Method, user equipment and access network node

Abstract

A system (1) is disclosed in which an access network node (base station) (5) performs channel adaptation of an air interface between a user equipment (UE) (3) and the radio access network node. Access network node information for the UE to determine whether the channel quality of the air interface has changed. If the UE determines that a current channel quality value of the air interface has changed from a previous channel quality value sent to the access network node, the access network node receives periodic channel quality reports from the UE at channel quality reporting occasions, the periodic channel quality reports including information indicative of the current channel quality value.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication systems and devices thereof that operate in accordance with 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) standards or equivalents or derivatives thereof. [Background technology]

[0002] The present disclosure has particular, but not exclusive, relevance to improvements relating to channel condition feedback in so-called "5G" or "new wireless" systems (also referred to as "next generation" systems).

[0003] Under 3GPP standards, a NodeB (or "eNB" in LTE and "gNB" in 5G) is a base station through which communication devices (User Equipment or "UE") connect to the core network and communicate with other communication devices or remote servers. A communication device may be, for example, a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a laptop / tablet computer, a web browser, an e-book reader, etc. Such mobile (or generally fixed) devices are typically operated by a user (and thus they are often collectively referred to as User Equipment "UE"), although Internet of Things (IoT) devices and similar Machine Type Communications (MTC) devices may also be connected to the network. For simplicity, this application uses the term base station to refer to any such base station and the term mobile device or UE to refer to such communication devices.

[0004] The latest development in the 3GPP standard is the so-called "5G" or "New Radio" (NR) standard, which refers to an evolving communications technology that is expected to support a variety of applications and services, such as MTC, IoT communications, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and autonomous vehicles, high-definition video streaming, and smart city services. 3GPP intends to support 5G with the so-called 3GPP Next Generation (NextGen) Radio Access Network (RAN) and 3GPP NextGen core (NGC) networks. Various details of 5G networks are described, for example, in "5G White Paper 1" by the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance, which is available at https: / / www.ngmn.org / 5g-white-paper.html.

[0005] End-user communication devices are commonly referred to as User Equipment (UE) and may be operated by humans or may comprise automated (MTC / IoT) devices. Base stations in 5G / NR communication systems are commonly referred to as New Radio Base Stations ("NR-BS") or "gNBs", although it will be understood that they may also be referred to using the term "eNB" (or 5G / NR eNB), which is typically associated with Long Term Evolution (LTE) base stations (also commonly referred to as "4G" base stations). Non-Patent Document 2 and Non-Patent Document 3 define, among other things, the following nodes: gNB: A node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination towards the UE and is connected to the 5G core network (5GC) via the NG interface. ng-eNB: A node that provides E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) user plane and control plane protocol termination for UEs and is connected to 5GC via the NG interface. En-gNB: A node that provides protocol termination for the NR user plane and control plane toward the UE and functions as a secondary node in EN-DC (E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity). NG-RAN node: Either a gNB or a ng-eNB.

[0006] The term base station or RAN node is used herein to refer to any such node. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0007] [Non-Patent Document 1] 'NGMN 5G White Paper' V1.0, Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance,<https: / / www.ngmn.org / 5g-white-paper.html> [Non-Patent Document 2] 3GPP TS 38.300 V16.7.0 [Non-Patent Document 3] 3GPP TS 37.340 V16.7.0 [Non-Patent Document 4] 3GPP TS 38.214 V16.8.0 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Next-generation mobile networks will support diverse service requirements classified into three categories by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), and Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC). eMBB aims to provide enhanced support of traditional mobile broadband and focuses on services that require high capacity and guaranteed bandwidth, such as High Definition (HD) video, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR). URLLC is a requirement for critical applications such as autonomous driving and factory automation, which require guaranteed access within an extremely short time. MMTC needs to support a huge number of connected devices, such as smart meters and environmental monitoring, but can usually tolerate a certain access latency. It will be appreciated that some of these applications may have relatively loose Quality of Service / Quality of Experience (QoS / QoE) requirements, while some applications may have relatively stringent QoS / QoE requirements (e.g., high bandwidth and / or low latency).

[0009] The Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) carries a set of information called Uplink Control Information (UCI). The format of the PUCCH depends on what information the UCI carries. The PUCCH format used is determined by how many bits of information should be carried and how many symbols are allocated. The UCI used in NR (5G) includes one or more of the following information: Channel State Information (CSI), ACK / NAK, and Scheduling Request (SR). This is generally the same as in LTE (4G), as described in more detail below.

[0010] The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries a set of information called Downlink Control Information (DCI). The DCI used in NR (5G) includes a single Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), e.g., information indicating resource allocation in the uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) for a UE, depending on its format. There are various DCI formats used in LTE and NR (5G), each of which is a predefined format in which downlink control information is packed / formed and transmitted in the PDCCH. The DCI is used to schedule transmissions from the base station to the UE (downlink) and from the UE to the base station (uplink) and to provide such scheduling information to the UE.

[0011] In communication, the UE is configured to estimate and report the CSI of the communication channel between the UE and the base station, which is used in the CSI feedback framework to enable, among other things, an appropriate Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) selection by the base station based on the channel conditions over all or part of the bandwidth. The MCS defines the number of useful bits that can be carried by one symbol, i.e., for NR (5G) exactly, the number of useful bits that can be transmitted per Resource Element (RE). The MCS depends on the radio signal quality in the radio link: the better the quality of the link, the higher the MCS and the more useful bits that can be transmitted within a symbol or RE. The assigned MCS is signaled to the UE using DCI on the PDCCH and defines the modulation and coding rate. 3GPP TS 38.214 V 16.8.0 defines various MCS tables for 5G NR physical layer procedures for data.

[0012] In general, NR (similar to LTE) utilizes an implicit Rank Indicator (RI) / Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) / Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) feedback framework for CSI feedback. In summary, the combination of RI, PMI, and CQI forms the channel state report, and the CSI feedback framework is "implicit" in the form of codebook-derived CQI / PMI / RI (and Channel Rank Indicator (CRI) in the relevant LTE and NR specifications). Rank Indicator (RI) is information about the channel rank and indicates the number of streams / layers that can be received over the same time-frequency resource. Since RI is determined by the long-term fading of the channel, it may generally be fed back at a longer period than PMI or CQI. PMI is a value indicating the spatial characteristics of the channel and indicates the precoding matrix index of the network device (base station) preferred by the respective terminal device (UE). The CQI is information indicating the channel strength and the received signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) when the base station uses the PMI.

[0013] Accurate (or frequent) CSI feedback allows for accurate MCS selection and adaptation of the link to the current channel conditions. Enhanced CSI feedback to improve link adaptation is beneficial for reliability and overall system efficiency. The CSI reporting configuration for CSI can be periodic using PUCCH (P-CSI), aperiodic using PUSCH (A-CSI), or semi-persistent using PUCCH and DCI-activated PUSCH (SP-CSI). In periodic CSI reporting, the reporting period (i.e., the period defining the reporting point) is determined at higher layers using RRC signaling, and CSI data is transmitted by the UE to the scheduler (base station) using PUCCH at appropriate junctures, while in aperiodic reporting, CSI feedback is triggered as required by the base station using DCI on PDCCH. In this case, CSI data is transmitted by the UE via PUSCH. A-CSI may form the main CSI feedback framework of the communication system or may be a supplementary configuration, e.g., it may be triggered to address failed detection of P-CSI or SP-CSI reporting.

[0014] To improve accuracy and enable rapid adaptation to changing channel conditions, a relatively short CSI reporting periodicity is required (resulting in an increased CQI reporting frequency), which leads to increased signaling overhead and increased power consumption. For example, relatively frequent periodic CSI feedback from the UE to the scheduler may require CQI reporting every few transmission time intervals (TTIs), even if there is little (or no) variation in the CQI during a particular period. In other words, there may be periods during which the same or similar CQI values ​​are reported at relatively short intervals. In the case of aperiodic CSI feedback, frequent feedback requires frequent DCI transmissions from the base station to the UE, without any guarantee that changes in channel conditions are detected in a timely manner. Thus, current CSI feedback approaches are of limited use in some situations and are not ideal for relatively fast link adaptation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] Therefore, the present disclosure seeks to provide a method and related apparatus for CSI feedback enhancement to address or at least mitigate (at least some of) the above-mentioned problems. There has been some discussion in 3GPP regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) in Release 18 to improve procedures related to the air interface. One possible use case is CSI feedback enhancement. Therefore, the present disclosure also seeks to provide a method and related apparatus based on AI / ML-based CSI feedback enhancement.

[0016] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a user equipment (UE)-performed method for channel adaptation of an air interface between the UE and a node of a radio access network, the method including receiving information indicative of at least one condition for triggering transmission of periodic channel quality reports, and transmitting, to the radio access network, at a particular channel quality reporting occasion, a periodic channel quality report indicative of a current channel quality value when the at least one condition is satisfied, the periodic channel quality report, the periodic channel quality report being indicative of a current channel quality value when the at least one condition is satisfied, the information including: - a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between a current channel quality value and a previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network; - a mobility condition indicating a mobility required by the UE to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; a location change condition indicating a required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; At least one of the following is shown.

[0017] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method performed by a node of a radio access network for channel adaptation of an air interface between a user equipment (UE) of the radio access network and the node, the method including: transmitting information indicative of at least one condition for triggering transmission of periodic channel quality reports; and receiving, at a particular channel quality reporting occasion when the at least one condition is satisfied, a periodic channel quality report from the UE indicating a current channel quality value, the information comprising: - a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between a current channel quality value and a previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network; - a mobility condition indicating a mobility required by the UE to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; a location change condition indicating a required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; At least one of the following is shown.

[0018] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method performed by a node of a radio access network for channel adaptation of an air interface between a user equipment (UE) and the node of the radio access network, the method including: predicting, using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model, at least one fluctuation point for a channel quality value associated with a channel; and transmitting information indicative of at least one condition for the at least one fluctuation point to the UE to trigger at least one periodic channel quality report by the UE to report an actual channel quality value associated with the at least one fluctuation point.

[0019] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a user equipment (UE) for channel adaptation of an air interface between the UE and a node of a radio access network, the UE including: means (e.g., a memory, a controller, and a transceiver) for receiving information indicative of at least one condition for triggering transmission of periodic channel quality reports; and means for transmitting, at a particular channel quality reporting occasion, a periodic channel quality report indicating a current channel quality value to the radio access network when the at least one condition is satisfied, the information including: - a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between a current channel quality value and a previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network; - a mobility condition indicating a mobility required by the UE to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; a location change condition indicating a required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; At least one of the following is shown.

[0020] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a node of a radio access network for channel adaptation of an air interface between a user equipment (UE) of the radio access network and the node, the node including: means (e.g., a memory, a controller, and a transceiver) for transmitting information indicative of at least one condition for triggering transmission of periodic channel quality reports; and means for receiving, at a particular channel quality reporting occasion, a periodic channel quality report from the UE when the at least one condition is met, the periodic channel quality report indicative of a current channel quality value, the information comprising: - a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between a current channel quality value and a previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network; - a mobility condition indicating a mobility required by the UE to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; a location change condition indicating a required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; At least one of the following is shown.

[0021] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a node of a radio access network for channel adaptation of a radio interface between a user equipment (UE) of the radio access network and the node, the node including means (e.g., a memory, a controller, and a transceiver) for predicting, using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model, at least one fluctuation point for a channel quality value associated with a channel, and means for transmitting information to the UE indicative of at least one condition for the at least one fluctuation point to trigger at least one periodic channel quality report by the UE to report an actual channel quality value associated with the at least one fluctuation point.

[0022] Aspects of the disclosure extend to corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products, such as computer readable storage media having instructions stored therein, the instructions being operable to program a programmable processor to perform the methods according to the aspects and possibilities set out above or recited in the claims, and / or to program a computer suitably adapted to provide an apparatus as recited in any of the claims.

[0023] To facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art, the present disclosure will be described in detail in the context of a 3GPP system (5G network), but the principles of the present disclosure can be applied to other systems.

[0024] The present disclosure is defined by the appended claims. Aspects of the disclosure are set out in the independent claims. Some optional features are set out in the dependent claims.

[0025] Each feature disclosed in this specification (which term includes the claims) and / or shown in the drawings may be incorporated in the disclosure independently of (or in combination with) any other disclosed and / or shown feature. In particular, but not limited to, any feature of a claim dependent on a particular independent claim may be introduced into that independent claim in any combination or individually.

[0026] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile (cellular or wireless) telecommunications system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied; [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile device forming part of the system shown in FIG. 1; [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic block diagram of an access network node (eg a base station) forming part of the system shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a core network node forming part of the system shown in FIG. 1; [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a framework for CSI feedback based on artificial intelligence / machine learning models. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] overview FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile (cellular or wireless) telecommunications system 1 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied.

[0029] In this system 1, users of mobile devices 3 (UE) can communicate with each other and other users via base stations 5 (and other access network nodes) and a core network 7 using an appropriate 3GPP radio access technology (RAT), such as, for example, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and / or 5G RAT. It will be appreciated that multiple base stations 5 form a (radio) access network or (R)AN. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, although one mobile device 3 and three base stations 5A-5C are shown in FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes, the system, when implemented, will typically include other base stations / (R)AN nodes and mobile devices (UE).

[0030] Each base station 5 controls (directly or via other nodes such as home base stations, relays, remote radio heads, distributed units, etc.) one or more associated cells. Base stations 5 supporting next generation / 5G protocols may be referred to as "gNBs". It will be appreciated that some base stations 5 may be configured to support both 4G and 5G protocols, and / or any other 3GPP or non-3GPP communication protocol.

[0031] The mobile device 3 and its serving base station 5 are connected via suitable radio interfaces (such as the so-called "NR" radio interface and / or the "Uu" interface). Neighboring base stations 5 are connected to each other via suitable inter-base station interfaces (such as the so-called "Xn" interface, the "X2" interface, etc.). The base stations 5 are also connected to core network nodes via suitable interfaces (such as the so-called "NG-U" interface (for the user plane), the so-called "NG-C" interface (for the control plane), etc.).

[0032] The core network 7 (e.g. EPC in LTE or NGC in NR / 5G) typically includes logical nodes (or "functions") for supporting communications in the telecommunications system 1, as well as for subscriber management, mobility management, charging, security, call / session management (among others). For example, the core network 7 in a "next generation" / 5G system includes user plane and control plane entities, such as one or more Control Plane Functions (CPF) 10, and one or more User Plane Functions (UPF) 11. The so-called Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in 5G, or Mobility Management Entity (MME) in 4G, is responsible for handling connection and mobility management tasks for mobile devices 3. The so-called Session Management Function (SMF) is responsible for handling communication sessions for mobile devices 3, such as session establishment, modification, and release. The core network 7 may typically include, among others, an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Unified Data Management (UDM) entity, a Policy Control Function (PCF), and an Application Function (AF). It will be understood that the nodes or functions may have different names in different systems. The core network 7 connects (through the UPF 11) to a Data Network (DN), such as the Internet or a similar Internet Protocol (IP) based network. The core network 7 may also connect to an Operations and Maintenance (OAM) function (not shown).

[0033] It will be appreciated that each mobile device 3 may support one or more services that may fall into any of the above defined categories (URLLC / eMBB / mMTC). Each service typically has associated requirements (e.g., delay / data rate / packet loss requirements, etc.), which may differ for different services.

[0034] In this system, the UE 3 is configured to provide periodic CQI feedback relatively frequently (with a relatively short CSI reporting period) to enable fast link adaptation to changing radio conditions on the air interface between the UE 3 and the serving base station 5. However, the UE 3 is also configured with one or more conditions to control whether or not to transmit CQI feedback at a given reporting occasion. Advantageously, the configured conditions allow the UE 3 to skip some periodic CQI reports when the reports do not result in a change in link characteristics (e.g., when the CQI to be reported has not changed since a previous report or when a previously transmitted CQI is still considered valid).

[0035] This allows the UE 3 to skip (or delay) the transmission of a CQI report (one or more CQI reports) when a certain condition (at least one condition) is met, thereby reducing signaling overhead. In particular, if the measured CQI does not result in a CQI level update, the CQI report may not need to be transmitted to the scheduler (base station 5). For example, if the UE 3 is not moving or does not measure changes in the channel conditions (or measures relatively small changes, for example, within a relevant threshold), the UE 3 may determine that the relevant CQI report is unlikely to result in a change in the link configuration used by the base station 5. Thus, depending on this determination, at a particular CQI reporting occasion, the UE 3 may decide not to transmit a CQI report.

[0036] especially, - a channel quality change condition indicating the required difference between the current channel quality (CQI) value and the previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network (base station 5); - a mobility condition indicating the mobility required by the UE 3 to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; - a location change condition indicating the required difference between the current location of the UE 3 and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same (or substantially the same) channel quality value as the current channel quality value; One or more of the following conditions may be used:

[0037] In another option, artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) is employed to predict or indicate expected fluctuation points of channel conditions as opposed to fully computation-based channel estimation. This solution may therefore contribute to reduced complexity and improved CQI accuracy. This AI / ML-based approach allows for adjustment of the CSI feedback rate / CSI reporting pattern based on the predicted CSI fluctuation points. For example, the UE may be configured to transmit CSI feedback only when a point of significant fluctuation (which may be determined by time, location, or distance) is reached. Beneficially, the CSI feedback to the base station includes the actual CQI value measured by the UE. This is quite different from other AI / ML-based solutions that predict CSI from data obtained from other UEs (which may result in reduced accuracy since the CQI itself is a predicted value rather than a measured value). Conventional periodic CSI reporting reports every few ms, regardless of whether the CQI has changed or not, or whether a report is required at that time or location (e.g., no data traffic).

[0038] User Equipment (UE) FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the main components of the mobile device (UE) 3 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the UE 3 includes a transceiver circuit 31 operable to transmit signals to and receive signals from connected nodes via one or more antennas 33. Although not necessarily shown in FIG. 2, the UE 3 of course has all the usual features of a conventional mobile device (such as a user interface 35), which may be provided by any one or any combination of hardware, software, and firmware, as appropriate. A controller 37 controls the operation of the UE 3 according to software stored in a memory 39. The software may be pre-installed in the memory 39 and / or downloaded, for example, via the telecommunications network 1 or from a removable data storage device (RMD). The software includes, among other things, an operating system 41, a communication control module 43, and (optionally) an AI / ML module 100.

[0039] The communication control module 43 is responsible for processing (generating / sending / receiving) signaling messages and uplink / downlink data packets between the UE 3 and other nodes, including the (R)AN node 5 and core network nodes. The signaling may include control signaling (including UCI and DCI) related to (among other things) the PUCCH and / or PDCCH and CSI feedback. The communication control module 43 is also responsible for determining the resource sets and codebooks used for particular channels.

[0040] If present, the AI / ML module 100 is responsible for performing CQI reporting related processing and signaling based on appropriate AI / ML models (or algorithms).

[0041] Access network node (base station) FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the main components of the base station 5 (or a similar access network node) shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the base station 5 includes a transceiver circuit 51 operable to transmit signals to and receive signals from connected UEs 3 via one or more antennas 53, and to transmit signals to and receive signals from other network nodes (directly or indirectly) via a network interface 55. The network interface 55 typically includes a suitable base station-base station interface (such as X2 / Xn) and a suitable base station-core network interface (such as S1 / N1 / N2 / N3). The controller 57 controls the operation of the base station 5 according to software stored in memory 59. The software may be pre-installed in the memory 59 and / or may be downloaded, for example, via the telecommunications network 1 or from a removable data storage device (RMD). The software includes, among other things, an operating system 61, a communication control module 63, and (optionally) an AI / ML module 100.

[0042] The communication control module 63 is responsible for handling (generating / transmitting / receiving) signaling between the base station 5 and other nodes such as the UE 3 and core network nodes. The signaling may include (among other things) control signaling (including UCI and DCI) related to the PUCCH and / or PDCCH and CSI feedback. The communication control module 63 is also responsible for determining the resource sets and codebooks for specific channels.

[0043] If present, the AI / ML module 100 is responsible for performing CQI reporting related processing and signaling based on appropriate AI / ML models (or algorithms).

[0044] Core Network Functions Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the main components of a typical core network function, such as the CPF 10 or UPF 11 shown in Figure 1. As shown, the core network function includes a transceiver circuit 71 operable to transmit signals to and receive signals from other nodes (including UEs 3, base stations 5, and other core network nodes) via a network interface 75. A controller 77 controls the operation of the core network function in accordance with software stored in a memory 79. The software may be pre-installed in the memory 79 and / or may be downloaded, for example, via the telecommunications network 1 or from a removable data storage device (RMD). The software includes, among other things, an operating system 81, and a communication control module 83.

[0045] The communication control module 83 is responsible for handling (generating / sending / receiving) signaling between the core network nodes and other nodes such as the UE 3, base stations 5, and other core network nodes.

[0046] Detailed Description To improve accuracy and rapid adaptation to channel conditions, a relatively short CSI reporting periodicity is configured for the UE 3. For example, periodic CSI (P-CSI) feedback from the UE 3 to the scheduler may be sent every few TTIs. However, in this system, the CSI feedback timing may be autonomously adapted to the traffic arrival rate and channel conditions.

[0047] In the first example (called "Solution 1"), we propose a non-AI / ML-based CSI feedback scheme. In the second example (called "Solution 2"), we propose an AI / ML-based CSI feedback scheme for overhead reduction and CQI prediction.

[0048] Solution 1 In this case, the UE 3 (using the communication control module 43) receives information (e.g., via higher layers) from the serving base station 5 to configure the CQI reporting. This information may include appropriate configuration parameters for periodic CQI reporting (or quasi-periodic CQI reporting). Thus, advantageously, the UE 3 is configured to provide the network with CQI reports with a desired periodicity. It will be appreciated that the periodicity in this case may be relatively low to allow fast link adaptation, if required.

[0049] Beneficially, the UE 3 is also configured to determine whether it can skip the transmission of a CQI report (one or more CQI reports) in order to reduce signaling overhead. In particular, if the measured CQI does not result in a CQI level update, the CQI report may not need to be transmitted to the scheduler (base station 5). For example, if the UE 3 is not moving or does not measure changes in the channel conditions (or for example measures relatively small changes within a relevant threshold), the UE 3 may determine that the relevant CQI report is unlikely to result in a change in the link configuration used by the base station 5. Thus, depending on this determination, at a particular CQI reporting occasion, the UE 3 may decide not to transmit a CQI report. In this case, in the absence of a current CQI report, the base station 5 may be configured to continue using the previously received (latest) CQI report (until the UE 3 transmits an updated CQI) or to adopt an appropriate process to predict and apply a new CQI for the UE 3 (without relying on the skipped CQI report). It will also be appreciated that the base station 5 may trigger aperiodic CQI reporting via the DCI at an appropriate time. For example, the base station 5 may be configured to trigger aperiodic CQI reporting with a periodicity different from that applied to the periodic CQI. The base station 5 may also be configured to trigger aperiodic CQI reporting after failing to receive a certain number of CQI reports from the UE 3 (e.g., after a total number of skipped / failed CQIs or after a given number of consecutive CQIs).

[0050] In summary, the UE 3 will send periodic CQI measurement reports to the base station 5 only if there is an update to the CQI report value. Beneficially, when the CQI does not change for a certain period of time, it is possible to adopt a relatively low periodicity while avoiding the associated signaling overhead. At the same time, the relatively low periodicity allows for fast link adaptation when a sudden CQI change occurs, since in this case the UE 3 will report the CQI to the base station 5 according to the associated configuration.

[0051] Additionally, to prevent false negatives, the following measures may be applied: 1) The UE 3 may be configured with a timer (e.g., a CQIValidityLength timer) that specifies a time window (since the last transmitted CQI report) during which the CQI can be considered valid. If the timer expires, the UE 3 may be configured to send a new CQI report (or send an aperiodic CQI report if requested by the base station 5 upon expiration of the timer) even if there is no change in the measured CQI. 2) Every time the UE 3 reaches a certain location or moves a certain distance from a reference location (e.g., the location of the last CQI report), the UE 3 may be configured to update the CQI and the UE 3 may be configured to send a new CQI report even if there is no change in the measured CQI.

[0052] Solution 2: (AI / ML-based solution) In this solution, artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) is employed to predict or indicate expected fluctuation points of channel conditions, as opposed to fully computation-based channel estimation. Thus, this solution may contribute to reduced complexity and improved CQI accuracy. This AI / NL-based approach allows for adjustment of CSI feedback rate / CSI reporting pattern based on predicted CSI fluctuation points. For example, the UE may be configured to transmit CSI feedback only when a point of significant fluctuation (which may be determined by time, location, or distance) is reached. Beneficially, the CSI feedback to the base station includes the actual CQI value measured by the UE. This is quite different from other AI / ML-based solutions that predict CSI from data obtained from other UEs (which may result in reduced accuracy since the CQI itself is a predicted value, not a measurement). Conventional periodic CSI reporting reports every few ms, regardless of whether the CQI has changed or not, or whether a report is required at that time or location (e.g., no data traffic).

[0053] 5 is a schematic diagram of a framework for CSI feedback based on an AI / ML model. The AI / ML model (or algorithm) may be provided via an AI / ML module 100.

[0054] More specifically, the data collection function 101 of the CSI feedback framework provides input data to the model training function 102 and the model inference function 103. Examples of input data may include one or more of measurements from UE 3 and / or other network entities, feedback from actors 104, and outputs from AI / ML models. In this example, no AI / ML algorithm-specific data preparation (e.g., data pre-processing and cleaning, formatting, and conversion) is performed in the data collection function 101.

[0055] In FIG. 5, the term training data refers to data required as input to the AI / ML model training function 102, and inference data refers to data required as input to the AI / ML model inference function 103.

[0056] The model training functionality 102 performs ML model training, validation, and testing that may generate model performance metrics as part of a model testing procedure. The model training functionality 102 is also responsible for data preparation (e.g., data pre-processing and cleaning, formatting, and transformation) as necessary based on the training data delivered by the data collection functionality 101.

[0057] It will be understood that various functions of the AI / ML-based CSI feedback framework may be implemented in different nodes. For example, some functions (at least one function) may be provided by the UE 3 and other functions (at least one function) may be provided by the base station 5. It will be understood that some functions may be implemented in more than one node (e.g., both the UE 3 and the base station 5 may have an associated data collection function 101 or may be configured to input data into a common data collection function 101).

[0058] Beneficially, the above-mentioned AI / ML-based framework may be used for CSI feedback enhancement (e.g., reducing CSI-related overhead, improving CSI accuracy, and / or CSI prediction). Below are descriptions of some scenarios in which use of the AI / ML-based framework may be beneficial, along with some example methods of reporting / predicting CQI.

[0059] It will be appreciated that the UE 3 may be subject to periodic or repetitive / repeatable CQI variations, e.g., a moving object (mechanical arm or vehicle with a fixed path) in a controlled environment such as a factory automation setting. The relative stability and / or limitations of the UE / vehicle movement allow future channel variations to be predicted.

[0060] The set of CQI reporting points may be calculated by the base station 5 based on time and / or UE location. The base station 5 may configure a set of timing or location for each UE 3 (or group of UEs) following initial training using the AI / ML model shown in FIG.

[0061] More specifically, the UE 3 may be configured with a timing set {t0, t1, t2, t3, t4, ..., tn}, where the CSI feedback time tn is configurable within a period that is relatively longer than a fixed CQI reporting periodicity. This relatively longer period may be given by an appropriate information element (e.g., timingSetValidityDuration information element) in higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC). When configured with a timing set, the UE 3 reports CQI at the feedback time given by the set.

[0062] Similarly, UE3 may be configured with a location set {p0, p1, p2, p3, p4, ..., pn} or a distance set {d0, d1, d2, d3, d4, ..., dn}, and CSI feedback is based on the UE's location pn after a time window or on the UE's distance dn moved within the time window. The location and distance time windows may be given by related information elements (e.g., locationSetValidityDuration and lengthOfDistance information elements) in higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC). It will be appreciated that a significant location or a significant change in location (movement distance) may indicate a significant change in channel conditions. When configured with a location set and / or distance set, UE3 reports CQI at the locations given by the set.

[0063] It will be appreciated that a combined set of time and location / distance may be used, and that a particular area / location / distance may have an associated timing set (which may be different from the timing set applicable to another area / location / distance).

[0064] The base station 5 may derive the applicable time / location / distance set from model training (using its associated AI / ML module 100). The UE 3 knows its own location / travel distance and / or may be flagged / informed using AI based positioning for CQI reporting updates when the UE 3 reaches each specified point / location or travels a distance corresponding to a given value in the configured set.

[0065] Beneficially, the above sets can be used to predict or indicate fluctuations in channel conditions, which can contribute to reducing complexity and improving CQI accuracy.

[0066] Configuring the CSI Feedback Mode The CSI feedback mode used by the UE 3 may be configurable by RRC signaling (e.g., using an appropriately formatted “RRCReconfiguration” message). For example, the RRC signaling may include an information element to indicate the applicable CSI feedback mode {Normal mode, AI-ML-Method1, gNBPredictionMode2, ...}.

[0067] The configuration of the CSI feedback mode may include one or more of the following steps: 1) The base station 5 may transmit to the UE 3 an index associated with a CQI timing set selected from a list of CQI update specific timing sets after CQI feedback model training, where the list may be provided via an appropriate information element (e.g. cqiUpdateTimingInfoSets) or a table with each CQI timing set having an associated index. 2) The base station 5 may transmit to the UE 3 an index associated with the selected CQI location set from the list of CQI update specific location sets after CQI feedback model training, where the list may be provided via a suitable information element (e.g. cqiUpdateLocationInfoSets) or a table with each CQI location set having an associated index. 3) The base station 5 may transmit to the UE 3 an index associated with the selected distance set from the list of CQI update specific distance sets after CQI feedback model training, where the list may be provided via an appropriate information element (e.g. cqiUpdateDistanceSets) or a table with each CQI distance set having an associated index. 4) The base station 5 may need to configure / reconfigure the index of the applicable CQI timing set upon UE location / distance update and / or during peak / off-peak traffic arrival times to further optimize CQI reporting. 5) The UE 3 sends a reduced CQI report to the base station 5 according to which index is configured for the UE 3 .

[0068] Signaling to support reduced CSI feedback - Patent application For a CQI timing set, the UE 3 may be provided with a periodic CSI reporting pattern for CQI reporting via an appropriate information element (e.g., cqi-reportingPattern). Each bit of the pattern corresponds to a normal CQI reporting periodicity, and a value of "0" or "1" indicates skipping CQI reporting or normal CSI feedback, respectively, during the validity period of the CQI reporting pattern.

[0069] For a CQI location / distance set, the UE 3 may be provided with a CQI reporting positioning pattern for CQI reporting via an appropriate information element (e.g., cqi-reportingPos). Each bit of the pattern corresponds to a pre-configured significant location / distance, and a value of "0" or "1" indicates "no change" or "update" of the periodic CSI reporting pattern / CQI periodicity, respectively.

[0070] Note that the time / location / distance may be reset to "0" or the starting point after a configurable time, number of locations, or distance length, and CSI feedback may be skipped if no traffic is expected.

[0071] Signaling to Support Autonomous CSI Feedback The CQI reporting pattern may be autonomously updated. For example, the CSI feedback pattern may be autonomously updated upon reaching a point of significant variation (which may be determined, for example, by time, location, and / or distance) based on a trained / configured / reconfigurable location / distance set index and an associated timing set index. Table 1 is an example mapping table that may be used to determine an appropriate timing set index for a given location / distance set index. [Table 1]

[0072] The CQI reporting periodicity may be updated autonomously. For example, the CQI reporting periodicity may be updated autonomously upon reaching a point of significant variation (determined by time, location, and / or distance) based on a trained / configured / reconfigurable CQI periodicity and associated location / distance set. Table 2 is an example mapping table that may be used to determine an appropriate location / distance set for a given CQI periodicity. [Table 2]

[0073] The concept applies to "spatial signatures" or "radio fingerprints". It will be appreciated that the "location" concept discussed above may be expanded to a generalized concept to include the options of "spatial features" or "radio fingerprints" instead of using the physical location of the UE 3, where "fingerprint" means that a physical location can be identified by the radio conditions at that location.

[0074] These can be defined as learned representations of physical locations based, for example, on Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or path loss measurements.

[0075] The concept of "distance" between two radio fingerprints (highlighted in the previous slide) can also be defined in different ways: for example, "distance" can be the difference in RSRP, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), SINR / CQI, or path loss measurements.

[0076] It should be noted that if the radio fingerprint needs to be calculated in the UE 3, an inference model needs to be provided to the UE 3.

[0077] Modifications and Substitutions Detailed embodiments have been described above. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, several modifications and alternatives may be made to those embodiments while benefiting from the disclosure embodied in the above embodiments. By way of example, only some of these alternatives and modifications are described herein.

[0078] It will be appreciated that Solution 1 may be implemented without AI / ML components. However, at least some aspects of Solution 1 (e.g., distance or location based CQI validity) may be combined with the AI / ML based approach of Solution 2.

[0079] It will be understood that the above embodiments may be applied to both the 5G new wireless system and the LTE system (E-UTRAN).

[0080] In the above description, for ease of understanding, the UE, the access network node (base station), and the core network node are described as having several separate modules (such as a communication control module). These modules may be provided in this way in certain applications, for example where an existing system is modified to implement the present disclosure, but in other applications, for example systems designed from the beginning with the features of the present invention in mind, these modules may be incorporated into an overall operating system or code, so that these modules may not be identifiable as separate entities. These modules may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0081] Each controller may include any suitable form of processing circuitry including, for example (but not limited to), one or more hardware-implemented computer processors, microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), arithmetic logic units (ALUs), input / output (IO) circuitry, internal memory / cache (program and / or data), processing registers, communication buses (e.g., control buses, data buses and / or address buses), direct memory access (DMA) facilities, hardware or software implemented counters, pointers and / or timers, etc.

[0082] In the above embodiment, some software modules are described. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the software modules may be provided in compiled or uncompiled form and may be provided to the UE, the access network node (base station), and the core network node as a signal via a computer network or on a recording medium. Furthermore, the functions performed by part or all of this software may be performed using one or more dedicated hardware circuits. However, the use of software modules is preferred as it facilitates the updating of the UE, the access network node, and the core network node to update their functions.

[0083] It will be appreciated that the functionality of a base station (referred to as a "distributed" base station or gNB) may be split between one or more distributed units (DUs) and a central unit (CU), where the CU typically performs high level functions and communication with the next-generation core, and the DU performs lower level functions and communication over the air interface with nearby UEs (i.e., in the cell operated by the gNB). A distributed gNB includes the following functional units: gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU): A logical node that hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers of a gNB (or the RRC and PDCP layers of an en-gNB) that controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the so-called F1 interface connected to the gNB-DU. gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU): A logical node that hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY) layers of a gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is partially controlled by the gNB-CU. One gNB-DU supports one or multiple cells. One cell is supported by only one gNB-DU. The gNB-DU terminates the F1 interface connected to the gNB-CU. gNB-CU-Control Plane (gNB-CU-CP): A logical node that hosts the control plane part of the RRC and PDCP protocols of the gNB-CU for an en-gNB or gNB. The gNB-CU-CP terminates the so-called E1 interface connected to the gNB-CU-UP and the F1-C (F1 control plane) interface connected to the gNB-DU. gNB-CU-User Plane (gNB-CU-UP): A logical node that hosts the user plane part of the PDCP protocol of the gNB-CU for the en-gNB, and the user plane part of the PDCP protocol and SDAP protocol of the gNB-CU for the gNB. The gNB-CU-UP terminates the E1 interface connected to the gNB-CU-CP and the F1-U (F1 user plane) interface connected to the gNB-DU.

[0084] It will be appreciated that when a distributed base station or similar control plane-user plane (CP-UP) split is employed, the base station may be split into separate control plane and user plane entities, each of which may include associated transceiver circuitry, antennas, network interfaces, controllers, memory, operating systems, and communication control modules. When the base station comprises a distributed base station, the network interface (reference number 55 in FIG. 3) also includes an E1 interface and an F1 interface (F1-C for the control plane, and F1-U for the user plane) to communicate signals between the respective functions of the distributed base station. In this case, the communication control module is also responsible for communication (generation, transmission, and reception of signaling messages) between the control plane and user plane parts of the base station. It will be appreciated that when a distributed base station is used, it is not necessary to include both the control plane and user plane parts for preemption of communication resources, as described in the above exemplary embodiment. It will be appreciated that preemption may be handled by the user plane part of the base station without going through the control plane part (or vice versa).

[0085] The above embodiments are also applicable to "non-mobile" or generally fixed user equipment. The above mentioned mobile devices may comprise MTC / IoT devices etc. User equipment (or "UE", "mobile station", "mobile device", or "wireless device") in this disclosure is an entity that connects to a network via the air interface.

[0086] It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to dedicated communication devices, but may apply to any device having communication capabilities as described in the following paragraphs.

[0087] The terms "user equipment" or "UE" (as that term is used in 3GPP), "mobile station," "mobile device," and "wireless device" are generally intended to be synonymous with each other and include standalone mobile stations such as terminals, cell phones, smartphones, tablets, cellular IoT devices, IoT devices, and machines. It will be appreciated that the terms "mobile station" and "mobile device" also encompass devices that remain stationary for extended periods of time.

[0088] The UE may be, for example, an item of equipment for production or manufacturing and / or energy-related machinery (e.g., equipment or machinery such as boilers; engines; turbines; solar panels; wind turbines; hydroelectric generators; thermal power plants; nuclear generators; batteries; nuclear systems and / or related equipment; heavy electrical machinery; pumps including vacuum pumps; compressors; fans; blowers; hydraulic equipment; pneumatic equipment; metal processing machinery; manipulators; robots and / or application systems thereof; tools; dies or molds; rolls; conveying equipment; elevators; material handling equipment; textile machinery; sewing equipment; printing and / or related machinery; paper converting equipment; chemical machinery; mining machinery and / or construction machinery and / or related equipment; machinery and / or implements for the agricultural, forestry and / or fisheries industries; safety and / or environmental protection equipment; tractors; precision bearings; chains; gears; power transmission equipment; lubrication equipment; valves; fittings; and / or application systems for any of the foregoing equipment or machines, etc.).

[0089] A UE may be, for example, an item of transportation equipment (e.g., transportation equipment such as rolling stock; automobiles; motorcycles; bicycles; trains; buses; carts; human-powered vehicles; ships and other watercraft; aircraft; rockets; satellites; drones; balloons, etc.).

[0090] A UE may be, for example, an item of information and communications equipment (eg, information and communications equipment such as electronic computers and related equipment; communications and related equipment; electronic components, etc.). The UE may be, for example, a refrigerator, a refrigerator application product, an item of goods and / or service industry equipment, a vending machine, an automated service machine, an office machine or equipment, a consumer electronic device and an electronic device (e.g., consumer electronic devices such as audio equipment; video equipment; speakers; radios; televisions; microwave ovens; rice cookers; coffee machines; dishwashers; washing machines; dryers; electronic fans or related equipment; vacuum cleaners, etc.).

[0091] The UE may be, for example, an electrical application system or device (eg, an electrical application system or device such as an x-ray system; a particle accelerator; a radioisotope device; a sonic device; an electromagnetic application device; an electronic power application device, etc.).

[0092] A UE may be, for example, an electronic lamp, a lighting fixture, a measuring instrument, an analyzer, a tester, or a surveying or sensing device (e.g., a surveying or sensing device such as a smoke alarm; a motion sensor; a radio frequency tag; etc.), a watch or clock, inspection equipment, optical equipment, medical equipment and / or systems, a weapon, an item of cutlery, a hand tool, etc.

[0093] A UE may be, for example, a wireless equipped personal digital assistant or associated equipment (eg, a wireless card or module designed to be attached to or inserted into another electronic device (eg, a personal computer, electrical measuring machine)).

[0094] The UE may be part of a device or system that uses various wired and / or wireless communication technologies to provide the applications, services, and solutions described below with respect to the Internet of Things (IoT).

[0095] Internet of Things devices (or "things") can be equipped with appropriate electronics, software, sensors, network connectivity, etc. that enable these devices to collect and exchange data with each other and with other communicating devices. IoT devices may include automated machines that follow software instructions stored in internal memory. IoT devices may operate without the need for human supervision or interaction. IoT devices may also remain stationary and / or inactive for long periods of time. IoT devices may be implemented as part of (generally) stationary equipment. IoT devices may also be embedded in non-stationary equipment (e.g., vehicles) or attached to animals or people being monitored / tracked.

[0096] It will be understood that IoT technologies may be implemented on any communication device that can connect to a communication network to transmit / receive data, regardless of whether such communication device is controlled by human input or software instructions stored in memory.

[0097] It will be appreciated that IoT devices may also be referred to as machine type communication (MTC) communication devices or machine-to-machine (M2M) communication devices. It will be appreciated that a UE may support one or more IoT or MTC applications. Some examples of MTC applications are listed in the table below (Source: 3GPP TS 22.368 V 13.1.0, Annex B, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference). This list is not exhaustive and is intended to illustrate some examples of machine type communication applications. [Table 3]

[0098] The applications, services, and solutions may be Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services, emergency wireless communication systems, Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems, PHS / digital cordless communication systems, Point of sale (POS) systems, notification call systems, Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (MBMS), Vehicle to Everything (V2X) systems, train radio systems, location-related services, disaster / emergency wireless communication services, community services, video streaming services, femtocell application services, Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services, billing services, wireless on-demand services, roaming services, activity monitoring services, telecommunications carrier / communication NW selection services, function restriction services, Proof of Concept (PoC) services, personal information management services, ad-hoc networks / delay tolerant networking (DTN) services, and the like.

[0099] Furthermore, the above-mentioned UE categories are merely examples of applications of the technical concepts and exemplary embodiments described in this document, and of course, these technical concepts and embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned UEs and may be modified in various ways.

[0100] The information may indicate a timing subset of all periodic channel quality reporting occasions configured for the UE, in which case the method performed by the UE may further include transmitting a periodic channel quality report to the radio access network at a particular channel quality reporting occasion determined by the timing subset, the periodic channel quality report indicating a current channel quality value.

[0101] The subset may be identified based on at least one index associated with each channel quality report timing value.

[0102] The information may indicate a particular location, in which case the method performed by the UE may further include transmitting periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network indicating a current channel quality value at the particular location.

[0103] A particular location may be identified based on an index associated with each channel quality reporting location in the set of channel quality reporting locations. A particular location may be identified based on a spatial signature or radio fingerprint associated with the radio conditions at that location.

[0104] The information may indicate a distance, in which case the method performed by the UE may further include sending periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network indicating the current channel quality value when the difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network reaches or exceeds the distance. The distances may be indicated based on an index associated with each distance in a set of distances associated with the periodic channel quality report.

[0105] The distance may be determined based on at least one of the following: a difference between respective Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) values, a difference between respective Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) values, a difference between respective Signal-to-Interference-and-Noise Ratio (SINR) values, a difference between respective Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) values, and a difference between respective path loss measurements at the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network.

[0106] At least one of the information indicative of the timing subset, the information indicative of the particular location, and the information indicative of the distance may be provided via an associated pattern.

[0107] At least one of the timing subset, the specific location, and the distance may be determined using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model.

[0108] At least one of the timing subset, the specific location, the distance, and the at least one condition may be configured via higher layer (eg, radio resource control) signaling.

[0109] The method performed by a node of the radio access network may further include receiving, at a particular channel quality reporting occasion, a periodic channel quality report from the UE indicating a current channel quality value at that reporting occasion if at least one condition is met.

[0110] The method performed by the node of the radio access network may further include receiving a channel quality report from the UE indicating respective channel quality values ​​associated with the channels, and based on the respective channel quality values, using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model, updating at least one condition for at least one variation point for triggering at least one further periodic channel quality report by the UE.

[0111] At least one fluctuation point for a channel quality value associated with a channel may be determined by at least one of an associated time, an associated location, and an associated distance.

[0112] The artificial intelligence / machine learning model may include a data collection function configured to obtain information regarding channel quality and information regarding the UE; a model training function configured to obtain training data from the data collection function and obtain model performance feedback; a model inference function configured to provide the model performance feedback to the model training function and provide an output based on the inference data obtained from the data collection function and further based on model evolution / update information obtained from the model training function; and an actor function configured to provide feedback to the data collection function based on the output from the model inference function.

[0113] The channel quality report may include at least one of an implicit rank indicator (RI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), and a channel quality indicator (CQI).

[0114] Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and will not be described in further detail here.

[0115] For example, all or a part of the exemplary embodiments disclosed above may be described as follows, but is not limited thereto. (Appendix 1) A user equipment (UE)-implemented method for channel adaptation of a radio interface between the UE and a node of a radio access network, the method comprising: receiving information indicative of at least one condition for triggering transmission of periodic channel quality reports; transmitting periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network at specific channel quality reporting occasions when at least one condition is met, the periodic channel quality reports indicating a current channel quality value; Information, - a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between a current channel quality value and a previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network; - a mobility condition indicating a mobility required by the UE to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; a location change condition indicating a required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; The method of claim 1, further comprising: (Appendix 2) The information indicates a timing subset of all periodic channel quality reporting occasions configured for the UE; The method further includes transmitting periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network at specific channel quality reporting occasions determined by the timing subset, the periodic channel quality reports indicating a current channel quality value. The method described in Appendix 1. (Appendix 3) 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the subset is identified based on at least one index associated with each channel quality report timing value. (Appendix 4) The information indicates a specific location, The method further includes transmitting, at the particular location, periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network indicating a current channel quality value. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. (Appendix 5) 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the particular location is identified based on an index associated with each channel quality reporting location within a set of channel quality reporting locations. (Appendix 6) 5. The method of claim 4, wherein a specific location is identified based on a spatial signature or radio fingerprint associated with radio conditions at the location. (Appendix 7) The information indicates the distance, The method further includes transmitting periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network indicating a current channel quality value when a difference between a current location of the UE and a location when transmitting a previous channel quality report to the radio access network reaches or exceeds a distance. 7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6. (Appendix 8) 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the distance is identified based on an index associated with each distance in a set of distances associated with the periodic channel quality report. (Appendix 9) The distance between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network is: the difference between the respective Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) values; and the difference between the respective Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) values ​​and the difference between the respective Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) values; the difference between the respective channel quality indicator (CQI) values; The difference between the respective path loss measurements and 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method is determined based on at least one of the following: (Appendix 10) At least one of the information indicative of the timing subset, the information indicative of the specific location, and the information indicative of the distance is provided via an associated pattern. 10. The method of any one of claims 2 to 9. (Appendix 11) At least one of the timing subset, the specific location, and the distance are determined using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model. 11. The method of any one of claims 2 to 10. (Appendix 12) At least one of the timing subset, the specific location, the distance, and the at least one condition is configured via radio resource control signaling. 12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11. (Appendix 13) 1. A method performed by a node of a radio access network for channel adaptation of a radio interface between a user equipment (UE) and the node of the radio access network, comprising: transmitting information indicative of at least one condition for triggering transmission of periodic channel quality reports; receiving, at a particular channel quality reporting occasion, from the UE, a periodic channel quality report indicating a current channel quality value when at least one condition is met; Information, - a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between a current channel quality value and a previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network; - a mobility condition indicating a mobility required by the UE to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; a location change condition indicating a required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; The method of claim 1, further comprising: (Appendix 14) 1. A method performed by a node of a radio access network for channel adaptation of a radio interface between a user equipment (UE) and the node of the radio access network, comprising: predicting at least one variation point for a channel quality value associated with the channel using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model; and transmitting information to a UE indicating at least one condition relating to the at least one fluctuation point to trigger at least one periodic channel quality report by the UE to report an actual channel quality value associated with the at least one fluctuation point. (Appendix 15) 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving, at a particular channel quality reporting occasion, from the UE, a periodic channel quality report indicating a current channel quality value at the reporting occasion, if at least one condition is met. (Appendix 16) receiving a channel quality report from the UE indicating a respective channel quality value associated with the channel; 16. The method of claim 14 or 15, further comprising: updating, based on the respective channel quality values, using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model, at least one condition for at least one variation point for triggering at least one further periodic channel quality report by the UE. (Appendix 17) 17. The method of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein at least one fluctuation point for a channel quality value associated with a channel is determined by at least one of an associated time, an associated location, and an associated distance. (Appendix 18) Artificial intelligence / machine learning models a data collection function configured to obtain information regarding a channel quality and information regarding a UE; a model training function configured to obtain training data from the data collection function and obtain model performance feedback; a model inference function configured to provide model performance feedback to the model training function and to provide output based on inference data obtained from the data collection function and based on model evolution / update information obtained from the model training function; an actor function configured to provide feedback to the data collection function based on output from the model inference function; 18. The method of any one of claims 14 to 17, comprising: (Appendix 19) 19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the channel quality report includes at least one of an implicit rank indicator (RI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), and a channel quality indicator (CQI). (Appendix 20) A user equipment (UE) for channel adaptation of a radio interface between the UE and a node of a radio access network, comprising: means for receiving information indicative of at least one condition for triggering transmission of periodic channel quality reports; means for transmitting periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network at a particular channel quality reporting occasion when at least one condition is met, the periodic channel quality report indicating a current channel quality value; Information, - a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between a current channel quality value and a previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network; - a mobility condition indicating a mobility required by the UE to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; a location change condition indicating a required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; The UE indicates at least one of the following: (Appendix 21) A node of a radio access network for channel adaptation of a radio interface between a user equipment (UE) and the node of the radio access network, comprising: means for transmitting information indicative of at least one condition for triggering the transmission of periodic channel quality reports; and means for receiving, from the UE, periodic channel quality reports indicating a current channel quality value at a particular channel quality reporting occasion when at least one condition is met, wherein the information comprises: - a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between a current channel quality value and a previous channel quality value transmitted to the radio access network; - a mobility condition indicating a mobility required by the UE to transmit periodic channel quality reports to the radio access network; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the radio access network; a location change condition indicating a required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the radio access network; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; A node that indicates at least one of the following: (Appendix 22) A node of a radio access network for channel adaptation of a radio interface between a user equipment (UE) and the node of the radio access network, comprising: means for predicting, using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model, at least one drift point for a channel quality value associated with the channel; and means for transmitting information indicating at least one condition relating to the at least one fluctuation point to the UE to trigger at least one periodic channel quality report by the UE to report an actual channel quality value associated with the at least one fluctuation point.

[0116] This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority to UK patent application No. 2204740.1, filed March 31, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 1. Telecommunications Systems 3. Mobile Devices 5 base station 7 Core Network 10 Control Plane Function (CPF) 11 User Plane Function (UPF) 31 Transceiver Circuit 33 Antenna 35 User Interface 37 Controller 39 Memory 41 Operating Systems 43 Communication Control Module 51 Transceiver Circuit 53 Antenna 55 Network Interface 57 Controller 59 Memory 61 Operating Systems 63 Communication Control Module 71 Transceiver Circuit 75 Network Interface 77 Controller 79 Memory 81 Operating Systems 83 Communication Control Module 100 AI / ML Modules 101 Data Collection 102 Model Training 103 Model Inference 104 Actors

Claims

1. 1. A user equipment (UE) implemented method for channel adaptation of a radio interface between the UE and an access network node, comprising: receiving information for determining whether a channel quality of the wireless interface has changed; determining that a current channel quality value of the wireless interface has changed from a previous channel quality value transmitted to the access network node; transmitting, at channel quality reporting occasions, periodic channel quality reports to said access network node, the periodic channel quality reports including information indicative of said current channel quality value; A method comprising:

2. the information indicative of at least one condition that the channel quality of the wireless interface has changed; and The at least one condition is a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between the current channel quality value and the previous channel quality value transmitted to the access network node; - a mobility condition indicating the mobility required by the UE to transmit said periodic channel quality reports to the access network node; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which the periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the access network node; - a relocation condition indicating the required difference between the UE's current location and its location when it sent a previous channel quality report to the access network node; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; and said determining is performed if one of said at least one condition is satisfied. The method of claim 1.

3. receiving information indicating a timing subset of all periodic channel quality reporting opportunities configured for the UE; transmitting the periodic channel quality report, indicating the current channel quality value, to the access network node at channel quality reporting occasions indicated by the timing subset; The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

4. the timing subset is identified based on at least one index corresponding to a channel quality report timing value. The method according to claim 3.

5. Receiving information indicating a particular location of a resource; transmitting said periodic channel quality report to said access network node at said particular location, said report indicating said current channel quality value; The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

6. the particular location is identified based on an index corresponding to a channel quality reporting location within a set of channel quality reporting locations. The method according to claim 5.

7. the particular location is identified based on a spatial signature or radio fingerprint corresponding to radio conditions at the particular location; The method according to claim 5.

8. receiving information about a distance between a current location of the UE and a location when the previous channel quality report is sent to the access network node; transmitting said periodic channel quality report to said access network node indicating said current channel quality value when said difference indicated in said relocation condition reaches or exceeds said distance. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

9. the distance is identified based on an index corresponding to a distance within a set of distances corresponding to the periodic channel quality reports. The method according to claim 8.

10. The distance is between the current location of the UE and the location when sending a previous channel quality report to the access network node. the difference between the respective Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) values; the difference between the respective Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) values; and the difference between the respective Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) values; the difference between the respective channel quality indicator (CQI) values; The difference between the respective path loss measurements and The method of claim 8 , wherein the determination is based on at least one of:

11. at least one of the information indicative of the timing subset, the information indicative of the particular location, and the information indicative of the distance is provided via a communication pattern.

11. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 10.

12. At least one of the timing subset, the specific location, and the distance are determined using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model.

12. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 11.

13. at least one of the timing subset, the specific location, the distance, and the at least one condition is configured via radio resource control signaling.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. 1. A method for channel adaptation of a radio interface between a user equipment (UE) and an access network node, performed by said access network node, comprising: transmitting information for the UE to determine whether a channel quality of the air interface has changed; receiving, at a channel quality reporting opportunity, from the UE, periodic channel quality reports including information indicative of a current channel quality value when the UE determines that a current channel quality value of the air interface has changed from a previous channel quality value transmitted to the access network node; A method comprising:

15. the information indicative of at least one condition that the channel quality of the wireless interface has changed; and The at least one condition is a channel quality change condition indicating a required difference between the current channel quality value and the previous channel quality value transmitted to the access network node; - a mobility condition indicating the mobility required by the UE to transmit said periodic channel quality reports to the access network node; - a location condition indicating a location or area for which the periodic channel quality reports need to be transmitted to the access network node; - a location change condition indicating the required difference between the UE's current location and its location when sending a previous channel quality report to the access network node; a time condition indicating the validity period of a previous channel quality report having the same channel quality value as the current channel quality value; and the receiving is performed if one of the at least one condition is satisfied. The method of claim 14.

16. transmitting information indicating a timing subset of all periodic channel quality reporting opportunities configured for the UE; receiving from the UE the periodic channel quality report indicating the current channel quality value at a channel quality reporting occasion indicated by the timing subset; 16. The method of claim 14 or 15, further comprising:

17. the timing subset is identified based on at least one index corresponding to a channel quality report timing value.

17. The method of claim 16.

18. transmitting information indicating a particular location of the resource; receiving the periodic channel quality report from the UE indicating the current channel quality value at the particular location; 18. The method of any one of claims 14 to 17, further comprising:

19. the particular location is identified based on an index corresponding to a channel quality reporting location within a set of channel quality reporting locations.

20. The method of claim 18.

20. the particular location is identified based on a spatial signature or radio fingerprint corresponding to radio conditions at the particular location; 20. The method of claim 18.

21. transmitting information regarding a distance between the current location of the UE and the location when the UE transmitted the previous channel quality report to the access network node; receiving, from the UE, the periodic channel quality report indicating the current channel quality value when the difference indicated in the relocation condition reaches or exceeds the distance; 21. The method of any one of claims 14 to 20, further comprising:

22. the distance is identified based on an index corresponding to a distance within a set of distances corresponding to the periodic channel quality reports.

22. The method of claim 21.

23. The distance is between the current location of the UE and the location when the UE sent a previous channel quality report to the access network node, the difference between the respective Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) values; the difference between the respective Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) values; and the difference between the respective Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) values; the difference between the respective channel quality indicator (CQI) values; The difference between the respective path loss measurements and The method of claim 21 , wherein the determination is based on at least one of:

24. at least one of the information indicative of the timing subset, the information indicative of the particular location, and the information indicative of the distance is provided via a communication pattern.

24. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 23.

25. At least one of the timing subset, the specific location, and the distance are determined using an artificial intelligence / machine learning model.

25. The method of any one of claims 16 to 24.

26. at least one of the timing subset, the specific location, the distance, and the at least one condition is configured via radio resource control signaling.

26. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 25.

27. - predicting at least one excursion point for a channel quality value of the wireless interface using the artificial intelligence / machine learning model; determining the information for the UE to determine whether a channel quality of the radio interface has changed with respect to the at least one fluctuation point; 26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

28. updating the at least one condition for the at least one variation point based on the channel quality value and the artificial intelligence / machine learning model; 30. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

29. The at least one fluctuation point for the channel quality value is The associated time and The associated location; The relevant distances and 29. The method of claim 27 or 28, wherein the at least one of

30. The artificial intelligence / machine learning model: a data collection function configured to obtain information regarding a channel quality and information regarding the UE; a model training function configured to obtain training data from the data collection function and obtain model performance feedback; a model inference function configured to provide the model performance feedback to the model training function and to provide an output based on inference data obtained from the data collection function and further based on model evolution / update information obtained from the model training function; an actor function configured to provide feedback to the data collection function based on the output from the model reasoning function; 30. The method of any one of claims 27 to 29, comprising:

31. A user equipment (UE) for channel adaptation of a radio interface between the UE and an access network node, the UE comprising: means for receiving information for determining whether a channel quality of the wireless interface has changed; means for determining that a current channel quality value of the wireless interface has changed from a previous channel quality value transmitted to the access network node; means for transmitting, at channel quality reporting occasions, periodic channel quality reports to said access network node, the periodic channel quality reports including information indicative of said current channel quality value; Including, UE.

32. 1. An access network node for channel adaptation of a radio interface between a user equipment (UE) and the access network node, comprising: means for transmitting information for the UE to determine whether a channel quality of the air interface has changed; means for receiving, at a channel quality reporting occasion, from the UE, periodic channel quality reports including information indicative of a current channel quality value when the UE determines that a current channel quality value of the air interface has changed from a previous channel quality value transmitted to the access network node; An access network node comprising:

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