Cell Grouping for Multi-Cell Scheduling - Patent application

Abstract

A computer-readable storage medium stores instructions for configuring a UE for multi-cell scheduling in a 5G NR network and causing the UE to perform operations including decoding higher layer signaling. The higher layer signaling indicates a number of configured cell groups to the UE. Each cell group of the number of cell groups includes at least two cells. DCI received on a PDCCH is decoded. The DCI includes a scheduling grant to the UE with time and frequency allocations for PUSCH or PDSCH in the number of configured cell groups. Based on the scheduling grant, uplink data transmission via PUSCH is scheduled in the number of cell groups and downlink data reception via PDSCH is scheduled in the number of cell groups.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] [Related Applications] This application claims the benefit of priority to the following U.S. provisional patent applications:

[0002] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 298,913, filed January 12, 2022, entitled "CELL GROUPING FOR MULTI-CELL SCHEDULING IN NEW RADIO SYSTEMS";

[0003] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 308,758, filed February 10, 2022, entitled "CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION (CSI) REPORTING FOR PHYSICAL UPLINK SHARED CHANNEL (PUSCH) SCHEDULING ON MULTIPLE CELLS";

[0004] The provisional patent application, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 331,445, filed April 15, 2022, is entitled "CELL GROUPING FOR MULTI-CELL SCHEDULING IN NEW RADIO SYSTEMS."

[0005] Each of the above provisional patent applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0006] [Technical field] Aspects relate to wireless communication. Some aspects related to wireless communication include 5th generation (5G) networks including 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) networks, 3GPP (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE (LTE Advanced) networks, (MultiFire, LTE-U), and 5G new radio (or 5G-NR) networks, 5G-LTE networks, 5G NR unlicensed spectrum (NR-U, NR unlicensed spectrum) networks, and other unlicensed networks including Wi-Fi, CBRS (OnGo), and the like. Other aspects are directed to techniques for channel state information (CSI) reporting for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduling on multiple cells. Further aspects relate to cell grouping techniques for multi-cell scheduling in an NR system. [Background technology]

[0007] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated and integrated communications platforms. The use of 3GPP LTE systems is increasing with an increase in the number of different types of devices communicating with various network devices. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment, user device, or UE) in modern society continues to drive the demand for a wide variety of network devices in many different environments. The fifth generation (5G) wireless system is coming soon and is expected to enable greater speed, connectivity, and usability. Next-generation 5G networks (or NR networks) are expected to improve throughput, coverage, robustness, and reduce latency, operational and capital expenditures. 5G-NR networks will continue to evolve with 3GPP LTE-Advanced and newer radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with seamless wireless connectivity solutions that provide high speed and rich content and services. As current cellular network frequencies are saturated, higher frequencies such as millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies are beneficial due to their high bandwidth.

[0008] Possible LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum includes, but is not limited to, LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC) or DC-based LAA and standalone LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum. According to this, LTE-based technology operates only in unlicensed spectrum without the need for an "anchor" in licensed spectrum, called MulteFire. Further enhanced operation of LTE and NR systems in licensed and unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G systems. Such enhanced operation includes CSI reporting techniques for PUSCH scheduling in multiple cells and cell grouping techniques for multi-cell scheduling in NR systems. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and like reference numbers may represent like components in different figures. Like reference numbers with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of the like components. The figures illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various aspects discussed in the present specification.

[0010] [Figure 1A] 1 illustrates a network architecture according to some aspects.

[0011] [Figure 1B] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects. [Figure 1C] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects.

[0012] [Diagram 2] Various systems, devices, and components are illustrated in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented. [Diagram 3] Various systems, devices, and components are illustrated in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented. [Figure 4] Various systems, devices, and components are illustrated in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0013] [Diagram 5] 1 is a diagram of multi-cell scheduling for PUSCH in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] [Figure 6] 1 is an illustration of aperiodic CSI (A-CSI) on PUSCH for multi-cell scheduling with minimum serving cell index in accordance with some embodiments.

[0015] [Figure 7]1 is an illustration of A-CSI on PUSCH for multi-cell scheduling with earliest start time in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] [Figure 8] 1 is an illustration of a CSI computation time check with an earliest scheduled PUSCH, in accordance with some aspects.

[0017] [Figure 9] 1 is an illustration of a CSI calculation time check with a PUSCH carrying an A-CSI report, in accordance with some aspects.

[0018] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates an illustration of a beta offset indication for multi-cell PUSCH scheduling in accordance with some aspects.

[0019] [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram of multi-cell scheduling for PDSCH according to some embodiments.

[0020] [Figure 12] 1 is a diagram of cell grouping for multi-cell scheduling for PDSCH according to some embodiments.

[0021] [Figure 13] 1 is an illustration of cell grouping based on frequency range, according to some aspects.

[0022] [Figure 14] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a communications device, such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), next generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The following description and drawings sufficiently describe the aspects to enable one skilled in the art to practice them. Other aspects may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, processing, and other changes. Portions and features of some aspects may be included in or substituted for portions and features of other aspects. The aspects outlined in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0024] 1A illustrates a network architecture according to some aspects. Network 140A is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and 102 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a portable (laptop) or personal data assistant (PDA), a pager, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless handset, a drone, or any other computing device that includes a wired and / or wireless communication interface. UE 101 and 102 may be collectively referred to herein as UE 101, which may be used to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0025] Any of the wireless links described herein (eg, used in network 140A or other illustrated networks) may operate according to any example wireless communication technology and / or standard.

[0026] LTE and LTE-Advanced are standards for high-speed data wireless communication for UEs such as mobile phones. Carrier aggregation is a technique in LTE-Advanced and various wireless systems that uses multiple carrier signals operating at different frequencies to carry a single UE's communications, increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. Carrier aggregation may be used when one or more component carriers operate in unlicensed frequencies.

[0027] The aspects described herein may be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or (licensed) shared spectrum (e.g., Licensed Shared Access (LSA) for 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz, and Spectrum Access System (SAS) for 3.55-3.7 GHz and beyond).

[0028] The aspects described herein can be applied to different single carrier or OFDM types (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank-based multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), especially in 3GPP NR (New Radio), by assigning OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0029] In some aspects, any of the UEs 101 and 102 may include Internet of Things (IoT) UEs or Cellular IoT (CIoT) UEs, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. In some aspects, any of the UEs 101 and 102 may include a narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UEs and Further Enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UEs, etc.). IoT UEs may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) to exchange data with an MTC server or device over a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe), or device-to-device (D2D) communications, sensor network, or IoT network. M2M or MTC data exchanges may be machine initiated data exchanges. IoT networks include the ability to interconnect IoT UEs, which include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), over short-term connections. IoT UEs may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate IoT network connectivity.

[0030] In some aspects, any of the UEs 101 and 102 may include enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs or further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UEs.

[0031] The UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect, e.g., be communicatively coupled, to a radio access network (RAN) 110. The RAN 110 may be, e.g., a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NGRAN), or other type of RAN. The UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (described in more detail below). In this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as wireless interfaces to enable communication coupling and may be compatible with cellular communication protocols such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocols, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocols, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocols, PTT over Cellular (POC) protocols, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, fifth generation, 5G protocols, New Radio (NR) protocols, and the like.

[0032] In one aspect, the UEs 101 and 102 may further directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 is also referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface that includes one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0033] The UE 102 is shown configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via a connection 107. The connection 107 may constitute a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, according to which the AP 106 may constitute a wireless fidelity (WiFi) router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet without connecting to a core network of a wireless system (described in more detail below).

[0034] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN network nodes, etc., and may include terrestrial stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographical region (e.g., a cell). In an aspect, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmission / reception points (TRPs). If the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may function within the communication cell of the NodeB. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing a macrocell, e.g., a macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing a femtocell or picocell (e.g., a cell having a smaller coverage area, lower user capacity, or larger bandwidth compared to a macrocell), e.g., a low power (LP) RAN node 112, or a secondary RAN node 112 based on unlicensed spectrum.

[0035] Any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate air interface protocols and may be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some aspects, any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may perform various logical functions of the RAN 110, including radio network controller (RNC) functions such as, but not limited to, radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In one example, any of the nodes 111 and / or 112 may be a next generation Node B (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

[0036] The RAN 110 is shown communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In an aspect, the CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or other type of CN (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 1C). In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 114 that carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and a serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and an S1 mobility management entity (MME) interface 115 that is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0037] In this aspect, the CN 120 includes an MME 121, an S-GW 122, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 124. The MME 121 is functionally similar to the control plane of conventional Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MME 121 can manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 can include a database for network users, including subscription related information to support the processing of communication sessions of the network entities. The CN 120 can include one or more HSSs 124 depending on the number of mobile subscribers, device capabilities, network configuration, etc. For example, the HSS 124 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / address resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0038] The S-GW 122 terminates the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110 and can route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. Additionally, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW 122 include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0039] The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface towards the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network 120 and external networks, such as a network including an application server 184 (also referred to as an application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 may also communicate data to other external networks 131A, which may include the Internet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. In general, the application server 184 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources in the core network (UMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this aspect, the P-GW 123 is shown communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. The application server 184 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0040] The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0041] In some aspects, the communication network 140A may be an IoT network or a 5G network, including a 5G New Radio network that uses communications in licensed (5G NR) and unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrum. One current implementation of IoT is narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

[0042] The NG system architecture may include a RAN 110 and a 5G Network Core (5GC) 120. The NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The core network 120 (e.g., 5G Core Network (5GC)) may include an Access and Mobility Function (AMF) and / or a User Plane Function (UPF). The AMF and UPF may be communicatively coupled to the gNBs and NG-eNBs via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNBs and NG-eNBs may be connected to the AMF by an NG-C interface and to the UPF by an NG-U interface. The gNBs and NG-eNBs may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0043] In some aspects, the NG system architecture can use reference points between various nodes such as those provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (e.g., V15.4.0, 2018-12). In some aspects, each gNB and NG-eNB can be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, a RAN network node, etc. In some aspects, the gNB can be a master node (MN) and the NG-eNB can be a secondary node (SN) in the 5G architecture. In some aspects, the master / primary node can operate in a licensed spectrum and the secondary node can operate in an unlicensed spectrum.

[0044] 1B illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some aspects. Referring to FIG. 1B, a 5G system architecture 140B is illustrated in a reference point representation. More specifically, a UE 102 can communicate with a RAN 110, as well as one or more other 5G core (5GC) network entities. The 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple network functions (NFs), such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) 132, a location management function (LMF) 133, a session management function (SMF) 136, a policy control function (PCF) 148, an application function (AF) 150, a user plane function (UPF) 134, a network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, an authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and a unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146. The UPF 134 can provide connectivity to a data network (DN) 152, which can include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third party services. The AMF 132 can be used to manage access control and mobility, and may also include network slice selection functionality. The SMF 136 can be configured to set up and manage various sessions according to network policies. The UPF 134 can be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type.The PCF 148 can be configured to provide a policy framework with network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to a PCRF in a 4G communication system). The UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to an HSS in a 4G communication system).

[0045] The LMF 133 can be used in connection with a 5G positioning function. In some aspects, the LMF 133 receives measurement and assistance information from the Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 110 and the mobile device (e.g., UE 101) via the AMF 132 over the NLs interface and calculates the position of the UE 101. In some aspects, the NR positioning protocol A (NRPPa) can be used to transmit positioning information between the NG-RAN and the LMF 133 over the Next Generation Control Plane Interface (NG-C). In some aspects, the LMF 133 configures the UE using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) over the AMF 132. The NGRAN 110 configures the UE 101 using a Radio resource control (RRC) protocol over the LTE-Uu and NR-Uu interfaces.

[0046] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B configures different reference signals to enable positioning measurements. Examples of reference signals that can be used for positioning measurements include a positioning reference signal (NR PRS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning in the uplink. A downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) is a reference signal configured to support a downlink-based positioning method.

[0047] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as a call session control function (CSCF), as well as an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 168B. More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF that can operate as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162BE, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not shown in FIG. 1B), or an interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 166B. The P-CSCF 162B can be configured as the first point of contact for the UE 102 in the IM subsystem (IMS) 168B. The S-CSCF 164B can be configured to handle session state within the network, and the E-CSCF can be configured to handle certain aspects of the emergency session, such as routing the emergency request to the appropriate emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B can be configured to act as a contact point within the network of the network operator for all IMS connections destined for subscribers of that network operator or roaming subscribers currently located within the network operator's service area. In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166B can be connected to another IP multimedia network 170E, e.g., an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0048] In some aspects, the UDM / HSS 146 can be coupled to an application server 160E, which can include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server (AS). The AS 160B can be coupled to an IMS 168B via an S-CSCF 164B or an I-CSCF 166B.

[0049] The reference point representation indicates that interactions may exist between corresponding NF services. For example, Figure 1B shows the following reference points: N1 (between UE 102 and AMF 132), N2 (between RAN 110 and AMF 132), N3 (between RAN 110 and UPF 134), N4 (between SMF 136 and UPF 134), N5 (between PCF 148 and AF 150 (not shown)), N6 (between UPF 134 and DN 152), N7 (between SMF 136 and PCF 148 (not shown)), N8 (between UDM 146 and AMF 132 (not shown)), N9 (between two UPFs 134 (not shown)), N10 (between UDM 146 and SMF 136 (not shown)), N11 (between UDM 146 and AMF 132 (not shown)), N12 (between UDM 146 and SMF 136 (not shown)), N13 (between UPF 134 and DN 152 (not shown)), N14 (between UPF 134 and DN 152 (not shown)), N15 (between UPF 134 and DN 152 (not shown)), N16 (between UPF 134 and DN 152 (not shown)), N17 (between UDM 146 and AMF 132 (not shown)), N18 (between UPF 134 and DN 152 (not shown)), N19 (between UPF 134 and DN 152 (not shown)), N20 (between UPF 134 and DN 152 (not shown)), N21 (between UPF 134 and DN 1B )), N11 (between AMF 132 and SMF 136 (not shown)), N12 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132 (not shown)), N13 (between AUSF 144 and UDM 146 (not shown)), N14 (between two AMFs 132 (not shown)), N15 (between PCF 148 and AMF 132 in case of non-roaming scenario, and between PCF 148, visited network and AMF 132 in case of roaming scenario (not shown)), N16 (between two SMFs (not shown)), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142 (not shown)). Other reference point representations not shown in FIG. 1B may also be used.

[0050] 1C illustrates a 5G system architecture 140C and a service-based representation. In addition to the network entities illustrated in FIG. 1B, the system architecture 140C may also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, the 5G system architecture may be service-based, and interactions between network functions may be represented as corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni or service-based interfaces.

[0051] In some aspects, as shown in FIG. 1C, a service-based representation can be used to represent network functions in a control plane that allows other authorized network functions to access those services. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140C can include the following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (service-based interface represented by AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (service-based interface represented by SMF 136), Nnef 158B (service-based interface represented by NEF 154), Npcf 158D (service-based interface represented by PCF 148), Nudm 158E (service-based interface represented by UDM 146), Naf 158F (service-based interface represented by AF 150), Nnrf 158C (service-based interface represented by NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (service-based interface represented by NSSF 142), Nausf 158G (service-based interface represented by AUSF 144). Other service-based interfaces not shown in FIG. 1C (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, Nudsf) may also be used.

[0052] 2-13 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments in different communication systems, such as 5G-NR networks, including 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTN). UEs, base stations (such as gNBs), and / or other nodes described herein (e.g., satellites or other NTN nodes) may be configured to perform the disclosed techniques.

[0053] 2 illustrates a network 200 according to various embodiments. Network 200 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G / NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that would benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems.

[0054] The network 200 may include UEs 202, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with the RAN 204 over a wireless connection, such as, but not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment device, an in-vehicle entertainment device, an instrument cluster, a heads-up display device, an in-vehicle diagnostic device, a dashboard mobile device, a mobile data terminal, an electronic engine management system, an electronic / engine control unit, an electronic / engine control module, an embedded system, a sensor, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system, a networked appliance, a machine-type communication device, an M2M or D2D device, an IoT device, and the like.

[0055] In some embodiments, the network 200 may include multiple UEs directly coupled to each other via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M / D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.

[0056] In some embodiments, the UE 202 may further communicate with the AP 206 via a wireless connection. The AP 206 may manage a WLAN connection, which helps to offload some or all of the network traffic from the RAN 204. The connection between the UE 202 and the AP 206 may be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, and the AP 206 may be a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) router. In some embodiments, the UE 202, the RAN 204, and the AP 206 may utilize cellular WLAN aggregation (e.g., LWA / LWIP). The cellular WLAN aggregation may include the UE 202 being configured by the RAN 204 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0057] The RAN 204 may include one or more access nodes, such as, for example, an access node (AN) 208. The AN 208 may terminate the air interface protocols for the UE 202 by providing access stratum protocols including RRC, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN 208 may enable data / voice connectivity between the core network (CN) 220 and the UE 202. In some embodiments, the AN 208 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer, on a separate device, or as part of a virtual network, e.g., referred to as a CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool. The AN 208 may be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. AN208 may be a macrocell base station or a low power base station to provide a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0058] In embodiments where the RAN 204 includes multiple ANs, they may be coupled to each other via an X2 interface (if the RAN 204 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 204 is a 5G RAN). The X2 / Xn interface may in some embodiments be separated into a control / user plane interface, allowing the ANs to communicate information related to handover, data / context transfer, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.

[0059] The ANs of the RAN 204 may each manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc., to provide the UE 202 with a radio interface for network access. The UE 202 may be simultaneously connected to multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 204. For example, the UE 202 and the RAN 204 may use carrier aggregation to enable the UE 202 to connect with multiple component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or an Scell. In a dual connectivity scenario, the first AN may be a master node providing an MCG, and the second AN may be a secondary node providing an SCG. The first / second ANs may be any combination of eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, etc.

[0060] The RAN 204 may provide an air interface over a licensed or unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the node may use LAA, eLAA and / or feLAA mechanisms based on CA techniques with PCells / SCells. Before accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the node may perform a medium / carrier sensing operation, for example, based on a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0061] In a V2X scenario, the UE 202 or AN 208 may be or function as a roadside unit (RSU), which represents any transport infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by an appropriate AN or a fixed (or relatively fixed) UE. The RSU is implemented in or by: a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", etc. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located at the roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicular UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry that stores intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, as well as applications / software to detect and control ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low latency communications necessary for high speed events such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular / WLAN communication services. The components of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a traffic signal controller or a network interface controller that provides a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a backhaul network.

[0062] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be an LTE RAN 210 with an eNB, such as eNB 212. The LTE RAN 210 may provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: 15 kHz sub-carrier spacing (SCS), CP-OFDM waveform for downlink (DL) and SC-FDMA waveform for uplink (UL), turbo codes for data, and TBCC for control. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management, PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH / PDCCH demodulation, and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation / detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate in sub-6 GHz bands.

[0063] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be an NG-RAN 214 having a gNB, e.g., gNB 216, or an ng-eNB, e.g., ng-eNB 218. The gNB 216 may connect with a 5G-capable UE using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 216 may connect with a 5G core via an NG interface, including an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 218 may connect with a 5G core via an NG interface, but may connect with a UE via an LTE radio interface. The gNB 216 and the ng-eNB 218 may connect with each other via an Xn interface.

[0064] In some embodiments, the NG interface may be divided into two parts: an NG User Plane (NG-U) interface (e.g., N3 interface), which carries traffic data between the nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and the UPF 248, and an NG Control Plane (NG-C) interface (e.g., N2 interface), which is a signaling interface between the nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and the AMF 244.

[0065] The NG-RAN 214 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS, CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL, polar, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control, and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS, PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS similar to the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use CRS, but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation, PTRS for phase tracking of PDSCH, and tracking reference signals for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operate in the FR1 band, which includes the sub-6 GHz band, or the FR2 band, which includes the 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz band. The 5G-NR air interface may include a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block (SSB), which is a region of the downlink resource grid that includes the PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0066] In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize bandwidth parts (BWPs) for various purposes. For example, BWPs can be used for dynamic adaptation of SCS. For example, the UE 202 can be configured with multiple BWPs with different SCS for each BWP configuration. When a change in BWP is indicated to the UE 202, the SCS of the transmission also changes. Another use case of BWPs is related to power saving. In particular, multiple BWPs with different amounts of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) can be configured for the UE 202 to support data transmissions in different traffic load scenarios. A BWP with a smaller number of PRBs can perform data transmissions with a smaller traffic load while enabling power saving for the UE 202 and possibly the gNB 216. A BWP with a larger number of PRBs can be used in scenarios with a higher traffic load.

[0067] The RAN 204 is communicatively coupled to the CN 220, which includes network elements and provides various functions to support data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 202). The components of the CN 220 may be implemented in one physical node or in separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all of the functions provided by the network elements of the CN 220 onto physical compute / storage resources such as servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of the CN 220 is referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 220 is referred to as a network sub-slice.

[0068] In some embodiments, the CN 220 may connect to an LTE wireless network as part of an Enhanced Packet System (EPS) 222, also referred to as the EPC (or Enhanced Packet Core). The EPC 222 may include an MME 224, an SGW 226, an SGSN 228, an HSS 230, a PGW 232, and a PCRF 234, which are coupled together over interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. A brief introduction to the functionality of the elements of the EPC 222 is as follows:

[0069] The MME 224 may implement mobility management functions that track the current location of the UE 202 to facilitate paging, bearer activation / deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, and the like.

[0070] The SGW 226 terminates the S1 interface towards the RAN and can route data packets between the RAN and the EPC 222. The SGW 226 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0071] The SGSN 228 may track the location of the UE 202 and perform security functions and access control. Furthermore, the SGSN 228 may perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks, PDN and S-GW selection specified by the MME 224, MME selection for handover, etc. The S3 reference point between the MME 224 and the SGSN 228 enables user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle / active state.

[0072] The HSS 230 may include a database for network users, including subscription related information to support processing of communication sessions of the network entities. The HSS 230 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / address resolution, location dependency, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 230 and the MME 224 enables transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the LTE CN 220.

[0073] The PGW 232 may terminate an SGi interface to a data network (DN) 236, which may include an application / content server 238. The PGW 232 may route data packets between the LTE CN 220 and the data network 236. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the SGW 226 by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 232 may further include a node (e.g., PCEF) for policy enforcement and collection of charging data. Furthermore, the SGi reference point between the PGW 232 and the data network 236 may be, for example, a public, private PDN external to the operator, or a packet data network within the operator for providing IMS services. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the PCRF 234 via a Gx reference point.

[0074] The PCRF 234 is the policy and charging control element of the LTE CN 220. The PCRF 234 may be communicatively coupled to an app / content server 238 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for a service flow. The PCRF 234 may provision the PCEF (over the Gx reference point) with the appropriate TFT and QCI related rules.

[0075] In some embodiments, the CN 220 may be a 5GC 240. The 5GC 240 may include an AUSF 242, an AMF 244, an SMF 246, a UPF 248, an NSSF 250, an NEF 252, an NRF 254, a PCF 256, a UDM 258, and an AF 260, which are coupled together over interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functions of the elements of the 5GC 240 are briefly introduced below.

[0076] The AUSF 242 may store data and process authentication related functions for authentication of the UE 202. The AUSF 242 may implement a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 240 over reference points as shown, the AUSF 242 may exhibit a Nausf service based interface.

[0077] The AMF 244 may enable other functions of the 5GC 240 to communicate with the UE 202 and the RAN 204 and subscribe to notifications regarding mobility events for the UE 202. The AMF 244 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., when registering the UE 202), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 244 may provide transport of SM messages between the UE 202 and the SMF 246 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 244 may also provide transport of SMS messages between the UE 202 and the SMF. The AMF 244 may interact with the AUSF 242 and the UE 202 to perform various security anchor and context management functions. Additionally, the AMF 244 may be the termination point of the RAN CP interface that includes or is the N2 reference point between the RAN 204 and the AMF 244. The AMF 244 may also be the termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and may perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. The AMF 244 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 202 over the N3 IWF interface.

[0078] The SMF 246 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment between the UPF 248 and the AN 208, tunnel management), UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization), selection and control of UP functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 248 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, termination of the interface to the policy control function, enforcement of policy, charging, and control of parts of QoS, lawful interception (for SM events and interface to the LI system), termination of the SM portion of NAS messages, downlink data notification, initiation of AN-specific SM information sent via the AMF 544 to the AN 208 over the N2, and determination of the SSC mode of the session. SM may refer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 202 and the data network 236.

[0079] The UPF 248 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point for interconnection to the data network 236, and a branching point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 248 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane portion of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform user plane QoS processing (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic validation (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), perform transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 248 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to the data network.

[0080] The NSSF 250 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 202. The NSSF 250 may also determine the mapping to the allowed NSSAI and subscribed S-NSSAI, if necessary. The NSSF 250 may also determine a list of candidate AMFs based on the AMF set used to serve the UE 202 or appropriate configuration, possibly by querying the NRF 254. The selection of the set of network slice instances for the UE 202 may be triggered by the AMF 244 to which the UE 202 is registered, by interacting with the NSSF 250, resulting in an AMF change. The NSSF 250 may interact with the AMF 244 via the N22 reference point and may also communicate with another NSSF in the visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown). Furthermore, the NSSF 250 may indicate an Nnssf service-based interface.

[0081] The NEF 252 may securely expose services and functions provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal publication / re-publication, AFs (e.g., AF 260), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such an embodiment, the NEF 252 may authenticate, authorize, or throttle the AF. The NEF 252 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 260 and with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 252 may translate between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. The NEF 252 may also receive information from other NFs based on the published capabilities of the other NFs. This information may be stored in the NEF 252 as structured data or in a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may be re-published by the NEF 252 to other NFs or AFs, or used for other purposes such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF 252 may also expose NEF service-based interfaces.

[0082] The NRF 254 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to the NF instances. The NRF 254 also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, terms such as "instantiate," "instance," and the like, refer to the creation of an instance, and an "instance" may refer to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 254 may exhibit an Nnrf service-based interface.

[0083] The PCF 256 can provide policy rules to the control plane functions to enforce them and can also support a unified policy framework for controlling network behavior. The PCF 256 can also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDRs of the UDM 258. As shown, the PCF 256 exhibits an Npcf service-based interface in addition to communicating with functions via reference points.

[0084] The UDM 258 may process subscription related information to support the processing of communication sessions of the network entities and store subscription data of the UEs 202. For example, the subscription data may be communicated over the N8 reference point between the UDM 258 and the AMF 244. The UDM 258 may include two parts: an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store structured data (including PFD for application discovery, application request information of multiple UEs 202) for subscription data and policy data of the UDM 258 and the PCF 256, and / or public data and application data of the NEF 252. The Nudr service-based interface may be indicated by the UDR and allow the UDM 258, the PCF 256, and the NEF 252 to access a particular set of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of changes of relevant data in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE responsible for processing authentication information, location management, subscription management, etc. Multiple different front ends may provide services to the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication information processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. As shown, the UDM 258 can present a Nudm service-based interface in addition to communicating with other NFs over reference points.

[0085] The AF 260 allows applications to influence traffic routing, provides access to the NEF, and can interact with the policy framework for policy control.

[0086] In some embodiments, the 5GC 240 may enable edge computing by selecting an operator / third party service that is geographically closer to the point where the UE 202 is connected to the network. This may reduce network latency and load. To provide edge computing implementation, the 5GC 240 may select a UPF 248 that is closer to the UE 202 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 248 to the data network 236 via the N6 interface. This may be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 260. In this way, the AF 260 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on the operator's deployment, if the AF 260 is considered to be a trusted entity, the network operator may allow the AF 260 to directly interact with the associated NFs. Additionally, the AF 260 may exhibit a Naf service-based interface.

[0087] Data network 236 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third party services provided by one or more servers, including, for example, application / content server 238 .

[0088] In some aspects, the network 200 is configured for NR positioning using a location management function (LMF) 245, which may be configured as an LMF node or as a function in a different type of node. In some embodiments, the LMF 245 is configured to receive measurement and assistance information from the NG-RAN 214 and the UE 202 via the AMF 244 (e.g., using the NL interface) to calculate the UE's position. In some aspects, the NR positioning protocol A (NRPPa) may be used to transmit positioning information between the NG-RAN 214 and the LMF 245 over a next generation control plane interface (NG-C). In some embodiments, the LMF 245 configures the UE 202 using a LTE positioning protocol (LPP) (e.g., an LPP-based communication link) via the AMF 244. In some aspects, the NG RAN 214 configures the UE 202 using, for example, radio resource control (RRC) protocol signaling, for example, over the LTE-Uu and NR-Uu interfaces. In some aspects, the UE 202 uses an LTE-Uu interface to communicate with the ng-eNB 218 and uses an NR-Uu interface to communicate with the gNB 216. In some aspects, the ng-eNB 216 and the gNB 216 use an NG-C interface to communicate with the AMF 244.

[0089] In some embodiments, the following reference signals can be used to accomplish positioning measurements in NR communication networks: an NR positioning reference signal (NR PRS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning in the uplink. The downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) can be used as a reference signal to support downlink-based positioning techniques. In some aspects, the entire NR bandwidth can be covered by transmitting the PRS over multiple symbols, which can be aggregated to accumulate power.

[0090] 3 illustrates a schematic of a wireless network 300 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 300 can include a UE 302 in wireless communication with an AN 304. The UE 302 and the AN 304 are similar to and substantially interchangeable with similarly named components described elsewhere herein.

[0091] The UE 302 may be communicatively coupled to the AN 304 via a connection 306. The connection 306 is illustrated as an air interface to enable the communicative coupling and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.

[0092] The UE 302 may include a host platform 308 coupled to a modem platform 310. The host platform 308 may include an application processing circuit 312 coupled to a protocol processing circuit 314 of the modem platform 310. The application processing circuit 312 may execute various applications for the UE 302 to source / sink application data. The application processing circuit 312 may further implement one or more layer operations to transmit and receive application data to and from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) operations and Internet (e.g., IP) operations.

[0093] The protocol processing circuitry 314 may implement one or more layer operations to facilitate transmission or reception of data over the connection 306. The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuitry 314 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0094] The modem platform 310 may further include digital baseband circuitry 316 that may implement one or more layer operations that are "lower" layer operations performed by the protocol processing circuitry 314 in a network protocol stack. These operations include PHY operations including, for example, one or more HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding / decoding, which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency or spatial coding, reference signal generation / detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation / detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

[0095] The modem platform 310 further includes transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, and an RF front end (RFFE) 324, which may include or be connected to one or more antenna panels 326. Briefly, the transmit circuitry 318 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc. The receive circuitry 320 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, etc. The RF circuitry 322 may include low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, power tracking components, etc. The RFFE 324 may include filters (e.g., surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (e.g., phased array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of the transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and antenna panel 326 components (collectively referred to as "transmit / receive components") may be specific to the details of a particular implementation, such as whether communications are TDM or FDM, mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit / receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit and receive chains, may be located on the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0096] In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry 314 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) that provides control functions for the transmit / receive components.

[0097] UE reception may be established by or through the antenna panel 326, the RFFE 324, the RF circuitry 322, the receive circuitry 320, the digital baseband circuitry 316, and the protocol processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, the antenna panel 326 may receive transmissions from the AN 304 by receive beamformed signals that are received by multiple antennas / antenna elements of one or more of the antenna panels 326.

[0098] UE transmissions may be established by or through the protocol processing circuitry 314, the digital baseband circuitry 316, the transmit circuitry 318, the RF circuitry 322, the RFFE 324, and the antenna panel 326. In some embodiments, the transmit components of the UE 302 may apply spatial filters to the data to be transmitted to form transmit beams that are radiated by the antenna elements of the antenna panel 326.

[0099] Similar to the UE 302, the AN 304 may include a host platform 328 coupled to a modem platform 330. The host platform 328 may include an application processing circuit 332 coupled to a protocol processing circuit 334 of the modem platform 330. The modem platform may further include a digital baseband circuit 336, a transmit circuit 338, a receive circuit 340, an RF circuit 342, an RFFE circuit 344, and an antenna panel 346. The components of the AN 304 are similar to and substantially interchangeable with similarly named components of the UE 302. The components of the AN 304 may perform various logical functions including RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling, in addition to performing data transmission and reception as described above.

[0100] 4 is a block diagram illustrating components that can read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of hardware resources 400, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 410, one or more memory / storage devices 420, and one or more communication resources 430, each of which is communicatively coupled via a bus 440 or other interface circuitry. In embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 402 can be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices for utilizing the hardware resources 400.

[0101] The one or more processors 410 may include, for example, processor 412 and processor 414. The one or more processors 410 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those described herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0102] The memory / storage 420 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage 420 may include any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0103] Communications resources 430 may include interconnect or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripherals 404 or one or more databases 406 or other network elements over network 408. For example, communications resources 430 may include a wired communications component (e.g., when coupled via USB, Ethernet, etc.), a cellular communications component, an NFC component, a Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® Low Energy) component, a Wi-Fi® component, and other communications components.

[0104] The instructions 450 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code for causing one or more of the processors 410 to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. The instructions 450 may reside, completely or partially, in one or more of the processors 410 (e.g., in a cache memory of the processor), in the memory / storage 420, or any suitable combination thereof. Additionally, any portion of the instructions 450 may be transferred to the hardware resources 400 from any combination of the peripherals 404 or the database 406. Thus, the memory of the one or more processors 410, the memory / storage 420, the peripherals 404, and the database 406 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0105] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components depicted in one or more of the figures above may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the exemplary section below. For example, baseband circuitry associated with one or more of the figures above may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, circuitry associated with UEs, base stations, satellites, network elements, etc. described above in connection with one or more of the figures above may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described in the exemplary section below.

[0106] The term "application" may refer to a complete, deployable package or environment for achieving a particular function in an operational environment. A term such as "AI / ML application" may be an application that includes several artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) models and application-level descriptions. In some embodiments, an AI / ML application may be used to configure or perform one or more of the disclosed aspects.

[0107] The term "machine learning" or "ML" refers to the use of computer systems that implement algorithms and / or statistical models to perform certain tasks without explicit instructions, relying instead on patterns and inference. ML algorithms build or infer mathematical models (called "ML models", etc.) based on sample data (called "training data", "model training information", etc.) to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform such tasks. In general, ML algorithms are computer programs that learn from experience regarding a task and a performance measurement, and ML models may be any object or data structure created after an ML algorithm is trained on one or more training data sets. After training, ML models can be used to make predictions on new data sets. The term "ML algorithm" refers to a different concept than the term "ML model", but these terms discussed herein may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

[0108] Terms such as "machine learning model", "ML model", etc., can also refer to ML methods and concepts used by an ML-assisted solution. An "ML-assisted solution" is a solution that uses ML algorithms during operation to address a specific use case. ML models include supervised learning (e.g., linear regression, k-nearest neighbor (KNN)), decision tree algorithms, support machine vectors, Bayesian algorithms, ensemble algorithms, etc.), unsupervised learning (e.g., K-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA), etc.), reinforcement learning (e.g., Q-learning, multi-armed bandit learning, deep RL, etc.), neural networks, etc. Depending on the implementation, a particular ML model can have many submodels as components, and an ML model can train all the submodels together. Individually trained ML models can also be concatenated in an ML pipeline during inference. An "ML pipeline" is a set of features, functions, or functional entities specific to an ML-assisted solution. An ML pipeline can include one or more data sources in a data pipeline, a model training pipeline, a model evaluation pipeline, and an actor. An "actor" is an entity that hosts an ML-assisted solution using the output of ML model inference). The term "ML training host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts the training of a model. The term "ML inference host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts a model during inference mode (including both model execution and, if applicable, online learning). The ML host informs the actor about the output of the ML algorithm, and the actor makes an action decision (an "action" is taken by the actor as a result of the output of the ML-assisted solution). "Model inference information" refers to information used as input to the ML model to determine inference.Although the data used to train an ML model and the data used to determine inferences can overlap, "training data" and "inference data" refer to different concepts.

[0109] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today’s highly sophisticated and integrated communication platforms. The next generation wireless communication system, 5G, or New Radio (NR), will provide access to information and sharing of data anytime and anywhere by various users and applications. NR is expected to be an integrated network / system, whose goal is to meet significantly different and sometimes competing performance dimensions and services. Such diverse multi-dimensional requirements are driven by different services and applications. Typically, NR will evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional possible new Radio Access Technologies (RATs) to enrich people’s lives with better, simpler, and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR will connect everything wirelessly and enable the delivery of high-speed rich content and services.

[0110] NR supports a wide range of spectrum in different frequency ranges. In the 5G Advanced market, spectrum availability is expected to increase, possibly due to re-farming from bands originally used in networks of previous cellular generations. Especially in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) bands, the available spectrum blocks tend to be more fragmented and scattered with narrower bandwidths. In Frequency Range 2 (FR2) bands and some FR1 bands, the available spectrum becomes wider, so intra-band multi-carrier operation is necessary. To meet different spectrum needs, it is important that the scattered spectrum bands or wider bandwidth spectrum can be utilized in a more spectrum / power efficient and flexible way, thus providing the network with higher throughput and adequate coverage.

[0111] One motivation is to increase the flexibility and spectrum / power efficiency of scheduling data across multiple cells, including intra-band and inter-band cells. Current scheduling mechanisms only allow scheduling of a single cell physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) / physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) per scheduling downlink control information (DCI). With more available scattered spectrum bands or wider bandwidth spectrum, the need for simultaneous scheduling of multiple cells is expected to increase. To reduce the control overhead, it is beneficial to extend from single-cell scheduling with a single scheduling DCI to multi-cell PUSCH / PDSCH scheduling. More specifically, DCI is used to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions in multiple cells or component carriers (CCs), and each PDSCH or PUSCH is scheduled in one cell or CC.

[0112] Figure 5 shows an example of multi-cell scheduling for PUSCH. In the example, one physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is used to schedule two PUSCHs in two different cells, namely PUSCH#0 in CC0 and PUSCH#1 in CC1. Furthermore, PUSCH#0 and #1 are scheduled in two different slots with different time domain resource allocations within the slots.

[0113] As defined in NR, aperiodic channel state information (A-CSI) is triggered by DCI with uplink grant to schedule PUSCH. Furthermore, the A-CSI reporting configuration may contain multiple resource sets for channel measurements, each with its own reference signal set including channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). Each resource set is associated with a specific value of the CSI request field of the DCI. Note that the A-CSI reporting configuration may include CSI measurement configurations from another cell.

[0114] In the case of multi-cell scheduling, the UE may need to consider CSI reports for different combinations of cells, which significantly increases the implementation complexity of the UE. To address this issue, it may be necessary to define a specific mechanism for CSI reporting in the case of multi-cell scheduling.

[0115] The disclosed techniques include mechanisms for CSI reporting for PUSCH scheduling on multiple component carriers, particularly A-CSI multiplexing on PUSCH for multi-cell scheduling, CSI reporting configuration for multi-cell scheduling, uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) indicator, downlink assignment indication (DAI) and beta_offset indicator for multi-cell scheduling, and sounding reference signal (SRS) request for multi-cell scheduling.

[0116] <A-CSI multiplexing on PUSCH for multi-cell scheduling> In NR, aperiodic channel state information (A-CSI) is triggered by DCI with uplink grant to schedule PUSCH. Furthermore, the A-CSI reporting configuration may contain multiple resource sets for channel measurements, each with its own reference signal set including the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). Each resource set is associated with a specific value of the CSI request field of the DCI. Note that the A-CSI reporting configuration may include CSI measurement configurations from another cell.

[0117] In the case of multi-cell scheduling, the UE may need to consider CSI reports for different combinations of cells, which significantly increases the implementation complexity of the UE. To address this issue, it may be necessary to define a specific mechanism for CSI reporting in the case of multi-cell scheduling.

[0118] An embodiment of A-CSI multiplexing on PUSCH for multi-cell scheduling is provided below.

[0119] In some embodiments, for multi-cell PUSCH scheduling, when a CSI request is triggered in the DCI, an aperiodic channel state information (A-CSI) report is transmitted on a reference PUSCH in a cell if a single cell group is scheduled, or on N reference PUSCHs if N cell groups are scheduled. In the latter case, the PUSCH in the cell group is used to transmit the A-CSI report. A cell group can include one or more cells scheduled with the same scheduling information in the DCI.

[0120] In one example, when N=2, the A-CSI report is carried on two PUSCHs in two cells, and each PUSCH carrying the A-CSI report is in a cell. The PUSCHs in a cell may be determined according to a predefined rule.

[0121] In some embodiments, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the cell with the lowest serving cell index, the highest serving cell index, the second lowest serving cell index, or the second highest serving cell index among all scheduled cells that satisfy a cell group or a multiplexing timeline, as defined in section 9.2.5 of 3GPP TS 38.213.

[0122] Figure 6 shows an example of A-CSI on PUSCH for multi-cell scheduling. In this example, DCI with multi-cell scheduling is used to schedule three PUSCHs for three cells in a single cell group. Furthermore, all PUSCHs meet the multiplexing timeline. Based on this option, A-CSI reports are multiplexed on the PUSCH of the CC with the smallest serving cell index, i.e., CC#0.

[0123] In some embodiments, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the cell where the scheduling PDCCH is located, if applicable. In this case, the same cell is used for the PDCCH and PUSCH carrying the A-CSI report. If the scheduled cell is different from the cell where the scheduling PDCCH is located, the above embodiments can be applied, e.g. the cell with the lowest serving cell index.

[0124] In some embodiments, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the PUSCH with the smallest SCS among all scheduled cells that fulfill the cell group or multiplexing timeline. If multiple PUSCHs have the same SCS in different cells, the above options can be applied, for example, the PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the cell with the smallest serving cell index or the largest serving cell index among all scheduled cells that fulfill the cell group or multiplexing timeline.

[0125] In another embodiment of the present invention, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to having the earliest, latest, second earliest or penultimate start time among all scheduled cells that fill a cell group or a multiplexing timeline. If multiple reference PUSCHs have the same start time in different cells, the above options can be applied, for example the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the cell with the smallest serving cell index or the largest serving cell index among all scheduled cells that fill a cell group or a multiplexing timeline.

[0126] Figure 7 shows an example of A-CSI on PUSCH for multi-cell scheduling. In this example, DCI with multi-cell scheduling is used to schedule three PUSCHs for three cells in a single cell group. Furthermore, all PUSCHs meet the multiplexing timeline. Based on this option, the A-CSI report is multiplexed on the PUSCH of the CC with the earliest start time, i.e., CC#1.

[0127] In some embodiments, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to a cell in a cell group with a minimum cell group index or a maximum cell group index. When there are multiple cells in a cell group, the above embodiment can be applied to, for example, a cell with a lowest serving cell index in the cell group.

[0128] In the above embodiment, the reference PUSCH may be a configured PUSCH, a scheduled PUSCH, or a valid PUSCH in case of multi-cell PUSCH scheduling. In some aspects, the configured PUSCH refers to a PUSCH configured by dedicated RRC signaling for carrying A-CSI reports, which can be configured per scheduling cell in case of multi-cell scheduling.

[0129] In some aspects, a valid PUSCH indicates that the PUSCH does not overlap with DL symbols indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, if transmitted or provided, or symbols of an SS / PBCH block with an index provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst. In some embodiments, a valid PUSCH indicates that the PUSCH does not overlap with DL symbols indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, if transmitted or provided, or symbols of an SS / PBCH block with an index provided by pdcch-ConfigSIB1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in the MIB of CORESET in the Type0-PDCCH CSS set.

[0130] <CSI report configuration for multi-cell scheduling> A specific example of CSI report configuration for multi-cell scheduling is as follows.

[0131] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, a single CSI request field is included in the DCI to trigger configured CSI measurements in all cells scheduled or configured for multi-cell scheduling.

[0132] In some embodiments, the UE performs CSI measurements on cells according to a combination of CSI reporting configurations on all cells scheduled or configured for multi-cell scheduling, and CSI measurements are triggered for a first scheduled cell and may be performed on a second cell that is not among the cells scheduled for multi-cell scheduling.

[0133] Furthermore, if the size of the indicated single CSI request field in the DCI is larger than the determined CSI request field of the scheduled cell, a truncation is applied to the size of the indicated single CSI request field to match the determined CSI request field of the scheduled cell. In this case, the UE uses the number of least significant bits of the indicated single CSI request field that is equal to the size of the determined CSI request field of the scheduled cell.

[0134] Furthermore, if the size of the indicated single CSI request field in the DCI is smaller than the determined CSI request field of the scheduled cell, zero padding is applied to the size of the indicated single CSI request field to match the determined CSI request field of the scheduled cell. In this case, the UE adds zeros before the indicated single CSI request field until it is the same as the size of the determined CSI request field of the scheduled cell.

[0135] In some embodiments, one single bit parameter may be configured as part of the CSI-ReportConfigs, CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList, or CSI-ResourceConfig to indicate whether CSI measurements for a cell are performed in case of multi-cell scheduling. In particular, a bit "1" may indicate that CSI measurements are triggered for the cell, and a bit "0" may indicate that CSI measurements are not triggered for the cell.

[0136] In some embodiments, an additional index corresponding to the CSI-ReportConfig may be configured. If multiple CSI-ReportConfigs with the same value of index are requested, only one CSI-ReportConfig is considered for reporting by the UE. The CSI-ReportConfig to be considered may be determined according to at least one or more of the following options:

[0137] (a) the CSI-ReportConfig corresponding to the cell with the smallest or largest serving cell index;

[0138] (b) the CSI-ReportConfig corresponding to the cell with the minimum or maximum subcarrier spacing;

[0139] (c) a CSI-ReportConfig corresponding to the scheduling cell on which the scheduling PDCCH is transmitted;

[0140] (d) a CSI-ReportConfig corresponding to a PCell or a PSCell;

[0141] (e) CSI-ReportConfig corresponds to the same cell as the cell for PUSCH transmission that carries the A-CSI report.

[0142] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, a single CSI request field is included in the DCI to trigger CSI measurements configured for a reference cell, which may be determined according to at least one or more of the following options:

[0143] (a) the cell with the smallest or largest serving cell index;

[0144] (b) the cell with the minimum or maximum subcarrier spacing;

[0145] (c) the cell with the earliest scheduled PUSCH;

[0146] (d) The cell with the latest scheduled PUSCH;

[0147] (e) the scheduling cell on which the scheduling PDCCH is transmitted;

[0148] (f) Cells configured by dedicated Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, which can be configured per scheduling cell or as part of the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList or CSI-ReportConfig;

[0149] (g) a PCell or a PSCell;

[0150] (h) The same cell as the cell for PUSCH transmission that carries the A-CSI report.

[0151] In some aspects, in case of multi-cell scheduling, multiple reference cells for CSI measurements can be determined.

[0152] In some embodiments, the CSI reporting configuration, i.e., CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList or CSI-ReportConfig, can be configured for multi-cell scheduling separately from that for single-cell scheduling. Another option is to reuse the configuration configured for single-cell scheduling.

[0153] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, N_Cell^group CSI request fields are included in the DCI, each field applies to a reference cell within a cell group, and N_Cell^group is the number of cell groups for multi-cell scheduling. Further, the reference cell within a cell group may be determined according to the above-described embodiments for determining the reference cell when a single CSI request field is included in the DCI.

[0154] <Processing timeline for A-CSI reports on PUSCH for multi-cell scheduling> According to CSI calculation time in section 5.4 of TS38.214, for A-CSI reports on scheduled PUSCH, the gap between the end of DCI and the start of PUSCH must be at least Z+X symbols, and the gap between the end of aperiodic CSI-RS or CSI-IM and the start of PUSCH must be at least Z symbols, where Z or Z' is determined by the SCS, μ corresponds to the minimum (μPDCCH, μCSI-RS, μUL), where μPDCCH corresponds to the subcarrier spacing of the PDCCH on which DCI is transmitted, μUL corresponds to the subcarrier spacing of the PUSCH on which CSI reports are transmitted, and μCSI-RS corresponds to the minimum subcarrier spacing of aperiodic CSI-RS triggered by DCI. The value X takes into account the impact of UL TX switching.

[0155] In one embodiment of the present invention, for multi-cell scheduling, the CSI computation time may be defined based on the start of the earliest PUSCH among all scheduled or valid PUSCHs according to DCI. Specifically, for a UE to provide a valid CSI report, the gap between the end of DCI and the start of the earliest PUSCH must be Z symbols or more, and the gap between the end of aperiodic CSI-RS or CSI-IM and the start of the earliest PUSCH must be Z symbols or more.

[0156] Figure 8 shows an example of CSI calculation time check for multi-cell scheduling. In this example, the A-CSI report is multiplexed into PUSCH#0 of the cell with the lowest cell index. However, the actual start timing of PUSCH#1 is the earliest among the three PUSCHs scheduled by DCI, so the CSI calculation time is checked against the start of PUSCH#1.

[0157] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, the CSI computation time may be defined relative to the start of the PUSCH carrying the A-CSI report. Specifically, for a UE to provide a valid CSI report, the gap between the end of the DCI and the start of the PUSCH carrying the A-CSI report must be Z symbols or more, and the gap between the end of the aperiodic CSI-RS or CSI-IM and the start of the PUSCH carrying the A-CSI report must be Z symbols or more.

[0158] Figure 9 shows another example of CSI calculation time check for multi-cell scheduling. In this example, the A-CSI report is multiplexed into PUSCH#0 of the lowest cell index of the cell. The CSI calculation time is checked relative to the start of PUSCH#0. Since PUSCH#0 is not the earliest scheduled PUSCH, PUSCH#0 may meet the CSI calculation time, but another earlier PUSCH, e.g., PUSCH#1, may not meet the calculation time of the reported A-CSI report.

[0159] <UL-SCH indicator, UL DAI and beta_offset indicator for multi-cell scheduling> An embodiment of a UL-SCH indicator, a UL DAI, and a beta_offset indicator for multi-cell scheduling is provided next.

[0160] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, a single UL-SCH indicator is included in the DCI to indicate whether the UL-SCH is transmitted on the PUSCH in all scheduled cells or cell groups. Note that the PUSCH may be determined according to the previous embodiment for determining the reference PUSCH carrying the A-CSI report in a cell. Also, in the UL-SCH indicator, a bit "1" indicates that the UL-SCH is transmitted on the reference PUSCH, and a bit "0" indicates that the UL-SCH is not transmitted on the reference PUSCH.

[0161] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, N_Cell^group UL-SCH indicator fields are included in the DCI, where each field applies to a PUSCH in a cell group, and N_Cell^group is the number of cell groups for multi-cell scheduling.

[0162] In some embodiments, if the number of cells scheduled for PUSCH transmission for multi-cell scheduling is greater than one, then the UL-SCH indicator is not included in the DCI for multi-cell scheduling.

[0163] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a single or multiple downlink assignment index (DAI) is included in the DCI to indicate the HARQ-ACK codebook size when the HARQ-ACK is multiplexed on the PUSCH in all scheduled cells or cell groups.

[0164] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a single DAI field is included in the DCI, and the value of the DAI field is applied to multiplex the HARQ-ACK information with a PUSCH transmission in any cell from the multiple cells in which the UE multiplexes the HARQ-ACK information.

[0165] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, N_Cell^group DAI fields are included in the DCI, each field is applied to multiplex HARQ-ACK information with PUSCH transmissions in any cell from multiple cells in a cell group, the UE multiplexes the HARQ-ACK information, and N_Cell^group is the number of cell groups for multi-cell scheduling.

[0166] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a single beta_offset field is included in the DCI to indicate the beta offset value when uplink control information (UCI) is multiplexed with the PUSCH in all scheduled cells or cell groups.

[0167] In some aspects, the existing mechanism of UCI multiplexing on PUSCH defined in NR can be reused. In case of multi-cell PUSCH scheduling, when different UCI are multiplexed on multiple PUSCHs, the indicated beta offset value is applied to all PUSCHs carrying UCI.

[0168] Furthermore, if a quasi-static beta offset is configured in a cell, the beta_offset field does not apply to UCI multiplexed on the cell.

[0169] Figure 10 shows an example of a beta offset indication for multi-cell PUSCH scheduling. In this example, DCI with multi-cell scheduling is used to schedule four PUSCHs for four cells in a single cell group. In addition, PUCCHs are transmitted in both slot #1 and slot #2, each overlapping with PUSCH. Based on the existing mechanism defined in NR, UCIs are multiplexed with PUSCHs #0 and #2, respectively. In this case, the indicated beta offset is applied to UCIs in PUSCHs #0 and #2.

[0170] <Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) requirements for multi-cell scheduling> An example of a Sounding reference signal (SRS) request for multi-cell scheduling is shown below.

[0171] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, a single SRS request field is included in the DCI to trigger SRS transmission in reference cells within all cells or cell groups scheduled or configured for multi-cell scheduling, which may be determined according to the above-described embodiments for reference cell determination of the PUSCH carrying the A-CSI report.

[0172] In another option, the reference cell for SRS transmission may be determined according to the scheduling cell.

[0173] In some aspects, the configuration of the SRS request can be configured separately for multi-cell scheduling of the scheduling cell. In one example, for the scheduling cell, the UE can be configured in the supplementaryUplink of the ServingCellConfig. In this case, the 3-bit SRS request field is used to trigger the SRS transmission in the reference cell. If the value of the first bit of the non-SUL / SUL indicator is indicated as SUL, the SRS is transmitted in the SUL.

[0174] In some embodiments, the SRS request field is used to trigger SRS transmission in all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, where the SRS transmission is triggered based on the configuration of each scheduled cell.

[0175] In some aspects, an SRS bitmap is used to indicate the SRS requirements of each scheduled cell or configured cell for multi-cell scheduling. The size of the bitmap is determined according to the number of cells scheduled or configured for multi-cell scheduling. In this case, each SRS field in the bitmap can be used to trigger SRS transmission in the scheduled or configured cells, respectively.

[0176] In some aspects, a system and method for wireless communication in a fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system is based on determining, by a UE, a channel state information (CSI) requirement in downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) by a plurality of cells, determining, by the UE, a reference PUSCH for transmitting a CSI report, and transmitting, by the UE, a CSI report for the reference PUSCH.

[0177] In some aspects, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the cell with the lowest serving cell index, the highest serving cell index, the second lowest serving cell index, or the second highest serving cell index among all scheduled cells that fill the cell group or multiplexing timeline.

[0178] In some aspects, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the cell in which the scheduling PDCCH is located, if applicable.

[0179] In some aspects, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the PUSCH with the smallest SCS among all scheduled cells that satisfy a cell group or multiplexing timeline. If multiple PUSCHs have the same SCS in different cells, the above options can be applied.

[0180] In some aspects, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to the PUSCH with the earliest start time, the latest start time, the second earliest start time, or the penultimate start time among all scheduled cells that fill a cell group or a multiplexing timeline.

[0181] In some aspects, the reference PUSCH in a cell is determined according to a cell in a cell group having a minimum cell group index or a maximum cell group index.

[0182] In the above aspects, the reference PUSCH may be a configured PUSCH, a scheduled PUSCH, or a valid PUSCH in case of multi-cell PUSCH scheduling.

[0183] In some aspects, a single CSI request field is included in the DCI to trigger configured CSI measurements in all cells scheduled or configured for multi-cell scheduling.

[0184] In some aspects, one single-bit parameter may be configured as part of the CSI-ReportConfigs, CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList, or CSI-ResourceConfig to indicate whether CSI measurements for a cell are performed in case of multi-cell scheduling.

[0185] In some aspects, an additional index corresponding to the CSI-ReportConfig may be configured, where if multiple CSI-ReportConfigs with the same value of index are requested, only one CSI-ReportConfig is considered for reporting by the UE.

[0186] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a single CSI request field is included in the DCI to trigger CSI measurements configured for a reference cell.

[0187] In some aspects, the CSI reporting configuration, i.e., CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList or CSI-ReportConfig, may be configured for multi-cell scheduling separately from that for single-cell scheduling.

[0188] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, the CSI computation time may be defined relative to the earliest PUSCH start among all scheduled or valid PUSCHs according to DCI.

[0189] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, the CSI computation time may be defined relative to the start of the PUSCH carrying the A-CSI report.

[0190] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a single UL-SCH indicator is included in the DCI to indicate whether the UL-SCH is transmitted on the PUSCH in all scheduled cells or cell groups.

[0191] In some aspects, if the number of cells scheduled for PUSCH transmission for multi-cell scheduling is greater than one, then the UL-SCH indicator is not included in the DCI for multi-cell scheduling.

[0192] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a single or multiple downlink assignment index (DAI) is included in the DCI to indicate the HARQ-ACK codebook size when the HARQ-ACK is multiplexed on the PUSCH in all scheduled cells or cell groups.

[0193] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a single beta_offset field is included in the DCI to indicate the beta offset value when uplink control information (UCI) is multiplexed with the PUSCH in all scheduled cells or cell groups.

[0194] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a single SRS request field is included in the DCI to trigger SRS transmission in all cells or reference cells within a cell group scheduled or configured for multi-cell scheduling.

[0195] In some aspects, an SRS bitmap is used to indicate the SRS requirements of each scheduled cell or cells configured for multi-cell scheduling.

[0196] <Cell grouping technology for multi-cell scheduling> NR supports a wide range of spectrum in different frequency ranges. In the 5G Advanced market, spectrum availability is expected to increase, possibly due to re-farming from bands originally used in networks of previous cellular generations. Especially in frequency range (FR1) bands, the available spectrum blocks tend to be more fragmented and scattered with narrower bandwidths. In FR2 bands and some FR1 bands, the available spectrum becomes wider, necessitating intra-band multi-carrier operation. To meet different spectrum needs, it is important that the scattered spectrum bands or wider bandwidth spectrum can be utilized in a more spectrum / power efficient and flexible manner, thus providing the network with higher throughput and adequate coverage.

[0197] One motivation is to increase the flexibility and spectrum / power efficiency of scheduling data across multiple cells, including intra-band and inter-band cells. Current scheduling mechanisms only allow scheduling of a single cell physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) per scheduling downlink control information (DCI). With more available scattered spectrum bands or wider bandwidth spectrum, the need for simultaneous scheduling of multiple cells is expected to increase. To reduce the control overhead, it is beneficial to extend from single-cell scheduling with a single scheduling DCI to multi-cell PUSCH / PDSCH scheduling. More specifically, a DCI is used to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions in multiple cells or component carriers (CCs), and each PDSCH or PUSCH is scheduled in one cell or CC.

[0198] Figure 11 shows an example of multi-cell scheduling for PDSCH. In the example, one physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is used to schedule two PDSCHs in two different cells, namely PDSCH#0 in CC0 and PDSCH#1 in CC1.

[0199] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, when the number of cells scheduled for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission is large, e.g., >2, it may be necessary to define certain mechanisms to reduce the size of the DCI payload while maintaining certain scheduling flexibility.

[0200] The disclosed techniques include mechanisms related to cell grouping multi-cell scheduling, such as cell grouping for multi-cell scheduling, DCI design for multi-cell scheduling, and DCI field size matching.

[0201] <Cell grouping for multi-cell scheduling> In NR, the current scheduling mechanism only allows scheduling of a single cell physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) per scheduling downlink control information (DCI). With more available scattered spectrum bands or wider bandwidth spectrum, the need for simultaneous scheduling of multiple cells is expected to increase. To reduce the control overhead, it is beneficial to extend from single-cell scheduling with a single scheduling DCI to multi-cell PUSCH / PDSCH scheduling. More specifically, a DCI is used to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions in multiple cells or component carriers (CCs), and each PDSCH or PUSCH is scheduled in one cell or CC.

[0202] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, when the number of cells scheduled for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission is large, e.g., >2, it may be necessary to define certain mechanisms to reduce the size of the DCI payload while maintaining certain scheduling flexibility.

[0203] An embodiment of cell grouping for multi-cell scheduling is as follows.

[0204] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, where DCI is used to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions in multiple cells or CCs, cells or CCs can be grouped into N cell groups, where N is predefined in the specification or configured by higher layers via NR remaining minimum system information (RMSI) dynamically indicated in DCI, NR other system information (OSI) or dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a combination thereof. In one example, N=1 or 2. When N=1, all cells are grouped into a single cell group.

[0205] In some aspects, for cell grouping in the case of multi-cell scheduling, a first number of cells scheduled for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission are grouped into a first cell group, and a second number of cells scheduled for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission are grouped into a second group.

[0206] Figure 12 shows an example of cell grouping in multi-cell scheduling for PDSCH. In this example, PDSCH is scheduled in four cells or CCs using PDCCH carrying DCI, and each PDSCH is assigned to one cell. Furthermore, CC#0 and CC#1 are grouped into cell group#0, and CC#2 and CC#3 are grouped into cell group#1.

[0207] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, cell grouping may be configured by higher layers via RMSI, OSI, RRC signaling, or a combination thereof, dynamically indicated in DCI.

[0208] In some aspects, cells can be associated with cell groups for multi-cell scheduling. Note that the association can be configured by higher layers via RMSI, OSI, RRC signaling, dynamically indicated in DCI, or a combination thereof.

[0209] In some embodiments, cells #0, #2, and #4 may be configured and associated with cell group #0. Additionally, cells #1, #3, and #5 may be configured and associated with cell group #1. In multi-cell scheduling, if cells #0, 1, 3, and 4 are scheduled for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission, the PDSCH or PUSCH of cells #0 and #4 belongs to cell group #0, and the PDSCH or PUSCH of cells #1 and #3 belongs to cell group #1.

[0210] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, the cell grouping can be determined according to the serving cell index. In one example, assuming that there are M cells in multi-cell scheduling for PDSCH or PUSCH, and the number of cell groups is 2, i.e., N=2,

number

[0211] In some embodiments, assuming there are M cells in multi-cell scheduling for PDSCH or PUSCH and the number of cell groups is 2, i.e., N=2,

number

[0212] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, cell grouping can be determined according to frequency range, i.e., whether the CCs or cells are in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2), or whether the cells or CCs are in FR1, FR2-1, or FR2-2, or whether the cells or CCs are in the same band. In some aspects, FR1 refers to a carrier frequency below 7.125 GHz, FR2-1 refers to a carrier frequency between 24.25 and 52.6 GHz, and FR2-2 refers to a carrier frequency between 52.6 and 71 GHz.

[0213] In some embodiments, when a DCI with multi-cell scheduling is used to schedule a PDSCH or a PUSCH in both FR1 and FR2, the cell scheduled in FR1 is in a first cell group and the cell scheduled in FR2 is in a second cell group.

[0214] Figure 13 shows an example of cell grouping based on frequency range. In this example, for multi-cell scheduling, DCI is used to schedule PDSCHs of 4 CCs. Furthermore, CC#0 and CC#1 are in FR1 with 30 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), and CC#2 and CC#3 are in FR2-1 with 120 kHz SCS. Based on this option, CC#0 and CC#1 are grouped into cell group#0, and CC#2 and CC#3 are grouped into cell group#1.

[0215] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, cell grouping can be determined according to PUCCH group. In one example, when DCI with multi-cell scheduling is used to schedule PDSCH / PUSCH in two PUCCH groups, the cells in the first PUCCH group are in the first cell group, and the cells in the second PUCCH group are in the second cell group.

[0216] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, cell grouping may be determined according to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) associated with a scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH in a cell. In one example, if the difference in SCS between scheduled PDSCHs or PUSCHs in different cells is less than or equal to a predefined or configured value, cells with scheduled PDSCHs or PUSCHs are in the same cell group.

[0217] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, the cell grouping can depend on the active BWP of the scheduled cells: for example, one cell group includes all scheduled cells whose active BWP size is greater than a predefined or configured value, while another cell group includes all other scheduled cells.

[0218] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, the cell grouping is common for the DCI for PDSCH scheduling and the DCI for PUSCH scheduling. Alternatively, for multi-cell scheduling, the cell grouping is determined separately for the DCI for PDSCH scheduling and the DCI for PUSCH scheduling.

[0219] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, different cell groupings may be applied to different DCI fields. For example, for the TDRA field, cells with active BWPs using different SCSs may belong to different cell groups, while for the FDRA field, cells with active BWPs with different BWP sizes may belong to different groups.

[0220] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, a UE can be scheduled for only a single cell group by a single DCI. In one example, N=1. In another example, the gNB configures N>1, but can schedule only one cell group by one DCI. In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a UE can be configured with N1 cell groups, but the UE can only be scheduled for N (N≦N1) cell groups by one DCI. For example, if a UE is configured with CCs of FR1, FR2-1, and FR2-2, it belongs to three cell groups, but the gNB can only schedule up to two cell groups by DCI.

[0221] <DCI design for multi-cell scheduling> An embodiment of DCI design for multi-cell scheduling is as follows.

[0222] In some embodiments, for multi-cell PDSCH scheduling, one or more of the following fields may appear only once in the DCI, if applicable: DCI format identifier, VRB to PRB mapping, PRB bundle size indicator, rate matching indicator, zero power channel state information reference signal (ZPCSI-RS) trigger, HARQ process number, TPC command for scheduled PUCCH, PUCCH resource indicator, PDSCH to HARQ feedback timing indicator, one-shot HARQ-ACK request, PDSCH group index, new feedback indicator, number of requested PDSCH groups, SRS request, DMRS sequence initialization, priority indicator, applicable minimum scheduling offset indicator, and SCell dormancy indication.

[0223] This option indicates that the listed fields may be applied commonly to all scheduled or active PDSCHs for multi-cell PDSCH scheduling. An active PDSCH indicates that the PDSCH is transmitted or provided in each cell and does not overlap with the UL symbols indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated.

[0224] In some embodiments, for multi-cell PDSCH scheduling, one or more of the aforementioned fields, if applicable, may appear N times in the DCI, with each field appearing only once for each cell group, and a single field applying commonly to scheduled or active PDSCHs in a cell group, where N is the number of cell groups for multi-cell scheduling.

[0225] In some embodiments, for multi-cell PDSCH scheduling, one or more of the aforementioned fields may appear M times in the DCI, where each one field applies to a scheduled or active PDSCH in a cell, and M is the number of scheduled cells for multi-cell scheduling, if applicable.

[0226] In some embodiments, for multi-cell PUSCH scheduling, one or more of the following fields may appear only once in the DCI, if applicable: DCI format identifier, DFI flag, UL / SUL indicator, frequency hopping flag, TPC command for scheduled PUSCH, SRS resource indicator, precoding information and number of layers, antenna port, SRS request, CSI request, PTRS-DMRS association, beta_offset indicator, DMRS sequence initialization, UL-SCH indicator, ChannelAccess-CPext-CAPC, open loop power control parameter set indication, priority indicator, invalid symbol pattern indicator, applicable minimum scheduling offset indicator, SCell dormancy indication, and sidelink allocation index.

[0227] This indicates that the listed fields may be commonly applied to all scheduled or active PUSCHs for multi-cell PUSCH scheduling. Note that an active PUSCH indicates that the PUSCH does not overlap with DL symbols indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, if provided, or with symbols of SS / PBCH blocks with indexes provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst.

[0228] In some embodiments, for multi-cell PUSCH scheduling, if applicable, one or more of the aforementioned fields may appear N times in the DCI, where each field appears only once for each cell group, and a single field is commonly applied to the scheduled or valid PUSCH within the cell group. N is the number of cell groups for multi-cell scheduling.

[0229] In some embodiments, for multi-cell PUSCH scheduling, if applicable, one or more of the aforementioned fields may appear M times in the DCI, where each field is applied to the scheduled or valid PUSCH within the cell, and M is the number of scheduled cells for multi-cell scheduling.

[0230] <DCI Field Size Alignment> In multi-cell scheduling, a single field of the DCI is commonly applied to all cells or cells within all cell groups that are scheduled. If the configurations of PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions are different in different cells, the bit widths of the fields may not match between cells. In this case, it may be necessary to define a specific mechanism to align the DCI field sizes between cells for multi-cell scheduling.

[0231] Embodiments of DCI field size alignment are provided as follows.

[0232] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, when the DCI field is commonly applied to multiple cells for all scheduled cells or cells within all cell groups, the bit width of the common field is determined as the maximum bit width from all scheduled cells or cells within the cell group based on the corresponding cell configurations. For a given cell, if the field size is smaller than the determined common field size, the numerical value of the most significant bit is ignored and the corresponding value is derived.

[0233] This indicates that modulo arithmetic is applied when the number of bits in the field of a given cell is small. Assuming that the indicated value for the determined common field is X, the bit width of the field in the cell is B, and B≦X, the value applied to the cell is mod(X,2 B ).

[0234] In some embodiments, assuming two cells are scheduled by a multi-cell scheduling DCI, a first cell is configured with both rateMatchPatternGroup1 and rateMatchPatternGroup2, and the determined rate matching indicator is 2 bits. Further, a second cell is configured with only rateMatchPatternGroup1, and the determined rate matching indicator is 1 bit. Based on this option, 2 bits are determined for the rate matching indicator of the common field. Assuming the indicated value of the rate matching indicator of the common field is X, the value applied to the second cell is mod(X,2).

[0235] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, the UE is expected to be configured the same for PDSCH and PUSCH transmissions in different cells within the same cell group or all scheduled cells, which implies that in case of multi-cell scheduling, the same DCI field size is assumed for cells within a cell group or all scheduled cells.

[0236] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, if the DCI field is applied commonly to multiple cells for all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit width of the common field is determined as the minimum bit width from the scheduled cells or cells in the cell group based on the configuration of the corresponding cells. If the field size for a given cell is larger than the determined common field size, zero padding, i.e., a number of most significant bits set to value "0" on the determined common field, is applied to derive the value for the cell. In this case, it is indicated that the indicated value applies to the cell.

[0237] In some embodiments, assuming that two cells are scheduled by a multi-cell scheduling DCI, a first cell is configured with both rateMatchPatternGroup1 and rateMatchPatternGroup2, and the determined rate matching indicator is 2 bits. Further, a second cell is configured with only rateMatchPatternGroup1, and the determined rate matching indicator is 1 bit. Based on this option, 1 bit is determined for the rate matching indicator in the common field. Assuming that the indicated value of the rate matching indicator in the common field is X, the value applied to the first cell is X.

[0238] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, when a DCI field is applied commonly to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit width of the common field is determined based on the configuration of the reference cell according to the bit width of the reference cell from the scheduled cell or cells in the cell group.

[0239] Furthermore, for a given cell, if the field size is smaller than the determined common field size, the value of the most significant bit is ignored and a corresponding value is derived. If the field size is larger than the determined common field size, zero padding, i.e., a number of most significant bits with a value set to "0" on the determined common field, is applied to derive a value for the cell, indicating that the indicated value is applied to the cell.

[0240] The reference cell can be determined based on any one or a combination of the following rules:

[0241] (a) the cell with the smallest or largest serving cell index;

[0242] (b) the cell with the second smallest or second largest serving cell index;

[0243] (c) the starting symbol position of the scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH is the previous or last cell;

[0244] (d) the cell with the smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS);

[0245] (e) Cell of scheduling PDCCH;

[0246] (f) A PCell or a PSCell.

[0247] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, when a DCI field applies commonly to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit width of the common field is determined as the maximum or minimum bit width from the scheduled cells or cells in the cell group based on the configuration of the corresponding cells, and the bit width from each cell or reference cell is based on the configuration of the reference DCI format of the cell.

[0248] In some embodiments, the reference DCI format is the same DCI format for multi-cell scheduling. Assuming a single DCI format, for example, DCI format 1-1 is defined for both single-cell and multi-cell scheduling, the bit width of each cell is then determined by the configuration of the bit field of DCI format 1-1 for single-cell scheduling.

[0249] In some embodiments, the reference DCI format is a DCI format other than a fallback DCI for single-cell scheduling. For example, a serving cell is configured with a search space (SS) set having DCI format 1-0 (fallback DCI), an SS set having DCI format 1-2 for single-cell scheduling, and an SS set having DCI format 1-3 for multi-cell scheduling. The reference DCI format of the serving cell is DCI format 1-2.

[0250] In some embodiments, the reference DCI format is predefined, such as DCI format 1-1, or configured by the gNB. In one option, the gNB can configure the RRC parameters of the bit fields of the reference DCI format, but the gNB does not configure an SS set having the reference DCI format. In another option, the UE needs to configure an SS set having the reference DCI format.

[0251] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, if a DCI field applies commonly to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the UE needs to be configured with the same configuration among the scheduled cells or cells in the cell group, in which case the bit width from all scheduled cells or cells in the cell group is the same.

[0252] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, if the determined bit-width of the field based on the configuration of a given cell is 0 bits, then the common field does not apply to the cell.

[0253] In one example, for multi-cell PDSCH scheduling, if the higher layer parameter prb-BundlingType is not configured or is set to "staticBundling", the bit width of the PRB bundle size indicator is 0 bits for a given cell. If the determined common field size is 1 bit, the common field of the DCI for multi-cell scheduling does not apply to the cell.

[0254] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, when the DCI field is commonly applied to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit width of the common field is determined according to the bit width of the RRC parameter, e.g., the gNB configures separate rate matching patterns for single-cell and multi-cell scheduling, and the bit width of the rate matching indicator is determined by the rate matching pattern for multi-cell scheduling.

[0255] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is applied commonly to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group. In the former case, one MCS field can be included in the DCI, while in the latter case, N MCS fields can be included in the DCI. group Cell N MCS fields may be included in the DCI, where N group Cell is the number of cell groups in multi-cell scheduling. N group Cell Note that if = 1, it indicates that all cells are in the cell group.

[0256] If two transport blocks (TB) are configured or enabled for the scheduled PDSCH, then 2 or 2N group Cell Two MCS fields can be included in the DCI, which can be applied to the first and second TBs of all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, respectively. Note that the configuration of two TBs can be configured for multi-cell scheduling in the scheduling cell. In this case, the two TBs can be applied to all scheduled PDSCHs in the scheduled cell or cells in a cell group.

[0257] If different numbers of TBs are configured for different cells, two MCS fields may be included in the DCI, where the first MCS applies to the first TB of the scheduled PDSCH and the second MCS applies to the second TB of the scheduled PDSCH in the cell if two TBs are configured or enabled for the cell.

[0258] Further, in another option, when different numbers of TBs are configured in different cell groups, two MCS fields can be included in the DCI of a cell group configured with two TBs, whereas one MCS field can be included in the DCI of a cell group configured with one TB, where the first MCS is applied to the first TB of the scheduled PDSCH in the cell group and the second MCS is applied to the second TB of the scheduled PDSCH in the cell group.

[0259] In one example, assuming there are two cell groups for multi-cell scheduling, where the first cell group and the second cell group are configured with two TBs and one TB, respectively, three MCS fields are included in the DCI, where the first two MCS fields apply to the first cell group and the third MCS field applies to the second cell group.

[0260] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, new data indicator (NDI) and redundancy version (RV) bitmaps are included in the DCI, where each bit in the bitmap is used to indicate the NDI and RV of each scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH, respectively. Further, the size of the NDI and RV bitmaps is N Cell can be determined as, where N Cell is the number of configured cells or the maximum number of scheduled cells, determined according to the carrier index table and / or the TDRA table for multi-cell scheduling in the scheduling cell. If two TBs are configured or enabled for the scheduled PDSCH, the size of the bitmap is 2N Cell It can be determined as:

[0261] Furthermore, if a single PDSCH or PUSCH is scheduled for multi-cell scheduling, the RV of the scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH may be 2 bits for the first TB, and if two TBs are configured or enabled for a single PDSCH, the RV of the scheduled PDSCH may be 4 bits.

[0262] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, if one TB is configured for PDSCH and PUSCH transmission, the HARQ process number is commonly applied to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group. group Cell HARQ process number fields may be included in the DCI.

[0263] If two TBs are configured or enabled for the scheduled PDSCH, then 2 or 2N group CellThe HARQ field may be included in the DCI, which may be applied to the first and second TBs of all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, respectively.

[0264] If all scheduled PDSCH / PUSCH transmissions are initial transmissions, the UE may ignore the HARQ process number field for retransmissions.

[0265] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, when one TB is configured for PDSCH and PUSCH transmission, a HARQ process number is commonly applied for PDSCH or PUSCH initial transmission for all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, and an additional HARQ process number can be commonly applied for PDSCH or PUSCH retransmission for PDSCH or PUSCH of all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group.

[0266] If two TBs are configured or enabled for the scheduled PDSCH, 4 and 4N group Cell A HARQ process number field may be included in the DCI, which is applicable to the first and second TB, initial and retransmissions of the scheduled PDSCH for all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, respectively.

[0267] In some embodiments, for multi-cell scheduling, if one TB is configured for PDSCH and PUSCH transmission, the HARQ process number is applied for the reference PDSCH or PUSCH for all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group.

[0268] The reference PDSCH / PUSCH may be a scheduled PDSCH / PUSCH or a valid PDSCH / PUSCH with a small cell index. A valid PDSCH indicates that a PDSCH is transmitted or, if provided in each cell, does not overlap with UL symbols indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated. Furthermore, a valid PUSCH indicates that a PUSCH is transmitted or, if provided, does not overlap with DL symbols indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated or symbols of an SS / PBCH block with an index provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst.

[0269] For other scheduled or active PDSCH or PUSCH HARQ process numbers, the HARQ process number is incremented by 1 based on the cell index increment order and the indicated HARQ process number in the DCI. If it is greater than the configured maximum number of HARQ processes, a modulo arithmetic is applied to determine the HARQ process number.

[0270] If two TBs are configured or enabled for the scheduled PDSCH, then 2 or 2N group Cell The HARQ field can be included in the DCI, which can be applied to the first and second TBs of all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, respectively. The same rules for determining the HARQ process number as for the first TB can be applied to the second TB.

[0271] In some embodiments, when 2TB transmission is configured and enabled and multiple PDSCHs are scheduled by a multi-cell scheduling DCI, if IMCS=26 and the RV bits are set to '1' for the corresponding TBs of all scheduled PDSCHs of all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, then either the first or second transport block of all scheduled PDSCHs is disabled by the DCI.

[0272] A system and method for wireless communication for a fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system may be configured based on detecting, by a UE, downlink control information (DCI) used to schedule a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a plurality of cells, and determining, by the UE, a number of cells in a cell group and a number of cell groups according to the detected DCI and a higher layer configuration.

[0273] In another embodiment, in some aspects the number of cell groups may be predefined in the specification or may be configured by higher layers via NR remaining minimum system information (RMSI), NR other system information (OSI), or dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling dynamically indicated in DCI, or a combination thereof.

[0274] In some aspects, a first number of cells scheduled for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission are grouped into a first cell group, and a second number of cells scheduled for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission are grouped into a second group.

[0275] In some aspects, cells can be associated with cell groups for multi-cell scheduling.

[0276] In some embodiments, the cell grouping may be determined according to the serving cell index.

[0277] In some aspects, cell grouping can be determined according to frequency range, i.e., whether the CCs or cells are in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2), or whether the cells or CCs are in FR1, FR2-1, or FR2-2, or whether the cells or CCs are in the same band.

[0278] In some aspects, the cell grouping may be determined according to a PUCCH group.

[0279] In some aspects, the cell grouping can be determined according to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) associated with a scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH in the cell.

[0280] In some aspects, the cell grouping can depend on the active BWP of the scheduled cells.

[0281] In some aspects, the cell grouping is common for DCI for PDSCH scheduling and DCI for PUSCH scheduling.

[0282] In some aspects, if applicable, one or more fields may appear only once in the DCI and may apply commonly to all scheduled or active PDSCHs for multi-cell PDSCH scheduling.

[0283] In some aspects, if applicable, one or more fields may appear only once in the DCI and may apply commonly to all scheduled or valid PUSCHs for multi-cell PUSCH scheduling.

[0284] In some aspects, one or more of the aforementioned fields, if applicable, may appear N times in the DCI, with each field appearing only once for each cell group, and a single field applying commonly to scheduled or active PDSCHs or PUSCHs in the cell group.

[0285] In some aspects, if applicable, one or more of the aforementioned fields may appear M times in the DCI, where each one applies to a scheduled or active PDSCH or PUSCH in a cell, and M is the number of scheduled cells for multi-cell scheduling.

[0286] In some aspects, if a DCI field applies commonly to multiple cells for all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit-width of the common field is determined as the maximum bit-width from all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group based on the configuration of the corresponding cell.

[0287] In some aspects, a UE is expected to be configured the same for PDSCH and PUSCH transmissions in different cells within the same cell group or all scheduled cells.

[0288] In some aspects, if a DCI field applies commonly to multiple cells for all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit width of the common field is determined as the minimum bit width from the scheduled cells or cells in the cell group based on the configuration of the corresponding cells.

[0289] In some aspects, when a DCI field is applied commonly to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit width of the common field is determined based on the configuration of the reference cell according to the bit width of the reference cell from the scheduled cell or cells in the cell group.

[0290] In some aspects, when a DCI field applies commonly to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit width of the common field is determined as the maximum or minimum bit width from the scheduled cells or cells in the cell group based on the configuration of the corresponding cells, and the bit width from each cell or reference cell is based on the configuration of the reference DCI format of the cell.

[0291] In some aspects, if a DCI field applies commonly to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the UE needs to be configured with the same configuration among the scheduled cells or cells in the cell group.

[0292] In some aspects, when a DCI field is applied commonly to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, the bit width of the common field is determined according to the bit width of an RRC parameter for multi-cell scheduling.

[0293] In some aspects, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is applied universally to all scheduled cells or cells within a group of cells.

[0294] In some aspects, if two transport blocks (TB) are configured or enabled for the scheduled PDSCH, then 2 or 2N group Cell The MCS field may be included in the DCI, which may apply to the first and second TBs of all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, respectively.

[0295] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, a new data indicator (NDI) and redundancy version (RV) bitmap is included in the DCI, where each bit in the bitmap is used to indicate the NDI and RV, respectively, of each scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH.

[0296] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, when one TB is configured for PDSCH and PUSCH transmission, the HARQ process number is commonly applied to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group.

[0297] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, when one TB is configured for PDSCH and PUSCH transmission, a HARQ process number is commonly applied to all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, where an additional HARQ process number can be commonly applied for PDSCH or PUSCH retransmission for the PDSCH or PUSCH of all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group.

[0298] In some aspects, for multi-cell scheduling, if one TB is configured for PDSCH and PUSCH transmission, the HARQ process number is applied for the reference PDSCH or PUSCH for all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group.

[0299] In some aspects, when 2TB transmission is configured and enabled and multiple PDSCHs are scheduled by a multi-cell scheduling DCI, if IMCS=26 and the RV bits are set to '1' for the corresponding TBs of all scheduled PDSCHs of all scheduled cells or cells in a cell group, then either the first or second transport block of all scheduled PDSCHs is disabled by the DCI.

[0300] 14 illustrates a block diagram of a communications device, such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), next generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects and performing one or more of the techniques disclosed herein. In alternative aspects, communications device 1400 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communications devices.

[0301] A circuit (e.g., processing circuit) is a collection of circuitry implemented in the tangible entities of device 1400 including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). Circuit components are adaptive over time. Circuit components include components that, alone or in combination, can perform a specified operation when operating. In one example, the hardware of a circuit is invariably designed (e.g., hardwired) to perform a specific operation. In one example, the hardware of a circuit can include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) that include machine-readable media (e.g., magnetic, electrical, arrangements of movable invariant mass particles, etc.) that are physically altered to encode instructions for a specific operation.

[0302] In connecting the physical components, the underlying electrical properties of the hardware components are changed, for example, from insulator to conductor or vice versa. The instructions enable the embedded hardware (e.g., execution unit or loading mechanism) to generate components of a circuit in the hardware through variable connections to perform some of the specific operations during operation. Thus, in an example, the machine-readable medium element is part of a circuit or is communicatively coupled to other components of a circuit when the device is operating. In an example, any of the physical components can be used in one or more components of one or more circuits. For example, during operation, an execution unit can be used in a first circuit of a first circuit at one time and reused by a second circuit in the first circuit or a third circuit in the second circuit at another time. Additional examples of these components with respect to device 1400 are provided below.

[0303] In some aspects, communications device 1400 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communications devices. In a networked deployment, communications device 1400 may operate in the capacity of a server communications device, a client communications device, or both in a server-client environment. In an example, communications device 1400 may operate as a peer communications device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Communications device 1400 may be a UE, eNB, PC, tablet PC, STB, PDA, mobile phone, smartphone, web appliance, network router, switch or bridge, or any communications device capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be performed by the communications device. Additionally, although only a single communications device is shown, the term "communications device" is also intended to include a collection of communications devices that individually or collectively execute a set (or sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[0304] Examples as described herein may include or operate on logic or multiple components, modules, or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a particular way. In an example, a circuit may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) as a module in a particular way. In an example, all or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., stand-alone, client, or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured with firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application portions, or applications) as modules that operate to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a medium readable by a communication device. In an example, the software, when executed by the hardware underlying the module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

[0305] The term "module" is therefore understood to encompass a tangible entity that is physically configured, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transiently) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a particular manner or to perform some or all of any of the operations described herein. Considering examples in which the modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example, if the modules include a general-purpose hardware processor that is configured with software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as each different module at different times. The software may thus configure the hardware processor, for example, to configure a particular module at one time and a different module at a different time.

[0306] A communications device (e.g., a UE) 1400 may include a hardware processor 1402 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 1404, a static memory 1406, and a storage device 1407 (e.g., a hard drive, a tape drive, a flash storage device, or other block or storage device), some or all of which may communicate with each other via an internal link (e.g., a bus) 1408.

[0307] The communication device 1400 may further include a display device 1410, an alphanumeric input device 1412 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 1414 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display device 1410, the input device 1412, and the UI navigation device 1414 may be touch screen displays. The communication device 1400 may further include a signal generating device 1418 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1420, and one or more sensors, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or another sensor. The communication device 1400 may include an output control 1428, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.)) connection, to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.).

[0308] The storage device 1407 may include a communication device readable medium 1422. The communication device readable medium 1422 may have stored thereon one or more data structures or sets of instructions 1424 (e.g., software) that implement or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In some aspects, the processor 1402, the main memory 1404, the static memory 1406, and / or the registers of the storage device 1407 may be or include (completely or at least partially) the device readable medium 1422 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1424 that implement or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 1402, the main memory 1404, the static memory 1406, or the mass storage 1416 may constitute the device readable medium 1422.

[0309] As used herein, the term "device-readable medium" is synonymous with "computer-readable medium." Although the communication device-readable medium 1422 is depicted as a single medium, the term "communication device-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 1424. The term "communication device-readable medium" includes "machine-readable medium" or "computer-readable medium" and may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device 1400 and causing the communication device 1400 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure or capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of communication device-readable media may include solid-state memory and optical and magnetic media. Particular examples of communication device readable media may include non-volatile memory such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, Random Access Memory (RAM), and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, communication device readable media may include non-transitory communication device readable media. In some examples, communication device readable media may include communication device readable media that are not a transitory propagating signal.

[0310] The instructions 1424 may further be transmitted or received by the network interface device 1420 over a communication network 1426 using a transmission medium utilizing one of many well-known transport protocols. In an example, the network interface device 1420 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas for connecting to the communication network 1426. By way of example, the network interface device 1420 may include multiple antennas for wireless communication using at least one of Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO), MIMO, or Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) technology. In some examples, the network interface device 1420 may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMO technology.

[0311] The term "transmission medium" is intended to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by communications device 1400, including digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate the communication of such software. In this regard, in the context of this disclosure, transmission media is any device-readable medium.

[0312] The terms "machine-readable medium," "computer-readable medium," and "machine-readable medium" have the same meaning and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. These terms are defined to include both machine storage media and transmission media. Thus, these terms include both storage devices / media and carrier waves / modulated data signals.

[0313] The described implementations of the subject matter may include one or more of the features, either alone or in combination, as illustrated by way of example below.

[0314] (Example 1) An apparatus for a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network, the apparatus comprising: A processing circuit, for configuring the UE for multi-cell scheduling in a 5G NR network, comprising: decoding higher layer signaling, the higher layer signaling indicating a number of configured cell groups to the UE, each cell group of the number of cell groups including at least two cells; Decoding downlink control information (DCI) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the DCI including a scheduling grant with a time and frequency allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the configured multiple cell groups to the UE; A processing circuit for scheduling uplink data transmission via the PUSCH in the multiple cell groups or scheduling downlink data reception via the PDSCH in the multiple cell groups based on the scheduling grant; a memory coupled to the processing circuit and configured to store the scheduling grant; Including equipment.

[0315] (Example 2) The processing circuit includes: Decoding the higher layer signaling to determine a number of cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; scheduling the uplink data transmission or the downlink data reception for a number of the cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; The device described in Example 1.

[0316] (Example 3) The processing circuit includes: Decoding the DCI to determine a number of configuration fields storing configuration information; applying the configuration information to each of the at least two cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups. The device described in Examples 1-2.

[0317] (Example 4) The processing circuit comprises: The device of example 3, wherein the configuration information is applied commonly to the multiple cell groups during the scheduled uplink data transmission or the scheduled downlink data reception.

[0318] (Example 5) One or more of the plurality of configuration fields appear N times in the DCI, and each field of the plurality of configuration fields appears once for each of the cell groups; The device of any one of Examples 3 to 4, wherein the processing circuitry applies the field commonly to scheduled or active PDSCHs or PUSCHs in a cell group of the multiple cell groups.

[0319] (Example 6) An apparatus as described in Examples 3 to 5, wherein one or more of the plurality of configuration fields appear M times in the DCI, each field of the plurality of configuration fields applies to scheduled uplink data transmission or downlink data reception in a cell, and M is the number of scheduled cells for multi-cell scheduling.

[0320] (Example 7) The processing circuitry applies the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the one or more commonly applied configuration fields as a maximum bit-width of bit-widths from scheduled cells in a cell group of the multiple cell groups based on the configuration for the corresponding cell; The device described in Examples 3-6.

[0321] (Example 8) The processing circuitry applies the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the commonly applied one or more configuration fields based on the configuration for the corresponding cells as a minimum bit-width of bit-widths from scheduled cells in a cell group of the multiple cell groups; The device described in Examples 3-7.

[0322] (Example 9) The processing circuitry applies the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one cell of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the one or more commonly applied configuration fields based on a bit-width of one of the configuration fields applied to a scheduled cell or a selected reference cell from a cell of the multiple cell groups; The device described in Examples 3-8.

[0323] (Example 10) A transceiver circuit coupled to the processing circuit; one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry; The device according to any one of Examples 1 to 9, further comprising:

[0324] (Example 11) A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station, the instructions being for configuring the base station for multi-cell scheduling in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network and causing the base station to perform operations, the operations including: encoding higher layer signaling for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the higher layer signaling indicating a number of configured cell groups to the UE, each cell group of the number of cell groups including at least two cells; encoding downlink control information (DCI) for transmission to a user equipment (UE) in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the DCI including a scheduling grant with a time and frequency allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the configured multiple cell groups to the UE; decoding scheduled uplink data reception via the PUSCH in the multiple cell groups or encoding scheduled downlink data transmission via the PDSCH in the multiple cell groups based on the scheduling grant; 23. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

[0325] (Example 12) The above operation is applying a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) commonly to the at least two cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; 12. The computer-readable storage medium of Example 11, further comprising:

[0326] (Example 13) A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions being for configuring the UE for multi-cell scheduling in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network and causing the UE to perform operations, the operations including: decoding higher layer signaling, the higher layer signaling indicating a number of configured cell groups to the UE, each cell group of the number of cell groups including at least two cells; decoding downlink control information (DCI) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the DCI including a scheduling grant with a time and frequency allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the configured multiple cell groups to the UE; scheduling uplink data transmission via the PUSCH in the multiple cell groups or scheduling downlink data reception via the PDSCH in the multiple cell groups based on the scheduling grant; 23. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

[0327] (Example 14) The above operation is as follows: decoding the higher layer signaling to determine a number of cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; scheduling the uplink data transmission or the downlink data reception for a number of the cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; 14. The computer-readable storage medium of Example 13, further comprising:

[0328] (Example 15) The above operation is as follows: decoding the DCI to determine a number of configuration fields storing configuration information; applying the configuration information to each of the at least one cell in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; The computer-readable storage medium of Examples 13-14, further comprising:

[0329] (Example 16) The above operation is as follows: Example 16. The computer-readable storage medium of Example 15, further comprising applying the configuration information commonly to the multiple cell groups during the scheduled uplink data transmission or the scheduled downlink data reception.

[0330] (Example 17) One or more of the plurality of configuration fields appear N times in the DCI, and each field of the plurality of configuration fields appears once for each of the cell groups; 17. The computer-readable storage medium of example 15-16, wherein the operations further include applying the field commonly to scheduled or active PDSCHs or PUSCHs in a cell group of the multiple cell groups.

[0331] (Example 18) A computer-readable storage medium as described in Examples 15 to 17, wherein one or more of the plurality of configuration fields appear M times in the DCI, each field of the plurality of configuration fields applies to scheduled uplink data transmission or downlink data reception in a cell, and M is the number of scheduled cells for multi-cell scheduling.

[0332] (Example 19) The operation includes applying the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one cell of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the one or more commonly applied configuration fields as a maximum bit-width of bit-widths from scheduled cells in a cell group of the multiple cell groups based on configurations for corresponding cells; The computer-readable storage medium of Examples 15-18, further comprising:

[0333] (Example 20) The operation includes applying the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one cell of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the one or more commonly applied configuration fields based on the configuration for a corresponding cell as a minimum bit-width of bit-widths from scheduled cells in a cell group of the multiple cell groups; The computer-readable storage medium of Examples 15 to 19, further comprising:

[0334] (Example 21) At least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform operations to implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0335] (Example 22) An apparatus including means for carrying out any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0336] (Example 23) A system for implementing any of Examples 1 to 20.

[0337] Example 24: A method for carrying out any of Examples 1 to 20.

[0338] While the embodiments have been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broad scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. This detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a restrictive sense, and the scope of the various embodiments is defined solely by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network, the apparatus comprising: A processing circuit, for configuring the UE for multi-cell scheduling in the 5G NR network, comprising: decoding higher layer signaling, the higher layer signaling indicating a number of configured cell groups to the UE, each cell group of the number of cell groups including at least two cells; Decoding downlink control information (DCI) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the DCI including a scheduling grant with a time and frequency allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the configured multiple cell groups to the UE; A processing circuit for scheduling uplink data transmission via the PUSCH in the multiple cell groups or scheduling downlink data reception via the PDSCH in the multiple cell groups based on the scheduling grant; a memory coupled to the processing circuit and configured to store the scheduling grant; Including equipment.

2. The processing circuitry includes: Decoding the higher layer signaling to determine a number of cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; scheduling the uplink data transmission or the downlink data reception for a number of the cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; 10. The device of claim 1.

3. The processing circuitry includes: Decoding the DCI to determine a number of configuration fields storing configuration information; applying the configuration information to each of the at least two cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; 10. The device of claim 1.

4. The processing circuitry includes: The device of claim 3 , further comprising: a first communication unit configured to transmit the first and second data packets to the first and second cell groups;

5. one or more of the plurality of configuration fields appear N times in the DCI, each field of the plurality of configuration fields appearing once for each of the cell groups; The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processing circuitry applies the field commonly to scheduled or active PDSCHs or PUSCHs in a cell group of the multiple cell groups.

6. 4. The device of claim 3, wherein one or more of the plurality of configuration fields appear M times in the DCI, each field of the plurality of configuration fields applies to the scheduled uplink data transmission or the downlink data reception in a cell, where M is a number of scheduled cells for multi-cell scheduling.

7. the processing circuitry applies the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the commonly applied one or more configuration fields as a maximum bit-width of bit-widths from scheduled cells in a cell group of the multiple cell groups based on the configuration for the corresponding cell; 4. The device of claim 3.

8. the processing circuitry applies the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the commonly applied one or more configuration fields based on the configuration for a corresponding cell as a minimum bit-width of bit-widths from scheduled cells in a cell group of the multiple cell groups; 4. The device of claim 3.

9. the processing circuitry applies the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the commonly applied one or more configuration fields based on a bit-width of one of the configuration fields applied to a scheduled cell or a selected reference cell from a cell of the multiple cell groups; 4. The device of claim 3.

10. a transceiver circuit coupled to the processing circuit; one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry; The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:

11. 1. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station, the instructions for configuring the base station for multi-cell scheduling in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network and causing the base station to perform operations, the operations including: encoding higher layer signaling for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the higher layer signaling indicating a number of configured cell groups to the UE, each cell group of the number of cell groups including at least two cells; encoding downlink control information (DCI) for transmission to a user equipment (UE) in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the DCI including a scheduling grant with a time and frequency allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the configured multiple cell groups to the UE; decoding scheduled uplink data reception via the PUSCH in the multiple cell groups or encoding scheduled downlink data transmission via the PDSCH in the multiple cell groups based on the scheduling grant; 23. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

12. The operation includes: applying a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) commonly to the at least two cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising:

13. 1. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions being for configuring the UE for multi-cell scheduling in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network and causing the UE to perform operations, the operations including: decoding higher layer signaling, the higher layer signaling indicating a number of configured cell groups to the UE, each cell group of the number of cell groups including at least two cells; decoding downlink control information (DCI) received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the DCI including a scheduling grant with a time and frequency allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the configured multiple cell groups to the UE; scheduling uplink data transmission via the PUSCH in the multiple cell groups or scheduling downlink data reception via the PDSCH in the multiple cell groups based on the scheduling grant; 23. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

14. The operation includes: decoding the higher layer signaling to determine a number of cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; scheduling the uplink data transmission or the downlink data reception for a number of the cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , further comprising:

15. The operation includes: decoding the DCI to determine a number of configuration fields storing configuration information; applying the configuration information to each of the at least two cells in each cell group of the multiple cell groups; The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , further comprising:

16. The operation includes: applying the configuration information commonly to the multiple cell groups during the scheduled uplink data transmission or the scheduled downlink data reception; The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 further comprising:

17. one or more of the plurality of configuration fields appear N times in the DCI, each field of the plurality of configuration fields appearing once for each of the cell groups; 16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise applying the field commonly to scheduled or active PDSCHs or PUSCHs in a cell group of the multiple cell groups.

18. 16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein one or more of the plurality of configuration fields appear M times in the DCI, each field of the plurality of configuration fields applies to a scheduled uplink data transmission or downlink data reception in a cell, and M is a number of scheduled cells for multi-cell scheduling.

19. The operation includes: applying the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the one or more commonly applied configuration fields as a maximum bit-width of bit-widths from scheduled cells in a cell group of the multiple cell groups based on the configuration for the corresponding cell; The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 further comprising:

20. The operation includes: applying the one or more configuration fields in common to more than one of the at least two cells or to each cell group of the multiple cell groups; determining a bit-width of the commonly applied one or more configuration fields based on the configuration for a corresponding cell as a minimum bit-width of bit-widths from scheduled cells in a cell group of the multiple cell groups; The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 further comprising:

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