Capability signaling for quality of experience measurements

Abstract

To provide improved quality of experience (QoE) measuring and reporting methods.SOLUTION: In a mobile communication system, a user equipment (UE) transmits a capability message comprising one or more capability information elements (IEs) associated with QoE to a base station. Based on the one or more transmitted capability IEs, the UE receives one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages comprising first configuration parameters for QoE measurements and reporting from the base station. The UE transmits one or more QoE measurement reports based on the first configuration parameters to the base station.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 17

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 186,267, filed May 10, 2021 (the "Provisional Application"), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This invention is directed to 5G, the fifth generation mobile network. It is the new global wireless standard following 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables networks designed to connect machines, objects, and devices.

[0003] The present invention more particularly relates to improved Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting in various services and applications, including streaming, virtual / augmented reality (VR / AR), and URLLC applications. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for capability signaling for Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement, the method comprising: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a capability message to a base station (BS) including one or more capability information elements (IEs) associated with QoE, receiving, by the UE based on the one or more transmitted capability IEs, one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages from the BS including first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting, and transmitting, by the UE, one or more QoE measurement reports to the BS based on the first configuration parameters.

[0005] The one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate whether a user equipment (UE) supports at least one of quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling. Receiving one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages is based on whether the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate that the user equipment (UE) supports quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling. The first configuration parameter indicates one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) for the user equipment (UE) to measure and report. The one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) include one or more of end-to-end delay, radio access network (RAN) delay, core network (CN) delay, throughput, and jitter. Alternatively, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) may include application layer KPIs or radio layer KPIs. In one embodiment, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) may include application layer KPIs and radio layer KPIs.

[0006] In one embodiment, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) are for one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) service type. The step of transmitting the one or more quality of experience (QoE) measurement reports is based on one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages. The one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages are associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB). Preferably, the first signaling radio bearer (SRB) is associated with a first priority, and a second priority associated with a second SRB is higher than the first priority. The second signaling radio bearer (SRB) may use a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel or a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel. The Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) logical channel is used to transmit Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages. The first signaling radio bearer (SRB) uses the Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH).

[0007] In one aspect, the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate whether a user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling, where the one or more information elements (IEs) indicate that the user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling, and the step of receiving first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting is performed in response to the UE supporting the one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and QoE-related signaling.

[0008] The one or more parameters may correspond to one or more key performance indicators (KPIs). The one or more parameters may correspond to one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service type. The one or more parameters may be associated with a quality of experience (QoE) measurement in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state. The one or more parameters may be associated with a quality of experience (QoE) measurement in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state. The one or more parameters may be associated with a signaling-based or management-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement.

[0009] The first configuration parameter indicates a trigger condition for at least one of quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting. The step of transmitting the quality of experience (QoE) measurement report is based on a time pattern. Preferably, the first configuration parameter indicates a time pattern. In that regard, the step of transmitting the quality of experience (QoE) measurement report is based on a periodicity, and the first configuration parameter preferably indicates the periodicity. The first configuration parameter may indicate geography-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting. In that case, the geography-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement report includes QoE measurement reports for one or more tracking areas (TAs).

[0010] Preferably, the capability message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. Furthermore, the step of transmitting the capability message may be performed in response to the user equipment initially receiving a capability inquiry message or via a random access process for initial access. Alternatively, the step of transmitting the capability message is performed via an MsgA random access message if the random access process is a two-step random access process, or the step of transmitting the capability message is performed via an Msg3 random access message if the random access process is a four-step random access process. The method may further include receiving, in response to transmission of one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reports, scheduling information for transmission or reception of data associated with a service type requiring QoE measurement and reporting.

[0011] The present invention also provides a method of capability signaling for quality of experience (QoE) measurement, comprising the steps of: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a capability message including one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating whether the UE is capable of region-based QoE measurement and reporting or whether the UE is capable of determining a region for QoE measurement and reporting; receiving, by the UE, one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages including configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting within the region; and determining, by the UE, one or more RRC messages associated with the region based on the configuration parameters. and sending a QoE measurement report.

[0012] The one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate that the UE is capable of performing area-based QoE measurement and reporting, or that the UE is capable of determining an area for performing QoE measurement and reporting. The configuration parameters indicate an area for performing quality of experience (QoE) measurements and transmitting corresponding QoE reports. The method also includes determining an area for performing quality of experience (QoE) measurements and reporting. In one embodiment, the area includes one or more cells. In one embodiment, the area is a tracking area (TA). In one embodiment, the area is a radio access network (RAN) notification area (RNA). Preferably, the area-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting includes measuring one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) while the user equipment (UE) is present within the area.

[0013] The user equipment (UE) stops measuring one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) in response to leaving the region. In that regard, the method may also further include receiving a command instructing the UE to start or stop quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting in response to one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating that the UE is unable to perform region-based QoE measurement and reporting or that the UE is unable to determine a region for QoE measurement and reporting. Preferably, the command is received via downlink control information or via one or more medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs). [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a mobile communication system in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a radio protocol stack for a user plane and a control plane, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example mapping between logical channels and transport channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an example mapping between transport channels and physical channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a radio protocol stack for NR sidelink communications in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary physical signals in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]1 illustrates an example of radio resource control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an example frame structure and physical resources in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1A-1C illustrate example component carrier configurations in different carrier aggregation scenarios in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 illustrates exemplary bandwidth portion configurations and switching in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary four-step contention-based and contention-free random access process, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary two-step contention-based and contention-free random access process, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary time and frequency structure of a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB), in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary SSB burst transmission in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary components of a user equipment and a base station for transmission and / or reception in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary capability transfer procedure in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary process according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 18]FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary area-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement / reporting in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary process according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary capability information transmission using a random access process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] 1 illustrates an example of a mobile communication system 100 according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The mobile communication system 100 may be operated by a wireless communication system operator, such as a mobile network operator (MNO), a private network operator, a multi-system operator (MSO), an Internet of Things (IoT) network operator, etc., and may provide services such as voice, data (e.g., wireless Internet access), messaging, vehicular communication services such as vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication services, safety services, mission-critical services, and services in residential, commercial, or industrial environments, such as IoT and Industrial IoT (IIOT).

[0016] The mobile communication system 100 can enable various types of applications with different requirements regarding latency, reliability, throughput, etc. Examples of supported applications include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). eMBB can support stable connections with high peak data rates and moderate rates for cell-edge users. URLLC can support applications with stringent requirements regarding latency and reliability, as well as moderate requirements regarding data rates. An exemplary mMTC application includes a network of many IoT devices that are only sporadically active and transmit small data payloads.

[0017] The mobile communication system 100 may include a Radio Access Network (RAN) portion and a core network portion. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 105 and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 110 are shown as examples of a RAN and a core network, respectively. Other examples of a RAN and a core network may be implemented without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Other examples of a RAN include an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN), a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), etc. Other examples of a core network include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a UMTS Core Network (UCN), etc. The RAN implements a Radio Access Technology (RAT) and communicates with a user equipment (UE) 125. A core network (RAT) exists between the UE 125 and the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 105) and the core network (e.g., 5GC 110). Examples of such RATs include New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), also known as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA), and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The RAT in the example mobile communication system 100 may be NR. A core network exists between the RAN and one or more external networks (e.g., data networks) and is responsible for functions such as mobility management, authentication, session management, bearer setup, and application of different quality of service (QoS). The functional layer between the UE 125 and the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 105) may be referred to as the Access Stratum (AS), and the functional layer between the UE 125 and the core network (e.g., 5GC 110) may be referred to as the Non-access Stratum (NAS).

[0018] The UE 125 may include wireless transmission and reception means for communicating with one or more nodes in a RAN, one or more relay nodes, one or more other UEs, etc. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers, wireless transmitting and / or receiving units in vehicles, V2X or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) devices, wireless sensors, IoT devices, IIOT devices, etc. Other names may be used for the UE, such as mobile station (MS), terminal equipment, terminal node, client device, mobile device, etc.

[0019] The RAN may include nodes (e.g., base stations) for communicating with UEs. For example, the NG-RAN 105 of the mobile communication system 100 may include nodes for communicating with the UE 125. Different names may be used for the RAN nodes depending, for example, on the RAT used for the RAN. A RAN node may be referred to as a Node B (NB) in a RAN using the UMTS RAT. A RAN node may be referred to as an Evolved Node B (eNB) in a RAN using the LTE / EUTRA RAT. In the exemplary example of the mobile communication system 100 of FIG. 1 , the node of the NG-RAN 105 may be either a Next Generation Node B (gNB) 115 or a Next Generation Evolved Node B (ng-eNB) 120. In this specification, the terms base station, RAN node, gNB, and ng-eNB may be used interchangeably. The gNB 115 may provide NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations for the UE 125. The ng-eNB 120 may provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations for the UE 125. The interface between the gNB 115 and the UE 125 or between the ng-eNB 120 and the UE 125 may be referred to as a Uu interface. The Uu interface may be established using a user plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack. For the Uu interface, the direction from the base station (e.g., the gNB 115 or the ng-eNB 120) to the UE 125 may be referred to as the downlink, and the direction from the UE 125 to the base station (e.g., the gNB 115 or the ng-eNB 120) may be referred to as the uplink.

[0020] The gNB 115 and the ng-eNB 120 may be interconnected using an Xn interface. The Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The transport network layer of the Xn-U interface may be built on Internet Protocol (IP) transport, and GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) may be used on User Datagram Protocol (UDP) / IP to carry user plane protocol data units (PDUs). Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and may support data forwarding and flow control. The transport network layer of the Xn-C interface may be built on Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP) over IP. The application layer signaling protocol is XnAP (Xn Application Layer Protocol). The SCTP layer can provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. At the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission can be used to deliver signaling PDUs. The Xn-C interface can support Xn interface management, UE mobility management including context transfer and RAN paging, and dual connectivity.

[0021] The gNB 115 and ng-eNB 120 may also be connected to the 5GC 110 via an NG interface, more specifically to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 130 of the 5GC 110 via an NG-C interface, and to the User Plane Function (UPF) 135 of the 5GC 110 via an NG-U interface. The transport network layer of the NG-U interface may be built on IP transport and may carry user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN node (e.g., the gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) and the UPF 135 using the GTP protocol over UDP / IP. The NG-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN node and the UPF. The transport network layer of the NG-C interface may be built on IP transport. SCTP may be added on top of IP for reliable transmission of signaling messages. The application layer signaling protocol may be referred to as the NG Application Protocol (NGAP). The SCTP layer may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. For transport, IP layer point-to-point transmission may be used to deliver signaling PDUs. The NG-C interface may provide the following functions: NG interface management, UE context management, UE mobility management, NAS message transfer, paging, PDU session management, configuration transfer, and alert message transfer.

[0022] The gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120 performs the following functions: radio bearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control, radio resource management functions such as dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink (e.g., scheduling), IP and Ethernet header compression of data, encryption and integrity protection, selection of AMF at UE attachment when routing to AMF cannot be determined from information provided by the UE, routing of user plane data to UPF, routing of control plane information to AMF, connection setup and release, scheduling and transmission of paging messages, system broadcasting. The 5G LTE-R can host one or more of the following: scheduling and transmission of data information (e.g., derived from AMF), measurement and measurement reporting configuration for mobility and scheduling, transport level packet marking in the uplink, session management, support for network slicing, QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers, support for UEs in RRC inactive state, delivery functionality for NAS messages, radio access network sharing, dual connectivity, close interaction between NR and E-UTRA, and maintaining security and radio configuration for user plane 5G system (5GS) cellular IoT (CIoT) optimization.

[0023] The AMF 130 may host one or more of the following functions: NAS signaling termination, NAS signaling security, AS security control, CN inter-node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks, idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmissions), registration area management, support for intra-system and inter-system mobility, access authentication, access authorization including verification of roaming rights, mobility management control (subscription and policy), support for network slicing, Session Management Function (SMF) selection, 5GS CIoT optimization selection.

[0024] The UPF 135 may host one or more of the following functions: anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (if applicable); external PDU session point for interconnection to the data network; packet routing and forwarding; packet inspection and user plane portion of policy rule enforcement; traffic usage reporting; uplink classifier supporting routing of traffic flows to the data network; branching point to support multi-homed PDU sessions; QoS processing for the user plane, e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement, uplink traffic validation (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping); and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the NG-RAN 105 can support a PC5 interface between two UEs 125 (e.g., UE 125A and UE 125B). In the PC5 interface, the direction of communication between the two UEs (e.g., from UE 125A to UE 125B or vice versa) may be referred to as a sidelink. Sidelink transmission and reception over the PC5 interface may be supported when the UE 125 is within NG-RAN 105 coverage and when the UE is out of NG-RAN 105 coverage, regardless of which RRC state the UE 125 is in. Support for V2X services over the PC5 interface may be provided by NR sidelink communication and / or V2X sidelink communication.

[0026] PC5-S signaling can be used for unicast link establishment with direct communication request / accept messages. A UE can self-assign a source Layer-2 ID for a PC5 unicast link, for example, based on the V2X service type. During the unicast link establishment procedure, a UE can send its source Layer-2 ID for the PC5 unicast link to a peer UE, e.g., the UE from which the destination ID was received from a higher layer. The pair of source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID can uniquely identify the unicast link. The receiving UE can verify that the destination ID belongs to it and accept the unicast link establishment request from the source UE. During the PC5 unicast link establishment procedure, a PC5-RRC procedure on the access stratum can be invoked for UE sidelink context establishment purposes, as well as for AS layer configuration, capability exchange, etc. PC5-RRC signaling can enable the exchange of UE capabilities and AS layer configurations, such as sidelink radio bearer configuration, between a pair of UEs with established PC5 unicast links.

[0027] NR sidelink communication can support one of three types of transmission modes (e.g., unicast transmission, groupcast transmission, and broadcast transmission) for a pair of source Layer 2 ID and destination Layer 2 ID in an AS. The unicast transmission mode can be characterized by supporting one PC5-RRC connection between peer UEs for the pair, transmitting and receiving control information and user traffic between peer UEs on the sidelink, supporting sidelink HARQ feedback, supporting sidelink transmit power control, supporting RLC acknowledged mode (AM), and detecting radio link failures for the PC5-RRC connection. The groupcast transmission can be characterized by transmitting and receiving user traffic between UEs belonging to a group on the sidelink and supporting sidelink HARQ feedback. The broadcast transmission can be characterized by transmitting and receiving user traffic between UEs on the sidelink.

[0028] NR sidelink communications may use a source Layer-2 ID, a destination Layer-2 ID, and a PC5 link identifier. The source Layer-2 ID is used in sidelink communication frames. The destination Layer-2 ID may be a link layer identification that identifies the device or group of devices that is the recipient of the sidelink communication frame. The destination Layer-2 ID may be a link layer identification that identifies the device that originates the sidelink communication frame. In some examples, the source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID may be assigned by a management function in the core network. The source Layer-2 ID may identify the source of data in the NR sidelink communication. The source Layer-2 ID may be 24 bits long and may be split into two bit strings at the MAC layer. One bit string may be the least significant 8-bit portion of the source Layer-2 ID and may be forwarded to the sender's physical layer. This may identify the source of the intended data in the sidelink control information and may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's physical layer. The second bit string may be the most significant 16-bit portion of the source Layer-2 ID and may be carried in the medium access control (MAC) header. This may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's MAC layer. The destination Layer-2 ID may identify the target of the data in the NR sidelink communication. For NR sidelink communication, the destination Layer 2 ID may be 24 bits long and may be split into two bit strings at the MAC layer. One bit string may be the least significant byte (LSB) of the destination Layer 2 ID and may be forwarded to the sender's physical layer. This may identify the intended target of the data in the sidelink control information and may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's physical layer. The second bit string may be the most significant byte (MSB) of the destination Layer 2 ID and may be carried in the MAC header. This may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's MAC layer. The PC5 link identifier may uniquely identify a PC5 unicast link within a UE for the lifetime of the PC5 unicast link. The PC5 link identifier may be used to indicate the PC5 unicast link for which a sidelink radio link failure (RLF) has been declared and the PC5-RRC connection has been released.

[0029] 2A and 2B illustrate example radio protocol stacks for the user plane and control plane, respectively, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the protocol stack for the user plane of the Uu interface (between the UE 125 and the gNB 115) includes Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) 201 and SDAP 211, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) 202 and PDCP 212, Radio Link Control (RLC) 203 and RLC 213, MAC 204 and MAC 214, and sublayers of Layer 2 and physical (PHY) 205 and PHY 215 layers (Layer 1 is also referred to as L1).

[0030] The PHY 205 and PHY 215 provide transport channels 244 to the MAC 204 and MAC 214 sublayers. The MAC 204 and MAC 214 sublayers provide logical channels 243 to the RLC 203 and RLC 213 sublayers. The RLC 203 and RLC 213 sublayers provide RLC channels 242 to the PDCP 202 and PCP 212 sublayers. The PDCP 202 and PDCP 212 sublayers provide radio bearers 241 to the SDAP 201 and SDAP 211 sublayers. Radio bearers may be categorized into two groups: data radio bearers (DRBs) for user plane data and signaling radio bearers (SRBs) for control plane data. The SDAP 201 and SDAP 211 sublayers provide QoS flows 240 to the 5GC.

[0031] The main services and functions of the MAC204 or MAC214 sublayer are mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing / demultiplexing of MAC Service Data Units (SDUs) belonging to one or different logical channels into / from Transport Blocks (TBs) passed to / from the physical layer on the transport channels, reporting of scheduling information, error correction (catch-up) with Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), and so on. In the case of CA, this includes one HARQ entity per cell), priority handling between UEs using dynamic scheduling, priority handling between logical channels of one UE using Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP), priority handling between overlapping resources of one UE, and padding. A single MAC entity can support multiple numerologies, transmission timings, and cells. Mapping restrictions in logical channel prioritization control the numerologies, cells, and transmission timings that a logical channel can use.

[0032] The HARQ function can guarantee delivery between peer entities at Layer 1. If the physical layer is not configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process can support one TB, and if the physical layer is configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process can support one or more TBs.

[0033] The RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer can support three transmission modes: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). The RLC configuration may be per logical channel independent of the numerology and / or transmission time, and automatic repeat request (ARQ) may operate with any of the numerologies and / or transmission times for which the logical channel is configured.

[0034] The main services and functions of the RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer depend on the transmission mode (e.g., TM, UM, or AM) and may include transport of upper layer PDUs, sequence numbers independent of PDCP sequence numbers (UM and AM), error correction via ARQ (AM only), segmentation (AM and UM) and resegmentation (AM only) of RLC SDUs, reassembly of SDUs (AM and UM), duplicate detection (AM only), RLC SDU discard (AM and UM), RLC re-establishment, and protocol error detection (AM only).

[0035] An automatic repeat request in the RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer may have the following characteristics: ARQ retransmits an RLC SDU or an RLC SDU segment based on an RLC status report. Polling for RLC status notification may be used if required by RLC. The RLC receiver may also trigger an RLC status notification after detecting a missing RLC SDU or an RLC SDU segment.

[0036] The main services and functions of the PDCP202 or PDCP212 sublayer may include forwarding of data (user plane or control plane), maintaining the PDCP sequence number (SN), header compression and decompression using the Robust Header Compression (ROHC) protocol, header compression and decompression using the EHC protocol, encryption and decryption, integrity protection and integrity verification, timer-based SDU discard, split bearer routing, duplication, reordering and in-order delivery, out-of-order delivery, and duplicate discarding.

[0037] The main services and functions of the SDAP 201 or SDAP 211 include mapping between QoS flows and data radio bearers, and marking QoS Flow IDs (QFIs) in both downlink and uplink packets. A single protocol entity of the SDAP may be configured for each individual PDU session.

[0038] As shown in Figure 2B, the control plane protocol stack of the Uu interface (between the UE 125 and the gNB 115) includes the PHY layer (Layer 1), the MAC, RLC and PDCP sublayers of Layer 2, and the RRC 206 and RRC 216 sublayers, as described above. The main services and functions of the layer and the RRC216 sublayer include broadcasting of system information related to the AS and NAS, paging initiated by 5GC or NG-RAN, establishment, maintenance, and release of RRC connections between the UE and NG-RAN (including adding, modifying, and releasing carrier aggregation, and adding, modifying, and releasing dual connectivity between NR or E-UTRA and NR), security functions including key management, establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of SRBs and DRBs, mobility functions (including handover and context transfer, UE cell selection and reselection and cell selection and reselection control, and inter-RAT mobility), QoS management functions, UE measurement reporting and reporting control, radio link failure detection and recovery, and forwarding of NAS messages between the NAS and the UE. The NAS207 and NAS227 layers are control protocols (terminated in the AMF on the network side) that perform functions such as authentication, mobility management, and security control.

[0039] Sidelink specific services and functions of the RRC sublayer over the Uu interface include configuration of sidelink resource allocation via system information or dedicated signaling, reporting of UE sidelink information, sidelink related measurement configuration and reporting, and reporting of UE assistance information for SL traffic patterns.

[0040] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate example mappings between logical channels and transport channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, respectively, according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Different types of data transfer services may be provided by the MAC. Each logical channel type may be defined by the type of information transferred. Logical channels may be classified into two groups: control channels and traffic channels. Control channels may be used only for the transfer of control plane information. The Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) is a downlink channel for broadcasting system control information. The Paging Control Channel (PCCH) is a downlink channel that carries paging messages. The Common Control Channel (CCCH) is a channel for transmitting control information between a UE and a network. This channel may be used for UEs that do not have an RRC connection with the network. The Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) is a point-to-point bidirectional channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and a network and may be used by UEs that have an RRC connection. The Traffic Channel may be used only for the transfer of user plane information. A dedicated traffic channel (DTCH) is a point-to-point channel dedicated to one UE for transferring user information. DTCH can exist in both the uplink and downlink. A sidelink control channel (SCCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting control information (e.g., PC5-RRC and PC5-S messages) from one UE to other UEs. A sidelink traffic channel (STCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting user information from one UE to other UEs. A sidelink broadcast control channel (SBCCH) is a sidelink channel for broadcasting sidelink system information from one UE to other UEs.

[0041] Downlink transport channel types include the Broadcast Channel (BCH), the Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH), and the Paging Channel (PCH). The BCH can feature a fixed, predefined transport format. It needs to be broadcast throughout the coverage area of a cell, either as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances. The DL-SCH supports HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmit power, the possibility of being broadcast throughout the cell, the possibility of using beamforming, dynamic resource allocation and semi-static resource allocation. The DL-SCH may be characterized by support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation, as well as support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power savings. The DL-SCH may be characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmit power, the possibility of being broadcast throughout the cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power savings. The PCH may be characterized by support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power savings (DRX cycle indicated to the UE by the network), a requirement to be broadcast throughout the cell coverage area as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances, and being mapped to physical resources that can also be dynamically used for traffic / other control channels.

[0042] In the downlink, the following connections may exist between logical channels and transport channels: BCCH may be mapped to BCH. BCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH. PCCH may be mapped to PCH. CCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH. DCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH. DTCH may be mapped to DL-SCH.

[0043] Uplink transport channel types include the Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH) and the Random Access Channel (RACH). The UL-SCH may be characterized by the possibility of using beamforming, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying transmit power and potentially modulation and coding, support for HARQ, and support for both dynamic and quasi-static resource allocation. The RACH may be characterized by limited control information and collision risk.

[0044] In the uplink, the following connections may exist between logical channels and transport channels: CCCH may be mapped to UL-SCH, DCCH may be mapped to UL-SCH, and DTCH may be mapped to UL-SCH.

[0045] Sidelink transport channel types include the Sidelink Broadcast Channel (SL-BCH) and the Sidelink Shared Channel (SL-SCH). The SL-BCH may be characterized by a predefined transport format. The SL-SCH may be characterized by support for unicast, groupcast, and broadcast transmissions; support for both UE autonomous resource selection and scheduled resource allocation by the NG-RAN; support for both dynamic and quasi-static resource allocation when the UE is assigned resources by the NG-RAN; support for HARQ; and support for dynamic link adaptation by varying transmit power, modulation, and coding.

[0046] In the sidelink, the following connections may exist between logical channels and transport channels: SCCH may be mapped to SL-SCH, STCH may be mapped to SL-SCH, and SBCCH may be mapped to SL-BCH.

[0047] 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate example mappings between transport channels and physical channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, respectively, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The physical channels in the downlink include a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The PCH and DL-SCH transport channels are mapped to the PDSCH. The BCH transport channel is mapped to the PBCH. The PDCCH contains the transport channels. The support channel is not mapped, and downlink control information (DCI) is transmitted via the PDCCH.

[0048] Physical channels in the uplink include the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). The UL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PUSCH, and the RACH transport channel may be mapped to the PRACH. No transport channel is mapped to the PUCCH, and uplink control information (UCI) is transmitted via the PUCCH.

[0049] The sidelink physical channels include the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), and the Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH). The Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) indicates the resources and other transmission parameters used by the UE for the PSSCH. The Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) transmits the TBs of the data itself as well as control information such as HARQ procedures and CSI feedback triggers. At least six OFDM symbols within a slot may be used for PSSCH transmission. The Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) may carry HARQ feedback over the sidelink from the UE that is the intended recipient of the PSSCH transmission to the UE that performed the transmission. The PSFCH sequence may be transmitted in one PRB repeated across two OFDM symbols near the end of the sidelink resources within the slot. The SL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PSSCH. The SL-BCH may be mapped to the PSBCH. Transport channels are not mapped to the PSFCH, but sidelink feedback control information (SFCI) may be mapped to the PSFCH. Transport channels are not mapped to the PSCCH, but sidelink control information (SCI) may be mapped to the PSCCH.

[0050] Figures 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D each illustrate an example of a radio protocol stack for NR sidelink communications in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The AS protocol stack for the user plane at the PC5 interface (i.e., for STCH) may consist of the SDAP, PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers, and a physical layer. The user plane protocol stack is shown in Figure 5A. The AS protocol stack for the SBCCH at the PC5 interface may consist of the RRC, RLC, MAC sublayers, and a physical layer, as shown below in Figure 5B. To support the PC5-S protocol, PC5-S is placed above the PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers, and a physical layer in the control plane protocol stack for SCCH for PC5-S, as shown in Figure 5C. The AS protocol stack for the control plane for SCCH for RRC at the PC5 interface consists of the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers, and a physical layer. The control plane protocol stack for SCCH for RRC is shown in Figure 5D.

[0051] Sidelink Radio Bearers (SLRBs) can be categorized into two groups: Sidelink Data Radio Bearers (SL DRBs) for user plane data and Sidelink Signaling Radio Bearers (SL SRBs) for control plane data. Separate SL SRBs using different SCCHs can be configured for PC5-RRC and PC5-S signaling, respectively.

[0052] The MAC sublayer provides the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: That is, it can provide radio resource selection, packet filtering, priority handling between uplink and sidelink transmissions for a given UE, and sidelink CSI reporting. Due to the restriction of logical channel prioritization in MAC, only sidelink logical channels belonging to the same destination can be multiplexed into a MAC PDU for each unicast, groupcast, and broadcast transmission that may be associated with the destination. For packet filtering, an SL-SCH MAC header containing both the source Layer-2 ID and the destination Layer-2 ID portion can be added to the MAC PDU. The logical channel identifier (LCID) included in the MAC subheader can uniquely identify a logical channel within the combination of the source Layer-2 ID and the destination Layer-2 ID.

[0053] The services and functions of the RLC sublayer may be supported for the sidelink. Both RLC unacknowledged mode (UM) and acknowledged mode (AM) may be used for unicast transmission, while only UM may be used for groupcast or broadcast transmission. In the case of UM, only one-way transmission may be supported for groupcast and broadcast.

[0054] The services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the Uu interface may be supported for the sidelink with some restrictions: out-of-order delivery may only be supported for unicast transmission and may not support duplication over the PC5 interface.

[0055] The SDAP sublayer can provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: mapping between QoS flows and sidelink data radio bearers: There can be one SDAP entity per destination for one of unicast, groupcast, and broadcast associated with the destination.

[0056] The RRC sublayer can provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: transfer of PC5-RRC messages between peer UEs, maintenance and release of PC5-RRC connections between two UEs, and detection of sidelink radio link failures for PC5-RRC connections based on instructions from MAC or RLC. A PC5-RRC connection can be a logical connection between two UEs for a pair of source and destination Layer-2 IDs that can be considered established after a corresponding PC5 unicast link is established. There can be a one-to-one correspondence between PC5-RRC connections and PC5 unicast links. A UE can have multiple PC5-RRC connections with one or more UEs for different pairs of source and destination Layer-2 IDs. Separate PC5-RRC procedures and messages can be used by a UE to transfer UE capabilities and sidelink configurations, including SL-DRB configurations, to a peer UE. Both peer UEs can exchange their UE capabilities and sidelink configurations using separate bidirectional procedures in both sidelink directions.

[0057] FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary physical signals in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. A demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) may be used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and may be used for channel estimation. The DM-RS is a UE-specific reference signal that may be transmitted along with a downlink, uplink, or sidelink physical channel and may be used for channel estimation and coherent detection of the physical channel. A phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS) may be used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and may be used to track phase and mitigate performance loss due to phase noise. The PT-RS may be primarily used to estimate and minimize the impact of common phase error (CPE) on system performance. Due to phase noise characteristics, the PT-RS signal is expressed as It may have low density in the time domain and high density in the time domain. PT-RS may occur when configured as a network in combination with DM-RS. Positioning reference signals (PRS) may be used in the downlink for positioning using different positioning techniques. PRS may be used to measure downlink transmission delays by correlating received signals from the base station with a local replica in the receiver. Channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) may be used in the downlink and sidelink. CSI-RS may be used for, among other things, channel state estimation, reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements for mobility and beam management, and time / frequency tracking for demodulation. CSI-RS may be configured UE-specific, but multiple users may share the same CSI-RS resources. UEs can determine CSI reports and transmit them to the base station in the uplink using the PUCCH or PUSCH. CSI reports may be carried in the sidelink MAC CE. Primary synchronization signals (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS) may be used for radio frame synchronization. The PSS and SSS may be used for cell search procedures during initial attach or for mobility purposes. The Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) may be used in the uplink for uplink channel estimation. Similar to the CSI-RS, the SRS can serve as a QCL reference for other physical channels, as it may be configured to be transmitted quasi-colocated with the SRS. The Sidelink PSS (S-PSS) and Sidelink SSS (S-SSS) may be used in the sidelink for sidelink synchronization.

[0058] 7 illustrates examples of radio resource control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE can be in one of three RRC states: an RRC connected state 710, an RRC idle state 720, and an RRC inactive state 730. After power-on, the UE may be in the RRC idle state 720, and the UE may use initial access to establish a connection with the network via an RRC connection establishment procedure to perform data transfer and / or conduct a voice call. Once the RRC connection is established, the UE may enter the RRC connected state 710. The UE can transition from the RRC idle state 720 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 using an RRC connection establishment / release procedure 740.

[0059] The RRC inactive state 730 may be used to reduce signaling load and latency resulting from frequent transitions from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 when the UE transmits frequent small data. In the RRC inactive state 730, the AS context may be stored by both the UE and the gNB. This may result in a faster state transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710. The UE may transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC inactive state 730 using an RRC connection resume / deactivation procedure 760. The UE may transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC idle state 720 using an RRC connection release procedure 750.

[0060] FIG. 8 illustrates an example frame structure and physical resources according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Downlink, uplink, or sidelink transmissions may be organized into frames with a 10 ms duration consisting of ten 1 ms subframes. Each subframe may consist of 1, 2, 4, ... slots, and the number of slots per subframe may depend on the subcarrier spacing of the carrier on which the transmission occurs. The slot duration may be 14 symbols with a normal cyclic prefix (CP) or 12 symbols with an extended CP. The slot duration may then be scaled in time depending on the subcarrier spacing used so that there is an integer number of slots in a subframe. FIG. 8 illustrates a resource grid in the time and frequency domains. A resource grid containing one symbol in time and one subcarrier in frequency. Each element of a code is called a resource element (RE). A resource block (RB) may be defined as 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

[0061] In some examples, with non-slot-based scheduling, packet transmission may occur over a portion of a slot, e.g., 2, 4, or 7 OFDM symbols, which may be referred to as a minislot. Minislots may be used for low-latency applications such as URLLC and operation in unlicensed bands. In some embodiments, minislots may also be used for fast flexible scheduling of services (e.g., preemption of URLLC for eMBB).

[0062] FIG. 9 illustrates example component carrier configurations in different carrier aggregation scenarios according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In carrier aggregation (CA), two or more component carriers (CCs) may be aggregated. A UE can simultaneously receive or transmit on one or more CCs depending on its capabilities. CA may be supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs in the same band or different bands, as illustrated in FIG. 9. The gNB and UE can communicate using a serving cell. The serving cell may be associated with at least one downlink CC (e.g., associated with only one downlink CC or associated with a downlink CC and an uplink CC). The serving cell may be a primary cell (PCell) or a secondary cell (SCell).

[0063] The UE can adjust the timing of its uplink transmission using an uplink timing control procedure. It can use a timing advance (TA) to adjust the uplink frame timing relative to the downlink frame timing. The gNB can determine the desired timing advance setting and provide it to the UE. The UE can use the provided TA to determine its uplink transmit timing relative to the UE's observed downlink receive timing.

[0064] In the RRC connected state, the gNB may be responsible for maintaining the timing advance to keep L1 synchronized. Serving cells with uplinks to which the same timing advance applies and that use the same timing reference cell are grouped into a timing advance group (TAG). A TAG may contain at least one serving cell with a configured uplink. The mapping of serving cells to TAGs may be configured by RRC. For a primary TAG, the UE may use the PCell as the timing reference cell, except for shared spectrum channel access, where an SCell may also be used as the timing reference cell in some cases. For a secondary TAG, the UE may use any of the activated SCells of this TAG as the timing reference cell and may not need to change it unless necessary.

[0065] The timing advance update may be signaled by the gNB to the UE via a MAC CE command. Such a command may restart a TAG-specific timer that may indicate whether L1 can be synchronized; when the timer is running, L1 may be considered synchronized; otherwise, L1 may be considered unsynchronized (in which case uplink transmissions may only occur on the PRACH).

[0066] A UE with single timing advance capability for CA can simultaneously receive and / or transmit multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped in one TAG) that share the same timing advance. A UE with multiple timing advance capability for CA can simultaneously receive and / or transmit multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells with different timing advances. A UE can simultaneously receive and / or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into multiple TAGs). NG-RAN may ensure that each TAG contains at least one serving cell. A non-CA-capable UE may receive on a single CC and transmit on a single CC corresponding to only one serving cell (one serving cell in one TAG).

[0067] The multi-carrier characteristics of the physical layer in case of CA may be exposed to the MAC layer, and one HARQ entity may be required per serving cell. When CA is configured, the UE may have one RRC connection with the network. In RRC connection establishment / re-establishment / handover, one serving cell (e.g., PCell) may provide NAS mobility information. Depending on the UE capabilities, the SCell may be configured to form a set of serving cells together with the PCell. The set of serving cells configured for the UE may consist of one PCell and one or more SCells. Reconfiguration, addition, and deletion of SCells may be performed by RRC.

[0068] In a dual connectivity scenario, a UE may be configured with multiple cells including a Master Cell Group (MCG) for communicating with a master base station, a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) for communicating with a secondary base station, and two MAC entities, one for the MCG for communicating with the master base station and one for the SCG for communicating with the secondary base station.

[0069] FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary bandwidth portion configuration and switching according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE may be configured with one or more bandwidth portions (BWPs) 1010 in a given component carrier. In some examples, one of the one or more bandwidth portions may be active at a time. The active bandwidth portion may define the UE's operating bandwidth within the cell's operating bandwidth. For initial access, an initial bandwidth portion 1020 determined from system information may be used until the UE's configuration within the cell is received. For example, in bandwidth adaptation (BA) via BWP switching 1040, the UE's reception and transmission bandwidths may not be as large as the cell's bandwidth and may be adjusted. For example, the widths may be sequenced to change (e.g., shrink during periods of low activity to save power), the positions may move in the frequency domain (e.g., to increase scheduling flexibility), and the subcarrier spacing may be sequenced to change (e.g., to enable different services). The first active BWP 1020 may be the active BWP upon RRC (re)configuration of the PCell or activation of the SCell.

[0070] For a downlink BWP or an uplink BWP in a set of downlink or uplink BWPs, respectively, the UE may be provided with the following configuration parameters: subcarrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix, common RBs and a number of consecutive RBs, an index within the set of downlink or uplink BWPs by the respective BWP-Id, a set of BWP common parameters, and a set of BWP-specific parameters. A BWP may be associated with an OFDM numerology according to the subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix configured for the BWP. For the serving cell, the UE may be provided with a default downlink BWP among the configured downlink BWPs. If the UE is not provided with a default downlink BWP, the default downlink BWP may be the initial downlink BWP.

[0071] A downlink BWP may be associated with a BWP inactivity timer. If the BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP expires and a default downlink BWP is configured, the UE may switch the BWP to the default BWP. If the BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP expires and a default downlink BWP is not configured, the UE may perform a BWP switch to the initial downlink BWP.

[0072] 11 illustrates an exemplary four-step contention-based and contention-free random access process according to certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary two-step contention-based and contention-free random access process according to certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The random access procedure can be triggered by several events, such as initial access from an RRC idle state, an RRC connection re-establishment procedure, downlink or uplink data arrival during an RRC connected state when the uplink synchronization state is "unsynchronized," uplink data arrival during an RRC connected state when there are no PUCCH resources available for a scheduling request (SR), an SR failure, a request by RRC during synchronization reconfiguration (e.g., handover), a transition from an RRC inactive state, establishing time alignment of a secondary TAG, a request for other system information (SI), beam failure recovery (BFR), and a consistent uplink listen-before-talk (LBT) failure on the PCell.

[0073] Two types of random access (RA) procedures can be supported: a four-step RA type with MSG1 and a two-step RA type with MSGA. Both types of RA procedures can support contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA), as shown in Figures 11 and 12.

[0074] The UE can select the type of random access at the start of the random access procedure based on the network configuration. If CFRA resources are not configured, the RSRP threshold can be used by the UE to select between the 2-step RA type and the 4-step RA type. If CFRA resources for the 4-step RA type are configured, the UE can perform random access using the 4-step RA type. If CFRA resources for the 2-step RA type are configured, the UE can perform random access using the 2-step RA type.

[0075] MSG1 for the 4-step RA type may consist of a preamble on the PRACH. After MSG1 transmission, the UE may monitor for a response from the network within a configured window. For CFRA, a dedicated preamble for MSG1 transmission is allocated by the network, and upon receiving a random access response (RAR) from the network, the UE may terminate the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 11. For CBRA, upon receiving the random access response, the UE may transmit MSG3 using the uplink grant scheduled in the random access response and monitor contention resolution as shown in FIG. 11. If contention resolution is not successful after MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE may return to MSG1 transmission.

[0076] The MSGA of the two-step RA type may include a preamble in the PRACH and a payload in the PUSCH. After the MSGA transmission, the UE can monitor a response from the network within a configured window. For CFRA, a dedicated preamble and PUSCH resources may be configured for the MSGA transmission, and upon receiving a network response, the UE can terminate the random access procedure as shown in Figure 12. For CBRA, if contention resolution is successful upon receiving a network response, the UE can terminate the random access procedure as shown in Figure 12; while, if a fallback indication is received in MSGB, the UE can perform an MSG3 transmission using the uplink grant scheduled with the fallback indication and monitor contention resolution. If contention resolution is not successful after MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE may revert to MSGA transmission.

[0077] FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary time and frequency structure of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. An SS / PBCH block (SSB) may consist of a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), each occupying one symbol and 127 subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers 56 through 182 in FIG. 13), and a PBCH spanning three OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, with one symbol remaining unused for the SSS in the center, as shown in FIG. 13. The possible time locations of the SSBs within a half-frame may be determined by the subcarrier spacing, and the periodicity of the half-frames during which the SSBs are transmitted may be configured by the network. During a half-frame, different SSBs may be transmitted in different spatial directions (i.e., using different beams spanning the cell's coverage area).

[0078] The PBCH may be used to carry the Master Information Block (MIB), which is used by the UE during cell search and initial access procedures. The UE may first decode the PBCH / MIB to receive other system information. The MIB may provide the UE with the parameters necessary to acquire System Information Block 1 (SIB1), more specifically, the information necessary to monitor the PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH carrying SIB1. Additionally, the MIB may indicate cell barring status information. The MIB and SIB1 may be collectively referred to as Minimum System Information (SI), and SIB1 may be referred to as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI). The other System Information Blocks (SIBs) (e.g., SIB2, SIB3, ..., SIB10, and SIBpos) may be referred to as Other SI. Other SI may be broadcast periodically on the DL-SCH, may be broadcast on demand on the DL-SCH (e.g., upon request from a UE in RRC idle, RRC inactive, or RRC connected state), or may be sent in a dedicated manner to UEs in RRC connected state on the DL-SCH (e.g., upon request, if configured by the network, from a UE in RRC connected state, or if the UE has an active BWP for which a common search space is not configured).

[0079] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary SSB burst transmission according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. An SSB burst may include N SSBs, and each SSB of the N SSBs may correspond to a beam. The SSB burst may be transmitted according to a periodicity (e.g., an SSB burst duration). During a contention-based random access process, a UE may perform a random access resource selection process, in which the UE first selects an SSB before selecting an RA preamble. The UE may select an SSB with an RSRP above a configured threshold. In some embodiments, the UE may select any SSB if an SSB with an RSRP above a configured threshold is not available. A set of random access preambles may be associated with the SSB. After selecting the SSB, the UE may select a random access preamble from the set of random access preambles associated with the SSB and transmit the selected random access preamble to initiate the random access process.

[0080] In some embodiments, a beam among the N beams may be associated with a CSI-RS resource. The UE may measure the CSI-RS resource and select a CSI-RS with an RSRP above a configured threshold. The UE may select a random access preamble corresponding to the selected CSI-RS and transmit the selected random access preamble. If there is no random access preamble associated with the selected CSI-RS, the UE may select a random access preamble corresponding to an SSB that is quasi-colocated with the selected CSI-RS.

[0081] In some embodiments, based on UE measurements of CSI-RS resources and UE CSI reports, the base station can determine a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state and indicate the TCI state to the UE, which can use the indicated TCI state for reception of downlink control information (e.g., via a PDCCH) or data (e.g., via a PDSCH). The UE can use the indicated TCI state to use an appropriate beam for reception of data or control information. The indication of the TCI state can be using an RRC configuration or a combination of RRC signaling and dynamic signaling (e.g., via a MAC Control Element (MAC CE) and / or based on the value of a field in the downlink control information that schedules downlink transmissions). The TCI state can indicate a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between a downlink reference signal, such as a CSI-RS, and a DM-RS associated with a downlink control or data channel (e.g., a PDCCH or PDSCH, respectively).

[0082] In some embodiments, a UE may be configured with a list of up to M TCI-state configurations using physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration parameters to decode a PDSCH according to a detected PDCCH with DCI for the UE and a given serving cell, where M may depend on the UE capabilities. Each TCI-State may include parameters for configuring a QCL relationship between one or two downlink reference signals and a DM-RS port of a PDSCH, a DM-RS port of a PDCCH, or a CSI-RS port of a CSI-RS resource. The quasi-co-location relationship may be configured by one or more RRC parameters. The quasi-co-location type corresponding to each DL RS can take one of the following values: "QCL-TypeA": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}, "QCL-TypeB": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}, "QCL-TypeC": {Doppler shift, average delay}, "QCL-TypeD": {Spatial Rx parameters}. The UE may receive an activation command (eg, MAC CE) used to map the TCI state to a codepoint in the DCI field.

[0083] FIG. 15 illustrates exemplary components of a user equipment and a base station for transmission and / or reception in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. All or a subset of the blocks and functions in FIG. 15 may reside in or be performed by the base station 1505 and the user equipment 1500. The antenna 1510 may be used to transmit or receive electromagnetic signals. The antenna 1510 may include one or more antenna elements and may enable different input / output antenna configurations, including a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration, a multiple-input single-output (MISO) configuration, and a single-input multiple-output (SIMO) configuration. In some embodiments, the antenna 1510 may enable a massive MIMO configuration with tens or hundreds of antenna elements. The antenna 1510 may enable other multi-antenna techniques, such as beamforming. In some examples, depending on the capabilities of the UE 1500 or the type of the UE 1500 (e.g., a low-complexity UE), the UE 1500 may support only a single antenna.

[0084] The transceiver 1520 can communicate bidirectionally over wireless links described herein via the antenna 1510. For example, the transceiver 1520 may represent a wireless transceiver in a UE or may communicate bidirectionally with a wireless transceiver in a base station. The transceiver 1520 may include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna 1510 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna 1510.

[0085] The memory 1530 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1530 may store computer-readable computer-executable code 1535 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the memory 1530 may include a basic input / output system (BIOS) that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices, among other things.

[0086] The processor 1540 may include a hardware device having processing capabilities (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some examples, the processor 1540 may be configured to operate a memory using a memory controller. In other examples, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1540. The processor 1540 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1530) to cause the UE 1500 or the base station 1505 to perform various functions.

[0087] The central processing unit (CPU) 1550 may perform basic arithmetic, logic, control, and input / output (I / O) operations specified by computer instructions in the memory 1530. The user equipment 1500 and / or base station 1505 may include additional peripheral components such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) 1560 and a global positioning system (GPS) 1570. The GPU 1560 is dedicated circuitry for rapid manipulation and modification of the memory 1530 to accelerate the processing performance of the user equipment 1500 and / or base station 1505. The GPS 1570 may be used to enable location-based services or other services, for example, based on the geographic location of the user equipment 1500.

[0088] Exemplary embodiments can enable Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement collection for different services, including streaming services. Exemplary QoE management can collect experience parameters for streaming services as well as augmented reality / virtual reality (AR / VR) and URLLC services.

[0089] In some exemplary embodiments, the QoE measurements may enable collecting user KPI information, such as end-to-end (E2E) reliability statistical indicators.

[0090] In some examples, different types of UEs may have different QoE requirements. In some examples, QoE parameters may be defined as UE-specific and service-related. In some examples, QoE may be used as a criterion for evaluating network quality. Traditionally, metrics such as throughput, capacity, and coverage have typically been used to evaluate the performance of network solutions. Exemplary embodiments may enable triggering, configuration, and reporting mechanisms for QoE measurement collection, including by relevant entities (e.g., UEs, network entities).

[0091] In some examples, signaling-based and management-based mechanisms may be used for QoE-related signaling. In some examples, application layer measurement configurations received from OAM or CN may be forwarded to the UE in downlink RRC messages. Application layer measurements received from higher layers in the UE may be encapsulated in transparent containers and sent to the network in uplink RRC messages.

[0092] In some instances, the RAN may release an ongoing QoE measurement / reporting configuration, for example, when handing over to a network that does not support this.

[0093] In some examples, regions may be defined and / or configured for QoE measurement and / or reporting. In some examples, for region handling, the network may track whether the UE is inside or outside the region and configure / release the configuration accordingly. In some examples, the network may track whether the UE is inside or outside the region and the UE may manage QoE start / stop accordingly. In some examples, the UE may perform a region check (the UE may have a region configuration) and manage QoE start / stop accordingly.

[0094] In some examples, QoE measurement may be supported for an MBS in an RRC INACTIVE state. In some examples, QoE measurement may be supported for an MBS in an RRC IDLE state.

[0095] In some examples, management-based QoE configuration may not override signaling-based QoE configuration.

[0096] In some examples, the QoE report may be transmitted over another SRB (separate from the current SRB) in NR, since this report may have a lower priority than other SRB transmissions.

[0097] In some examples, configuration and reporting for multiple simultaneous QoE measurements for a UE may be supported.

[0098] In some examples, RRC signaling may be used by the gNB to instruct the UE to pause or resume QoE reporting.

[0099] In some examples, the pause / resume may be for all QoE reports or may be per QoE configuration.

[0100] In some examples, the application layer measurement collection function may enable collection of application layer measurements from the UE. An example of a supported service type may be QoE measurement collection for a service such as a streaming service. Both signaling-based and management-based initiation cases may be used. In the signaling-based case, application layer measurement collection may be initiated from the CN node towards a specific UE, and in the management-based case, application layer measurement collection may be initiated from an OAM targeting a region (e.g., without targeting a specific UE).

[0101] In some examples, application layer measurement configurations received from the OAM or CN may be encapsulated in transparent containers that can be forwarded to the UE in downlink RRC messages. Application layer measurements received from higher layers in the UE may be encapsulated in transparent containers and sent to the network in uplink RRC messages. The network can release application layer measurement configurations toward the UE at any time.

[0102] In some cases, for URLLC services, E2E latency is important and operators The propagation measurements can be monitored and guaranteed.

[0103] In some examples, the QoE management framework may exist in two flavors: signaling-based QoE and management-based QoE. In signaling-based QoE, a QoE measurement configuration (QMC) can be distributed to RAN nodes. The QMC can specify the area scope for measurements, which can be defined via a list or cell / TA / TAI / PLMN. In management-based QoE, the OAM can distribute the QMC to RAN nodes.

[0104] In some examples, a threshold-based mechanism may be used to trigger the start and stop of QoE measurement collection. In some examples, time-based events may be used for QoE measurement activation, allowing flexibility in activating QoE measurements within a predefined period of time.

[0105] In some examples, a tracking area may be a logical concept of an area that a user can move through without updating their AMF. The network may assign a user a list with one or more TAs.

[0106] In one example, the UE and the network / gNB can initiate a UE capability transfer procedure. An exemplary procedure is shown in Figure 16. In one example, upon receiving a UECapabilityEnquiry from the network, the UE can compile and forward its UE capability information. In one example, the network can initiate the procedure to the UE in RRC_CONNECTED if it needs (e.g., adds) UE radio access capability information. The network can obtain UE capabilities after access stratum (AS) security activation. In one example, the network may not forward UE capabilities obtained before AS security activation to the CN.

[0107] In one example, the UE can set the contents of the UECapabilityInformation message as follows: If the ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList includes a UE-CapabilityRAT-Request with rat-Type set to nr, the UE can include a UE-CapabilityRAT-Container of type UE-NR-Capability, with rat-Type set to nr, and the UE may include a corresponding supportedBandCombinationList, featureSet, and featureSetCombinations in the ue-CapabilityRAT-ContainerList. If the ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList includes a UE-CapabilityRAT-Request with rat-Type set to eutra-nr, and if the UE supports (NG)EN-DC or NE-DC, the UE can include a UE-CapabilityRAT-Container of type UE-MRDC-Capability, with rat-Type set to eutra-nr, and the UE may include a corresponding supportedBandCombinationList and featureSetCombinations in the ue-CapabilityRAT-ContainerList. If the ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList includes a UE-CapabilityRAT-Request with rat-Type set to eutra, the UE can support E-UTRA, and the UE can include a ue-CapabilityRAT-Container of type UE-EUTRA-Capability in the ue-CapabilityRAT-ContainerList according to the capabilityRequestFilter, if received, with rat-Type set to eutra. If the UE-CapabilityRAT-Request contains a UE-CapabilityRAT-Request with rat-Type set to utra-fdd, then if the UE supports UTRA-FDD, the UE may include the UE radio access capability for UTRA-FDD in the ue-CapabilityRAT-Container, with rat-Type set to utra-fdd. If RRC message segmentation is enabled based on the received field rrc-SegAllowed and the encoded RRC message is larger than the specified maximum supported PDCP SDU size, the UE may initiate the UL message segment transfer procedure. Otherwise, the UE may submit a UECapabilityInformation message to lower layers for transmission, at which point the procedure may terminate.

[0108] In one example, the UECapabilityEnquiry message can be used to request UE radio access capabilities for NR and other RATs.

[0109] In one example, the IE UECapabilityInformation message may be used to transfer the UE radio access capabilities requested by the network.

[0110] Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting is an important feature for various services and applications, including streaming, virtual / augmented reality (VR / AR), and URLLC applications. Existing capability signaling and corresponding RRC configurations may not support parameters associated with QoE measurement and reporting. Existing capability signaling may need to be enhanced for QoE measurement and reporting and its associated parameters (e.g., region-based QoE measurement and reporting). Exemplary embodiments enhance capability signaling associated with QoE measurement and reporting.

[0111] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 17, the UE can transmit a capability message to the base station. Transmission of the capability message may occur via the RRC layer. In some examples, transmission of the capability message to the base station may be based on the capability transfer procedure shown in FIG. 16, and the UE may be in the RRC_CONNECTED state. The UE can transmit the capability message in response to a capability inquiry message. In some examples, transmission of the capability message may be via a random access process to transition the UE from the RRC_IDLE state or the RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state, for example, during an initial access procedure. Transmission of the capability message may be via Msg3 of a four-step random access process or MsgA of a two-step random access process. An example of transmission of a capability message based on a random access process is shown in FIG. 20.

[0112] The capability message may include one or more capability information elements (IEs) associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement and / or QoE reporting and / or signaling for QoE measurement and / or QoE reporting. For example, the one or more IEs may indicate whether the UE supports at least one of QoE measurement and / or QoE reporting and / or signaling for QoE measurement and / or QoE reporting. The one or more capability IEs may have one or more values. Based on the one or more values of the one or more capability IEs, the UE may receive one or more RRC messages including first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting. For example, the one or more values of the one or more IEs may indicate that the UE supports QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling.

[0113] In some examples, one or more IEs may be used by the UE to support one or more parameters associated with QoE measurements and one or more QoE-related signaling. In some examples, the one or more values of the one or more IEs may indicate that the UE supports one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. Receiving the first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting may occur in response to the UE supporting the one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. In some examples, the one or more parameters may correspond to one or more KPIs. In some examples, the one or more parameters may correspond to one or more service types. The one or more service types may correspond to at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual / augmented reality (VR / AR) service type, and an ultra-reliable, low-latency communications (URLLC) service type. In some examples, the one or more parameters may be associated with QoE measurement in an RRC_INACTIVE state. In some examples, the one or more parameters may be associated with QoE measurement in an RRC_IDLE state. In some examples, the one or more parameters may be associated with one of a number of QoE configuration schemes, such as signaling-based or management-based QoE management (e.g., QoE measurement / reporting and corresponding signaling).

[0114] The UE may receive one or more RRC messages based on one or more values of one or more IEs indicating that the UE supports QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. The UE may utilize first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting and may transmit one or more QoE measurement reports based on the first configuration parameters. In some examples, the transmission of the QoE measurement reports may be based on a time pattern, e.g., a preconfigured time pattern or a configurable time pattern (e.g., the time pattern indicated by the first configuration parameters). In some examples, the transmission of the QoE measurement reports may be based on a periodicity, e.g., a preconfigured periodicity or a configurable periodicity (e.g., the periodicity indicated by the first configuration parameters). In some examples, the transmission of the QoE measurement report may be based on geography, for example, based on a pre-configured geography (e.g., one or more cells, e.g., a Tracking Area (TA), a Radio Access Network (RAN) Notification Area (RNA), etc.) or a configurable geography (e.g., one or more cells, e.g., a Tracking Area (TA), a Radio Access Network (RAN) Notification Area (RNA), etc., as indicated by a first configuration parameter).

[0115] In some examples, transmission of the one or more QoE measurement reports may be via one or more first RRC messages. The one or more first RRC messages used for transmitting the one or more QoE measurement reports may be associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB). In some examples, the first SRB may use a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel. In some examples, the first SRB may be associated with a first priority. The first priority associated with the first SRB may be lower than a second priority associated with the second SRB. In some examples, the second SRB may use a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel. In some examples, the second SRB may use a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel and may be used for transmitting non-access stratum (NAS) messages.

[0116] In some examples, the first configuration parameters received via one or more RRC messages may include one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) for the UE to measure and report. The one or more KPIs may include one or more of delay (e.g., end-to-end (E2E) delay, core network (CN) delay, or radio access network (RAN) delay), throughput, jitter, etc. The one or more measurement reports transmitted by the UE may include measurements associated with the one or more KPIs. In some examples, the one or more KPIs may include application layer KPIs and / or wireless layer KPIs. In some examples, the one or more KPIs may include at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and a URLLC service type.

[0117] In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate a trigger condition for QoE measurement. In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate a trigger condition for QoE reporting. In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate a trigger condition for QoE measurement and / or QoE measurement reporting.

[0118] In some examples, in response to transmitting the QoE measurement report, the base station may determine scheduling information for one or more services associated with the QoE measurement (e.g., VR / AR service type, streaming service type, URLLC service type, etc.). The UE may receive scheduling information (e.g., downlink control information including the scheduling information) for receiving data associated with the QoE measurement and reporting.

[0119] 18A, performing the QoE measurements and / or transmitting the QoE measurement report may be based on a region, e.g., may be for and / or may be associated with a region configured for the QoE measurements and / or QoE reports. In some examples, the region may include one or more cells (e.g., a Tracking Area (TA), a RAN Notification Area (RNA), etc.). In some examples, the UE may receive a configuration parameter indicating a region for the QoE measurements and / or reports.

[0120] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 18B , the UE may receive a first command (e.g., a first DCI or a first MAC CE) instructing the UE to start QoE measurement and / or reporting. The UE may start QoE measurement and / or reporting in response to receiving the command. The UE may receive a second command (e.g., a second DCI or a second MAC CE) instructing the UE to stop QoE measurement and / or reporting. The UE may stop QoE measurement and / or reporting in response to receiving the second command. In some examples, the start of QoE measurement / reporting (e.g., based on receiving the first command) may correspond to the UE entering a region in which the UE performs QoE measurement and reporting, and the stop of QoE measurement / reporting (e.g., based on receiving the second command) may correspond to the UE leaving a region in which the UE performs QoE measurement and reporting.

[0121] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the UE can transmit a capability message to the base station. Transmission of the capability message may occur via the RRC layer. In some examples, transmission of the capability message to the base station may be based on the capability transfer procedure shown in FIG. 16, and the UE may be in the RRC_CONNECTED state. The UE can transmit the capability message in response to a capability inquiry message. In some examples, transmission of the capability message may be via a random access process to transition the UE from the RRC_IDLE state or the RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state, for example, during an initial access procedure. Transmission of the capability message may be via Msg3 of a four-step random access process or MsgA of a two-step random access process. An example of transmission of a capability message based on a random access process is shown in FIG. 20.

[0122] The capability message may include one or more capability information elements (IEs) that indicate whether the UE is capable of region-based QoE measurement / reporting or that indicate that the UE is capable of determining a region for QoE measurement and / or reporting. The UE may receive one or more RRC messages including configuration parameters for QoE measurement / reporting within the region. In some examples, the configuration parameters may indicate a region in which the UE can perform QoE measurement / reporting. In some examples, the UE may determine the region for QoE measurement / reporting based on the configuration parameters. In some examples, the region for QoE measurement and reporting may include one or more cells (e.g., TA or RNA). The UE may perform QoE measurements based on the configuration parameters, and the UE may transmit one or more QoE measurement reports based on the configuration parameters. The one or more QoE measurement reports may include measuring one or more KPIs. In some examples, the UE may transmit one or more QoE measurement reports while the UE is present within the region (e.g., the region configured by the configuration parameters). In some examples, the UE may stop measuring and / or reporting QoE reports when the UE leaves the region (e.g., the region configured by the configuration parameters).

[0123] In some examples, one or more capability information elements (IEs) may indicate that the UE is not capable of performing region-based QoE measurements / reporting or that the UE is not capable of determining regions for QoE measurements and / or reporting. In response to one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating that the UE is not capable of performing region-based QoE measurements / reporting or that the UE is not capable of determining regions for QoE measurements and / or reporting, the UE may receive one or more commands (e.g., one or more DCIs or one or more MAC CEs) indicating start or stop of QoE measurements or QoE reporting.

[0124] In an exemplary embodiment, a user equipment (UE) may send a capability message to a base station (BS) including one or more capability information elements (IEs). Based on one or more values of the one or more capability IEs, the UE may receive one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages from the BS including first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting. The UE may send one or more measurement reports to the BS based on the first configuration parameters.

[0125] In some examples, the one or more information elements indicate whether the wireless device supports at least one of QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. In some examples, receiving the one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages is based on one or more values of one or more capabilities IEs that indicate that the UE supports QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling.

[0126] In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) for a user equipment (UE) to measure and report. In some examples, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) may include one or more of end-to-end delay, radio access network (RAN) delay, core network (CN) delay, throughput, and jitter. In some examples, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) may include application layer KPIs. In some examples, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) may include radio layer KPIs. In some examples, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) may be for one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) service type.

[0127] In some examples, transmitting the one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reports is based on one or more first Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages. In some examples, transmitting the one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reports is based on one or more first Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages. A radio resource control (RRC) message may be associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB). In some examples, the first signaling radio bearer (SRB) may be associated with a first priority, and a second priority associated with a second SRB is higher than the first priority. In some examples, the second signaling radio bearer (SRB) may use a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel. In some examples, the second signaling radio bearer (SRB) may use a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel, which may be for transmitting non-access stratum (NAS) messages. In some examples, the first signaling radio bearer (SRB) may use a dedicated control channel (DCCH).

[0128] In some examples, one or more information elements (IEs) may be used to indicate whether a user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurements and one or more QoE-related signaling.

[0129] In some examples, one or more values of one or more information elements (IEs) may indicate that a user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. Receiving first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting may be responsive to the UE supporting one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. In some examples, the one or more parameters may correspond to one or more key performance indicators (KPIs). In some examples, the one or more parameters may correspond to one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service type. In some examples, the one or more parameters may be associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurements in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state. In some examples, the one or more parameters may be associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurements in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state. In some examples, the one or more parameters may be associated with a signaling-based or management-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement.

[0130] In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate a trigger condition for at least one of quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting.

[0131] In some examples, the step of transmitting the Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement report may be based on a time pattern. In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate the time pattern.

[0132] In some examples, the step of transmitting a Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement report may be based on a periodicity. In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate the periodicity.

[0133] In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate geography-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reporting. In some examples, the geography-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reporting may include QoE measurement reporting for one or more Tracking Areas (TAs).

[0134] In some examples, the capability message may be a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0135] In some examples, sending the capabilities message may be in response to a capabilities query message.

[0136] In some examples, transmitting the capability message may be via a random access process for initial access, hi some examples, transmitting the capability message may be via a MsgA random access message if the random access process is a two-step random access process, or transmitting the capability message may be via a Msg3 random access message if the random access process is a four-step random access process.

[0137] In some examples, in response to transmitting one or more quality of experience (QoE) measurement reports, the UE may receive scheduling information for transmitting or receiving data associated with a service type that requires QoE measurement and reporting.

[0138] In an exemplary embodiment, a user equipment (UE) may transmit a capability message including one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating whether the UE can perform region-based QoE measurements and reporting or whether the UE can determine a region for performing QoE measurements and reporting. The UE may receive one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages including configuration parameters for QoE measurements and reporting within the region. The UE may transmit one or more QoE measurement reports associated with the region based on the configuration parameters.

[0139] In some examples, one or more capability information elements (IEs) may indicate that the UE is capable of performing region-based QoE measurements and reporting, or that the UE is capable of determining a region for performing QoE measurements and reporting.

[0140] In some examples, the configuration parameters may indicate a region for performing quality of experience (QoE) measurements and transmitting corresponding QoE reports.

[0141] In some examples, the UE may determine a region for performing quality of experience (QoE) measurements and reporting.

[0142] In some examples, the region may include one or more cells. In some examples, the region may be a Tracking Area (TA). In some examples, the region may be a Radio Access Network (RAN) Notification Area (RNA).

[0143] In some examples, region-based quality of experience (QoE) can include measuring one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) while a user equipment (UE) is present within the region. In some examples, the user equipment (UE) can stop measuring the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) in response to leaving the region.

[0144] In some examples, the UE may receive a command to start or stop quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting in response to one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating that the UE is unable to perform region-based QoE measurement and reporting or that the UE is unable to determine a region for QoE measurement and reporting. In some examples, the command may be received via downlink control information. In some examples, the command may be via one or more medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs).

[0145] The example blocks and modules described in this disclosure with respect to various example embodiments may be implemented using general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and other similar processors. The processor may be implemented or performed using a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Examples of general-purpose processors include, but are not limited to, a microprocessor, any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. In some examples, a processor may be implemented using a combination of devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0146] The functions described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Instructions or code may be stored on or transmitted to a computer-readable medium to implement the functions. Other examples for implementing the functions disclosed herein are also within the scope of this disclosure. Implementation of the functions may be via physically co-located or distributed elements (e.g., in various locations), including being distributed such that some of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0147] Computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, non-transitory computer storage media. Non-transitory storage media may be accessed by general-purpose or special-purpose computers. Examples of non-transitory storage media include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage, etc. Non-transitory media may be used to carry or store desired program code means (e.g., instructions and / or data structures) and may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. In some examples, software / program code may be transmitted from a remote source (e.g., a website, a server, etc.) using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave. In such examples, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are within the definition of medium. Combinations of the above examples are also within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0148] As used in this disclosure, the use of the term "or" in a list of items indicates an inclusive list. A list of items can begin with a phrase such as "at least one" or "one or more." For example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C includes A or B or C or AB (i.e., A and B) or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" preceding a list of conditions should not be interpreted as "based only on" the set of conditions, but rather as "based at least in part on" the set of conditions. For example, a result described as "based on condition A" can be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0149] As used herein, the terms "comprise," "include," or "contain" may be used interchangeably, have the same meaning, and should be construed as inclusive and open-ended. The terms "comprise," "include," or "contain" may be used before a list of elements to indicate that at least all of the listed elements in the list are present, but that other elements not in the list may also be present. For example, if A contains B and C, then both {B, C} and {B, C, D} are within the scope of A.

[0150] The present disclosure, in connection with the accompanying drawings, describes exemplary configurations that do not represent every example that may be implemented or every configuration within the scope of the present disclosure. The term "exemplary" should not be interpreted as "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples," but rather as "an example, instance, or example." By reading this disclosure, including the description of the embodiments and drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that the technology disclosed herein may be implemented using alternative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments, or specific features of the embodiments described herein, can be combined to arrive at yet other embodiments for implementing the technology described in this disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method of capability signaling for Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement, comprising: sending, by a user equipment (UE), a capability message to a base station (BS) including one or more capability information elements (IEs) associated with QoE; receiving, by the UE, from the BS based on the one or more transmitted capability IEs, one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages including first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting; sending, by the UE, one or more QoE measurement reports to the BS based on the first configuration parameters.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate whether the user equipment (UE) supports at least one of quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages is based on whether the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate that the user equipment (UE) supports the quality of experience (QoE) measurement and the QoE-related signaling.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first configuration parameter indicates one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) for the user equipment (UE) to measure and report.

5. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) include one or more of end-to-end delay, radio access network (RAN) delay, core network (CN) delay, throughput, and jitter.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) include application layer KPIs.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) include wireless layer KPIs.

8. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) are for one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) service type.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reports is based on one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages.

10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages are associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB).

11. the first signaling radio bearer (SRB) is associated with a first priority; a second priority associated with the second SRB is higher than the first priority; The method of claim 10.

12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second signaling radio bearer (SRB) uses a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel.

13. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second signaling radio bearer (SRB) uses a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel and is used to transmit non-access stratum (NAS) messages.

14. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first signaling radio bearer (SRB) uses a dedicated control channel (DCCH).

15. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate whether the user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with the Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and the QoE-related signaling.

16. the one or more information elements (IEs) indicating that the user equipment (UE) supports the one or more parameters associated with the Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and the QoE-related signaling; receiving the first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting in response to the UE supporting the one or more parameters associated with the QoE measurement and the QoE-related signaling; 16. The method of claim 15.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the one or more parameters correspond to one or more key performance indicators (KPIs).

18. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more parameters correspond to one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) service type.

19. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more parameters are associated with the Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive state.

20. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more parameters are associated with the Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein the one or more parameters are associated with a signaling-based or management-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first configuration parameter indicates a trigger condition for at least one of the Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sending of the Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement report is based on a time pattern.

24. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first configuration parameter indicates the time pattern.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reports is based on periodicity.

26. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the first configuration parameter is indicative of the periodicity.

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first configuration parameter indicates geography-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting.

28. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the geography-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reports include QoE measurement reports for one or more Tracking Areas (TA).

29. The method of claim 1 , wherein the capability message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

30. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting the capability message occurs in response to the user equipment first receiving a capability inquiry message.

31. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the capability message is performed via a random access process for initial access.

32. The step of sending the capability message is performed via a MsgA random access message if the random access process is a two-step random access process; the step of transmitting the capability message is performed via an Msg3 random access message if the random access process is a four-step random access process; 32. The method of claim 31 .

33. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, in response to transmission of the one or more Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reports, scheduling information for transmission or reception of data associated with a service type requiring QoE measurement and reporting.

34. A method of capability signaling for Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement, comprising: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a capability message including one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating whether the UE is capable of performing area-based QoE measurement and reporting or whether the UE is capable of determining an area for performing QoE measurement and reporting; receiving, by the UE, one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages containing configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting within a region; and transmitting, by the UE, one or more QoE measurement reports associated with the region based on the configuration parameters.

35. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate that the UE is capable of performing area-based QoE measurement and reporting or that the UE is capable of determining an area for performing QoE measurement and reporting.

36. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the configuration parameters indicate the area for performing Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements and transmitting corresponding QoE reports.

37. 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising determining the area for performing the Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting.

38. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the region comprises one or more cells.

39. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the region is a tracking area (TA).

40. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the region is a radio access network (RAN) notification region (RNA).

41. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the region-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting comprises measuring one or more Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) while the User Equipment (UE) is present within the region.

42. 42. The method of claim 41, wherein the user equipment (UE) stops measuring the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) in response to leaving the area.

43. 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising receiving a command to start or stop Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting in response to the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating that the UE is not capable of performing area-based QoE measurement and reporting or that the UE is not capable of determining an area for QoE measurement and reporting.

44. 44. The method of claim 43, wherein receiving the command is via downlink control information.

45. 44. The method of claim 43, wherein receiving the command occurs via one or more medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs).

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