Positioning for user equipment in a non-terrestrial network multi-connectivity scenario

Abstract

A method for estimating a location of a UE is disclosed. The method comprises receiving, from a network, a communication initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure. The method further comprises determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed. The method further comprises receiving, from the network, a communication initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG.

Description

POSITIONING FOR USER EQUIPMENT IN A NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORK MULTI-CONNECTIVITY SCENARIOCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 532,288 filed on August 11, 2023, and titled “POSITIONING FOR USER EQUIPMENT IN A NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORK MULTI-CONNECTIVITY SCENARIO”, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems and, more specifically, to methods and systems for determining a position of a user equipment (UE) in a network.BACKGROUND

[0003] As wireless communication applications continue to evolve, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) organization has engaged in ongoing efforts to prepare technical standards for evolving radio network connection scenarios.

[0004] The Evolved Packet System (EPS), specified in release 8 of the 3GPP standard, is based on the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio network and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). It was originally intended to provide voice and mobile broadband (MBB) services but has continuously evolved to broaden its functionality. Since Release 13, Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and LTE-Machine Type Communication (MTC) (LTE-M) have been part of the LTE specifications and provided connectivity to massive machine type communications (mMTC) services.

[0005] The first release of the 5G system (5GS), specified in 3GPP release 15, addressed radio access technology intended to serve specific new operating scenarios / use cases, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), and mMTC services. 5G includes the New Radio (NR) access stratum interface and the 5G Core Network (5GC). The NR physical and higher layers reuse parts of the LTE specification, and additional components have been introduced when motivated by the new use cases. One such component is the introduction of a sophisticated framework for beamforming and beam management to extend the support of the 3 GPP technologies to a frequency range going beyond 6 GHz.

[0006] During the work on 3GPP release 15, the 3GPP organization also began discussions to prepare NR for operation in Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN). NTNs are wireless communication systems that generally include components that are deployed above the Earth’s surface, e.g., components that are deployed in Earth’s atmosphere or in space around the Earth instead of on land. The 3 GPP NTN work was performed within the study item “NR to support Non-Terrestrial Networks” and resulted in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.811. In 3GPP release 16, the work to prepare NR for operation in a Non-Terrestrial Network continued with the Study Item “Solutions for NR to support Non-Terrestrial Network”. The Release 16 study item resulted in the organization agreeing to a Work Item for NR in Release 17, titled “Solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial networks (NTN)”.SUMMARY

[0007] Various computer-implemented systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for UE-initiated beam reporting are described herein.

[0008] In one embodiment, a method performed by a UE for estimating a location of the UE is disclosed. The method comprises receiving, from a network, a communication initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), where one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure. The method further comprises determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed. The method further comprises receiving, from the network, a communication initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, where one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and where at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG.

[0009] In one embodiment, a UE, comprising processing circuitry is configured to perform the method above.

[0010] In one embodiment, a method performed by a network for estimating a location of a UE is disclosed. The method comprises sending, to a UE, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), where one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure. The method further comprises determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed. The method further comprises sending, to the UE, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, where one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and where at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG.

[0011] In one embodiment, a network node, comprising processing circuitry is configured to perform the method above.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] For a better understanding of the various described embodiments, reference should be made to the Detailed Description below, in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

[0013] Figure 1 illustrates a diagram showing an example of dual network connectivity combined with carrier aggregation in Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC).

[0014] Figure 2 illustrates a diagram showing an example of Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0015] Figure 3 illustrates a diagram showing an example of New Radio Dual Connectivity(NR-DC).

[0016] Figure 4 illustrates a diagram showing an example of a UE-positioning architecture in NR.

[0017] Figure 5 illustrates an example signaling process for a UE-positioning procedure of a location service supported by NG Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0018] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a round-trip time (RTT) calculation that may be used in a UE-positioning procedure in accordance with some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 7 illustrates a schematic example of a sequence of RTT calculation steps that may be performed during a UE-positioning procedure in accordance with some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 8 illustrates a diagram showing an example architecture of a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 9 illustrates a diagram showing an example of orbital parameters that may be used as ephemeris data in accordance with some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 10 illustrates an example signaling process for a UE-positioning procedure.

[0023] Figure 11 illustrates an example process for a UE-positioning procedure in accordance with some embodiments.

[0024] Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary process performed by a UE for estimating a location of the UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0025] Figure 13 illustrates an exemplary process performed by a network for estimating a location of a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0026] Figure 14 illustrates an exemplary communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0027] Figure 15 illustrates an exemplary user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0028] Figure 16 illustrates an exemplary network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0029] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Certain aspects 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. This concept may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the concept to those skilled in the art.

[0031] Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise:

[0032] The phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments of the invention may be readily combined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

[0033] As used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or” operator and is equivalent to the term “and / or,” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0034] The term “based on” is not exclusive and allows for being based on additional factors not described unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0035] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term “coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are used synonymously. Within the context of a networked environment where two or more components or devices are able to exchange data, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are also used to mean “communicatively coupled with”, possibly via one or more intermediary devices.

[0036] In addition, throughout the specification, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”.

[0037] Although some of the various embodiments presented herein constitute a single combination of inventive elements, it should be appreciated that the inventive subject matter is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements. As such, if one embodiment comprises elements A, B, and C, and another embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the inventive subject matter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A, B, C, or D, even if not explicitly discussed herein. Further, the transitional term “comprising” means to have as parts or members, or to be those parts or members. As used herein, the transitional term “comprising” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

[0038] In various embodiments, the devices, instruments, systems, and methods described herein relate to estimating a location of a UE, e.g., in multi-connectivity (MC) scenarios where the UE has network connections to two or more network two nodes. Particularly, the various embodiments contemplate scenarios where the UE to be located is connected to at least one Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN). In some embodiments, the UE may receive, from a network, a communication initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), where one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure. The UE may determine, e.g., on its own or in conjunction with one or more nodes of the network, that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, and receive, from the network, a communication initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, where one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and where at least one of the first CG or the second CG is an NTN CG. The embodiments enable improvements to the efficiency and speed of UE positioning in multi-connectivity scenarios generally, and address unique issues related to UE positioning in NTNs.

[0039] It is noted that description herein is not intended as an extensive overview, and as such, concepts may be simplified in the interests of clarity and brevity. Any process or method or corresponding steps of any process or method described in this application may be performed in any order and may omit any of the steps in the process. Processes or methods may also be combined with other processes or steps of other processes, in part or in whole. Parts of processes or methods, or corresponding steps may be combined with other parts of processes or methods, or corresponding steps.

[0040] In 3 GPP Rel-12, an LTE feature, Dual Connectivity (DC), was introduced to enable a user equipment (UE) to be connected to two cell groups, each controlled by an LTE access node (eNB) labelled as either a Master eNB (MeNB) or a Secondary eNB (SeNB). In the original 3 GPP DC solution, the UE still had only one Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a single network. The DC solution has since evolved and is now also specified for network connections to NR cell groups as well as network connections between LTE and NR cell groups, e.g., multi-connectivity (MC) network connections where more than two network nodes are involved. With the introduction of 5G, Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR- DC) was defined as a generic term for dual connectivity options which include at least one NR access node.

[0041] Figure 1 illustrates a diagram showing an example of dual network connectivity combined with carrier aggregation in Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC). As shown in diagram 100, using the MR-DC terminology, the UE 102 is connected to a Master Cell Group (MCG) 104, controlled by a Master Node (MN) 106, and a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) 108 controlled by a Secondary Node (SN) 110. Further, in MR-DC, when dual connectivity is configured for the UE 102, within each of the two cell groups, MCG 104 and SCG 108, a carrier aggregation configuration may be utilized, which can enable high-speed and low latency network communications. In a carrier aggregation configuration, within MCG 104 controlled by MN 106, the UE 102 may use one primary cell (PCell) 112 and one or more secondary cell(s) (SCell(s)) 114. Likewise, within SCG 108 controlled by the SN 110, the UE 102 may use one Primary SCell (PSCell, also known as the primary SCG cell in NR) 116 and one or more SCell(s) 114. In NR, the primary cell of a master or secondary cell group is sometimes also referred to as the Special Cell (SpCell). Hence, the SpCell in the MCG 104 is the PCell 112 and the SpCell in the SCG 108 is the PSCell 116.

[0042] There are different ways to deploy a 5G network with or without interworking with LTE (also referred to as E-UTRA) and Evolved Packet Core (EPC). In principle, NR and LTE can be deployed without any interworking, denoted by NR stand-alone (SA) operation, also known as Option 2. That is, a gNB in NR can be connected to a 5G core network (5GC). The eNB in LTE can also be connected to EPC with no interconnection between the two, which is also known as Option 1.

[0043] Figure 2 illustrates a diagram showing an example of E-UTRAN-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), as used by the first version of NR supporting dual connectivity. The first version of NR supporting dual connectivity, E-UTRAN-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), is also known as Option 3. As depicted in diagram 200, when EN-DC is applied between NRand LTE, the UE 202 is connected to both an LTE radio interface, LTE Uu 204 via an LTE access node (LTE MeNB 208), and a NR radio interface, NR Uu 206, via an NR access node (NR SgNB 210). Further, in EN-DC, the LTE access node acts as a master node, and in this case it is known as a Master eNB, MeNB 208. MeNB 208 controls a master cell group, e.g., MCG 104 shown in Figure 1. MeNB 208 covers the MCG and provides service to UE associated with the MCG. Meanwhile, the NR access node acts as the secondary node, and in this case sometimes it is also known as the Secondary gNB, SgNB 210. SgNB 210 controls a secondary cell group, e.g., SCG 108 shown in Figure 1. The SgNB 210 may not have a control plane connection to the core network EPC 212, which instead can be provided by the MeNB 208, in this case, the NR access node. This is also called “Non- standalone NR" or, in short, "NSA NR". Note that in this case, the functionality of an NR cell is limited and would be used for connected mode UEs as a booster and / or diversity leg, but an RRC IDLE UE cannot camp on these NR cells.

[0044] With the introduction of 5GC 214, other options may be also valid. As mentioned above, Option 2 supports stand-alone NR deployment where gNB is connected to 5GC 214. Similarly, LTE can also be connected to 5GC 214 using Option 5. It is also known as eLTE, E-UTRA / 5GC, or LTE / 5GC, and the node can be referred to as an ng-eNB. In these cases, both NR and LTE are seen as part of the NG-RAN, and both the ng-eNB and the gNB can be referred to as NG-RAN nodes.

[0045] It should be noted that there are also other variants of dual connectivity between LTE and NR which have been standardized as part of NG-RAN connected to 5GC. For example, under the MR-DC umbrella, dual connectivity scenarios include: EN-DC as Option 3, where LTE is the master node and NR is the secondary node (EPC CN employed, as depicted in Figure 2); NE-DC as Option 4, where NR is the master node and LTE is the secondary (5GCN employed); and NGEN-DC as Option 7, where LTE is the master node and NR is the secondary (5GCN employed). There is also an NR-DC variant of Option 2. Figure 3 illustrates a diagram 300 showing an example of New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC). As shown in diagram 300, the UE 302 is connected to both NR MN 304 and NR SN 306 via NR Uu interfaces 308a and 308b. For example, the NR MN 304 may cover the MCG 104 (shown in Figure 1), and the NR SN 306 may cover the SCG 108 (shown in Figure 1). Further, both the NR MN 304 and the NR SN 306 may connect to the 5GC 310.

[0046] Positioning has been a topic in LTE standardization since 3GPP Release 9. An objective of UE positioning in LTE was to fulfill regulatory requirements for emergency call localization. Particularly, the target was to achieve less than 50m horizontal accuracy forestimating a UE location. Starting from the Release 15 specification, positioning is also supported in NR.

[0047] Figure 4 illustrates a diagram 400 showing an example of a UE-positioning architecture in NR. In this architecture, the UE 402 is connected to ng-eNB 404 and gNodeB (gNB) 406. Both ng-eNB 404 and gNB 406 connect to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) node 408 and the AMF node 408 interacts with Location Management Function (LMF) node 410. The interactions between the gNB 406 and the UE 402 are supported via the RRC protocol, while the location node interfaces with the UE 402 via the LTE positioning protocol (LPP). LPP is a common protocol to both NR and LTE. LMF 410 is the location node in NR. There are also interactions between the location node and the gNodeB via the NR positioning protocol A (NRPPa) protocol. LMF 410 may be connected to Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) 412, which is responsible for calculating locations. The LMF may also interact with a Service Location Protocol (SLP) 414, which is a service discovery protocol for positioning.

[0048] Figure 5 illustrates an example signaling process for a UE-positioning procedure of a location service supported by NG Radio Access Network (NG-RAN). As shown in signaling process 500, an example sequence of events during a positioning procedure for a location service may be performed by UE 501, NG-RAN 502, AMF 503, LMF 504, and 5GC 505.

[0049] It should be noted that when the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 503 receives a Location Service Request in the case where the UE 501 is in a Connection Management (CM)-IDLE state, the AMF 503 performs a network triggered service request in order to establish a signaling connection with the UE 501 and assign a specific serving gNB or ng-eNB. The UE 501 is assumed to be in a connected mode before the beginning of the signaling flow shown in Figure 5. That is, any signaling that might be required to bring the UE 501 to a connected mode prior to step 506 is not shown. The signaling connection may, however, be released later while positioning is still ongoing. For example, it may be released by the NG-RAN node 502 as a result of signaling and data inactivity while positioning is still ongoing.

[0050] At 506, some entity in the 5GC 505, such as Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC), requests some location service like positioning for a target UE 501 to the serving AMF 503. Or at step 507 instead of step 506, the serving AMF 503 for a target UE 501 determines the need for some location service, such as locating the UE 501 for an emergency call. Or at step 508 instead of step 507, the UE 501 requests some location service, such aspositioning or delivery of assistance data, to the serving AMF 503 at the non-access stratum (NAS) level.

[0051] At step 509, the AMF 503 transfers the location service request to an LMF 504. At step 510, the LMF 504 instigates location procedures with the serving and possibly neighboring ng-eNB or gNB in the NG-RAN 502 - e.g., to obtain positioning measurements or assistance data. At step 511, in addition to step 510 or instead of step 510, the LMF 504 instigates location procedures with the UE 501- e.g., to obtain a location estimate or positioning measurements or to transfer location assistance data to the UE 501. At step 512, the LMF 504 provides a location service response to the AMF 503 and includes any needed results - e.g., success or failure indication and, if requested and obtained, a location estimate for the UE 501. At step 513, if step 506 was performed, the AMF 503 returns a location service response to the 5GC entity 505 in step 506 and includes any needed results - e.g., a location estimate for the UE 501. At step 514, if step 507 occurred, the AMF 503 uses the location service response received in step 512 to assist the service that triggered this in step 507 (e.g., may provide a location estimate associated with an emergency call to a GMLC). At step 515, if step 508 was performed, the AMF 503 returns a location service response to the UE 501 and includes any needed results - e.g., a location estimate for the UE 501.

[0052] Location procedures applicable to NG-RAN 502 occur in steps 510 and 511 in Figure 5. Other steps in Figure 5 are applicable to the 5GC 505. Steps 510 and 511 can involve the use of different position methods to obtain location related measurements for a target UE 501 and computing from these location related measurements a location estimate and possibly additional information, e.g., velocity.

[0053] Regarding Radio Access Technology (RAT) dependent positioning methods, positioning methods supported by LTE include the following:Enhanced Cell ID: Cell ID information is used to associate the UE to the serving area of a serving cell, and then additional information is used to determine a more granular UE position.Assisted GNSS: GNSS information is retrieved by the UE, supported by assistance information provided to the UE from Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLC).Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA): The UE performs a positioning measurement (reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements in this case) on the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) transmitted by base stations (BSs) and reports them to the E-SMLC for position estimation.Uplink TDOA (UTDOA): Similar to OTDOA, but in the uplink (UL) direction. Positioning measurements are done by the network node on the UE transmitted reference signal for positioning measurement in UL. The measurements are reported to E-SMLC where the ultimate position estimation is performed.

[0054] In comparison to LTE, NR positioning benefits from larger bandwidth and finer beamforming and can localize a UE with higher accuracy. NR supports the following positioning methods:DL-TDOA: The DL-TDOA positioning method makes use of the downlink reference signal time difference (DL RSTD) measurement done by the UE on the positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted by multiple transmission and reception points (TRPs). This method is similar to OTDOA in LTE.Multi -RTT: The Multi -RTT positioning method makes use of multiple round trip time (RTT) measurements for UE position estimation. For each RTT measurement, UE Rx-Tx and gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements are used.UL-TDOA: The UL-TDOA positioning method makes use of the UL TDOA (and optionally UL Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) - Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)) at multiple TRPs 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-AoD positioning method makes use of the measured DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TRPs 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.UL-AoA: The UL-AoA positioning method makes use of the measured azimuth and zenith of arrival at multiple TRPs of uplink signals transmitted from the UE. The TRPs measure A-AoA and 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.

[0055] The NR positioning modes can be categorized as follows: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.

[0056] Multi-RTT positioning methods have been introduced to determine the round-trip time (RTT) from measurements in downlink and uplink for positioning purposes. Since 3 GPP Release 16, NR provides DL-Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) and UL-SRS signals. The DL-PRS signal is a permuted and staggered comb- Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) signal carrying a PN sequence, while the UL-SRS signal is a regular comb signal carrying a Zadoff-Chu sequence. Both types of signals can be correlated at the respective end point with a corresponding replica signal. The time instance where the correlation peak occurs allows for determining the delay between transmitter and receiver.

[0057] The Multi-RTT positioning method is illustrated in Figure 6 and Figure 7. Specifically, Figure 6 illustrates an example of a round-trip time (RTT) calculation that may be used in a UE-positioning procedure, and Figure 7 illustrates a schematic example of a sequence of RTT calculation steps that may be performed during a UE-positioning procedure. Firstly, as shown in the figures, for each gNB 602 / UE 601 pair, RTT is calculated from (gNB_Rx - gNB_Tx) - (UE_Rx - UE_Tx). After RTTs of gNB 602 / UE 601 pairs are determined, a network (e.g., via a Location Management Function (LMF) network node in the network) may estimate the distance between the UE 601 and each gNB 602 and, in turn, the UE position, provided that the gNB position is known.

[0058] There is an ongoing resurgence of satellite communications. Several plans for satellite networks have been announced in recent years. The target services for satellite networks can vary, and may include backhaul and fixed wireless services, transportation services, outdoor mobile services, loT services, etc. Satellite networks may also complement mobile networks on the ground by providing connectivity to underserved areas and multicast / broadcast services.

[0059] Recently, there has been significant interest in adapting the terrestrial wireless access technologies, including LTE and NR, for satellite networks in order to benefit from the strong mobile ecosystem and economies of scale. This significant interest has been reflected in 3GPP standardization work. In 3GPP release 15, 3GPP started the work to prepare NR foroperation in a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN). The work was performed within the study item “NR to support Non-Terrestrial Networks”. In 3 GPP release 16, the work to prepare NR for operation in an NTN network continued with the study item “Solutions for NR to support NonTerrestrial Network”. In parallel, the interest to adapt NB-IoT and LTE-M for operation in NTN is growing. As a consequence, 3GPP release 17 contains both a work item on NR NTN, and a study item and work item on NB-IoT and LTE-M support for NTN.

[0060] Figure 8 illustrates a diagram 800 showing an example architecture of an NTN in accordance with some embodiments. For example, in the NTN architecture shown in Figure 8 includes “bent pipe” transponders (i.e., data are transmitted to the satellite, which sends it right back down again like a bent pipe carrying a transparent payload). In Figure 8, the gNB may be integrated in the gateway 802 or connected to the gateway 802 via a terrestrial connection (e.g., wire, optic fiber, wireless link).

[0061] As shown in Figure 8, an example satellite radio access network may include one or more of the following components: a satellite 801 that refers to a space-borne platform; an earth-based gateway 802 that connects the satellite to a base station 805 or a core network, depending on the choice of architecture; a feeder link 804 that refers to the link between a gateway 802 and a satellite 801; and an access link 803, or service link, that refers to the link between a satellite 801 and a UE 806.

[0062] Depending on the orbital altitude, a satellite 801 may be categorized as low earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), or geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite as follows:LEO: typical heights ranging from 250 - 1,500 km, with orbital periods ranging from 90 - 120 minutes.MEO: typical heights ranging from 1,500 - 35,786 km, with orbital periods, PMEO, in the range 2 hours < PMEO < 24 hours. MEO and LEO are also known as Non-Geo Synchronous Orbit (NGSO) type of satellite.GEO: height at about 35,786 km, with an orbital period of 24 hours. Also known as a Geo Synchronous Orbit (GSO) type of satellite.

[0063] Two basic architectures can be distinguished for satellite communication networks, depending on the functionality of the satellites 801 in the system: transparent payload architecture and regenerative payload architecture.

[0064] In a transparent payload architecture (also referred to as bent pipe architecture), the satellite 801 forwards the received signal between the terminal and the network equipment on the ground with only amplification and a shift from uplink frequency to downlink frequency. When applied to general 3 GPP architecture and terminology, the transparent payloadarchitecture means that the gNB is located on the ground and the satellite 801forwards signals / data between the gNB and the UE 806.

[0065] In a regenerative payload architecture, the satellite 801 includes on-board processing to demodulate and decode the received signal and regenerate the signal before sending it back to earth. When applied to general 3 GPP architecture and terminology, the regenerative payload architecture means that the gNB is located in the satellite 801.

[0066] In the work item for NR NTN in 3GPP release 17, only the transparent payload architecture is considered.

[0067] The significant orbit height means that satellite systems are characterized by a path loss that is significantly higher than what is expected in terrestrial networks. To overcome the path loss, it is often required that the access and feeder links are operated in line-of-sight conditions, and that the UE is equipped with an antenna offering high beam directivity.

[0068] A communication satellite 801 typically generates several beams over a given area. The footprint of a beam is usually in an elliptic shape, which has been traditionally considered as a cell (but a cell consisting of multiple beams is not precluded). The footprint of a beam is also often referred to as a spotbeam. The spotbeam may move over the earth surface with the satellite movement (and the earth’s rotation) or may be earth fixed with some beam pointing mechanism used by the satellite 801 to compensate for its motion. The size of a spotbeam depends on the system design and may range from tens of kilometers to a few thousands of kilometers.

[0069] The NTN beam may, in comparison to the beams observed in a terrestrial network, provide a very wide footprint and may cover an area outside of the area defined by the served cell. Beam covering adjacent cells will overlap and cause significant levels of intercell interference, resulting from the slow decrease of the signal strength in the outward radial direction. This is due in part to the high-elevation angle and long distance to the network-side (satellite-borne) transceiver, which, compared with terrestrial cells, results in a comparatively small relative difference between the distance from the cell center to the satellite 801 and the distance from a point at the cell edge to the satellite 801. To overcome the large levels of interference, a typical approach in NTN is to configure different cells with different carrier frequencies and polarization modes.

[0070] Three types of beams or cells are supported in NTN. They include the following:Earth-fixed beams / cells provisioned by beam(s) continuously covering the same geographical areas all the time (e.g., in the case of GEO satellites);Quasi-earth-fixed beams / cells provisioned by beam(s) covering one geographic area for a limited period and a different geographic area during another period (e.g., in the case of NGSO satellites generating steerable beams); andEarth-moving beams / cells provisioned by beam(s) whose coverage area slides over the earth’s surface (e.g., in the case of NGSO satellites generating fixed or non-steerable beams).

[0071] Throughout this disclosure we are hereafter using the terms beam and cell interchangeably, unless explicitly noted otherwise.

[0072] Of the three above cell types, quasi-earth-fixed cells and moving cells seem to be the most promising for actual deployment. In the case of moving cells, each cell (the footprint of its beam(s)) moves across the surface of the earth as its serving satellite moves along its orbit.

[0073] In the case of quasi-earth-fixed cells, the cell area (as the name implies) remains fixed to the same geographical area, regardless of satellite movements. To enable this, a serving satellite has to have means for dynamically directing its beam(s), so that the same area of the earth is covered despite the satellite’s movement. However, since the satellites orbit around the earth, the same satellite will only be able to cover the same area on the earth for a limited time, unless the satellite is in a geostationary orbit (note that LEO satellites currently have the most traction in the satellite communication industry). This means that different satellites will have the task of covering a certain geographical cell area at different time periods. When this task is switched from one satellite to another, this in principle means that one cell is replaced by another, although covering the same area (often referred to as a cell switch). As a consequence, all UEs connected in the old cell (i.e., UEs in RRC CONNECTED state) have to be handed over (or otherwise moved, e.g., using RRC connection reestablishment) from the old to the new cell, and all UEs camping on the old cell (i.e., UEs in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE state) have to perform cell reselection to the new cell.

[0074] A similar situation occurs in conjunction with feeder link switches, i.e., when the serving satellite remains the same, but its connection to the ground changes from one (old) GW / gNB to another (new) GW / gNB. Also, in this case there is a switch between an old cell and a new cell, that is, the old cell is replaced by a new cell.

[0075] In terms of such cell switches there are two alternative principles: 1) hard switch; and 2) soft switch. With a hard switch, there is an instantaneous switch from the old to the new cell, i.e., the new cell appears at the same time as the old cell disappears. This makes completely seamless (i.e., interruption free) handover impossible in practice and creates a situation which may lead to overload of the access resources in the new cell, e.g., due topotential access attempt peaks when many UEs try to access the new cell right after the cell switch. With soft switch, there is a time period during which the new cell and old cell coexist (i.e., overlap), covering the same geographical area. This coexistence / overlap period allows some time for connected UEs to be handed over and for camping UEs to reselect to the new cell, which facilitates distribution of the access load in the new cell, and thereby also provides better conditions for handovers with shorter interruption time. Soft switch is likely to be the most prevalent cell switch principle in quasi-earth-fixed cell deployments.

[0076] Figure 9 illustrates a diagram 900 showing an example of orbital elements showing parameters included in one ephemeris data format. Ephemeris data, sometimes referred to as “ephemeris information” or “ephemeris parameters” or just “ephemeris”, is data that allows a UE (or other entity) to determine a satellite’s position and velocity, i.e., the ephemeris data contains parameters related to the satellite’s orbit. There are several different formats defined for ephemeris data.

[0077] 3GPP Release 16 specifies that ephemeris data should be provided to the UE, for example, to assist with pointing a directional antenna (or an antenna beam) towards the satellite, and to calculate a correct Timing Advance (TA) and Doppler shift. In NR NTN and loT NTN, ephemeris data will be broadcast in the system information (SI) in each cell, included in an NTN specific System Information Block (SIB), (labeled SIB 19 in NR NTN and SIB31 loT NTN).

[0078] A satellite orbit 902 can be fully described using six parameters. Exactly which set of parameters is chosen can be decided by the user, as many different representations are possible. For example, a choice of parameters used often in astronomy is the set (a, a, i, Q, co, t). Here, the semi-major axis, a, and the eccentricity, a, describe the shape and size of the orbital ellipse; the inclination i, the right ascension of the ascending node Q 904, and the argument of periapsis 906 co determine the satellite’s position in space, and the epoch time t determines a reference time (e.g., the time when the satellite moves through periapsis). This set of parameters is illustrated in Figure 9. The inclination i is the angle between the elliptical plane 908 and the equatorial plane 910.

[0079] As an example of a different parametrization, the Two-Line Element Sets (TLEs) use mean motion n and mean anomaly M instead of a and t. A different set of parameters is the position and velocity vector (x, y, z, vx, vy, vz) of a satellite. These are sometimes called orbital state vectors. They can be derived from the orbital elements and vice versa, since the information they contain is equivalent. One skilled in the art will understand that the examples above are merely illustrative of sets of parameters that can be used for ephemeris data in anNTN, and that various other sets of parameters may be used for the various embodiments described herein.

[0080] An aspect discussed during the 3GPP study item and captured in 3GPP is the validity time of ephemeris data. Predictions of satellite positions, in general, degrade with increasing age of the ephemeris data used, e.g., due to atmospheric drag, maneuvering of the satellite, imperfections in the orbital models used, etc. Therefore, the publicly available TLE data are updated quite frequently. For example, the update frequency depends on the satellite and its orbit and ranges from weekly to multiple times a day for satellites on very low orbits which are exposed to strong atmospheric drag and need to perform correctional maneuvers often. Even more frequent updates will be used in NR NTN (and loT NTN) to allow the UE to determine / predict the satellite’s position (and velocity) accurately enough to satisfy the requirements in NTN, e.g., to enable a UE to calculate an accurate enough UE-specific TA.

[0081] A Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) comprises a set of satellites orbiting the earth in orbits crossing each other, such that the orbits are distributed around the globe. The satellites transmit signals and data that allows a receiving device on earth to accurately determine time and frequency references and, accurately determine its position, provided that signals are received from a sufficient number of satellites (e.g., four). The position accuracy may typically be in the range of a few meters, but a stationary device may achieve much better accuracy using averaging over multiple measurements.

[0082] A well-known example of a GNSS is the American Global Positioning System (GPS). Other examples are the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and the European Galileo system.

[0083] The transmissions from GNSS satellites include signals that a receiving device uses to determine the distance to the satellite. By receiving such signals from multiple satellites, the device can determine its position. However, this also requires the device to know the positions of the satellites. To enable this, the GNSS satellites also transmit data about their own orbits (from which position at a certain time can be derived). In GPS, such information is referred to as ephemeris data and almanac data (or sometimes lumped together under the term navigation information).

[0084] The time required to perform a GNSS measurement, e.g., a GPS measurement, may vary widely depending on the circumstances, and mainly depends on the status of the ephemeris and almanac data the measuring devices have previously acquired (if any). In the worst case, a GPS measurement can take several minutes. GPS is using a bit rate of 50 bps for transmitting its navigation information. The transmission of the GPS date, time and ephemeris informationtakes 90 seconds. Acquiring the GPS almanac containing orbital information for all satellites in the GPS constellation takes more than 10 minutes. If a UE already possesses this information, the synchronization to the GPS signal for acquiring the UE position and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a significantly faster procedure. The state of a GNSS receiver with regard to the above, may be classified as cold, warm, or hot state, where the time required to perform a GNSS measurement to determine a position is the longest in cold state, and the shortest in hot state. Often, the time to perform a GNSS measurement is described in terms of the following three states or starting types of the GNSS receiver:Hot state: the device remembers its last calculated position and the satellites in view, the almanac used, and the UTC Time. It leverages this information to make an attempt to lock onto the same satellites and calculate a new position. This is the quickest state but, generally, it only works close to the location of the last GNSS measurement.Warm state: the device remembers its last calculated position, almanac used, and UTC Time, but not which satellites were in view. It then performs a reset and attempts to obtain the satellite signals and calculates a new position. The receiver has a general idea of which satellites to look for because it knows its last position, and the almanac data helps to identify which satellites are visible in the sky.Cold state: the device does not have any usable previous information. The device attempts to locate satellites, download the almanac, and calculate the new location. This takes the longest time of all.

[0085] A relevant note on terminology is that a position determined based on a GNSS measurement, or the act of determining a position based on a GNSS measurement, is also referred to as a “position fix”.

[0086] In 3GPP release 17, it is assumed, for both NR NTN and loT NTN, that every UE is equipped with a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver and is capable of determining its own location using GNSS measurements and, based on that, handling the timing and frequency synchronization. The GNSS receiver allows a device to estimate its geographical position. In one example, an NTN gNB carried by a satellite, or communicating via a satellite, broadcasts its ephemeris data (i.e., data that informs the UE about the satellite’s position, velocity, and orbit) and full or partial feeder link delay (in the form of common TA parameters) to a GNSS equipped UE. The UE can then determine the propagation delay, the delay variation rate, the Doppler shift, and its variation rate based on the UE’s own location (obtained through GNSS measurements) and the satellite location and movement (derived fromthe ephemeris data). The UE may use this knowledge to compensate for the propagation delay and Doppler effect in its UL transmissions.

[0087] The GNSS receiver also allows a device to determine a time reference (e.g., in terms of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)) and frequency reference, which may facilitate the UE’s handling of the timing and frequency synchronization in an NR or LTE based NTN.

[0088] The 3GPP release 17 study item description (SID) on NB-IoT and LTE M for NTN supports this observation with the following statement:GNSS capability in the UE is taken as a working assumption in this study for both NB- loT and eMTC devices. With this assumption, UE can estimate and pre-compensate timing and frequency offset with sufficient accuracy for UL transmission. Simultaneous GNSS and NTN NB-IoT / eMTC operation is not assumed.

[0089] Furthermore, in the NR NTN work item and loT NTN work item for 3 GPP release 17, GNSS capability is assumed, i.e., it is assumed that an NR NTN capable or loT NTN capable UE also is GNSS capable and GNSS measurements at the UEs are essential for the operation of the NTN, e.g., the UEs are expected to compensate their UL transmissions for the propagation delay and Doppler effect. In particular, the UE uses knowledge of its location and broadcast information about the satellite’s position (i.e., ephemeris data) to calculate the UE- satellite RTT, which is then used in UE autonomous calculation of a Timing Advance (TA). However, an loT NTN UE is not expected to be able to perform a GNSS measurement while receiving transmissions from network at the same time.

[0090] When using GNSS measurements for purposes related to the operation and performance of an NR NTN or loT NTN, the GNSS measurement must be fresh enough to be reliable. For this reason, the notion of a GNSS validity timer or validity duration has been introduced, which governs the maximum age UE location information may have when used in such operations (e.g., for calculation of a timing advance). A suitable value for this maximum age may depend on the UE’s implementation, and therefore the GNSS validity timer is a UE implementation specific mechanism. However, the standard specifications for loT NTN include means by which the UE can inform the network (i.e., the serving eNB) of the remaining time of the UE’s currently running GNSS validity timer.

[0091] Due to the special operating conditions in a Non-Terrestrial Network, the system information broadcast in an NTN cell has to include NTN-specific information. To serve this purpose, a new SIB (SIB 19) is introduced in NR NTN which contains NTN-specific information. In loT NTN, the new SIB31 more or less corresponds to SIB 19 in NR NTN. In3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.4.0, SIB19 is defined as follows in Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.l) code:- ASN1 START- TAG-SIB 19-STARTSIB19-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { ntn-Config NTN-Config-rl7 OPTIONAL, - Need R t-Service-rl7 INTEGER (0 .549755813887) OPTIONAL, - Need R referenceLocation-rl7 ReferenceLocation-rl7 OPTIONAL, — Need R ta-Report-rl7 ENUMERATED {enabled} OPTIONAL, — Need R lateNonCriticalExtension OCTET STRING OPTIONAL,[[ ntn-NeighCellConfigListExt-vl720 NTN-NeighCellConfigList-rl7 OPTIONAL — NeedR]]}NTN-NeighCellConfigList-rl7 : := SEQUENCE (SIZE(l..maxCellNTN-rl7)) OF NTN-NeighCellConfig-r 17NTN-NeighCellConfig-rl7 SEQUENCE { ntn-Config-rl7 NTN-Config-rl7 OPTIONAL, - Need R carrierFreq-rl7 ARFCN-ValueNR OPTIONAL, - Need R physCellId-rl7 PhysCellld OPTIONAL - Need R}- TAG-SIB 19-STOP- ASN1STOPTable I .

[0092] Furthermore, the NTN-Config-rl7 IE is defined as follows in ASN.l code in the same specification:- ASN1 START- TAG-NTN-CONFIG-STARTNTN-Config-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { epochTime-rl7 EpochTime-rl7 OPTIONAL, -- Need R ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration-rl7 ENUMERATED {s5, slO, sl5, s20, s25, s30, s35, s40, s45, s50, s55, s60, sl20, sl80,s240, 900 } OPTIONAL, - Cond SIB 19 cellSpecificKoffset-rl7 INTEGER(O..1O23) OPTIONAL, - Need R kmac-rl7 INTEGER(0..512) OPTIONAL, - Need R ta-Info-rl7 TAInfo-rl7 OPTIONAL, - Need R ntn-PolarizationDL-rl7 ENUMERATED {rhcp,lhcp, linear} OPTIONAL, — Need ntn-PolarizationUL-rl7 ENUMERATED {rhcp,lhcp, linear} OPTIONAL, — Need ephemerislnfo-rl7 Ephemerislnfo-rl7 OPTIONAL, — Need R ta-Report-r!7 ENUMERATED {enabled} OPTIONAL, - Need REpochTime-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { sfn-rl7 INTEGER(O..1O23), subFrameNR-rl7 INTEGER(0..9)}TAInfo-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { ta-Common-rl7 INTEGER(0..66485757), ta-CommonDrift-rl7 INTEGER(-257303..257303) OPTIONAL, - Need R ta-CommonDriftVariant-rl7 INTEGER(0..28949) OPTIONAL - Need R }- TAG-NTN-CONFIG-STOP- ASN1STOPTable 2

[0093] And the Ephemerisinfo IE is defined as follows in ASN.l code in the same specification:- ASN1 START- TAG-EPHEMERISINFO-STARTEphemerislnfo-rl7 ::= CHOICE { positionVelocity-rl7 PositionVelocity-rl7, orbital-rl7 Orbital-rl7}PositionVelocity-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { positionX-rl7 PositionStateVector-rl7, positionY-rl7 PositionStateVector-rl7, positionZ-r!7 PositionState V ector-r 17,vel ocity VX-r 17 Vel ocity State V ector-r 17, vel ocity VY -r 17 Vel ocity State V ector-r 17, vel ocity VZ -r 17 Vel ocity State V ector-r 17}Orbital-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { semiMaj orAxis-r 17 INTEGER (0..8589934591), eccentricityE-rl7 INTEGER (0.. 1048575), periapsis-rl7 INTEGER (0.. 268435455), longitude-rl7 INTEGER (0.. 268435455), inclinationl-rl7 INTEGER (-67108864.. 67108863} meanAnomaly-r 17 INTEGER (0..16777215)}PositionStateVector-rl7 ::= INTEGER (-3355432..33554431)Velocity State Vector-rl 7 ::= INTEGER (-131072..131071)- TAG-EPHEMERISINFO-STOP- ASN1STOPTable 3

[0094] The Non-Terrestrial Network described above is based on 5G / NR technology adapted for communication via satellites. But an NTN standard for loT, denoted as “IoT NTN”, is also specified in 3GPP Release 17. IoT NTN is based on the LTE NB-IoT technology adapted for communication via satellites. To distinguish NTN based 5G / NR technology from IoT NTN, NTN based on 5G / NR technology is often referred to as “NR NTN”. In light of these distinctions, depending on the context, the term “NTN” is sometimes used to refer to either or both of NR NTN and IoT NTN, and sometimes the term “NTN” is used to refer only to NR NTN.

[0095] One difference between NR NTN and IoT NTN is that while an NR NTN UE is expected to be able to perform GNSS measurements independently of its communication inthe NTN (e.g., using separate receiver circuitry for the two operations), an loT NTN is not expected to be able to perform GNSS measurements independently of its communication. Hence, to ensure that data is not lost in the loT NTN while the UE performs a GNSS measurement, the network has the option to configure a GNSS measurement gap for a UE, during which the UE can perform a GNSS measurement. A measurement gap is a time period during which the network refrains from scheduling any downlink or uplink transmissions for the UE.

[0096] A terrestrial network (TN) comprises of one or more radio network nodes (e.g., base stations) deployed on the ground. The TN may also be called a non-NTN network, or nonsatellite network. A UE operating in the TN is served by the radio network node belonging to the TN.

[0097] The TN is traditionally deployed using fixed base stations, which do not move. Therefore, the fixed base station is statically deployed in a certain location within the coverage area. However, the TN may also comprise one or more movable radio network nodes (e.g., mobile base stations such as drones, high altitude platform stations (HAPS), etc.) which can move from one location to another.

[0098] There currently exist certain challenges. In the NR Rel-18 work item (WI) on NTN enhancement (i.e., NR_NTN_enh -Core), the objective on network verified UE location (as captured in RP-223534) is defined as follows:Based on RANI conclusions of the study phase, RAN to prioritize the specification of necessary enhancements to multi-RTT to support the network verified UE location in NTN assuming a single satellite in view [RANI, 2, 3, 4]; andDL-TDoA methods for verification may be considered as lower priority and if time permits and condition in Note is satisfied.

[0099] From the above study objective, it is observed that the study will focus on enhancement of multi-RTT in NTN assuming a single satellite in view. According to the WI discussion, the solution will reuse the NR Uu positioning framework as the baseline. Figure 10 illustrates an example of the long latency and overhead issue caused by the positioning procedure. The satellite / TRP 1002 transmits positioning reference signals at multiple time instants where satellite / TRP 1002 located at each time instant can be considered as a virtual TRP. The UE 1001 performs DL positioning measurements at each time instant and provides the measurement results to the LMF 1003. Similarly, the UE 1001 would transmit an uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., SRS) at multiple time instants. The satellite / TRP 1002 performs UL positioning measurements at each time instant and provides the measurementresults to the LMF 1003. Based on the received positioning measurement results, the LMF 1003 can thereafter compute the UE’s location. In the positioning procedure, the LMF 1003 also needs to exchange corresponding positioning configurations and assisting information with each gNB / TRP, and the UE 1001. Signaling overhead and long latency are foreseen in such a positioning procedure. The UE 1001 may not be allowed to run any service before its location is verified successfully. The UE 1001 with critical latency requirements would fail to satisfy the QoS requirements due to the long latency introduced by the positioning procedure. As shown in Figure 10, during an initial access procedure, the UE 1001’s location is verified successfully with a Uu positioning procedure, which causes latency and signaling overhead.

[0100] In a hybrid network comprising TN and NTN cells, a capable UE can be configured with dual connectivity (DC) of TN and NTN, within each of the two cell groups, MCG 104 (TN) and SCG 108 (NTN) or MCG 104 (NTN) and SCG 108 (TN), carrier aggregation may be used as well.

[0101] A problematic positioning issue in a UE configured with DC between TN and NTN is that the two positioning mechanisms and procedures in TN and NTN are conducted separately without interaction between the TN cell and the NTN cell. In the worst case, the UE is experiencing a long positioning latency (which may result in a positioning failure) in the NTN CG while the UE’s connection in the TN CG is sufficiently good to support a fastpositioning procedure, which cannot be used.

[0102] On other hand, for a UE served by a TN cell, GNSS positioning isn’t mandatory for operation in the TN cell, wherein, one possibility is UE doesn’t support a GNSS positioning feature and another possibility is GNSS positioning isn’t always enabled. In this case, a positioning procedure triggered in the TN cell may take long latency or give inaccurate positioning results, due to GNSS positioning not being available.

[0103] Because of the above issues in the TN cell and NTN cell, the consequence of no coordination / interaction would be that: 1) positioning complexity is increased; 2) one of the positioning procedures is redundant, since there is already one positioning procedure is running / completed; and / or 3) additional delay is added to the positioning procedure. It is desired to define and regulate the positioning in a UE configured with DC between the TN and NTN effectively.

[0104] Similar issues also exist for a multi-connectivity / DC scenario containing multiple / two NTN cell groups.

[0105] Certain aspects of the disclosure and the embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0106] For a UE served / configured with more than one cell group (e.g., two cell groups), where at least one CG is NTN CG, the location of the UE can be computed by involving TRPs / satellites belonging to multiple CGs in the positioning procedure.

[0107] In an example, the proposed solution addresses the above-described problems by introducing transfer mechanisms of positioning information between a TN cell (Celli) and a NTN cell (Cell2), provided a UE is configured with DC between TN and NTN, wherein, two cell groups can be configured as MCG 104 (TN) and SCG 108 (NTN) or MCG 104 (NTN) and SCG 108 (TN).

[0108] In an example, the gNB or LMF operating the NTN cell serving the UE (TN and NTN DC configured) sends a positioning request to the UE and the UE responds with the positioning information acquired from the gNB or LMF operating the TN cell. Alternatively, the gNB or LMF operating the TN cell serving the UE (TN and NTN DC configured) sends a positioning request to the UE and the UE responds with the positioning information acquired from the gNB or LMF operating the NTN cell.

[0109] In the procedure, the UE needs to receive / provide corresponding assistance information from / to the corresponding gNB and LMF.

[0110] The proposed solution is also applicable to a multi-connectivity / DC scenario which contains multiple / dual NTN CG for the UE.

[0111] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, the solution can ensure that a UE configured with DC between a TN and NTN can synchronize positioning procedures. For a UE configured with DC between a TN and NTN, the cooperation between positioning procedures in the TN and NTN in turn improves the efficiency of UE mobility in the TN and NTN.

[0112] 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.

[0113] The proposed solution is described below mainly in terms of NR NTN, but the solution is equally applicable to loT NTN. Adapting the solution description to loT NTN implies minor adjustments such as straightforward changes of terminology, e.g., that a BS should be considered to be an eNB rather than a gNB, and that the inter-BS communication protocol is X2 Application Protocol (X2AP) instead of Xn Application Protocol (XnAP).

[0114] The term “satellite” may also refer to a satellite node, a satellite access node (SAN), an NTN node, a node in space, etc. A base station (BS) or radio network node (RNN) associated with a satellite might include both a regenerative satellite, where the BS or RNN is the satellitepayload, i.e., the BS or RNN is integrated with the satellite, or a transparent satellite, where the satellite payload is a relay and the BS or RNN is on the ground (i.e., the satellite relays the communication between the BS or RNN on the ground and the UE).

[0115] The term “node” can refer to a network node or a user equipment (UE). Examples of network nodes are a NodeB, a base station (BS), a multi -standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSRBS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB, or SeNB, sa atellite access node (SAN), a location measurement unit (LMU), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a network controller, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a relay, a donor node controlling relay, a base transceiver station (BTS), a Central Unit (e.g., in a gNB), a Distributed Unit (e.g., in a gNB), a Baseband Unit, a Centralized Baseband, a C-RAN, an access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, a transmission reception point (TRP), an Remote Radio Unit (RRU), an Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a core network node (e.g., MSC, MME, etc.), an O&M, an Operations Support Systems (OSS), an self-organizing network (SON), a positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC), etc.

[0116] The non-limiting term “UE” can refer to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UEs include the following: a target device, a device to device (D2D) UE, a vehicular to vehicular (V2V) UE, a machine type UE, a machine-type communication (MTC) UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, a PDA, a tablet, mobile terminals, a smart phone, a laptop embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, an loT device, etc.

[0117] The term “radio access technology”, or RAT, as used herein can refer to any RAT e.g., UTRA, E-UTRA, narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, New Radio (NR), 4G, 5G, 6G, NR NTN, loT NTN, LTE NTN, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the terms “node”, “network node”, or “radio network node” may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

[0118] The term “signal” or “radio signal” as used herein can refer to any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of DL physical signals are reference signals (RS) such as cell specific Reference Signal (RS) (Cell Specific Reference Signal (CRS)), NR-IoT RS Narrowband Reference Signal. (NRS), Narrow Band Primary Synchronization Signal (NPSS), Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal (NSSS), Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) signals in Synchronization Signal (SS) / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), CRS,PRS, etc. RS may be periodic e.g., an RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity e.g., 20 ms, 40 ms, etc. The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR-SSS and NR-PBCH in 4 successive symbols. One or multiple SSBs are transmitted in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity, e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprises parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with regard to reference time (e.g., serving cell’s SFN), etc. Therefore, an SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms. Examples of UL physical signals are reference signals such as SRS, DMRS, etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information, e.g., data, control, etc. Examples of physical channels are PBCH, NPBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, sPUCCH, sPDSCH, sPUCCH, sPUSCH, MPDCCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, E-PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, NPUSCH, etc.

[0119] The term “carrier frequency” as used herein can refer to a component carrier (CC), frequency layer, layer, carrier, frequency, serving carrier, frequency channel, radio channel, radio frequency channel, positioning frequency layer (PFL), measurement object (MO), etc. The carrier frequency belongs to a certain frequency band, which may contain one or multiple carrier frequencies based on its passband (e.g., size of the band in frequency domain) and / or bandwidth of the carriers and / or the channel raster, etc. The carrier frequency related information is transmitted to the UE by a network node using a frequency channel number or identifier via a communication / message, e.g., RRC. Examples of the channel number or identifier, which may be pre-defined, are absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN), NR-ARFCN, etc.

[0120] 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 include: a symbol, a time slot, a subframe, a radio frame, transmission time interval (TTI), interleaving time, a slot, a sub-slot, a mini-slot, a system frame number (SFN) cycle, a hyper- SFN (H-SFN) cycle, etc.

[0121] In this description, the term Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) may, depending on the context, refer to either or both of a NR NTN and loT NTN, and sometimes the term is used to refer to only a NR NTN. Thus, even though the embodiments outlined below are described mainly in terms of NR based NTNs, they are equally applicable in an NTN based on LTE technology (and in particular loT NTN).

[0122] In this solution description, the terms “serving TN cell” and “TN serving cell” are used interchangeably.

[0123] In this solution description, any expression stating that a cell performs an action (e.g., that the serving TN cell sends a communication / message to the UE) should be interpreted as a simplified way of writing that the base station (BS) serving the cell performs an action (e.g., that the BS serving the serving TN cell sends a communication / message to the UE).

[0124] The terms “serving node”, “source node”, “serving / source node”, “ source / serving node”, “target node”, “candidate target node”, “serving BS”, “source BS”, “serving / source BS”, “source / serving BS”, “target BS” and “candidate target BS” may sometimes be used in the solution description. The “node” or “BS” in these terms should be understood as typically being a RAN node in an NTN based on NR technology, LTE technology or any other RAT in which handover, conditional handover or another mobility or conditional mobility concept is defined. In an NR based NTN, such a RAN node may be assumed to be a gNB. In an LTE based NTN (including an loT NTN), such a RAN node may be assumed to be an eNB. Alternatives to, or refinements of, these interpretations are also conceivable. For instance, a gNB may be an en-gNB, and if a split gNB architecture is applied (dividing the gNB into multiple separate entities or notes), the term “node” may refer to a part of the gNB, such as a gNB-CU (often referred to as just CU), a gNB-DU (often referred to as just DU), a gNB-CU- CP, or a gNB-CU-UP. Similarly, an eNB may be an ng-eNB, and if a split eNB architecture is applied (dividing the eNB into multiple separate entities or notes), the term “node” may refer to a part of the eNB, such as an eNB-CU, an eNB-DU, an eNB-CU-CP or an eNB-CU-UP. Furthermore, the “node” in the terms may also refer to an lAB-donor, lAB-donor-CU, IAB- donor-DU, lAB-donor-CU-CP, or an lAB-donor-CU-UP. In the preceding examples, CU refers to a centralized unit, DU refers to a distributed unit, CP refers to a control plane, and UP refers to a user plane.

[0125] The various embodiments in this solution description are often described in conjunction with handover (reconfiguration with sync) or conditional handover (CHO). However, these embodiments are also applicable in conjunction with other mobility procedures and conditional mobility procedures in RRC CONNECTED state. For instance, PSCell change, PSCell addition, SCell addition, conditional PSCell change, and conditional PSCell addition.

[0126] When writing message names of a communication protocol, two equivalent principles are used herein. The writing principle “<protocol name> <message name> message”, for example “XnAP HANDOVER REQUEST message”, and the writing principle“<message name> <protocol name> message”, for example “HANDOVER REQUEST XnAP message” are equivalent, both referring to a message (i.e., “<message name>”) of a communication protocol (i.e., “<protocol name>”), e.g., the HANDOVER REQUEST message of the communication protocol XnAP. The same writing format equivalence applies to other communication protocols, such as NGAP.

[0127] The scenario comprises a UE served by a first cell (Celli), which is served or managed or operated by a first network node (NW1). NW1 is an example of a TN node (e.g., BS, such as a gNB or an eNB, belonging to the TN) and Celli is a TN cell operating on a first TN carrier frequency (Fl 1). The UE is configured to perform measurements at least one carrier frequency (F21) operated by or belonging to the NTN. F21 can be intra-frequency, interfrequency or inter-RAT carrier frequency in relation to Cell 1 operating on F 11. F21 is operated by an NTN node. An example of the NTN node is a satellite node. A satellite node is also referred to herein as a satellite access node (SAN). As an example, a first SAN (SAN1) manages or serves or operates or controls one or more cells belonging to F21. The satellite may host a BS, e.g., a gNB or an eNB, or it may serve as a relay between UEs and a BS (via a GW) on the ground. In release 17 of the 3 GPP standard, the only NTN deployment scenarios that are supported are scenarios where the BS is on the ground (i.e., the transparent payload architecture).

[0128] Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary positioning procedure 1100 operated by Transmission and Reception Point (TRPs) and / or satellites in multiple cell groups in accordance with some embodiments.

[0129] At block 1110, the UE is served or configured with more than one cell group (CG). For example, in one embodiment, the UE may be configured with two cell groups, wherein at least one CG is an NTN CG. The UE may be triggered to perform a positioning procedure, and the UE is the target UE to be positioned.

[0130] At block 1120, a first positioning procedure may be triggered for the UE in a first CG, and TRPs or satellites may be selected in the first CG to join the positioning procedure.

[0131] At block 1130, whether the first positioning procedure gives sufficiently accurate results and / or whether the first positioning procedure is completed may be determined. In one of the examples, the positioning procedure is not completed yet when the positioning procedure has been started over a configured time period. The configured time period may be set according to delay requirements of the positioning procedure. In one of the examples, one of the TRPs or the UE has indicated that positioning measurement results cannot be obtained due to mobility, cell switch / change, radio link failure, etc. In one of the examples, the positioningmeasurement results may indicate that the computed UE position cannot meet the requirement of positioning accuracy.

[0132] At block 1140, a second positioning procedure may be triggered for the UE in a second CG if it is determined at block 1130 that the first positioning procedure cannot give sufficiently accurate results and / or the first positioning procedure cannot be completed successfully. In one example, TRPs and / or satellites in a second CG may be selected to join the second positioning procedure.

[0133] At block 1150, if it is determined at block 1130 that the first positioning procedure can give sufficiently accurate results and / or the first positioning procedure can be completed successfully, the location of the UE may be computed by the LMF based on the positioning measurements provided by the TRPs or satellites are selected in the first CG for the first positioning procedure. On the other hand, in one embodiment, if it is determined at block 1130 that the first positioning procedure cannot give sufficiently accurate results and / or the first positioning procedure cannot be completed successfully, and a second positioning procedure is performed for the UE in a second CG at block 1140, then the location of the UE may be computed by the LMF based at least in part on the positioning measurements provided by the second positioning procedure. Eventually, the location of the UE may be computed based on the positioning measurements provided by the TRPs or satellites that are selected in one CG or multiple CGs with sufficient accuracy. Particularly, in certain embodiments for which both the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure have been triggered, the LMF computes the location of the UE by combining positioning measurement results provided by TRPs / satellites belonging to multiple CGs. In addition, the positioning measurement results provided by the UE are also considered in the same positioning procedure / session.

[0134] In an embodiment, when it is indicated that it is likely that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the first positioning procedure is prolonged by including positioning measurement results obtained in the second positioning procedure. In an embodiment, when it is indicated that it is likely that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the first positioning procedure is terminated. The location of the UE is computed in the second positioning procedure.

[0135] In an embodiment, when it is indicated that it is likely that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure are merged into one positioning procedure in which the location of the UE is computed. Particularly, the positioning measurement resultsprovided by TRPs / satellites belonging to different CGs are indexed with the same procedure ID / session ID. In addition, the positioning measurement results provided by the UE are also considered in the same positioning procedure / session.

[0136] In an embodiment, when it is indicated that it is likely that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the UE and the TRPs in the second CG are initiated to perform positioning measurements for the first positioning procedure. In this case, the location of the UE is computed by the LMF based on positioning measurement results provided by TRPs belonging to different CGs.

[0137] Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary method 1200 performed by a UE for estimating the location of the UE in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, the UE may be served by or configured for more than one cell group or at least two cell groups, wherein at least one CG is an NTN CG. For example, the NTN CG may comprise at least one of the following types of nodes: a NodeB, a base station (BS), a multi -standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB, SeNB, a satellite access node (SAN), a location measurement unit (LMU), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a network controller, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a relay, a donor node controlling relay, a base transceiver station (BTS), a Central Unit, a Distributed Unit, a Baseband Unit, a Centralized Baseband, a C-RAN, an access point (AP), a transmission point, a transmission node, a transmission reception point (TRP), an RRU, an RRH, a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS), a core network node (e.g., MSC, MME, etc.), an O&M, an OSS, a SON, or a positioning node.

[0138] At block 1210, the UE receives, from a network, a communication (e.g., a formatted message) initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), where one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure. For example, the one or more nodes in the first CG may be selected to participate in the first positioning procedure, e.g., by the UE or by the network. In one example, a first positioning procedure may be triggered for the UE in a first CG, and the one or more nodes, e.g., an LMF node or TRPs or satellites in the case of a NTN, may be selected in the first CG to join the positioning procedure.

[0139] At block 1220, the UE determines that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed. For example, the UE may receive, from the network, data indicating that one or more positioning measurements cannot be obtained. In addition, or alternatively, the UE may detect that the one or more positioning measurements cannot be obtained. For example, the one or more positioning measurements may not be obtained based on one or more of thefollowing: mobility of the UE, mobility of one or more nodes of the first CG, a cell switch or change, or a radio link failure. For example, the network and / or the UE may determine that positioning measurement results cannot be obtained due to one or more conditions such as UE mobility, a cell switch or change, radio link failure, etc.

[0140] In some embodiments, the determination that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed may be based on one or more positioning measurements not meeting at least one positioning accuracy threshold. For example, the positioning measurement results may indicate that the computed UE position cannot meet a threshold requirement for positioning accuracy (e.g., a specified network accuracy threshold). In some embodiments, the determination that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed may be based on a failure to obtain one or more positioning measurements meeting at least one positioning accuracy threshold within a time period. In an example, the time period is based on one or more delay thresholds of the first positioning procedure.

[0141] In some embodiments, the UE may receive, from the network, data indicating that the first positioning procedure has not been completed within a time period; or the UE may detect that the first positioning procedure has not been completed within the time period. For example, the determination that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed may be based on the time period, e.g., a time period exceeding one or more delay thresholds of the first positioning procedure.

[0142] At block 1230, the UE receives, from the network, a communication (e.g., a formatted message) initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, where one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure. For example, the second positioning procedure may be triggered for the UE in the second CG after it is determined that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed. As described above, at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a NonTerrestrial Network (NTN) CG and the one or more nodes, e.g., an LMF node or TRPs or satellites in the case of a NTN, may be selected in the second CG to join the positioning procedure. In an embodiment, one CG is an NTN CG and the other CG is a TN CG (e.g., the first CG is an NTN CG and the second CG is a TN CG, or vice versa).

[0143] At determination block 1240, if the UE performs at least a portion of a positioning calculation relating to the first or second positioning procedure, the UE may determine an estimate of its location based on at least one of the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure at block 1250. Alternatively, if the UE does not perform positioning calculations at block 1240 (e.g., the UE may have limited measurement capabilities, be inmotion, not have a direct line of sight to a network node, etc.), the UE may send, to the network, data comprising positioning measurement results for at least one of the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure at block 1260. For example, the network, e.g., a network node such as an LMF, may perform the positioning calculation based on network measurement results corresponding to the first positioning procedure and / or the second positioning procedure sent by the UE at block 1260. Thus, the first positioning procedure and / or the second positioning procedure may be performed at least in part by the UE, either by the UE performing at least a portion of a positioning calculation, or by the UE sending, to the network, measurement results corresponding to the first positioning procedure and / or the second positioning procedure. The UE’s positioning may then be computed based on at least one of the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure. For example, the network (e.g., via an LMF node in the network) may compute the location of the UE by combining positioning measurement results provided by nodes belonging to multiple (e.g., TN and / or NTN) CGs.

[0144] In an embodiment, the UE may provide one or more of the following positioning assistance information for a positioning procedure: an identifier, supported positioning methods in an NTN CG, supported positioning methods in a TN CG, an association between a positioning measurement result and a corresponding cell index or type (e.g., TN cell or NTN cell), a supported GNSS positioning capability, a capability to support positioning information transfer / synchronization between a TN CG and an NTN CG, an identification of a master CG, or an identification of a secondary CG. For example, the UE may provide at least one of the following positioning assistance information to the LMF in TN and NTN cells for positioning purposes: 1) the ID of the UE; 2) the UE’s capability information on positioning in TN cell (i.e., what positioning methods are supported by the UE in TN cell); 3) the association between positioning measurement result and corresponding cell index / type, e.g., TN cell or NTN cell; 4) the UE’s capability information on positioning in NTN cell (i.e., what positioning methods are supported by the UE in NTN cell); 5) the UE’s capability supporting GNSS positioning; 6) the UE’s capability supporting positioning information transfer / synchronization between TN cell and NTN cell; or 7) the CG that the TN / NTN cell belongs to, i.e., MCG 104 or SCG 108.

[0145] In some embodiments, the positioning assistance information may be provided in an unsolicited manner. For example, the UE may send the above assistance information to the gNB or LMF in a TN cell and an NTN cell in an unsolicited manner. In another example, when the UE provides positioning measurement results to the network, in addition to the positioningmeasurement results an NTN cell, the UE may also include positioning measurement results in a TN cell.

[0146] Various other embodiments are possible within the framework of the process illustrated in Figure 12.

[0147] In one embodiment, when it is determined that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the first positioning procedure may be prolonged by including positioning measurement results obtained in the second positioning procedure. For example, the positioning measurement results provided by the UE for the first positioning procedure may be included in positioning measurement results obtained in the second positioning procedure and considered as positioning results obtained in a same positioning procedure / session.

[0148] In an embodiment, when it is determined that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the first positioning procedure may be terminated, and the location of the UE may be computed based on positioning measurements obtained in the second positioning procedure. For example, only the positioning measurements obtained in the second positioning procedure may be used to estimate the UE’s location.

[0149] In an embodiment, when it is determined that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure may be merged into one positioning procedure in which the location of the UE is computed. For example, positioning measurements provided by nodes in the first CG and the second CG may be indexed with a same procedure identifier or session identifier. Further, positioning measurements determined by the UE may be indexed with the same procedure identifier or session identifier.

[0150] In an embodiment, when it is determined that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the UE may send, to the network, data for initiating at least one of the UE or one or more nodes of the second CG to perform positioning measurements for the first positioning procedure, where the first positioning procedure comprises the second positioning procedure, e.g., the first positioning procedure may comprise initial steps and the second positioning procedure may comprise secondary steps of a same positioning procedure.

[0151] In an embodiment, when it is determined that the location of the UE cannot be computed successfully in the first positioning procedure, the UE and nodes in the second CG may be initiated to perform positioning measurements for the first positioning procedure. Inthis case, the location of the UE may be computed by a network node (e.g., an LMF node) based on positioning measurement results provided by nodes belonging to different CGs.

[0152] In an embodiment, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the UE may receive, from the network, a communication enabling one or more nodes of a terrestrial network (TN) CG to provide position assistance information to the UE as a substitute for radio access technology (RAT)-dependent positioning procedures or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning in the NTN CG. For example, when one or more operations by a UE served by an NTN Cell require the UE’s GNSS position or RAT- dependent positioning procedures, but the positioning procedures take too long or are temporarily unavailable, a TN serving cell may be enabled to provide position assistance information to the UE as a substitute solution for positioning procedures or GNSS positioning in the NTN cell.

[0153] In an embodiment, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the UE may receive from the network a communication enabling one or more nodes of the NTN CG to provide position assistance information to the UE as a substitute for positioning procedures or RAT-dependent positioning in a TN CG. For example, a UE served by a TN Cell may require a positioning procedure that is taking too long or is temporarily unavailable. In such cases, an NTN serving cell may be enabled to provide position assistance information to the UE as a substitute solution for positioning procedures in the TN cell.

[0154] In an embodiment, the UE may receive, from the network, an indication of one or more nodes of at least one of the first CG or the second CG for initiating at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure, where signaling or assistance information is sent by the network to the one or more nodes of the at least one of the first CG or the second CG to initiate the at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure. For example, the indication of the at least one of the first CG or the second CG for initiating at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure may be based on at least one of the following: UE downlink (DL) radio channel quality measurements, UE uplink (UL) radio channel quality measurements, a designated master CG for the UE, or a designated secondary CG for the UE.

[0155] In an embodiment, the UE may be served by or configured for more than one cell group, e.g., two cell groups, where at least one CG is NTN CG. For example, when the UE is triggered to initiate a positioning procedure to estimate the UE’s location, the network (e.g., via an LMF node in the network) may select a CG to initiate the positioning procedure for the UE. For example, an LMF may select the CG based on one or more of the followinginformation: the CG in which the UE provides strongest DL radio channel quality measurements (e.g., in terms of metrics including RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, etc.), where the UE measures DL radio channel quality measurements in each CG and reports measurement results to the LMF (e.g., the LMF determines the CG based on DL radio channel quality measurements in each CG); the CG in which the gNB provides strongest UL radio channel quality measurements (e.g., in terms of metrics including RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, etc.), where the gNB measures UL radio channel quality measurements in each CG and reports measurement results to the LMF (e.g., the LMF determines the CG based on UL radio channel quality measurements in each CG); the CG that is the master CG for the UE; or the CG that is the secondary CG for the UE. When the LMF has determined the CG in which the positioning procedure shall be initiated for the UE, the LMF may send signaling and assistance information to the serving gNBs and / or the TRPs in the CG to initiate the positioning procedure for the UE.

[0156] In an embodiment, the UE may receive, from the network, an indication that multiple CGs are to be involved in a positioning procedure for estimating the UE’s location. For example, the UE may be served by or configured for more than one cell group (e.g., two cell groups), where at least one CG is NTN CG. When the UE initiates a positioning procedure (i.e., the UE is the target UE to be positioned), a network (e.g., via an LMF node in the network) may determine multiple CGs to be involved in the positioning procedure for the UE. In this case, gNBs and TRPs in multiple CGs may be involved in the positioning procedure from the start of the procedure, which may help the UE to reduce latency and increase positioning accuracy.

[0157] Figure 13 illustrates an exemplary method 1300 performed by a network for estimating a location of a UE in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, the UE may be served by or configured for more than one cell group (e.g., two cell groups), wherein at least one CG is an NTN CG. The network may perform method 1300 via one or more network nodes (e.g., LMF(s), gNB(s) in a first cell group, gNB(s) in a second cell group, TRP(s) in the first cell group, TRP(s) in the second cell group, and / or other network nodes).

[0158] Referring to Figure 13, at block 1310, the network sends, to a UE, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), where one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure. For example, the first positioning procedure may be initiated in a first CG, and the network may select one or more nodes, such as one or more TRPs or satellites, in the first CG to join the positioning procedure.

[0159] At block 1320, the network determines that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed. For example, the network may determine that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed based on information that the UE’s position cannot be obtained successfully. For example, the one or more positioning measurements may not be obtained based on one or more of the following: mobility of the UE, mobility of one or more nodes of the first CG, a cell switch or change, or a radio link failure. For example, the network and / or the UE may determine that positioning measurement results cannot be obtained due to one or more conditions such as UE mobility, a cell switch or change, radio link failure, etc.

[0160] In some embodiments, the determination that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed may be based on one or more positioning measurements not meeting at least one positioning accuracy threshold. For example, the positioning measurement results may indicate that the computed UE position cannot meet a threshold requirement for positioning accuracy (e.g., a specified network accuracy threshold). In some embodiments, the determination that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed may be based on a failure to obtain one or more positioning measurements meeting at least one positioning accuracy threshold within a time period. In an example, the time period is based on one or more delay thresholds of the first positioning procedure.

[0161] In some embodiments, the network may receive, from the UE, data indicating that the first positioning procedure has not been completed within a time period; or the network may detect that the first positioning procedure has not been completed within the time period. For example, the determination that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed may be based on the time period, e.g., a time period exceeding one or more delay thresholds of the first positioning procedure.

[0162] At block 1330, the network sends, to the UE, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, where one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and where at least one of the first CG or the second CG is an NTN CG. In an embodiment, the network may further send to or request from at least one other node of a TN CG or an NTN CG the data comprising at least one of the following: positioning methods in an NTN CG supported by the UE, positioning methods in a TN CG supported by the UE, an identifier of the UE, an association between a positioning measurement result for the UE and a corresponding cell index or type, a supported GNSS positioning capability, a capability of the UE to support positioning information transfer / synchronization between a TN CG and an NTN CG, an identification of a master CG for the UE, or an identification of a secondary CG for the UE, or whether the at least one othernode is to provide positioning service to the UE. As an example, the TN gNB in MCG 104 serving the UE may exchange one or multiple pieces of information with the NTN gNB in SCG 108 regarding positioning for the UE. Similarly, the NTN gNB in SCG 108 serving the UE may exchange one or multiple pieces of information with the TN gNB in MCG 104 regarding positioning for the UE. In certain embodiments, the serving TN gNB in MCG 104 may send a request message to the NTN gNB in SCG 108 for requesting assistance information for the positioning purpose, or the serving NTN gNB in SCG 108 may send a request message to the TN gNB in MCG 104 for requesting assistance information for the positioning purpose. The request message may be carried over the interface between two eNBs in LTE (X2) or the interface between two gNBs in NR (Xn) interface. For example, the exchanged information or request message may comprise at least one of the following information elements: 1) whether the UE supports positioning in TN cell or NTN cell; 2) the ID of the UE; 3) the UE’s capabilities information on positioning, i.e., what positioning methods are supported by the UE, in TN cell; or 4) whether the NTN / TN gNB would like to provide positioning service to the UE, i.e., to operate as positioning gNB. Analogous exchanges or requests may occur in embodiments with the NTN gNB in MCG 104 and the TN gNB in SCG 108.

[0163] In an embodiment, the network may further determine whether to participate in a positioning procedure for the UE, and the determination may be based on at least one of positioning methods in an NTN CG supported by the UE, or positioning methods in a TN CG supported by the UE. For example, an NTN gNB or a TN gNB may determine whether it wants to be involved in a positioning procedure for a specific UE, and the determination may depend on at least one of the following information / triggers: 1) The UE does not have positioning capability or does not have valid positioning in the TN cell; or 2) The UE does not have positioning capability or does not have valid positioning in the NTN cell.

[0164] In an embodiment, after receiving from the UE data comprising a UE capability for estimating the UE’s location, the network may further send to the UE a request to provide mobility assistance information based on the data comprising a UE capability (UE assistance information on GNSS availability and reception quality information from TN cell and / or NTN cell); and receive from the UE the mobility assistance information in response to the request. In another embodiment, the network may further send to the UE at least one of the following based on the mobility assistance information: GNSS positioning metrics, an identifier for a node in a TN CG or an NTN CG that can be considered for a positioning procedure, or a response time that the UE can take at maximum to provide positioning measurement results for a node in a TN CG or an NTN CG. For example, the network (e.g., via an LMF node in thenetwork) may perform at least one of the following steps to handle the UE’s reported mobility assistance information: receiving the UE capability information on positioning, i.e., what positioning methods are supported by the UE, in TN cell; requesting the UE to provide mobility assistance, such as UE assistance information on GNSS availability and reception quality information from TN cell and / or NTN cell; obtaining the information from the UE and consider received mobility assistance information from the UE, and / or the gNB serving the UE; or further sending at least one of the following assistance information to the UE: GNSS Positioning Metrics as defined in LPP (applicable regardless of the positioning method used); IDs of nodes (cells / satellites / gNBs / TRPs, etc.) that can be considered for a positioning procedure; a response time that the UE can take, e.g., at the maximum, to provide positioning measurement results in TN and NTN cell to the LMF, and / or a different response time configured for each node.

[0165] In an embodiment, the network may further communicate to at least one other node of a TN CG or an NTN CG at least one of the following based on the mobility assistance information: an identifier for a node in a TN CG or an NTN CG which can be considered for a positioning procedure, or a response time that the at least one other node can take at maximum to provide positioning measurement results in a TN CG or an NTN CG. For example, the LMF may receive mobility assistance information from a UE, and / or the gNB serving the UE in a TN cell or a NTN cell, and may send at least one of the following assistance information to the gNB: IDs of nodes (e.g., cells / satellites / TRPs, etc.) that can be considered for a positioning procedure; a response time that the gNB can take at maximum to provide positioning measurement results in TN and NTN cell to the LMF; or a different response time configured for each node.

[0166] Additional embodiments are described below.

[0167] (1) A method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for estimating a location of the UE, the method comprising: receiving, from a network, a communication initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and receiving, from the network, a communication initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG.

[0168] (2) The method of (1), further comprising the step of determining an estimate of the location of the UE based on at least one of the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure.

[0169] (3) The method of any of ( 1 )-(2), further comprising the step of sending, to the network, data comprising positioning measurement results for at least one of the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure.

[0170] (4) The method of any of ( 1 )-(3), further comprising the step of selecting the one or more nodes in the first CG to participate in the first positioning procedure.

[0171] (5) The method of any of ( 1 )-(4), wherein determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed comprises at least one of: receiving, from the network, data indicating that one or more positioning measurements cannot be obtained; or detecting, by the UE, that the one or more positioning measurements cannot be obtained.

[0172] (6) The method of (5), wherein whether the one or more positioning measurements cannot be obtained is based on one or more of the following: mobility of the UE, mobility of one or more nodes of the first CG, a cell switch or change, or a radio link failure.

[0173] (7) The method of any of ( 1 )-(6), wherein determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed is based on a determination that a UE location estimated based on one or more positioning measurements does not meet at least one positioning accuracy threshold.

[0174] (8) The method of any of (l)-(7), wherein determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed comprises at least one of: receiving, from the network, data indicating that the first positioning procedure has not been completed within a time period; or detecting, by the UE, that the first positioning procedure has not been completed within the time period.

[0175] (9) The method of (8), wherein the time period is based on one or more delay thresholds of the first positioning procedure.

[0176] (10) The method of any of ( 1 )-(9), wherein the NTN CG comprises at least one of the following types of nodes: a NodeB, a base station (BS), a multi -standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB, SeNB, a satellite access node (SAN), a location measurement unit (LMU), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a network controller, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a relay, a donornode controlling relay, a base transceiver station (BTS), a Central Unit, a Distributed Unit, a Baseband Unit, a Centralized Baseband, a C-RAN, an access point (AP), a transmission point, a transmission node, a transmission reception point (TRP), an RRU, an RRH, a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS), a core network node (e.g., MSC, MME, etc.), an O&M, an OSS, a SON, or a positioning node.

[0177] (11) The method of any of (l)-(10), further comprising: sending, to the network, measurement results corresponding to the first positioning procedure.

[0178] (12) The method of any of (l)-(l 1), further comprising: sending, to the network, measurement results corresponding to the second positioning procedure.

[0179] (13) The method of any of ( 1 )-(12), wherein the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure are performed at least in part by the UE.

[0180] (14) The method of any of (l)-(l 3), wherein the method further comprises the step of: prolonging the first positioning procedure to include positioning measurements obtained in the second positioning procedure.

[0181] (15) The method of any of (1)-(14), wherein the method further comprises the step of: terminating the first positioning procedure based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed.

[0182] (16) The method of (15), wherein the estimate of the location of the UE is based on positioning measurements obtained in the second positioning procedure.

[0183] (17) The method of any of (l)-(l 6), wherein, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the method further comprises the step of: merging the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure into a combined positioning procedure.

[0184] (18) The method of (17), wherein positioning measurements provided by nodes in the first CG and the second CG are indexed with a same procedure identifier or session identifier.

[0185] (19) The method of any of (17)-(18), wherein positioning measurements determined by the UE are indexed with the same procedure identifier or session identifier.

[0186] (20) The method of any of (l)-(l 9), wherein, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the method further comprises: sending, to the network, data for initiating at least one of the UE or one or more nodes of the second CG to perform positioning measurements for the first positioning procedure, wherein the first positioning procedure comprises the second positioning procedure.

[0187] (21) The method of any of (l)-(20), wherein, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the method further comprises the step of: receiving, from the network, a communication enabling one or more nodes of a terrestrial network (TN) CG to provide position assistance information to the UE as a substitute for radio access technology (RAT)-dependent positioning procedures or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning in the NTN CG.

[0188] (22) The method of any of (l)-(21), wherein, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the method further comprises the step of: receiving, from the network, a communication enabling one or more nodes of the NTN CG to provide position assistance information to the UE as a substitute for positioning procedures or RAT-dependent positioning in a TN CG.

[0189] (23) The method of any of (l)-(22), further comprising the step of: receiving, from the network, an indication of one or more nodes of at least one of the first CG or the second CG for initiating at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure, wherein signaling or assistance information is sent by the network to the one or more nodes of the at least one of the first CG or the second CG to initiate the at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure.

[0190] (24) The method of (23), wherein the indication of the one or more nodes of the at least one of the first CG or the second CG for initiating the at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure is based on at least one of the following: UE downlink (DL) radio channel quality measurements, UE uplink (UL) radio channel quality measurements, a designated master CG for the UE, or a designated secondary CG for the UE.

[0191] (25) The method of any of (l)-(24), further comprising the step of: receiving, from the network, an indication that multiple CGs are to be involved in a positioning procedure for estimating the UE’s location.

[0192] (26) The method of any of ( 1 )-(25), wherein initiating a positioning procedure comprises providing one or more of the following positioning assistance information for the UE: an identifier, supported positioning methods in an NTN CG, supported positioning methods in a TN CG, an association between a positioning measurement result and a corresponding cell index or type (e.g., TN cell or NTN cell), a supported GNSS positioning capability, a capability to support positioning information transfer / synchronization between a TN CG and an NTN CG, an identification of a master CG, or an identification of a secondary CG.

[0193] (27) The method of (26), wherein the positioning assistance information is provided in an unsolicited manner.

[0194] (28) A method performed by a network for estimating a UE’s location, the method comprising: sending, to a UE, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and sending, to the UE, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG.

[0195] (29) The method of (28), further comprising the step of sending to or requesting from, at least one other node of a TN CG or an NTN CG, data comprising at least one of the following: positioning methods in an NTN CG supported by the UE, positioning methods in a TN CG supported by the UE, an identifier of the UE, an association between a positioning measurement result for the UE and a corresponding cell index or type, a supported GNSS positioning capability, a capability of the UE to support positioning information transfer / synchronization between a TN CG and an NTN CG, an identification of a master CG for the UE, or an identification of a secondary CG for the UE, or whether the at least one other node is to provide positioning service to the UE.

[0196] (30) The method of any of (28)-(29), further comprising the step of: determining whether to participate in a positioning procedure for the UE, wherein the determination is based on at least one of positioning methods in an NTN CG supported by the UE, or positioning methods in a TN CG supported by the UE.

[0197] (31) The method of any of (28)-(30), further comprising the steps of: receiving, from the UE, data comprising a UE capability for estimating the UE’s location; sending, to the UE, a request to provide mobility assistance information based on the data comprising a UE capability (UE assistance information on GNSS availability and reception quality information from TN cell and / or NTN cell); and receiving, from the UE, the mobility assistance information in response to the request.

[0198] (32) The method of (31), further comprising the step of sending, to the UE, at least one of the following based on the mobility assistance information: GNSS positioning metrics,an identifier for a node in a TN CG or an NTN CG which can be considered for a positioning procedure, or a response time which the UE can take at maximum to provide positioning measurement results for a node in a TN CG or an NTN CG.

[0199] (33) The method of any of (31 )-(32), further comprising sending, to at least one other node of a TN CG or an NTN CG, at least one of the following based on the mobility assistance information: an identifier for a node in a TN CG or an NTN CG which can be considered for a positioning procedure, or a response time which the at least one other node can take at maximum to provide positioning measurement results in a TN CG or an NTN CG.

[0200] (34) A network for estimating a location of a UE, the network comprising: processing circuitry configured to: send, to a UE, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determine that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and send, to the UE, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0201] (35) A user equipment (UE) for providing a location of the UE, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receive, from a network, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determine that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and receive, from the network, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0202] (36) A user equipment (UE) for providing a location of the UE, the 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: receive, from a network, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determine that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and receive, from the network, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG; 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.

[0203] Figure 14 shows an example of a communication system 1400 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 1400 includes a telecommunication network 1402 that includes an access network 1404, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1406, which includes one or more core network nodes 1408. The access network 1404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1410a and 1410b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1410), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non- 3 GPP access points. 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 disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1402 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1402 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 implementone or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1402, including one or more network nodes 1410 and / or core network nodes 1408.

[0204] 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 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1412a, 1412b, 1412c, and 1412d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1412) to the core network 1406 over one or more wireless connections.

[0205] 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 1400 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 1400 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0206] The UEs 1412 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 1410 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1410 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1412 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network1402 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 1402.

[0207] In the depicted example, the core network 1406 connects the network nodes 1410 to one or more hosts, such as host 1416. 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 1406 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1408) 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 1408. 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 (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0208] The host 1416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1404 and / or the telecommunication network 1402, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1416 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.

[0209] As a whole, the communication system 1400 of Figure 14 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 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 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 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.

[0210] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1402 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1402. For example, the telecommunications network 1402 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 loT services to yet further UEs.

[0211] In some examples, the UEs 1412 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 1404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1404. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN- DC).

[0212] In the example, the hub 1414 communicates with the access network 1404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1412c and / or 1412d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1410b). In some examples, the hub 1414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1414 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1406 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1414 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 1410, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1414. As another example, the hub 1414 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 1414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1414 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after addingadditional local content. In still another example, the hub 1414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0213] The hub 1414 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1410b. The hub 1414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1414 and UEs (e.g., UE 1412c and / or 1412d), and between the hub 1414 and the core network 1406. In other examples, the hub 1414 is connected to the core network 1406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1414 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1404 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1410 while still connected via the hub 1414 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1414 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 1410b. In other embodiments, the hub 1414 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1410b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0214] Figure 15 shows aUE 1500 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 IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, 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 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0215] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehi cl e-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 device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or whichmay 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).

[0216] The UE 1500 includes processing circuitry 1502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1504 to an input / output interface 1506, a power source 1508, a memory 1510, a communication interface 1512, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 15. 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.

[0217] The processing circuitry 1502 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 1510. The processing circuitry 1502 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 1502 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0218] In the example, the input / output interface 1506 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 1500. 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.

[0219] In some embodiments, the power source 1508 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 1508 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1508 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1500 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1508. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1508 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1500 to which power is supplied.

[0220] The memory 1510 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1510 includes one or more application programs 1514, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1516. The memory 1510 may store, for use by the UE 1500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0221] The memory 1510 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 random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or 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 ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1510 may allow the UE 1500 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 1510, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0222] The processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1512. The communication interface 1512 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1522. The communication interface 1512 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 1518 and / or a receiver 1520 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1518 and receiver 1520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1522) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0223] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1512 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, 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 in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0224] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1512, 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).

[0225] 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, themotor, 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.

[0226] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (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 TV, 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 Virtual Reality (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 1500 shown in Figure 15.

[0227] 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 and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0228] 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 thefunctionalities 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.

[0229] Figure 16 shows a network node 1600 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, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0230] 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 0-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units 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).

[0231] 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 base station 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).

[0232] The network node 1600 includes a processing circuitry 1602, a memory 1604, a communication interface 1606, and a power source 1608. The network node 1600 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a 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 1600 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 someinstances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1600 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1604 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1610 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1600 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1600, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1600.

[0233] The processing circuitry 1602 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, 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 1600 components, such as the memory 1604, to provide network node 1600 functionality.

[0234] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1602 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1602 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1612 and baseband processing circuitry 1614. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1612 and the baseband processing circuitry 1614 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 RF transceiver circuitry 1612 and baseband processing circuitry 1614 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0235] The memory 1604 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, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (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 computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1602. The memory 1604 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 1602 and utilized by the network node 1600. The memory 1604 may beused to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1602 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1606. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1602 and memory 1604 is integrated.

[0236] The communication interface 1606 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 1606 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1616 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1606 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1618 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1610. Radio front-end circuitry 1618 comprises filters 1620 and amplifiers 1622. The radio front-end circuitry 1618 may be connected to an antenna 1610 and processing circuitry 1602. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1610 and processing circuitry 1602. The radio front-end circuitry 1618 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 1618 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1620 and / or amplifiers 1622. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1610. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1610 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1618. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1602. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0237] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1600 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1618, instead, the processing circuitry 1602 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1612 is part of the communication interface 1606. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1606 includes one or more ports or terminals 1616, the radio front-end circuitry 1618, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1612, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1606 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1614, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0238] The antenna 1610 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1610 may be coupled to the radio frontend circuitry 1618 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1610 is separate from the network node 1600 and connectable to the network node 1600 through an interface or port.

[0239] The antenna 1610, communication interface 1606, and / or the processing circuitry 1602 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1610, the communication interface 1606, and / or the processing circuitry 1602 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0240] The power source 1608 provides power to the various components of network node 1600 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1608 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1600 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1600 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1608. As a further example, the power source 1608 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.

[0241] Embodiments of the network node 1600 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 16 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 1600 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1600 and to allow output of information from the network node 1600. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1600.

[0242] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1700 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 implementedas virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1700 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 1700 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0243] Applications 1702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1700 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0244] Hardware 1704 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 1706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1708a and 1708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1708), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1708.

[0245] The VMs 1708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1708, 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.

[0246] In the context of NFV, a VM 1708 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 1708, and that part of hardware 1704 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function isresponsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1708 on top of the hardware 1704 and corresponds to the application 1702.

[0247] Hardware 1704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1704 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 1710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1702. In some embodiments, hardware 1704 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 radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0248] 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 a determination. 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.

[0249] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on 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 hard-wired 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.

Claims

Claims1. A method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for estimating a location of the UE, the method comprising: receiving, from a network, a communication initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and receiving, from the network, a communication initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining an estimate of the location of the UE based on at least one of the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2, further comprising the step of sending, to the network, data comprising positioning measurement results for at least one of the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, further comprising the step of selecting the one or more nodes in the first CG to participate in the first positioning procedure.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed comprises at least one of: receiving, from the network, data indicating that one or more positioning measurements cannot be obtained; or detecting, by the UE, that the one or more positioning measurements cannot be obtained.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein whether the one or more positioning measurements cannot be obtained is based on one or more of the following: mobility of the UE, mobility of one or more nodes of the first CG, a cell switch or change, or a radio link failure.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed is based on a determination that a UE location estimated based on one or more positioning measurements does not meet at least one positioning accuracy threshold.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed comprises at least one of: receiving, from the network, data indicating that the first positioning procedure has not been completed within a time period; or detecting, by the UE, that the first positioning procedure has not been completed within the time period.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the time period is based on one or more delay thresholds of the first positioning procedure.

10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein the NTN CG comprises at least one of the following types of nodes: a NodeB, a base station (BS), a multi -standard radio (MSR) radio node, an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB (gNB), a master eNB (MeNB), a secondary eNB (SeNB), a satellite access node (SAN), a location measurement unit (LMU), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a network controller, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a relay, a donor node controlling relay, a base transceiver station (BTS), a Central Unit, a Distributed Unit, a Baseband Unit, a Centralized Baseband, a cloudradio access network (C-RAN), an access point (AP), a transmission point, a transmission node, a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a remote radio head (RRH), a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS), a core network node, an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) node, an Operations Support System (OSS) node, a Self-Organizing Network (SON) node, or a positioning node.

11. The method of any of claims 1-10, further comprising: sending, to the network, measurement results corresponding to the first positioning procedure.

12. The method of any of claims 1-11, further comprising: sending, to the network, measurement results corresponding to the second positioning procedure.

13. The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure are performed at least in part by the UE.

14. The method of any of claims 1-13, wherein the method further comprises the step of: prolonging the first positioning procedure to include positioning measurements obtained in the second positioning procedure.

15. The method of any of claims 1-14, wherein the method further comprises the step of: terminating the first positioning procedure based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the estimate of the location of the UE is based on positioning measurements obtained in the second positioning procedure.

17. The method of any of claims 1-16, wherein, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the method further comprises the step of: merging the first positioning procedure and the second positioning procedure into a combined positioning procedure.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein positioning measurements provided by nodes in the first CG and the second CG are indexed with a same procedure identifier or session identifier.

19. The method of any of claims 17-18, wherein positioning measurements determined by the UE are indexed with the same procedure identifier or session identifier.

20. The method of any of claims 1-19, wherein, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the method further comprises: sending, to the network, data for initiating at least one of the UE or one or more nodes of the second CG to perform positioning measurements for the first positioning procedure, wherein the first positioning procedure comprises the second positioning procedure.

21. The method of any of claims 1-20, wherein, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the method further comprises the step of:receiving, from the network, a communication enabling one or more nodes of a terrestrial network (TN) CG to provide position assistance information to the UE as a substitute for radio access technology (RAT)-dependent positioning procedures or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning in the NTN CG.

22. The method of any of claims 1-21, wherein, based on determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed, the method further comprises the step of: receiving, from the network, a communication enabling one or more nodes of the NTN CG to provide position assistance information to the UE as a substitute for positioning procedures or RAT-dependent positioning in a TN CG.

23. The method of any of claims 1-22, further comprising the step of: receiving, from the network, an indication of one or more nodes of at least one of the first CG or the second CG for initiating at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure, wherein signaling or assistance information is sent by the network to the one or more nodes of the at least one of the first CG or the second CG to initiate the at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the indication of the one or more nodes of the at least one of the first CG or the second CG for initiating the at least one of the first positioning procedure or the second positioning procedure is based on at least one of the following: UE downlink (DL) radio channel quality measurements, UE uplink (UL) radio channel quality measurements, a designated master CG for the UE, or a designated secondary CG for the UE.

25. The method of any of claims 1-24, further comprising the step of: receiving, from the network, an indication that multiple CGs are to be involved in a positioning procedure for estimating the UE’s location.

26. The method of any of claims 1-25, wherein initiating a positioning procedure comprises providing one or more of the following positioning assistance information for the UE: an identifier, supported positioning methods in the NTN CG, supported positioning methods in a TN CG, an association between a positioning measurement result and a corresponding cell index or type, a supported GNSS positioning capability, a capability tosupport positioning information transfer or synchronization between the TN CG and the NTN CG, an identification of a master CG, or an identification of a secondary CG.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the positioning assistance information is provided in an unsolicited manner.

28. A method performed by a network for estimating a location of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: sending, to the UE, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determining that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and sending, to the UE, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the step of sending to or requesting from, at least one other node of a TN CG or the NTN CG, data comprising at least one of the following: positioning methods in the NTN CG supported by the UE, positioning methods in the TN CG supported by the UE, an identifier of the UE, an association between a positioning measurement result for the UE and a corresponding cell index or type, a supported GNSS positioning capability, a capability of the UE to support positioning information transfer or synchronization between the TN CG and the NTN CG, an identification of a master CG for the UE, or an identification of a secondary CG for the UE, or whether the at least one other node is to provide positioning service to the UE.

30. The method of any of claims 28-29, further comprising the step of: determining whether to participate in a positioning procedure for the UE, wherein the determination is based on at least one of positioning methods in the NTN CG supported by the UE, or positioning methods in a TN CG supported by the UE.

31. The method of any of claims 28-30, further comprising the steps of: receiving, from the UE, data comprising a UE capability for estimating the UE’s location;sending, to the UE, a request to provide mobility assistance information based on the data comprising a UE capability; and receiving, from the UE, the mobility assistance information in response to the request.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of sending, to the UE, at least one of the following based on the mobility assistance information: GNSS positioning metrics, an identifier for a node in a TN CG or the NTN CG that can be considered for a positioning procedure, or a response time that the UE can take at maximum to provide positioning measurement results for a node in the TN CG or the NTN CG.

33. The method of any of claims 31-32, further comprising sending, to at least one other node of a TN CG or the NTN CG, at least one of the following based on the mobility assistance information: an identifier for a node in the TN CG or the NTN CG that can be considered for a positioning procedure, or a response time that the at least one other node can take at maximum to provide positioning measurement results in the TN CG or the NTN CG.

34. A network for estimating a location of a UE, the network comprising: processing circuitry configured to: send, to a UE, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determine that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and send, to the UE, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

35. A user equipment (UE) for providing a location of the UE, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receive, from a network, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determine that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; andreceive, from the network, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

36. A user equipment (UE) for providing a location estimate, the 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: receive, from a network, data for initiating a first positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a first cell group (CG), wherein one or more nodes in the first CG participate in the first positioning procedure; determine that the first positioning procedure cannot be completed; and receive, from the network, data for initiating a second positioning procedure for estimating the location of the UE in a second CG, wherein one or more nodes in the second CG participate in the second positioning procedure, and wherein at least one of the first CG or the second CG is a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) CG; 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.

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