Methods, apparatus and computer programs

Abstract

A method of determining switching gap position comprises: providing capability information to a network about a capability of a user equipment to support uplink transmit switching; receiving from the

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Various example embodiments relate generally to methods, apparatus, system and computer programs and in particular, but not exclusively, methods, apparatus, system and computer programs relating to uplink transmit switching. BACKGROUND A communication network can be seen as a facility that enables communications between two or more communication devices, or provides communication devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network. Such communication networks operate in according with standards such as those provided by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) or ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). Examples of standards are the so-called 5G (5th Generation) standards provided by 3GPP and future standards such as 6G and beyond. BRIEF DESCRIPTION Some example embodiments of this disclosure will be described with respect to certain aspects. These aspects are not intended to indicate key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor are they intended to be used to limit the scope thereof. Other features, aspects, and elements will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. According a first aspect, there is provided a user equipment comprising: means for providing capability information to a network about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching; means for receiving from the network, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands; and means for switching transmissions to the network between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands with a respective transmission switching gap having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands. Other optional features of the first aspect may be seen from the dependent claims. According to a second aspect, there is provided a method comprising: providing capability information to a network about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching; receiving from the network, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands; and switching transmissions to the network between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands with a respective transmission switching gap having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands. The switching gap placement information may comprises information defining a duration for a respective transmission switching gap. The method may comprise translating the duration for a respective transmission switching gap into an equivalent number of symbols. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a higher priority. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a lower priority. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on both of the respective two bands when the respective two bands have the same priority. Each band may be one of a frequency division duplex band, a time division duplex band, or an uplink only band. The capability information may comprise information about the capability of the user equipment to support one or more of a first mode where the user equipment is unable to transmit on more than one band at a time or a second mode where the user equipment is able to transmit on a plurality of bands at a time. The method may comprise receiving information from the network about the plurality of bands. The method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may be a user equipment. The apparatus may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to provide one or more of the methods of the second aspect. According to a third aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving capability information from a user equipment about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching; means for providing to the user equipment, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands; and means for receiving transmissions from the user equipment, the transmissions being switched between two bands of the plurality of bands, with a respective transmission switching gap between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands. The switching gap placement information may comprises information defining a duration for a respective transmission switching gap. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a higher priority. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a lower priority. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on both of the respective two bands when the respective two bands have the same priority. Each band may be one of a frequency division duplex band, a time division duplex band, or an uplink only band. The capability information may comprise information about the capability of the user equipment to support one or more of a first mode where the user equipment is unable to transmit on more than one band at a time or a second mode where the user equipment is able to transmit on a plurality of bands at a time. The apparatus may comprise means for the providing the user equipment with information about the plurality of bands. The apparatus may be an access node. The access node may be a base station. The access node may be a gNB. According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a method comprising: receiving capability information from a user equipment about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching; providing to the user equipment, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands; and receiving transmissions from the user equipment, the transmissions being switched between two bands of the plurality of bands, with a respective transmission switching gap between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands. The switching gap placement information may comprises information defining a duration for a respective transmission switching gap. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a higher priority. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a lower priority. A respective transmission switching gap may be provided on both of the respective two bands when the respective two bands have the same priority. Each band may be one of a frequency division duplex band, a time division duplex band, or an uplink only band. The capability information may comprise information about the capability of the user equipment to support one or more of a first mode where the user equipment is unable to transmit on more than one band at a time or a second mode where the user equipment is able to transmit on a plurality of bands at a time. The method may comprise providing the user equipment with information about the plurality of bands. The method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may be an access node. The access node may be a base station. The access node may be a gNB. The apparatus may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to provide one or more of the methods of the fourth aspect. According to another aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least one of the above methods. According to an aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least one of the above methods. According to an aspect, there is provided a non-volatile tangible memory medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least one of the above methods. In the above, many different aspects have been described. It should be appreciated that further aspects may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the aspects described above. Various other aspects are also described in the following detailed description and in the attached claims. LIST OF THE DRAWINGS In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows an example of a communication network to which examples disclosed herein may be applied; Figs. 2 shows a procedure of some embodiments; Fig. 3 shows a first method of some embodiments; Fig. 4 shows a first example of a transmission switching pattern; Fig. 5 shows a second example of a transmission switching pattern; Fig. 6 to 9 show third to sixth examples of a transmission switching pattern, depending on which of the bands are activated; Fig. 10 shows a seventh example of a transmission switching pattern; Figs. 11 a to d show different examples of locations for switching gaps; Fig. 12 shows an example of an apparatus; Fig. 13 shows a first method of some embodiments; Fig. 14 shows a second method of some embodiments; Fig. 15 shows a third method of some embodiments; and Fig, 16 shows a fourth method of some embodiments. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to “an”, "one”, or "some" embodiment(s) in several locations of the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is made to the same embodiment's], or that a particular feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection of an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to apply such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. It shall be understood that although the terms “first," "second” and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "at least one of A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, and "A and / or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A, B, and / or C" means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C). Embodiments described maybe implemented in a communication network, such as any of the following radio access technologies (RATs): Worldwide Interoperability for Micro-wave Access (WiMAX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM, 2G), GSM EDGE radio access Network (GERAN), General Packet Radio Service (GRPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS, 3G) based on basic wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, and enhanced LTE (eLTE), 5G (also called NR), or any future RAT such as 6G. Moreover, communication within the communication network may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), and / or Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM). As used herein, the term "network device” or "network node” refers to a node in a communication network via which user equipment may access the network and / or which is capable of controlling radio communication and managing radio resources within a cell. The network node or network device may be referred to as a base station (BS), an access point (AP) or an access node. The network device may be, depending on the applied technology, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, or an aircraft network device. Moreover, in connection of split radio access network (RAN), the network device may refer to a centralised unit (CU) of a base station and / or a distributed unit (DU) of a base station. An interface between CU and DU may be referred to as an Fl interface in NR. In the split RAN architecture, node operations may be carried out, at least partly, in the central / centralized unit, CU, (e.g. server, host or node) operationally coupled to the DU, (e.g. a radio head / node). One CU may control one or more DUs, acting at least as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. In some embodiments, the DUs may comprise e.g. a radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer, whereas the CU may comprise the layers above RLC layer, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC) and an internet protocol (IP) layers. Other functional splits are possible too. In practice, any processing task may be performed in either the CU or the DU and the boundaiy where the responsibility is shifted between the CU and the DU may depend on the applied implementation. The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example, a terminal device may be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), or a Mobile Station (MS). The terminal device may include a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, USB dongles, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. A term “resource”, as used herein, may refer to radio resources in time domain, in frequency domain, in space domain, and / or in code domain. Some examples of resources include e.g. a physical resource block (PRB), a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, a sub band, a frequency region, a sub-carrier, a beam, etc. The term "transmission" and / or "reception" may refer to wirelessly transmitting and / or receiving via a wireless propagation channel on radio resources. Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network to which examples disclosed herein may be applied. The communication network or a cellular communication network may comprise a network node 110 providing one or more cells, such as cell 100, and a network node 112 providing one or more other cells, such as cell 102. Each cell may be, e.g., a macro cell, a micro cell, femto, or a pico cell, for example. The cell may define a coverage area or a service area of the corresponding access node. The network node 110 may provide a user equipment (UE) 120 (one or more UEs) with wireless access to the communication network. The wireless access may comprise downlink (DL) communication from the network node to the UE 120 and uplink (UL) communication from the UE 120 to the network node. Examples of uplink channels comprise physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for transmitting control information and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for transmitting data towards the network. Examples of downlink channels comprise physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for transmitting control information and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for transmitting data towards the user equipment. There may be a plurality of UEs 120, 122 in the system. Each of them may be served by the same or by different network nodes 110, 112. UE may be configured with dual connectivity (DC), wherein the UE, e.g. UE 120, may be connected to multiple network nodes 110, 112. The UEs 120,122 may communicate with each other, in case device-to-device (D2D) communication interface is established between them via a so-called sidelink (SL). Such D2D communications may be referred to as machine-to-machine, peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, or ve-hicle-to-vehicle (V2V), for example. In the case of multiple network nodes in the communication network, the network nodes may be connected to each other via an interface. LTE specifications call such an interface as X2 interface. An interface between an LTE node and a 5G node, or between two 5G nodes may be called Xn interface. The network nodes 110 and 112 may be further connected via another interface to a core network 116 of the communication network. Some embodiments relate to uplink transmit switching. Uplink transmit (UL TX) switching is where a UE changes from transmitting on one band to transmitting on another band. A carrier used for communication exists on a band. The band may be a frequency band having one or more carriers. The band may be wider than a carrier. There may be more than one carrier on a band. If the carriers are adjacent to each other in frequency, the UE may be able to transmit on the two carriers with a single transmitter. In some cases, the UE may not be able to use one transmitter to transmit on two carriers on one band, and the switching may take place between two different carriers on the same frequency band. In the following discussions, reference is made to various examples where the UE switches between different bands. It should be appreciated that those examples may be modified to provide examples where the UE is switching between two carriers on the same frequency band. UL TX switching may allow a single TX chain or transmitter between to be shared in an FDD (frequency division duplex) band and a TDD (time division duplex) band. With a FDD band, a UE uses one frequency for UL and a different frequency for downlink (DL). With TDD, a UE uses one frequency for both UL and DL. The UE may be able to support MIMO (multiple input multiple output) rank 2 in the TDD band. A UE may support a switched UL mode where the UE cannot transmit simultaneously on two carriers or bands. A UE may support dual uplink mode where the UE can transmit simultaneously on two carriers or bands. The UE report a capability as to which one or other or both of the modes are supported, for both via a "both capability”. For one or more of the modes there is one or more further options depending on whether the respective transmitter chain is shared or not between the two modes. A UE may indicate a need for uplink switching. This may be, for example, in the case where the UE is configured with carrier aggregation with more than 2 uplink carriers. By way of example only, the UE may be configured with 3 or 4 UL carriers. It has been proposed that the UE switch according to DCI (downlink control information) scheduling indications. The UE may then be expected to transmit in uplink when it is scheduled or configured to be scheduled, hence switching can occur due to one or more of: PUSCH, A-SRS (aperiodic sounding reference signal) , P-SRS (periodic SRS) (RRC), Configured Grant (CG) (type-1 and type-2 (RRC)) and PUCCH for all UCI (uplink control information) types (SR (scheduling request), HARQ-ACK (hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment / negative acknowledgement and CS1 (channel state information) feedback). A delay is introduced t_switch to ensure that the UE is not expected to have PUSCH ready before t_switch + PUSCH preparation time. A similar issue may arise for SRS. The gNB may need to ensure that no conflicts occur between the configured bands that requires uplink transmit switching. The current proposals may be burdensome for the gNB to manage. For example, the gNB may need to ensure PUCCH does is not fall into an undesired cell, when allocating a PDSCH. Similar issues may alternatively or additionally arise for SRS periodicity selection or allocations. Avoiding unnecessary switching may increase spectral efficiency. A switching gap is the time required to switch from one band to another in which the UE may or may not be expected to be available for communication with the gNB. Uplink TX switching in 5G NR is based on the principle that the UE switching occasions are defined by the scheduling on the implicated cells. This scheduling defines the UE behaviour when the UE conducts UL TX switching derived based on the scheduling information. This may mean that the UE is in a situation where it may conduct uplink TX switching to follow scheduling and intended usage of the uplink physical channels and / or reference signals. The uplink channels and reference signals may comprise PUSCH, PUCCH (of all UC1 types), CG, SRS, and / or PRACH. It may be challenging to select scheduling occasions and configurations for PUSCH, PUCCH (e.g. CSI feedback and HARQ-ACK), CG and / or SRS, that ensures that the UE can use transmit switching to switch from, for example a TDD band which has a DL symbol (and cannot be used for UL) to an FDD band supporting UL. In some embodiments, the gNB may configure the UE with a UL TX switching pattern. This may remove the need for UE-based switching decisions and constraints. In some embodiments, the gNB may derive the switching pattern. In some embodiments, The UE uses an uplink TX switching pattern which defines when the UE should be able to transmit in uplink on which bands. Each band may be one of a FDD band, TDD band, or an uplink only band, The uplink only band is sometimes referred to a supplemental uplink band. A band may comprise of one carrier on the band or a plurality of carriers on the band. A carrier used for communication may be provided on a band. The band may be wider than a carrier. There may be a plurality of carriers on a band. If two carriers of a band are adjacent to each other in frequency the UE may be able to transmit on the two carriers with a single transmitter. The UE may signal capability information to the network. This capability information may indicate the ability of the UE to support uplink TX switching. The capability information may indicate the capability of the UE for uplink TX switching of at least one set of band combinations which are constrained by uplink TX switching capabilities. The capability information may provide information on one or more constrained band combination. Such constraints may be switched UL or dual UL or simultaneous UL for two or more bands. The UE may be configured by the network with a carrier aggregation configuration. The network may provide configuration information relating to uplink transmit switching. The configuration information may comprise information about the plurality of different bands. The configuration information may comprise priority information associated with the plurality of different bands. The priority information may indicate which of the plurality of different bands is to be used in dependence on an availability of a respective one of the different bands for transmission to the network at a given time. The priority information may comprise information about a transmission priority associated with one of a respective time slot or symbol of a respective pattern for uplink transmit switching, the transmission priority indicating which of the plurality of bands has a higher priority for the respective time slot or symbol. The priority information may be provided by assigning a priority value for each respective time slot or symbol. The UE may be configured for uplink TX switching. The configuration is dependent on the configuration information. The configuration may comprise one or more of: a band combination; at least one switching pattern; handling of more than one transmitter or TX chain involved in switching; and / or a switching gap configuration.; and / or This may be associated with a CA (carrier aggregation) configuration. In some embodiments, each band in the band-combination may configured with an priority. This may be provided by the configuration information. The switching pattern may be derived or determined at the UE and / or gNB using the priority. The determination of the switching pattern may be as follows: A highest priority band is used for UL, when it is an UL occasion on that highest priority band. If not then, the second highest priority UL band is used, when it is an UL occasion on that second highest priority band. If not, his is repeated with the next highest priority band (if there is one) and so on. If a given band is deactivated, then the UL occasions of that band may not be considered when determining the switching pattern. Where a UE has the capability for dual UL or simultaneous UL, the gNB may configure the UE to have specific switching patterns per transmit chain or transmitter. In some embodiments, when the respective switching pattern for more than one TX chain or transmitter indicates the same band at the same time, the gNB may assume that the UE may simultaneously transmit using the different transmitters on that band. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with one transmit switching pattern. In other embodiments, the UE may be configured with two or more transmit switching patterns. In some embodiments, the configuration information may alternatively or additionally define a switching gap configuration. In some embodiments, the UE may be provided with, information defining placement of a transmission switching gap when switching from one band to another band of a plurality of different bands. The switching gap is where a UE switches from transmitting on one band to transmitting on another band. The configuration of switching gaps may be defined by one or more of the following: a switching duration; and each band is associated with a switching gap priority. In some embodiments, the UE may place the switching gap on the highest priority band that is involved (switching to or from) in the switching to be executed. In some embodiments, the UE may place the switching gap on the lowest priority band that is involved (switching to or from) in the switching to be executed. If the bands involved are configured with equal priority, the UE may split the switching gap time between the two band. The split may be an even split in some embodiments. In other embodiments, more of the switching gap time may be provided on one band than the other. This may be the case for example, if the switching gap is defined by an odd number of symbols. In some embodiments, the UE may be expected to follow the switching pattern (i.e. not deviate from it). The UE may drop a transmission (e.g. SRS, PUSCH, and / or PUCCH) on a band that is not having any (or insufficient) transmitters which are active according to the pattern. In some embodiments, the UE may be instructed to suspend (or deactivate) a band out of a band combination from UL operations. In this case the UL phase of that suspended band is not used. The UL transmissions associated with that band may be effectively inherited by the band with the highest priority that is not suspended. In some embodiments, the access node knows when the UE is able to transmit in which band and can therefore schedule itself to receive those transmissions accordingly. The access node may be able to easily track when the UE is able to transmit on which bands. The access node may adapt the switching pattern based on load. The UE would be advised on the new switching pattern via updated configuration information. On some embodiments, rules may be defined to allow deviations of the switching pattern without the need for reconfiguration of the entire switching pattern. This may for example be the case where one or more bands are activated / deactivated. In some embodiments, there is no need to reconfigure the pattern when a band involved in the switching pattern is being deactivated / activated. Reference is made to Figure 2 which shows an example procedure of some embodiments. As referenced 1, the UE sends information about the capability of the UE. This may be referred to as capability information. The capability information may be sent to the network. For example, the capability information may be sent to an access node, for example a gNB. In the following example, reference is made to communication with a gNB. However, it should be appreciated that this is by way of example and the communication may be with any suitable access node. The described procedure of Figure 2 describes communication between one gNB and a UE. It should be appreciated that in other embodiments, the communication may be between the UE and different gNBs. The capability information may comprise information about the bands supported by the UE. The capability information may comprise information about a need for UL TX switching. The capability information may be sent as part of a registration procedure, in some embodiments. As referenced 2, the UE may receive from the gNB, information about the configuration of carrier aggregation. This may be referred to as carrier aggregation configuration information. As referenced 3, the UE may receive from the gNB, information about the configuration of UL TX switching. This may be referred to as UL TX switching configuration information. This UL TX switching configuration information may be transmitted together with the carrier aggregation configuration information or separately from the carrier aggregation configuration information. The UL TX switching configuration information may comprise one or more of: a UL TX switching pattern (for example indicating a band priority); a UL TX switching pattern per transmitter chain; and a UL TX switching gap configuration. As referenced 4, the gNB determines the UL TX switching pattern for the UE. This may be based on one or more of the carrier aggregation configuration information, UL TX switching configuration information, and the capability information. As referenced 5, the UE determines the UL TX switching pattern for the UE. This may be based on one or more of the carrier aggregation configuration information, UL TX switching configuration information, and the capability information. The parts of the procedure referenced 2 to 5 may be regarded as being a configuration procedure. As referenced 6, the UE transmits according to the determined the UL TX switching pattern. As referenced 7, the gNB may send information to the UE indication that one or more SCell (secondary cell) is being one of enabled and disabled (activate d / d eactivated). This may change a band from being one of available and unavailable to the other of available and unavailable. As referenced 8, the UE redetermines the UL TX switching pattern for the UE taking into account the change of availability of one or more bands. Reference is made to Figure 3 which shows a method of some embodiments for the determining of the UL TX switching pattern. This method may be used at the UE and / or the gNB. As referenced SI, UL TX switching is configured. One or more bands have been assigned priorities or the priority of one or more bands has changed. One or more cells may be activated or deactivated. As referenced S2, the active bands are sorted, for example by the priority signalled by the network in UL TX switching configuration information. As referenced S3, active bands with no priority may be assigned a lower priority than those for which priority is signalled by the network. It should be appreciated, that in some embodiments, S2 and S3 may be performed together. As referenced S4, for a given time slot, n, the following procedure is followed. For a given TX chain or transmitter, for the highest priority band, it is determined, as referenced S5, if the band is an UL band. If not, this is repeated for the next highest priority band until it an UL band is found. As referenced S6, when an UL band is found, that UL band is assigned to the slot and the UE will transmit on that slot. The method may then be repeated for the next slot. An example of a switching pattern defined by priority bands for a two band combination with UL TX switching restrictions can be seen from Figure 4. The first band is referred to UL Band 0 and the second band is referred to UL Band 1. In this example, UL Band 0 is a TDD band, and UL Band 1 is an FDD band. In Figure 4, "U" is used to indicate an UL time slot and” D” is used to indicate a DL time slot for UL Band 0. For UL Band 1, each time slot is an UL time slot. The bottom row indicated the switching pattern where "0" refers to UL Band 0 and "1” refers to UL Band 1. In this example, UL Band 0 has a higher priority than UL Band 1. This means that an UL time slot is selected on UL Band 0, if that band has an available time slot. If there is no available UL time slot on UL Band 0, then the UL time slot on UL Band 1 is selected. An example of a switching pattern defined by priority bands for a three band combination with UL TX switching restrictions can be seen from Figure5. The first band is referred to UL Band 0, the second band is referred to UL Band 1, and the third band is referred to UL Band 2. In this example, UL Band 0 is a TDD band, UL Band 1 is a TDD band, and UL Band 2 is an FDD band. UL Band 0 may be a 5ms bi-periodic pattern (e.g. DDDSU-DDSUU - where D is DL, U is UL and S is a special subframe which comes when there is a transition from a downlink subframe to an uplink subframe) UL Band 1 may be a 2ms periodic pattern (e.g. DU where D is DL and U is UL). In Figure 5, again "U" is used to indicate an UL time slot and" D” is used to indicate a DL time slot for UL Band 0 and UL Band 1. For UL Band 2, each time slot is an UL time slot. The bottom row indicated the switching pattern where "0” refers to UL Band 0, “1” refers to UL Band 1, and 2 refers to UL Band 2. In this example, UL Band 0 has a higher priority than UL Band 1 which in turn has a higher priority than UL Band 2. This means that an UL time slot is selected on UL Band 0, if that band has an available time slot. If there is no available UL time slot on UL Band 0, then the UL time slot on UL Band 1 is selected. If there is no available UL time slot on UL Band 1, then the UL time slot on UL Band 2 is selected. In the example of Figure 5, the switching pattern generated by the priority band rule, is then 22112211001122110000. This repeats every 10ms in this example. The periodicity may not need to be defined as it is given by the band patterns of bands and would repeat until a new configuration is provided. Reference is made to Figures 6 which shows an example where three bands are used, and all three bands are active. Figure 7 shows the same three bands but where the firsthand is inactive. Figure 8 shows the same three bands but where the second band is inactive. Finally Figure 9 shows the same three bands but where the first and second band is inactive. In Figures 6 to 9, Band 1 is a TDD band, Band 2 is a TDD band, and Band 3 is a FDD band. Each time slot is indicated as being either an UL time slot or a DL time slot by the use of “UL” and "DL" respectively. Band 1 has the highest priority, then Band 2, and finally Band 3. The bottom row shows the Tx pattern. In Figure 6 all the bands are active, and the actually applied Tx switching pattern (the bottom row) is derived by taking the highest priority band at any given time as the band that is allowed to transmit. Figure 7, Figure 8 and Figure 9 show how the actual band that is allowed to transmit changes as a function of some or all of the uplink transmissions on higher priority bands are being suspended. Referring to Figure 6, the Tx pattern for the case where all three bands are activated uses Band 1 if it is available for a time slot, and if not then Band 2 will be used. If Band 2 is also not available, then Band 3 will be used. Referring to Figure 7, the Tx pattern for the case where Band 1 has been suspended or deactivated is shown. In this example, Band 1 is not used. Thus, if Band 2 is available for a time slot than that band is used. If not, then Band 3 will be used. Referring to Figure 8, the Tx pattern for the case where Band 2 has been suspended or is deactivated is shown. In this example, Band 2 is not used. Thus, if Band 1 is available for a time slot than that band is used. If not, then Band 3 will be used. Referring to Figure 9, the Tx pattern for the case where Band 1 and Band 2 has been suspended or is deactivated is shown. In this example. Band 1 and 2 are not used. Thus, Band3 will be used. Reference is made to Figure 10, which shows an example where two UL transmitters are assigned independent UL priorities. Figure 10 shows the switching patterns. In case 1, only one switching pattern is defined. The same switching pattern is used for each transmitter. Bands 0,1 and 2 are provided. The priority order may be Band 2, Band 1 and Band 0 in this example. In the second case, a dual TX capability is assumed. A first switching pattern, switching pattern 0 is defined for a first transmitter and a second switching pattern, switching pattern 1 is defined for the second transmitter. The first switching pattern may have different priority order to the second switching pattern. For example, with the first switching pattern, the priority order may be Band 0, Band 1 and Band 2 (from highest to lowest). For example, with the second switching pattern, the priority order may be Band 1, Band 0 and Band 2 (from highest to lowest). In some embodiments, there are use-cases which may benefit from transmitter specific prioritization or just the use of a UL TX pattern. For example, one use-case where there may be an advantage is when the UE is assigned one transmitter on one band and another transmitter on another band. It may be otherwise difficult to assess if one of the bands could start using two transmitters to achieve 2-port UL MIMO transmissions. Even if the data transmissions are using 1 Tx (1 port) transmission on each band, the band(s) where UL MIMO is supported should be occasionally sounded with 2-port SRS (needing two Tx chains) to determine if UL MIMO transmissions would be beneficial. This may be supported by an appropriate UL TX switching pattern. For example, another use case where there may be advantage is as follows. Time instants where PUCCH is transmitted may be assumed to be 1-port transmission. It may be the case that the uplink control channel is always 1-port even if UL MIMO with >1 port transmission is supported for data transmission. During these time instants, only one transmitter is used for the band with the designated PUCCH transmission time instants. This may free one or more transmitter chains for uplink bands. For time-instances designated for data transmission (that is not the UL control channel), multi-port transmissions utilizing two or more transmitters may be used on a band. In some embodiments, the configuration information comprises priority information. The priority information may be provided in any suitable way. In some embodiments, the priority information may be defined via a bitmap. The switching pattern may be defined by the gNB and sent to the UE. The bitmap may be a vector that indicates which band should be available for UL at which point in time. This could for example be a bitmap providing the transmit switching pattern such as illustrated in any of Figures 4 to 10. The bitmap may be provided granularity on a slot basis. For example, the pattern of Figure 5 would require a bitmap length of [70^2(320)] = 32 bits. In some embodiments, the granularity may be on a symbol basis. This increases flexibility but also increases the bitmap length. For example, the pattern of Figure 5 would require a bitmap length of [Zo^2(32014) ] = 444 bits. In another embodiment, the gNB may only configure a sub-set of the slot pattern at a symbol granularity. Such pattern may be signalled as switching pattern symbols consisting of a symbol UL switching pattern, slot index offset, and periodicity. In another embodiment, the switching gap patterns is defined via a TDD alike pattern definition. The pattern may not only distinguish between UL and DL (two states), but potential more states (e.g. 3 or 4). This may include non-binary states. The TDD patterns (of which there may be two for a band in 5G NR) is defined via a periodicity, a number of slots for DL, number of symbols for DL, number of symbols for UL and number of slots for UL. Translating into a switching pattern for two bands may provide: {{number of slots for 0, number of symbols for 0}, {number of symbols for 1, number of slots for 1}. For three bands: {{number of slots for 0, number of symbols for 0}, {number of symbols for 1, number of slots for 1, number of symbols for 1}, {number of symbols for 2, number of slots for 2}. Applying the 3 band option, one example could be represented by a by a triple-periodic pattern 2211-001122-110000. This may be obtained by applying three times, a three-band TDD pattern. 2211 by 2x band 2 then 2x bandl 001122 by 2x band 0, then band 1 and band 2 1100000 by 2x band 1 and 4x band 0. One constraint of this definition is the order . Therefore, the order of bands may be configurable. In some embodiments, a transmission switching pattern may be static or semi-static by nature. In some embodiments, the transmission switching patterns are applied until one or more of the patterns are reconfigured. For example, the gNB may change a transmission switching pattern for load balancing purposes. In some embodiments, this may be done by sending updated configuration information from the base station to the UE. In some embodiments, this may be done by configuring one or more secondary patterns. The one or secondary patterns may be configured at the same time as the one or more patterns (primary patterns) which are being used. The gNB may send an indication to trigger the UE to use one or more of the secondary transmission patterns. The gNB may send an indication to trigger the UE for the UE to stop using one or more of the secondary transmission patterns and / or to start using one or more of the primary patterns. The indication may be a lower layer indication. The lower layer indication may be a MAC CE (medium access control control element) or DCI. In some embodiments, the switching patterns may be selected along with UL MIMO. For example, a first pattern is used for a first MIMO rank and a second pattern is used for a second MIMO rank. In one dual switching example, the UE may be configured to use a first pattern where the UL is placed on a first band (e.g. an FDD band) when the secondary band (e.g. an TDD band) is operating with rank 1. When the secondary band is operating with a rank 2, the UE may use a second pattern with UL on the TDD band. This may be with one or two transmitters (one or two chains). The switching patterns being selected along with UL MIMO may apply for pairs for patterns if a pattern per transmitter is configured. For example, a primary and a secondary switching pattern may be configured per transmitter. There maybe simultaneous switching when the respective pattern is activated / selected. In some embodiments, the UL TX switching pattern may be configured based on one or more of the following: CA band combination; UE TX uplink capabilities; and / or current load of the individual bands. The band priority may be determined based on the CA band combination, the UE TX uplink capabilities, and the current load of the individual bands. The load of the individual bands may be changing dynamically. This may mean that the highest prioritized band for TX uplink switching may change accordingly. In some embodiments, it is assumed that the UE can transmit PUCCH on the indicated carrier. In the case that this is not supported by the gNB - that is the gNB is unable to receive the PUCCH on some bands, the UE may be configured to be allowed to overrule the switching pattern. This may be based on HARQ-ACK on PUCCH. This may allow the UE to switch to the band configured with PUCCH if the indicated band for UL is not associated with a PUCCH configuration. In one embodiment, the placement of the switching gap may be related to the band priorities used to determine the switching pattern. For example, the highest priority band gets lowest priority when determine the gap locations. This means highest priority band be the last band on which the gap is placed. In other words, the gap location is most likely to be on a lower priority band. This means that the highest priority band may be the band least likely to lose capacity. In another example, the highest priority band gets the highest priority when determining the band on which the switching gap is to be placed. In some embodiments, a fixed switching duration is applied. In other embodiments, the switching duration may be variable. The switching duration may be provided by the access nodes. In some embodiments, the switching duration may be dependent on the one or more of the bands which are being switched between. In some embodiments, the switching gap may be provided on a particular band. References is made to Figures Ila to d which show some example embodiments for the placement of the switching gap. Figure Ila shows a first example where the UL transmission switching gap is placed on the band which is being switched from. Figure 11b shows a second example where the UL transmission switching gap is placed on the band which is being switched to. In some examples, the highest priority band gets the highest priority when determining the band on which the switching gap is to be placed. In the example shown in Figure 11c, where the priorities are unique the UE place the switching gaps on the band involved in switching with the highest priority. In this example, band 0 has the lowest priority, then band 1 and then band 2 which has the highest priority. In alternative embodiments, the UE place the switching gaps on the band involved in switching with the lowest priority. In the example shown in Figure lid, where there are two bands with an equal priority involved in switching, the UE will split the switching gap between the two bands. In this example, band 0 and band 1 have the same priority and band 2 has the lowest priority. The switching gap duration may be configured by the gNB. This switching gap duration may be configured by the gNB in accordance with the UE capability. If the switching gap duration indicated in ms, the gaps may be translated by the UE into a number of symbols according to a reference numerology. In some embodiments, the switching gap duration may be indicated by a number of symbols. Reference is made to FIG. 13 which shows a method of some example embodiments. This method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise or be user equipment. The apparatus may comprise suitable means, such as circuitry for providing the method. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus at least to provide the method below. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may be such as discussed in relation to FIG. 12. The method may be provided by computer program code or computer executable instructions. The method comprises as referenced Al, providing capability information to a network node about a capability of a user equipment to support uplink transmit switching. The method comprises as referenced A2, receiving from the network node, configuration information regarding uplink transmit switching; and The method comprises as referenced A3, switching transmissions to the network between a plurality of different bands using one or more uplink transmit switching patterns, the one or more uplink transmit switching patterns being dependent on the configuration information. Reference is made to FIG. 14 which shows a method of some example embodiments. This method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise or be an access node. The access node may be a base station, for example a gNB. The apparatus may comprise suitable means, such as circuitry for providing the method. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus at least to provide the method below. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may be as discussed in relation to FIG. 12. The method may be provided by computer program code or computer executable instructions. The method comprises as referenced Bl, receiving capability information from a user equipment about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching. The method comprises as referenced B2, providing the user equipment with configuration information regarding uplink transmit switching. The method comprises as referenced B3 receiving transmissions from the user equipment, the transmissions being switched between a plurality of different bands using one or more uplink transmit switching patterns, the one or more uplink transmit switching patterns being dependent on the configuration information. Reference is made to FIG. 15 which shows a method of some example embodiments. This method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise or be a user equipment. The apparatus may comprise suitable means, such as circuitry for providing the method. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus at least to provide the method below. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may be as discussed in relation to FIG. 12. The method may be provided by computer program code or computer executable instructions. The method comprises as referenced Cl, providing capability information to a network node about a capability of a user equipment to support uplink transmit switching. The method comprises as referenced C2, from the network, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands. The method comprises as referenced C3, switching transmissions to the network between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands with a respective transmission switching gap having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands. Reference is made to FIG. 16 which shows a method of some example embodiments. This method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise or be an access node. The access node may be a base station, for example a gNB. The apparatus may comprise suitable means, such as circuitry for providing the method. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memoiy storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus at least to provide the method below. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may be as discussed in relation to FIG. 12. The method may be provided by computer program code or computer executable instructions. The method comprises as referenced DI, receiving capability information from a user equipment about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching. The method comprises as referenced D2, providing to the user equipment, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands. The method comprises as referenced D3, receiving transmissions from the user equipment, the transmissions being switched between two bands of the plurality of bands, with a respective transmission switching gap between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands. Fig. 12 shows, by way of example, a block diagram of an apparatus 10. The apparatus 10 comprises, for example, at least one processor 12 and at least one memory 14 storing instructions 15 that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus 10 at least to perform the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof. In an example, the at least one memory and the instructions (e.g. a computer program code, software), are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus 10 to perform the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof. A processor 12 may comprise circuitry, or be constituted as circuitiy or circuitries, the circuitry or circuitries being configured to perform phases of methods in accordance with example embodiments described herein. 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 user equipment, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a mi-croprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), 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. 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. The memory 14 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology. The memory may comprise a database for storing data. The memory 14 may be at least in part external to apparatus 10 but accessible to apparatus 10. The instructions 15 may be comprised in a computer readable medium or a non-transitory computer readable medium. A term non-transitory, as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g. random-access memory, RAM, vs. read only memory, ROM). For example, the apparatus 10 is a terminal device, such as the UE of Fig. 1. As another example, the apparatus is comprised in such a terminal device, e.g. as a chipset configured to control the terminal device. The apparatus 10 may be caused or configured to perform at least the method of Fig. 13 and / or 15 and / or any one or more of the embodiments described. As another example, the apparatus 10 is a network node, e.g. the access node or base station of Fig. 1. In another embodiment, the apparatus is comprised in such a network node, e.g. as a chipset configured to control the network node. The apparatus 10 may be caused or configured to perform at least the method of Fig. 14 and / or 16 and / or any one or more of the embodiments described. The apparatus may comprise one or more entities of any of protocol layers, such as a MAC entity, an RRC entity, an RLC entity, a PDCP entity or a PHY entity. In some embodiments, the entity is configured to perform at least the method of Fig. 9 or Fig. 10, and / or any one or more of the embodiments described. The apparatus 10 comprises a radio interface 16. The radio interface 16 may provide the apparatus 10 with communication capabilities. The radio interface 16 may comprise a receiver configured to receive information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The radio interface 16 may comprise a transmitter configured to transmit information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The receiver may comprise more than one receiver. The transmitter may comprise more than one transmitter. The radio interface 16 may comprise a transceiver configured to receive and transmit information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The transceiver may comprise more than one transceiver. The apparatus 10 may optionally comprise a user interface 18 comprising, for example, at least one of a keypad, a microphone, a touch display, a display, a speaker, etc. The user interface 18 may be used to control the apparatus by the user. The user interface 18 may be external to the apparatus 10. For example, the apparatus 10 may be connected to another device, such as a computer, either via wireless or wired connection, and the apparatus 10 is controlled by the user via the computer. In an embodiment, at least some of the processes described herein may be carried outby an apparatus comprising means for carrying out at least some of the described processes. Means for performing method steps as disclosed herein may include software and / or hardware components of the apparatus 10. For example, the at least one processor 12, the memory 14, and the computer program code form means for carrying out the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof. As used herein the term “means” is to be construed in singular form, i.e. referring to a single element, or in plural form, i.e. referring to a combination of single elements. Therefore, terminology "means for [performing A, B, C]", is to be interpreted to cover an apparatus in which there is only one means for performing A, B and C, or where there are separate means for performing A, B and C, or partially or fully overlapping means for performing A, B, C. Further, terminology "means for performing A, means for performing B, means for performing C” is to be interpreted to cover an apparatus in which there is only 5 one means for performing A, B and C, or where there are separate means for performing A, B and C, or partially or fully overlapping means for performing A, B, C. Even though the invention has been described above with reference to an example according to the accompanying drawings, it is clear that the invention is not restricted thereto but can be modified in several ways within the scope of the 10 appended claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly, and they are intended to illustrate, not to restrict, the embodiment. It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. Further, it is clear to a person skilled in the art that the described embodiments may, but are not required to, be com-15 bined with other embodiments in various ways.

Claims

1. A user equipment comprising:means for providing capability information to a network about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching;means for receiving from the network, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands; andmeans for switching transmissions to the network between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands with a respective transmission switching gap having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands.

2. The user equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein theswitching gap placement information comprises information defining a duration for a respective transmission switching gap.

3. The user equipment as claimed in claim 2, comprisingmeans for translating the duration for a respective transmission switching gap into an equivalent number of symbols.

4. The user equipment as claimed in any preceding claim,wherein a respective transmission switching gap is provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a higher priority.

5. The user equipment as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3,wherein a respective transmission switching gap is provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a lower priority.

6. The user equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a respective transmission switching gap is provided on both of the respective two bands when the respective two bands have the same priority.

7. The user equipment as claimed in any preceding claim,wherein each band is one of a frequency division duplex band, a time division duplex band, or an uplink only band.

8. The user equipment as claimed in any preceding claim,wherein the capability information comprises information about the capability of the user equipment to support one or more of a first mode where the user equipment is unable to transmit on more than one band at a time or a second mode where the user equipment is able to transmit on a plurality of bands at a time.

9. The user equipment as claimed in any preceding claim,comprising means for receiving information from the network about the plurality of bands.

10. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving capability information from a user equipment about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching;means for providing to the user equipment, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands; andmeans for receiving transmissions from the user equipment, the transmissions being switched between two bands of the plurality of bands, with a respective transmission switching gap between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands having a position based on the switching gap placementinformation, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands.

11. A method comprising:providing capability information to a network about a capability of a user equipment to support uplink transmit switching;receiving from the network, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands; andswitching transmissions to the network between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands with a respective transmission switching gap having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information defining a duration for a respective transmission switching gap.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising means fortranslating the duration for a respective transmission switching gap into an equivalent number of symbols.

14. The method as claimed in any of claims 11 to 13, whereina respective transmission switching gap is provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a higher priority.

15. The method as claimed in any of claims 11 to 13, whereina respective transmission switching gap is provided on a band of the respective two bands which has a lower priority.

16. The method as claimed in any of claims 11 to 15, whereina respective transmission switching gap is provided on both of the respective two bands when the respective two bands have the same priority.

17. The method as claimed in any of claims 11 to 16, whereineach band is one of a frequency division duplex band, a time division duplex band, or an uplink only band.

18. The method as claimed in any of claims 11 to 17, whereinthe capability information comprises information about the capability of the user equipment to support one or more of a first mode where the user equipment is unable to transmit on more than one band at a time or a second mode where the user equipment is able to transmit on a plurality of bands at a time.

19. The method as claimed in any of claims 11 to 18, comprising receiving information from the network about the plurality of bands.

20. A method comprising:receiving capability information from a user equipment about a capability of the user equipment to support uplink transmit switching;providing to the user equipment, switching gap placement information defining placement of one or more transmission switching gaps when switching between bands of a plurality of bands, wherein the switching gap placement information comprises information indicating a priority for one or more of the plurality of bands; andreceiving transmissions from the user equipment, the transmissions being switched between two bands of the plurality of bands, with arespective transmission switching gap between a respective two bands of the plurality of bands having a position based on the switching gap placement information, wherein the position of the respective transmission switching gap is dependent on the priority of each of the respective two bands.

521. A computer program comprising computer executableinstructions which when executed by at least one processor provide the method of any one of claims 11 to 20.1037

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