Sending and receiving information indicating that a network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more cells, beams and / or synchronization signal blocks

Abstract

Embodiments of a method performed by a first network node for enabling energy saving in a network are disclosed. In some embodiments, the method may include sending, to a second network node, first information identifying: one or more cells; and / or one or more Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beams in the one or more cells. The method further includes sending, to the second network node, second information indicating that, to reduce energy consumption, the second network node may select: an active or inactive state for one or more cells served by the second network node; and / or an active or inactive state for one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

Description

SENDING AND RECEIVING INFORMATION INDICATING THAT A NETWORK NODE MAY SELECT AN ACTIVE OR INACTIVE STATE FOR ONE OR MORE CELLS, BEAMS AND / OR SYNCHRONIZATION SIGNAL BLOCKSTechnical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to network energy savings, and in particular to sending and receiving information indicating that a network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more cells, beams and / or synchronization signal blocks.BackgroundNetwork energy consumption

[0002] Network energy consumption is a considerable challenge of 5G systems today. A major contributor to the network energy consumption is the radio unit of the RAN. The network energy consumption for NR is said to be less than for LTE due to the lean design of NR, i.e., no CRS and a SSB periodicity of 20 ms by default. However, current NR implementations often consume more energy compared to LTE, partly due to a larger bandwidth, BW, a shorter transmission time interval, TTI, and a massive number of antenna ports, among other things, increasing LI processing needs many times over. The network energy consumption is still (too) high even at times when cells and beams are lightly loaded or serve no traffic or users at all. To reduce the network energy consumption, a study item (SI) on network energy saving for NR was initiated by 3GPP in Rel-18. The SI was concluded with the outcome captured in 3GPP TR 38.864 [1], Following the SI, a new work item (WI) on network energy saving for NR was approved during RAN#98 [2], The objectives of the WI include, but are not limited to, specifying inter-node beam activation and enhancements on restricting paging in a limited area.

[0003] In Rel-18, 3GPP has agreed that one NG-RAN node can, instead of requesting to activate all the SSBs in the cell, point to a set of SSBs to be activated toanother NG-RAN node. In a disaggregated gNB deployment, the gNB-CU can request to activate a set of SSBs instead all the SSBs when the Cell is to be activated.

[0004] 3GPP TS 38.300 V17.6.0 §15.5.5 specifies Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) for the aggregated NG-RAN architecture.Beginning of excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.300 V17.6.015.5.5 Support for Coverage and Capacity Optimisation15.5.5.1 GeneralThe objective of NR Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) function is to detect and resolve or mitigate CCO issues, e.g. coverage and cell edge interference issues.15.5.5.2 OAM requirementsEach NG-RAN node may be configured with alternative coverage configurations by OAM. The alternative coverage configurations contain relevant radio parameters and may also include a range for how each parameter is allowed to be adjusted.15.5.5.3 Dynamic coverage configuration changesAn NG-RAN node may autonomously adjust within and switch between coverage configurations. When a change is executed, a NG-RAN node may notify its neighbour NG-RAN nodes using the NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message with the list of cells and SSBs with modified coverage included. The list contains the CGI of each modified cell with its coverage state indicator and optionally the SSB index of each modified SSB with its coverage state indicator.The coverage state indicator may be used at the receiving NG-RAN node to adjust the functions of the Mobility Robustness Optimisation, e.g. by using the coverage state indicator to retrieve a previously stored Mobility Robustness Optimisation state. The coverage state indicator may also be used at the receiving NG-RAN node to adopt coverage configurations matching with neighbouring cells coverage configurations.If the list includes indication about planned reconfiguration and possibly a list of replacing cells, the receiving NG-RAN node may use this to avoid connection or re-establishment failures during the reconfiguration. Also, if the sending NG-RAN node adds cells in inactive state, the receiving NG-RAN node may use this information to avoid connection or re-establishment failures. The receiving NG-RAN node may also use the notification to reduce the impact on mobility. The receiving NG-RAN node should avoid triggering handovers towards cell(s) that are indicated to be inactive.[...]End of excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.300 V17.6.0Beginning of excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.401 V17.6.07.9 Support for CCO7.9.1 GeneralThe NR Capacity and Coverage Optimization (CCO) Function in non-split gNB case is specified in TS 38.300 [2], The objective of this function is to detect and mitigate coverage and cell edge interference issues.7.9.2 OAM requirementsEach gNB -DU may be configured with alternative coverage configurations by OAM. The alternative coverage configurations contain relevant radio parameters and may also include a range for how each parameter is allowed to be adjusted.7.9.3 Dynamic coverage configuration changesIn case of split gNB architecture, CCO detection function is located at the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU signals to the gNB-DU the CCO issue and the affected cells and beams. The gNB-DU resolves the CCO issue concerning own served cell by local action within the OAM configured limits. The gNB-DU may also take into account information received for other cells when adopting the CCO configuration. The gNB-DU informs the gNB-CU of the new coverage states adopted.[...]End of excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.401 V17.6.0

[0005] There currently exist certain challenge(s). For example, in the current CCO solution, the CCO detection function is located at the gNB-CU, as noted above in TS 38.401.

[0006] The gNB-DU is the entity in charge of resolving the CCO issue(s) signalled by the gNB-CU, and this includes a modification of an SSB coverage state to value ‘O’, which indicates that the SSB beam is inactive. However, in the CCO solution, the inactivation of an SSB beam is the result of a preceding interaction between gNB-CU and gNB-DU, i.e., it is not only a gNB-DU decision that is involved in addressing a CCO issue.

[0007] Moreover, when an SSB is deactivated, the only use case for which this is done is to resolve a CCO issue, which is currently limited to the cases of coverage optimization and cell edge capacity optimization. Namely, the current CCO solution does not cover cases where cells or SSBs are modified for energy saving reasons. This may create issues because, if for example an SSB is deactivated for energy saving reasons and such action is communicated from the gNB-DU to the gNB-CU via the SSB Coverage State = 0, the gNB-CU and any other neighbor node receiving such update information may understand that this action is done for coverage optimization or for cell edge interference optimization. The latter may lead to adjustments from neighbor nodes that are aimed at optimizing coverage or cell edge interference, while the target of the configuration change is energy saving.

[0008] Therefore, it is unclear how a cell or SSB deactivation due to network energy saving purposes can be integrated with the current CCO mechanism.Summary

[0009] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0010] An aspect of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a first network node. The method comprises: sending, to a second network node, first information identifying one or more cells and / or one or more Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beams in the one or more cells; and sending, to the second network node, second information indicating that, to reduce energy consumption, the second network node may select: an active or inactive state for one or more cells served by the second network node; and / or an active or inactive state for one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0011] Some embodiments further comprise sending, to the second network node, information indicating that the second network node can only select an active or inactive state for the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0012] In some embodiments, the information indicating that the second network node can only select an active or inactive state for the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node is sent to the second network node together with the first information.

[0013] In some embodiments, the one or more cells and / or SSB beams identified by the first information includes at least a subset of the one or more cells served by the second network node and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0014] In some embodiments, the first information and / or the second information identifies the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0015] In some embodiments, the first information identifies one or more neighbor cells and / or SSB beams for the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0016] In some embodiments, the first information identifies a respective active or inactive state for each of the one or more neighbor cells and / or SSB beams.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first information or the second information indicates that one or more of the one or more neighbor cells and / or SSB beams are inactive to reduce energy consumption.

[0018] Some embodiments further comprise receiving information identifying the respective active or inactive state for each of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams from one or more network nodes serving the one or more neighbor cells and / or SSB beams.

[0019] In some embodiments, the second information indicates that energy consumption should be reduced in a network including the first network node and the second network node.

[0020] In some embodiments, the first information is included in GNB-CU configuration update information, and the second information is included in Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) assistance information.

[0021] The method of any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the second information identifies a time from which the second network node may select an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells and / or SSB beams served by the second network node.

[0022] In some embodiments, the second information identifies a time duration for which the second network node may select an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0023] In some embodiments, the second information identifies one or more coverage state values that the second network node may select for each of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node, wherein each of the one or more coverage state values may be either one of a first value indicating an active state and a second value indicating an inactive state.

[0024] In some embodiments, the second information includes a requested coverage state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0025] Some embodiments further comprise selecting the one or more cells served by the second network node and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node based on one or more of: an active or inactive state of each of the cells; an active or inactive state of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells; information from an 0AM node; and load information identifying a load at one or more network nodes.

[0026] Some embodiments further comprise receiving, from the second network node, third information identifying an active or inactive state selected by the second network node for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0027] In some embodiments, the third information indicates that an inactive state is selected to reduce energy consumption for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0028] In some embodiments, the information identifying one or more cells, and / or identifying one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells, identifies a Cell Global Identity (CGI) of the one or more cells.

[0029] In some embodiments, the first network node comprises a base station central unit (CU), and / or the second network node comprises a base station, base station distributed unit (DU) or Radio Access Network (RAN) node.

[0030] A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a second network node. The method comprises: receiving, from a first network node, first information identifying one or more cells, and / or identifying one or more Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beam in the one or more cells; and receiving, from the first network node, second information indicating that, to reduce energy consumption, the second network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or indicating that the second network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0031] Some embodiments further comprise selecting an active or inactive state for each of one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0032] Some embodiments further comprise receiving, from the first network node, information indicating that the second network node can only select an active or inactive state for the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0033] In some embodiments, the information indicating that the second network node can only select an active or inactive state for the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node is received from the first network node together with the first information.

[0034] In some embodiments, the one or more cells, beams and / or SSB beams in the one or more cells includes at least a subset of the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0035] In some embodiments, the first information and / or the second information identifies the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0036] In some embodiments, the first information identifies one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams for the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0037] In some embodiments, the first information identifies a respective active or inactive state of each of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams.

[0038] In some embodiments, the first information or the second information indicates that one or more of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams are inactive to reduce energy consumption.

[0039] Some embodiments further comprise selecting, based on the active or inactive state of each of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams, an active or inactive state for each of one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node

[0040] Some embodiments further comprise receiving information identifying the respective active or inactive state for each of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams from one or more network nodes serving the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams.

[0041] In some embodiments, the second information indicates that energy consumption should be reduced in a network including the first network node and the second network node.

[0042] In some embodiments, the second information is included in Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) assistance information.

[0043] In some embodiments, the second information identifies a time from which the second network node may select an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0044] Some embodiments further comprise selecting, at or after the time, an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0045] In some embodiments, the second information identifies a time duration for which the second network node may select an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0046] Some embodiments further comprise selecting an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node, and, after the time duration, selecting an active state for the one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node

[0047] In some embodiments, the second information identifies coverage state values that the second network node may select for each of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node, wherein the coverage state values include a value indicating an inactive state.

[0048] In some embodiments, the second information includes a requested state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0049] Some embodiments further comprise selecting, based on the requested state for the one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node, an active or inactive state for each of the one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node and / or the one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node

[0050] Some embodiments further comprise sending, to the first network node, third information identifying an active or inactive state selected by the second network node for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0051] In some embodiments, the third information indicates that an inactive state is selected to reduce energy consumption for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0052] In some embodiments, the information identifying one or more cells, and / or identifying one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells, identifies a Cell Global Identity (CGI) of the one or more cells.

[0053] In some embodiments, the first network node comprises a base station central unit (CU), and / or the second network node comprises a base station, base station distributed unit (DU) or Radio Access

[0054] Examples of this disclosure may enable that the Cell / SSB deactivation due to network energy saving is integrated within the CCO procedure. The gNB-CU taking into account the 0AM configuration information, indicates to gNB-DU that it is allowed to deactivate cells / SSBs for network energy saving purposes. gNB-CU may further provide a list of Cells / SSBs that are allowed to have such handling, namely that are allowed to be deactivated or that are allowed to be modified in a specific way, where such a way may be configured by the 0AM (i.e. the 0AM may configure to the gNB-DU which coverage state can be adopted for cells / SSBs in case of energy optimization modifications). The gNB-CU further provide assistance information to the gNB-DU on the Cell / SSBs that are affected by the CCO issue, where such new issue is energy saving.

[0055] Additionally, the gNB-CU can also signal to the gNB-DU updated configurations adopted by neighbour RAN nodes, on Cells / SSBs of the neighbour nodes due to network energy reason.

[0056] The gNB-DU takes into account the information, determines and indicates when the Cells / SSBs under its cotrol are deactivated, due to e.g. Network Energy Saving reasons. The gNB-DU may further act upon the received information from the gNB-CU for the Cells / SSB served by neighbour RAN nodes affected by changes due to energy optimization reasons, and determine an action that matches such changes. For example, if the neighboring Cells / SSBs are Inactive due to network energy saving purpose, the action would simply be not to change any configuration because it may be assumed that deactivation of an SSB / cell for energy saving reasons would not create any coverage hole or capacity shortage.

[0057] The neighboring gNB may respect the indication that the Cells / SSBs are deactivated for network energy saving purpose and it will not request the activation for the given Cell / SSB within a certain time period. Such time period may be explicitlyconfigured by an external system, e.g. the OAM, to each RAN node involved in this process, or it might be explicitly signalled between neighbor nodes.

[0058] Examples of this disclosure make use of the fact that CCO already introduced a Cell Coverage State and “SSB Coverage State" in TS 38.423 (XnAP, §9.1.3.4) and TS 38.473 (F1AP, §9.3.1.213) which enables a number of possible coverage configurations (OAM pre-defined), with value “0” being equivalent to the

[0059] Examples of this disclosure may enable a network node to indicate that the CCO actions corresponding to issue detection signalling and coverage state signalling are due to energy optimization reasons. This may enable appropriate coordination of CCO actions between neighbor nodes.

[0060] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, while CCO and network energy saving partially aim at controlling the same cell / beam resources, proper interaction is ensured by incorporating protocol aspects for network energy saving into the existing CCO framework. For instance, examples of this disclosure may allow that an action initiated by a RAN node (e.g. base station, base station distributed unit, etc.) to resolve a CCO issue which will result in the deactivation of one or more SSBs at its end does not conflict with a network energy saving action which might have been initiated by a neighbor RAN node.

[0061] Embodiments of a base station, communication system, and a method in a communication system are also disclosed.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0062] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain principles of the disclosure.

[0063] Fig 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments;

[0064] Fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments;

[0065] Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating methods in accordance with some embodiments;

[0066] Fig. 4 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0067] Fig 5 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

[0068] Fig. 6 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0069] Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a host;

[0070] Fig 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; andDetailed Description

[0071] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0072] At least some of the following abbreviations and terms may be used in this disclosure.• 2D Two Dimensional• 3 GPP Third Generation Partnership Project• 5G Fifth Generation• AAS Antenna Array System• AoA Angle of Arrival• AoD Angle of DepartureASIC Application Specific Integrated CircuitBF BeamformingBLER Block Error RateBW Beam widthCPU Central Processing UnitCSI Channel State Information dB DecibelDCI Downlink Control InformationDFT Discrete Fourier TransformDSP Digital Signal Processor eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node BFIR Finite Impulse ResponseFPGA Field Programmable Gate Array gNB New Radio Base StationICC Information Carrying CapacityIIR Infinite Impulse ResponseLTE Long Term EvolutionMIMO Multiple Input Multiple OutputMME Mobility Management EntityMMSE Minimum Mean Square ErrorMTC Machine Type CommunicationNR New Radio0 AM Operations Administration and MaintenanceOTT Over-the-TopPBCH Physical Broadcast ChannelPDCCH Physical Downlink Control ChannelPDSCH Physical Downlink Shared ChannelP-GW Packet Data Network Gateway• RAM Random Access Memory• ROM Read Only Memory• RRC Radio Resource Control• RRH Remote Radio Head• SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function• SINR Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio• TBS Transmission Block Size• UE User Equipment• ULA Uniform Linear Array• URA Uniform Rectangular Array

[0073] Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” is either a radio access node or a wireless device.

[0074] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” or “radio network node” is any node in a radio access network of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), and a relay node.

[0075] Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), or the like.

[0076] Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” is any type of device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a cellular communications network by wirelessly transmitting (and / or receiving) signals to (and / or from) a radio access node. Someexamples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3 GPP network and a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device.

[0077] Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network or the core network of a cellular communications network / system.

[0078] Cell: As used herein, a “cell” is a combination of radio resources (such as, for example, antenna port allocation, time and frequency) that a wireless device may use to exchange radio signals with a radio access node, which may be referred to as a host node or a serving node of the cell. However, it is important to note that beams may be used instead of cells, particularly with respect to 5G NR. As such, it should be appreciated that the techniques described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams. For greater clarity, the term “cell”, as used herein, shall be understood to encompass cells and / or beams, as appropriate.

[0079] Note that references in this disclosure to various technical standards (such as 3GPP TS 38.211 V15.1.0 (2018-03) and 3GPP TS 38.214 V15.1.0 (2018-03), for example) should be understood to refer to the specific version(s) of such standard(s) that is(were) current at the time the present application was filed, and may also refer to applicable counterparts and successors of such versions.

[0080] The description herein focuses on a 3 GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3 GPP system.

[0081] Systems and methods are disclosed herein that enable coverage area modification for network energy saving purposes.

[0082] Figure 1 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 1 may be performed by a first network node (e.g. the network node 410 or network node 600 as described later with reference to Figures 4 and 6 respectively), such as for example a base station central unit (CU). The method begins at step 102with sending, to a second network node, first information identifying one or more cells, and / or identifying one or more Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beams in the one or more cells. Step 104 of the method comprises sending, to the second network node, second information indicating that, to reduce energy consumption, the second network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or indicating that the second network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0083] Figure 2 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method may be performed by a second network node (e.g. the network node 410 or network node 600 as described later with reference to Figures 4 and 6 respectively), such as for example a base station, base station distributed unit (DU) or Radio Access Network (RAN) node. The method begins at step 202 with receiving, from a first network node, first information identifying one or more cells, and / or identifying one or more Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beam in the one or more cells. Step 204 of the method comprises receiving, from the first network node, second information indicating that, to reduce energy consumption, the second network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or indicating that the second network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

[0084] Specific example embodiments are now described below for illustrative purposes. It is noted that the below examples are described in the context of CCO, for example information contained in CCO related Information Elements (IES), though any examples of this disclosure could alternatively be implemented as a standalone IE or other information-carrying element or message, for example introduced for Network Energy Saving purposes.

[0085] Further, the below examples are described in the context of New Radio(NR) / 5G, whereas any example of this disclosure may be alternatively implemented in other wireless communication systems and technologies, such as for example LTE / 4G,6G etc. Thus, where a node such as a gNB, gNB-CU or gNB-DU is referred to, these could alternatively be the appropriate nodes for other technologies, e.g. eNB, eNB-CU and eNB-DU for LTE / 4G, or more generally a base station, base station central unit and base station distributed unit. gNB-CU Embodiments

[0086] In some example embodiments, the gNB-CU taking into account the 0AM configuration and other additional information, such as load in the network (e.g., the load in a specific cell, or a specific SSB beam, or in a set of SSB beams), instructs and allows a gNB-DU to perform Cell / SSB deactivation, e.g. in the case of Network Energy Saving. In an example embodiment, this may be accomplished by revising the GNB- CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message defined in section 9.2.1.10 of TS 38.473 VI 7.6.0 to include the Cell list and the per Cell SSB list that are allowed to be deactivated by gNB-DU. For example, the following Information Elements (IES) and options may be added to the GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the gNB-CU determines to switch off a set of SSBs in a cell instead all of the SSBs in the cell, in order to avoid SSB activation and deactivation bouncing back and forth. In an example embodiment, this may be accomplished by revising the GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message defined in section 9.2.1.10 of TS 38.473 VI 7.6.0 to include the include the SSB list in the “Cells to be Deactivated List” of the GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message. For example, an IE “» SSB list” may be added to the GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message within an applicable “>Cells to be Deactivated List Item” IE, as shown belowBeginning of excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.09.2.1.10 GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATEThis message is sent by the gNB-CU to transfer updated information associated to an F 1-C interface instance.NOTE: If Fl-C signalling transport is shared among several Fl-C interface instances, this message may transfer updated information associated to several Fl-C interface instances.Direction: gNB-CU -> gNB-DUEnd of excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.0

[0088] In some example embodiments, the gNB-CU notifies to the gNB-DU that the CCO issue detected is due to “Network Energy Saving” cause. Refer to Figure 4 below. This enables the gNB-DU to understand that, for the Cells and SSB affected, the coverage of such cells and SSBs can be modified for energy saving reasons. With such information the gNB-DU may deduce that, for example, the deactivation of a cell / SSB should not be matched by the activation or the coverage extension of other cells / SSB because such action would not produce energy savings. In an example embodiment, this may be accomplished by revising the CCO Assistance Information message defined in section 9.3.1.211 of TS 38.473 V17.6.0 to include a cause value such as “Network Energy Saving” or “Network Energy Optimization” in the “CCO issue detection” IE, as shown below.Beginning of excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.09.3.1.211 CCO Assistance InformationThis IE indicates the Capacity and Coverage (CCO) actions for specific CCO issues detected.End of Excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.0

[0089] In a depending embodiment, the gNB-CU indicates to the gNB-DU which cells / SSBs can be affected by the issue “energy Efficiency” and which cells / SSBs can be deactivated due to resolution of such issue.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the gNB-CU further indicates which updates from neighbor RAN node on cells / SSBs served by such neighbor nodes are due to network energy saving cause. In an example embodiment, this may be accomplished by revising the Affected Cells and Beams message defined in section 9.3.1.212 of TS 38.473 V17.6.0 to include an “»SSB Affected Cause” IE as shown below. This embodiment allows the gNB-CU to indicate Cell / SSB reshaping due to different reasons in one message.Beginning of excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.09.3.1.212 Affected Cells and BeamsThis IE includes a list of cells and / or SS / PBCH block indexes affected by the detected CCO issue.End of excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.0

[0091] In some example embodiments, the gNB-CU indicates to the gNB-DU whether or not there is an ongoing network energy saving action in conjunction with the determination of certain CCO issue. In an example embodiment, this may be accomplished by revising the CCO Assistance Information message defined in section9.3.1.211 of TS 38.473 VI 7.6.0 to include an option such as “Network Energy Saving” in the CCO issue detection IE, as shown below.Beginning of excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.09.3.1.211 CCO Assistance InformationThis IE indicates the Capacity and Coverage (CCO) actions for specific CCO issues detected.End of Excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.0

[0092] In some example embodiments, the gNB-CU indicates to the gNB-DU a time from which the gNB-DU is allowed to inactivate one or more SSBs, due to e.g. Network Energy Saving purpose. In an example embodiment, this may be accomplished by revising the CCO Assistance Information message defined in section9.3.1.211 of TS 38.473 VI 7.6.0 to include one or more “Network Energy Saving” options in the CCO issue detection IE, where the gNB-CU indicates to gNB-DU a “Network Energy Saving Period” during which the affected cells and / or the SSBs can be inactivated, due to e.g. Network Energy Saving purpose.Beginning of excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.09.3.1.211 CCO Assistance InformationThis IE indicates the Capacity and Coverage (CCO) actions for specific CCO issues detected.End of Excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.0

[0093] In some example embodiments, the indicated Network Energy Saving Period may represent a length of a time interval during which the gNB-DU is allowed to inactivate one or more SSBs, due to e.g. Network Energy Saving purpose. Refer to Figure 7 above.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the indicated Network Energy Saving Period may represent a length of a time interval during which the gNB-CU wants / recommends / proposes to the gNB-DU to inactivate one or more SSBs, due to e.g. Network Energy Saving purpose.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the gNB-CU may signal to the gNB-DU a list of Cells / SSBs that may be affected by Energy Optimization issues and it may signal on a per cell and SSB basis the values of the coverage state the gNB-DU may select for each of the indicated Cells / SSBs. These coverage state values may may be either one of a first value indicating an active state and a second value (e.g. 0) indicating an inactive state. More generally, a coverage state value can indicate an active state or an inactive state. There can be multiple active states, each one associated with certain coverage state values for cells and / or SSB beams that correspond to certain cells and / or SSB beams shapes, for example. The inactive state for a cell may be identified by a particular value of a cell coverage state, e.g. coverage state value for the cell is 0. Similarly, the inactive state for an SSB beam may be identified by a particular value of SSB beam coverage state, e.g. coverage state value for the SSB beam is 0.gNB-DU Embodiments

[0096] In some example embodiments, the gNB-DU takes into account the information received from the gNB-CU and determines, based on e.g. its own load or knowledge of the coverage of its own cells / SSBs, to deactivate or reshape one or a set of Cells / SSBs, due to the network energy saving cause / actions.

[0097] In some example embodiments, if the Affected Cells and Beams indicated by the gNB-CU in the CCO assistance information not served by the gNB-DU, and the SSBs are deactivated due to Network Energy Saving purpose, the gNB-DU may determine not to adjust its own cell coverage in order to achieve a decrease in energy consumption. Alternatively, the gNB-DU may decide to take coverage modification actions on its cells / SSBs that bring an overall energy consumption reduction, considering the cell / SSB deactivation in the neighbour nodes

[0098] In some example embodiments, the gNB-DU indicates to the gNB-CU that Cells / SSBs are deactivated due to e.g. Network Energy Saving purpose. Optionally, the gNB-DU may indicate to the gNB-CU a time during which the gNB-DU would benefit from keeping the affected cells / SSBs deactivated. In response, the gNB-CU may not Activate the SSB(s) for capacity reasons until the timer expires, unless the need for added capacity is urgent. The gNB-CU may indicate this information to the neighboring gNB nodes.

[0099] In an example embodiment, the gNB-DU may indicate to the gNB-CU that Cells / SSBs are deactivated by revising the Coverage Modification Notification message defined in section 9.3.1.213 of TS 38.473 V17.6.0 to include a “»»SSB Inactive desired Timer” option as shown below. This option may indicate the desired timer to keep the SSB in inactive, due to e.g. Network Energy Saving purpose.Beginning of excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.09.3.1.213 Coverage Modification NotificationThis IE includes a list of cells and / or SS / PBCH block indexes with the corresponding coverage configuration selected by the gNB-DU.End of Excerpt from TS 38.473 V17.6.0Neighboring NG-RAN node Embodiments

[0100] When a Cell or SSB is deactivated due to Network Energy Saving, it is beneficial to notify the neighboring NG-RAN of the cause of such deactivation, i.e. energy ptimisation, and optionally for how long the deactivation should last.

[0101] In some example embodiments, a timer associated to the SSB(s) or Cell(s) is indicated for the deactivation. Such timer may indicate for how long the node deactivating the SSBs / Cells expects them to be deactivated. For example, respective “Cell Inactive Desired Timer” and “SSB Inactive Desired Timer” options for Cell(s) and SSBs may be added to the NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message specified in section 9.1.3.4 of TS 38.423 V17.6.0 as shown below. Following receipt of the desired timer indications, a receiving NG-RAN node may:• not activate the Cell(s) or SSB(s) until the timer expires, unless there is an urgent need; and / or• decide not to take any CCO action to cope with the cell / SSB deactivation, where such potential action could be to reshape a cell or a S SB coverage. Such decision to refrain from any CCO action may last until the timer expires.Beginning of excerpt from TS 38.423 V17.6.09.1.3.4 NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATEThis message is sent by a NG-RAN node to a neighbouring NG-RAN node to transfer updated information for an Xn-C interface instance. Direction: NG-RAN nodeiNG-RAN nodci.End of excerpt from TS 38.423 V17.6.0

[0102] In some example embodiments, which can be combined with the preceding embodiment, when Cell(s) and / or SSB(s) are deactivated due to Network Energy Saving (cell / SSB beam state is inactive), a first NG-RAN node notifies another (neighboring) NG-RAN node of the preferred state for the cell(s) and / or the SSB. In particular, whether the first NG-RAN node preference is to keep the cell(s) coverage state as inactive, and / or whether the first NG-RAN node preference is to keep the SSB coverage state as inactive. For example, respective “Cell Inactive Desired State” and “SSB inactive Desired State” options for Cell(s) and SSBs may be added to the NG- RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message specified in section 9.1.3.4 of TS 38.423 V17.6.0 as shown below. The neighboring gNB may respect these indications and not propose to activate the cell / SSB within the timer period. Beginning of excerpt from TS 38.423 V17.6.09.1.3.4 NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATEThis message is sent by a NG-RAN node to a neighbouring NG-RAN node to transfer updated information for an Xn-C interface instance.Direction: NG-RAN nodel A NG-RAN node2.End of excerpt from TS 38.423 V17.6.0

[0103] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system 400 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0104] In the depicted example, the communication system 400 includes a telecommunication network 402 that includes an access network 404, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 406, which includes one or more core network nodes 408. The access network 404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 410a and 410b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 410), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP 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 includedisaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 402 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 402 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 402, including one or more network nodes 410 and / or core network nodes 408.

[0105] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near- real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 412a, 412b, 412c, and 412d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 412) to the core network 406 over one or more wireless connections.

[0106] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radiowaves, 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 400 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 400 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0107] The UEs 412 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 410 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 410 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 412 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 402 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 402.

[0108] In the depicted example, the core network 406 connects the network nodes 410 to one or more hosts, such as host 416. 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 406 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 408) 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 408. 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), SecurityEdge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0109] The host 416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 404 and / or the telecommunication network 402, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 416 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and / or pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services, for example, 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.

[0110] As a whole, the communication system 400 of Figure 4 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.

[0111] In some examples, the telecommunication network 402 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 402. For example, the telecommunications network 402 may provide Ultra Reliable LowLatency 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.

[0112] In some examples, the UEs 412 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 404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 404. 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).

[0113] In the example illustrated in Figure 4, the hub 414 communicates with the access network 404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 412c and / or 412d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 410b). In some examples, the hub 414 may be a controller, router, a content source and analytics node, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 414 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 406 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 414 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 410, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 414. As another example, the hub 414 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 414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 414 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In stillanother example, the hub 414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0114] The hub 414 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 410b. The hub 414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 414 and UEs (e.g., UE 412c and / or 412d), and between the hub 414 and the core network 406. In other examples, the hub 414 is connected to the core network 406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection.Moreover, the hub 414 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 404 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 410 while still connected via the hub 414 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 414 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 410b. In other embodiments, the hub 414 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 410b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0115] Figure 5 shows a UE 500 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 camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet ofthings (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0116] 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), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0117] The UE 500 includes processing circuitry 502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 504 to an input / output interface 506, a power source 508, a memory 510, a communication interface 512, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 5. 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.

[0118] The processing circuitry 502 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 510. The processing circuitry 502 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 502 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processingcircuitry 502 may be operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other UE 500 components, such as the memory 510, UE 500 functionality.

[0119] In the example, the input / output interface 506 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 500. 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.

[0120] In some embodiments, the power source 508 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 508 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 508 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 500 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 508. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 508 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 500 to which power is supplied.

[0121] The memory 510 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-onlymemory (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 510 includes one or more application programs 514, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 516. The memory 510 may store, for use by the UE 500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0122] The memory 510 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 minidual 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 510 may allow the UE 500 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 510, which may be or comprise a device- readable storage medium.

[0123] The processing circuitry 502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 512. The communication interface 512 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 522. The communication interface 512 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers ofanother device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 518 and / or a receiver 520 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 518 and receiver 520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 522) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0124] In some embodiments, communication functions of the communication interface 512 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.

[0125] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 512, 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).

[0126] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from anetwork node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or controls a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0127] 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 devices which are or which are 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 on the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 500 shown in Figure 5.

[0128] 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 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP 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.

[0129] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0130] Figure 6 shows a network node 600 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 NR NodeBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0131] 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 adistributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0132] 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).

[0133] The network node 600 includes processing circuitry 602, a memory 604, a communication interface 606, and a power source 608, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. The network node 600 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 600 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 600 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 604 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 610 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 600 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 600, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologiesmay be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 600.

[0134] The processing circuitry 602 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 600 components, such as the memory 604, network node 600 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to cause the network node to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure W1 and / or W2.

[0135] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 612 and baseband processing circuitry 614. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 612 and the baseband processing circuitry 614 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 612 and baseband processing circuitry 614 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0136] The memory 604 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 computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 602. The memory 604 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 602 andutilized by the network node 600. The memory 604 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 602 and / or any data received via the communication interface 606. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 and memory 604 is integrated.

[0137] The communication interface 606 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 606 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 616 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 606 also includes radio frontend circuitry 618 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 610. Radio front-end circuitry 618 comprises filters 620 and amplifiers 622. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may be connected to an antenna 610 and processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 610 and processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry 618 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 618 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 620 and / or amplifiers 622. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 610. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 610 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 618. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 602. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0138] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 600 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 618, instead, the processing circuitry 602 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 612 is part of the communication interface 606. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 606 includes one or more ports or terminals 616, the radio front-end circuitry 618, andthe RF transceiver circuitry 612, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 606 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 614, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0139] The antenna 610 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 610 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 618 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 610 is separate from the network node 600 and connectable to the network node 600 through an interface or port.

[0140] The antenna 610, communication interface 606, and / or the processing circuitry 602 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 610, the communication interface 606, and / or the processing circuitry 602 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.

[0141] The power source 608 provides power to the various components of network node 600 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 608 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 600 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 600 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 608. As a further example, the power source 608 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, orintegrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0142] Embodiments of the network node 600 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 6 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 600 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 600 and to allow output of information from the network node 600. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 600.

[0143] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a host 700, which may be an embodiment of the host 416 of Figure 4, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 700 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 700 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0144] The host 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 706, a network interface 708, a power source 710, and a memory 712. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 5 and 6, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 700.

[0145] The memory 712 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 714 and data 716, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 700 or data generated by the host 700 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 700 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 714 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding(VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 714 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 700 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 714 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0146] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 800 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 800 includes components defined by the 0-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0147] Applications 802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0148] Hardware 804 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 806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 808a and 808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 808.

[0149] The VMs 808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 808, 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.

[0150] In the context of NFV, a VM 808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, nonvirtualized machine. Each of the VMs 808, and that part of hardware 804 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 is responsible for handling specific network functions thatrun in one or more VMs 808 on top of the hardware 804 and corresponds to the application 802.

[0151] Hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 804 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 810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 802. In some embodiments, hardware 804 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 812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0152] 445544664477744 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.

[0153] 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.

[0154] While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is representative, and that alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.

[0155] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

Claims1. A method performed by a first network node, the method comprising: sending, to a second network node, first information identifying: one or more cells; and / or one or more Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beams in the one or more cells; and sending, to the second network node, second information indicating that, to reduce energy consumption, the second network node may select: an active or inactive state for one or more cells served by the second network node; and / or an active or inactive state for one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising sending, to the second network node, information indicating that the second network node can only select an active or inactive state for the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the information indicating that the second network node can only select an active or inactive state for the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node is sent to the second network node together with the first information.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the one or more cells and / or SSB beams identified by the first information includes at least a subset of the one or more cells served by the second network node and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first information and / or the second information identifies the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first information identifies one or more neighbor cells and / or SSB beams for the one or more cells served by the second network node.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first information identifies a respective active or inactive state for each of the one or more neighbor cells and / or SSB beams.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first information or the second information indicates that one or more of the one or more neighbor cells and / or SSB beams are inactive to reduce energy consumption.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, comprising receiving information identifying the respective active or inactive state for each of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams from one or more network nodes serving the one or more neighbor cells and / or SSB beams.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the second information indicates that energy consumption should be reduced in a network including the first network node and the second network node.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first information is included in GNB-CU configuration update information; and the second information is included in Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) assistance information.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the second information identifies a time from which the second network node may select an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells and / or SSB beams served by the second network node.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the second information identifies a time duration for which the second network node may select an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second information identifies one or more coverage state values that the second network node may select for each of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node, wherein each of the one or more coverage state values may be either one of a first value indicating an active state and a second value indicating an inactive state.

15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the second information includes a requested coverage state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 15, comprising selecting the one or more cells served by the second network node and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node based on one or more of: an active or inactive state of each of the cells;an active or inactive state of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells; information from an OAM node; and load information identifying a load at one or more network nodes.

17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, comprising receiving, from the second network node, third information identifying an active or inactive state selected by the second network node for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the third information indicates that an inactive state is selected to reduce energy consumption for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the information identifying one or more cells, and / or identifying one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells, identifies a Cell Global Identity (CGI) of the one or more cells.

20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the first network node comprises a base station central unit (CU), and / or the second network node comprises a base station, base station distributed unit (DU) or Radio Access Network (RAN) node.

21. A method performed by a second network node, the method comprising: receiving, from a first network node, first information identifying one or more cells, and / or identifying one or more Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beam in the one or more cells; andreceiving, from the first network node, second information indicating that, to reduce energy consumption, the second network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or indicating that the second network node may select an active or inactive state for one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

22. The method of claim 21, comprising selecting an active or inactive state for each of one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

23. The method of claim 21 or 22, comprising receiving, from the first network node, information indicating that the second network node can only select an active or inactive state for the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the information indicating that the second network node can only select an active or inactive state for the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node is received from the first network node together with the first information.

25. The method of any one of claims 21 to 24, wherein the one or more cells, beams and / or SSB beams in the one or more cells includes at least a subset of the one or more cells served by the second network node.

26. The method of any one of claims 21 to 25, wherein the first information and / or the second information identifies the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

27. The method of any one of claims 21 to 26, wherein the first information identifies one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams for the one or more cells served by the second network node.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first information identifies a respective active or inactive state of each of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the first information or the second information indicates that one or more of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams are inactive to reduce energy consumption.

30. The method of claim 28 or 29, comprising selecting, based on the active or inactive state of each of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams, an active or inactive state for each of one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node31. The method of any one of claims 28 to 30, comprising receiving information identifying the respective active or inactive state for each of the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams from one or more network nodes serving the one or more neighbor cells, beams and / or SSB beams.

32. The method of any one of claims 21 to 31, wherein the second information indicates that energy consumption should be reduced in a network including the first network node and the second network node.

33. The method of any one of claims 21 to 32, wherein the second information is included in Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) assistance information.

34. The method of any one of claims 21 to 33, wherein the second information identifies a time from which the second network node may select an inactivestate for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

35. The method of claim 34, comprising selecting, at or after the time, an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

36. The method of any one of claims 21 to 35, wherein the second information identifies a time duration for which the second network node may select an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

37. The method of claim 36, comprising selecting an inactive state for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node, and, after the time duration, selecting an active state for the one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node38. The method of any one of claims 21 to 37, wherein the second information identifies coverage state values that the second network node may select for each of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node, wherein the coverage state values include a value indicating an inactive state.

39. The method of any one of claims 21 to 38, wherein the second information includes a requested state for one or more of the one or more cells served bythe second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

40. The method of claim 39, comprising selecting, based on the requested state for the one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node, an active or inactive state for each of the one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node and / or the one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node41. The method of any one of claims 21 to 40, comprising sending, to the first network node, third information identifying an active or inactive state selected by the second network node for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the third information indicates that an inactive state is selected to reduce energy consumption for one or more of the one or more cells served by the second network node, and / or one or more of the one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells served by the second network node.

43. The method of any one of claims 21 to 42, wherein the information identifying one or more cells, and / or identifying one or more SSB beams in the one or more cells, identifies a Cell Global Identity (CGI) of the one or more cells.

44. The method of any one of claims 21 to 43, wherein the first network node comprises a base station central unit (CU), and / or the second network node comprises a base station, base station distributed unit (DU) or Radio Access Network (RAN) node.

5. A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform the method of any one of claims 1-20 or claims 21-44; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

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