Detection of unnecessary conditional reconfiguration in dynamic cell switch

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) records user equipment information during a time duration wherein the UE information describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations. Based on the UE information, the UE

Description

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

[0001] An example embodiment relates generally to detecting unnecessary conditional cell configurations and, more particularly, to detecting unnecessary conditional cell conditional configurations in selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. BACKGROUND

[0002] A user equipment may be configured with one or more conditional cell configurations. A user equipment may be configured with multiple conditional cell configurations in preparation for a cell change operation such as conditional handover, conditional primary cell of secondary cell group (PSCell) change, or lower layer triggered mobility. A user equipment device may change to, for example, a new master cell group or secondary cell group based on one of its conditional cell configurations. With selective activation of cell groups, a user equipment may keep unused conditional cell configurations after conditional handover or conditional PSCell change. For example, after completing random access towards a target PSCell, the user equipment may keep conditional cell configurations related to other primary cells of secondary cell groups. This enables another conditional PSCell change after a previous secondary cell group change without reconfiguration and re-initialization of conditional PSCell preparation from the network. This results in a reduction of signaling overhead and interrupting time for secondary cell group change. Similarly, a user equipment may keep conditional handover configurations after executing a handover between master cell groups.

[0003] Lower layer triggered mobility involves a decision about cell change being made based on layer one measurements in the medium access control layer of a distributed unit. In lower layer triggered inter-cell mobility a user equipment may be configured to perform dynamic switching between primary cells, primary cells of secondary cell groups, or secondary cells in the case of carrier aggregation. Similar to selective activation of cell groups, dynamic switching in lower layer triggered mobility allows conditional cell configurations to be maintained after switching, reducing overhead that is associated with preparing such conditional configurations.

[0004] A successful handover report is configured when a conditional handover is executed in order to optimize timing of primary cell group changes. A successful handover report may be configured by both source and target nodes, with each node configuring different parts of the successful handover report. A successful handover report configuration is sent within a radio resource control reconfiguration message when a user equipment is connected to a source cell, and the successful handover report is fetched by the target node and forwarded back to the source node, if needed, using a UEInformationRequest or UEInformationResponse procedure. If the user equipment has an available successful handover report to be reported, the user equipment includes the availability of the successful handover report to the network in a radio resource control procedure complete message (i.e., RRCReconfigurationComplete, RRCReestablishmentComplete, RRCSetupComplete, RRCResumeComplete). The user equipment may discard the successful handover report (i.e., release the user equipment variable VarSuccHO-Report) 48 hours after the successful handover report is stored.

[0005] A user equipment logs a successful handover report if the successful handover report configuration is received during handover and one of the T310 timer (for radio link failure detection), T312 timer (for early radio link failure detection), and T304 timer (for handover failure or random access failure detection) exceeds a threshold (configured by the source node for the T310 / T312 timers and the target node for the T304 timer). There may be separate (potentially in parallel) configurable thresholds for the timers, including percentage values of 40%, 60%, 80%, and in the case of T304, 20%. These percentages indicate the ratio of the threshold value in ms over the signaled timer values. In the case of Dual Active Protocol Stack handover, an extra triggering condition may be configured by the source cell referring to the user equipment experiencing radio link failure in the source cell during the Dual Active Protocol Stack handover execution.

[0006] A successful handover report may include source and target cell identifiers of the handover, location information, the latest radio link measurements of all measurement identifiers available at the time the handover is executed for all handover types, a cause indicating the trigger for generating the successful handover report (i.e., a T310-cause, a T312-cause, or a T304-cause), the latest radio measurement results of the candidate target cells in case of conditional handover, time elapsed between conditional handover execution towards a target cell and a corresponding latest configuration received for the selected target cell, a cell radio network temporary identifier of the target cell, user plane interruption time at handover which concerns Dual Active Protocol Stack handovers, a flag indicating that a radio link failure is detected in the source cell during Dual Active Protocol Stack handover, and RA-InformationCommon when T304 is above a threshold. The successful handover report may be stored at the user equipment for 48 hours before it may be fetched by the network. The network node that fetches the successful handover report forwards it to the source network node of the handover in order to take actions if necessary.

[0007] Similar to the successful handover report, a successful PSCell change report provides monitoring from source to target PSCell for new radio dual connectivity. The successful PSCell change report may be triggered with the same criteria as the successful handover report, except for those related to Dual Active Protocol Stack. A successful PSCell change report includes target PSCell information, cause for generating the successful PSCell change report, latest measurement results, location information of the user equipment, and, in the case of conditional PSCell addition and change, time elapsed between conditional PSCell addition and change execution and reception of the conditional PSCell addition and change configuration.

[0008] User equipment history information may be maintained by the network or by the user equipment (in which case it is called mobility history information). The user equipment history information includes a list of physical layer cell identifiers of visited cells and the time which the user equipment spent in each cell. The user equipment history information is transferred to a new network node when the user equipment performs a handover. Mobility history information is retrieved via a UEInformationRequest / Response procedure. Mobility history information is used in long term evolution (LTE) systems to optimize cell change mechanisms based on history of recently visited cells. Mobility history information is used to detect unnecessary back and forth handovers, to estimate user equipment velocity for speed-dependent mobility parameters, or for more sophisticated mobility concepts based on mobility prediction supported by artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. Both primary cell visits and PSCell visits may be logged in a nested data structure in two-dimensional mobility history information.

[0009] In both selective activation of cell groups and dynamic switching in lower layer triggered mobility, the user equipment receives at least one conditional cell configuration for a prepared cell which is executed when a condition is met (i.e., for selective activation of cell group) or upon receiving a command from the network (i.e., in the case of lower layer triggered mobility). For both features, the user equipment keeps the conditional cell configurations of prepared cells after the cell change is executed. The user equipment also may keep the conditional configuration for the source cell in order to switch back if necessary. However, there is no current mechanism which allows the network to detect of one of the conditional cell configurations was unnecessary. For example, a conditional cell configuration may have been unnecessary if it was prepared and not used, but there is no current way to detect this. The successful handover report and successful PSCell change report are generated only if the user equipment detects some radio link problems or when certain conditions are met, so they are not adequate for detecting unnecessary conditional handover or conditional PSCell change configurations.

[0010] Preparation of each cell requires the resources to be reserved for that user equipment. Each preparation is subject to signaling between network entities and between the user equipment and the network. Unnecessary preparations therefore lead to unnecessary resource reservation and signaling overhead.

[0011] In other cases, preparation of the candidate cell may be provided to the user equipment late, leading to delayed evaluation of conditional PSCell change execution conditions. In some cases, the user equipment doesn’t receive the preparation on time and therefore experiences failure as it cannot perform handover towards the cell for which preparation was necessary. BRIEF SUMMARY

[0012] In one or more embodiments, a network node (112 / 114) is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network node (112 / 114) to determine user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). The network node (112 / 114) is further caused to configure the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613).

[0013] In one or more embodiments, a user equipment (110) is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (110) to record user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). The user equipment (110) is further caused to, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generate (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. The user equipment (110) is further caused to transmit (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0014] In one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided that is performed by a network node (112 / 114) and includes determining user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). The method further includes configuring the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613).

[0015] In one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided that is performed by a user equipment (110) and includes recording user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). The method further includes, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generating (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. The method further includes transmitting (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0016] In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided including computer instructions that, when executed by a network node (112 / 114), cause the network node (112 / 114) to determine user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). The network node (112 / 114) is further caused to configure the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613).

[0017] In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided including computer instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (110), cause the user equipment (110) to record user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). The user equipment (110) is further caused to, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generate (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. The user equipment (110) is further caused to transmit (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0018] In one or more embodiments, a network node (112 / 114) is provided that includes means for determining user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). The network node (112 / 114) further includes means for configuring the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613).

[0019] In one or more embodiments, user equipment (110) is provided that includes means for recording user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). The user equipment (110) further includes means for, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generating (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. The user equipment (110) further includes means for transmitting (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Having thus described certain example embodiments of the present disclosure in general terms, reference will hereinafter be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

[0021] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system including both a user equipment, a source network node, and target network nodes configured to communicate at least via uplink and downlink transmission in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an example communication system in which the system of Figure 1 may be deployed in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 3 is a signaling diagram of secondary node initiated inter-secondary node conditional change of the primary cell of secondary cell group in accordance with previous embodiments;

[0024] Figure 4 is a signaling diagram of lower layer triggered mobility in accordance with previous embodiments;

[0025] Figure 5A illustrates selective activation of secondary cell groups in accordance with previous embodiments;

[0026] Figure 5B illustrates selective activation of master cell groups or dynamic switching of primary cells in accordance with previous embodiments;

[0027] Figure 6 is a signaling diagram for a network-based method of detecting unnecessary conditional cell configurations in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram for a user equipment-based method of detecting unnecessary conditional cell configurations in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 8 is a flowchart demonstrating operations performed by a network node in order to configure a user equipment with a set of conditional cell configurations in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0030] Figure 9 is a flowchart demonstrating operations performed by a user equipment in order to transmit a report to a network node in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments are shown. Indeed, various embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,” and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, received and / or stored in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, use of any such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] Additionally, as used herein, the term “circuitry” refers to (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in analog circuitry and / or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of circuits and computer program product(s) including software and / or firmware instructions stored on one or more computer readable memories that work together to cause an apparatus to perform one or more functions described herein; and (c) circuits, such as, for example, a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of “circuitry” applies to all uses of this term herein, including in any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuitry” also includes an implementation including one or more processors and / or portion(s) thereof and accompanying software and / or firmware. As another example, the term “circuitry” as used herein also includes, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, other network device (such as a core network apparatus), field programmable gate array, and / or other computing device.

[0033] As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” refers to non-transitory storage hardware, non-transitory storage device or non-transitory computer system memory that may be accessed by a controller, a microcontroller, a computational system or a module of a computational system to encored thereon computer-executable instructions or software programs. A non-transitory “computer readable medium” may be accessed by a computational system or a module of a computational system to retrieve and / or execute the computerexecutable instructions or software programs encoded on the medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, one or more types of hardware memory, non-transitory tangible media (for example, one or more magnetic storage disks, one or more optical disks, one or more universal synchronous bus (USB) flash drives), computer system memory or random-access memory (such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), extended data out random access memory (EDO RAM), and the like.

[0034] As illustrated in Figure 1, a system 100 is provided in accordance with an example embodiment in order to handle small data transmission procedures when a cell is in discontinuous reception or transmission mode. Although the system may be configured in various manners, the system of one embodiment is depicted in Figure 1 and includes user equipment 110, source network node 112, and target network nodes 114-116 configured to communicate via uplink and downlink transmission and reception beams. Although one user equipment and three network nodes are depicted, the system may include and the user equipment 110 and network nodes 112-116 may communicate with additional user equipment and network node in other embodiments. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110, source network node 112, and target network nodes 114-116 may be configured to support, for example, 5G, 5G advanced, or 6G. In one or more embodiments, the system 100 may support carrier aggregation and / or dual connectivity. As described below, the system may support paging triggered small data transmission, such as mobile terminated small data transmission and / or mobile originated small data transmission.

[0035] The data that is transmitted via the uplink and downlink beams between the user equipment 110 and the network nodes 112-116 may be any of a wide variety of data including, but not limited to digital imagery data including video data, audio data as well as data provided by sensors, radars, telescopes and radio receivers. In at least some instances, the data is encoded prior to communication of the data via the uplink and downlink beams and decoded upon reception. The resulting data received may be utilized for a variety of purposes including presentation to a user, storage of the data for subsequent use and / or provision of the data to one or more applications, such as applications that perform statistical inference on the data for various purposes including object recognition, image classification, spectrum sensing, speech transcription and / or prediction or detection of events.

[0036] The user equipment 110 of Figure 1 (also called UE, user device, user terminal, terminal device, etc.) illustrates a type of an apparatus which resources on an air interface are allocated and assigned. The user equipment 110 typically refers to a portable computing device that includes wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to, the following types of devices: a mobile station (mobile phone), smartphone, personal digital assistance (PDA), handset, device using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement device, etc.), laptop and / or touch screen computer, tablet, game console, notebook, and multimedia device. User equipment 110 may also be a device having capability to operate in Internet of Things (loT) network which is a scenario in which objects are provided with the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The user equipment 110 may also be called a subscriber unit, mobile station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, or user equipment (UE) just to mention but a few names or apparatuses. The user equipment 110 may be connected via radio resource control. The user equipment may be in a radio resource control inactive mode or a radio resource control idle mode.

[0037] The network nodes 112-116 of Figure 1 may include, for example, base stations such as remote radio heads (RRHs), transmission reception points (TRPs), access points, node Bs (e.g., gNB) or other transmission sources. The network nodes 112-116 may be configured to communicate with user equipment 110 via a network. The network nodes 112-116 may describe primary cells and / or primary cells of secondary cell groups. The network nodes 112-116 may contain all layers or may be divided into central units and distributed units. A user equipment may connect and disconnect from network nodes 112-116 via conditional handover, conditional PSCell change, and / or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0038] Figure 2 depicts an example apparatus 200 that may be configured to function as user equipment 110 or network nodes 112-116. As shown in Figure 2, the apparatus includes, is associated with, or is in communications with processing circuitry 220, a memory 240, and a communication interface 260. The processing circuitry 220 may be in communication with the memory device 240 via a bus for passing information among components of the apparatus. The memory device may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatile and / or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memory device may be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storage medium) including gates configured to store data (e.g., bits) that may be retrievable by a machine (e.g., a computing device like the processing circuitry). The memory device may be configured to store information, data, content, applications, instructions, or the like for enabling the apparatus to carry out various functions in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the memory device could be configured to buffer input data for processing by the processing circuitry. Additionally or alternatively, the memory device could be configured to store instructions for execution by the processing circuitry.

[0039] The apparatus 200 may, in some embodiments, be embodied m various computing devices described as above. However, in some embodiments, the apparatus may be embodied as a chip or chip set. In other words, the apparatus may include one or more physical packages (e.g., chips) including materials, components and / or wires on a structural assembly (e.g., a baseboard). The structural assembly may provide physical strength, conservation of size, and / or limitation of electrical interaction for component circuitry included thereon. The apparatus may therefore, in some cases, be configured to implement an embodiment on a single chip or as a single “system on a chip.” As such, in some cases, a chip or chipset may constitute means for performing one or more operations for providing the functionalities described herein.

[0040] The processing circuitry 220, also referenced as a processor, may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example, the processing circuitry may be embodied as one or more of various hardware processing means such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing element with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other circuitry including integrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like. As such, in some embodiments, the processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores configured to perform independently. A multi-core processing circuitry may enable multiprocessing within a single physical package. Additionally or alternatively, the processing circuitry may include one or more processors configured in tandem via the bus to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining, and / or multithreading.

[0041] In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry 220 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory device 240 or otherwise accessible to the processing circuitry. Alternatively or additionally, the processing circuitry may be configured to execute hardcoded functionality. As such, whether configured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof, the processing circuitry may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied in circuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure while configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when the processing circuitry is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, the processing circuitry may be specifically configured hardware for conducting the operations described herein. Alternatively, as another example, when the processing circuitry is embodied as an executor of instructions, the instructions may specifically configure the processor to perform the algorithms and / or operations described herein when the instructions are executed. However, in some cases, the processing circuitry may be a processor of a specific device (e.g., an image or video processing system) configured to employ an embodiment by further configuration of the processing circuitry by instructions for performing the algorithms and / or operations described herein. The processing circuitry may include, among other things, a clock, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and logic gates configured to support operation of the processing circuitry.

[0042] The communication interface 260 may be any means such as a device or circuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination of hardware and software that is configured to receive and / or transmit data including media content in the form of video or image files, one or more audio tracks or the like. In this regard, the communication interface may include, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardware and / or software for enabling communications with a wireless communication network. Additionally or alternatively, the communication interface may include the circuitry for interacting with the antenna(s) to cause transmission of signals via the antenna(s) or to handle receipt of signals received via the antenna(s). In some environments, the communications interface may alternatively or also support wired communication. As such, for example, the communication interface may include a communication modem and / or other hardware / software for supporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), universal serial bus (USB) or other mechanisms.

[0043] Turning now to Figure 3, a signaling diagram of secondary node initiated inter-secondary node conditional PSCell change in accordance with previous embodiments is provided. The user equipment 110 executes a conditional PSCell change from source secondary node 304 to target secondary node 306.

[0044] At operation 310, the source secondary node 304 indicates to master node 302 the identifiers of target secondary nodes 306 / 308 to contact to prepare as candidate target PSCells for conditional PSCell change. The source secondary node 304 suggests a list of PSCells to be prepared by each target secondary node 306 / 308 and provides a conditional PSCell change execution condition for each suggested PSCell (i.e., the conditional PSCell change execution conditions are not forwarded to the target secondary nodes, but are sent with configuration messages to the user equipment 110 by the master node 302 at operation 324). Source secondary node 304 indicates the maximum number of PSCells that may be prepared by each target secondary node 306 / 308. The maximum number may be lower than or equal to the size of the list of suggested PSCells.

[0045] At operation 312, master node 302 sends an addition request to target secondary node 306. The addition request includes a list of PSCells that are suggested by the source secondary node 304 along with the maximum number of PSCells that may be prepared by target secondary node 306.

[0046] At operation 314, master node 302 sends an addition request to other potential target secondary nodes 308. The addition request includes a list of PSCells that are suggested by the source secondary node 304 along with the maximum number of PSCells that may be prepared by the other potential target secondary nodes 308.

[0047] At operation 316, the target secondary node 306 decides on the candidate target PSCells to be prepared among the suggested list. The target secondary node 306 cannot select a PSCell that is not included in the list.

[0048] At operation 318, the other potential target secondary nodes 308 decide on the candidate target PSCells to be prepared among the suggested list. The other potential target secondary nodes 308 cannot select a PSCell that is not included in the list.

[0049] At operation 320, the target secondary node 306 sends the master node 302 the conditional PSCell configuration for each prepared target PSCell and the identifiers of the prepared target PSCells.

[0050] At operation 322, the other potential target secondary nodes 308 sends the master node 302 the conditional PSCell configuration for each prepared target PSCell and the identifiers of the prepared target PSCells.

[0051] At operation 324, the master node 302 sends the user equipment 110 a conditional configuration (or conditional reconfiguration) containing the conditional PSCell change configurations of the candidate target PSCells (received from target secondary nodes 306 / 308) along with the conditional PSCell change execution conditions.

[0052] At operation 326, the user equipment 110 sends a message to master node 302 confirming the reception of the conditional reconfiguration.

[0053] At operation 328, the master node 302 confirms to the source secondary node 304 the secondary node change preparation. The master node 302 sends the secondary node change confirmation message to the source secondary node 304 to indicate that the conditional PSCell change is prepared. The source secondary node 302 continues providing user data to the user equipment 110.

[0054] At operation 330, user equipment evaluates the conditional PSCell change execution conditions of the prepared target PSCells.

[0055] At operation 332, the conditional PSCell change execution condition is met. For example, the execution condition may be met for a PSCell candidate in target secondary node 306.

[0056] At operation 334, the user equipment 110 sends a message to the master node 302 indicating the execution of the conditional PSCell change configuration. The message includes an embedded secondary node radio resource control reconfiguration complete message to the target secondary node 306.

[0057] At operation 336, the master node sends the embedded secondary node radio resource control reconfiguration complete message to the target secondary node 306.

[0058] At operation 338, the user equipment completes random access to its new target PSCell.

[0059] In embodiments where the master node 302 initiates conditional PSCell change, operation 310 is omitted. Master node 302 provides a secondary node addition request including a list of PSCells that are suggested to be prepared by each target secondary node along with a maximum number of PSCells that may be prepared by each target secondary node. In addition, master node 302 decides on the conditional PSCell addition and change execution conditions for the prepared PSCells.

[0060] For secondary node initiated conditional PSCell change, a conditional PSCell change condition may be an A3 measurement event (neighbor becomes offset better than current PSCell) or an A5 event (current PSCell becomes worse than a first threshold and neighbor becomes better than a second threshold). For master node initiated conditional PSCell change, the conditional PSCell condition may be an A4 event (neighbor becomes better than a threshold) or a Bl event (an inter-radio access technology neighbor becomes better than a threshold).

[0061] Turning now to Figure 4, a signaling diagram of lower layer triggered mobility in accordance with previous embodiments is provided. Figure 4 illustrates one exemplary message exchange for the intra-centralized unit inter-distributed unit lower layer triggered mobility scenario, captured for disaggregated architecture.

[0062] At operation 408, the user equipment 110 provides the layer 3 radio resource control measurement event report to the source distributed unit 402.

[0063] At operation 410, the layer 3 radio resource control measurement event report is forwarded by the source distributed unit 402 to the centralized unit 406.

[0064] At operation 412, based on the measurements included in the layer 3 measurement report, the centralized unit 406 decides about the cell preparation for the target distributed unit 404.

[0065] At operation 414, the centralized unit 406 transmits a user equipment context setup request to target distributed unit 404 to set up the user equipment context.

[0066] At operation 416, the centralized unit 406 receives a user equipment context setup response from target distributed unit 404. The centralized unit 406 and target distributed unit coordinate on timing advance acquisition method at operations 414-416.

[0067] At operation 418, the centralized unit 406 transmits a user equipment context modification request to source distributed unit 402. The centralized unit 406 communicates with the source distributed unit 402 for the modification of the user equipment context if needed and the provision of target cell information (i.e., target cell Reference Signal (RS) configuration, Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states, etc.).

[0068] At operation 420, the source distributed unit 402 transmits, to the centralized unit 406, a user equipment context modification response.

[0069] At operation 422, the centralized unit 406 creates the radio resource control reconfiguration message. The radio resource control reconfiguration message includes a measurement configuration of layer 1 cell change and configuration of prepared cells. The configuration of prepared cells may include a timing advance acquisition configuration or trigger for candidate target cells.

[0070] At operation 424, the centralized unit 406 transmits, to the source distributed unit 402, the radio resource control reconfiguration message using a downlink radio resource control message transfer.

[0071] At operation 426, the source distributed unit 402 forwards, to the user equipment 110, the radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0072] At operation 428, the user equipment 110 responds with a radio resource control reconfiguration complete message. The user equipment 110 transmits the message to the source distributed unit 402.

[0073] At operation 430, the source distributed unit 402 forwards the radio resource control reconfiguration complete message to the centralized unit 406.

[0074] At operation 432, the user equipment 110 provides periodic layer 1 reports to the source distributed unit 402.

[0075] At operation 434, based on the received layer 1 measurement report, the source distributed unit 402 decides to trigger the user equipment 110 for timing advance acquisition.

[0076] At operation 436, the source distributed unit 402 triggers the user equipment 110 (e.g., by sending a physical downlink control channel order to acquire timing advance for the set of candidate cells (i.e., candidate cells for the handover target cell)). The centralized unit 406 may be involved in the timing advance acquisition procedure. To acquire timing advance of the candidate cells, other solutions (in addition to random access channel-based physical downlink control channel order mechanisms) such as reception timing difference based time advance estimation, random access channel-less mechanism as in long term evolution sounding reference signal based timing advance estimation may be used.

[0077] At operation 438, the user equipment 110 continues layer 1 measurement reporting to the source distributed unit 402.

[0078] At operation 440, the source distributed unit 402 decides that the user equipment should be handed over to a target cell of another distributed unit (i.e., target distributed unit 404).

[0079] At operation 442, the source distributed unit 402 triggers the cell switch using a medium access control control element cell switch command.

[0080] At operation 444, the user equipment 110 performs random access to the target distributed unit 404. The user equipment 110 applies the radio resource control configuration for the target cell of the target distributed unit 404. In other embodiments where the user equipment has already acquired the timing advance of the target cell, the user equipment 110 may be configured not to perform random access.

[0081] At operation 446, the target distributed unit 404 transmits a random access response to the user equipment 110.

[0082] At operation 448, the user equipment 110 initiates communication with target distributed unit 404. The user equipment 110 transmits a radio resource control reconfiguration complete message using already configured uplink resourced to the target cell of target distributed unit 404.

[0083] At operation 450, the radio resource control reconfiguration complete message is forwarded to the centralized unit 406 by the target distributed unit 404.

[0084] At operation 452, the centralized unit 406 releases the user equipment context from the source distributed unit 402 using a user equipment context release command.

[0085] At operation 454, the source distributed unit 402 transmits a user equipment context release complete message to centralized unit 406.

[0086] At operation 456, the centralized unit performs path switch from source distributed unit 402 to target distributed unit 404.

[0087] Turning now to Figure 5A, an example of selective activation of secondary cell group is illustrated in accordance with previous embodiments.

[0088] At operation 510, a source node configures a user equipment with conditional cell configurations for three target cells. The three target cells for which the user equipment is prepared are PSCells 1, 2, and 3. The source node is controlling a serving / source PSCell.

[0089] At operation 520, the user equipment performs a cell change from the serving cell to PSCell 1 (i.e., conditional PSCell change to PSCell 1 is executed). The user equipment keeps the conditional cell configurations of PSCell 2, 3, and that of the source cell of the handover.

[0090] At operation 530, the user equipment performs a cell change from PSCell 1 to PSCell 2 (i.e., conditional PSCell change to PSCell 2 is executed). The user equipment keeps the conditional cell configurations of PSCell 1, 3, and that of the original source cell.

[0091] At operation 540, the network de-configures selective activation of cell groups by means of radio resource control reconfiguration (i.e., conditional PSCell change configurations are released). In this operation, the configuration for PSCell 3 was unnecessarily prepared as the conditional cell configuration for PSCell 3 was never used. If the user equipment had instead followed the trajectory of arrow 545, the configuration for PSCell 3 would have been beneficial.

[0092] Turning now to Figure 5B, an illustration of selective activation of a master cell group or dynamic switching of primary cell is illustrated in accordance with previous embodiments.

[0093] At operation 550, a gNBl controlling a serving / source PCell (primary cell) 1 provides the user equipment with conditional cell configurations for PCell 2, 3, and 4.

[0094] At operation 560, the user equipment performs conditional handover from PCell 1 to PCell 2.

[0095] At operation 570, the user equipment performs a subsequent conditional handover from PCell 2 to PCell 4.

[0096] At operation 580, PCell 4 releases the conditional cell configurations for PCells 2, 3, and 4. The conditional configuration of PCell 3 was not used by the user equipment, and so the process would have been more efficient if gNBl had not prepared the conditional cell configuration for PCell 3. However, gNBl does not have the proper information to make the determination that a conditional cell configuration is unnecessary.

[0097] Turning now to Figure 6, a signaling diagram is provided for a network-based method of detecting unnecessary conditional cell configurations in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0098] In one or more embodiments, at operation 601, the user equipment 110 is served by a cell that is controlled by network node 112.

[0099] In one or more embodiments, at operation 602, the user equipment 110 receives conditional cell configurations 602a for cells that are controlled by network nodes 112 and 114 for selective activation of cell group or lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, network node 112 is a source network node that transmits the conditional cell configurations to the user equipment 110. In one or more embodiments, each of the plurality of conditional cell configurations 602a allow the user equipment 110 to connect to a corresponding cell.

[0100] In one or more embodiments, at operation 603, the network node 112 includes, in user equipment history information associated with user equipment 110, a flag indicating that user equipment 110 is configured with selective activation of cell groups. In alternative embodiments, the flag may indicate that user equipment 110 is configured with dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, the network may use information about this flag to track the accessed cells while the user equipment has been configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer mobility.

[0101] In one or more embodiments, at operation 604, the network node 112 includes, in the user equipment history information, the prepared cell identifiers of the prepared cells associated with the conditional cell configurations received by the user equipment 110 in operation 602. In one or more embodiments, the network may use these identifiers, along with the visited cell information in the user equipment history information, to track if there is a prepared conditional reconfiguration that was not executed by the user equipment while it has been configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0102] In one or more embodiments, at operation 605, the network node 112 records a first time duration between a first time instant 601 when the user equipment 110 connected to network node 112 and a second time instant 602 when the user equipment 110 was configured with at least one conditional cell configuration (e.g., the conditional cell configurations 602a). In one or more embodiments, the first time duration helps the network compute a total time duration with which the user equipment 110 is configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0103] In one or more embodiments, at operation 606, the user equipment 110 performs a cell change to a cell controlled by network node 114 by executing one of the conditional cell configurations 602a.

[0104] In one or more embodiments, at operation 607, the user equipment 110 receives, from network node 114, an additional conditional cell configuration 607a for a cell that is controlled by network node 114.

[0105] In one or more embodiments, at operation 608, the network node 114 updates the user equipment history information to include the prepared cell identifier of the cell associated with conditional cell configuration 607a. For example, the list of prepared cell identifiers may include a first set of prepared cell identifiers (i.e., those logged at operation 604) and a second set of prepared cell identifiers (i.e., the identifier logged at operation 608) recorded by a first network node and a second network node 114, respectively.

[0106] In one or more embodiments, at operation 609, the network node 114 updates the user equipment history information to include a second time duration between a third time instant 606 when the user equipment 110 connected to network node 114 and a fourth time instant 607 when the user equipment 110 was configured with the additional conditional cell configuration 607a. In one or more embodiments, the second time duration helps the network compute a total time duration with which the user equipment 110 is configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0107] In one or more embodiments, at operation 610, user equipment 110 performs a cell change back to network node 112 using the one of the conditional cell configurations 602a.

[0108] In one or more embodiments, at operation 611, user equipment 110 performs another cell change back to network node 114 using one of the conditional cell configurations 602a / 607a.

[0109] In one or more embodiments, at operation 612, the user equipment receives a radio resource control reconfiguration 612a instructing the user equipment 110 to release all conditional reconfigurations. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment may no longer perform selective activation of cell group or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0110] In one or more embodiments, at operation 613, the network node 114 includes in the user equipment history information a first time period 613a between a starting time instant 602 in which the user equipment 110 was configured with at least one conditional configuration for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility and a finishing time instant 612 in which the user equipment 110 received the radio resource control reconfiguration message 612a instructing the user equipment 110 to release the conditional reconfigurations 602a / 607a. In one or more embodiments, the network node 114 includes in the user equipment history information a second time period 613b between a beginning time instant 611 in which the user equipment 110 was connected 611 to network node 114 and an ending time instant 612 user equipment 110 received the radio resource control reconfiguration message 612a instructing the user equipment 110 to release the conditional reconfigurations 602a / 607a. In one or more embodiments, network node 114 may derive the time with which the user equipment 110 was configured with the conditional cell configurations 602a / 607a by summing up the time spent in each prepared cell. In one or more embodiments, network node 114 logs the time which the user equipment 110 has spent being configured with a specific conditional cell configuration while connected to network node 114. In one or more embodiments, another network node may sum the time spent in each prepared cell using this information.

[0111] In one or more embodiments, a target network node 114 receiving a message to cancel the conditional reconfiguration informs the network node 112 which triggered the preparation of a conditional cell configuration 602a whether the conditional cell configuration 602a has been applied by the user equipment 110 while it was configured with selective activation of cell groups or lower layer triggered mobility. [0H2] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information may be reported by network node 114 to another network node or operation and maintenance center for analysis. In one or more embodiments, a network node 112 / 114 may determine the user equipment history information 603-613 that is associated with the user equipment 110 and describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations 602a / 607a. In one or more embodiments, the network node 112 / 114 may identify the cells which have been prepared unnecessarily or only for a short time duration. For example, the network node 112 / 114 may determine a prepared cell identifier associated with an unused conditional cell configuration 602a / 607a not accessed by the user equipment 110 while the user equipment 110 was configured with selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. The network node 112 / 114 may configure the user equipment 110 with a set of conditional cell configurations 602a / 607a that do not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations 602a / 607a determined based on the user equipment history information.

[0113] In one or more embodiments, the network node 112 / 114 is a distributive network node having a plurality of network nodes 112 / 114. In some examples, the user equipment history information 603-613 may be recorded by and / or received from one or more of the plurality of network nodes 112 / 114.

[0114] Turning now to Figure 7, a signaling diagram is provided for a user equipment-based method of detecting unnecessary conditional cell configurations in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0115] In one or more embodiments, at operation 701, the user equipment 110 is served by a cell. For example, the user equipment 110 is served by a cell controlled by network node 112. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 and network node 112 exchange data.

[0116] In one or more embodiments, at operation 702, the user equipment 110 receives, from the serving cell controlled by network node 112, a set of conditional cell configurations 702a (i.e., conditional reconfigurations) for cells that are controlled by network node 112 and network node 114. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 is configured with the conditional cell configurations 702a for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, the conditional cell configurations 702a allow the user equipment 110 to connect to a corresponding cell. [0H7] In one or more embodiments, at operation 703, the user equipment 110 starts a timer to log a time duration for which the user equipment 110 is configured with at least one conditional configuration 702a for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, during this time duration the user equipment 110 is configured to perform subsequent cell change using conditional cell configurations. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 starts a timer each time it receives a conditional cell configuration.

[0118] In one or more embodiments, at operation 704, the user equipment 110 logs a prepared cell identifier of the serving cell controlled by network node 112 which provided the set of conditional cell configurations 702a. In one or more embodiments, this prepared cell identifier is used by a network node fetching a user equipment-generated report (generated at operation 715) to forward the report to the network node 112 which provided the set of conditional cell configurations).

[0119] In one or more embodiments, at operation 705, the user equipment 110 performs a cell change by executing one of the conditional cell configurations 702a. In one or more embodiments, user equipment 110 changes to a cell controlled by network node 114. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 keeps unused conditional cell configurations. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 performs the cell change via selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0120] In one or more embodiments, at operation 706, the user equipment 110 receives, from its serving cell controlled by network node 114, an additional conditional cell configuration 706a (i.e., an additional conditional reconfiguration) for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, the additional conditional cell configuration 706a is for a cell controlled by network node 114. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 starts a second time for a second time duration 706-711 between receiving the additional conditional cell configuration 706a and when the additional conditional cell configuration is released.

[0121] In one or more embodiments, at operation 707, the user equipment 110 logs the prepared cell identifier of the serving cell controlled by network node 114 (i.e., the cell which the user equipment 110 received the additional conditional cell configuration 706a from), in addition to the prepared cell identifier logged at operation 704. In one or more embodiments, this prepared cell identifier is used by a network node fetching a user equipment-generated report (generated at operation 715) to forward the report to the network node 114 which provided the additional conditional cell configuration.

[0122] In one or more embodiments, at operation 708, the user equipment 110 performs a cell change by executing one of the conditional cell configurations 702a. In one or more embodiments, user equipment 110 changes to a cell controlled by network node 112. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 keeps unused conditional cell configurations. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 performs the cell change via selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0123] In one or more embodiments, at operation 709, the user equipment 110 performs a cell change by executing one of the conditional cell configurations 702a / 706a. In one or more embodiments, user equipment 110 changes to a cell controlled by network node 114. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 keeps unused conditional cell configurations. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 performs the cell change via selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0124] In one or more embodiments, at operation 710, the user equipment 110 receives a radio resource control reconfiguration message 710a. In one or more embodiments, the radio resource control reconfiguration message 710a instructs the user equipment 110 to release all conditional cell configurations (i.e., the set of conditional cell configurations 702a and the additional conditional cell configuration 706a). In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 may no longer perform selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0125] In one or more embodiments, at operation 711, the user equipment 110 stops the timer and logs a first time duration 703-711 for which the user equipment was configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer mobility. In one or more embodiments, the first time duration 703-711 is equal to the time between operations 702 and 710. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 records user equipment information 704-713 during the first time duration 703-711 describing the plurality of conditional cell configurations 702a / 706a. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 logs a second time duration 706-711 for which the user equipment was configured with a particular conditional cell configuration 706a. In one or more embodiments, the second time duration 706-711 is equal to the time between operations 706 and 710.

[0126] In one or more embodiments, at operation 712, the user equipment 110 logs a target prepared cell identifier of a target cell for which a related conditional cell configuration 702a / 706a has not been executed during the first time duration 703-711. Additionally or alternatively, the user equipment 110 logs the identifier of the conditional cell configuration which was not executed. In one or more embodiments, this conditional cell configuration is determined to have been unnecessary.

[0127] In one or more embodiments, at operation 713, the user equipment 110 logs a number of times that the user equipment 110 executed a conditional cell configuration 702a / 706a. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 logs a number of execution times for each received conditional cell configuration 702a / 706a. This may help the network to, for example, track the conditional cell configurations which were most useful for the user equipment 110 when it was configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 logs whether it has executed each conditional cell configuration 702a / 706a at least once.

[0128] In one or more embodiments, at operation 714, the user equipment 110 performs a cell change to a network node 116 which did not control any of the prepared cells for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0129] In one or more embodiments, at operation 715, the user equipment 110 generates a report 716a including all logged information 703-713. In one or more embodiments, the report 716a contains information related to selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, the report 716a indicates that at least one conditional cell configuration 702a / 706a was unnecessary. In one or more embodiments, this report 716a may be fetched by a network after the user equipment 110 indicates to the network the availability of the report (e.g., via UE Information Request / Response). In one or more embodiments, the user equipment generates the report 716a in response to receiving the radio resource control reconfiguration message 710 instructing the user equipment 110 to release all conditional cell configurations 702a / 706a.

[0130] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 generates the report 716a in response to determining that at least one conditional cell configuration was not executed. In one or more embodiments, the report 716a includes this information. In one or more embodiments, the report 716a helps the network identify an unnecessary conditional cell configuration which unnecessarily blocked resources.

[0131] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 generates the report 716a in response to determining that at least one conditional cell configuration was not executed more than a threshold number of times configured by the network. In one or more embodiments, the report 716a includes this information. In one or more embodiments, the threshold is defined as a percentage of a total number of cell switches. In one or more embodiments, the network uses the report 716a to identify that at least one conditional cell configuration was used infrequently and that not preparing it would have saved the resource reservation.

[0132] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 generates the report 716a when it determines that the first time duration 703-711 was below a threshold amount of time. In one or more embodiments, the report 716a includes this information. In one or more embodiments, the network uses the report 716a to identify whether resources for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility were kept for a long time.

[0133] In one or more embodiments, the report 716a describes a successful handover report, a successful PSCell change report, mobile history information, or a new report. In one or more embodiments, the report 716a contains information logged by the user equipment 110 while being served by different cells (e.g., cells controlled by network node 112 and network node 114). In one or more embodiments, the report 716a contains information logged by the user equipment 110 while being configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0134] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 generates the report 716a in response to releasing its conditional cell configurations 702a / 706a. For example, this may happen upon receiving a radio resource control reconfiguration message 710a from the network or autonomously (e.g., upon performing primary cell change to a different master node with selective activation of cell groups).

[0135] In one or more embodiments, at operation 716, the report 716a is transmitted by the user equipment 110 to the network node 116.

[0136] In one or more embodiments, at operation 717, the network node 116 forwards the report 716a to the network node 112. In one or more embodiments, the network node 116 determines to forward the report 716a to network node 112 based on the logged prepared cell identifier from operation 704.

[0137] In one or more embodiments, at operation 718, the network node 116 forwards the report 716a to the network node 114. In one or more embodiments, the network node 116 determines to forward the report 716a to network node 114 based on the logged prepared cell identifier from operation 707.

[0138] In one or more embodiments, at operation 719, the network node 112 analyzes the report to determine if any of the conditional cell configurations were unnecessary. In one or more embodiments, network node 112 may determine that a conditional cell configuration is unnecessary if it is related to a cell which did not serve the user equipment 110. In one or more embodiments, network node 112 may determine that a conditional cell configuration is unnecessary if it is related to a cell which served the user equipment 110 less than a threshold number of times. In one or more embodiments, network node 112 may determine that a conditional cell configuration is unnecessary if it is related to a cell which served the user equipment 110 for less than a threshold time duration. In one or more embodiments, network node 112 may not provide unnecessary conditional cell configurations which are determined to be unnecessary.

[0139] In one or more embodiments, at operation 720, the network node 114 analyzes the report to determine if any of the conditional cell configurations were unnecessary. In one or more embodiments, network node 114 may determine that a conditional cell configuration is unnecessary if it is related to a cell which did not serve the user equipment 110. In one or more embodiments, network node 114 may determine that a conditional cell configuration is unnecessary if it is related to a cell which served the user equipment 110 less than a threshold number of times. In one or more embodiments, network node 114 may determine that a conditional cell configuration is unnecessary if it is related to a cell which served the user equipment 110 for less than a threshold time duration. In one or more embodiments, network node 114 may not provide unnecessary conditional cell configurations which are determined to be unnecessary.

[0140] Turning now to Figure 8, an example flowchart is illustrated for a process 800 performed by an apparatus embodied by, associated with or otherwise in communication with (hereinafter generally referenced as being embodied by) a network node 112 / 114 to configure a user equipment 110 with a set of conditional cell configurations that does not include an unnecessary conditional cell configuration. In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) includes a distributive network node having a plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0141] As shown in block 810 of Figure 8, the apparatus embodied by the network node 112 / 114 includes means, such as the processing circuitry 220, the communication interface 260, or the like, for determining user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) is received from one of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114). In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) is recorded by one or more of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114). In one or more embodiments, each of the plurality of conditional configurations (602a / 607a) allow the user equipment (110) to connect to a corresponding cell.

[0142] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a flag (603) indicating whether the user equipment (110) was configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) determines one or more cells that were accessed by the user equipment (110) while the user equipment (110) was configured with the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0143] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a plurality of prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) for the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility associated with the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). In one or more embodiments, the plurality of prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) includes a first set of prepared cell identifiers (604) and a second set of prepared cell identifiers (608) recorded by a first network node (112) and a second network node (114), respectively, of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0144] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a first time duration (605) between a first time instant (601) when the user equipment (110) was connected to the first network node (112) and a second time instant (602) when the user equipment (110) was configured with a first set of conditional cell configurations (602a). In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) further includes a second time duration (609) between a third time instant (606) when the user equipment (110) was connected to the second network node (114) and a fourth time instant (607) when the user equipment (110) was configured with a second set of conditional cell configurations (607a).

[0145] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a first time period (613a) between a starting time instant (602) in which the user equipment (110) was configured with at least one conditional configuration for the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility and a finishing time instant (612) in which the user equipment (110) receives (612), from the first network node (112) or the second network node (114), a message (612a) to release all conditional configurations (602a / 607a). In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a second time period (613 b) between a beginning time instant (611) in which the user equipment (110) was connected (611) to a particular network node (114) associated with a particular conditional configuration (602a / 607a) and an ending time instant (612) in which the user equipment (110) receives (612) a message (612a) to release the particular conditional configuration (602a / 607a).

[0146] As shown in block 820 of Figure 8, the apparatus embodied by the network node 112 / 114 includes means, such as the processing circuitry 220, the communication interface 260, or the like, for configuring the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613). In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) determines one or more prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) associated with at least one unused conditional cell configuration (602a / 607a) that was not accessed by the user equipment (110) while the user equipment (110) was configured with the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility. In one or more embodiments, the unused conditional cell configuration is the unnecessary conditional cell configuration.

[0147] Turning now to Figure 9, an example flowchart is illustrated for a process 900 performed by an apparatus embodied by, associated with or otherwise in communication with (hereinafter generally referenced as being embodied by) a user equipment 110 transmit a report to a network node 112 / 114 / 116.

[0148] As shown in block 910 of Figure 9, the apparatus embodied by the user equipment 110 includes means, such as the processing circuitry 220, the communication interface 260, or the like, for recording user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). In one or more embodiments, each of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) allow the user equipment (110) to connect to a corresponding cell.

[0149] As shown in block 920 of Figure 9, the apparatus embodied by the user equipment 110 includes means, such as the processing circuitry 220, the communication interface 260, or the like, for, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generating (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was not executed (712) during the time duration (703-711). In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was executed less than a threshold number of times during the time duration (703-711), wherein the threshold number of times is configured by the network node (112 / 114 / 116). In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was executed less than a threshold percentage of times during the time duration (703-711), wherein the threshold percentage of times is configured by the network node (112 / 114 / 116). In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the time duration (703-711) didn’t exceed a time threshold. In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) includes at least one of a successful handover report, a successful PSCell change report, mobile history information, or a new report. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) generates (715) the report (716a) in response to receiving (710) a message (710a) from the network node (112 / 114 / 116) releasing the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates the number of times (713) a conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) has been executed.

[0150] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) includes at least one prepared cell identifier (704 / 707 / 712) associated with at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a). In one or more embodiments, the at least one prepared cell identifier includes a first prepared cell identifier (704) associated with a first network node (112) and a second prepared cell identifier (707) associated with a second network node (114). In one or more embodiments, the at least one prepared cell identifier includes a target prepared cell identifier (712) associated with an unexecuted conditional cell configuration.

[0151] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates a first time duration (703-711) between a first time instant (703) in which the user equipment (110) was configured (702) with at least one conditional configuration (702a) for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility and a second time instant (711) in which the user equipment receives (710), from the network node (112 / 114 / 116), a message (710a) to release all conditional configurations (702a / 706a). In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates a second time duration (706-711) between a beginning time instant (706) in which the user equipment (110) receives a particular conditional cell configuration (706a) for a particular network node (114) and an ending time instant (711) in which the user equipment receives (710) a message (710a) to release the particular conditional cell configuration (706a).

[0152] As shown in block 930 of Figure 9, the apparatus embodied by the user equipment 110 includes means, such as the processing circuitry 220, the communication interface 260, or the like, for transmitting (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0153] Figures 8-9 illustrate flowcharts depicting methods according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowcharts and combination of blocks in the flowcharts may be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, processor, circuitry, and / or other communication devices associated with execution of software including one or more computer program instructions. For example, one or more of the procedures described above may be embodied by computer program instructions. In this regard, the computer program instructions which embody the procedures described above may be stored by a memory device 240 of an apparatus employing an embodiment and executed by a processor 220. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable apparatus (for example, hardware) to produce a machine, such that the resulting computer or other programmable apparatus implements the functions specified in the flowchart blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or other programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture the execution of which implements the function specified in the flowchart blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded into a computer or other programmable apparatus to cause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart blocks.

[0154] Accordingly, blocks of the flowcharts support combinations of means for performing the specified functions and combinations of operations for performing the specified functions for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that one or more blocks of the flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0155] In one or more embodiments, a network node (112 / 114) is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network node (112 / 114) to determine user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). The network node (112 / 114) is further caused to configure the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613).

[0156] In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) includes a distributive network node having a plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0157] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) is received from one of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0158] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) is recorded by one or more of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0159] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a flag (603) indicating whether the user equipment (110) was configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0160] In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) determines one or more cells that were accessed by the user equipment (110) while the user equipment (110) was configured with the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0161] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a plurality of prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) for the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility associated with the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a).

[0162] In one or more embodiments, the plurality of prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) includes a first set of prepared cell identifiers (604) and a second set of prepared cell identifiers (608) recorded by a first network node (112) and a second network node (114), respectively, of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0163] In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) determines one or more prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) associated with at least one unused conditional cell configuration (602a / 607a) that was not accessed by the user equipment (110) while the user equipment (110) was configured with the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0164] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a first time duration (605) between a first time instant (601) when the user equipment (110) was connected to the first network node (112) and a second time instant (602) when the user equipment (110) was configured with a first set of conditional cell configurations (602a).

[0165] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) further includes a second time duration (609) between a third time instant (606) when the user equipment (110) was connected to the second network node (114) and a fourth time instant (607) when the user equipment (110) was configured with a second set of conditional cell configurations (607a).

[0166] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a first time period (613a) between a starting time instant (602) in which the user equipment (110) was configured with at least one conditional configuration for the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility and a finishing time instant (612) in which the user equipment (110) receives (612), from the first network node (112) or the second network node (114), a message (612a) to release all conditional configurations (602a / 607a).

[0167] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a second time period (613b) between a beginning time instant (611) in which the user equipment (110) was connected (611) to a particular network node (114) associated with a particular conditional configuration (602a / 607a) and an ending time instant (612) in which the user equipment (110) receives (612) a message (612a) to release the particular conditional configuration (602a / 607a).

[0168] In one or more embodiments, each of the plurality of conditional configurations (602a / 607a) allow the user equipment (110) to connect to a corresponding cell.

[0169] In one or more embodiments, a user equipment (110) is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (110) to record user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). The user equipment (110) is further caused to, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generate (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. The user equipment (110) is further caused to transmit (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0170] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was not executed (712) during the time duration (703-711).

[0171] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was executed less than a threshold number of times during the time duration (703-711), wherein the threshold number of times is configured by the network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0172] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was executed less than a threshold percentage of times during the time duration (703-711), wherein the threshold percentage of times is configured by the network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0173] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the time duration (703-711) didn’t exceed a time threshold.

[0174] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) includes at least one of a successful handover report, a successful PSCell change report, mobile history information, or a new report.

[0175] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) includes at least one prepared cell identifier (704 / 707 / 712) associated with at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a).

[0176] In one or more embodiments, the at least one prepared cell identifier includes a first prepared cell identifier (704) associated with a first network node (112) and a second prepared cell identifier (707) associated with a second network node (114).

[0177] In one or more embodiments, the at least one prepared cell identifier includes a target prepared cell identifier (712) associated with an unexecuted conditional cell configuration.

[0178] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) generates (715) the report (716a) m response to receiving (710) a message (710a) from the network node (112 / 114 / 116) releasing the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a).

[0179] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates the number of times (713) a conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) has been executed.

[0180] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates a first time duration (703-711) between a first time instant (703) in which the user equipment (110) was configured (702) with at least one conditional configuration (702a) for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility and a second time instant (711) in which the user equipment receives (710), from the network node (112 / 114 / 116), a message (710a) to release all conditional configurations (702a / 706a).

[0181] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates a second time duration (706-711) between a beginning time instant (706) in which the user equipment (110) receives a particular conditional cell configuration (706a) for a particular network node (114) and an ending time instant (711) in which the user equipment receives (710) a message (710a) to release the particular conditional cell configuration (706a).

[0182] In one or more embodiments, each of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) allow the user equipment (110) to connect to a corresponding cell.

[0183] In one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided that is performed by a network node (112 / 114) and includes determining user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a ’607a). The method further includes configuring the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613).

[0184] In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) includes a distributive network node having a plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0185] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) is received from one of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0186] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) is recorded by one or more of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0187] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a flag (603) indicating whether the user equipment (110) was configured with selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0188] In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) determines one or more cells that were accessed by the user equipment (110) while the user equipment (110) was configured with the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0189] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a plurality of prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) for the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility associated with the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a).

[0190] In one or more embodiments, the plurality of prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) includes a first set of prepared cell identifiers (604) and a second set of prepared cell identifiers (608) recorded by a first network node (112) and a second network node (114), respectively, of the plurality of network nodes (112 / 114).

[0191] In one or more embodiments, the network node (112 / 114) determines one or more prepared cell identifiers (604 / 608) associated with at least one unused conditional cell configuration (602a / 607a) that was not accessed by the user equipment (110) while the user equipment (110) was configured with the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility.

[0192] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a first time duration (605) between a first time instant (601) when the user equipment (110) was connected to the first network node (112) and a second time instant (602) when the user equipment (110) was configured with a first set of conditional cell configurations (602a).

[0193] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) further includes a second time duration (609) between a third time instant (606) when the user equipment (110) was connected to the second network node (114) and a fourth time instant (607) when the user equipment (110) was configured with a second set of conditional cell configurations (607a).

[0194] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a first time period (613a) between a starting time instant (602) in which the user equipment (110) was configured with at least one conditional configuration for the selective activation of cell groups or the dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility and a finishing time instant (612) in which the user equipment (110) receives (612), from the first network node (112) or the second network node (114), a message (612a) to release all conditional configurations (602a / 607a).

[0195] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment history information (603-613) includes a second time period (613b) between a beginning time instant (611) m which the user equipment (110) was connected (611) to a particular network node (114) associated with a particular conditional configuration (602a / 607a) and an ending time instant (612) in which the user equipment (110) receives (612) a message (612a) to release the particular conditional configuration (602a / 607a).

[0196] In one or more embodiments, each of the plurality of conditional configurations (602a / 607a) allow the user equipment (110) to connect to a corresponding cell.

[0197] In one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided that is performed by a user equipment (110) and includes recording user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). The method further includes, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generating (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. The method further includes transmitting (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0198] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was not executed (712) during the time duration (703-711).

[0199] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was executed less than a threshold number of times during the time duration (703-711), wherein the threshold number of times is configured by the network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0200] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) was executed less than a threshold percentage of times during the time duration (703-711), wherein the threshold percentage of times is configured by the network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0201] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates that the time duration (703-711) didn’t exceed a time threshold.

[0202] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) includes at least one of a successful handover report, a successful PSCell change report, mobile history information, or a new report.

[0203] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) includes at least one prepared cell identifier (704 / 707 / 712) associated with at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a).

[0204] In one or more embodiments, the at least one prepared cell identifier includes a first prepared cell identifier (704) associated with a first network node (112) and a second prepared cell identifier (707) associated with a second network node (114).

[0205] In one or more embodiments, the at least one prepared cell identifier includes a target prepared cell identifier (712) associated with an unexecuted conditional cell configuration.

[0206] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) generates (715) the report (716a) in response to receiving (710) a message (710a) from the network node (112 / 114 / 116) releasing the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a).

[0207] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates the number of times (713) a conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) has been executed.

[0208] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates a first time duration (703-711) between a first time instant (703) in which the user equipment (110) was configured (702) with at least one conditional configuration (702a) for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility and a second time instant (711) in which the user equipment receives (710), from the network node (112 / 114 / 116), a message (710a) to release all conditional configurations (702a / 706a).

[0209] In one or more embodiments, the report (716a) indicates a second time duration (706-711) between a beginning time instant (706) in which the user equipment (110) receives a particular conditional cell configuration (706a) for a particular network node (114) and an ending time instant (711) in which the user equipment receives (710) a message (710a) to release the particular conditional cell configuration (706a).

[0210] In one or more embodiments, each of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) allow the user equipment (110) to connect to a corresponding cell.

[0211] In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided including computer instructions that, when executed by a network node (112 / 114), cause the network node (112 / 114) to determine user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). The network node (112 / 114) is further caused to configure the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613).

[0212] In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided including computer instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (110), cause the user equipment (110) to record user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). The user equipment (110) is further caused to, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generate (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. The user equipment (110) is further caused to transmit (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0213] In one or more embodiments, a network node (112 / 114) is provided that includes means for determining user equipment history information (603-613) associated with a user equipment (110) that describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a). The network node (112 / 114) further includes means for configuring the user equipment (110) with a set of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that does not include at least one unnecessary conditional cell configuration out of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (602a / 607a) that is determined based on the user equipment history information (603-613).

[0214] In one or more embodiments, user equipment (110) is provided that includes means for recording user equipment information (704-713) during a time duration (703-711), wherein the user equipment information (704-713) describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a). The user equipment (110) further includes means for, based on the user equipment information (704-713), generating (715) a report (716a) indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration (702a / 706a) of the plurality of conditional cell configurations (702a / 706a) was unnecessary. The user equipment (110) further includes means for transmitting (716) the report (716a) to a network node (112 / 114 / 116).

[0215] Many modifications and other embodiments set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

[0216] Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of elements and / or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and / or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and / or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

1. A user equipment, comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment to perform:record user equipment information during a time duration, wherein the user equipment information describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations;based on the user equipment information, generate a report indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration of the plurality of conditional cell configurations was unnecessary; andtransmit the report to a network node.

2. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the report indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration was not executed during the time duration.

3. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the report indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration was executed less than a threshold number of times during the time duration, wherein the threshold number of times is configured by the network node.

4. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the report indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration was executed less than a threshold percentage of times during the time duration, wherein the threshold percentage of times is configured by the network node.

5. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the report indicates that the time duration didn’t exceed a time threshold.

6. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the report comprises at least one of a successful handover report, a successful PSCell change report, mobile history information, or a new report.

7. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the report comprises atleast one prepared cell identifier associated with at least one conditional cell configuration.

8. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein the at least one prepared cell identifier comprises a first prepared cell identifier associated with a first network node and a second prepared cell identifier associated with a second network node.

9. The user equipment of any one of claims 7-8, wherein the at least one prepared cell identifier comprises a target prepared cell identifier associated with an unexecuted conditional cell configuration.

10. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-9, wherein the user equipment generates the report in response to receiving a message from the network node releasing the plurality of conditional cell configurations.

11. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the report indicates the number of times a conditional cell configuration has been executed.

12. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-11, wherein the report indicates a first time duration between a first time instant in which the user equipment was configured with at least one conditional configuration for selective activation of cell groups or dynamic switching of lower layer triggered mobility and a second time instant in which the user equipment receives, from the network node, a message to release all conditional configurations.

13. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-12, wherein the report indicates a second time duration between a beginning time instant in which the user equipment receives a particular conditional cell configuration for a particular network node and an ending time instant in which the user equipment receives a message to release the particular conditional cell configuration.

14. The user equipment of any one of claims 1-13, wherein each of the plurality of conditional cell configurations allow the user equipment to connect to a corresponding cell.

15. A user equipment, comprising:means for recording user equipment information during a time duration, wherein the user equipment information describes a plurality of conditional cell configurations;means for, based on the user equipment information, generating a report indicating that at least one conditional cell configuration of the plurality of conditional cell configurations was unnecessary; andmeans for transmitting the report to a network node.

16. The user equipment of claim 15, wherein the report indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration was not executed during the time duration.

17. The user equipment of any one of claims 15-16, wherein the report indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration was executed less than a threshold number of times during the time duration, wherein the threshold number of times is configured by the network node.

18. The user equipment of any one of claims 15-17, wherein the report indicates that the at least one conditional cell configuration was executed less than a threshold percentage of times during the time duration, wherein the threshold percentage of times is configured by the network node.

19. The user equipment of any one of claims 15-18, wherein the report indicates that the time duration didn’t exceed a time threshold.

20. The user equipment of any one of claims 15-19, wherein the report comprises at least one of a successful handover report, a successful PSCell change report, mobile history information, or a new report.

21. The user equipment of any one of claims 15-20, wherein the report comprises at least one prepared cell identifier associated with at least one conditional cell configuration.

22. The user equipment of claim 21, wherein the at least one prepared cell identifier comprises a first prepared cell identifier associated with a first network node and a second prepared cell identifier associated with a second network node.5 23. The user equipment of any one of claims 15-22, wherein the at least one preparedcell identifier comprises a target prepared cell identifier associated with an unexecuted conditional cell configuration.

24. The user equipment of any one of claims 15-23, wherein the user equipment 10 generates the report m response to receiving a message from the network node releasing the plurality of conditional cell configurations.

25. The user equipment of any one of claims 15-24, wherein the report indicates the number of times a conditional cell configuration has been executed.

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