Configuring Channel Access Methods Per Traffic Class

Abstract

A wireless communication device (10, 11) establishes at least one wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device (10, 11). For each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the at least one wireless channel individually, the wireless communication device selects between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to methods for controlling wireless transmissions, and corresponding devices, systems, and computer programs. [Background technology]

[0002] In wireless communication technologies, there is an increasing interest in using unlicensed bands, also called license-exempt bands, such as the 2.4 GHz ISM band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, and the 60 GHz band using more advanced channel access techniques. Historically, Wi-Fi has been the dominant standard in license-exempt bands for applications that require support for high data rates. Due to the large available bandwidth in license-exempt bands, WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) technologies based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards offer a very simple distributed channel access mechanism based on the so-called Distributed Coordination Function (DCF).

[0003] Distributed channel access means that when a device, known as a station (STA) in IEEE 802.11 terminology, has data to send, it attempts to access the wireless channel. In effect, there is no difference in channel access whether the station is an access point (AP) or a non-access point (non-AP). DCF works well as long as the load does not become too high. When the load is high, especially when the number of stations attempting to access the wireless channel is large, channel access based on DCF does not work well. The reason for this is that there is a high probability of collisions on the channel, leading to poor channel utilization.

[0004] The default channel access mechanism used in current WLAN systems is called Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA), specified in "IEEE Standard for Information technology-Telecommunications and information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan area networks-Specific requirements - Part 11:Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications", IEEE Std 802.11-2020 (a revision of IEEE Std 802.11-2016), vol., no., pp. 1-4379, 26 February 2021, hereafter referred to as "IEEE 802.11 Standard". In the EDCA mechanism, a STA accesses the channel using a set of channel access parameters based on the traffic class of the data. The radio channel is acquired for a duration, denoted as TXOP (Transmit Opportunity), during which multiple frames of the same data class may be transmitted. The maximum size of a TXOP depends on the data type. Typical durations of a TXOP are in the range of a few milliseconds.

[0005] In the EDCA mechanism, four independent Enhanced Distributed Channel Access Functions (EDCAFs) are responsible for providing differentiated priorities to transmitted traffic by using four different Access Categories (ACs), namely, Voice (VO), Video (VI), Best Effort (BE) and Background (BK). The EDCA mechanism provides differentiated, distributed access to the wireless medium for competing STAs using eight different User Priorities (UPs). Table 10-1 of the IEEE 802.11 standard shows the mapping of different UPs to the four ACs. Figures 10 to 23 of the IEEE 802.11 standard correspondingly show the mapping of frame types or UPs to different transmission queues corresponding to the four independent EDCAFs.

[0006] An AP can configure EDCA parameters in its associated non-AP STAs by sending EDCA parameter set elements in management frames. The EDCA parameter set elements provide information required by the STAs to ensure the desired QoS level of a traffic class. Figure 9-293 of the IEEE 802.11 standard shows the format of the EDCA parameter set element, and Figure 9-295 of the IEEE 802.11 standard shows the format of the AC_BE, AC_BK, AC_VI, and AC_VO parameter record fields of the EDCA parameter set element, specifying that these parameter record fields also include an ACI / AIFSN field. The format of the ACI / AIFSN field is shown in Figure 9-296 of the IEEE 802.11 standard and includes the AIFSN (arbitration inter-frame spacing number) subfield, the ACM (admission control mandatory) subfield, and the ACI (AC index) subfield. The ACI refers to the AC to which all parameters in this record correspond. The ACM (Admission Control Forced) subfield indicates that admission control is required for the AC. If the ACM subfield is equal to 0, there is no admission control for the corresponding AC. If the ACM subfield is set to 1, admission control must be used prior to transmission using the access parameters specified for this AC. The AIFSN subfield indicates the number of slots after a SIFS (Short Interframe Space) that a STA will postpone before either invoking backoff or starting transmission. The minimum value of the AIFSN subfield is 2. EDCA parameter set elements can be used by an AP to establish a policy, to change a policy when admitting new STAs or new traffic, or to adapt to changes in a given load.

[0007] The IEEE 802.11 standard also supports the use of admission control to manage policies or regulate available bandwidth resources. Admission control may be aimed at providing, for example, a guarantee of the amount of time a STA has available to access and use a channel for transmission. A hybrid coordination function (HCF) of an AP may be used to manage admission control in the network. The admission control mechanism generally depends on the vendor implementation of the scheduler and may consider inputs such as available channel capacity, link conditions, retransmission limits, and scheduling requirements of a given stream when deciding on admission of the given stream.

[0008] An AP shall support admission control procedures, at least to the extent that it advertises that admission is not mandatory for its ACs. As described above, the AP may use the ACM subfield of the EDCA parameter set element to indicate whether admission control is required for each of the ACs. The ACM subfield is static for the duration of the life of the AP's BSS (Basic Service Set).

[0009] A Traffic Identifier (TID) is an identifier that can be used by higher layer entities to distinguish MSDUs (MAC Service Data Units) offered to MAC entities that support QoS in MAC data services. There are 16 possible TID values, eight identifying Traffic Categories (TCs) and the other eight identifying parameterized Traffic Streams (TSs). TIDs are assigned to MSDUs in layers above the MAC layer. A TC is a label for an MSDU that has a distinct UP from the perspective of a higher layer entity relative to other MSDUs offered for delivery on the same link. A TC is only meaningful to MAC entities that support QoS in MAC data services. These MAC entities determine the UP for MSDUs that belong to a particular traffic category using the priority value offered with those MSDUs at the MAC Service Access Point (MAC SAP). The eight TCs are mapped to UPs, which can be mapped to the four ACs as explained above. The EDCA parameters mentioned above relate directly to ACs and, as a consequence, to TIDs. As a result, control actions undertaken by an AP for a particular AC, such as EDCA parameter settings or admission control, are also indirectly applied to the corresponding TID.

[0010] To improve channel utilization, in particular to enable better support of a large number of devices, a more centralized channel access scheme may be utilized. Such centralized channel access may involve channel access being controlled by the AP, rather than having a STA attempt to access the channel whenever it has data to send. Corresponding channel access schemes are supported in IEEE 802.11ax technology, see, for example, IEEE 802.11ax-2021 - IEEE Standard for Information technology- Telecommunications and information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan area networks-Specific requirements Part 11:Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications Amendment 1:Enhancements for High Efficiency WLAN (19 May 2021), hereinafter referred to as the "IEEE 802.11ax amendment" or high efficiency (HE) amendment. IEEE 802.11ax technology, or HE technology, for example, supports Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) in both the downlink (DL), i.e., in the direction from the AP to the STAs, and in the uplink (UL), i.e., in the direction from the STAs to the APs. Multi-user (MU) transmission in the form of Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) is also supported for both DL and UL. By supporting MU transmission and having the AP control the channel access in the cell, efficient channel utilization can be achieved and collisions caused by contention during the BSS can be avoided.

[0011] The OFDMA feature of the IEEE 802.11ax amendment also introduces scheduling capabilities for the AP. In OFDMA, contention within the BSS can be avoided since the AP can be in charge of reserving channels for both UL and DL transmissions. The AP can organize UL OFDMA by using a trigger frame (TF) that is broadcast to multiple STAs. The STAs reply simultaneously by transmitting a UL trigger base (TB) frame in an OFDMA manner. However, backward compatibility also allows the HE AP or STA to rather use a contention-based channel EDCA method if this is expected to work better. Such a selection between different channel access methods applies to all transmissions between the AP and a given associated STA. The OM (operation mode) control field specified in the IEEE 802.11ax amendment allows the STAs to indicate to the AP whether they prefer to participate in TB UL OFDMA to deliver their UL data or rather rely on contention-based EDCA. The STAs may change this indication at any time and as necessary while the STA is associated with the AP. The OM control field includes subfields denoted as "UL MU Disable" and "UL MU Data Disable", which indicate whether UL TB transmissions are turned off. When "UL MU Disable" is set to "1", all TB transmissions are turned off. When "UL MU Data Disable" is set to "1", only the transmission of data via UL TB transmissions is turned off. This setting allows the STA to still be able to transmit MU block acknowledgements in response to DL OFDMA transmissions by the AP. However, UL data will be sent using the EDCA method.

[0012] An extension of the WLAN technology called EHT (Extra High Throughput), to be introduced with an amendment denoted as IEEE 802.11be, is planned to introduce a feature denoted as ML (Multi-Link). The corresponding functionality is described, for example, in the IEEE draft "IEEE P802.11be / D1.2", September 2021, hereinafter denoted as EHT draft. In ML, a device called a Multi-Link Device (MLD) has multiple associated stations (STAs), each of which can communicate using an independent radio channel, also called a link. Communication over multiple links by MLD is called Multi-Link Operation (MLO). For example, an MLD can have two associated STAs, one of which communicates using a channel in the 5 GHz frequency band and the other of which communicates using a channel in the 6 GHz frequency band. Alternatively, as another example, an MLD can have two associated STAs that communicate using different channels in the 6 GHz frequency band. AP MLD corresponds to an MLD with two or more associated AP STAs. A non-AP MLD corresponds to an MLD with two or more associated non-AP STAs.

[0013] To further extend the TB scheduling capability, the EHT draft amendment also supports single-user TB uplink transmission, in which the AP can trigger a single STA to perform TB channel access and transmit a TB single-user UL data frame.

[0014] The ML architecture of the EHT draft is based on having a single MAC Service Access Point (MAC-SAP) for all links of the MLD and only one logical association between the AP and non-AP STAs. Thus, from the perspective of layers above the MAC layer, the MLD appears as a single device. This results in a set of MAC level functions, such as the construction of aggregated MAC PDUs, being provided per link and another set of MAC level functions being provided per MLD. These functions may also be considered as the lower MAC layer and the upper MAC layer, respectively. Addressing in such an architecture is implemented by providing a separate MAC address per link to address the respective endpoints of the link and a further separate MAC address per MLD to address the MLD.

[0015] In subclause 9.4.2.295d, the EHT draft also specifies a "TID-to-Link Mapping Element". The TID-to-Link Mapping Element indicates the links on which frames belonging to each TID may be exchanged. The format of the TID-to-Link Mapping Element is shown in Figure 9-788ead of the EHT draft. This format specifies a field indicated as "TID-to-Link Mapping Control". The format of the TID-to-Link Mapping Control field is shown in Figure 9-788eae of the EHT draft. It includes a subfield indicated as "Direction", a subfield indicated as "Default Link Mapping", a reserved subfield, and a subfield indicated as "Link Mapping Present Indicator". If the Direction subfield is set to "0", the TID-to-Link Mapping Element provides TID-to-Link mapping information for frames transmitted in the DL direction. If the Direction subfield is set to "1", the TID-to-Link Mapping Element provides TID-to-Link mapping information for frames transmitted in the UL direction. If the Direction subfield is set to '2', the TID-to-Link Mapping element provides TID-to-Link mapping information for frames transmitted in both DL and UL directions. If the Default Link Mapping subfield is set to '1', the TID-to-Link Mapping element represents a default TID-to-Link mapping. Otherwise, the Default Link Mapping subfield is set to '0'. The Link Mapping Present Indicator subfield indicates whether a field corresponding to a link mapping for TID 'n' is present in the TID-to-Link Mapping element. A value of 1 in bit position n of the Link Mapping Present Indicator subfield indicates that the field "Link Mapping for TID n" is present in the TID-to-Link Mapping element. Otherwise, the field "Link Mapping for TID n" is not present in the TID-to-Link Mapping element.When the default link mapping subfield is set to '1', the link mapping present indicator is reserved.

[0016] The Link Mapping field of TID n, where n=0, 1, ..., 7, indicates the link(s) over which frames belonging to TID n are allowed to be sent. A value of 1 in bit position i of the Link Mapping field of TID n indicates that TID n is mapped to the link associated with Link ID i for the direction specified in the Direction subfield. This field is not present when the Default Link Mapping subfield is set to 1.

[0017] Potential extensions to the TID to Link Mapping element are described in "TID to Link Mapping Enhancements" (https: / / mentor.ieee.org / 802.11 / dcn / 21 / 11-21-1611-01-00be-tid-to-link-mapping-enhancements.pptx, September 2021). These extensions have the purpose of further helping MLD APs and MLD STAs to agree on various kinds of TID to link mappings, thereby allowing them to achieve some degree of load balancing in the network, reduce latency by allocating critical traffic TIDs to reserved channels, or provide further tools for power conservation.

[0018] Therefore, there is a need for techniques that allow for improved handling of different classes of data traffic transmitted over one or more wireless links between devices in a wireless communication system. Summary of the Invention

[0019] According to one embodiment, there is provided a method for controlling radio transmissions in a wireless communication system, in which a wireless communication device sets up at least one wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device, and further comprising the wireless communication device selecting between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method, individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the at least one wireless channel.

[0020] According to a further embodiment, a wireless communication device for a wireless communication system is provided, the wireless communication device adapted to set up at least one wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device, the wireless communication device further adapted to select between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the at least one wireless channel.

[0021] According to a further embodiment, a wireless communication device for a wireless communication system is provided. The wireless communication device comprises at least one processor and a memory. The memory includes instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the wireless communication device is operable to set up at least one wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device. Furthermore, the memory includes instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the wireless communication device is operable to select between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the at least one wireless channel.

[0022] According to a further embodiment, a computer program or computer program product is provided, for example in the form of a non-transitory storage medium, comprising a program code to be executed by at least one processor of a wireless communication device. Execution of the program code causes the wireless communication device to set up at least one wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device. Furthermore, execution of the program code causes the wireless communication device to select between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the at least one wireless channel.

[0023] Details of such and further embodiments will be apparent from the detailed description that follows. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless communication system according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of a mapping of channel access methods to traffic classes and links used in accordance with one embodiment; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of an extended TID-to-link mapping element, according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of a channel access element in the extended TID-to-link mapping element of FIG. 3; [Diagram 5] 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of a channel access element in the extended TID-to-link mapping element of FIG. 3; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example process, according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a flow chart to generally illustrate a method according to one embodiment. [Figure 8] 1 is a block diagram for illustrating in schematic form the functionality of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment; [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic structure of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] In the following, the concept according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in more detail and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The illustrated embodiment relates to controlling radio transmission in a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system may be a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) system based on IEEE 802.11 technology. However, it should be noted that the illustrated concept may also be applied to other wireless communication technologies, for example, the contention-based mode of LTE (Long Term Evolution) or NR (New Radio) technology specified by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). The illustrated concept may be implemented by various types of wireless devices, in particular by APs and / or by non-AP STAs.

[0026] According to the illustrated concept, wireless transmissions are performed on one or more wireless channels established between wireless communication devices. These wireless channels are also denoted as links herein. The wireless communication devices may correspond, among others, to an AP and non-AP STAs associated with the AP. In some scenarios, the AP is an MLD AP and / or the associated non-AP STAs are MLD non-AP STAs. In other scenarios, the AP is a single-link AP and / or the associated non-AP STAs are single-link non-AP STAs, i.e., the AP and at least one of the associated STAs may be non-MLD. In the illustrated concept, a wireless communication device, e.g., an AP or an associated non-AP STA, may transmit data of multiple traffic classes on at least one of the links. For each of the traffic classes, the wireless communication device may individually select a channel access method for accessing the wireless channel. The channel access method may be selected from two or more available channel access methods. These channel access methods may include, in particular, a contention-based channel access method, such as the EDCA method of the IEEE 802.11 standard, and a TB channel access method, such as the TB channel access of the IEEE 8021.11ax amendment. In some cases, additional or alternative channel access methods may be considered, for example, a contention-free or controlled channel access method, such as the HCCA (Hybrid Cooperative Function Controlled Channel Access) of the IEEE 802.11 standard. A traffic class may correspond to a TID, and thus a TC or TS, each of which may be mapped to an AC. The selected channel access method for each traffic class may be signaled between wireless communication devices. In particular, an AP may select a channel access method for each traffic class, for example, in terms of a mapping of the channel access method to a TID, and indicate the selection to the AP's associated non-AP STAs.However, additionally or alternatively, it is also possible for a non-AP STA to select a channel access method per traffic class, e.g., in terms of mapping of channel access methods to TIDs, and indicate the selection to its associated AP. In an MLD device, such selection of a channel access method per traffic class may be performed individually for each link. In some scenarios, selection by the AP and selection by the non-AP STA may also be combined. In this case, selection of a channel access method per traffic class for a subset of one or more traffic classes and / or a subset of one or more links may be performed by the AP, and for another subset of one or more traffic classes and / or a different subset of one or more links, selection is performed by the non-AP STA. Furthermore, the selection may be performed in a dynamic manner, e.g., by newly selecting a channel access method per traffic class depending on one or more conditions such as traffic load, number of devices operating on the wireless channel, channel usage of the wireless channel, etc.

[0027] In the illustrated concept, the AP may therefore configure non-AP STAs with the channel access method to be used for a particular TID. The mapping of channel access methods to TIDs may be changed in a dynamic manner, e.g., activated in response to a threshold or other condition. The mapping may be temporary. In some cases, the mapping may also be non-mandatory, i.e., non-AP STAs may be enabled to override the mapping signaled by the AP. The channel access method may include the EDCA method of the IEEE 802.11 standard, the TB channel access method of the IEEE 802.11ax correction, and / or the HCCA method of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some scenarios, considering the HCCA method as well may help achieve backward compatibility in deployments that require the use of the HCCA method on certain bands.

[0028] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system according to one embodiment. In the illustrated example, the wireless communication system includes a plurality of APs 10, referred to in the illustrated example as AP1, AP2, AP3, and AP4, and a plurality of stations 11, referred to in the illustrated example as STA11, STA21, STA22, STA31, and STA41. STA11 is served by AP1 (in a first BSS, denoted as BSS1), STA21 and STA22 are served by AP2 (in a second BSS, denoted as BSS2), STA31 is served by AP3 (in a third BSS, denoted as BSS3), and STA41 is served by AP4 (in a fourth BSS, denoted as BSS4). Stations 11 are non-AP STAs and may correspond to user terminals, such as various kinds of wireless devices, e.g., mobile or fixed computing devices, such as smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, and the like. Additionally, the station 11 may correspond to other types of equipment such as, for example, smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, and the like.

[0029] In the example of Figure 1, each of the stations 11 may connect to one of the APs 10 through a wireless link. For example, depending on the location or channel conditions experienced by a given station 11, the station 11 may select an appropriate AP 10 and BSS for establishing a wireless link. The wireless link may be based on one or more OFDM carriers from a frequency spectrum shared based on a contention-based mechanism, e.g., a license-exempt band such as the 2.4 GHz ISM band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0030] Each AP 10 may provide data connectivity for stations 11 connected to the AP 10. As further shown, the AP 10 may be connected to a data network (DN) 110. In this manner, the AP 10 may also provide data connectivity between stations 11 connected to different APs 10. Furthermore, the AP 10 may also provide data connectivity for the station 11 to other entities, e.g., one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, etc. Thus, the wireless link established between a given station 11 and its serving AP 10 may be used to provide various types of services to the station 11, e.g., voice services, multimedia services, or other data services. Such services may be based on applications executed on the station 11 and / or on devices linked to the station 11. As an example, FIG. 1 shows an application service platform 150 provided in the DN 110. An application(s) running on station 11 and / or on one or more other devices linked to station 11 may use the wireless link for data communication with one or more other stations 11 and / or application service platform 150, thereby enabling utilization of corresponding service(s) at station 11.

[0031] In the scenario illustrated in FIG. 1, one or more of the APs 10 may use per-traffic-class selection of a channel access method on one or more of the links in their BSS. In the following, a corresponding example is further described by first referring to a scenario in which the AP 10 is an AP MLD. Furthermore, at least some of the stations 11 in the BSS of the AP 10 may also be non-AP MLD. Thus, multiple links may be available for simultaneous use by the AP 10. These available links generally include one or more links for DL ​​transmissions and one or more links for UL transmissions. In such a scenario, the AP 10 may select a set of one or more active links from the available links. For each active link, the AP 10 further selects a channel access method per traffic class, i.e., per TID. This selection may be made, for example, with the aim of optimizing the latency of critical transmissions or the total throughput across all links, depending on the requirements of a particular use case. When making the selection, the AP 10 may distinguish whether the respective station 11 supports IEEE 802.11ax corrections or not. For example, if a station 11 operating on a considered link does not support IEEE 802.11ax correction, the AP 10 may refrain from selecting the IEEE 802.11ax correction TB channel access method for this link. However, it should be noted that the illustrated concept is not limited to MLO, but may also be applied to single-link AP communication with single-link STAs. Furthermore, it should be noted that in some scenarios, the per-traffic-class selection of the channel access method may also be coordinated among multiple APs, e.g., neighboring APs with overlapping BSSs, as in the example of FIG. 1.

[0032] In some scenarios, the AP 10 may therefore configure a channel access method per traffic class, e.g., TID, to be used on a particular active link of the AP 10. This may be accomplished by configuring a mapping of channel access methods to TIDs and links. The table in FIG. 2 shows an example of such a mapping. As can be seen from the example in FIG. 2, the EDCA method is configured for TID0 and TID1 on link 1, both DL and UL. No channel access method is configured for TID2 on link 1, both DL and UL. On link 2 in the DL, the EDCA method is configured for TID0, the EDCA method and the TB channel access method are configured for TID1, and the TB channel access method is configured for TID2. On link 2 in the UL, the EDCA method is configured for TID0, the EDCA method and the TB channel access method are configured for TID1, and the EDCA method is configured for TID2. On link 3 in the DL, no channel access method is configured for any of TID0, TID1, and TID2. For link 3 in the UL, the TB channel access method is configured for TID 2. Note that if two channel access methods are configured, as in the case of TID 1 on link 2, the use of both channel access methods is enabled. If no channel access method is configured, as in the case of TID 2 on link 1, the link may be considered disabled for this TID.

[0033] The AP 10 may signal the configuration of the channel access method per traffic class to its associated stations 11. This signaling may be based, for example, on an extended TID-to-link mapping element, which corresponds to the TID-to-link mapping element of the EHT draft and is extended to further indicate, for each of the TIDs, the channel access method to be applied for this TID. FIG. 3 shows an example format of such an extended TID-to-link mapping element. As can be seen, this format defines fields including an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, a TID-to-link mapping control field, and a link mapping field for each considered TID, which correspond to the fields of the TID-to-link mapping element of the EHT draft. Furthermore, the extended TID-to-link mapping element includes a channel access element for each considered TID. The channel access element indicates the channel access method(s) configured for this TID. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show examples of formats that may be used for the channel access element.

[0034] In the example of FIG. 4, the format of the channel access element includes a channel access method subfield, an EDCA parameter list subfield, and a channel access threshold subfield. The channel access method field may identify a channel access method. For example, a value of "0" may identify the EDCA method, and a value of "1" may identify the TB channel access method. The EDCA parameter list subfield may include parameters of the EDCA method to be applied for the respective TID. These parameters may include, for example, an indication of whether admission control is required, the AIFSN, the minimum contention window size, the maximum contention window size, and / or the maximum TXOP duration. The channel access threshold field may indicate a threshold to be used in determining when the channel access method shall be activated by comparing a certain metric to the threshold. The EDCA parameters may be specifically optimized in view of the requirements of the considered TID, possibly with respect to the EDCA parameter settings of one or more other TIDs. For example, if only TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) acknowledgments are expected to be transmitted for the considered TID, the EDCA parameters may be optimized for that use case.

[0035] Examples of thresholds that may be specified in the channel access threshold subfield include a throughput threshold to be compared with the throughput on the link. If the throughput on the link exceeds the threshold, station 11 may switch from the EDCA method to the TB channel access method for the considered TID. Another example of such a threshold is a traffic load threshold to be compared with a statistically observed traffic load of station 11. If the observed traffic load exceeds the traffic load threshold, station 11 may switch from the EDCA to the TB channel access method for the considered TID. Another example of such a threshold is a queuing delay threshold to be compared with the size or head-of-line delay of a transmission queue corresponding to the considered TID. If the queuing delay exceeds the threshold before a trigger frame is received to trigger transmission from the transmission queue, station 11 may switch from the TB channel access method to the EDCA method.

[0036] In the example of FIG. 4, the format of the channel access element specifies subfields for providing an indication of the disabling of one or more channel access methods for the considered TID. In the example of FIG. 4, these subfields include a DL trigger-based disable subfield to indicate whether, for the considered TID, the TB channel access method is disabled in the DL. Furthermore, the subfield includes a UL trigger-based disable subfield to indicate whether, for the considered TID, the TB channel access method is disabled in the UL. Furthermore, the subfield includes a DL EDCA disable subfield to indicate whether, for the considered TID, the EDCA method is disabled in the DL. Furthermore, the subfield includes a UL EDCA disable subfield to indicate whether, for the considered TID, the EDCA method is disabled in the UL. Furthermore, the subfield includes an other channel access disable subfield to indicate whether, for the considered TID, any other access method is disabled. It should be noted that in some scenarios, the distinction between DL and UL may be omitted from the disable indication. Furthermore, if all subfields are set to "disabled", this may be interpreted as an indication of the disabling of the entire link.

[0037] In some scenarios, the signaled configuration of the channel access method per traffic class may be temporary, i.e., applied only for a certain period of time. During the configured time period, the configured channel access method per traffic class is applied. After expiration of the time period, the previous or default configuration of the channel access method may be reapplied.

[0038] In some scenarios, the signaled configuration of the channel access method per traffic class may be supplemented by one or more reason indications, e.g., with respect to one or more corresponding reason codes. The reason may be, for example, the reason why the configuration is adopted. An example of such a reason may be, for example, optimization of throughput, delay, power savings, and / or network performance. The corresponding reason code may be "OPTIMIZE", "OPTIMIZE_THROUGHPUT", "OPTIMIZE_DELAY", "OPTIMIZE_POWER_SAVINGS", or "OPTIMIZE_NETWORK_OPERATION". For example, the AP 10 may signal to the station 11 that the AP 10 is attempting to optimize network performance by including the reason code "OPTIMIZE_NETWORK_OPERATION" in the TID-to-link mapping element. The reason indication code(s) may be used, for example, to determine further optimization locally and / or as a basis for negotiating the channel access method per traffic class.

[0039] The setting of the channel access method per traffic class may be based on various criteria. For example, when the AP 10 sets the channel access method per traffic class, the AP may determine the setting based on one or more of the amount of data to be transmitted by the AP 10, the amount of data to be transmitted by the station 11, the TID of the data to be transmitted, the number of active devices on a wireless channel, and the channel usage of a wireless channel. Furthermore, the setting may be determined based on one or more thresholds, such as the throughput threshold, the traffic load threshold, or the queuing delay threshold mentioned above. Such threshold(s) may be set by the AP 10 and signaled to the station 11 in a channel access element. Furthermore, such thresholds may be locally applied by the AP 10 to decide to switch between the channel access methods. The setting decision may be based on various measurements performed by the AP 10, the associated station(s) 11 of the AP 10, or other devices, for example, other APs 10 or stations 11 associated with other APs 10.

[0040] In some scenarios, the determination of the configuration of the channel access method per traffic class may also be based on artificial intelligence (AI), for example, a machine learning (ML) model. For example, the ML model may be trained based on training data including a training set of configurations of the channel access method per traffic class, related input variables such as the amount of data per traffic class to be transmitted and / or channel conditions, and related data representing the performance of the wireless communication system. Here, various kinds of performance metrics, for example, overall throughput, average latency, etc., may be used. The ML model may be based, for example, on reinforcement learning. However, other types of ML models may also be used, for example, based on supervised learning. The trained model may then be applied by the AP 10 or by the station 11 in determining the configuration of the channel access method per traffic class.

[0041] As an example, a situation may be assumed in which the AP 10 and the station 11 operate on two links, e.g., one in the lower 6 GHz band and one in the upper 6 GHz band. It is further assumed that the AP 10 and the station 11 have two traffic streams with different requirements, e.g., with respect to latency. For example, the first traffic stream may correspond to best-effort traffic for downlink download, and the second traffic stream may correspond to low-latency traffic in the downlink and uplink, e.g., related to gaming. The AP 10 may then configure the first traffic stream to be transmitted on the upper 6 GHz link using the TB channel access method, and the second traffic stream to be transmitted on the lower 6 GHz link using the EDCA method.

[0042] As an example, a situation may be assumed in which the AP 10 and the station 11 operate on two links, for example, one in the 6 GHz band and one in the 5 GHz band. It is further assumed that the AP 10 and the station 11 exchange traffic of a certain TID that is DL heavy, i.e., has a significantly higher volume in the DL than in the UL. For example, the UL part of the traffic mainly consists of TCP acknowledgements. Therefore, the AP 10 may decide to set the TID to use only the TB channel access method in the UL on the 6 GHz link (i.e., to disable the EDCA method on the 6 GHz link) and to use only the EDCA method in the UL on the 5 GHz link (i.e., to disable the TB channel access method on the 5 GHz link), so that the AP 10 can then undertake DL transmissions without contending with non-AP STAs on the 6 GHz link.

[0043] By enabling the use of the EDCA method for a TID while not enabling the use of the TB channel access method in the UL, station 11 may be enabled to improve energy efficiency by better utilizing the possibility of going into sleep mode on that link. Because the timing of EDCA will be controlled by station 11, station 11 can go into sleep mode and save energy while there is no UL data to be transmitted for this TID.

[0044] The above-mentioned signaled configuration of the channel access method per traffic class can act as a command to apply the signaled configuration. However, in some scenarios, the signaled configuration can also act only as a recommendation. This means that a station 11 that receives the signaled configuration of the channel access method per traffic class is not prohibited from deviating from the signaled configuration. For example, if the signaled configuration indicates TB channel access for a certain TID and the station 11 has data to transmit but does not receive a trigger frame within a given time limit, the station 11 can decide to still use the EDCA method to send this data.

[0045] In the above examples, it has been mostly assumed that the AP 10 decides on a configuration of the channel access method per traffic class and signals this configuration to the associated station(s) 11. However, in some scenarios, it may also be beneficial for the station 11 to be able to select the channel access method for at least some of the traffic classes. In this way, the channel access method per traffic class may be selected based on information that is only locally available at the station 11, which may enable a further optimized selection. This selection at the station 11 may be combined with the above-mentioned signaling of the configuration from the AP 10. For example, the station 11 may consider the signaled configuration as a recommendation and use this recommendation as a basis for making a local selection of the channel access method for at least some of the traffic classes. In some cases, the station 11 may decide to accept the recommendation. In some cases, the station may deviate from the recommendation and then inform the AP 10 about the deviation, for example, by signaling the AP 10 with a modified configuration of the channel access method per traffic class. This signaling may be similar to the signaling of configuration from the AP 10 to the station 11, for example, by also using the extended TID-to-link mapping element of FIG. 3 and the channel access element described with respect to FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. Thus, the station 11 may also indicate parameters for the channel access method configured per traffic class, for example, EDCA parameters, or thresholds for activating the channel access method per traffic class. In some cases, the final selection of the channel access method configuration per traffic class may also be based on negotiation between the AP 10 and the station 11. Such negotiation may involve the exchange of two or more signaling messages between the AP 10 and the station 11. Each of these messages may be based on the extended TID-to-link mapping element of FIG. 3 and the channel access element described with respect to FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

[0046] As mentioned above, the configuration of the channel access method per traffic class may also be beneficial when operating only on a single link, for example, for communication between a non-MLD AP and a non-MLD STA. For example, assuming that the AP 10 and its associated station 11 are both non-MLD and have two traffic streams in both DL and UL, one corresponding to non-critical traffic with TID0 and the other corresponding to latency-sensitive traffic with TID7, the AP 10 may select different access methods for these two TIDs. For example, the AP 10 may select the TB channel access method for TID7 to ensure that the data of TID7 is transmitted in a well-controlled and timely manner. In comparison, the AP 10 may select the EDCA method for TID0, optionally with modified parameters, so that the non-critical traffic is sent when channel access is obtained via the disadvantaged EDCA mode. For example, it is also possible to configure the EDCA method for high priority TIDs under the condition that the load on the wireless channel is low, by setting the traffic load thresholds mentioned above. This may be beneficial because the EDCA method can achieve high performance under low load conditions. Meanwhile, only the TB access method may be enabled for TIDs with low priority. When deciding such a configuration except for the EDCA method, the AP 10 may also take into account that some legacy STAs that do not support IEEE 802.11ax corrections cannot use the TB channel access method. Therefore, if such stations 11 are present in the BSS of the AP 10, which may be the case in the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band, the AP 10 may decide to refrain from enabling the EDCA method completely.

[0047] As already mentioned above, the configuration of the channel access method per traffic class can also be coordinated among multiple APs, e.g., neighboring APs with overlapping BSSs. Such coordination can be achieved through a network controller or over the air (OTA). For example, when considering AP 10 in FIG. 1, AP1 and AP2 each serve one or more associated stations 11, i.e., STA11, STA21, and STA22, in their respective BSSs, and the BSS of AP1 and the BSS of AP2 have significant overlap. When further assuming that each of these devices is MLD, it will be possible for these devices to operate concurrently, e.g., on a first wireless channel in the 5 GHz band and a second wireless channel in the 6 GHz band. In that case, coordination can involve, for example, forcing or suggesting that for the same wireless channel, the APs also use the same configuration of the channel access method per traffic class. For example, both AP1 and AP2 and their respective associated stations may use the EDCA method on the first wireless channel and the TB channel access method on the second wireless channel, with the same TID-to-link mapping applied by both APs, e.g., TIDs 0-5 are mapped to the first wireless channel and TIDs 6-7 are mapped to the second wireless channel. However, it should be noted that in some cases, cooperation may also involve only partial alignment of per-traffic-class channel access method settings between the coordinated APs, e.g., alignment for only a subset of the active links or for only some of the considered traffic classes.

[0048] FIG. 6 shows an example of a process based on the concept presented above. The example process involves an AP 10, which corresponds to any of the APs 10 shown in FIG. 1, for example, and a STA 11 associated with the AP 10. The AP 10 is assumed to be an MLD AP with three links, shown as link 1, link 2, and link 3, available to the AP 10. Similarly, the STA 11 is assumed to be an MLD STA with link 1 and link 2 available for communication with the AP 10. In FIG. 6, the wireless transmission between the AP 10 and the STA 11 is indicated by horizontal arrows, and the various kinds of dashed arrows indicate different channel access methods used in the wireless transmission.

[0049] First, AP10 sends DL wireless transmission based on EDCA method on link 1 to STA11. STA11 sends UL wireless transmission based on EDCA method on link 1 to AP10. At some point, as shown by block 610, AP10 determines that the amount of traffic to be sent to STA11 exceeds a threshold, for example, due to a large volume download initiated by STA11. Therefore, AP10 decides to activate link 2 to be used for transmitting best effort DL data of the download and to set the TB channel access method for the TID corresponding to the best effort data. In addition, AP10 decides to set the EDCA method for other latency-sensitive UL data on link 1. AP10 signals this setting to STA11, which then activates link 2 to receive best effort DL data from AP10 and uses link 1 with the EDCA method to send latency-sensitive UL data. It should be noted here that for the EDCA method used for the latency sensitive UL data on link 1, the parameter settings are modified compared to the previous settings, so as to better accommodate the requirements of the latency sensitive UL data.

[0050] FIG. 7 shows a flow chart for illustrating a method that may be utilized to implement the illustrated concept. The method of FIG. 7 may be used to implement the illustrated concept in a wireless communication device. The wireless communication device may be an AP, for example, one of the APs 10 described above. Alternatively, the wireless communication device may be a non-AP STA, such as one of the stations 11 described above. The wireless communication system may be based on wireless local area network (WLAN) technology, for example, according to the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. The wireless communication device may be MLD or non-MLD.

[0051] If a processor-based implementation of a wireless communication device is used, at least some of the steps of the method of Figure 7 may be performed and / or controlled by one or more processors of the wireless communication device. Such a wireless communication device may also include a memory storing program code for implementing at least some of the below-described functions or steps of the method of Figure 7.

[0052] In step 710, the wireless communication device sets up at least one wireless channel for communication with the further wireless communication device. If the wireless communication device is an AP, the further wireless communication device may be a non-AP STA associated with the AP, for example, one of the stations 11 described above. If the wireless communication device is a non-AP STA, the further wireless communication device may be an AP with which the wireless communication device is associated, for example, one of the APs 10 described above. In some scenarios, the wireless communication device may also set up multiple wireless channels for communication with the further wireless communication device, i.e., at least a first wireless channel and a second wireless channel.

[0053] In step 720, the wireless communication device selects between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method, the selection being performed individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted over the at least one wireless channel.

[0054] In a scenario in which the wireless communication device sets up at least a first and a second wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device, step 720 may involve the wireless communication device selecting between at least the first and the second channel access method, individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the first wireless channel. Further, step 720 may then involve the wireless communication device selecting between at least the first and the second channel access method, individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the second wireless channel.

[0055] The classes of traffic may correspond to the traffic classes mentioned above. The classes of traffic may each be identified by a TID. The selection between the at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method is based on one or more mappings of the at least one of the first channel access method and the second channel access method to the TID. The mappings may be defined individually for each wireless channel. Thus, in a scenario where a wireless communication device sets up at least a first wireless channel and a second wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device, for the first wireless channel, the selection between the at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method may be based on a first mapping of the at least one of the first channel access method and the second channel access method to the TID, and for the second wireless channel, the selection between the at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method is based on a second mapping of the at least one of the first channel access method or the second channel access method to the TID. The second mapping may be different from the first mapping. An example of such a link-dependent mapping is shown by the table of FIG. 2.

[0056] For at least one of the classes of traffic, the selection of step 720 may be based on one or more conditions related to at least one wireless channel. Based on such conditions, the wireless communication device may also newly select between at least the first and second channel access methods for at least one of the classes of traffic.

[0057] The one or more conditions may include or be based on an amount of data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device, an amount of data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device, one or more TIDs associated with the data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device, one or more TIDs associated with the data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device, one or more QoS parameters associated with the data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device, one or more QoS parameters associated with the data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device, a number of wireless communication devices operating on the same wireless channel, and / or a channel usage value of the wireless channel. At least one of the one or more conditions may be based on measurements reported by the further wireless communication device and / or measurements reported by one or more other wireless communication devices.

[0058] In some scenarios, an ML model may be utilized for the selection of step 720. In particular, for at least one of the classes of traffic, the selection between at least the first and second channel access methods is based on a machine learning model. The ML model may be trained based on training data including data indicative of the selection between at least the first and second channel access methods and related data representative of the performance of the wireless communication system.

[0059] For at least one of the classes of traffic, the selection of step 720 may also be coordinated with one or more other wireless communication devices operating on the same wireless channel. For example, if the wireless communication device is an AP, the selection may be coordinated with one or more other APs, e.g., one or more neighboring APs having a service area, e.g., BSS, that overlaps with the service area, e.g., BSS, of the wireless communication device.

[0060] The first channel access method may correspond to a contention-based channel access method, such as the EDCA method of the IEEE 802.11 standard. The second channel access method may correspond to the TB channel access method of the IEEE 802.11ax correction. In some scenarios, the selection of step 720 may be between the first channel access method, the second channel access method, and a third channel access method. The third channel access method may be a contention-free channel access method, such as the HCCA method of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0061] In step 730, at least one of the one or more mappings of step 720 may be signaled between the wireless communication device and the further wireless communication device. This may involve, for example, the wireless communication device sending an indication of at least one of the one or more mappings to the further wireless communication device. Alternatively or additionally, this may involve the wireless communication device receiving an indication of at least one of the one or more mappings from the further wireless communication device. The indication may be based on the extended TID-to-link mapping element of FIG. 3 and the channel access element described with respect to FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

[0062] In step 740, the wireless communication device may receive and / or send one or more wireless transmissions based on the channel access method selected in step 720. When sending a wireless transmission to the further wireless communication device, this may involve, for example, accessing a wireless channel based on the selected channel access method. When receiving a wireless transmission from the further wireless communication device, this may involve being ready to receive the wireless transmission when the further wireless communication device accesses the wireless channel based on the selected channel access method. In some cases, as in the case of the TB channel access method, this may also involve assisting the further wireless communication device in accessing the channel by providing control information, such as a trigger frame.

[0063] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram to illustrate the functionality of a wireless communication device 800 operating according to the method of FIG. 7. The wireless communication device 800 may correspond, for example, to one of the APs 10 described above or to one of the stations 11 described above. As shown, the wireless communication device 800 may comprise a module 810 configured to set up a wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device, as described with respect to step 710. Additionally, the wireless communication device 800 may be configured with a module 820 configured to select between channel access methods, as described with respect to step 720. Additionally, the wireless communication device 800 may comprise a module 830 configured to send and / or receive one or more indications of mapping, as described with respect to step 730. Additionally, the wireless communication device 800 may comprise a module 840 configured to send and / or receive one or more wireless transmissions, as described with respect to step 740.

[0064] It should be noted that the wireless communication device 800 may include additional modules for implementing other functions, such as known functions of an AP or a non-AP STA in IEEE 802.11 technology. Furthermore, it should be noted that the modules of the wireless communication device 800 do not necessarily represent the hardware structure of the wireless communication device 800, but may also correspond to functional elements, for example, implemented by hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

[0065] 9 illustrates a processor-based implementation of a wireless communication device 900. The structure illustrated in FIG. 9 may be used to implement the concepts described above. The wireless communication device 900 may correspond, for example, to one of the APs 10 described above or to one of the stations 11 described above.

[0066] As shown, the wireless communication device 900 includes a radio interface 910. The radio interface 910 may be based on WLAN technology, for example, according to the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. However, other wireless technologies, for example, LTE or NR technologies, may also be supported. In some cases, the radio interface may include multiple transmit and receive processing chains, for example, to support MLO. In some scenarios, the radio interface 910 may support beamformed multi-antenna port transmission based on multiple antennas of the wireless communication device 900 to enable spatial multiplexing of wireless transmissions, i.e., the use of multiple spatial streams. Furthermore, if the wireless communication device 900 is an AP, the wireless communication device may include a network interface 920 for connecting to a data network, for example, using a wire-based connection.

[0067] Further, the wireless communication device 900 may include one or more processors 950 coupled to the interface(s) 910, 920 and memory 960 coupled to the processor(s) 950. By way of example, the interface(s) 910, 920, the processor(s) 950, and the memory 960 may be coupled by one or more internal bus systems of the wireless communication device 900. The memory 960 may include a read-only memory (ROM), e.g., a flash ROM, a random access memory (RAM), e.g., a dynamic RAM (DRAM) or a static RAM (SRAM), a mass storage, e.g., a hard disk or a solid-state disk, and the like. As shown, the memory 960 may include software 970 and / or firmware 980. The memory 960 may include appropriately configured program code to be executed by the processor(s) 950 to implement the above-described functions for controlling wireless transmission, as described with respect to FIG. 7.

[0068] It should be understood that the structure shown in FIG. 9 is only schematic, and that the wireless communication device 900 may actually include additional components, such as additional interfaces or additional processors, that are not shown for clarity. It should also be understood that the memory 960 may include additional program code for implementing known functions of an AP or a non-AP STA in IEEE 802.11 technology. According to some embodiments, a computer program may also be provided to implement the functions of the wireless communication device 900, for example, in the form of a physical medium that stores program code and / or other data to be stored in the memory 960, or by making the program code available for download or by streaming.

[0069] As can be seen, the concept described above can be used to efficiently control wireless transmissions. When transmission data with different ACs can be transmitted on different links, the concept can be used to better take into account that existing QoS mechanisms of WLAN technology only statistically prioritize one AC over another. Furthermore, since the lower priority ACs can be transmitted on dedicated wireless channels, the need to select channel access parameters that are particularly penalized for the lower priority ACs can be mitigated. This can result in better system performance for both critical and background traffic. With the concept shown, it is also possible to separate STAs with different capabilities regarding the supported channel access methods, for example, STAs that support the TB channel access method of the IEEE 8021.11ax amendment from other devices, for example, devices that only support older legacy channel access methods such as the EDCA method. For example, a dedicated wireless channel can be allocated for each of the two categories, and different channel access methods can be assigned depending on the category of the device.

[0070] It should be understood that the above-described examples and embodiments are merely illustrative and subject to various modifications. For example, the illustrated concept is not limited with respect to the number of parallel incoming and outgoing radio transmissions. Furthermore, the illustrated concept may be applied with respect to various types of wireless technologies, not limited to WLAN technology. Furthermore, the concept may be applied with respect to various types of APs and STAs. Moreover, it should be understood that the above-described concept may be implemented by using correspondingly designed software to be executed by one or more processors of an existing device or apparatus, or by using dedicated device hardware. Furthermore, it should be noted that the illustrated apparatus or devices may each be implemented as a single device or as a system of multiple interacting devices or modules.

[0071] In view of the above, embodiments of the present disclosure include the following. Embodiment 1: 1. A method for controlling radio transmissions in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) setting up at least one wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900); A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) individually selecting between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on at least one wireless channel. A method comprising:

[0072] Embodiment 2: A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) setting up at least a first wireless channel and a second wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900); selecting, by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method, for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on a first wireless channel; a wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) selecting between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the second wireless channel; 2. The method of embodiment 1, comprising:

[0073] Embodiment 3: Each class of traffic is identified by a corresponding traffic identifier; and selecting between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method based on one or more mappings of at least one of the first channel access method and the second channel access method to a traffic identifier; 3. The method of embodiment 1 or 2.

[0074] Embodiment 4: selecting between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method for a first wireless channel based on a first mapping of the at least one of the first channel access method and the second channel access method to a traffic identifier; and selecting between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method for the second wireless channel is based on a second mapping of at least one of the first channel access method or the second channel access method to a traffic identifier; The method according to embodiments 2 and 3.

[0075] Embodiment 5: The second mapping is different from the first mapping; 5. The method of embodiment 4.

[0076] Embodiment 6: A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) sending an indication of at least one of the one or more mappings to a further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900). 6. The method of claim 2 to 5, comprising:

[0077] Embodiment 7: A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) receiving an indication of at least one of the one or more mappings from a further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900). 7. The method of claim 2 to 6, comprising:

[0078] Embodiment 8: A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) reselects between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method based on one or more conditions related to at least one of the classes of traffic and to at least one wireless channel. 8. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 7, comprising:

[0079] Embodiment 9: the one or more conditions include an amount of data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), an amount of data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), one or more traffic identifiers associated with the data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), one or more traffic identifiers associated with the data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), one or more quality of service parameters associated with the data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), one or more quality of service parameters associated with the data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), a number of wireless communication devices (10, 11; 800; 900) operating on the same wireless channel, and / or a channel usage value of the wireless channel, 9. The method of embodiment 8.

[0080] Embodiment 10: At least one of the one or more conditions is based on measurements reported by the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) and / or measurements reported by one or more other wireless communication devices (10, 11; 800; 900), The method of embodiment 8 or 9.

[0081] Embodiment 11: selecting between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method for at least one of the classes of traffic based on a machine learning model; 11. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10.

[0082] Embodiment 12: a machine learning model is trained based on training data including data indicative of a selection between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method and related data representative of a performance of the wireless communication system; 12. The method of embodiment 11.

[0083] Embodiment 13: the selection between at least the first and second channel access methods for at least one of the classes of traffic is coordinated with one or more other wireless communication devices (10, 11; 800; 900) operating on the same wireless channel; 13. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 12.

[0084] Embodiment 14: the first channel access method corresponds to a contention-based channel access method, and the second channel access method corresponds to a trigger-based channel access method; 14. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 13.

[0085] Embodiment 15: the selecting is between a first channel access method, a second channel access method, and a third channel access method. 15. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 14.

[0086] Embodiment 16: The third channel access method corresponds to a contention-free channel access method. 16. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 15.

[0087] Embodiment 17: The wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) is an access point and the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) is a station associated with the access point, 17. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 16.

[0088] Embodiment 18: the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) is an access point and the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) is a station associated with the access point, 17. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 16.

[0089] Embodiment 19: The wireless communication system is based on wireless local area network technology according to the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, 19. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 18.

[0090] Embodiment 20: A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) for a wireless communication system, the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) comprising: setting up at least one radio channel for communication with a further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900); selecting between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the at least one wireless channel; A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) adapted to perform the following:

[0091] Embodiment 21: A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) configured to perform the method according to any one of embodiments 2 to 19, A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) as described in embodiment 20.

[0092] Embodiment 22: At least one processor (950); a memory (960) containing program code executable by at least one processor; Equipped with A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) as described in embodiment 20 or 21, whereby execution of the program code by at least one processor (950) causes the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) to perform a method as described in any one of embodiments 1 to 19.

[0093] Embodiment 23: A computer program or computer program product comprising a program code to be executed by at least one processor (950) of a wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), whereby execution of the program code causes the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) to perform a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 19.

Claims

1. 1. A method for controlling radio transmissions in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) setting up at least one wireless channel for communication with a further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900); selecting, individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on said at least one wireless channel, by said wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method; A method comprising:

2. said wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) setting up at least a first and a second wireless channel for communication with said further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900); selecting, by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method, individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the first wireless channel; and selecting, individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the second radio channel, by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

3. Each class of traffic is identified by a corresponding traffic identifier; and selecting between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method based on one or more mappings of at least one of the first channel access method and the second channel access method to the traffic identifier. The method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. selecting between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method for the first wireless channel based on a first mapping of at least one of the first channel access method and the second channel access method to the traffic identifier; and selecting between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method for the second wireless channel is based on a second mapping of at least one of the first channel access method or the second channel access method to the traffic identifier. The method according to claims 2 and 3.

5. the second mapping is different from the first mapping; The method according to claim 4.

6. said wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) sending an indication of at least one of said one or more mappings to said further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900); The method according to claims 2 to 5, comprising:

7. said wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) receiving an indication of said at least one of said one or more mappings from said further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900); The method according to claims 2 to 6, comprising:

8. a new selection by said wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) between at least said first channel access method and said second channel access method based on one or more conditions related to at least one of said classes of traffic and to said at least one wireless channel; The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising:

9. the one or more conditions comprise: an amount of data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), an amount of data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), one or more traffic identifiers associated with data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), one or more traffic identifiers associated with data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), one or more quality of service parameters associated with data to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), one or more quality of service parameters associated with data to be transmitted by the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), a number of wireless communication devices (10, 11; 800; 900) operating on the same wireless channel, and / or a channel usage value of the wireless channel. The method according to claim 8.

10. at least one of said one or more conditions is based on measurements reported by said further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) and / or measurements reported by one or more other wireless communication devices (10, 11; 800; 900), 10. The method according to claim 8 or 9.

11. selecting between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method for at least one of the classes of traffic is based on a machine learning model.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. the machine learning model is trained based on training data including data indicating a selection between at least the first channel access method and the second channel access method and related data representative of a performance of the wireless communication system. The method of claim 11.

13. selecting between at least said first and said second channel access methods for at least one of said classes of traffic is coordinated with one or more other wireless communication devices (10, 11; 800; 900) operating on the same wireless channel; 13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. the first channel access method corresponds to a contention-based channel access method, and the second channel access method corresponds to a trigger-based channel access method.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. said selecting is between said first channel access method, said second channel access method and a third channel access method.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. the third channel access method corresponds to a contention-free channel access method; 16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. said wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) being an access point and said further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) being a station associated with said access point, 17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. the further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) being an access point and the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) being a station associated with the access point, 17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. The wireless communication system is based on wireless local area network technology according to the IEEE 802.11 family of standards; 19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) for a wireless communication system, said wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) comprising: - setting up at least one radio channel for communication with a further wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900); selecting between at least a first channel access method and a second channel access method individually for each of a plurality of classes of traffic to be transmitted on the at least one wireless channel; A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) adapted to perform the steps of:

21. The wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) is configured to implement a method according to any one of claims 2 to 19, A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) according to claim 20.

22. At least one processor (950); a memory (960) containing program code executable by said at least one processor; Equipped with A wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) as claimed in claim 20 or 21, whereby execution of the program code by the at least one processor (950) causes the wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) to perform a method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19.

23. A computer program or computer program product comprising a program code to be executed by at least one processor (950) of a wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900), whereby execution of said program code causes said wireless communication device (10, 11; 800; 900) to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

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