Devices and methods for alerting and paging of a device

Abstract

A first device, such as UE (102, 112, figure 1) may be configured to receive 802, from a second device such as gNB (104), a message for paging; detect, based on the message, an indication of a coverag

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] The present application generally relates to information technology. Some example embodiments of the present application relate to providing indication of alerting and paging to a device in a message for paging, and further device identification of the targeted device to be alerted. BACKGROUND

[002] Paging is a mechanism used to notify a user equipment (UE) of incoming calls or messages, for example. The UE may be in an idle mode, wherein the UE is not actively transmitting or receiving data, and wherein UE’s radio interface is in a low-power consumption mode to conserve battery life. In this mode, the UE is not assigned to any specific cell, but it periodically monitors a paging channel to detect incoming calls or messages. When a UE receives a paging message, it enters the connected state to establish a connection with the network and initiate a service request. The paging message can be sent to the paging channel of the cell where the UE is most likely to be located. However, in some situations the UE might not be able to receive or decode the paging message. SUMMARY

[003] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[004] Example embodiments may enable an implicit indication of an alert trigger to a device being paged. The indication of the alert trigger may be received from a second device, for example, in response to a failure of the first device to respond to a paging message. The alert trigger may enable the first device to be alarmed or alerted about a coverage issue. This may be achieved by the features of the independent claims. Further implementation forms are provided in the dependent claims, the description, and the drawings.

[005] According to a first aspect, a first device is disclosed. The first device may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to receive, from a second device, a message for paging; detect, based on the message, an indication of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein the indication is based on at least one of: - time-domain characteristics of the message; frequency-domain characteristics of the message; or a modification of an identity of the first device included in the message; and perform at least one action based on the detected coverage alert trigger.

[006] According to a second aspect, a second device is disclosed. The second device may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory including instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to detect a failure of a first device to respond to a paging message; determine to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure; and transmit, to the first device, a message for paging indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein the being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on at least one of: - time-domain characteristics of the message; frequency-domain characteristics of the message; or a modification of an identity of the first device included in the message.

[007] According to a third aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may comprise receiving, from a second device, a message for paging; detecting, based on the message, an indication of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein the indication is based on at least one of time-domain characteristics the message, frequency characteristics of the message or a modification of a device identity of the first device included in the message; and performing at least one action based on the detected coverage alert trigger.

[008] According to a fourth aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may comprise detecting a failure of a first device to respond to a paging message; determining to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure; transmitting, to the first device, a message for paging indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on at least one of: - time-domain characteristics of the message; frequency-domain characteristics of the message; or a modification of an identity of the first device included in the message.

[009] According to a fifth aspect, a first device is disclosed. The first device may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to receive, from a second device, at least one of: a paging downlink control information, DCI, message configured to schedule a paging message; or a paging message; determine whether the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein the determination is based on at least one of a time-domain location or a frequency-domain location of the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message; and perform at least one action based on determining that the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message is indicative of the coverage alert trigger for the first device.

[0010] According to a sixth aspect, a second device is disclosed. The second device may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory including instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to: detect a failure of a first device to respond to a first paging message; determine to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure; and transmit, to the first device, at least one of: a paging downlink control information, DCI, message configured to schedule transmission of a second paging message; or a second paging message, wherein the at least one of the paging DCI message or the second paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on at least one of time-domain location or frequency-domain location of the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may comprise receiving from a second device, at least one of: a paging downlink control information, DCI, message configured to schedule a paging message; or a paging message; determining whether the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein the determination is based on at least one of a time-domain location or a frequency-domain location of the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message; and performing at least one action based on determining that the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message is indicative of the coverage alert trigger for the first device.

[0012] According to an eight aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may comprise detecting a failure of a first device to respond to a first paging message; determining to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure; and transmitting, to the first device, at least one of: a paging downlink control information, DCI, message configured to schedule transmission of a second paging message; or a second paging message, wherein the at least one of the paging DCI message or the second paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on at least one of time-domain location or frequency-domain location of the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message.

[0013] According to a ninth aspect, a first device is disclosed. The first device may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to receive, from a second device, a paging message including device identities; determine whether the device identities comprise a modified identity of the first device, wherein the modified identity has been obtained by modifying an original identity of the first device according to a mapping rule; determine, based on determining that the device identities comprise the modified identity, that the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device; and perform at least one action based on the coverage alert trigger.

[0014] According to a tenth aspect, a second device is disclosed. The second device may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory including instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to detect a failure of a first device to respond to a first paging message; determine to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure; perform a modification of an identity of the first device according to a mapping rule; and transmit, to the first device, a second paging message indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on the modified identity of the first device included in the second paging message.

[0015] According to an eleventh aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may comprise receiving, from a second device, a paging message including device identities; determining whether the device identities comprise a modified identity of the first device, wherein the modified identity has been obtained by modifying an original identity of the first device according to a mapping rule; determining, based on determining that the device identities comprise the modified identity, that the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device; and performing at least one action based on the coverage alert trigger.

[0016] According to a twelfth aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may comprise detecting a failure of a first device to respond to a first paging message; determining to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure; performing a modification of an identity of the first device according to a mapping rule; and transmitting, to the first device, a second paging message indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on the modified identity of the first device included in the second paging message.

[0017] According to a thirteenth aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may comprise means for performing the method according to the third, fourth, seventh, eighth, eleventh, or twelfth aspect, or any example embodiment(s) thereof, as provided in the description and / or the claims.

[0018] According to a sixteenth aspect, a computer program, a computer program product, or a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium is disclosed. The computer program, computer program product, or (non-transitory) computer-readable medium may comprise instructions, which when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to perform the method according to the third, fourth, seventh, eighth, eleventh, or twelfth aspect, or any example embodiment(s) thereof, as provided in the description and / or the claims.

[0019] Any example embodiment may be combined with one or more other example embodiments. These and other aspects of the present disclosure will be apparent from the example embodiment s) described below. According to some aspects, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Some further aspects are defined in the dependent claims. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the example embodiments and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate example embodiments and together with the description help to explain the example embodiments. In the drawings:

[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network comprising network nodes and one or more client nodes according to an example embodiment;

[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a device configured to practice one or more example embodiments;

[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for alerting a UE about a coverage issue by a network node based on one or more time-domain locations of a message for paging according to an example embodiment;

[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of triggering a coverage alert for a UE based on a time-domain location of at least one paging occasion according to an example embodiment;

[0025] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for alerting a UE about a coverage issue by a network node based on one or more frequency-domain locations of a message for paging according to an example embodiment;

[0026] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of coverage alert triggering for a UE based on a frequency-domain location of a received message for paging according to an example embodiment;

[0027] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for simultaneous coverage alerting and paging of UEs by a network node according to an example embodiment; and

[0028] FIGs. 8 to 13 illustrate examples of methods for coverage alert triggering according to example embodiments.

[0029] Like references are used to designate like parts in the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present examples may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of the example and a possible sequence of operations for constructing and operating the example. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network comprising network nodes and one or more client nodes. The communication network 100 may comprise one or more base stations represented by gNBs 104, 106, 108 and one or more client nodes represented by UEs 102, 112. A client node may be also referred to as a user node or a user device. Each gNB may provide coverage within a geographical area known as a cell for transmission of voice, data, and other types of content. For example, the gNBs 104, 106, 108 may be associated with cells 114, 116, 118, respectively. The communication network 100 may further comprise one or more core network elements 110 such as for example access and mobility management function (AMF) and / or user plane function (UPF). An AMF may be configured to receive connection and session request related data from UEs 102, 112 (e.g., via gNB). An AMF may be configured to control connection and mobility management in communication network 100. The UEs 102, 112 may communicate with one or more of the base stations via wireless radio channel(s). Communications between UE 102, UE 112, gNB 104, gNB 106 and gNB 108 may be bidirectional. Hence, any of the devices may be configured to operate as a transmitter and / or a receiver.

[0032] The base stations may be configured to communicate with the core network elements over a communication interface, such as for example a control plane interface or a user plane interface NG-C / U. Base stations may be also called radio access network (RAN) nodes and they may be part of a radio access network between the core network 110 and the UEs 102, 112. Network elements AMF / UPF and gNB may be generally referred to as network nodes or network devices. Although depicted as a single device, a network node may not be a stand-alone device, but for example a distributed computing system coupled to a remote radio head.

[0033] The communication network 100 may be a non-terrestrial network. Nonterrestrial networks (NTN) are wireless communication systems that operate above the Earth's surface and use satellites, drones, and other airborne vehicles to provide connectivity wirelessly in a wider area of coverage than terrestrial networks. In an embodiment, one or more of the gNBs 104, 106 108 may be mounted on board an airborne vehicle or a spacebome vehicle.

[0034] The communication network 100 may be configured for example in accordance with the 5th Generation cellular communication network, as defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In one example, the communication network 100 may operate according to 3GPP 5G-NR. It is however appreciated that example embodiments presented herein are not limited to this example network and may be applied in any present or future wireless or wired communication networks (such as 6G), or combinations thereof, for example other type of cellular networks, short-range wireless networks, broadcast or multicast networks, or the like.

[0035] When a UE is not actively transmitting or receiving data, it enters an idle mode. In this mode, the UE periodically monitors the paging channel to detect incoming calls or messages. Paging may be used by the communication network 100 to indicate to UEs in idle / inactive mode that data is available for them, and thereby to instruct the UEs to return to RRC (radio resource control) connected mode. When the network needs to communicate with a UE that is in idle mode, it initiates a paging message. The paging message is sent to a paging channel of the cell where the UE is most likely to be located. The UE may use discontinuous reception (DRX) in RRC idle or RRC inactive mode in order to reduce power consumption. The UE can monitor one paging occasion (PO) per DRX cycle. A PO is a set of PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) monitoring occasions and can consist of multiple time slots (e.g., a subframe or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, symbol) where paging downlink control information (DCI) can be sent. One paging frame (PF) is one radio frame and may contain one or multiple PO(s) or a starting point of a PO.

[0036] In multibeam operations, UEs assume that a same paging message and a same short message are repeated in all transmitted beams. Thus, the selection of the beam(s) for the reception of the paging message and short message is up to UE implementation. A short message may refer to one or more bits that a base station can include in a paging DCI message (a PDCCH message) which schedules the paging message. The short message can indicate, for example, a system information change, an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) indication, or the like. One or more of the bits may be further used for signaling other information, such as for providing an indication of information related to a coverage alert. The paging message may be same for both RAN (radio access network) initiated paging and CN (core network) initiated paging. For example, the UE 102, 112 can initiate RRC connection resume procedure upon receiving RAN initiated paging. If the UE 102, 112 receives a CN initiated paging in RRC inactive state, the UE 102, 112 can move to RRC idle state and inform NAS (non access stratum) about the state change.

[0037] Although a PO is defined as a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions, such PDCCH occasions can contain PDCCH carrying DO format 10 with CRC (cyclic redundancy check) scrambled by a P-RNTI (paging radio network temporary identifier), which in turn schedules a PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel) carrying a paging message which indicates the ID (identity) of the UE being paged. The ID may be, for example, a 5G S-temporary mobile subscriber identity, 5G-S-TMSI. In other words, for a UE to be able to successfully decode a paging message, both the scheduling PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH need to be successfully decoded. The ID of the UE being paged is carried in an information element (IE) called paging record. The paging record is included in a paging record list, which in turn is carried in the paging IE. The maximum number of UEs addressed in the paging record may be limited. The paging record may comprise, for example, 32 UE IDs.

[0038] When paging is not correctly received by the UE 102, 112, the UE is not able to respond to the paging. The network may detect that the UE has failed to respond to the paging. For example, if the UE has not responded in a certain time period after transmitting the paging, the network may determine that the UE has failed to respond to the paging. For example, the UE may suffer from poor coverage. Based on detecting that the UE has failed to respond to the paging, the network may provide an alert to an end user of the UE 102, 112 to move the device to a better location and to restart communicating with the network, e.g. NTN network. The alert may be referred to as an alarm, a coverage alarm, a coverage alert or a notification of poor coverage or a coverage notification, for example.

[0039] For example, the network can perform paging towards the UE. If no response is received from the UE, the network can send a coverage alert, e.g. DL (downlink) coverage alert, to the UE. The UE decodes the coverage alert. In response to the decoded coverage alert, the end user is alerted. For example, the alert may be visually shown to the end user on the display of the UE, or the alert may be audible or haptic. The alert is configured to indicate to the end user that the UE should be moved to a better location to improve coverage. In case the UE is an autonomous device, the alert may be configured to instruct the UE to move to a better location to improve coverage.

[0040] After the end user has moved the UE to a location with better coverage, the network can repeat the paging or expect a MO (mobile originated) session.

[0041] In addition to providing the alert to the end-user, or alternatively, the UE may be configured to perform one or more actions to improve the coverage. For example, the UE may be configured to perform at least one of the following actions: to notify a user of the first device of an issue related to coverage, moving or instructing to move to a location with improved coverage, or activating one or more antennas to improve link budget. The action may require user input or user action to move the UE to better coverage. In case the UE moves autonomously to better coverage or autonomously activates one or more antennas to improve link budget, user input might not be needed.

[0042] The UE may fail to receive and respond to paging, for example, when the UE is located in poor coverage. When in poor coverage, e.g., RSRP (reference signal received power) and / or RSRQ (reference signal received quality) may be below an acceptable level. The coverage may be impacted, for example, by the terrain and a presence of obstacles such as buildings, trees and hills affecting signal propagation, or by a configuration of antennas. Hence, in response to the coverage alert trigger, the UE may move or be moved to a location with improved coverage or the UE may adjust antennas to improve link budget and optimize coverage.

[0043] Multiple UEs may receive the paging in a same PO. However, the coverage alert may need to be triggered and received by the end user of only one UE (or some UEs) of the group of UEs monitoring paging in the same PO, for which the coverage alert is intended. For example, if the coverage alert was defined PO specifically (i.e., addressing all UEs monitoring a same PO), a problem of annoyance / spamming to the end user could arise since the coverage alert to the end user would be triggered also by UEs with good channel conditions.

[0044] An objective is to enable UE-specific coverage alert messages, which are conveyed to the UE in either an explicit or implicit manner. For example, a base station may decide to trigger the coverage alert if the UE has not responded to previous paging attempts by the base station. The decision to trigger the coverage alert is left for network implementation.

[0045] An example embodiment may provide a method for a UE to determine whether a coverage alert message was sent by the network to the UE based on implicit indications. The UE may be configured to determine, for example, based on time and / or frequency characteristics of a transmitted paging DCI and / or paging message, i.e., PDCCH and / or PDSCH, whether the coverage alert message was sent by the network to the UE. In an embodiment, a network entity may be configured for joint transmission of a paging message and the coverage alert message concurrently in the single paging message. The UE-specific coverage alert messages may be conveyed based on the characteristics of the paging signal containing the ID of the specific UE.

[0046] According to an example embodiment, the determination of whether a coverage alert message was sent / triggered by the network is based on the time-domain location of one or more paging occasions, i.e., based on the PDDCH monitoring occasion(s), within the POs that UE monitors. Alternatively, the determination of whether a coverage alert message was sent / triggered by the network is based on the timedomain location of the paging message (PDSCH).

[0047] According to an example embodiment, the determination of whether a coverage alert message was sent by the network is based on the frequency-domain location of either the paging DCI carried in the PDCCH or the paging message / record carried in the PDSCH.

[0048] According to an example embodiment, the determination of the transmission of the alert is based on both time-domain location of the PO and frequencydomain location of the paging DCI or paging message / record carried in the PDSCH.

[0049] The configuration of the one or more time- and / or frequency-domain locations which provide the implicit coverage alert indication may be provided by the network or pre-configured at the UE. In the latter scenario, the UE ID may be used to define whether a specific time- and / or frequency-location of the PO / paging message indicates a coverage alert. If the configuration is explicitly provided by the network (CN paging), the configuration may originate from an AMF, or another core network entity, and be included as part of the paging message in a NGAP protocol (next generation application protocol). In case of RAN paging, the configuration can originate in an anchor node and is provided as part of the UE context to other cells in a RAN notification area. An anchor node may refer to a RAN node where the UE was latest in a RRC connected mode and then release to RRC inactive state. The anchor node may preserve some information about the UE (the UE context) including security which the anchor node can pass on to other base stations in the RAN notification area if the UE responds to paging in this other base station The RAN notification area (RNA) is a single cell or group of cells belonging to a single or multiple base stations and it may be confined within a CN registration area. If the latest base station serving a UE receives downlink data from the UPF, or signalling from the AMF, the base station sends the paging messages to every cell in the RNA. The paging message can also be sent to neighbour base stations belonging to the RNA, across a Xn interface which supports procedures over a control plane and a user plane.

[0050] According to an example embodiment, a UE may be configured to determine whether or not an alert message is transmitted by the network to the UE based on UE identity manipulation (e.g., bit toggling / scrambling / masking of the UE identity bits) that is carried in the PDSCH. Here, by manipulation of the UE identifier it can be specified if the alert was intended for a particular UE or not. In addition, the manipulation could be used to convey additional information to the UE.

[0051] In an embodiment, the UE ID manipulation is based on any change or modification that is applied to the original UE ID such that the resulting changed or modified UE ID is different from all original UE IDs within one UE group for PO monitoring. Therefore, all UEs within one group can be addressed without ambiguity. In other words, the modified value of one UE ID is not mapped to the original UE ID of another UE within the same group. In an embodiment, the UE ID may be changed or modified to cause the UE to monitor a different PO and, additionally, also a different paging frame. Further, the manipulation of the UE identities may be configured to provide the alerted UE with additional information, for example, related to random access configurations.

[0052] An alerted UE may refer to a UE in poor coverage and which UE may have been paged normally but the network has not received any response from the UE. For example, the UE did not initiate random access or small data transmission procedure based on the paging by the network. Hence, the UE is in a need of receiving the coverage alert message.

[0053] A normal UE may refer to a UE that can be paged via paging (normal or legacy paging). For example, any UE that is paged for the first time (even in poor coverage) is considered as normal UE herein.

[0054] Advantages of example embodiments may comprise enabling a base station to alert certain UEs that the UE shall be moved to a different physical position or configuration of antennas shall be changed to improve the link budget of the communication, which follows the paging. To avoid the fragmentation of the paging resources and to avoid restriction of scheduling performed by the gNB, the coverage alert message may be carried to alerted UEs concurrently with the paging message to normal UEs in one single message. Having the coverage alert message for alerted UEs and the paging message to normal UEs in the same message (single message), saves resources. This may be achieved by using a modified identity of the normal UEs to be paged in the paging message. An identity of UE may refer to a device identity of the UE. In some examples, the modified identity of the alerted UEs may be used to indicate the coverage alert message for alerted UEs, and the original identity of the normal UEs may be used to indicate the paging message to normal UEs.

[0055] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a device 200 configured to practice one or more example embodiments.

[0056] The device 200 may comprise at least one processor 202. The at least one processor 202 may comprise, for example, one or more of various processing devices, such as for example a co-processor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing circuitry with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing devices including integrated circuits such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like.

[0057] The device 200 may further comprise at least one memory 204. The at least one memory 204 may be configured to store, for example, computer program code 206 or the like, for example operating system software and application software. The at least one memory 204 may comprise one or more volatile memory devices, one or more non-volatile memory devices, and / or a combination thereof. For example, the memory 204 may be embodied as magnetic storage devices (such as hard disk drives, magnetic tapes, etc.), optical magnetic storage devices, or semiconductor memories (such as mask ROM, PROM (programmable ROM), EPROM (erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory), etc.).

[0058] The device 200 may further comprise one or more communication interfaces 208 configured to enable the device 200 to transmit information to other devices and / or to receive information from other device. The communication interface 208 may be configured to provide at least one wireless radio connection, such as for example a 3GPP mobile broadband connection (e.g. 3G, 4G, 5G, or beyond). However, the communication interface 208 may be configured to provide one or more other type of connections, for example a wireless local area network (WLAN) connection such as for example standardized by IEEE 802.11 series or Wi-Fi alliance; a short range wireless network connection such as for example a Bluetooth, NFC (near-field communication), or RFID connection; a wired connection such as for example a local area network (LAN) connection, a universal serial bus (USB) connection or an optical network connection, or the like; or a wired Internet connection. The communication interface 208 may comprise, or be configured to be coupled to, at least one antenna to transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals. One or more of the various types of connections may be also implemented as separate communication interfaces, which may be coupled or configured to be coupled to a plurality of antennas.

[0059] The device 200 may further comprise a user interface 210 comprising an input device and / or an output device. The input device may take various forms such a keyboard, a touch screen, or one or more embedded control buttons. The output device may for example comprise a display, a speaker, a vibration motor, or the like. The output device may be configured to provide information to an end user of the device 200, for example, in a form of notifications such as push notifications.

[0060] When the device 200 is configured to implement some functionality, some component and / or components of the device 200, such as for example the at least one processor 202 and / or the memory 204, may be configured to implement this functionality. Furthermore, when the at least one processor 202 is configured to implement some functionality, this functionality may be implemented using program code 206 comprised, for example, in the memory 204.

[0061] The functionality described herein may be performed, at least in part, by one or more computer program product components such as software components. According to an embodiment, the device 200 comprises a processor or processor circuitry, such as for example a microcontroller, configured by the program code when executed to execute the embodiments of the operations and functionality described. Alternatively, or in addition, the functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).

[0062] The device 200 comprises means for performing at least one method described herein. In one example, the means comprises the at least one processor 202, the at least one memory 204 including program code 206 configured to, when executed by the at least one processor 202, cause the device 200 to perform the method.

[0063] The device 200 may comprise for example a computing device such as for example a base station, a network node, a server device, a core network device, a client node, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop, or the like. In one example, the device 200 may comprise a vehicle such as for example a car or a drone. In one example, the vehicle may be an autonomous vehicle. Although the device 200 is illustrated as a single device it is appreciated that, wherever applicable, functions of device 200 may be distributed to a plurality of devices.

[0064] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a signaling flowchart for providing a UE-specific coverage alert message according to an example embodiment. The signaling may be performed between a user node, such as the UE 102, and a network, such as the gNB 104.

[0065] At 300, the UE 102 may be configured to acquire paging information from the gNB 104. Based on the paging information, the UE 102 identifies paging frames and paging occasions. Here, the DRX cycle may be assumed to be 32 frames (320 ms).

[0066] At 302, the gNB 104 may provide a configuration for the coverage alert message to the UE 102. The configuration may include an indication of a one or more of the POs in which the UE 102 may expect to receive the coverage alert message. The one or more POs may comprise a subset of POs within a certain set of the POs. The subset of POs that the UE 102 monitors can be labeled or numbered as PO0, ••• ,POM. The coverage alert may be triggered if the PDCCH is transmitted in specific time-domain location and, for example, in even (e.g., PO0, PO2, ...) or odd POs. The time-reference for labeling / numbering the POs can be based on a system frame number (SFN), and starting from a network configured value such as SFN = 0 with the first PO (or DRX cycle) being PO0. The network may be also configured to provide an explicit time reference instead of the SFN.

[0067] For example, at 302, the coverage alert messages may be configured to be transmitted in even POs. Additionally, the gNB 104 may configure the UE 102 with a parameter M, i.e., multiples of the DRX cycle M = 6 that the UE 102 then considers for monitoring POs that may be carrying alert messages, before switching to default behavior. That is, the subset of POs may be comprised in the set of POs within the configured multiples of DRX cycles.

[0068] Alternatively, the coverage alert may be triggered if the PDCCH is transmitted in a specific time location and / or within any of first kth POs, wherein PO0, ••• ,PO^ , k <M, or any of last fcth POs, i.e., PO^, ••• ,POM , k <M. Similar to the previous embodiment with the even / odd POs, the time-reference for labeling / numbering the POs can be based on system frame number (SFN), and starting from SFN = 0, (or another network configured value) with the first PO (or DRX cycle) being PO0.

[0069] In another implementation, the alert is triggered if the PDCCH is transmitted within any pre-defined subset or pattern of POs (from the set of PO0, ••• ,POA / ), wherein the pattern is configured by higher layer signaling. For instance, as part of paging search space set information element. For example, the coverage alert may be provided in every X’th PO starting with an offset y to POo., e.g., POi (where y=l), POi+x, POi+2x, etc.

[0070] In an embodiment, only the UE IDs of the alerted UEs may be included in the paging message (carried via PDSCH) that is scheduled by the PDCCH, wherein the PDCCH POs are determined according to the configured subset of POs.

[0071] At 304, the gNB 104 may page the UE 102 in a PO as normally (i.e., in one odd PO, such as POi). Here, it is assumed that paging DCI is transmitted via a 4th PDCCH candidate. Subsequently, the UE 102 fails to decode the PDSCH. Thus, the UE 102 fails to respond to the paging.

[0072] After the unsuccessful decoding, at 306, the UE 102 is configured to monitor the even POs for receiving potential alert message indication in the PDCCH. In the example of Fig. 3, the UE is configured to monitor the even POs. In some other examples, the UE may be configured to monitor the configured POs. Alternative configurations have been described above.

[0073] At 308, gNB 104 is configured to trigger the coverage alert message. The gNB 104 may be configured to trigger the coverage alert message in response to detecting the failure of the UE 102 to respond to the paging message. The detection may be performed by the gNB 104, or the gNB 104 may receive information about the failure from other network node (RAN or CN). The gNB 104 may be configured to transmit a second paging message or paging record carried in a second PDSCH, wherein the PDCCH that schedules the second PDSCH is now transmitted in next available “even” PO, i.e., PO2.

[0074] At 310, the UE 102 may receive and successfully decode the second PDSCH. Based on the decoded PDSCH, the UE 102 may identify its own UE identity, and the coverage alert is triggered to the end-user. For example, the UE 102 can display a notification of the coverage alert to the end-user. The notification may be visible, audible or haptic, for example. The notification may instruct the end user to move the UE to a location with improved coverage, as compared to a current location. As another example, the UE 102 may be configured to move or be instructed to move to a location with improved coverage based on detecting the coverage alert trigger, for example, when the UE can move autonomously. As a further example, the UE 102 may be configured to activate one or more antennas to improve link budget based on the coverage alert trigger.

[0075] For example, the UE 102 may be configured to determine whether the coverage alert message was triggered by the gNB 104 based on the time-domain location of the paging message (PDSCH). For example, the scheduling timing between the paging DCI and the paging message may be used to trigger the alert message. For instance, certain values of slot offset Ko may be used for triggering the coverage alert.

[0076] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the concept of coverage alert triggering in even paging occasions according to an example embodiment. In FIG. 4, triggering of the coverage alert with the configuration described in FIG. 3 is shown.

[0077] It is assumed that the multiple of the DRX cycle 400 M = 6, the DRX cycle 400 is 32 frames, and paging DCI can be transmitted via 8 potential PDCCH candidates within a PO. The time-reference 414 for numbering the POs is based on the SFN, and starting from SFN = 0. It is further assumed that there are two paging frames per DRX cycle 400. Therefore, two UE groups may exist (UE group 1 and 2), and FIG. 4 only shows the PFs of UE group 1 including the UE 102.

[0078] FIG. 4 also illustrates example time-domain locations of even POs 402 and odd POs 404, wherein the POs are consecutively numbered starting from the time reference 414. The POs located within the six DRX cycles are numbered from POo to POs in this example. Furthermore, for simplicity of illustration, it is assumed that only one PO is associated to each PF.

[0079] With reference to the example described in FIG. 3, the paging DCI can be transmitted by the gNB 104 to the UE 102 at 304 via the fourth PDCCH 406 located in odd PO 402, and the UE 102 subsequently fails to decode the PDSCH (paging message) 408. After detecting the failure, the gNB 104 decides to alert the UE 102 about an issue with coverage. The issue with coverage relates to poor coverage.

[0080] FIG. 4 also illustrates an example of the PDCCH (paging DCI) 410 transmitted at 308, wherein the PDCCH 410 schedules the second PDSCH (paging message) 412 received by the UE 102 in the next even PO (PO2) 404 at 310. Because at least one of the PDCCH 410 or the PDSCH 412 is received in an even PO, the UE 102 detects that the coverage alert is triggered for the UE 102.

[0081] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a signaling flowchart for providing the UE-specific alert message according to another embodiment. The signaling may be performed between a user node, such as the UE 102, and a network, such as the gNB 104.

[0082] At 500, the UE 102 may be configured to acquire paging information from the gNB 104. Based on the paging information, the UE 102 identifies paging frames and paging occasions. Here, the DRX cycle is again assumed to be 32 frames (320 ms).

[0083] At 502, the gNB 104 may provide a configuration for the coverage alert message triggering to the UE 102. The configuration may include configuration and indication to the UE 102 of a range of resource blocks (PRBs) as a range wherein transmission of paging message (PDSCH) will be considered as alert-triggered message. In other words, the UE 102 may be configured to consider the coverage alert message was sent if a paging DCI or a paging message is located in PRBs in a range x:y of the control resource set (CORESET) or active BWP (bandwidth parts), and that no coverage alert was sent if the message is located outside those resources, or vice versa. The range may be, for example, [PRB0:PRB20],

[0084] For example, the configuration for the coverage alert message triggering to the UE 102 may comprise indicating which control channel elements (CCEs) carry the paging DCI. Alternatively, the configuration may indicate a frequency domain index of a first resource element group constituting a CCE. The configuration may also indicate a frequency domain index of a physical resource block or subcarrier of an active bandwidth part.

[0085] At 504, the gNB 104 pages the UE 102 in a PO. However, the UE 102 does not successfully decode the PDSCH, at 506, and therefore, does not respond to the gNB 104 about the paging.

[0086] At 508, the gNB 104 is configured to trigger the coverage alert message when the UE 102 has failed to respond to the paging. The gNB 104 may either detect the failure itself, or the gNB 104 may receive information about the failure from other network node (RAN or CN). The gNB 104 may be configured to configure the second paging message (or paging record) carried in a second PDSCH, wherein the PDCCH that schedules the second PDSCH indicates / configures the frequency resource domain allocation within the range of [PRB0:PRB20], For instance, the indicated frequency resource domain allocation may be [PRB0:PRB10],

[0087] At 510, the UE 102 may receive and successfully decode the second PDSCH. The UE 102 may further identify its identity from the decoded PDSCH, and trigger the coverage alert to the end-user of the UE 102. For example, the UE 102 can display a notification of the coverage alert to the end-user. The notification may be visible, audible or haptic, for example. The notification may instruct the end user to move the UE to a location with improved coverage, as compared to a current location. As another example, the UE 102 may be configured to move or be instructed to move to a location with improved coverage based on detecting the coverage alert trigger, for example, when the UE can move autonomously. As a further example, the UE 102 may be configured to activate one or more antennas to improve link budget based on the coverage alert trigger.

[0088] For example, the UE 102 may be configured to detect that it is the specific UE being alerted based on detecting that the UE ID of the UE 102 was included in the paging message of the PDSCH. If the UE ID of the UE 102 was included in the paging message, it means that the UE 102 was paged.

[0089] For example, the UE 102 may be configured to determine transmission of the alert message to the UE 102 based on both time-domain location of the PO and the frequency-domain location of the paging DCI or the paging message carried in the PDSCH, e g., as described in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5.

[0090] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the concept of coverage alert triggering by paging message transmission within a predefined PRB range, according to an example embodiment. In FIG. 6, triggering of the coverage alert with the configuration described in FIG. 5 is shown.

[0091] It is assumed the DRX cycle 400 is 32 frames, and paging DCI can be transmitted via 8 potential PDCCH candidates of a PO. It is further assumed that there are two paging frames per DRX cycle 400. Therefore, two UE groups may exist (UE group 1 and 2), and FIG. 6 only shows the PFs of UE group 1 including the UE 102.

[0092] FIG. 6 illustrates example frequency-domain locations of the paging DCI carried in the PDCCH or the paging message carried in the PDSCH configured to trigger the coverage alert. Furthermore, for simplicity of illustration, it is assumed that only one PO is associated to each PF. With reference to the example described in FIG. 5, the paging DCI 606 can be transmitted by the gNB 104 to the UE 102 at 504 in a PO within a range of PRBs 602 (e.g. [PRB2i :PRB40] ) that is configured for normal paging without coverage alert triggering, and the UE 102 subsequently fails to decode the PDSCH (paging message) 608. After detecting the failure, the gNB 104 decides to alert the UE 102 about an issue with coverage. The issue with coverage relates to poor coverage.

[0093] FIG. 5 also illustrates an example of the PDCCH (paging DCI message) 610 transmitted at 508 in a PO within the range of PRBs 604 (e.g., [PRBo:PRB2o]) configured to indicate the coverage trigger alert. The PDCCH 610 schedules the second PDSCH (paging message) 612 received by the UE 102 at 510. Because at least one of the received PDCCH 610 or the PDSCH 612 is located within the PRB range configured to indicate the coverage alert trigger, the UE 102 detects that the coverage alert is triggered for the UE 102. Although the PDSCH is illustrated to be scheduled in a PO located within the PRB range 604, the PDSCH may be also scheduled to be received outside a PO.

[0094] Only sending the alert to the alerted UE(s) (or only triggering the coverage alert at the alerted UE(s)) and not falsely alerting normal UE(s) that are grouped with the alerted UE(s) within one group for PO monitoring may be achieved by including the paging ID(s) (UE IDs) of the alerted UE(s) only to the PDSCH carrying the paging message. This way the operation of the transmission of the coverage alert is efficient. However, this design may reduce the paging capacity of the network. For instance, if an alert is designed to be triggered in odd POs, while in one of the odd POs instead the transmission of a paging for a normal UE that is grouped with an alerted UE is also needed, the network may need to delay the transmission of paging (for that normal UE) by one DRX cycle to be transmitted in the next even PO. The design methodology of FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 may lead to the fragmentation of the paging resources (limited POs and limited PRB range) and restrict a gNB scheduler. To avoid these shortcomings, a method to concurrently carry the alert message to the one or more alerted UEs and the paging message to normal UEs in one single message is provided.

[0095] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a signaling flowchart for providing UE-specific coverage alert messages based on UE identity manipulation according to an example embodiment.

[0096] Here, it is assumed that four UEs are grouped together (UE group 1) and have the same paging frames for paging monitoring. The 4 UEs may be referred to as a UE1, a UE2, a UE3 and a UE4, with identities UE1-ID = 4, UE2-ID = 8, UE3-ID = 12, UE4-ID = 16, respectively. Moreover, it is assumed one PO per PF, DRX cycle of 32 frames, number of PFs within one DRX cycle N = 4, and a paging frame offset PFOffset = 15. Therefore, “UE group 1” PFs (with respect to SFN number) include frame numbers 17, 49, 81, etc. Similar to example of FIG. 5, it is assumed that subset of PRB range is used to indicate the alert message, i.e., [PRB0:PRB20].

[0097] At 700, each UE (UE1, UE2, UE3, UE4) may be configured to acquire paging information from a network. However, in FIG. 7 only the signaling between the UE1, such UE 102, the UE2, such as UE 112, and the network, such as the gNB 102, is shown. Based on the paging information, the UE 102 and UE 112 may identify paging frames and paging occasions.

[0098] At 702, the gNB 104 may provide the configuration for the coverage alert message triggering and coverage alert declaration. The configuration may include an indication 704 to the UEs 102, 112 of the range of PRBs, such as the range [PRB0:PRB20], as the range that transmission of paging message (PDSCH) will be considered as coverage alert triggered for alerted UEs and potential coverage alert declaration for normal UEs.

[0099] Additionally, the gNB 104 may provide configuration parameters 706 that are needed for UE ID modification based on a mapping rule . The mapping rule may comprise UE ID manipulation configured to change or modify the original UE ID by addition or subtraction of value X from the original UE-ID, where X takes values within the range of {1, ,N — 1}. Here, N is the number of PFs per DRX cycle. In other words, the above addition or subtraction may ensure that the modified UE ID lies outside the list of all UE-IDs within one group of UEs monitoring a PO in a same PF. For example, if UE ID manipulation is needed for any of the four UEs, the gNB 104X = {1,2, N — 1} = {1,2, 3} to the original UE ID. For instance, modified UE2-ID = 8 + 1 = 9 may indicate that the alert was not intended for UE2, i.e. UE 112. Therefore, the gNB 104 may indicate the parameter X = 1 in the parameters 706. In some examples, the UE ID manipulation may comprise a mathematical operation performed to the original UE ID. The mathematical operation may be at least one of: addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, for example.

[00100] For example, the UE ID modification may be any general mapping rule that maps the original UE ID that satisfies modulo operation (UEiDmod N) to any modified UE ID that satisfies (UEjD mod N — X), wherein X takes values within the range of {1, , N — 1}.

[00101] For example, the UE ID modification may be implemented in a bitdomain. For example, the bit-domain modification may comprise flipping of some predefined bits, i.e., a specific subset of bits defining the UE ID. Alternatively, the bitdomain modification may comprise scrambling of a subset of UE ID bits or a permutation ofUEIDbits.

[00102] At 708, the gNB 104 pages UE 102, for example, in PF 49 (within corresponding PO), wherein paging DCI schedules the paging message to be transmitted within a PRB range designated for normal paging, such as [PRB21:PRB40], However, at 710, the UE 102 may not be able to decode the PDSCH (due to bad coverage e.g., handheld device being in a backpack). Therefore, the gNB 104 does not receive any response and identifies or labels the UE 102 as potential “alerted UE”.

[00103] At 712, the UE 112 may need to be paged in addition to the UE 102. Therefore, the gNB 104 triggers joint transmission of alert message (for UE 102) and normal paging (for UE 112) in one single message. The gNB 104 may exploit the next PF (PF 81) associated to “UE group 1” as an opportunity to send the joint message. Therefore, the paging DCI (PDCCH) transmitted by the gNB 104 at 714 schedules the paging message to be transmitted within PRB range [PRB0:PRB20], Hence, the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger. Further, the paging message (counted as a first paging message for UE2 and a second paging message for UE1) transmitted by the gNB 104 at 716 is configured to carry the original UE1-ID (UE1-ID = 4) and modified UE2-ID (UE2-ID = 8+1 =9) indicative of whether the receiving UE is alerted or paged normally based on the included identifier.

[00104] At 718, the UE 102 may successfully decode the PDSCH. Based on the decoded PDSCH transmitted in the PRB range configured to indicate the coverage alert trigger, the UE 102 may identify its ID, and trigger the alert to the end user.

[00105] At 720, the UE 112 may successfully decode the PDSCH. Based on the decoded PDSCH, the UE 112 may identify its own original ID (UE2-ID = 8) after applying the mapping rule, e.g. by subtracting the value of X = 1 from the modified UE2-ID. The UE 112 may therefore determine that alert was not intended for it and that the UE 112 was paged normally.

[00106] To avoid the fragmentation of the paging resources and to avoid restriction of scheduling performed by the gNB, the coverage alert message may be carried to alerted UEs concurrently with the paging message to normal UEs in one single message.

[00107] The modified UE ID may be used to cause a UE to monitor a different PO. For example, the UE may apply the original UD ID when checking whether it is paged in monitored POs and then check if the paging record in the PDSCH comprises the modified ID of the UE. Alternatively, the UE may monitor both the POs and the paging message or paging record in the PDSCH based on the modified UE ID. Based on the modification applied by the gNB to the original ID, the UE may determine which PO and / or PF to monitor.

[00108] The modified UE ID may be configured to provide additional information to the alerted UE. In one embodiment, the additional information may be related to the timing relationship between the coverage alert and RACH procedure. For instance, the additional information may indicate or configure the time that the end-user or the UE requires to postpone the RACH procedure. The time may be accounting for the time that may be consumed by the end-user or the (autonomous) UE to bring the UE into better coverage conditions. Alternatively, the additional information may indicate a selection between multiple random-access configurations (e.g., configuration A and configuration B) to be used by the UE for the RACH procedure.

[00109] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a method 800 for coverage alert triggering, according to Example embodiment 1 of the method 800. The method 800 may be performed by a first device.

[00110] At 802, the method may comprise receiving, from a second device, a message for paging.

[00111] At 804, the method may comprise detecting, based on the message, an indication of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein the indication is based on at least one of: - time-domain characteristics of the message; frequency-domain characteristics of the message; or - a modification of an identity of the first device included in the message.

[00112] At 806, the method may comprise performing at least one action based on the detected coverage alert trigger.

[00113] The method 800 may be performed, for example, according to any of the following example embodiments:

[00114] Example embodiment 2: The method 800 according to Example embodiment 1, wherein the coverage alert trigger is included in the message for paging due to the first device having failed to respond to a previous paging message.

[00115] Example embodiment 3: The method 800 according to Example embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the first device comprises a user device and the second device comprises a network entity. One example of a user device is the UE 102. The network entity may be, for example, a core network node or a base station, such as the gNB 104.

[00116] Example embodiment 4: The method 800 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the at least one action comprises at least one of notifying a user of the first device of a coverage related issue, moving or instructing to move to a location with improved coverage, or activating one or more antennas to improve link budget.

[00117] Example embodiment 5: The method 800 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the message for paging comprises at least one of: a paging downlink control information, DCI, message configured to schedule a paging message; or a paging message.

[00118] Example embodiment 6: The method 800 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 5, wherein one or more parameters configured for indicating the coverage alert trigger are preconfigured and / or received from the second device or a network device, the one or more parameters comprising at least one of: - an indication of one or more time-domain locations of the message; - an indication of one or more frequency-domain locations of the message; - a mapping rule for the modification of the identity of the first device; or - one or more parameters for applying the mapping rule.

[00119] Example embodiment 7: The method 800 according to Example embodiment 6, wherein the message is a paging DCI message and the indication of the one or more time-domain locations comprises an indication of at least one paging occasion used for the alert trigger; and wherein the coverage alert trigger is detected based on reception of the paging DCI message in one of: - odd numbered paging occasions; even numbered paging occasions; - within a certain number range of paging occasions; or - within a certain pattern of numbered paging occasions.

[00120] Example embodiment 8: The method 800 according to Example embodiment 6, wherein the message is a paging DCI message and the indication of the one or more time-domain locations comprises an indication of scheduling offset between the paging DCI message and a paging message.

[00121] Example embodiment 9: The method 800 according to Example embodiment 6 or 7, wherein the indication of the one or more frequency-domain locations comprises at least one of: a range of physical resource blocks of a control resource set or an active bandwidth part; one or more control channel elements; - a frequency domain index of a first resource element group constituting control channel elements; or a frequency domain index of a first physical resource block or subcarrier in an active bandwidth part.

[00122] Example embodiment 10: The method according to any of Example embodiments 5 to 9, wherein a presence of the coverage alert trigger for the first device is further detected based on the identity of the first device being included in the paging message.

[00123] Example embodiment 11: The method 800 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 10, further comprising applying a mapping rule to determine if the modification has been performed to the identity of the first device; and determining additional information associated with the coverage alert based on the modification when the identity of the first device is the modified identity, wherein the additional information is related to a random access procedure to be performed by the first device.

[00124] Example embodiment 12: The method 800 according to Example embodiment 11, wherein the additional information indicates at least one of a timing relationship between the coverage alert trigger and the random-access procedure; and the method comprises postponing initiation of the random access procedure according to the timing relationship.

[00125] Example embodiment 13: The method 800 according to Example embodiment 11, wherein the additional information comprises an indication of a selection between multiple random access configurations; and the method comprises performing the random access procedure according to the selection.

[00126] Example embodiment 14: The method 800 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the method comprises applying a mapping rule to determine whether the identity of the first device included in the message is a modified identity of the first device, wherein the modified identity has been obtained by modifying an original identity of the first device according to the mapping rule; and determining that the message is indicative of the coverage alert trigger for the first device based on determining that the message includes the modified identity of the first device.

[00127] Example embodiment 15: The method 800 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 14, wherein the message for paging includes, in addition to the indication of the coverage alert trigger for the first device, a paging message intended for one or more third device.

[00128] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a method 900 for alert triggering, according to Example embodiment 1 of the method 900. The method 900 may be performed by a second device.

[00129] At 902, the method may comprise detecting a failure of a first device to respond to a paging message.

[00130] At 904, the method may comprise determining to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure.

[00131] At 906, the method may comprise transmitting, to the first device, a message for paging indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein the being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on at least one of: - time-domain characteristics of the message; - frequency-domain characteristics of the message; or a modification of an identity of the first device included in the message.

[00132] The method 900 may be performed, for example, according to any of the following example embodiments:

[00133] Example embodiment 2: The method 900 according to Example embodiment 1, wherein the first device comprises a user device and the second device comprises a network entity. The network entity may be, for example, a core network node or a base station, such as the gNB 104. The user device may be a UE, such as the UE 102.

[00134] Example embodiment 3: The method 900 according to Example embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the message comprises at least one of: a paging downlink control information, DCI, message configured to schedule a second paging message; or a second paging message.

[00135] Example embodiment 4: The method 900 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the method further comprises transmitting, to the first device, one or more parameters configured for indicating the coverage alert trigger, the one or more parameters comprising at least one of: an indication of one or more time-domain locations of the message; an indication of one or more frequency-domain locations of the message; a mapping rule for the modification of the identity of the first device; or - one or more parameters for applying the mapping rule.

[00136] Example embodiment 5: The method 900 according to Example embodiment 4, wherein the message is a paging DCI message and the indication of the one or more time-domain locations comprises an indication of at least one paging occasion used for the coverage alert trigger; and wherein the coverage alert trigger is indicated based on transmission of the paging DCI message in one of: - odd numbered paging occasions; even numbered paging occasions; - within a certain number range of paging occasions; or - within a certain pattern of numbered paging occasions.

[00137] Example embodiment 6: The method 900 according to Example embodiment 4, wherein the message is a paging DCI message and the indication of the one or more time-domain locations comprises an indication of scheduling offset between the paging DCI and a second paging message.

[00138] Example embodiment 7: The method 900 according to any of Example embodiments 4 to 6, wherein the indication of the one or more frequency-domain locations comprises at least one of: - a range or physical resource blocks of a control resource set or an active bandwidth part; one or more control channel elements; a frequency domain index of a first resource element group constituting control channel elements; or - a frequency domain index of a first physical resource block or subcarrier of an active bandwidth part.

[00139] Example embodiment 8: The method 900 according to any of Example embodiments 4 to 7, wherein at least one of the mapping rule or the one or more parameters for applying the mapping rule are selected such that the modified identity of the first device is not mapped to an identity of another device within a same group of devices.

[00140] Example embodiment 9: The method 900 according to any of Example embodiments 4 to 8, wherein the message is a second paging message, and the second paging message is transmitted with the identity of the first device to indicate the coverage alert trigger for the first device.

[00141] Example embodiment 10: The method 900 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 9, wherein the message is a second paging message and the method further comprises determining additional information associated with the coverage alert for the first device, wherein the additional information is related to a random access procedure to be performed by the first device; modifying the identity of the first device based on a mapping rule and the additional information; and including the modified identity of the first device in the second paging message to deliver the additional information for the first device.

[00142] Example embodiment 11: The method 900 according to Example embodiment 10, wherein the additional information indicates at least one of a timing relationship between the triggered coverage alert and a random-access procedure to be performed by the first device or a random-access configuration to be selected between multiple random-access configurations.

[00143] Example embodiment 12: The method 900 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the message is a second paging message; and the method comprises modifying the identity of the first device based on a mapping rule; including the modified identity of the first device in the second paging message to indicate the coverage alert trigger for the first device.

[00144] Example embodiment 13: The method 900 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the message is a second paging message; and the method comprises modifying an identity of one or more third devices to be paged according to a mapping rule; and including the device identity of the first device to be alerted and the modified device identities of the one or more third devices to be paged in the second paging message for simultaneous alerting and paging of different devices.

[00145] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a method 1000 for alert triggering, according to Example embodiment 1 of the method 1000. The method 1000 may be performed by a first device. The first device may be a user device, such as a UE 102.

[00146] At 1002, the method may comprise receiving, from a second device, at least one of: a paging downlink control information, DCI, message configured to schedule a paging message; or a paging message. The second device may be a network device. The network device may be, for example, a radio access node or a core network node. One example of a network device is the gNB 104.

[00147] At 1004, the method may comprise determining whether the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein the determination is based on at least one of a time-domain location or a frequency-domain location of the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message.

[00148] At 1006, the method may comprise performing at least one action based on determining that the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message is indicative of the coverage alert trigger for the first device.

[00149] The method 1000 may be performed, for example, according to any of the following example embodiments:

[00150] Example embodiment 2: The method 1000 according to Example embodiment 1, wherein the coverage alert trigger is included in the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message due to the first device having failed to respond to a previous paging message.

[00151] Example embodiment 3: The method 1000 according to Example embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the at least one action comprises at least one of: notifying a user of the first device of an issue related to coverage, moving or instructing to move to a location with improved coverage, or activating one or more antennas to improve link budget.

[00152] Example embodiment 4: The method 1000 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 3, wherein a presence of the alert trigger for the first device is further determined based on an identity of the first device being included in the paging message.

[00153] Example embodiment 5: The method 1000 according to Example embodiment 4, wherein the method comprises determining that at least one of the timedomain location or the frequency-domain location of the at least one of paging DCI message or paging message is indicative of coverage alert trigger; determining if at least one identity included in the paging message is based on a modification performed to the identity of the first device according to a mapping rule; and determining that the coverage alert trigger is not directed for first device and that the first device is paged normally when the identity of the first device is modified in the paging message.

[00154] Example embodiment 6: The method 1000 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 5, wherein a presence of the coverage alert trigger for the first device is determined based on a time-domain location of at least one paging occasion within paging occasions monitored by the first device for reception of the paging DCI message.

[00155] Example embodiment 7: The method 1000 according to Example embodiment 6, wherein the method comprises receiving, from the second device, an indication of the at least one paging occasion used for the coverage alert trigger; and wherein the coverage alert trigger is determined based on reception of the paging DCI message in one of: odd numbered paging occasions; even numbered paging occasions; - within a certain number range of paging occasions; or - within a certain pattern of numbered paging occasions.

[00156] Example embodiment 8: The method 1000 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the coverage alert trigger is determined based on at least one of: - reception of the paging DCI message or the paging message in a certain range of physical resource blocks, PRBs, of a control resource set or active bandwidth part; one or more control channel elements carrying the paging DCI message; a frequency domain index of a first resource element group constituting control channel element; or - a frequency domain index of a first physical resource block or subcarrier of an active bandwidth part.

[00157] Example embodiment 9: The method 1000 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the coverage alert trigger is determined based on a scheduling offset between the paging DCI message and the paging message.

[00158] Example embodiment 10: The method 1000 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 9, wherein one or more parameters configured to indicate the coverage alert trigger are pre-configured and / or received from the second device or a network device, the one or more parameters comprising at least one of: an indication of one or more time-domain locations of at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message; or - an indication of one or more frequency-domain locations of the paging DCI message or the paging message.

[00159] Example embodiment 11: The method 1000 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the paging message includes, in addition to being indicative of the coverage alert trigger for the first device, a paging message intended for one or more third device.

[00160] Example embodiment 12: The method 1000 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the first device comprises a user device and the second device comprises a network entity. One example of a user device is the UE 102. The network entity may be, for example, a core network node or a base station, such as the gNB 104.

[00161] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a method 1100 for alert triggering, according to an Example embodiment 1 of the method 1100. The method 1100 may be performed by a second device, such as a network device. The network device may be, for example, a radio access node or a core network node. One example of a network device is the gNB 104.

[00162] At 1102, the method may comprise detecting a failure of a first device to respond to a first paging message. The first device may be a user device, such as the UE 102.

[00163] At 1104, the method may comprise determining to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure.

[00164] At 1106, the method may comprise transmitting, to the first device, at least one of: a paging downlink control information, DCI, message configured to schedule transmission of a second paging message; or a second paging message, wherein the at least one of the paging DCI message or the second paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on at least one of time-domain location or frequency-domain location of the at least one of the paging DCI message or the paging message.

[00165] The method 1100 may be performed, for example, according to any of the following example embodiments:

[00166] Example embodiment 2: The method 1100 according to Example embodiment 1, wherein the method comprises transmitting, to the first device, one or more parameter configured for indicating the coverage alert trigger, the one or more parameters comprising at least one of: an indication of one or more time-domain locations of the paging DCI message or the second paging message; or an indication of one or more frequency-domain locations of the paging DCI message or the second paging message.

[00167] Example embodiment 3: The method 1100 according to Example embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the second paging message is further transmitted with an identity of the first device to indicate the coverage alert trigger for the first device.

[00168] Example embodiment 4: The method 1100 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the method comprises determining that one or more third devices need to be paged; modifying an identity of the one or more third devices based on a mapping rule such that the one or more modified identities are not mapped to an identity of another device within a same group of devices; and transmit the second paging message with the identity of the first device to be alerted and the modified identities of the one or more third devices to be paged for simultaneous alerting and paging of different devices.

[00169] Example embodiment 5: The method 1100 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the indication of coverage alert trigger is based on a timedomain location of at least one paging occasion within paging occasions monitored by the first device for reception of the paging DCI message.

[00170] Example embodiment 6: The method 1100 according to Example embodiment 5, wherein the method comprises transmitting, to the first device, an indication of the at least one paging occasion used for the coverage alert trigger; and wherein the coverage alert trigger is indicated based on transmission of the paging DO message in one of: odd numbered paging occasions; even numbered paging occasions; within a certain number range of paging occasions; or - within a certain pattern of numbered paging occasions.

[00171] Example embodiment 7: The method 1100 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the indication of coverage alert trigger is based on at least one of reception of the paging DCI message or the paging message in a certain range of physical resource blocks, PRBs, of a control resource set or active bandwidth part; - one or more control channel elements carrying the paging DCI message; or a frequency domain index of a first resource element group constituting control channel element; or a frequency domain index of a first physical resource block or subcarrier of an active bandwidth part.

[00172] Example embodiment 8: The method 1100 according to Example embodiment 1 to 4, wherein the indication of coverage alert trigger is based on a scheduling offset between transmission of the paging DCI and the paging message.

[00173] Example embodiment 9: The method 1100 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the first device comprises a user device and the second device comprises a network entity. One example of a user device is the UE 102. The network entity may be, for example, a core network node or a base station, such as the gNB 104.

[00174] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a method 1200 for alert triggering, according to Example embodiment 1 of the method 1200. The method may be performed by a first device, such as a user device. The UE 102 is one example of a user device.

[00175] At 1202, the method may comprise receiving, from a second device, a paging message including device identities.

[00176] At 1204, the method may comprise determining whether the device identities comprise a modified identity of the first device, wherein the modified identity has been obtained by modifying an original identity of the first device according to a mapping rule.

[00177] At 1206, the method may comprise determining, based on determining that the device identities comprise the modified identity, that the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device.

[00178] At 1208, the method may comprise performing at least one action based on the coverage alert trigger.

[00179] The method 1200 may be performed, for example, according to any of the following example embodiments:

[00180] Example embodiment 2: The method 1200 according to Example embodiment 1, wherein the coverage alert trigger is included in the paging message due to the first device having failed to respond to a previous paging message.

[00181] Example embodiment 3: The method 1200 according to Example embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the at least one action comprises at least one of notifying a user of the first device of an issue related to coverage, moving or instructing to move to a location with improved coverage, or activating one or more antennas to improve link budget.

[00182] Example embodiment 4: The method 1200 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 3, the mapping rule is based on one of: an addition of a parameter value to the identity; a subtraction of a parameter value from the identity; or a modulo operation performed on the identity based on a parameter value.

[00183] Example embodiment 5: The method 1200 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the mapping rule is based on a bit-domain manipulation of the identity.

[00184] Example embodiment 6: The method 1200 according to Example embodiment 5, wherein the mapping rule is based on one of: - flipping of a specific subset of bits defining the identity; scrambling of a specific subset of bits defining the identity; or - a permutation pattern of bits defining the identity.

[00185] Example embodiment 7: The method 1200 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the method comprises determining additional information based on the performed modification of the identity of the first device, wherein the additional information is related to a random access procedure to be performed by the first device.

[00186] Example embodiment 8: The method 1200 according to Example embodiment 7, wherein the additional information comprises an indication of a timing relationship between the coverage alert trigger and the random access procedure; and the method comprises postponing initiation of the random access procedure according to the timing relationship.

[00187] Example embodiment 9: The method 1200 according to Example embodiment 7, wherein the additional information comprises an indication of a selection between multiple random-access configurations; and the method comprises performing the random access procedure according to the selection.

[00188] Example embodiment 10: The method 1200 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 9, an indication of the used mapping rule is pre-configured or received from the second device or a network device; and / or one or more parameters for applying the mapping rule are pre-configured or received from the second device or a network device.

[00189] Example embodiment 11: The method 1200 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the method comprises determining, based on the modified identity, one or more paging occasions to be monitored by the first device; and monitor the one or more paging occasions determined based on the modified identity.

[00190] Example embodiment 12: The method 1200 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the paging message includes, in addition to being indicative of the coverage alert trigger for the first device, a paging message intended for one or more third device.

[00191] Example embodiment 13: The method 1200 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 12, wherein the first device comprises a user device and the second device comprises a network entity. One example of a user device is the UE 102. The network entity may be, for example, a core network node or a base station, such as the gNB 104.

[00192] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a method 1300 for alert triggering, according to Example embodiment 1 of the method 1300. The method 1100 may be performed by a second device, such as a network device. The network device may be, for example, a radio access node, such as the gNB 104, or a core network node.

[00193] At 1302, the method may comprise detecting a failure of a first device to respond to a first paging message.

[00194] At 1304, the method may comprise determining to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure.

[00195] At 1306, the method may comprise performing a modification of an identity of the first device according to a mapping rule.

[00196] At 1308, the method may comprise transmitting, to the first device, a second paging message indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on the modified identity of the first device included in the second paging message.

[00197] The method 1300 may be performed, for example, according to any of the following example embodiments:

[00198] Example embodiment 2: The method 1300 according to Example embodiment 1, wherein the modification is performed such that the resulting modified identity of the first device is not mapped to an identity of another device within a same group of devices.

[00199] Example embodiment 3: The method 1300 according to Example embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the modification of the identity of the first device is implemented by one of: an addition of a parameter value selected from a certain range; - a subtraction of a parameter value selected from the certain range; or - a modulo operation performed with a parameter value selected from the certain range.

[00200] Example embodiment 4: The method 1300 according to Example embodiment 3, wherein the range is determined based on a number of paging frames within one discontinuous reception cycle.

[00201] Example embodiment 5: The method 1300 according to Example embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the modification is performed in a bit-domain.

[00202] Example embodiment 6: The method 1300 according to Example embodiment 5, wherein the mapping rule is based on one of: - flipping of a specific subset of bits defining the identity of the first device; scrambling a specific subset of bits defining the identity of the first device; or a permutation pattern of bits defining the identity of the first device.

[00203] Example embodiment 7: The method 1300 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the method further comprises transmitting, to the first device, a configuration for the coverage alert trigger, the configuration comprising at least one of an indication of the used mapping rule or one or more parameters for applying the mapping rule.

[00204] Example embodiment 8: The method 1300 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the method further comprises determining additional information associated with the coverage alert to be transmitted for the first device wherein the additional information is related to a random-access procedure to be performed by the first device; and performing the modification of the identity of the first device such that the modification comprises an indication of the additional information for the first device.

[00205] Example embodiment 9: The method 1300 according to Example embodiment 8, wherein the additional information is related to a timing relationship between the alert and the random access procedure, and the additional information is to instruct the first device to postpone initiation of the random access procedure according to the timing relationship.

[00206] Example embodiment 10: The method 1300 according to Example embodiment 8, wherein the additional information comprises an indication of a selection between multiple random-access configurations, and the additional information is to instruct the first device to perform the random access procedure according to the selection.

[00207] Example embodiment 11: The method 1300 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the method comprises determining one or more paging occasions to be monitored by the first device; and performing the modification of the identity of the first device such that the modified identifier is indicative of the one or more paging occasions to instruct the first device to monitor the one or more paging occasions.

[00208] Example embodiment 12: The method 1300 according to any of Example embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the first device comprises a user device and the second device comprises a network entity. One example of a user device is the UE 102. The network entity may be, for example, a core network node or a base station, such as the gNB 104.

[00209] Further features of the methods directly result from the functionalities and parameters of the devices, such as the device 200, the UE 102 and the gNB 104, as described in the appended claims and throughout the specification and are therefore not repeated here. It is noted that one or more operations of the method may be performed in different order.

[00210] An apparatus, for example a network node, a user node or a client node, may be configured to perform or cause performance of any aspect of the method(s) described herein. Further, a computer program may comprise instructions for causing, when executed, an apparatus to perform any aspect of the method(s) described herein. Further, an apparatus may comprise means for performing any aspect of the method(s) described herein. According to an example embodiment, the means comprises at least one processor, and memory including program code, the at one memory and the program code configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of any aspect of the method(s).

[00211] Any range or device value given herein may be extended or altered without losing the effect sought. Also, any embodiment may be combined with another embodiment unless explicitly disallowed.

[00212] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as examples of implementing the claims and other equivalent features and acts are intended to be within the scope of the claims.

[00213] It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments. The embodiments are not limited to those that solve any or all of the stated problems or those that have any or all of the stated benefits and advantages. It will further be understood that reference to 'an' item may refer to one or more of those items.

[00214] The operations of the methods described herein may be carried out in any suitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from any of the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Aspects of any of the embodiments described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other embodiments described to form further embodiments without losing the effect sought.

[00215] The term 'comprising' is used herein to mean including the method, blocks, or elements identified, but that such blocks or elements do not comprise an exclusive list and a method or apparatus may contain additional blocks or elements.

[00216] As used in this application, the term ‘circuitry’ may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessors), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims.

[00217] As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[00218] It will be understood that the above description is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments. Although various embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from scope of this specification.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory including instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to:receive, from a second device, a paging message including device identities;determine whether the device identities comprise a modified identity of the first device, wherein the modified identity has been obtained by modifying an original identity of the first device according to a mapping rule;determine, based on determining that the device identities comprise the modified identity, that the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device; andperform at least one action based on the coverage alert trigger.

2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the coverage alert trigger is included in the paging message due to the first device having failed to respond to a previous paging message.

3. The first device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one action comprises at least one of notifying a user of the first device of an issue related to coverage, moving or instructing to move to a location with improved coverage, or activating one or more antennas to improve link budget.

4. The first device of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mapping rule is based on one of:an addition of a parameter value to the identity;a subtraction of a parameter value from the identity; ora modulo operation performed on the identity based on a parameter value.

5. The first device of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mapping rule is based on a bit-domain manipulation of the identity.

6. The first device of claim 5, wherein the mapping rule is based on one of:- flipping of a specific subset of bits defining the identity;- scrambling of a specific subset of bits defining the identity; or- a permutation pattern of bits defining the identity.

7. The first device of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one memory comprises instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to:determine additional information based on the performed modification of the identity of the first device, wherein the additional information is related to a random access procedure to be performed by the first device.

8. The first device of claim 7, wherein the additional information comprises an indication of a timing relationship between the coverage alert trigger and the random access procedure; and the first device is caused to:postpone initiation of the random access procedure according to the timing relationship.

9. The first device of claim 7, wherein the additional information comprises an indication of a selection between multiple random-access configurations; and the first device is cause to:perform the random access procedure according to the selection.

10. The first device of any of preceding claims, wherein an indication of the used mapping rule is pre-configured or received from the second device or a network device; and / orone or more parameters for applying the mapping rule are pre-configured or received from the second device or a network device.

11. The first device of any preceding claim, wherein the first device is further caused to:determine, based on the modified identity, one or more paging occasions to be monitored by the first device; andmonitor the one or more paging occasions determined based on the modified identity.

12. The first device of any preceding claim, wherein the paging message includes, in addition to being indicative of the coverage alert trigger for the first device, a paging message intended for one or more third device.

13. A second device, comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory including instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to:detect a failure of a first device to respond to a first paging message;determine to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure;perform a modification of an identity of the first device according to a mapping rule; andtransmit, to the first device, a second paging message indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on the modified identity of the first device included in the second paging message.

14. The second device of claim 13, wherein the modification is performed such that the resulting modified identity of the first device is not mapped to an identity of another device within a same group of devices.

15. The second device of claim 13 or 14, wherein the modification of the identity of the first device is implemented by one of:- an addition of a parameter value selected from a certain range;- a subtraction of a parameter value selected from the certain range; or a modulo operation performed with a parameter value selected from the certain range.

16. The second device of claim 15, wherein the range is determined based on a number of paging frames within one discontinuous reception cycle.

17. The second device of claim 13 or 14, wherein the modification isperformed in a bit-domain.

18. The second device of claim 17, wherein the mapping rule is based on one of:- flipping of a specific subset of bits defining the identity of the first device;- scrambling a specific subset of bits defining the identity of the first device; ora permutation pattern of bits defining the identity of the first device.

19. The second device of any of claims 13 to 18, wherein the at least one memory further includes instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to:transmit, to the first device, a configuration for the coverage alert trigger, the configuration comprising at least one of an indication of the used mapping rule or one or more parameters for applying the mapping rule.

20. The second device of any of claims 13 to 19, wherein the at least one memory comprises instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to:determine additional information associated with the coverage alert to be transmitted for the first device wherein the additional information is related to a randomaccess procedure to be performed by the first device; andperform the modification of the identity of the first device such that the modification comprises an indication of the additional information for the first device.

21. The second device of claim 20, wherein the additional information is related to a timing relationship between the alert and the random access procedure, and the additional information is to instruct the first device to postpone initiation of the random access procedure according to the timing relationship.

22. The second device of claim 20, wherein the additional information comprises an indication of a selection between multiple random-access configurations, and the additional information is to instruct the first device to perform the random access procedure according to the selection.

23. The second device of any of claims 13 to 22, wherein the second deviceis caused to:determine one or more paging occasions to be monitored by the first device; andperform the modification of the identity of the first device such that the modified identifier is indicative of the one or more paging occasions to instruct the first device to monitor the one or more paging occasions.

24. A method carried out by the first device, comprising:receiving, from a second device, a paging message including device identities;determining whether the device identities comprise a modified identity of the first device, wherein the modified identity has been obtained by modifying an original identity of the first device according to a mapping rule;determining, based on determining that the device identities comprise the modified identity, that the paging message is indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device; andperforming at least one action based on the coverage alert trigger25. A method carried out by the second device, comprising:detecting a failure of a first device to respond to a first paging message;determining to alert the first device of coverage based on the detected failure;performing a modification of an identity of the first device according to a mapping rule; andtransmitting, to the first device, a second paging message indicative of a coverage alert trigger for the first device, wherein being indicative of the coverage alert trigger is based on the modified identity of the first device included in the second paging message.

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