ranging / positioning purpose as, for example, ranging / positioning application can have strict latency requirement. Hence, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a mechanism to the network (e.g., to the network node) to manage and prioritize the SL resource allocation.

[0080] Systems and methods are also disclosed herein for triggering a Scheduling Request for SL PSR resources.

[0081] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s):• Guarantee Positioning / Ranging Quality of Service (QoS) by having an indication from UE that the resource requirement is for positioning / ranging purpose;• The network can prioritize and manage SL PRS resources efficiently.

[0082] The embodiments are described in the context of NR, i.e., target UE and reference / assisting UE are deployed in a same or different NR cells. The link between a target UE and an assisting UE may be based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) sidelink, NR sidelink, or any other short-range communication technology such as IEEE 802.11 (commonly known as “WiFi”). The Uu connection between the target UE or the reference UE and base station may be LTE Uu or NR Uu. Note, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized in other contexts (i.e., are not limited to NR).

[0083] The terms “location server”, “positioning node”, “Location Management Function (LMF)”, “Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC)” can be used inter-changeably, at least in some examples.

[0084] The term “time resource” as used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, Transmission Time Interval (TTI), interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, etc.

[0085] In the embodiments described herein, various conditions and / or events (sometimes denoted here as “conditions / events”) are defined for a SL connection between two SL UEs to reflect the stability status of the SL connection. When one of the conditions / events is met, the UEs can send a signaling to the LMF or the positioning server indicating that the SL connection is not stable for the moment so that the required SL positioning measurements cannot be completed within the required time period. The SL connection may be in any SL cast type including unicast, groupcast, or broadcast. In case of SL unicast, the connection corresponds to a unicast connection between the two UEs. In case of SL groupcast or SL broadcast, the two UEs are not required to establish a unicast link. The two UEs can exchange data / information via SL transmissionsaddressed to a groupcast / broadcast specific Destination L2 ID, i.e., a L2 ID assigned / provisioned to SL groupcast or broadcast for SL positioning.

[0086] Depending on network coverage status of a target UE i.e., in coverage or out of coverage, a positioning procedure / positioning session may involve the target UE, one or multiple reference UEs (also referred to as anchor UEs), one positioning server UE, or an LMF.

[0087] In the embodiments described herein, the term “gNB” is used to represent the Radio Access Network (RAN) node. The gNB, the cell, or the entity controlling the cell are interchangeably applied between each other. Note that a gNB is only one example of a RAN node. Other examples include a gNB-Central Unit (CU), a gNB-CU-Control Plane (CP), a gNB-CU- User Plane (UP), and a gNB -Distributed Unit (DU). Also, for contexts other NR, the RAN node may be any suitable RAN node for the respective Radio Access Technology (RAT).UE Signaling and Actions for Requesting SL PRS Resources

[0088] In a first embodiment, a SL UE is configured with one or multiple PUCCH SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources. These PUCCH SR resources may be associated with one or multiple PUCCH SR configurations.

[0089] If the UE is involved in a SL positioning session / procedure and the UE is triggered to perform SL PRS transmission and not cancelled, while the UE MAC layer has no SL PRS resources allocated, the UE triggers a SR for SL PSR resources. In this case, the UE sends a SR to the gNB using a PUCCH SR resource configured for requesting SL PRS resources.

[0090] As an additional embodiment, the UE sends an SR to the gNB using a dedicated PUCCH SR resource (dedicated in frequency domain or time domain) for requesting SL PRS resources. This PUCCH SR resource is not used for any other purpose, e.g., requesting SL resources for SL communication.

[0091] As an additional embodiment, the UE sends an SR to the gNB using a PUCCH SR resource for requesting SL PRS resources. This PUCCH SR resource in frequency is associated with both SL PRS and SL communication, while its time occasions are split between SL PRS and SL communication. In an example, different transmission periodicities for the SR resource are assigned to SL PRS and SL communication separately. Upon reception of the SR transmission with this SR resource, based on the transmission occasion, the gNB identifies the SR transmission periodicity associated with the transmission occasion. The gNB can further identify the SR transmission purpose, i.e., for requesting SL PRS resources or requesting SL communication resources. In another example, among all time occasions, some occasions are assigned / reserved to the UE for requesting SL PRS resources, while some occasions are assigned / reserved to the UEfor requesting SL communication resources. For example, time occasions with odd indices are assigned to the UE for requesting SL PRS resources, while all other occasions with even indices are assigned to the UE for requesting SL communication resources.

[0092] In a second embodiment, the SL UE may be configured with different PUCCH SR resources (or SR configurations) for requesting SL PRS resources for positioning sessions / procedures with different positioning (QoS) requirements. For example, PUCCH SR resource 1 is mapped to SL positioning sessions / procedures with high positioning requirement (e.g., positioning accuracy < X meters). PUCCH SR resource 2 is mapped to SL positioning sessions / procedures with medium positioning requirement (e.g., positioning accuracy < 2X meters). PUCCH SR resource 3 is mapped to SL positioning sessions / procedures with low positioning requirement (e.g., positioning accuracy < 3X meters). In this case, different positioning sessions / procedures may be associated with different QoS priority values. Each priority value is associated with a different PUCCH resource.

[0093] When the UE is triggered to send an SR to the gNB for requesting SL PRS resource, according to the positioning requirements of the positioning session, the UE uses the corresponding PUCCH SR resource to send the SR to the gNB.

[0094] In a third embodiment, the UE is triggered to send an SR to the gNB for requesting SL PRS resource; however, the UE has not obtained any valid PUCCH SR resource. This may be because either the UE has no PUCCH resource configured for the positioning session, or the UE has PUCCH resources configured for the positioning session, however none of these PUCCH resources is valid (i.e., the UE has transmitted the SR using these resources up to a maximum number of times, e.g., configured by the RRC parameter sr-TransMax, however, the UE has not been assigned with any SL PRS resources by the gNB). In this case, the UE may trigger a RACH procedure towards the gNB for requesting SL PRS resources. This RACH procedure is also referred to as a RA-SR procedure. The UE applies one of the below options to indicate the RA- SR’s purpose (i.e., requesting SL PRS resource) to the gNB.

[0095] Option 1 : The UE uses a specific PRACH resource to indicate the RA-SR’ s purpose (i.e., requesting SL PRS resource). The PRACH resource may be a specific PRACH preamble, a specific RACH occasion (RO) in frequency domain or time domain. This specific PRACH resource is configured to the UE by the gNB using a RRC signaling, a MAC CE or a LI signaling (e.g., DCI on PDCCH, this may be also referred to as PDCCH order).

[0096] Option 2: The UE uses an indicator in the RACH message to indicate the RA-SR’ s purpose (i.e., requesting SL PRS resource). The RACH message may be a MsgA in case of 2-step RA or Msg3 in case of 4-step RA). The indicator may be carried via one of the below alternatives• First alternative: the indicator is carried in a MAC sub-header• Second alternative: the indicator is carried in a MAC CE pay load. The MAC CE may be a SL-BSR, or a newly defined MAC CE for indicating the RA-SR purpose, e.g., named as SL PRS request indicator MAC CE.• Third alternative: the indicator is carried via a specific LCH ID (LCID). In this case, the MAC (sub)PDU containing the LCID may also contain a MAC CE (e.g., SL-BSR MAC CE).• Fourth alternative: the indicator is carried in an RRC signaling message.

[0097] For any one of the above alternatives, the indicator may use an R field (if there is any), or repurpose an existing field to carry the indicator, or a newly added field.

[0098] For the second and third alternative, if the UE includes SL-BSR MAC CE in the RACH message, the SL-BSR can also indicate SL buffer status if there is data in the buffer for SL communication or SL positioning message. If there is not any data in the buffer for SL communication or SL positioning message, the UE can use the SL-BSR indicating empty / zero buffer size.

[0099] Alternatively, the UE does not indicate to the gNB that the RA-SR is for requesting SL PRS resource purpose. After reception of the RA-SR, it will be up to the gNB’s implementation to figure out that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources via the RA-SR procedure. This may be feasible for the gNB. In an example, the gNB has already known that the UE is involved in a SL positioning procedure / session when the gNB receives the RA-SR. The gNB may interpret the RA- SR’ s purpose as one of the below:• Requesting SL resources for SL positioning message or SL communication if there is also a SL-BSR MAC CE received• Requesting SL PRS resource if there is no SL-BSR MAC CE received• Requesting SL PRS resource and SL resources for SL positioning message or SL communication if there is also a SL-BSR MAC CE received

[0100] If there is no SL-BSR MAC CE received, the gNB will interpret that the RA-SR’ s purpose is for requesting SL PRS resources.

[0101] If there is also a SL-BSR MAC CE received, for sake of not making any mistake, the gNB may also assign SL PRS resources to the UE in addition to SL resources.

[0102] In a fourth embodiment, the UE is triggered to send an SR to the gNB using a PUCCH SR resource for requesting SL PRS resource. The PUCCH SR resource is not a specific SR resource for requesting SL PRS resource. In other words, the PUCCH SR resource is shared between SL PRS session and other SL transmission (e.g., SL communication or SL positioningmessage). Upon reception of the SR, the gNB may assign an UL grant to the UE. After reception of the UL grant, the UE may indicate to the gNB in the uplink transmission that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources. The indicator may be carried in the uplink transmission using the UL grant via one of the below signaling alternatives.• Alternative 1 : the indicator is carried in a MAC sub-header.• Alternative 2: the indicator is carried in a MAC CE pay load. The MAC CE may be a SL- BSR, or a newly defined MAC CE for indicating the RA-SR purpose, e.g., named as SL PRS request indicator MAC CE.• Alternative 3: the indicator is carried via a specific LCH ID (LCID). In this case, the MAC (sub)PDU containing the LCID may also contain a MAC CE (e.g., SL-BSR MAC CE).• Alternative 4: the indicator is carried in an RRC signaling message.

[0103] For any one of the above alternatives, the indicator may use an R field (if there is any), or repurpose an existing field to carry the indicator, or a newly added field.

[0104] For the second and third alternative, if the UE includes SL-BSR MAC CE in the RACH message, the SL-BSR can also indicate SL buffer status if there is data in the buffer for SL communication or SL positioning message. If there is not any data in the buffer for SL communication or SL positioning message, the UE can use the SL-BSR indicating empty / zero buffer size.

[0105] Alternatively, the UE does not indicate to the gNB that UE is requesting SL PRS resource purpose via either the SR or the UL transmission (if a UL grant is assigned to the UE). After reception of the SR or the UL transmission, it will be up to the gNB’s implementation to figure out that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources. This may be feasible for the gNB. In an example, the gNB has already known that the UE is involved in a SL positioning procedure / session. The gNB may interpret the UE’s purpose as one of the below• Requesting SL resources for SL positioning message or SL communication if there is also a SL-BSR MAC CE received• Requesting SL PRS resource if there is no SL-BSR MAC CE received• Requesting SL PRS resource and SL resources for SL positioning message or SL communication if there is also a SL-BSR MAC CE received

[0106] If there is no SL-BSR MAC CE received, the gNB will interpret that the RA-SR’ s purpose is for requesting SL PRS resources.

[0107] If there is also a SL-BSR MAC CE received, for sake of not making any mistake, the gNB may also assign SL PRS resources to the UE in addition to SL resources.

[0108] In a fifth embodiment, a MAC CE is defined for a SL UE to indicate to the gNB that the UE requests SL PRS resources. The MAC CE may, for example, be called an SL PRS request indicator MAC CE. The MAC CE is associated with a specific LCID. The MAC CE may contain any one or any combination of two or more of the following information:• One or multiple indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or multiple positioning sessions / procedures o Wherein each indicator is associated with a positioning session / procedure• One or multiple indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE• One or multiple time periods which indicate the time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources to be valid for the UE o Wherein each time period is associated with a positioning session / procedure o There may be a common time period which is applicable to all positioning sessions / procedures

[0109] The MAC CE is identified by a MAC subheader with the specific LCID. The MAC CE payload may have a fixed size of zero bits. In this case, it is sufficient for the UE to use the specific LCID in the MAC subheader to indicate to the gNB that the UE requests SL PRS resources for a positioning session / procedure.

[0110] In a sixth embodiment, PUCCH SR is extended to carry / indicate more bits, which carries any one or any combination of two or more of the following information:• One or multiple indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or multiple positioning sessions / procedures o Wherein each indicator is associated with a positioning session / procedure• One or multiple indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE• One or multiple time periods which indicate the time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources to be valid for the UE o Wherein each time period is associated with a positioning session / procedure

[0111] There may be a common time period which is applicable to all positioning sessions / procedures

[0112] In a seventh embodiment, the UE uses a RRC signaling for indicating a scheduling request for SL PRS resources, which contains any one or any combination of two or more of the following information:• One or multiple indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or multiple positioning sessions / procedures o Wherein each indicator is associated with a positioning session / procedure• One or multiple indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE• One or multiple time periods which indicate the time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources to be valid for the UE o Wherein each time period is associated with a positioning session / procedure o There may be a common time period which is applicable to all positioning sessions / procedures gNB Signaling and Actions regarding Scheduling SL PRS Resources

[0113] In an eighth embodiment, upon reception of an SR (i.e., PUCCH SR or RA-SR) from a UE indicating that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources, the gNB assigns SL PRS resources to the UE via one of the below signaling alternatives• A DCI carries SL PRS resources• A MAC CE carries SL PRS resources o E.g., named as SL PRS resource indicator MAC CE• A RRC signaling carries SL PRS resources

[0114] In a ninth embodiment, upon reception of a MAC CE (e.g., SL PRS request indicator MAC CE) from a UE indicating that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources, the gNB assigns SL PRS resources to the UE via one of the below signaling alternatives• A DCI carries SL PRS resources• A MAC CE carries SL PRS resources o E.g., named as SL PRS resource indicator MAC CE• A RRC signaling carries SL PRS resources

[0115] In a tenth embodiment, the gNB may assign SL PRS resources and SL resources to the UE via the same DCI signaling.

[0116] In an eleventh embodiment, when the gNB assigns a SL PRS resource to the UE, the gNB may also signal the UE with at least one of the below additional information• One or multiple indices of SL resource pools which contain the assigned SL PRS resources• For each SL resource pool which contain the assigned SL PRS resources, whether the SL resource pool is a dedicated resource pool containing only SL PRS resources or a shared resource pool containing both SL PRS resources and SL resources for SL communication and / or SL positioning message• One or multiple indices of positioning sessions / procedures for which the SL PRS resources are assigned o There may be different SL PRS resources assigned for each different positioning session / procedure• A time period during which the assigned SL PRS resources are valid to the UE o There may be multiple time periods signaled wherein each time period is associated with a positioning session / procedure o There may be a common time period which is applicable to all positioning sessions / procedures

[0117] In a twelfth embodiment, the gNB may also signal the UE with at least one of the below additional information o An explicit indication that the UE may send the scheduling request for sidelink positioning / ranging using (for example); one bit indicator / flag in System info broadcast or using dedicated signaling that the UE is allowed to do so. o An implicit indication by configuring the UE with dedicated scheduling request for SL positioning / rangingFurther Description

[0118] Figures 7A-7C illustrate the operation of a SL UE 700 and a network node 702 (e.g., a base station such as, e.g., a gNB) in accordance with at least some of the embodiments described above. Optional steps are represented by dashed lines / boxes. As illustrated, in some embodiments, the SL UE 700 receives, from the network node 702, information that configures the SL UE 700 with one or more SR resources (step 704). As described above, in some embodiments, the one or more SR resources with which the SL UE 700 is configured include one or SR resources (e.g., one or more PUCCH SR resources) for requesting SL PRS resources (see, e.g., the “first embodiment” and the “second embodiment” described above). In some other embodiments, the one or more SR resources with which the SL UE 700 is configured include one or more SR resources (e.g., one or more PUCCH SR resources) that are general resources that canbe used for, e.g., either requesting SL PRS resources or requesting SL resources, as described above.

[0119] The UE 700 is involved in a SL positioning session or procedure and is triggered to perform SL PRS transmission (step 706). In this example, the UE 700 needs to request SL PRS resources in order to perform SL PRS transmission. As such, the UE 700 sends, to the network node 702, an indication that the UE is requesting SL PRS resources (step 708). As discussed above, this indication may be an implicit indication (e.g., an indication provided by which SR resource is used for an associated SR, which time occasion of a SR resource is used for an associated SR, which PRACH resource used for PRACH preamble transmission, or the like). Alternatively, this indication may be an explicit indication (e.g., an indication provided by information contained in the SR, information contained in an UL transmission using an UL grant received by the UE 700 in response to a SR, information included in a RACH message, information included in a MAC CE, information included in a SR, or information included in an RRC message).

[0120] More specifically, in the first embodiment described above, the UE 700 sends, to the network node 702, a SR on a SR resource (e.g., one of the SR resources configured in step 704) for requesting SL PRS resources or in a time occasion of an SR resource where this time occasion is assigned for requesting SL PRS resources) (step 710). Further details provided above regarding the first embodiment are equally applicable here to step 710.

[0121] In the second embodiment described above, the UE 700 sends a SR on a SR resource (e.g., one of the SR resources configured in step 704) for requesting SL PRS resources for a desired positioning requirement (step 712). Further details provided above regarding the second embodiment are equally applicable here to step 712.

[0122] In the third embodiment described above, the UE 700 sends the indication that the UE 700 is requesting SL PRS resources via a random access procedure. In a first option described above (Option 1), the UE 700 transmits a PRACH preamble on a PRACH resource, where the PRACH resource used for transmission of the PRACH preamble is a PRACH resource that indicates that the UE 700 is requesting SL PRS resources (step 714). Further details provided above regarding Option 1 of the third embodiment are equally applicable here to step 714. In a second option described above (Option 2), the UE 700 performs a random procedure (e.g., either a 2-step RACH procedure or a 4-step RACH procedure) during which the UE 700 sends, to the network node 702, a RACH message (e.g., MsgA or Msg3) including the indication that the UE 700 is requesting SL PRS resources (step 716). Further details provided above regarding Option 2 of the third embodiment are equally applicable here to step 716.

[0123] In the fourth embodiment described above, the UE 700 sends a SR to the network node 702 (step 718), the network node 702 responds to the UE 700 with an uplink grant (step 720), and the UE 700 transmits an uplink transmission using the uplink grant where the uplink transmission includes the indication that the UE 700 is requesting SL PRS resources (step 722). Further details provided above regarding the fourth embodiment are equally applicable here to steps 718-720.

[0124] In the fifth embodiment described above, the UE 700 transmits a MAC CE to the network node 702, where the MAC CE includes the indication that the UE 700 is requesting SL PRS resources (step 724). Further details provided above regarding the fifth embodiment are equally applicable here to step 724.

[0125] In the sixth embodiment described above, the UE 700 transmits a SR to the network node 702, where the SR includes the indication that the UE 700 is requesting SL PRS resources (step 726). Further details provided above regarding the sixth embodiment are equally applicable here to step 726.

[0126] In the seventh embodiment described above, the UE 700 transmits an RRC message to the network node 702, where the RRC message includes the indication that the UE 700 is requesting SL PRS resources (step 728). Further details provided above regarding the seventh embodiment are equally applicable here to step 728.

[0127] In response to the indication that the UE 700 is requesting SL PRS resources, the network node 702 transmits, to the UE 700, information that indicates one or more SL PRS resources that are assigned to the UE 700 (step 730). This information may be transmitted in DCI, MAC CE, RRC message, or the like, as described above. Further details described above, e.g., with respect to the eight embodiment, ninth embodiment, tenth embodiment, eleventh embodiment, and twelfth embodiment are equally applicable here to step 730.

[0128] Figure 8 shows an example of a communication system 800 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0129] In the example, the communication system 800 includes a telecommunication network 802 that includes an access network 804, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 806, which includes one or more core network nodes 808. The access network 804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 810A and 810B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 810), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs). Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregatedimplementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 802 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 802 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 802, including one or more network nodes 810 and / or core network nodes 808.

[0130] Examples of an ORAN network node include an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU), including an O-CU Control Plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non- real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 810 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 812A, 812B, 812C, and 812D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 812) to the core network 806 over one or more wireless connections.

[0131] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 800 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 800 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0132] The UEs 812 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 810 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 810 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 812 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 802 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 802.

[0133] In the depicted example, the core network 806 connects the network nodes 810 to one or more hosts, such as host 816. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 806 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 808) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 808. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-Concealing Function (SIDE), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0134] The host 816 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 804 and / or the telecommunication network 802, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 816 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0135] As a whole, the communication system 800 of Figure 8 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 800 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable futuregeneration standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0136] In some examples, the telecommunication network 802 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 802. For example, the telecommunication network 802 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0137] In some examples, the UEs 812 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 804 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 804. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e. being configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0138] In the example, a hub 814 communicates with the access network 804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 812C and / or 812D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 810B). In some examples, the hub 814 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 814 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 806 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 814 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 810, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 814. As another example, the hub 814 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 814 may retrieve VRassets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0139] The hub 814 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 81 OB. The hub 814 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 814 and UEs (e.g., UE 812C and / or 812D), and between the hub 814 and the core network 806. In other examples, the hub 814 is connected to the core network 806 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 814 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 804 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 810 while still connected via the hub 814 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 814 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 810B. In other embodiments, the hub 814 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 810B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0140] Figure 9 shows a UE 900 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0141] A UE may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehicle-to- Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), or Vehicle- to-Everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a devicethat is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0142] The UE 900 includes processing circuitry 902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 904 to an input / output interface 906, a power source 908, memory 910, a communication interface 912, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 9. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0143] The processing circuitry 902 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 910. The processing circuitry 902 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 902 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0144] In the example, the input / output interface 906 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 900. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence- sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0145] In some embodiments, the power source 908 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 908 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 908. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 908 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 900 to which power is supplied.

[0146] The memory 910 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 910 includes one or more application programs 914, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 916. The memory 910 may store, for use by the UE 900, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0147] The memory 910 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, High Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 910 may allow the UE 900 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0148] The processing circuitry 902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 912. The communication interface 912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or becommunicatively coupled to an antenna 922. The communication interface 912 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 918 and / or a receiver 920 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 918 and receiver 920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 922) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0149] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 912 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0150] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 912, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0151] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0152] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology,extended industrial application, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 900 shown in Figure 9.

[0153] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0154] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0155] Figure 10 shows a network node 1000 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g.,radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0156] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

[0157] Other examples of network nodes include multiple Transmission Point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell / Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0158] The network node 1000 includes processing circuitry 1002, memory 1004, a communication interface 1006, and a power source 1008. The network node 1000 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1000 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1000 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1010 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1000 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1000, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetoothwireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within the network node 1000.

[0159] The processing circuitry 1002 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1000 components, such as the memory 1004, to provide network node 1000 functionality.

[0160] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1012 and baseband processing circuitry 1014. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 and the baseband processing circuitry 1014 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 and the baseband processing circuitry 1014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0161] The memory 1004 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device- readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1002. The memory 1004 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1002 and utilized by the network node 1000. The memory 1004 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1002 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1006. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 and the memory 1004 are integrated.

[0162] The communication interface 1006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1006 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1016 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1006 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1018 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1010. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 comprises filters 1020 and amplifiers 1022. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may be connected to the antenna 1010 and the processingcircuitry 1002. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 1010 and the processing circuitry 1002. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 1020 and / or the amplifiers 1022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1010. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1010 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1018. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1002. In other embodiments, the communication interface 1006 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0163] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1000 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1018; instead, the processing circuitry 1002 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 is part of the communication interface 1006. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1006 includes the one or more ports or terminals 1016, the radio front-end circuitry 1018, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1006 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0164] The antenna 1010 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1010 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1018 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1010 is separate from the network node 1000 and connectable to the network node 1000 through an interface or port.

[0165] The antenna 1010, the communication interface 1006, and / or the processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1000. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1010, the communication interface 1006, and / or the processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1000. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0166] The power source 1008 provides power to the various components of the network node 1000 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1008 may further comprise, or be coupled to,power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1000 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1008. As a further example, the power source 1008 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0167] Embodiments of the network node 1000 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 10 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1000 and to allow output of information from the network node 1000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1000.

[0168] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a host 1100, which may be an embodiment of the host 816 of Figure 8, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1100 may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1100 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0169] The host 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1104 to an input / output interface 1106, a network interface 1108, a power source 1110, and memory 1112. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 9 and 10, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 1100.

[0170] The memory 1112 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1114 and data 1116, which may include user data, e.g. data generated by a UE for the host 1100 or data generated by the host 1100 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1114 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FreeLossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1114 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1100 may select and / or indicate a different host for Over-The-Top (OTT) services for a UE. The host application programs 1114 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0171] Figure 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1200 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1200 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1200 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0172] Applications 1202 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1200 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0173] Hardware 1204 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1206 (also referred to as hypervisors or VM Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1208A and 1208B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1208), and / or perform any of the functions,features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1206 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1208.

[0174] The VMs 1208 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1206. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1202 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 1208, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0175] In the context of NFV, a VM 1208 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1208, and that part of the hardware 1204 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs 1208, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1208 on top of the hardware 1204 and corresponds to the application 1202.

[0176] The hardware 1204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 1204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 1204 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1210, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 1202. In some embodiments, the hardware 1204 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a RAN or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1212 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0177] Figure 13 shows a communication diagram of a host 1302 communicating via a network node 1304 with a UE 1306 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as the UE 812A of Figure 8 and / or the UE 900 of Figure 9), the network node (such as thenetwork node 810A of Figure 8 and / or the network node 1000 of Figure 10), and the host (such as the host 816 of Figure 8 and / or the host 1100 of Figure 11) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 13.

[0178] Like the host 1100, embodiments of the host 1302 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1302 also includes software, which is stored in or is accessible by the host 1302 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1306 connecting via an OTT connection 1350 extending between the UE 1306 and the host 1302. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1350.

[0179] The network node 1304 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1302 and the UE 1306. The connection 1360 may be direct or pass through a core network (like the core network 806 of Figure 8) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0180] The UE 1306 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 1306 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator- specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 1306 with the support of the host 1302. In the host 1302, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1350 terminating at the UE 1306 and the host 1302. In providing the service to the user, the UE’s client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE’s client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1350.

[0181] The OTT connection 1350 may extend via the connection 1360 between the host 1302 and the network node 1304 and via a wireless connection 1370 between the network node 1304 and the UE 1306 to provide the connection between the host 1302 and the UE 1306. The connection 1360 and the wireless connection 1370, over which the OTT connection 1350 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1302 and the UE 1306 via the network node 1304, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0182] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1350, in step 1308, the host 1302 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1306. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1306 that shares data with the host 1302 without explicit human interaction. In step 1310, the host 1302 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1306. The host 1302 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1306. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1306 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1306. The transmission may pass via the network node 1304 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1312, the network node 1304 transmits to the UE 1306 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1302 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1314, the UE 1306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1306 associated with the host application executed by the host 1302.

[0183] In some examples, the UE 1306 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1302. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1302. Accordingly, in step 1316, the UE 1306 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 1306. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1306 initiates, in step 1318, transmission of the user data towards the host 1302 via the network node 1304. In step 1320, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1304 receives user data from the UE 1306 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1302. In step 1322, the host 1302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1306.

[0184] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1306 using the OTT connection 1350, in which the wireless connection 1370 forms the last segment.

[0185] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1302. As another example, the host 1302 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1302 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1302 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE.As another example, the host 1302 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR which it can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1302 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0186] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1350 between the host 1302 and the UE 1306 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1350 may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1302 and / or the UE 1306. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1350 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1304. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like by the host 1302. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1350 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0187] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making adetermination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in practice computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0188] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0189] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

[0190] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows:Group A Embodiments

[0191] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (700) for requesting sidelink, SL, Positioning Reference Signal, PRS, resources, the method comprising: sending (708), to a network node (702), an indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources; and receiving (730), from the network node (702), information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700).

[0192] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the indication is an implicit indication.

[0193] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the indication is an explicit indication.

[0194] Embodiment 4: The method of embodiment 1, further comprising: receiving (704), from the network node, information that configures the UE (700) with one or more scheduling request, SR, resources for requesting SL PRS resources; wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending (710) a SR on a SR resource from among the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources.

[0195] Embodiment 5: The method of embodiment 4, wherein the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are associated to one or more SR configurations.

[0196] Embodiment 6: The method of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein the SR resource is a SR resource that is dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources.

[0197] Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources.

[0198] Embodiment 8: The method of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein the SR resource is a SR resource that is: in the frequency domain, associated to both requesting SL PRS resources and requesting SL communication resources; and in the time domain, comprises a plurality of time occasions including a first set of time occasions that are assigned to requesting SL PRS resources.

[0199] Embodiment 9: The method of embodiment 8, wherein the plurality of time occasions of the SR resource further includes a second set of time occasions that are assigned to requesting SL communication resources.

[0200] Embodiment 10: The method of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources.

[0201] Embodiment 11: The method of embodiment 1, further comprising:• receiving (704), from the network node, information that configures the UE (700) with either: o two or more scheduling request, SR, resources for requesting SL PRS resources for two or more positioning requirements; or o two or more SR configurations for requesting SL PRS resources for requesting SL PRS resources for two or more positioning requirements;• wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending (712) a SR either: o on a SR resource from among the two or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources that corresponds to a desired positioning requirement; or o using an SR configuration from among the two or more SR configurations forrequesting SL PRS resources that corresponds to the desired positioning requirement.

[0202] Embodiment 12: The method of embodiment 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending (714 or 716) the indication during a random access procedure.

[0203] Embodiment 13: The method of embodiment 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (714) a random access preamble on a random access channel resource that indicates that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

[0204] Embodiment 14: The method of embodiment 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (716), to the network node, a random access channel message during a random access procedure, the random access channel message comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

[0205] Embodiment 15: The method of embodiment 14, wherein the random access channel message is MsgA of a 2-step random access channel procedure.

[0206] Embodiment 16: The method of embodiment 14, wherein the random access channel message is Msg3 of a 4-step random access channel procedure.

[0207] Embodiment 17: The method of any of embodiments 14 to 16, wherein the indication is carried by a MAC sub-header of a MAC CE within the random access channel message, the indication is carried by a MAC CE payload of a MAC CE (e.g., SL-BSR MAC CE or a new MAC CE) within the random access channel message, the indication is carried via a specific logical channel identity within a MAC (sub)PDU, or the indication is carried in an RRC message.

[0208] Embodiment 18: The method of embodiment 1, further comprising: sending (718) a SR to the network node (702); and receiving (720) an uplink grant from the network node (702) responsive to sending (719) the SR; wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (722) an uplink transmission using the uplink grant, the uplink transmission comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

[0209] Embodiment 19: The method of embodiment 18, wherein the indication is carried by a MAC sub-header of a MAC CE within the uplink transmission, the indication is carried by a MAC CE payload of a MAC CE (e.g., SL-BSR MAC CE or a new MAC CE) within the uplink transmission, the indication is carried via a specific logical channel identity within a MAC (sub)PDU, or the indication is carried in an RRC message.

[0210] Embodiment 20: The method of embodiment 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (724), to the network node (702), a MAC CE comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

[0211] Embodiment 21 : The method of embodiment 20, wherein the indication comprised in the MAC CE comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures.

[0212] Embodiment 22: The method of embodiment 20 or 21, wherein the indication comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE.

[0213] Embodiment 23: The method of any of embodiments 20 to 22, wherein the MAC CE further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

[0214] Embodiment 24: The method of embodiment 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (726), to the network node (702), a SR comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

[0215] Embodiment 25: The method of embodiment 24, wherein the indication comprised in the SR comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures.

[0216] Embodiment 26: The method of embodiment 24 or 25, wherein the indication comprised in the SR comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE.

[0217] Embodiment 27 : The method of any of embodiments 24 to 26, wherein the SR further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

[0218] Embodiment 28: The method of embodiment 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (728), to the network node (702), an RRC message comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

[0219] Embodiment 29: The method of embodiment 28, wherein the indication comprised in the RRC message comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures.

[0220] Embodiment 30: The method of embodiment 28 or 29, wherein the indication comprised in the RRC message comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE.

[0221] Embodiment 31: The method of any of embodiments 28 to 30, wherein the RRC further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

[0222] Embodiment 32: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.Group B Embodiments

[0223] Embodiment 33: A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: receiving (708), from a User Equipment, UE, (700), an indication that the UE (700) is requesting sidelink, SL, Positioning Reference Signal, PRS, resources; and sending (730), to the UE (700), information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700).

[0224] Embodiment 34: The method of embodiment 33, wherein sending (730) the information that assigns the one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700) comprises sending (730) the information in a DCI, MAC CE, or RRC message.

[0225] Embodiment 35: The method of embodiment 33, wherein sending (730) the information that assigns the one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700) comprises sending (730) the information in a DCI, the DCI further comprising information that assigns SL resources to the UE (700).

[0226] Embodiment 36: The method of any of embodiments 33 to 35, wherein the indication is an implicit indication.

[0227] Embodiment 37: The method of any of embodiments 33 to 35, wherein the indication is an explicit indication.

[0228] Embodiment 38: The method of any of embodiments 33 to 35, wherein the indication is received via a scheduling request.

[0229] Embodiment 39: The method of any of embodiments 33 to 35, wherein the indication is received via a random access preamble or via a random access channel message.

[0230] Embodiment 40: The method of any of embodiments 33 to 35, wherein the indication is received via a MAC CE.

[0231] Embodiment 41: The method of any of embodiments 33 to 35, wherein the indication is received via an RRC message.

[0232] Embodiment 42: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.Group C Embodiments

[0233] Embodiment 43: A user equipment comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0234] Embodiment 44: A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0235] Embodiment 45: A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0236] Embodiment 46: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0237] Embodiment 47: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.

[0238] Embodiment 48: A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network nodeperforms any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0239] Embodiment 49: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0240] Embodiment 50: The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0241] Embodiment 51: A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the communication system comprising a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0242] Embodiment 52: The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and / or the UE.

[0243] Embodiment 53: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

[0244] Embodiment 54: The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that receives the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0245] Embodiment 55: The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

[0246] Embodiment 56: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network nodeperforms any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

[0247] Embodiment 57 : The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

[0248] Embodiment 58: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0249] Embodiment 59: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.

[0250] Embodiment 60: The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0251] Embodiment 61: A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0252] Embodiment 62: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the host application.

[0253] Embodiment 63: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0254] Embodiment 64: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communicationinterface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0255] Embodiment 65: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

[0256] Embodiment 66: The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0257] Embodiment 67: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0258] Embodiment 68: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0259] Embodiment 69: The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (700) for requesting sidelink, SL, Positioning Reference Signal, PRS, resources, the method comprising: sending (708), to a network node (702), an indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources; and receiving (730), from the network node (702), information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is an implicit indication.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is an explicit indication.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending (718) a SR to the network node (702); and receiving (720) an uplink grant from the network node (702) responsive to sending (718) the SR; wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (722) an uplink transmission using the uplink grant, the uplink transmission comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the indication is carried by a Medium Access Control, MAC, sub-header of a MAC Control Element, CE, within the uplink transmission, the indication is carried by a MAC CE payload of a MAC CE within the uplink transmission, the indication is carried via a specific logical channel identity within a MAC (sub)Protocol Data Unit, PDU, or the indication is carried in an Radio Resource Control, RRC, message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (724), to the network node (702), a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the indication comprised in the MAC CE comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the indication comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE.

9. The method of any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the MAC CE further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving (704), from the network node, information that configures the UE (700) with one or more scheduling request, SR, resources for requesting SL PRS resources; wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending (710) a SR on a SR resource from among the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are associated to one or more SR configurations.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the SR resource is a SR resource that is dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources.

13. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources.

14. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the SR resource is a SR resource that is: in the frequency domain, associated to both requesting SL PRS resources and requesting SL communication resources; and in the time domain, comprises a plurality of time occasions including a first set of time occasions that are assigned to requesting SL PRS resources.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of time occasions of the SR resource further includes a second set of time occasions that are assigned to requesting SL communication resources.

16. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the one or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources are dedicated to requesting SL PRS resources.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving (704), from the network node, information that configures the UE (700) with either: two or more scheduling request, SR, resources for requesting SL PRS resources for two or more positioning requirements; or two or more SR configurations for requesting SL PRS resources for requesting SL PRS resources for two or more positioning requirements; wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending (712) a SR either: on a SR resource from among the two or more SR resources for requesting SL PRS resources that corresponds to a desired positioning requirement; or using an SR configuration from among the two or more SR configurations for requesting SL PRS resources that corresponds to the desired positioning requirement.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises sending (714 or 716) the indication during a random access procedure.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (714) a random access preamble on a random access channel resource that indicates that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (716), to the network node, a random access channel message during a random access procedure, the random access channel message comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the random access channel message is MsgA of a 2- step random access channel procedure.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the random access channel message is Msg3 of a 4-steprandom access channel procedure.

23. The method of any of claims 20 to 22, wherein the indication is carried by a Medium Access Control, MAC, sub-header of a MAC Control Element, CE, within the random access channel message, the indication is carried by a MAC CE payload of a MAC CE within the random access channel message, the indication is carried via a specific logical channel identity within a MAC (sub)Protocol Data Unit, PDU, or the indication is carried in an Radio Resource Control, RRC, message.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (726), to the network node (702), a SR comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the indication comprised in the SR comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures.

26. The method of claim 24 or 25, wherein the indication comprised in the SR comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE.

27. The method of any of claims 24 to 26, wherein the SR further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein sending (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises transmitting (728), to the network node (702), an Radio Resource Control, RRC, message comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the indication comprised in the RRC message comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures.

30. The method of claim 28 or 29, wherein the indication comprised in the RRC message comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE.

31. The method of any of claims 28 to 30, wherein the RRC further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

32. A User Equipment, UE, (700) for requesting sidelink, SL, Positioning Reference Signal, PRS, resources, the UE (700) adapted to: send (708), to a network node (702), an indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources; and receive (730), from the network node (702), information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700).

33. The UE (700) of claim 32, further adapted to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 31.

34. A User Equipment, UE, (700; 900) for requesting sidelink, SL, Positioning Reference Signal, PRS, resources, the UE (700; 900) comprising: a communication interface (912) comprising a transmitter (918) and a receiver (920); and processing circuitry (902) associated with the communication interface (912), the processing circuitry (902) configured to cause the UE (700; 900) to: send (708), to a network node (702), an indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources; and receive (730), from the network node (702), information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700).

35. The UE (700; 900) of claim 34, wherein the processing circuitry (902) is further configured to cause the UE (700; 900) to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 31.

36. A method performed by a network node (702), the method comprising: receiving (708), from a User Equipment, UE, (700), an indication that the UE (700) is requesting sidelink, SL, Positioning Reference Signal, PRS, resources; andsending (730), to the UE (700), information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700).

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising: receiving (718) a SR from the UE (700); and sending (720) an uplink grant to the UE (700) responsive to receiving (718) the SR; wherein receiving (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises receiving (722) an uplink transmission from the UE (700) using the uplink grant, the uplink transmission comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the indication is carried by a Medium Access Control, MAC, sub-header of a MAC Control Element, CE, within the uplink transmission, the indication is carried by a MAC CE payload of a MAC CE within the uplink transmission, the indication is carried via a specific logical channel identity within a MAC (sub)Protocol Data Unit, PDU, or the indication is carried in an Radio Resource Control, RRC, message.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein receiving (708) the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources comprises receiving (724), from the UE (700), a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, comprising the indication that the UE (700) is requesting SL PRS resources.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the indication comprised in the MAC CE comprises one or more indicators indicating that the UE requests SL PRS resources for one or more positioning sessions / procedures.

41. The method of claim 39 or 40, wherein the indication comprises one or more indices of positioning sessions / procedures which need SL PRS resources to be allocated to the UE.

42. The method of any of claims 39 to 41, wherein the MAC CE further comprises information that indicates one or more time periods during which the requested SL PRS resources are to be valid for the UE.

43. The method of claim 36, wherein sending (730) the information that assigns the one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700) comprises sending (730) the information in a DownlinkControl Information, DO; a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE; or a Radio Resource Control, RRC, message.

44. The method of claim 36, wherein sending (730) the information that assigns the one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700) comprises sending (730) the information in a Downlink Control Information, DO, wherein the DCI further comprises information that assigns SL resources to the UE (700).

45. The method of claim 36, wherein the indication is an implicit indication.

46. The method of claim 36, wherein the indication is an explicit indication.

47. The method of claim 36, wherein the indication is received via a scheduling request.

48. The method of claim 36, wherein the indication is received via a random access preamble or via a random access channel message.

49. The method of claim 36, wherein the indication is received via a MAC CE.

50. The method of claim 36, wherein the indication is received via an RRC message.

51. A network node (702) adapted to: receive (708), from a User Equipment, UE, (700), an indication that the UE (700) is requesting sidelink, SL, Positioning Reference Signal, PRS, resources; and send (730), to the UE (700), information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700).

52. The network node (702) of claim 51, further adapted to perform the method of any of claims 37 to 50.

53. A network node (702; 1000), comprising: a communication interface (1006); and processing circuitry (1002) associated with the communication interface (1006), the processing circuitry (1002) configured to cause the network node (702; 1000) to:receive (708), from a User Equipment, UE, (700), an indication that the UE (700) is requesting sidelink, SL, Positioning Reference Signal, PRS, resources; and send (730), to the UE (700), information that assigns one or more SL PRS resources to the UE (700).

54. The network node (702; 1000) of claim 53, wherein the processing circuitry (1002) is further configured to cause the network node (702; 1000) to perform the method of any of claims 37 to 50.

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