Methods for aggregating downlink positioning reference signals

Abstract

To provide methods for aggregating downlink positioning reference signals in wireless networks.SOLUTION: A method performed by a wireless device comprises receiving an indication from a network, the indication indicating whether the wireless device can jointly process two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources as aggregated DL PRS resources. The method further comprises performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to produce a measurement, the joint processing performed based at least in part on the indication indicating that the wireless device can jointly process the two or more downlink DL PRS resources as aggregated DL PRS resources.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 23

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless networks, and more particularly to aggregating downlink positioning reference signals. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) refers to a partnership of telecommunications standards development organizations that produces reports and specifications that define 3GPP technology. Topics of discussion within 3GPP include positioning signals, carrier aggregation (CA), and multiple transmit / receive point (TRP) configurations, as further summarized below.

[0003] Positioning signal Positioning has been a topic of discussion in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standardization since 3GPP Release 9 (Rel-9). While the primary objective was initially to fulfill regulatory requirements for emergency call positioning, other use cases have become important. An example of such a use case is positioning for the Industrial Internet of Things (I-IoT). New Radio (NR) positioning is supported by the architecture shown in Figure 1. The Location Management Function (LMF) resides in the location node in NR. There is also interaction between the location node and the gNodeB (gNB, or base station in NR) via the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) protocol. Interaction between the gNodeB and the device is supported by the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol, and the location node interfaces with the user equipment (UE) via the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). The LPP is common to both NR and LTE. Note that the architecture shown in Figure 1 does not necessarily require the presence of both a gNB and a next-generation eNodeB (ng-eNB). It should also be noted that in the architecture shown in Figure 1, when there is both a gNB and an ng-eNB, the NG-C interface only exists on one side.

[0004] The legacy LTE standard supports the following technologies: Enhanced Cell ID: Essentially Cell ID information to associate the device with the serving area of the serving cell, and therefore additional information to determine finer granularity of location. Auxiliary Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). GNSS information retrieved by the device supported by aiding information provided to the device from an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC). Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA). The device estimates the time difference between reference signals from different base stations and sends it to the E-SMLC for multilateration. Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UTDOA). The device is required to transmit a specific waveform that can be located by multiple known location measurement units (e.g., eNBs). These measurements are forwarded to the E-SMLC for multilateration.

[0005] NR Rel-16 specifies several positioning features, including a new downlink (DL) reference signal (NR DL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS)). The primary benefit of the NR DL PRS signal over the LTE DL PRS is the increased bandwidth of resource blocks (RBs), configurable from 24 to 272, which provides significant improvements in time of arrival (TOA) accuracy. The NR DL PRS can be configured with comb factors of 2, 4, 6, or 12. Com-12 allows for twice the orthogonal signaling of the LTE PRS in Com-6. The Rel-16 NR DL PRS also supports beam sweeping.

[0006] In NR Rel-16, DL PRS is configured separately by each cell, and the Location Server (LMF) collects all the configurations via the NRPPa protocol before sending an Assistance Data (AD) message to the UE via the LPP protocol.

[0007] The Rel-16 NR DL PRS is organized into a three-level hierarchy: PRS frequency layer: Collect PRS resource sets with common parameters from (possibly) multiple base stations. If two resource sets are in the same frequency layer, Operates in the same frequency band with the same subcarrier spacing ○ Have the same comb coefficient ○ Have the same starting PRB and bandwidth PRS Resource Set: corresponds to a set of PRS beams (resources) that all originate from the same TRP. All resources in the same set have the same comb coefficients. · PRS resource: corresponds to the beam that transmits the PRS.

[0008] NR Rel-16 specifies enhancements to the NR uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS). The Rel-16 NR SRS for positioning allows for longer signals up to 12 symbols (compared to 4 symbols in Rel-15) and flexible positioning in the slot (only the last 6 symbols of a slot can be used in Rel-15). The Rel-16 NR SRS for positioning also allows for improved TOA measurement range and staggered comb resource element (RE) patterns for more orthogonal signals based on comb offsets (2, 4, and 8 combs) and cyclic shifts. However, the use of cyclic shifts longer than orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols divided by the comb coefficients is not supported by Rel-16, despite the primary benefit of staggered combs, at least in indoor scenarios. Power control based on neighboring cell synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) / DL PRSs, as well as spatial quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships to channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), DL PRSs or other SRSs are supported.

[0009] NR Rel-16 specifies the following UE measurements: DL Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) for example, enabling DL Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning Multi-cell UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, enabling multi-cell round trip time (RTT) measurements DL PRS Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)

[0010] NR Rel-16 specifies the following gNB measurements: Uplink (UL) Relative Time of Arrival (RTOA) for UL TDOA positioning (UL-RTOA) gNB Rx-Tx time difference useful for multi-cell RTT measurements UL SRS-RSRP Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Zenith Angle of Arrival (ZoA)

[0011] In December 2019, 3GPP launched a research item on positioning for NR Rel-17. The research item focused on industrial IoT scenarios. One of the objectives of the research item included investigating high positioning accuracy (horizontal and vertical) under conditions of low latency and network efficiency (scalability, reference signal (RS) overhead, etc.). In this regard, aggregating DL PRS resources and performing joint measurements on the aggregated PRS resources to improve positioning accuracy is a consensus area to be investigated in 3GPP RAN1. Aggregated PRS resources enable UEs to process these PRS resources coherently / jointly to improve positioning accuracy. At the RAN1#102-e meeting in August 2020, the following was agreed upon:

[0012] agreement: To improve positioning performance for both intra-band and inter-band scenarios, Rel-17 will investigate aggregating multiple DL positioning frequency layers in the same or separate frequency bands, taking into account at least the following: Scenarios and performance benefits of aggregating multiple DL positioning frequency layers The impact of channel spacing, timing offset, phase offset, frequency error, and power imbalance between component carriers (CCs) on positioning performance for contiguous / discontiguous intra-band and inter-band scenarios Consideration of UE complexity

[0013] Initial results indicate that aggregating multiple PRS resources and processing them together may offer performance improvements in positioning accuracy, see R1-2006810, "Potential Enhancements for NR Rel-17 Positioning," 3GPP TSG RAN, WG1 #102-e, August 17-28, 2020.

[0014] Carrier Aggregation Carrier aggregation has been used since LTE-Advanced to increase bandwidth and thereby improve bit rates. NR also enables gain coverage using inter-band carrier aggregation. Aggregating a fifth-generation (5G) low band with a 5G high band can improve high-band coverage by up to 10 dB. Each aggregated carrier is called a component carrier (CC) depending on the capabilities of the UE and / or network (NW). Various combinations / aggregations of NR operating bands and the number of CCs can be achieved.

[0015] The NW may configure the UE with carrier aggregation by configuring one or more secondary cells in addition to the primary cell configured during connection establishment. The primary cell plays an essential role in terms of safety (i.e., providing safety input) and higher layer system information (i.e., Non-Access Stratum (NAS) mobility information such as Tracking Area Identity (TAI)). The secondary cells are used to provide additional downlink radio resources and optional uplink radio resources. An example is described in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.331 v16.0.0.

[0016] Multi-TRP A cell may consist of multiple TRPs, each at a distinct coordinate, as shown in Figure 2. This type of configuration is considered to be used in I-IOT scenarios. As an example, one cell with 10, 20, or more TRPs may be used to cover an entire factory hall. This type of scenario should be possible if the serving cell has multiple TRPs at distinct coordinates for positioning (e.g., three distinct coordinates are needed to perform multilateration positioning). Summary of the Invention

[0017] Currently, certain challenges exist. For example, although the concept of aggregating downlink PRSs to improve positioning accuracy has been discussed in RAN1#102-e, how to efficiently signal aggregation to the UE so that the UE performs PRS aggregation is still unknown in the prior art. Therefore, efficient signaling of aggregated downlink PRSs remains an open problem to be solved.

[0018] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these and other problems. For example, certain embodiments introduce the following signaling for DL-PRS aggregation: Signaling of aggregated DL PRS resources from the LMF or serving gNB to the UE, which can be processed coherently / jointly Signaling of aggregated DL PRS resources from the serving gNB or neighboring gNBs to the LMF

[0019] Various embodiments are proposed herein that address one or more of the problems disclosed herein.

[0020] According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device includes receiving an indication from a network, the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of treating two or more downlink DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource. The method further includes jointly processing the aggregated DL PRS resources to generate measurements, the joint processing being performed at least in part based on the indication indicating that the wireless device is capable of treating the two or more downlink DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

[0021] According to certain embodiments, a wireless device comprises a power supply circuit and a processing circuit. The power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the wireless device. The processing circuit is configured to receive an indication from a network. The indication indicates whether the wireless device is capable of treating two or more downlink DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource. The processing circuit is configured to perform joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to generate measurements. The joint processing is performed based at least in part on the indication indicating that the wireless device is capable of treating two or more downlink DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

[0022] The above-described methods and / or wireless devices may further include any suitable features, such as one or more of the following features.

[0023] In certain embodiments, performing joint processing is further based on determining that one or more conditions for processing two or more DL PRS resources together are met.

[0024] In certain embodiments, performing joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be transmitted from the same TRP.

[0025] In certain embodiments, performing joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must have been received by the wireless device in the same slot.

[0026] In certain embodiments, performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must have been received by the wireless device in the same symbol.

[0027] In certain embodiments, performing joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met where two or more DL PRS resources that are processed together are limited to one repetition.

[0028] In certain embodiments, performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must have been received by wireless devices with identical QCL information.

[0029] In certain embodiments, performing joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met: two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together belong to different frequency layers.

[0030] In certain embodiments, performing joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met: two or more DL PRS resources being processed together use the same subcarrier spacing.

[0031] Certain embodiments indicate measurements generated by joint processing of aggregated DL PRS resources to the network, certain embodiments indicate the measurements to a location node, and certain embodiments indicate the measurements to a radio network node.

[0032] In certain embodiments, the indication of whether the wireless device can process two or more DL PRS resources together is based on a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource. For example, when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent, the indication indicates that the two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together. In certain embodiments, whether the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent is based on whether a coherency value exceeds a threshold.

[0033] In certain embodiments, an indication is received from a location node indicating whether the wireless device is capable of handling two or more DL PRS resources together.

[0034] In certain embodiments, the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of processing two or more DL PRS resources together is received by NAS signaling.

[0035] In certain embodiments, the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of handling two or more DL PRS resources together is received via a positioning protocol or an OAM message.

[0036] In certain embodiments, an indication is received from a radio network node indicating whether the wireless device is capable of handling two or more DL PRS resources together.

[0037] In certain embodiments, the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of processing two or more DL PRS resources together is received by RRC signaling.

[0038] In certain embodiments, the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of handling two or more DL PRS resources together is received by DCI.

[0039] In certain embodiments, the indication indicating whether the wireless device can process two or more DL PRS resources together includes a first index associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with a second DL PRS resource, and the indication indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource can be processed together when the first index is identical to the second index.

[0040] In certain embodiments, an indication of whether the wireless device is capable of handling two or more DL PRS resources together is received in the DL PRS resource configuration.

[0041] In certain embodiments, the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of processing two or more DL PRS resources together is received at the frequency layer level.

[0042] In certain embodiments, an indication of whether a wireless device can handle two or more DL PRS resources together is set at the DL PRS resource set level.

[0043] Certain embodiments send network information indicating the maximum number of DL PRS resources that a wireless device can handle together.

[0044] According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a network node includes sending an indication to a wireless device, the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of treating two or more DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

[0045] According to certain embodiments, a network node comprises a power supply circuit and a processing circuit, the power supply circuit configured to supply power to the network node, and the processing circuit configured to send an indication to a wireless device, the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of treating two or more downlink DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

[0046] The above methods and / or network nodes may further include any suitable functionality, such as one or more of the following functionality:

[0047] Certain embodiments send information to a wireless device regarding one or more conditions that need to be met in order to process two or more DL PRS resources together.

[0048] In certain embodiments, the one or more conditions include a condition that two or more DL PRS resources that are processed together must be transmitted from the same TRP.

[0049] In certain embodiments, the one or more conditions include a condition that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be received by the wireless device in the same slot.

[0050] In certain embodiments, the one or more conditions include a condition that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be received in the same symbol by the wireless device.

[0051] In certain embodiments, the one or more conditions include a condition that two or more DL PRS resources that are processed together must be limited to one repetition.

[0052] In certain embodiments, the one or more conditions include a condition that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be received by wireless devices with identical QCL information.

[0053] In certain embodiments, the one or more conditions include a condition that two or more DL PRS resources that are processed together must belong to different frequency layers.

[0054] In certain embodiments, the one or more conditions include a condition that two or more DL PRS resources that are processed together must use the same subcarrier spacing.

[0055] In certain embodiments, the indication sent to the wireless device indicates that two or more DL PRS resources may be processed together. Certain embodiments include the wireless device receiving information from the wireless device indicating measurements based on processing the two or more DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

[0056] In certain embodiments, the indication sent to the wireless device indicates that two or more DL PRS resources cannot be processed together. Certain embodiments include the wireless device receiving information from the wireless device indicating a measurement based on the wireless device processing only one of the two or more DL PRS resources.

[0057] Certain embodiments determine whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together. For example, determining whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together is based on a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource. Certain embodiments determine that two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent. Certain embodiments determine that two or more DL PRS resources cannot be processed together when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are not sufficiently coherent. For example, whether the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent is based on whether a coherency value exceeds a threshold.

[0058] In certain embodiments, the network node comprises a location node.

[0059] In certain embodiments, the indication is sent by NAS signaling.

[0060] In certain embodiments, the indication is sent via a positioning protocol or OAM message.

[0061] In certain embodiments, the network node comprises a radio network node.

[0062] In certain embodiments, the indication is sent by RRC signaling.

[0063] In certain embodiments, the indication is sent by the DCI.

[0064] In certain embodiments, the indication includes a first index associated with the first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with the second DL PRS resource, and when the first index is identical to the second index, the indication indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource may be processed together.

[0065] In certain embodiments, the indication is sent in the DL PRS resource configuration.

[0066] In certain embodiments, the indication is sent at the frequency layer level.

[0067] In certain embodiments, the indication is set at the DL PRS resource set level.

[0068] In certain embodiments, the indication indicates that the number of DL PRS resources that can be processed together is less than a maximum number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can process together. Certain embodiments receive from the wireless device the maximum number of DL resources that the wireless device can process together. In certain embodiments, the maximum number of DL resources that the wireless device can process together is specified in a standard.

[0069] According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a radio network node includes sending an indication to a location node indicating whether two or more downlink DL PRS resources may be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource by a wireless device to generate measurements.

[0070] According to certain embodiments, a radio network node comprises a power supply circuit and a processing circuit, the power supply circuit configured to supply power to the radio network node, and the processing circuit configured to send an indication to a location node, the indication indicating whether two or more DL PRS resources may be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource by a wireless device to generate measurements.

[0071] The aforementioned methods and / or radio network nodes may further include any suitable functionality, such as one or more of the following functionality:

[0072] In certain embodiments, the indication is sent in response to receiving a request from a location node to provide information regarding TRPs hosted by the radio network node.

[0073] Certain embodiments determine whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together.

[0074] According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a location node includes receiving an indication from a radio network node, the indication indicating whether two or more downlink DL PRS resources may be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource by a wireless device to generate measurements. The method includes sending a request to the wireless device to provide DL PRS measurements, the request indicating whether the two or more DL PRS resources may be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

[0075] According to certain embodiments, the location node comprises a power supply circuit and a processing circuit. The power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the location node. The processing circuit is configured to receive an indication from a radio network node. The indication indicates whether two or more DL PRS resources may be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource by the wireless device to generate measurements. The processing circuit is further configured to send a request to the wireless device to provide DL PRS measurements. The request indicates whether the two or more DL PRS resources may be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

[0076] The above methods and / or location nodes may further include any suitable functionality, such as one or more of the following functionality:

[0077] In certain embodiments, the request is sent by NAS signaling.

[0078] In certain embodiments, the request is sent via a positioning protocol or OAM message.

[0079] Certain embodiments receive information from the wireless devices indicative of measurements generated by the wireless devices' joint processing of aggregated DL PRS resources, and determine a location of the wireless devices based at least in part on the information indicative of the measurements.

[0080] Particular embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages: In certain embodiments, the gNB may use the proposed signaling extension to indicate DL PRS reference signals for which coherency may be guaranteed, so that the UE may process the DL PRS reference signals coherently / jointly.

[0081] The benefit of coherent / joint processing of DL PRS reference signals when coherency can be guaranteed is improved positioning accuracy, as shown in Figure 3. In particular, Figure 3 shows an example of simulation results illustrating the gain in positioning accuracy from carrier aggregation of two coherent carriers. The results also show that the gain decreases if the carriers are not sufficiently coherent. For completely incoherent carriers (random phase difference), the performance of attempts to coherently combine the carriers also decreases. Therefore, it is important to indicate to the UE whether two carriers are coherent or not.

[0082] For a fuller understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0083] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) Release 15 Location Services (LCS) protocol. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of multi-TRP in a cell. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 shows an example of simulation results of the impact of inter-carrier phase difference on DL TDOA positioning in an indoor factory in a sparse clutter and high base station antenna (InF-SH) scenario. [Figure 4a] 4A and 4B illustrate example embodiments showing aggregated DL PRS for a wireless device (e.g., UE). [Figure 4b] 4A and 4B illustrate example embodiments showing aggregated DL PRS for a wireless device (e.g., UE). [Figure 5a] Figure 5 illustrates an example embodiment showing DL PRS aggregated to a UE at the frequency layer level. Figure 5 begins with Figure 5a and continues with Figure 5b. [Figure 5b] Figure 5 illustrates an example embodiment showing DL PRS aggregated to a UE at the frequency layer level. Figure 5 begins with Figure 5a and continues with Figure 5b. [Figure 6a] Figure 6 illustrates an example embodiment showing DL PRS aggregated to a UE at the DL PRS resource set level. Figure 6 begins with Figure 6a and continues with Figure 6b. [Figure 6b] Figure 6 illustrates an example embodiment showing DL PRS aggregated to a UE at the DL PRS resource set level. Figure 6 begins with Figure 6a and continues with Figure 6b. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates a signaling sequence for PRS aggregation for DL-PRS based on LPP configuration, where "SgNB" represents a serving gNB and "NgNB" represents a neighboring gNB, according to some embodiments. [Figure 8] Figure 1 shows a signaling sequence for RRC-based configuration for PRS aggregation, where "SgNB" represents a serving gNB and "NgNB" represents a neighboring gNB, according to some embodiments. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless network according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 illustrates a virtual environment according to some embodiments. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 illustrates a communication network connected to a host computer through an intermediate network, according to some embodiments. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 illustrates a host computer communicating with user equipment via a base station over a partial wireless connection, according to some embodiments. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 illustrates a method implemented in a communications system including a host computer, a base station, and user equipment, according to some embodiments. [Figure 15]FIG. 1 illustrates a method implemented in a communications system including a host computer, a base station, and user equipment, according to some embodiments. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 illustrates a method implemented in a communications system including a host computer, a base station, and user equipment, according to some embodiments. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 illustrates a method implemented in a communications system including a host computer, a base station, and user equipment, according to some embodiments. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 illustrates a method implemented in a wireless device, such as a UE, according to some embodiments. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 illustrates a virtualization device according to some embodiments. [Figure 20] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a method implemented in a wireless device, such as a UE, in accordance with some embodiments. [Figure 21] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a method implemented in a network node, according to some embodiments. [Figure 22] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a method implemented in a radio network node, according to some embodiments. [Figure 23] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a method implemented in a location node, according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0084] In general, all terms used herein shall be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant art unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or implied from the context in which they are used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. shall be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless otherwise specified. The steps of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step, and / or if it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, where appropriate. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the included embodiments will become apparent from the following description.

[0085] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the presently disclosed subject matter, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0086] Embodiment 1: Signaling Aggregated Downlink PRS to UE In one embodiment, the LMF indicates aggregated downlink (DL) PRS resources to the UE by including an index (e.g., index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 as part of the NR-DL-PRS resources) in the DL PRS resource configuration, as shown in Figure 4 (starting with Figure 4a and continuing with Figure 4b to show a first example embodiment of indicating aggregated DL PRS to the UE). When two DL PRS resources are configured with the same nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 index value, then the UE performs measurements and processes the two DL PRS resources coherently / jointly. In this sense, the index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 represents a DL PRS resource group that can be measured and processed coherently / jointly. If the index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 is not present, the absence of an index indicates that the UE cannot assume that the corresponding DL PRS resource is transmitted coherently with other configured DL PRS resources.

[0087] In some embodiments, the number N of DL PRS resources that can be measured and coherently / processed together can be 2 or more. That is, up to N DL PRS resources can be configured with the same nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 index value. In some embodiments, the number of DL PRS resources that a UE can measure and coherently / process together (i.e., the maximum value of N) is the UE capability reported by the UE to the gNB. In some other embodiments, the maximum value of N is fixed in the 3GPP standards.

[0088] The index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 is optional and may have an integer range from 0 to X (X is an integer equal to or greater than 1). Thus, the value of X determines the number of groups of DL PRS resources that can be measured and processed coherently / together (i.e., the number of groups is X+1). In some embodiments, the value of X is fixed in the 3GPP standard. In some other embodiments, X is a UE capability reported by the UE to the gNB. When a DL PRS resource does not have a configured nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 index, this DL PRS resource will not be processed coherently / together with another DL PRS resource.

[0089] In an alternative embodiment, the index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 may be configured at the frequency layer level. For example, the index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 may be configured in the NR-DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer-r16 field specified in [TS 37.355 V16.2.0]. The UE then processes two DL PRS resources together when they belong to two different frequency layers with the same value of the index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17. In some embodiments, only the Nth NR-DL-PRS-Resource-r16 in the dl-PRS-ResourceList-r16 of the Mth NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16 in the nr-DL-PRS-ResourceSetList-r16 for the TRP measured in the NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceDataPerFreq-r16 with the same nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 index is processed coherently / together with the Nth NR-DL-PRS-Resource-r16 in the dl-PRS-ResourceList-r16 of the Mth NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16 in the nr-DL-PRS-ResourceSetList-r16 for the TRP measured in the NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceDataPerFreq-r16 with the same nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 index. FIG. 5 (starting with FIG. 5a and continuing with FIG. 5b) illustrates an example embodiment of indicating aggregated DL PRS to a UE at the frequency layer level.

[0090] In another alternative embodiment, the index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 may be configured at the DL PRS resource set level. For example, the index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 may be configured in the NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16 field. The UE then processes two DL PRS resources together when they belong to two separate DL PRS resource sets with the same value of the index nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17. In some embodiments, for DL PRS resources from two separate DL PRS resource sets to be processed coherently / jointly, the number of DL PRS resources in these two DL PRS resource sets must be the same. In some embodiments, only the Nth NR-DL-PRS-Resource-r16 in the dl-PRS-ResourceList-r16 of an NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16 with a given nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 index is processed coherently / together with the Nth NR-DL-PRS-Resource-r16 in the dl-PRS-ResourceSet-r16 of other NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16 with the same nr-DL-PRS-AggregationID-r17 index. Figure 6 (starting with Figure 6a and continuing with Figure 6b) shows an example embodiment of indicating aggregated DL PRS to a UE at the DL PRS resource set level.

[0091] Embodiment 2: Conditions for combining DL PRS resources coherently / together In order for two or more DL PRS resources to be processed coherently / jointly, certain conditions may need to be met. These conditions may include one or more of the following: Two or more DL PRS resources must be transmitted from the same TRP. In NR Rel-16, the TRP is represented by a dl-PRS-ID [V16.2.0 of TS 37.355]. Thus, in one embodiment, two or more DL PRS resources can be processed coherently / together only if they correspond to the same dl-PRSID value. Two or more DL PRS resources may need to be received by the UE in the same slot to maintain coherency so that they can be processed coherently / jointly by the UE. Thus, in another embodiment, two or more DL PRS resources may need to be received with the same periodicity and / or slot offset. This means that the dl-PRS-Periodicity-and-ResourceSetSlotOffset-r16 fields provided for the DL PRS resource sets (i.e., in the NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16) corresponding to each of the two or more DL PRS resources need to have the same value. In some other embodiments, two or more DL PRS resources may need to have the same slot offset value specified in their DL PRS resource configurations in order to be processed coherently / jointly (e.g., the associated dl-PRS-ResourceSlotOffset-r16 field values may need to have the same value in order for these two or more DL PRS resources to be processed coherently / jointly). In some other embodiments, two or more DL PRS resources may need to be received in the same symbol by the UE in order to be processed coherently / jointly, so as to maintain coherency so that they can be processed coherently / jointly by the UE. Thus, in these embodiments, two or more DL PRS resources may need to have the same symbol offset value specified in their DL PRS resource configuration in order to be processed coherently / jointly (e.g., two or more DL PRS resources may need to have the same dl-PRS-ResourceSlotOffset-r16 field values associated with them in order to be processed coherently / jointly). In some other embodiments, two or more DL PRS resources may need to be limited to one repetition in order to be processed coherently / jointly. This means that the dl-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor-r16 field is not set in the DL PRS resource set (of NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16) corresponding to each of the two or more DL PRS resources. In alternative embodiments, a fixed maximum number of repetitions M may be used in order for two or more DL PRS resources to be processed coherently / jointly. max In this alternative embodiment, the dl-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor-r16 field configured in the DL PRS resource set (of NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16) corresponding to each of the two or more DL PRS resources may need to be limited to M max It must have the following values: In some other embodiments, two or more DL PRS resources may need to be received by the UE using the same QCL information (e.g., D source reference signals of the same beam or the same QCL type) to be processed coherently / jointly. Thus, in these embodiments, two or more DL PRS resources may need to have the same dl-PRS-QCL-Info-r16 parameter specified in their DL PRS resource configuration to be processed coherently / jointly (e.g., two or more DL PRS resources may need to have the same dl-PRS-QCL-Info-r16 field value of ssb-r16 or dl-PRS-r16 to be processed coherently / jointly). In some other embodiments, two or more DL PRS resources may need to belong to different frequency layers in order to be processed coherently / jointly. In some embodiments, two or more DL PRS resources may need to have one or more of their corresponding parameters in nr-DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer-r16 different in order to be processed coherently / jointly. In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing associated with two or more DL PRS resources may need to be the same in order for them to be processed coherently / jointly.

[0092] When one or more of the above conditions are not met, the UE does not coherently / jointly process two or more DL PRS resources. In an alternative embodiment, when one or more of the above conditions are not met, the UE processes only one of the two or more DL PRS resources configured to be aggregated (i.e., no coherent / joint processing is performed).

[0093] Embodiment 3: Extensions to RRC-configured DL PRS and other reference signals Although the above embodiments 1 and 2 are described from the perspective of DL PRS resources configured to the UE by the LMF via the LPP protocol, embodiments 1 and 2 may also be applicable when the DL PRS resources are RRC configured to the UE from the gNB. RRC-configured DL PRS resources are advantageous when multiple TRPs belong to the same serving cell and are controlled by the same gNB. Furthermore, some or all of embodiments 1 to 2 may be applicable when the DL PRS resources are aperiodic or semi-persistent. In this case, periodic DL PRS refers to a DL PRS configured by a higher layer and triggered by a field in downlink control information (DCI). Semi-persistent DL PRS refers to a DL PRS configured by a higher layer and activated / deactivated by a control element (CE) in the medium access control (MAC).

[0094] Embodiments 1 and / or 2 may also be extended to other reference signals supported for use in positioning measurements (e.g., non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS, tracking reference signals (TRS), etc.). For example, an index may be set in a resource or resource set of NZP CSI-RS to indicate whether one or more NZP CSI-RS resources can be processed coherently / jointly for positioning measurements.

[0095] Embodiment 4: DL PRS aggregation instruction from NG-RAN node to LMF In NR Rel-16, the LMF sends a request for information about the TRPs hosted by the NG-RAN node via a "TRP INFORMATION REQUEST" message [3GPP TS 38.455 V16.1.0] to the NG-RAN node. In response, the NG-RAN node may provide a "TRP INFORMATION RESPONSE" [3GPP TS 38.455 V16.1.0] that may contain information about one or more TRPs hosted by the NG-RAN node. The "TRP Information" information element that is part of the "TRP INFORMATION RESPONSE" contains the PRS configuration.

[0096] It is necessary to indicate to the LMF whether one or more DL PRS resources can be transmitted coherently by the TRP. Thus, in one embodiment, a PRS Aggregation ID is included at the PRS Resource Set level, as shown in Table 1. If two PRS resource sets have the same value of PRS Aggregation ID, two or more PRSs in two PRS resource sets can be transmitted coherently by the TRP. In some embodiments, the maximum value X of the PRS Aggregation ID is fixed in the standard. The PRS Aggregation ID is an optional parameter; if a particular PRS Resource Set does not include a PRS Aggregation ID, it means that PRS resources from this PRS resource set cannot be aggregated with PRS resources from other PRS resource sets. TIFF2025114570000002.tif255170TIFF2025114570000003.tif255170TIFF2025114570000004.tif133170

[0097] In an alternative embodiment, the PRS Aggregation ID is included at the PRS Resource level, as shown in Table 2. If two PRS resources have the same value of PRS Aggregation ID, the TRP may transmit these two PRS resources coherently. In some embodiments, the maximum value X of the PRS Aggregation ID is fixed in the standard. The PRS Aggregation ID is an optional parameter; if a particular PRS resource does not include a PRS Aggregation ID, this means that this PRS resource cannot be aggregated with other PRS resources.

[0098] The LMF takes the PRS aggregation information provided in this embodiment into consideration when configuring DL PRS for the UE through the LPP protocol. TIFF2025114570000005.tif255170TIFF2025114570000006.tif255170TIFF2025114570000007.tif114170

[0099] Embodiment 5: Cell-based DL PRS aggregation indication In this embodiment, each gNB configures a primary serving cell and a secondary cell for multi-carrier operation for data communication. The gNB / Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) may record the multi-carrier combinations used for data communication, which may be relayed to the LMF. The OAM may configure or select the same carrier (serving cell and secondary cell) for aggregated transmission of the PRS. This information is relayed to the LMF via NRPPa or by OAM means. An example indication of carrier-aggregated PRS is shown in Table 3. TIFF2025114570000008.tif255170TIFF2025114570000009.tif44170

[0100] The LMF will take this input into account when preparing assistance data for the UE (LPP) and configure the UE to perform PRS measurements coherently / jointly over a wide bandwidth (aggregated bandwidth).

[0101] An example LPP information element for indicating "nr-DL-PRS-CarrierAggregationInfo-r17" is provided below along with field descriptions. TIFF2025114570000010.tif255170TIFF2025114570000011.tif255170TIFF2025114570 000012.tif154170TIFF2025114570000013.tif255170TIFF2025114570000014.tif64170

[0102] Additionally, the gNB can broadcast PRS aggregation options to the UE, essentially encapsulating Table 3 for the serving cell to provide aggregated PRS options (these secondary cells can be combined) via system information broadcast.

[0103] If the UE performs measurements based on both non-aggregated and aggregated PRSs, the results may be provided as follows: Otherwise, the UE, while reporting, provides results separately for each measurement performed based on carrier aggregation. TIFF2025114570000015.tif255170TIFF2025114570000016.tif255170TIFF2025114570000017.tif181170

[0104] Signaling Sequence for PRS Aggregation A signaling sequence for PRS aggregation for DL-PRS based on LPP configuration (e.g., a signaling sequence for PRS aggregation for DL-PRS based on LPP configuration, where SgNB represents a serving gNB and NgNB represents a neighboring gNB) is shown in Figure 7. The signaling flow in Figure 7 includes the following steps: The base station (either SgNB or NgNB) provides the configuration to the LMF, allowing aggregated PRS configuration via NRPPa or OAM. The LMF obtains the UE capabilities for the aggregated PRS (e.g., wideband measurement support, supported band combinations, number of supported carrier aggregations). The LMF provides the UE with aggregated PRS configuration in assistance data. The UE performs measurements based on the wideband / aggregated PRS configuration The UE provides the LMF with results based on the wideband / aggregated PRS configuration. LMF calculates location

[0105] The steps may include one or more of the embodiments set forth above in this disclosure.

[0106] A signaling sequence for RRC-based configuration for PRS aggregation (e.g., signaling sequence for RRC-based configuration for PRS aggregation, where SgNB represents the serving gNB and NgNB represents the neighboring gNB) is shown in Figure 8. CSI-RS or other reference signals configured by the gNB may also be used for positioning purposes. The sequence in such a case is shown in Figure 8. The main difference is that RRC provides the aggregated CSI-RS configuration. A combination of LPP and RRC configuration is shown here. All configuration can be RRC-based. Therefore, the LMF would only provide recommendations based on measurements obtained from the UE by the LPP. The signaling flow in Figure 8 includes the following steps: The UE provides the serving gNB with the ability to aggregate PRSs LMF sets non-aggregated PRS settings LMF determines the need for wideband measurements and requests them from gNB The gNB configures the broadband (aggregated) PRS (CSI-RS) configuration The UE performs wideband measurements The UE provides the LMF with results based on wideband measurements. LMF calculates location

[0107] In summary, certain embodiments of the present disclosure provide signaling of aggregated DL PRS resources from an LMF or a serving gNB to a UE, which may be processed coherently / jointly. Example signaling details include the signaling details of Embodiment 1 (e.g., unrelated to the signaling details of Embodiment 5) and the signaling details of Embodiment 5 (e.g., unrelated to the signaling details of Embodiment 1). For the signaling method of Embodiment 1, certain conditions may need to be met to combine DL PRS resources coherently / jointly, such as some or all of the conditions described in Embodiment 2. Certain embodiments of the present disclosure provide signaling of aggregated DL PRS resources from a serving gNB or a neighboring gNB to an LMF, an example of which is described with respect to the signaling details in Embodiment 4.

[0108] Certain embodiments may relate to one or more of the following technology areas: positioning, New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), channel impulse response (CIR), time of arrival (TOA), physical layer, and / or LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). Certain embodiments may be implemented in 3GPP standards such as one or more of TS 37.355, TS 38.455, TS 38.214, and / or NR Rel-17 (e.g., positioning research items / work items).

[0109] Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in connection with a wireless network, such as the exemplary wireless network shown in FIG. 9. For simplicity, the wireless network of FIG. 9 shows only network 106, network nodes 160 and 160b, and WDs 110, 110b, and 110c. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communications between wireless devices or between wireless devices and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the components shown, network node 160 and wireless device (WD) 110 are depicted in greater detail. A wireless network may provide communications and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless device's access to and / or use of services offered by or through the wireless network.

[0110] A wireless network may comprise and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and / or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, a wireless network may be configured to operate according to a particular standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Accordingly, particular embodiments of a wireless network may implement a communications standard such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standard, a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard such as the IEEE 802.11 standard, and / or any other suitable wireless communications standard such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0111] The network 106 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks for enabling communication between devices.

[0112] Network node 160 and WD 110 comprise various components, described in more detail below, that cooperate to provide network node and / or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connectivity in a wireless network. In different embodiments, a wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals over either wired or wireless connections.

[0113] As used herein, a network node refers to a device configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate, directly or indirectly, with wireless devices and / or other network nodes or devices in the wireless network to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless devices, and / or to perform other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., wireless access points) and base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)). Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, i.e., their transmit power levels), and in that case may also be referred to as femto, pico, micro, or macro base stations. A base station may also be a relay donor node that controls a relay node or a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna, such as in an antenna-integrated radio. Portions of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as an MSR BS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmitting node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a core network node (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME)), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS) node, a self-optimized network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an E-SMLC), and / or a minimization of driving test (MDT).As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node, as described in more detail below. More generally, however, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that has the capability, is configured, arranged, and / or is operable to enable and / or provide wireless devices with access to a wireless network or to provide some service to wireless devices that have accessed the wireless network.

[0114] 9, network node 160 includes processing circuitry 170, device-readable medium 180, interface 190, auxiliary equipment 184, power supply 186, power circuitry 187, and antenna 162. While network node 160 shown in the exemplary wireless network of FIG. 9 may represent a device including the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes having different combinations of components. It will be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Furthermore, while the components of network node 160 are illustrated as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up the single illustrated component (e.g., device-readable medium 180 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

[0115] Similarly, network node 160 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 160 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such scenarios, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may possibly be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 160 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), LTE, New Radio (NR), Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, incorporated into network node 160. These wireless technologies may be integrated within the same or different chips or sets of chips and other components within network node 160.

[0116] Processing circuitry 170 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 170 may include processing the information acquired by processing circuitry 170, for example, by transforming the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or transformed information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or transformed information, and making a determination as a result of said processing.

[0117] Processing circuitry 170 may comprise one or more combinations of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coded logic operable, alone or in conjunction with other network node 160 components, such as device-readable medium 180, to provide network node 160 functionality. For example, processing circuitry 170 may execute instructions stored on device-readable medium 180 or in memory within processing circuitry 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include a system-on-chip (SOC).

[0118] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or set of chips, board, or unit.

[0119] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 170 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 180 or memory within processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 170 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of these embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform the described functions with or without executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. Benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 170 alone or to other components of network node 160, but are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole and / or by end users and wireless networks generally.

[0120] Device-readable medium 180 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disks), removable storage media (e.g., flash drives, compact discs (CDs), or digital versatile discs (DVDs)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 170. Device-readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including applications including one or more of computer programs, software, logic, rules, codes, tables, etc., and / or other instructions that may be executed by processing circuitry 170 and used by network node 160. Device-readable medium 180 may be used to store any computations performed by processing circuitry 170 and / or any data received via interface 190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 and device-readable medium 180 may be considered to be integrated.

[0121] The interface 190 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between the network node 160, the network 106, and / or the WD 110. As shown, the interface 190 includes a port / terminal 194 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the network 106, for example, via a wired connection. The interface 190 also includes a radio front-end circuit 192, which may be coupled to the antenna 162 or may be part of the antenna 162 in certain embodiments. The radio front-end circuit 192 includes a filter 198 and an amplifier 196. The radio front-end circuit 192 may be connected to the antenna 162 and the processing circuit 170. The radio front-end circuit may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 162 and the processing circuit 170. The radio front-end circuit 192 may receive digital data to be sent to another network node or a WD via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 192 may convert the digital data into radio signals having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 198 and / or amplifiers 196. The radio signals may then be transmitted via the antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 162 may collect radio signals that are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 192. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 170. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0122] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 192; instead, processing circuit 170 may comprise a radio front-end circuit and be connected to antenna 162 without a separate radio front-end circuit 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or a portion of RF transceiver circuit 172 may be considered part of interface 190. In yet other embodiments, interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, radio front-end circuit 192, and RF transceiver circuit 172, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 190 may communicate with baseband processing circuit 174 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0123] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas or an antenna array configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 192 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may comprise one or more omnidirectional, sector, or panel antennas operable to transmit / receive wireless signals, for example, between 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omnidirectional antenna may be used to transmit / receive wireless signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit / receive wireless signals from devices within a specific area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit / receive wireless signals in a relatively straight line. In some cases, the use of multiple antennas may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 162 may be separate from network node 160 and connectable to network node 160 via an interface or port.

[0124] Antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain acquisition operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0125] Power circuitry 187 may comprise or be coupled to power management circuitry and configured to provide power to the components of network node 160 for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 187 may receive power from power source 186. Power source 186 and / or power circuitry 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 160 in a manner appropriate for each component (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required for each component). Power source 186 may be included in or external to power circuitry 187 and / or network node 160. For example, network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface, such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source provides power to power circuitry 187. As a further example, power source 186 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated with power circuitry 187. The battery may provide emergency power in the event of an external power failure. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

[0126] 9 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 160 may include user interface devices to enable input of information into network node 160 and output of information from network node 160. This may enable a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for network node 160.

[0127] 9 includes network node 160c, which may be configured as a location node (e.g., a location server or LMF). Network node 160c may include any suitable circuitry of network node 160, such as processing circuitry 170, power circuitry 187, and / or other circuitry that facilitates location node functionality. Network node 160c may omit certain circuitry. For example, in an embodiment of network node 160c that uses wired connectivity, network node 160c need not include radio front-end circuitry 192, RF transceiver circuitry 172, antenna 162, or other wireless-related circuitry.

[0128] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable of, configured, positioned, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used synonymously herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly may include transmitting / receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information via radio waves. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network. Examples of WDs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell phones, voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication by implementing 3GPP standards, for example, sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, in which case it may be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an IoT (Internet of Things) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another WD and / or network node.The WD may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which in this case may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP NB-IoT (narrow band internet of things) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machines, or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, the WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions related to its operation. Such a WD may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, such a WD may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or mobile terminal.

[0129] As shown, wireless device 110 includes antenna 111, interface 114, processing circuitry 120, device-readable medium 130, user interface equipment 132, auxiliary equipment 134, power source 136, and power circuitry 137. WD 110 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 110, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated on the same or different chips or sets of chips as other components within WD 110.

[0130] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and is connected to interface 114. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separate from WD 110 and may be connectable to WD 110 via an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and / or processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data, and / or signal may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, the wireless front-end circuitry and / or antenna 111 may be considered an interface.

[0131] As shown, interface 114 includes radio front-end circuitry 112 and antenna 111. Radio front-end circuitry 112 includes one or more filters 118 and amplifier 116. Radio front-end circuitry 112 is connected to antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120 and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120. Radio front-end circuitry 112 may be coupled to antenna 111 or may be part of antenna 111. In some embodiments, WD 110 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 112; rather, processing circuitry 120 may include radio front-end circuitry and be connected to antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be considered part of interface 114. Radio front-end circuitry 112 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 112 may convert the digital data into radio signals having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 118 and / or amplifiers 116. The radio signals may then be transmitted via the antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 111 may collect radio signals that are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 112. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 120. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0132] Processing circuitry 120 may comprise one or more combinations of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coded logic operable, alone or in conjunction with other WD 110 components, such as device-readable medium 130, to provide WD 110 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 120 may execute instructions stored on device-readable medium 130 or in memory within processing circuitry 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0133] As shown, the processing circuitry 120 includes one or more of an RF transceiver circuitry 122, a baseband processing circuitry 124, and an application processing circuitry 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments, the processing circuitry 120 of the WD 110 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the baseband processing circuitry 124 and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined within one chip or set of chips, and the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In further alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122 and the baseband processing circuitry 124 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined within the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be part of the interface 114. The RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition the RF signals of the processing circuitry 120.

[0134] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by processing circuitry 120 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 130, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of these particular embodiments, processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform the described functionality with or without executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. Benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 120 alone or to other components of WD 110, but are enjoyed by WD 110 as a whole and / or by end users and wireless networks generally.

[0135] Processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any of the determinations, calculations, or similar operations (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 120, may include, for example, processing the information acquired by processing circuitry 120 by transforming the acquired information to other information, comparing the acquired or transformed information with information stored by WD 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or transformed information, and making a determination as a result of said processing.

[0136] Device-readable medium 130 may be operable to store applications and / or other instructions that may be executed by processing circuit 120, including one or more of computer programs, software, logic, rules, codes, tables, etc. Device-readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., compact discs (CDs) or digital video discs (DVDs)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 120. In some embodiments, processing circuit 120 and device-readable medium 130 may be considered as integrated.

[0137] The user interface device 132 may provide components that allow a human user to interact with the WD 110. Such interaction may take many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface device 132 may be operable to generate output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to the WD 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 132 installed on the WD 110. For example, if the WD 110 is a smartphone, interaction may be via a touchscreen; if the WD 110 is a smart meter, interaction may be via a screen that provides usage (e.g., number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an alarm (e.g., if smoke is detected). The user interface device 132 may include input interfaces, devices, and circuits, as well as output interfaces, devices, and circuits. The user interface device 132 is configured to allow information to be input to the WD 110 and is connected to the processing circuit 120 to allow the processing circuit 120 to process the input information. The user interface devices 132 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensors, keys / buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. The user interface devices 132 are also configured to enable the output of information from the WD 110 and to enable the processing circuit 120 to output information from the WD 110. The user interface devices 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibration circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits of the user interface devices 132, the WD 110 may communicate with end users and / or wireless networks, allowing them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0138] Ancillary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functionality that may not generally be performed by a WD. It may include specialized sensors for taking measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communication, etc. The inclusion and types of components of ancillary device 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0139] In some embodiments, power source 136 may be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power battery, may also be used. WD 110 may further include a power circuit 137 for delivering power from power source 136 to various portions of WD 110 that require power from power source 136 to perform any functionality described or illustrated herein. In certain embodiments, power circuit 137 may include power management circuitry. Power circuit 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source, in which case WD 110 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an interface such as an input circuit or an electrical power cable. In certain embodiments, power circuit 137 may also be operable to deliver power from the external power source to power source 136. This may be, for example, for charging power source 136. Power circuitry 137 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from power supply 136 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 110 to which it is supplied.

[0140] 10 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, user equipment, or UE, may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, a UE may represent a device intended for sale to or operation by a human user, but which may not be associated with or may not initially be associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device not intended for sale to or operation by an end user, but which may be related to or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). The UE 2200 may be any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including an NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. 10, UE 200 is an example of a WD configured for communication according to one or more communications standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards. As mentioned above, the terms WD and UE may be used interchangeably. Thus, while FIG. 10 illustrates a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice versa.

[0141] In FIG. 10 , UE 200 includes processing circuitry 201 operatively coupled to input / output interface 205, radio frequency (RF) interface 209, network connection interface 211, memory 215, including random access memory (RAM) 217, read-only memory (ROM) 219, and storage medium 221, communication subsystem 231, power source 213, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 includes operating system 223, application programs 225, and data 227. In other embodiments, storage medium 221 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may use all of the components shown in FIG. 10 or only a subset of those components. The level of integration between components may vary depending on the UE. Furthermore, some UEs may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0142] 10, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 201 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program in memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.), one or more stored programs, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) together with appropriate software, a general-purpose processor, or any combination of the above. For example, processing circuitry 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0143] In the illustrated embodiment, the input / output interface 205 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or an input and an output device. The UE 200 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 205. The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from the UE 200. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The UE 200 may be configured to use an input device via the input / output interface 205 to allow a user to capture information within the UE 200. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor for sensing input from a user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and a light sensor.

[0144] In FIG. 10 , RF interface 209 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, receiver, and antenna. Network connection interface 211 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 243a. Network 243a may include wired and / or wireless networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, network 243a may comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 211 may be configured to include receiver and transmitter interfaces used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communications network according to one or more communications protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc. Network connection interface 211 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate for a communications network link (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuitry, software, or firmware, or may alternatively be implemented separately.

[0145] RAM 217 may be configured to interface to processing circuit 201 via bus 202 for storing or caching data or computer instructions during execution of software programs such as an operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit 201. For example, ROM 219 may be configured to store unchanging low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I / O), startup, or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard stored in non-volatile memory. Storage medium 221 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, or flash drive. In one example, storage medium 221 may be configured to include an operating system 223, an application program 225 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data files 227. The storage medium 221 may store any of a wide variety of operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 200.

[0146] The storage medium 221 may be configured to include several physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disk drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-ray optical disk drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disk drive, an external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro-DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 221 may enable the UE 200 to access, offload data, or upload data to computer-executable instructions, application programs, etc., stored on a temporary or non-transitory memory medium. An article of manufacture, such as one that employs a communication system, may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 221, which may comprise a device-readable medium.

[0147] 10, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with network 243b using a communications subsystem 231. Network 243a and network 243b may be the same network(s) or different networks(s). The communications subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 243b. For example, the communications subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communications, such as another WD, a UE, or a base station of a Radio Access Network (RAN) according to one or more communications protocols, such as IEEE 802.2, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), WiMax, etc. Each transceiver may include a transmitter 233 and / or a receiver 235 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.) appropriate for the RAN link, respectively. Furthermore, the transmitter 233 and receiver 235 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or may alternatively be implemented separately.

[0148] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication capabilities of the communication subsystem 231 may include data communications, voice communications, multimedia communications, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communications, location-based communications such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location, other similar communications capabilities, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communications, Wi-Fi communications, Bluetooth communications, and GPS communications. The network 243b may encompass wired and / or wireless networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a short-range wireless network. The power source 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 200.

[0149] The features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 200 or may be split across multiple components of UE 200. Furthermore, the features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Furthermore, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components via bus 202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that, when executed by processing circuitry 201, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be split between processing circuitry 201 and communication subsystem 231. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0150] 11 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 300 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization refers to the creation of a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include virtualization of a hardware platform, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may apply to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or component thereof, and relates to implementations in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers running on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0151] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 300 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes 330. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not wireless access nodes or do not require wireless connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), then the network nodes may be fully virtualized.

[0152] The functionality may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may also be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operable to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. The applications 320 execute in a virtualization environment 300 that provides hardware 330 comprising processing circuitry 360 and memory 390. The memory 390 includes instructions 395 executable by the processing circuitry 360 such that the applications 320 are operable to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0153] The virtualization environment 300 includes general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices 330 that include a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 360, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry, including digital or analog hardware components or special-purpose processors. Each hardware device may include memory 390-1, which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by the processing circuitry 360. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370, also known as network interface cards, that include physical network interfaces 380. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage medium 390-2 having software 395 stored thereon and / or instructions executable by the processing circuitry 360. Software 395 may include any type of software, including software for creating an instance of one or more virtualization layers 350 (also called hypervisors), software for running virtual machines 340, and software that enables it to perform the functions, features and / or benefits described in connection with some of the embodiments described herein.

[0154] The virtual machines 340 may comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be executed by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of virtual appliance 320 may be implemented in one or more of the virtual machines 340, and the implementations may be done in different ways.

[0155] In operation, processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 to create an instance of a hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, sometimes referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM), which may present a virtual operating platform that appears as networking hardware to virtual machine 340.

[0156] 11, hardware 330 may be a standalone network node having general or specific components. Hardware 330 may include antenna 3225 and may implement some functionality through virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 330 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)) managed through management and orchestration (MANO) 3100, where multiple hardware nodes cooperate and oversee the lifecycle management of application 320, among other things.

[0157] Hardware virtualization is referred to in some contexts as network function virtualization (NFV), which can be used to consolidate multiple network equipment types onto industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that can reside in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0158] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that executes programs as if the programs were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 340, and the portion of hardware 330 on which it runs, whether it is hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and / or hardware shared by other virtual machines 340 and that virtual machine, forms a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0159] Further related to NFV, a Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling a specific network function running in one or more virtual machines 340 on top of the hardware networking infrastructure 330 and corresponds to application 320 in FIG. 11.

[0160] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200, each including one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. The radio units 3200 may communicate directly with hardware nodes 330 via one or more suitable network interfaces and may be used in combination with virtualization components to provide a virtual node with wireless capabilities, such as a wireless access node or base station.

[0161] In some embodiments, some signaling may be effected through the use of a control system 3230 that may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware node 330 and the radio unit 3200.

[0162] 12 , according to one embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunications network 410, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, comprising an access network 411, such as a radio access network, and a core network 414. The access network 411 comprises a plurality of base stations 412a, 412b, 412c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 413a, 413b, 413c. Each base station 412a, 412b, 412c can be connected to the core network 414 via a wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located within the coverage area 413c can be wirelessly connected to or configured to be paged by the corresponding base station 412c. A second UE 492 within the coverage area 413a can be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 412a. Although multiple UEs 491, 492 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where only one UE is within the coverage area or connected to the corresponding base station 412.

[0163] The telecommunications network 410 itself is connected to a host computer 430, which may be implemented in hardware and / or software as a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource within a server farm. The host computer 430 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by or for the service provider. Connections 421 and 422 between the telecommunications network 410 and the host computer 430 may extend directly from the core network 414 to the host computer 430 or may be via an optional intermediate network 420. The intermediate network 420 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a hosted network, or a combination of two or more of them; the intermediate network 420 may be a backbone network or the Internet, if any; specifically, the intermediate network 420 may comprise two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0164] The communication system of Figure 12 as a whole enables connectivity between connected UEs 491, 492 and a host computer 430. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450. The host computer 430 and connected UEs 491, 492 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 450, using the access network 411, the core network 414, any intermediate networks 420, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 450 may be transparent, in the sense that participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 450 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 412 may not, or need not, be informed about the past routing of incoming downlink communications with data originating from the host computer 430 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 491. Similarly, the base station 412 does not need to be aware of the future routing of outbound uplink communications initiated from the UE 491 towards the host computer 430 .

[0165] An exemplary implementation according to one embodiment of the UE, base station, and host computer discussed in the previous paragraph will now be described with reference to FIG. 13. In communication system 500, host computer 510 comprises hardware 515 including communication interface 516 configured to set up and maintain wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices in communication system 500. Host computer 510 further comprises processing circuitry 518, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. Specifically, processing circuitry 518 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof adapted to execute instructions (not shown). Host computer 510 further comprises software 511 stored on or accessible by host computer 510 and executable by processing circuitry 518. Software 511 includes host application 512. Host application 512 may be operable to provide services to remote users, such as UE 530, connecting via an OTT connection 550 that terminates at UE 530 and host computer 510. In providing services to remote users, the host application 512 may provide user data that is transmitted using the OTT connection 550.

[0166] The communications system 500 further includes a base station 520 provided in the telecommunications system and comprising hardware 525 that enables it to communicate with the host computer 510 and with the UE 530. The hardware 525 may include a communications interface 526 for setting up and maintaining wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communications devices of the communications system 500, as well as a radio interface 527 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 570 with the UE 530 located within a coverage area (not shown in FIG. 13 ) served by the base station 520. The communications interface 526 may be configured to facilitate a connection 560 to the host computer 510. The connection 560 may be direct, or the connection 560 may pass through a core network (not shown in FIG. 13 ) of the telecommunications system and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware 525 of the base station 520 further includes processing circuitry 528, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof adapted to execute instructions (not shown). The base station 520 also has software 521 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0167] The communication system 500 further includes the previously referenced UE 530, whose hardware 535 may include an air interface 537 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 570 with a base station serving the coverage area in which the UE 530 is currently located. The UE 530's hardware 535 further includes processing circuitry 538, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof adapted to execute instructions (not shown). The UE 530 further includes software 531 stored on or accessible by the UE 530 and executable by the processing circuitry 538. The software 531 includes a client application 532. The client application 532, with the support of a host computer 510, may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the UE 530. On the host computer 510, an executing host application 512 may communicate with the executing client application 532 via an OTT connection 550 terminating at the UE 530 and the host computer 510. In providing services to a user, the client application 532 can receive request data from the host application 512 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 550 can transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 532 can interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

[0168] It should be noted that the host computer 510, base station 520, and UE 530 shown in Figure 13 may be similar to or identical to the host computer 430, one of the base stations 412a, 412b, and 412c, and one of the UEs 491 and 492, respectively, of Figure 12. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 13, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 12.

[0169] 13, the OTT connection 550 is depicted abstractly to illustrate communication between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 via the base station 520, without explicit reference to intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages through these devices. The network infrastructure can determine the routing, which may be configured to hide from the UE 530 or from the service provider operating the host computer 510, or both. While the OTT connection 550 is active, the network infrastructure can further determine (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network) that it dynamically changes the routing.

[0170] The wireless connection 570 between the UE 530 and the base station 520 follows the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 530 using the OTT connection 550, of which the wireless connection 570 forms the final segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve positioning accuracy (horizontal, vertical) in the context of low latency and network efficiency (scalability, reference signal (RS) overhead, etc.).

[0171] Measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve. There may further be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 in response to fluctuations in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 may be implemented in the software 511 and hardware 515 of the host computer 510, or in the software 531 and hardware 535 of the UE 530, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with communication devices through which the OTT connection 550 passes, and the sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by providing values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or other physical quantities from which the software 511, 531 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of OTT connection 550 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguration need not affect base station 520, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 520. Such procedures and functionality are known in the art and may be implemented. In certain embodiments, measurements may include dedicated UE signaling that facilitates host computer 510 measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. Measurements may be implemented as software 511 and 531 use OTT connection 550 and cause it to send messages, specifically empty or "dummy" messages, while it monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0172] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. To simplify this disclosure, references to only FIG. 14 will be included in this section. In step 610, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 611 of step 610 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 620, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 630 (which may be optional), the base station transmits the user data carried in the host computer-initiated transmission to the UE, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0173] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. To simplify this disclosure, only references to the drawing in FIG. 15 will be included in this section. In step 710 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 720, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may go through a base station, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0174] FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 . To simplify this disclosure, only references to the drawing in FIG. 16 will be included in this section. In step 810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 820, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 821 (which may be optional) of step 820, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 811 (which may be optional) of step 810, the UE executes a client application that provides the user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further take into account user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE begins transmitting the user data to the host computer in sub-step 830 (which may be optional). In step 840 of the method, the host computer receives user data transmitted from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0175] Figure 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to Figures 12 and 13. To simplify this disclosure, only references to the drawing in Figure 17 will be included in this section. In step 910 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 920 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0176] Any suitable step, method, feature, function, or benefit disclosed herein may be performed via one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may comprise several of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), dedicated digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may include one or several types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, and the like. Program code stored in the memory includes program instructions that implement one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols, as well as instructions that implement one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, processing circuitry may be used to cause each functional unit to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0177] 18 illustrates a method according to a particular embodiment. In certain embodiments, the method may be performed by a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 110, such as UE 200 discussed above). The method begins at step 1802 with receiving an indication from a network. The indication indicates whether two or more DL PRS resources may be processed together. The method proceeds to step 1804 and determines whether to perform DL PRS aggregation based at least in part on the indication received from the network. In some embodiments, the determination is further based on whether one or more conditions for performing DL PRS aggregation are met (e.g., see the above description of Embodiment 2: Conditions for Coherently / Together Combining DL PRS Resources). The method proceeds to step 1806 and performs measurements of one or more DL PRSs. Performing the measurements includes performing DL PRS aggregation based at least in part on the indication indicating that the DL PRS resources may be processed together. DL PRS aggregation includes processing at least two DL PRS resources together. The method proceeds to step 1808, where measurements of one or more DL PRSs are indicated to the network.

[0178] FIG. 19 shows a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1900 of a wireless network (e.g., the wireless network shown in FIG. 9). The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless device or a network node (e.g., the wireless device 110 or the network node 160 shown in FIG. 9). The apparatus 1900 is operable to perform the example method described with reference to FIG. 18, and possibly any other process or method disclosed herein. It should also be understood that the method of FIG. 18 may not necessarily be performed solely by the apparatus 1900. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0179] The virtual device 1900 may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. In some embodiments, the program code stored in memory includes program instructions for implementing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for performing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the interface unit 1902, the configuration unit 1904, the measurement unit 1906, and any other suitable units of the device 1900 to perform functions corresponding to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0180] As shown in FIG. 19 , the apparatus 1900 includes an interface unit 1902, a configuration unit 1904, and a measurement unit 1906. The interface unit 1902 is configured to communicate messages between a wireless device and a network node. The configuration unit 1904 is configured to determine and apply a configuration to be used by the wireless device to the wireless device. The measurement unit 1906 is configured to measure DL PRSs. As an example, in certain embodiments, the interface unit 1902 receives a request for the wireless device to perform DL PRS measurements. The request includes an indication of whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together. The interface unit 1902 provides the indication to the configuration unit 1904. The configuration unit 1904 determines, at least in part, based on the indication, whether the measurement unit 1906 should be configured to process two or more DL PRS resources together, and if so, which DL PRS resources to process together. As an example, the indication may include a first index associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with a second DL PRS resource. The configuration unit 1904 may determine that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource can be processed together based at least in part on the first index being equal to the second index. In some embodiments, this determination may be further based on whether one or more conditions for performing DL PRS aggregation are met (e.g., see the above description of "Embodiment 2: Conditions for Coherently / Together Combining DL PRS Resources"). The measurement unit 1906 performs measurements based on the configuration.As an example, the measurement unit processes two or more DL PRS resources together (if configured to do so) or processes only one of the DL PRS resources (if not configured to process two or more DL PRS resources together, e.g., based on instructions from the network or because one or more conditions for coherently combining the DL PRS resources are not met). The measurement unit 1906 may provide the measurements to the interface unit 1902, which may communicate the measurements to the network.

[0181] The term unit may have its conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices, and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logical solid and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions that perform respective tasks, procedures, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc., as described herein.

[0182] In some embodiments, a computer program, computer program product, or computer-readable storage medium includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, perform any of the embodiments disclosed herein. In a further example, the instructions are conveyed on a signal or carrier and are executable on a computer, and, when executed, perform any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0183] Embodiment Group A embodiment 1. A method performed by a wireless device, comprising: - A method comprising receiving an indication from a network indicating whether two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources may be processed together. 2. The method of embodiment 1, further comprising determining whether to perform DL PRS aggregation based at least in part on an indication received from a network. 3. The method of embodiment 1 or 2, further comprising performing measurements of one or more DL PRS. 4. The method of any of embodiments 1-3, wherein performing measurements includes performing DL PRS aggregation based at least in part on an indication that DL PRS resources may be processed together. 5. The method of embodiment 4, wherein performing DL PRS aggregation includes processing at least two of the DL PRS resources together. 6. The method of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein performing DL PRS aggregation is further based on determining that one or more conditions for processing at least two of the DL PRS resources together are met. 7. The method of embodiment 6, wherein at least one of the conditions requires that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together be transmitted from the same transmission / reception point (TRP). 8. The method of embodiment 6 or 7, wherein at least one of the conditions requires that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together be received by the wireless device in the same slot. 9. The method of any of embodiments 6-8, wherein at least one of the conditions requires that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together be received by the wireless device in the same symbol. 10. The method of any of embodiments 6-9, wherein at least one of the conditions requires that two or more DL PRS resources processed together be limited to one iteration. 11. The method of any of embodiments 6-10, wherein at least one of the conditions requires that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together be received by wireless devices with identical QCL information. 12. The method of any of embodiments 6-11, wherein at least one of the conditions requires that two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together belong to different frequency layers. 13. The method of any of embodiments 6-12, wherein at least one of the conditions requires that two or more DL PRS resources processed together be processed to use the same subcarrier spacing. 14. The method of any of embodiments 6-13, wherein performing measurements includes avoiding performing DL PRS aggregation (e.g., processing only one of the DL PRS resources) based on at least one of the one or more conditions not being met. 15. The method of embodiment 3, wherein performing measurements includes avoiding performing DL PRS aggregation (e.g., processing only one of the DL PRS resources) based on an indication that the DL PRS resources cannot be processed together. 16. The method of any of embodiments 3-15, further comprising indicating measurements of one or more DL PRS to the network. 17. The method of any of embodiments 1-16, wherein the indication of whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together is based on a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource. 18. The method of embodiment 17, wherein the indication indicates that two or more DL PRS resources may be processed together when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent (e.g., completely coherent). 19. The method of embodiment 17, wherein when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are not sufficiently coherent (e.g., completely incoherent), the indication indicates that two or more DL PRS resources cannot be processed together. 20. The method of embodiment 18 or 19, wherein whether the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent is based on whether a coherency value exceeds a threshold. 21. The method of any of embodiments 1-20, wherein the indication is received from a location node (eg, a location server, an LMF). 22. The method of any of embodiments 1-21, wherein the indication is received by Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling. 23. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the indication is received by a positioning protocol (eg, LPP, NRPPa) or OAM. 24. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the indication is received from a radio network node (e.g., a base station such as an eNB or gNB). 25. The method of any one of embodiments 1-20 or 24, wherein the indication is received by radio resource control (RRC) signaling. 26. The method of any one of embodiments 1-20 or 24, wherein the indication is received by downlink control information (DCI). 27. The method of any of embodiments 1-26, including a first index associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with a second DL PRS resource, and when the first index is identical to the second index, the indication indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource may be processed together. 28. The method of any of embodiments 1-27, wherein the indication is received in a DL PRS resource configuration. 29. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the indication is received at a frequency layer level. 30. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the indication is set at the DL PRS resource set level. 31. The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising sending network information indicating a maximum number of DL PRS resources that may be jointly processed by the wireless device. 32. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: - providing user data; - Transferring user data to a host computer by transmission to a base station.

[0184] Group B Embodiments 33. A method performed by a network node, comprising: - A method that includes sending an indication to a wireless device indicating whether two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources may be processed together. 34. The method of embodiment 33, further comprising sending information to the wireless device regarding one or more conditions that must be met in order to process at least two of the DL PRS resources together. 35. The method of embodiment 34, wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of the conditions of any of Group A embodiments 7 to 13. 36. The method of any of embodiments 33-35, further comprising receiving an indication to measure one or more DL PRSs from the wireless device. 37. The method of embodiment 36, wherein the instruction sent to the wireless device indicates that two or more DL PRS resources may be processed together, and the measurement is based on the wireless device processing the two or more DL PRS resources together. 38. The method of embodiment 36, wherein the instruction sent to the wireless device indicates that two or more DL PRS resources cannot be processed together, and the measurement is based on the wireless device processing only one of the two or more DL PRS resources. 39. The method of any of embodiments 33-38, further comprising determining whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together. 40. The method of embodiment 39, wherein determining whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together is based on a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource. 41. The method of embodiment 40, wherein it is determined that two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent (e.g., completely coherent). 42. The method of embodiment 40, wherein it is determined that two or more DL PRS resources cannot be processed together when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are not sufficiently coherent (e.g., completely incoherent). 43. The method of embodiment 41 or 42, wherein whether the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent is based on whether a coherency value exceeds a threshold. 44. The method of any of embodiments 33-43, wherein the network node comprises a location node (eg, a location server, LMF). 45. The method of any of embodiments 33-44, wherein the indication is sent by Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling. 46. The method of any of embodiments 33-45, wherein the indication is sent by a positioning protocol (e.g., LPP, NRPPa) or OAM. 47. The method of any of embodiments 33-43, wherein the network comprises a radio network node (e.g., a base station such as an eNB or a gNB). 48. The method of any one of embodiments 33 to 43 or embodiment 47, wherein the indication is sent by radio resource control (RRC) signaling. 49. The method of any one of embodiments 33 to 43 or embodiment 37, wherein the indication is sent by downlink control information (DCI). 50. The method of any of embodiments 33-49, wherein the indication includes a first index associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with a second DL PRS resource, and indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource may be processed together when the first index is identical to the second index. 51. The method of any of embodiments 33-50, wherein the instruction is sent in a DL PRS resource configuration. 52. The method of any of embodiments 33-50, wherein the indication is sent at a frequency layer level. 53. The method of any of embodiments 33-50, wherein the indication is set at the DL PRS resource set level. 54. The method of any of embodiments 33-53, wherein the indication indicates that the number of DL PRS resources that may be processed together is less than a maximum number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can process together. 55. The method of embodiment 54, further comprising receiving from the wireless device a maximum number of DL resources that the wireless device can process together. 56. The method of embodiment 54, wherein a maximum number of DL resources that a wireless device can process together is specified in a standard. 57. A method performed by a radio network node (e.g., NG-RAN node, base station, eNB, gNB, SgNB, NgNB), comprising: - sending an indication to a location node (e.g., location server, LMF) indicating whether two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources may be processed together. 58. The method of embodiment 57, wherein the instruction is sent in response to receiving a request from a location node to provide information regarding transmission / reception points (TRPs) hosted by the radio network node. 59. The method of any one of embodiments 57 to 58, further comprising determining whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together (see, e.g., embodiments 40 to 43). 60. A method performed by a location node (e.g., location server, LMF): - receiving an indication from a radio network node indicating whether two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources may be processed jointly; and - sending a request to a wireless device to provide DL PRS measurements, the request indicating whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together. 61. The method of embodiment 60, wherein the request is sent by NAS signaling. 62. The method of embodiment 60 or 61, wherein the request is sent by a positioning protocol (e.g., LPP, NRPPa) or OAM. 63. The method of any of embodiments 60-62, further comprising: receiving DL PRS measurements from the wireless device; and determining a location of the wireless device based at least in part on the DL PRS measurements. 64. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: - Obtaining user data; - Transferring user data to a host computer or wireless device.

[0185] Group C Embodiments 65. A wireless device comprising: - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; - A power supply circuit configured to provide power to a wireless device. 66. A base station comprising: - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; - A power supply circuit configured to supply power to the base station. 67. A user equipment (UE), comprising: - an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; - a radio front-end circuit coupled to the antenna and to the processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit; - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; - an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to enable input of information to the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; - an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information from the UE processed by the processing circuit; - A battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to power the UE. 68. A computer program comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments. 69. A computer program product comprising a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions for performing any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments when the computer program is run on a computer. 70. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or carrier containing a computer program, the computer program containing instructions which, when run on a computer, perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments. 71. A computer program comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments. 72. A computer program product comprising a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments. 73. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or carrier containing a computer program, the computer program containing instructions which, when run on a computer, perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments. 74. A communications system including a host computer having: - processing circuitry configured to provide user data; - a communications interface configured to transfer user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE); wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments. 75. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising a base station. 76. The communication system of the previous two embodiments, further including a UE, where the UE is configured to communicate with the base station. 77. The communication system of the previous three embodiments, wherein: - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing user data; and The UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a host application and an associated client application. 78. A method implemented in a communications system including a host computer, a base station, and user equipment (UE), the method including: - providing user data at the host computer; - initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising a base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments. 79. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting user data. 80. The method of the previous two embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further including executing, at the UE, a client application associated with the host application. 81. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the previous three embodiments. 82. A communications system including a host computer, comprising: - processing circuitry configured to provide user data; - a communications interface configured to transfer user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE); - where the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the components of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments of the Group A embodiments. 83. The communication system of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE. 84. The communication system of the previous two embodiments, wherein: - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing user data; and - processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a host application and an associated client application; 85. A method implemented in a communications system including a host computer, a base station, and user equipment (UE), the method including: - providing user data at the host computer; - initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising a base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments of Group A embodiments. 86. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising receiving, at the UE, user data from the base station. 87. A communications system including a host computer having: - a communications interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station; So, a UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments of the Group A embodiments. 88. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further including a UE. 89. The communication system of the previous two embodiments, further including a base station, wherein the base station includes a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to transfer user data carried by transmissions from the UE to the base station to a host computer. 90. The communication system of the previous three embodiments, wherein: - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and - processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a host application and an associated client application, thereby providing user data; 91. The communication system of the previous four embodiments, wherein: - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute the host application, thereby providing the requested data; and - processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data in response to the request data; 92. A method implemented in a communications system including a host computer, a base station, and user equipment (UE), the method including: - receiving, at the host computer, user data transmitted from the UE to the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments of Group A embodiments. 93. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the UE, providing user data to the base station. 94. The method of the previous two embodiments, further comprising: - running, in the UE, a client application and providing user data to be transmitted thereby; - running a host application associated with the client application on the host computer; 95. The method of the previous three embodiments, further comprising: - running, in the UE, a client application; - receiving, at the UE, input data for a client application, the input data being provided at a host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application; - The user data to be transmitted is then provided by the client application in response to the input data. 96. A communications system including a host computer having a communications interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a wireless interface and processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry of the base station is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments. 97. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising a base station. 98. The communication system of the previous two embodiments, further including a UE, where the UE is configured to communicate with the base station. 99. The communication system of the previous three embodiments, wherein: - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; The UE is configured to run a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer. 100. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and user equipment (UE), the method including: - receiving, at the host computer, user data from the base station resulting from a transmission received by the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments of Group A embodiments. 101. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: receiving, at the base station, user data from the UE. 102. The method of the previous two embodiments, further comprising initiating, at the base station, transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

[0186] 20 illustrates an example of a method performed by a wireless device, such as wireless device 110 or UE 200. In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises processing circuitry (such as processing circuitry 120 or processor 201) configured to perform the method. For example, the processing circuitry may be configured to execute a computer program including instructions that perform any of the steps of the method.

[0187] In certain embodiments, the method begins with step 2002 of receiving an indication from a network. The indication indicates whether the wireless device is capable of treating two or more DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource. The wireless device may receive the indication from any appropriate node in the network, such as a location node (e.g., a location server or LMF) or a radio network node (e.g., a base station such as a gNB or eNB). The indication may be received by NAS signaling, or by an OAM message, RRC signaling, DCI, or other appropriate type of signaling in accordance with a positioning protocol. As one example, the location node may communicate the indication by NAS signaling in accordance with a positioning protocol. As another example, the radio network node may communicate the indication by RRC signaling or DCI.

[0188] Examples of indications that may be received from the network in step 2002 are described above with respect to "Embodiment 1: Signaling of Aggregated Downlink PRS to UE" (e.g., describing an embodiment in which a location node sends an indication to a wireless device), "Embodiment 3: Extensions to RRC Configured DL PRS and Other Reference Signals" (e.g., describing an embodiment in which a radio network node sends an indication to a wireless device), "Embodiment 4: Indication of DL PRS Aggregation from NG-RAN Node to LMF" (e.g., describing an embodiment in which a location node receives information from an NG-RAN node and sends an indication to a wireless device based on this information), and "Embodiment 5: Indication of Cell-Based DL PRS Aggregation" (e.g., describing an embodiment in which a location node receives information from a gNB and sends an indication to a wireless device based on this information).

[0189] In certain embodiments, the indication indicating whether the wireless device can process two or more DL PRS resources together includes a first index associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with a second DL PRS resource. The indication indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource can be processed together when the first index is identical to the second index. The indication indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource cannot be processed together when the first index is different from the second index.

[0190] The indication indicates whether the wireless device is capable of handling two or more DL PRS resources together, which may be configured at some appropriate level, such as at the DL PRS resource configuration, frequency layer level, or DL PRS resource set level.

[0191] In certain embodiments, the indication of whether the wireless device can process two or more DL PRS resources together is based on a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource. For example, when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent, the indication indicates that the two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together. In certain embodiments, whether the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent is based on whether a coherency value exceeds a threshold.

[0192] Certain embodiments send information to the network (e.g., a location node or a radio network node) indicating the maximum number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can process together. This information may be sent before step 2002. The network can use this information to determine and indicate the number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can process together as an aggregated DL PRS resource. Thus, the indication received in step 2002 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can process together, or a number less than the maximum.

[0193] Continuing with the description of FIG. 20 , the method proceeds to step 2004, where it performs joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to generate measurements. Aggregation of DL PRS resources may be distinguished from simply averaging multiple measurements from separate DL PRS resources, as it involves joint processing of DL PRS resources to generate measurements. The joint processing of step 2004 is performed based at least in part on the indication in step 2002 indicating that the wireless device can process two or more downlink DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource. The method proceeds to step 2006, where it indicates to the network the measurements generated by the joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources in step 2004. In certain embodiments, the wireless device indicates the measurements to a location node (e.g., a location server or LMF) in the network, for example, by non-access stratum signaling. Other embodiments indicate the measurements to a radio network node in the network (e.g., the radio network node can send the measurements to the location node).

[0194] In certain embodiments, performing joint processing is further based on determining that one or more conditions for processing two or more DL PRS resources together are met. Example conditions are described above with respect to "Embodiment 2: Conditions for Coherently / Together Combining DL PRS Resources." For example, performing joint processing may be further based on determining that one or more of the following conditions are met: · A condition that requires two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together to be sent from the same TRP. A condition requiring two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together to be received by a wireless device in the same slot. A condition requiring two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together to be received in the same symbol by a wireless device. A condition requiring that two or more DL PRS resources processed together be limited to one iteration. A condition requiring two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together to be received by wireless devices with identical QCL information. A condition requiring two or more DL PRS resources that are processed together to belong to different frequency layers. · A condition requiring two or more DL PRS resources that are processed together to use the same subcarrier spacing.

[0195] 21 illustrates an example of a method performed by a network node, such as network node 160. Examples of network nodes include radio network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, etc.) or location nodes (e.g., location servers, LMFs, etc.). In certain embodiments, the network node comprises processing circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry 170) configured to perform the method. For example, the processing circuitry may be configured to execute a computer program including instructions for performing any of the steps of the method.

[0196] In certain embodiments, the method begins with step 2102 of determining whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together. As an example, determining whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together may be based on a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource. Certain embodiments determine that two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent. Certain embodiments determine that two or more DL PRS resources cannot be processed together when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are not sufficiently coherent. For example, whether the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent may be based on whether a coherency value exceeds a threshold.

[0197] Certain embodiments determine whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together based on information received from another network node. For example, the location node may determine whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together based on information received from an NG-RAN (e.g., see "Embodiment 4: Indication of DL PRS Aggregation from an NG-RAN Node to an LMF" above) or a gNB (e.g., see "Embodiment 5: Indication of Cell-Based DL PRS Aggregation" above).

[0198] Certain embodiments determine whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together based at least in part on a maximum number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can process together. Certain embodiments receive from the wireless device the maximum number of DL resources that the wireless device can process together. Certain embodiments determine the maximum number of DL resources that the wireless device can process together based on a standard.

[0199] The method proceeds to step 2104, where it sends an indication to the wireless device. The indication indicates whether the wireless device can treat two or more DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource. The indication may be sent by NAS signaling, or may be sent by an OAM message, RRC signaling, DCI, or other appropriate type of signaling according to a positioning protocol. As an example, the location node may communicate the indication by NAS signaling according to a positioning protocol. As another example, the radio network node may communicate the indication by RRC signaling or DCI. As another example, the radio network node may communicate the indication to the wireless device via the location node (the radio network node communicates the indication to the location node, and the location node communicates the indication to the wireless device). The indication indicates whether the wireless device can treat two or more DL PRS resources together, which may be configured at some appropriate level, such as at a DL PRS resource configuration, frequency layer level, or DL PRS resource set level. In certain embodiments, the indication indicates that the number of DL PRS resources that may be processed together is less than the maximum number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can process together. In certain embodiments, the indication sent in step 2104 includes a first index associated with the first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with the second DL PRS resource. When the first index is identical to the second index, the indication indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource may be processed together (or, when the first index is different from the second index, the indication indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource may not be processed together). Further examples of indications sent from a network node to a wireless device are described above, e.g., with respect to step 2002 of FIG. 20 (e.g., the network node provides reverse signaling flow between the wireless device and the network node).

[0200] The method sends information to the wireless device regarding one or more conditions that need to be met in order to process two or more DL PRS resources together, in step 2106. Examples of such conditions are described above, e.g., with respect to "Embodiment 2: Conditions for Coherently / Together Combining DL PRS Resources" and FIG.

[0201] The method receives information from the wireless device in step 2108. The information indicates measurements. For example, if the instruction sent to the wireless device in step 2104 indicates that two or more DL PRS resources may be processed together, the information received in step 2108 may indicate measurements based on the wireless device processing the two or more DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource. If the instruction sent to the wireless device in step 2104 indicates that two or more DL PRS resources may not be processed together, the information received in step 2108 may indicate measurements based on the wireless device processing only one of the two or more DL PRS resources at a time (as opposed to joint processing). The measurements indicated in step 2108 may be used to determine the location or position of the wireless device.

[0202] 22 illustrates an example of a method performed by a radio network node, such as network node 160 implementing a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB). In certain embodiments, the radio network node comprises processing circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry 170) configured to perform the method. For example, the processing circuitry may be configured to execute a computer program including instructions for performing any of the steps of the method.

[0203] In certain embodiments, the method begins at step 2202, receiving a request from a location node to provide information regarding TRPs hosted by the radio network node. The method proceeds to step 2204, where it determines whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together. This step may be similar to step 2102 of FIG. 21. The method proceeds to step 2206, where it sends an indication to the location node indicating whether the two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together by the wireless device as an aggregated DL PRS resource to generate measurements. See, for example, "Embodiment 4: Indication of DL PRS Aggregation from an NG-RAN Node to an LMF" or "Embodiment 5: Indication of Cell-Based DL PRS Aggregation" above. The location node may use the indication received from the radio network node to indicate to the wireless device whether two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together.

[0204] The method of Figure 22 may optionally include additional steps described herein as steps performed by a radio network node, such as communicating to a location node or wireless device one or more conditions for processing two or more DL PRSs together, example conditions being described above, e.g., with respect to Figure 20.

[0205] 23 illustrates an example of a method performed by a location node, such as a location server or network node 160c implementing an LMF. In certain embodiments, the location node comprises processing circuitry configured to perform the method. For example, the processing circuitry may be configured to execute a computer program including instructions for performing any of the steps of the method.

[0206] In certain embodiments, the method begins with step 2302 of receiving from a radio network node an indication of whether two or more DL PRS resources may be treated together by the wireless device as an aggregated DL PRS resource to generate measurements. In certain embodiments, the method may prompt the radio network node to send the indication, for example, by sending a request to the radio network node to provide information regarding TRPs hosted by the radio network node. Examples of indications that may be received by the location node include "Embodiment 4: Indication of DL PRS Aggregation from NG-RAN Node to LMF" or "Embodiment 5: Indication of Cell-Based DL PRS Aggregation" above. In certain embodiments, the information indicates that the DL PRS resources may be treated together when the DL PRS resources are sufficiently coherent.

[0207] The method proceeds to step 2304 with sending a request to the wireless device to provide DL PRS measurements. The request indicates whether two or more DL PRS resources can be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource (e.g., based on information received by the location node from the radio network node in step 2302). Examples of instructions that may be sent to the wireless device are described above, e.g., with respect to step 2002 of FIG. 20 (e.g., the location node provides reverse signaling flow between the wireless device and the network node / location node).

[0208] The method proceeds to step 2306, receiving information from the wireless devices indicative of measurements generated by the wireless devices' joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources, and then proceeds to step 2308, determining a location of the wireless devices based at least in part on the information indicative of the measurements received in step 2306.

[0209] The method of Figure 23 may optionally include additional steps described herein as steps performed by the location node, such as communicating to the wireless device one or more conditions for processing two or more DL PRSs together, example conditions being described above, e.g., with respect to Figure 20.

[0210] Certain embodiments of the present disclosure address the problem of signaling to a wireless device multiple DL PRS resources that can be processed jointly (coherently) by the wireless device for positioning purposes. The signaling to the wireless device may be from a radio network node (such as a serving gNB or eNB) or a location node (such as a location server or LMF). In certain embodiments, multiple DL PRSs may be from the same transmission point but different frequency layers or different component carriers (e.g., in the case of carrier aggregation). The present disclosure proposes several embodiments. As an example, certain embodiments configure, by the radio network node, an index for each DL PRS resource for the wireless device. DL PRS resources with the same index value may be processed jointly (coherently) by the wireless device. Various options exist for configuring the index. For example, the index may be configured in a frequency layer, a component carrier, or a DL PRS resource set. DL PRS resources with the same index value and associated with a frequency layer, a component carrier, or a PRS resource set may be processed jointly (coherently) by the wireless device. As another example, certain embodiments use other RSs such as SSB / CSI-RS (instead of DL PRS) for this purpose. As another example, in certain embodiments, the information may be provided by the radio network node to the location node, rather than being signaled from the radio network node to the wireless device, and the location node takes this information into account when configuring the DL PRS for the wireless device.

[0211] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and devices described herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Components of the systems and devices may be combined or separated. Furthermore, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Additionally, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed using any suitable logic, including software, hardware, and / or other logic. As used in this document, "each" refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set. As used in this document, "based on" means "based at least in part on," unless otherwise clearly indicated and / or implied by the context of use.

[0212] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods described herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. In addition, steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0213] While the present disclosure has been described with respect to certain embodiments, modifications and substitutions of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of the embodiments does not constrain the present disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, which is defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method performed by a wireless device, comprising: receiving an indication from a network (2002), the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of processing two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource; performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources to generate measurements (2004), the joint processing being performed based at least in part on the indication that the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more downlink DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource; A method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the joint processing is further based on determining that one or more conditions for jointly processing two or more DL PRS resources are met.

3. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be transmitted from the same transmission / reception point (TRP).

4. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must have been received by the wireless device in the same slot.

5. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed jointly must have been received by the wireless device in the same symbol.

6. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together need to be limited to one repetition.

7. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must have been received by the wireless device with identical quasi-co-location (QCL) information.

8. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must belong to different frequency layers.

9. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the joint processing is further based on determining that a condition is met that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must use the same subcarrier spacing.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising indicating (2006) to the network the measurements generated by joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the measurements are expressed relative to a location node.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the measurements are indicated to a radio network node.

13. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together is based on a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource.

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent, the indication indicates that the two or more DL PRS resources may be processed together.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein whether the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent is based on whether a coherency value exceeds a threshold.

16. 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together is received from a location node.

17. 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together is received by Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

18. 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of handling the two or more DL PRS resources together is received by a positioning protocol or an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) message.

19. 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together is received from a radio network node.

20. 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together is received by radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

21. 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together is received by Downlink Control Information (DCI).

22. 22. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together includes a first index associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with a second DL PRS resource, and when the first index is identical to the second index, indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource can be processed together.

23. 23. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of handling the two or more DL PRS resources together is received in a DL PRS resource configuration.

24. 24. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication indicating whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together is received at a frequency layer level.

25. 25. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of whether the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more DL PRS resources together is configured at a DL PRS resource set level.

26. 26. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending network information indicating a maximum number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can handle together.

27. 21. A method performed by a network node, comprising: sending 2104 an indication to a wireless device indicating whether the wireless device is capable of treating two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

28. 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising: sending (2106) to the wireless device information regarding one or more conditions that need to be met in order to process the two or more DL PRS resources together.

29. 29. The method of claim 27 or 28, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be transmitted from the same transmission / reception point (TRP).

30. 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be received by the wireless device in the same slot.

31. 31. The method of claim 27, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be received by the wireless device in the same symbol.

32. 32. The method of any one of claims 27 to 31, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the two or more DL PRS resources that are processed together must be limited to one repetition.

33. 33. The method of claim 27, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must be received by the wireless device with identical quasi-co-location (QCL) information.

34. 34. The method of any one of claims 27 to 33, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must belong to different frequency layers.

35. 35. The method of any one of claims 27 to 34, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the two or more DL PRS resources to be processed together must use the same subcarrier spacing.

36. 36. The method of claim 27, wherein the indication sent to the wireless device indicates that the two or more DL PRS resources may be processed together, and the method further comprises receiving (2108) information from the wireless device indicating measurements based on the wireless device processing the two or more DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

37. 36. The method of claim 27, wherein the indication sent to the wireless device indicates that the two or more DL PRS resources cannot be processed together, and the method further comprises receiving (2108) information from the wireless device indicating a measurement value based on the wireless device processing only one of the two or more DL PRS resources.

38. 38. The method of claim 27, further comprising determining whether the two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together (2102).

39. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein determining whether the two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together is based on a phase difference between a first carrier associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second carrier associated with a second DL PRS resource.

40. 40. The method of claim 39, wherein when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent, it is determined that the two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together.

41. 40. The method of claim 39, wherein when the phase difference indicates that the first carrier and the second carrier are not sufficiently coherent, it is determined that the two or more DL PRS resources cannot be processed together.

42. 42. The method of claim 40 or 41, wherein whether the first carrier and the second carrier are sufficiently coherent is based on whether a coherency value exceeds a threshold.

43. 43. The method of any one of claims 27 to 42, wherein the network node comprises a location node.

44. 44. The method of any one of claims 27 to 43, wherein the indication is sent by Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

45. 45. The method of any one of claims 27 to 44, wherein the indication is sent by a positioning protocol or an Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) message.

46. 43. The method of any one of claims 27 to 42, wherein the network node comprises a radio network node.

47. 47. The method of any one of claims 27 to 42 or claim 46, wherein the indication is sent by radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

48. 47. The method of any one of claims 27 to 42 or claim 46, wherein the indication is sent by downlink control information (DCI).

49. 49. The method of claim 27, wherein the indication includes a first index associated with a first DL PRS resource and a second index associated with a second DL PRS resource, and when the first index is identical to the second index, indicates that the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource can be processed together.

50. 50. The method of any one of claims 27 to 49, wherein the indication is sent in a DL PRS resource configuration.

51. 50. The method of any one of claims 27 to 49, wherein the indication is sent at a frequency layer level.

52. 50. The method of any one of claims 27 to 49, wherein the indication is configured at a DL PRS resource set level.

53. 53. The method of claim 27, wherein the indication indicates a number of DL PRS resources that can be processed together is less than a maximum number of DL PRS resources that the wireless device can process together.

54. 54. The method of claim 53, further comprising receiving from the wireless device a maximum number of DL resources that the wireless device can process together.

55. 55. The method of claim 54, wherein the maximum number of DL resources the wireless device can handle together is specified in a standard.

56. 1. A method performed by a radio network node, comprising: 2206. The method of claim 1, wherein the location node includes a wireless device and a wireless network, and the wireless device includes a wireless device that is configured to receive a measurement signal from the location node and transmit the measurement signal to the location node.

57. 57. The method of claim 56, wherein the indication is sent in response to receiving (2202) a request from the location node to provide information about transmission / reception points (TRPs) hosted by the radio network node.

58. 58. The method of claim 56 or 57, further comprising determining (2204) whether the two or more DL PRS resources can be processed together.

59. 1. A method performed by a location node, comprising: receiving 2302 an indication from a radio network node indicating whether two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources may be processed together by a wireless device as an aggregated DL PRS resource to generate measurements; sending 2304 a request to the wireless device to provide DL PRS measurements, the request indicating whether the two or more DL PRS resources can be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource; A method comprising:

60. 60. The method of claim 59, wherein the request is sent by Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

61. 61. The method of claim 59 or 60, wherein the request is sent by a positioning protocol or an Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) message.

62. receiving 2306, from the wireless device, information indicative of measurements made by the wireless device upon joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources; determining 2308 a location of the wireless device based at least in part on the information indicative of the measurements; 62. The method of any one of claims 59 to 61, further comprising:

63. A wireless device (110), a power supply circuit (137) configured to supply power to the wireless device; and a processing circuit (120), wherein the processing circuit: receiving an indication from a network indicating whether the wireless device is capable of processing two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource; and performing joint processing of the aggregated DL PRS resources based at least in part on the indication that the wireless device is capable of processing the two or more downlink DL PRS resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource to generate a measurement value. The wireless device (110) is configured to:

64. 64. The wireless device of claim 63, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 2 to 26.

65. A network node (160, 160b, 160c), a power supply circuit (187) configured to supply power to said network node; and a processing circuit (170), wherein the processing circuit:

16. A network node (160, 160b, 160c) configured to send the indication to the wireless device indicating whether the wireless device is capable of processing two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources together as an aggregated DL PRS resource.

66. 66. A network node according to claim 65, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 28 to 55.

67. A radio network node (160, 160b), a power supply circuit (187) configured to supply power to said radio network node; and a processing circuit (170), wherein the processing circuit: A radio network node (160, 160b) configured to send an indication to a location node indicating whether two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources can be processed together by a wireless device as an aggregated DL PRS resource to generate measurements.

68. 68. A radio network node according to claim 67, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to perform the method of claim 57 or 58.

69. A location node (160c), a power supply circuit (187) configured to supply power to said location node; and a processing circuit (170), wherein the processing circuit: receiving an indication from a radio network node indicating whether two or more downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resources may be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource by the wireless device to generate measurements; a location node (160c) configured to send a request to the wireless device to provide DL PRS measurements, the request indicating whether the two or more DL PRS resources can be treated together as an aggregated DL PRS resource;

70. 70. The location node of claim 69, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 60 to 62.

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