Setting CSI resources for DU - between L1 / L2 mobility candidates

Abstract

An embodiment includes a method for a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) via a serving cell. Such a method includes receiving, from the CU via the DU, an RRCReconfiguration message including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility. The at least one candidate cell is provided by one or more neighboring DUs. Such a method includes performing CSI measurements on the at least one candidate cell according to respective CSI resource configurations, and sending, to the DU via the serving cell, one or more CSI reports based on the performed CSI measurements. Other embodiments include complementary methods for the CU, a first DU, and a second DU, as well as UEs, CUs, and DUs configured to perform such methods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application generally relates to the field of wireless networks, and more particularly to improving the mobility of user equipment (UE) to cells provided by different distributed units (DUs) that can be associated with a single centralized unit (CU) across multiple cells in a wireless network.

[0002] Introduction Currently, the fifth generation (5G) of cellular systems is being standardized within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G is developed for maximum flexibility to support multiple and substantially different use cases. These include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine type communication (MTC), ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), sidelink D2D (device-to-device), and several other use cases.

[0003] FIG. 1 shows a high-level diagram of an exemplary 5G network architecture consisting of a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN, 199) and a 5G core (5GC, 198). The NG-RAN can include one or more g-node Bs (gNBs) connected to the 5GC via one or more NG interfaces, such as gNBs (100, 150) connected via respective interfaces (102, 152). More specifically, the gNB can be connected to one or more access and mobility management functions (AMFs) in the 5GC via respective NG-C interfaces and can be connected to one or more user plane functions (UPFs) in the 5GC via respective NG-U interfaces. The 5GC can include various other network functions (NFs), such as (one or more) session management functions (SMF).

[0004] Although not shown, in some deployments, 5GC can be replaced by the evolved packet core (EPC) that was previously used together with Long-Term Evolution (LTE) evolved UMTS RAN (E-UTRAN). In such deployments, gNBs (e.g., 100, 150) can be connected to one or more mobility management entities (MMEs) in the EPC 198 via their respective S1-C interfaces. Similarly, gNBs can be connected to one or more serving gateways (SGWs) in the EPC via their respective NG-U interfaces.

[0005] Furthermore, gNBs can be connected to each other via one or more Xn interfaces, such as the Xn interface 140 between gNBs (100, 150). The radio technology for NG-RAN is often referred to as "New Radio" (NR). With respect to the NR interface to the UE, each of the gNBs can support frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination thereof. Each of the gNBs can serve a geographic coverage area that includes one or more cells.

[0006] NG-RAN is layered into a radio network layer (RNL) and a transport network layer (TNL). The NG-RAN architecture, i.e., the NG-RAN logical nodes and the interfaces between the NG-RAN logical nodes, is defined as part of the RNL. For each NG-RAN interface (NG, Xn, F1), the related TNL protocols and functions are specified. The TNL provides services for user plane transport and signaling transport.

[0007] The NG RAN logical nodes shown in FIG. 1 include a Central Unit (CU or gNB-CU, e.g., 110) and one or more Distributed Units (DU or gNB-DU, e.g., 120, 130). The CU is a logical node that hosts upper layer protocols and implements various gNB functions such as controlling the operation of the DU. The DU is a distributed logical node that hosts lower layer protocols and can include various subsets of gNB functions depending on the functional split option. Thus, each of the CU and DU can include various circuits required to implement their respective functions, including a processing circuit, a communication interface circuit (e.g., a transceiver), and a power supply circuit.

[0008] The gNB-CU is connected to one or more gNB-DUs on respective F1 logical interfaces (e.g., 122 and 132 shown in FIG. 1). However, a gNB-DU can be connected to only a single gNB-CU. The gNB-CU and its (one or more) connected gNB-DUs appear as just a gNB to other gNBs and the 5GC. In other words, the F1 interface is not visible beyond the gNB-CU.

[0009] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary configuration of the NR user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol stacks between a UE (210), a gNB (220), and an AMF (230). The Physical (PHY) layer, Media Access Control (MAC) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer between the UE and the gNB are common to both the UP and CP. The PDCP layer provides encryption / decryption, integrity protection, sequence numbering, reordering, and duplicate detection for both the CP and UP. Further, the PDCP provides header compression and retransmission for UP data.

[0010] On the UP side, Internet Protocol (IP) packets reach the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) as Service Data Units (SDUs), and the PDCP creates Protocol Data Units (PDUs) for delivery to the Radio Link Control (RLC). The Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer handles Quality of Service (QoS) including mapping between QoS flows and Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) and marking QoS Flow Identifiers (QFIs) in UL and DL packets. The RLC transfers PDCP PDUs to the Medium Access Control (MAC) through Logical Channels (LCHs). The RLC provides error detection / correction, concatenation, segmentation / reassembly, sequencing, and reordering of data transferred to / from upper layers. The MAC provides mapping between LCHs and PHY transport channels, LCH prioritization, multiplexing into / from Transport Blocks (TBs), Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) error correction, and dynamic scheduling (on the gNB side). The PHY provides transport channel services to the MAC and handles transfers on the NR radio interface, for example, via modulation, coding, antenna mapping, and beamforming.

[0011] On the CP side, the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer is between the UE and the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and handles UE / gNB authentication, mobility management, and security control. The Radio Resource Control (RRC) is below the NAS in the UE but terminates at the gNB instead of the AMF. The RRC controls communication between the UE and the gNB on the radio interface and the mobility of the UE between cells in the Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN). The RRC also broadcasts System Information (SI), performs establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of DRBs and Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) used by the UE. Furthermore, the RRC controls addition, modification, and release of Carrier Aggregation (CA) and Dual Connectivity (DC) configurations for the UE and performs various security functions such as key management.

[0012] After the UE is powered on, the UE will be in the RRC_IDLE state until an RRC connection with the network is established. When the RRC connection is established, the UE will transition to the RRC_CONNECTED state (for example, where data transfer can occur). The UE must perform a random access (RA) procedure to move from the RRC_IDLE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state. Here, the cell serving the UE is known, and an RRC context is established at the serving gNB for the UE so that the UE and the gNB can communicate. As part of (or together with) the RA procedure, the UE also sends an RRCSetupRequest message to the serving gNB.

[0013] Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Rel-10 introduced support for channel bandwidths greater than 20 MHz, which continues into NR. To remain compatible with legacy UEs from previous releases (e.g., Rel-8), wideband LTE Rel-10 carriers appear as multiple component carriers (CCs), each having the structure of a Rel-8 carrier. Rel-10 UEs can receive multiple CCs based on carrier aggregation (CA). A CC can also be considered a "cell", and thus, a UE in CA has one primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells). These are collectively called a "cell group". NR also supports CA starting from Rel-15.

[0014] In addition to providing coverage via cells, as in the case of LTE, the NR network also provides coverage via "beams", which are network-transmitted reference signals (RS) that can be measured or monitored by the UE. To support beam management, CSI measurement settings can be configured for the UE, and the CSI measurement settings instruct the UE to monitor CSI-RS and send various CSI reports to the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN). For example, the RAN indicates an explicit list of CSI resources to be monitored by the UE for each type of CSI report configured for the UE to send. Similar techniques can be used for beam management based on the synchronization signal / PBCH block (SSB) RS transmitted by the network.

[0015] As specified in 3GPP document RP-213565, NR Rel-18 includes work items related to NR mobility enhancements, including those in the technical area of L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility. When the UE moves between the coverage areas of two cells, a serving cell change needs to be performed at a certain point. Currently, the serving cell change is triggered by layer 3 (L3, e.g., RRC) measurements and involves RRC signaling to change the PCell and PSCell (e.g., when dual connectivity is configured) and to release / add SCell (e.g., when CA is configured).

[0016] Currently, all inter-cell mobility involves a complete layer 2 (L2) and layer 1 (L1, i.e., PHY) reset, which leads to longer latency, increased signaling overhead, and longer interruptions compared to in-cell beam switching. Therefore, the goal of Rel-18 L1 / L2 mobility enhancements is to facilitate serving cell changes via L1 / L2 signaling to address these issues and / or difficulties. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0017] These Rel-18 L1 / L2 mobility enhancements also include those for intra-DU cell change and inter-DU / intra-CU cell change where the source cell and target cell of the UE are served by different source DUs and target DUs associated with a single CU, taking into account the split CU / DU architecture shown in FIG. 1 and described above. However, there are various problems, issues, and / or difficulties.

[0018] For example, it is desirable for L1 / L2 cell change to behave like in-cell beam management, except that the UE is configured to perform measurements on cells other than the UE's serving cell. However, currently, the beam management configuration that supports this capability is generated by the DU based only on the cells provided by the DU. Thus, there is no ability to configure CSI-RS (or SSB) resources in L1 / L2 mobility candidate cells provided by neighboring DUs, i.e., in the case of inter-DU cell change.

[0019] An object of embodiments of the present disclosure is to address these and related problems, issues, and / or difficulties, thereby facilitating UE L1 / L2 mobility between cells in a RAN (e.g., NG-RAN).

[0020] Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a method (e.g., a procedure) for a UE configured to communicate with a RAN node comprising a CU and a DU.

[0021] These exemplary methods can include receiving, from the CU via the DU, an RRCReconfiguration message that includes a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with each of at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility. The at least one candidate cell is provided by one or more neighboring DUs. In some embodiments, the one or more neighboring DUs are associated with the CU and / or are part of the RAN node. These exemplary methods also include performing CSI measurements for the at least one candidate cell according to each CSI resource configuration and sending, to the DU via the serving cell, one or more CSI reports based on the CSI measurements performed for the at least one candidate cell.

[0022] In some embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message also includes a configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell. In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include receiving, from the DU, a lower layer signaling message instructing that the UE should change its serving cell to a first candidate cell identified in the RRCReconfiguration message, performing an L1 / L2 mobility procedure to the first candidate cell, and communicating in the first candidate cell according to the configuration associated with the first candidate cell.

[0023] Other embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for the CU of the RAN node. Generally, these exemplary methods are complementary to the exemplary methods for the UE summarized above.

[0024] These exemplary methods include sending, from a second DU of a RAN node, a request to configure a UE for L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU. These exemplary methods include receiving, from the second DU, a response including CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU. These exemplary methods include sending, to the first DU for transmission to the UE via the serving cell, an RRCReconfiguration message including CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU.

[0025] In some embodiments, the response also includes settings associated with each of the at least one candidate cell, and the RRCReconfiguration message also includes settings associated with each of the at least one candidate cell.

[0026] In some embodiments, the second DU is a neighboring DU that does not provide the UE's serving cell, the request to configure the UE is a UE context setup request message or is included in a UE context setup request message, and the response is a UE context setup response message or is included in a UE context setup response message.

[0027] Other embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for a first DU of a RAN node. Generally, these exemplary methods are complementary to the exemplary methods for the UE and for the CU summarized above.

[0028] These exemplary methods include receiving, from a CU of a RAN node, a request for setting, for a UE, a reporting configuration for a serving cell provided by a first DU, in relation to setting L1 / L2 inter-base cell mobility for the UE. These exemplary methods include sending, to the CU, a response including a reporting configuration for identifying a physical channel of a serving cell to be used for sending a CSI report related to a candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-base cell mobility.

[0029] In some embodiments, the reporting configuration includes · a configuration of a physical channel to be used for sending a CSI report, and · an indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported, and · one or more conditions for triggering sending of a CSI report including one or more of the above.

[0030] In some embodiments, the above response also includes a CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-base cell mobility, and the at least one candidate cell is provided by a first DU.

[0031] Other embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for a second DU of a RAN node. Generally, these exemplary methods are complementary to the exemplary methods for the UE, for the CU, and for the first DU summarized above.

[0032] These exemplary methods include receiving, from a CU of a RAN node, a request for configuring a UE for L1 / L2 inter-base cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by a second DU of the RAN node. These exemplary methods include sending, to the CU, a response including a CSI resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-base cell mobility.

[0033] In some embodiments, the response also includes settings associated with each of at least one candidate cell, and these exemplary methods also include performing an L1 / L2 mobility procedure with the UE in a first candidate cell among the candidate cells and communicating with the UE in the first candidate cell according to the settings associated with the first candidate cell.

[0034] Other embodiments include a UE, a CU, and a DU configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein. Other embodiments also include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that configure such a UE, CU, and DU to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein when executed by a processing circuit.

[0035] These and other embodiments can facilitate setting, for the UE, CSI measurement resources for one or more L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells associated with a neighboring DU, where the UE can perform mobility measurements thereon and report the measurements to the network. These CSI reports facilitate L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility decisions by the network that enable the UE to move around in the network coverage area. This promotes more efficient signaling, reduced processing, and reduced interruption time compared to L3 (e.g., RRC) handovers. Embodiments also maintain L1 / L2 mobility interoperability among the UE, the serving DU / CU, and neighboring DUs without ambiguity.

[0036] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the invention in view of the drawings briefly described below.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0038] Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, some of the embodiments contemplated herein will be more fully described. However, other embodiments are within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited only to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0039] Generally, all terms used in this specification should be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning to those of ordinary skill in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly defined and / or implied from the context of use. All references to an element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. should be construed openly as referring to at least one instance of that element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless otherwise expressly stated or clearly implied from the context of use. Any method and / or procedure operations disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless the operations are expressly described as following or preceding another operation and / or it is implicit that the operations must follow or precede another operation. Any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may, where appropriate, be applied to any other disclosed embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment described herein may, where appropriate, be applied to any other disclosed embodiment.

[0040] Furthermore, the following terms are used throughout the description given below. · Wireless access node: As used herein, a "wireless access node" (or equivalently, a "wireless network node", "wireless access network node", or "RAN node") can be any node in a radio access network (RAN) that operates to transmit and / or receive signals wirelessly. Some examples of wireless access nodes include, but are not limited to, base stations (e.g., gNB in a 3GPP 5G / NR network, or an evolved or eNB in a 3GPP LTE network), base station distributed components (e.g., CU and DU), high-power or macro base stations, low-power base stations (e.g., micro base stations, pico base stations, femto base stations, or home base stations, etc.), wireless access backhaul integrated transmission (IAB) nodes, transmission points (TP), transmission and reception points (TRP), remote radio units (RRU or RRH), and relay nodes. · Core network node: As used herein, a "core network node" is some type of node in a core network. Some examples of core network nodes include, for example, a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a PDN gateway (P-GW), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a charging function (CHF), a policy control function (PCF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a location management function (LMF), etc. · Wireless Device: As used herein, a "Wireless Device" (or abbreviated as "WD") is any type of device that is capable of, configured to, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Communicating wirelessly can involve transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information through the air. Unless otherwise stated, the term "Wireless Device" is used interchangeably herein with "User Equipment" (or abbreviated as "UE"), and both of these terms have a different meaning from the term "Network Node". · Wireless Node: As used herein, a "Wireless Node" can be either a "Wireless Access Node" (or equivalent term) or a "Wireless Device". · Network Node: As used herein, a "Network Node" is any node that is part of either a radio access network (e.g., a wireless access node or equivalent term) or the core network of a cellular communication network (e.g., a core network node as described above). Functionally, a network node is a device that is capable of, configured to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in the cellular communication network to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device and / or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the cellular communication network. · Node: The term "node" (without a prefix) as used in this specification can be any type of node that can be in or with a radio network (including the RAN and / or the core network), including a radio access node (or an equivalent term), a core network node, or a radio device. However, the term "node" can be limited to a particular type (e.g., a radio access node, an IAB node) based on the specific characteristics of the node in a given context.

[0041] The above provisions are not intended to be exclusive. In other words, various of the above terms may be explained and / or described elsewhere in this disclosure using the same or similar technical terms. Nevertheless, the above provisions should govern as long as such other explanations and / or descriptions do not conflict with the above provisions.

[0042] The description given in this specification focuses on 3GPP cellular communication systems, and thus it should be noted that 3GPP technical terms or technical terms similar to 3GPP technical terms are often used. However, the concepts disclosed in this specification are not limited to 3GPP systems and can be applied to any communication system that can benefit from those concepts. Further, the term "cell" is used in this specification, but (especially with respect to 5G NR) a beam can be used instead of a cell, and thus it should be understood that the concepts described in this specification apply equally to both cells and beams.

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a logical architecture for a gNB configured in a split CU / DU architecture, such as gNB 100 in FIG. 1. This logical architecture separates the CU into a CP function and a UP function, called CU-C and CU-U, respectively. Further, each of the NG interface, Xn interface, and F1 interface is split into a CP interface (e.g., NG-C) and a UP interface (e.g., NG-U). Note that the terms "central entity" and "distributed entity" in FIG. 3 refer to physical network nodes.

[0044] FIG. 4 shows another exemplary gNB logical architecture including two gNB-DUs, a gNB-CU-CP, and a plurality of gNB-CU-UPs. The gNB-CU-CP may be connected to the gNB-DU through an F1-C interface, the gNB-CU-UP may be connected to the gNB-DU through an F1-U interface, and may be connected to the gNB-CU-CP through an E1 interface. Each gNB-DU may be connected to only one gNB-CU-CP, and each gNB-CU-UP may be connected to only one gNB-CU-CP. One gNB-DU may be connected to a plurality of gNB-CU-UPs under the control of the same gNB-CU-CP. Also, one gNB-CU-UP may be connected to a plurality of DUs under the control of the same gNB-CU-CP. When referring to an operation performed by the "CU" in this specification, it should be understood that this operation may be performed by any entity within the CU (e.g., CU-CP, gNB-CU-CP), unless otherwise specified.

[0045] As briefly described above, to support beam management, for a UE, channel state information (CSI) measurement settings may be configured, and the CSI measurement settings instruct the UE to monitor CSI-RSs and send various CSI reports to the NG-RAN. For example, the NG-RAN indicates an explicit list of CSI resources to be monitored by the UE for each type of CSI report configured for the UE to send. In a split gNB architecture, the UE is configured by the DU providing the UE's serving cell and sends CSI reports to that DU. Similar techniques may be used for beam management based on SSBs transmitted by the DU in the serving cell.

[0046] Figure 5 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the RRC CSI-MeasConfig information element (IE) used to configure CSI-RS resources for UE monitoring. This IE is configured within the ServingCellConfig IE for each UE serving cell, which associates the serving cell with the corresponding CSI report. For each type of CSI report that the UE needs to transmit, the network indicates an explicit list of CSI resources in the nzp-CSI-RS-ResourceSetList IE shown in Figure 5. The network can provide a list of up to maxNrofNZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetsPerConfigCSI resource sets for each of the UE's serving cells, including the PCell / SpCell and any configured SCell. Table 1 below further defines some of the fields included in the data structure shown in Figure 5. TIFF2025524513000002.tif108170

[0047] As specified in 3GPP document RP-213565, NR Rel-18 includes work items related to NR mobility enhancements, including those in the technical area of L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility. When a UE moves between the coverage areas of two cells, a serving cell change needs to be performed at a certain point. Currently, serving cell changes are triggered by layer 3 (L3, e.g., RRC) measurements and involve RRC signaling to change the PCell and PSCell (e.g., when dual connectivity is configured) and to release / add SCell (e.g., when CA is configured).

[0048] Currently, all inter-cell mobility involves a complete layer 2 (L2) and layer 1 (L1, i.e., PHY) reset, which leads to longer latency, increased signaling overhead, and longer interruptions compared to in-cell beam switching. Therefore, the high-level goal of Rel-18 L1 / L2 mobility enhancements is to facilitate serving cell changes via L1 / L2 signaling to address these issues and / or difficulties. Some more specific goals are · Configuration and maintenance for multiple candidate cells to enable fast application of configurations for candidate cells, and · A dynamic switching mechanism between candidate serving cells (including SpCell and SCell) for potential applicable scenarios based on L1 / L2 signaling, and · L1 extensions for inter-cell beam management, including L1 measurements and reporting and beam indication, and · Timing advance management, and · CU-DU interface signaling to support L1 / L2 mobility if needed including.

[0049] These Rel-18 L1 / L2 mobility enhancements also need to take into account the split CU / DU architecture shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 4, including those for intra-DU cell change and inter-DU / intra-CU cell change. In the inter-DU / intra-CU scenario, candidate cells for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility are cells served by neighboring DUs to the (serving or source) DU currently providing the UE's PCell (or PSCell in the case of SCG change in DC).

[0050] As briefly described above, it is desirable for L1 / L2 cell change to behave like in-cell beam management, except that the UE is configured to perform measurements on cells other than the UE's serving cell. There are various problems, difficulties, and / or issues that prevent and / or suppress this desirable result.

[0051] The Rel-15 solution for configuring UE measurements to support beam management is limited to configuring only CSI-RS (or SSB) resources in the UE's current serving cells (e.g., PCell and SCell) of the cell group associated with the configuration (e.g., MCG). This solution does not support configuring the UE with CSI-RS resources to be measured in an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell that is not one of the UE's current serving cells (even if on the same frequency).

[0052] 3GPP Rel-17 includes support for multi-transmit receive point (mTRP) operation between physical cell identification information (PCI). In this feature, CSI resources can be associated with a PCI different from the PCI associated with the serving cell of the UE. The UE receives an explicit indication of which beam (SSB) and PCI it should measure for a given reporting configuration. Figure 6 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure of the RRC CSI-SSB-ResourceSet IE, by which this feature can be configured. In particular, the additionalPCIList-r17 field indicates the PCI of the SSB in the csi-SSB-ResourceList field in that IE. If present, the list has the same number of entries as the csi-SSB-ResourceList field.

[0053] For example, the UE receives a CSI-ResourceConfig associated with the CSI-SSB-ResourceSet IE, which includes a list of SSB indexes and associated PCIs. For example, if csi-SSB-ResourceList = [SSB index-7, SSB index-3, SSB index-7] and additionalPCIList-r17 = [3, 5, 6], the UE · SSB index-7 with PCI indexed = 3, and · SSB index-3 with PCI indexed = 5, and · SSB index-7 with PCI indexed = 6 is configured accordingly.

[0054] In this Rel-17 solution, even if the CSI resource configuration can include resources from multiple PCIs, the CSI-SSB-ResourceSet IE is generated by the serving DU based on the PCI of the cell provided by the serving DU of the UE. However, currently, there is no ability to configure CSI-RS (or SSB) resources in the L1 / L2 mobility candidate cells provided by other (neighboring) DUs, i.e., in the case of inter-DU cell change.

[0055] Embodiments of the present disclosure address these and other issues, difficulties, and / or problems by providing a flexible and efficient signaling technique that facilitates the configuration of a UE for mobility between L1 / L2 cells within a CU / between DUs. At a high level, embodiments include communication between a UE, a CU serving the UE, a DU serving the UE, and at least one neighboring DU required by the CU to configure one or more L1 / L2 cell mobility candidate cells for the UE.

[0056] For example, the UE can receive an RRC message including a CSI resource configuration for performing CSI measurements for L1 / L2 cell mobility. The CSI resource configuration includes the CSI (or SSB) resources to be measured by the UE, in particular, the CSI resources in the L1 / L2 cell mobility candidate cells provided by a DU different from the DU currently providing the (one or more) serving cells of the UE. The UE performs the configured measurements and transmits a CSI report including the measurements to the network to assist the network's L1 / L2 cell mobility decision regarding the candidate cells and / or candidate beams of the candidate cells. The CSI resource configuration for the candidate cells can be generated by the non-serving DU providing the candidate cells.

[0057] Embodiments can provide various benefits and / or advantages. For example, an embodiment can facilitate the UE to set CSI measurement resources for one or more L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells (also referred to as "L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidates") associated with a neighboring DU, where the UE can perform mobility measurements thereon and report the measurements to the network. These CSI reports facilitate L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility decisions by the network that enable the UE to move further within the network's coverage area. This promotes more efficient signaling, reduced processing, and reduced interruption time compared to L3 handover / reconfiguration with synchronization. Moreover, the embodiments also maintain L1 / L2 mobility interoperability among the UE, the serving DU / CU, and neighboring DUs without ambiguity.

[0058] In the present disclosure, the following terms, namely, "L1 / L2 inter-base cell mobility" (used in 3GPP work items), "L1 / L2 mobility", "L1 mobility", "L1-based mobility", "L1 / L2 central cell mobility", "L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility", "inter-cell beam management", and "DU-to-DU L1 / L2 inter-base cell mobility" can be used interchangeably. These terms refer to a scenario where the UE receives lower layer (i.e., below RRC, such as MAC or PHY) signaling from the network that instructs the UE to change from a source cell to a target cell with respect to the UE's serving cell (e.g., PCell). Compared with conventional RRC signaling, the lower layer signaling can reduce the processing time and interruption time during mobility and can increase mobility robustness because the network can respond more rapidly to changes in the UE's channel conditions.

[0059] Another relevant aspect in L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility is that a cell can be associated with multiple SSBs (or beams), and different SSBs are transmitted in different spatial directions within a half frame, thereby covering the coverage area of the cell. A cell can also be associated with multiple CSI-RS resource sets that can be transmitted in different spatial directions. Therefore, in L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility, the reception of lower layer signaling that instructs the UE to change from one beam in the serving cell of the UE to another beam in a (candidate) neighboring cell, which also involves changing the serving cell.

[0060] In the present disclosure, the following terms, namely, "neighboring DU", "non-serving DU", and "candidate DU", can be used interchangeably with respect to L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility. The following description refers to one or more configurations generated by a neighboring DU, which are encapsulated in an RRCReconfiguration message, and the RRCReconfiguration message is received by the UE when configured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility between DUs. The (one or more) configurations can include various information according to different embodiments summarized below.

[0061] In the present disclosure, the term "CSI resource configuration" refers to the configuration of one or more CSI resources to be measured by a UE for CSI reporting, and in particular, for CSI resources of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells. The "resource" can be one or more SSBs, one or more CSI-RSs, etc. The configured resources can be associated with a specific candidate cell by an identifier, identification information, index, etc. included in the CSI resource configuration.

[0062] In the present disclosure, the term "reference signal" (abbreviated as "RS") includes any signal having known content or pattern that can be measured by a UE, including but not limited to CSI-RS, DM-RS, synchronization signals (SS, e.g., SSB), etc.

[0063] In the present disclosure, the term "CSI measurement" refers to UE measurements based on CSI resource configuration from which the UE derives information to be included in a CSI report. Such a CSI report may assist the network's L1 / L2 cell - to - cell mobility decision for the UE. In this context, CSI measurements are different from the radio resource management (RRM) measurements reported in the RRC measurement report message as defined in 3GPP TS38.331. For example, RRM measurements are set by an RRC measurement configuration (MeasConfig IE in the RRCReconfiguration message), L3 - filtered, used as an input to trigger an RRC measurement report, and when reported, are generally used by the network (e.g., CU) to determine whether the UE needs to be handed over to another cell by an L3 (RRC) procedure called re - configuration with synchronization.

[0064] In contrast, CSI measurements are set by a CSI measurement configuration (e.g., CSI - MeasConfig - L1 - L2 - Mobility), not necessarily L3 - filtered by the UE, not used as an input to trigger an RRC measurement report, but instead used as an input to derive the information included in the CSI report, which is a layer - lower message sent via PUCCH or PUSCH (as defined, for example, in 3GPP TS38.214). The CSI report can be used in the network's L1 / L2 cell - to - cell mobility decision and procedures, such as to determine whether the UE needs to be switched to the beam (and / or SSB, TCI state, QCL source, etc.) of a candidate cell in an L1 / L2 cell - to - cell mobility procedure.

[0065] In some embodiments, for at least one configured / indicated SSB of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the CSI measurement may include the synchronization signal reference signal received power (SS-RSRP) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. The SS-RSRP is measured only among the reference signals corresponding to the SS / PBCH block (SSB) having the same SS / PBCH block (SSB) index and the same physical layer cell identification information (PCI) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell candidate cell.

[0066] In some embodiments, the SS-RSRP may be derived as a linear average over the power contribution ([W] unit) of the resource elements carrying the secondary synchronization signal (SS) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell candidate cell. In some embodiments, for the PBCH of the L1 / L2 inter-cell candidate cell, the SS-RSRP determination is based on the demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and when indicated by a higher layer, in addition to the secondary synchronization signal, the CSI reference signal of the L1 / L2 inter-cell candidate cell may be used.

[0067] In some embodiments, the SS-RSRP indicates several SS / PBCH blocks for performing the SS-RSRP measurement, and then the SS-RSRP is measured only from the indicated set of (one or more) SS / PBCH blocks. In some embodiments, the SS-RSRP is used for the L1-RSRP to be included in the CSI report.

[0068] In some embodiments, the CSI measurement is · the SS reference signal received quality (SS-RSRQ) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell for at least one configured / indicated SSB of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, and · the SS signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SS-SINR) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell for at least one configured / indicated SSB of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, and · For at least one configured / indicated CSI-RS resource of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the CSI reference signal received power (CSI-RSRP) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and may include one or more of them.

[0069] In some of these embodiments, for the case of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the CSI-RSRP is for the CSI reference signal configured for RSRP measurement within the measurement frequency bandwidth considered in the configured CSI-RS occasion, and includes a linear average over the power contribution ([W] unit) of the resource elements of the (one or more) antenna ports that carry the CSI reference signal.

[0070] In some embodiments, the CSI measurement is · For at least one configured / indicated CSI-RS resource of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the CSI reference signal received quality (CSI-RSRQ) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. · For at least one configured / indicated CSI-RS resource of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the CSI signal-to-noise and interference ratio (CSI-SINR) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. · For at least one SSB-based layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. · For at least one layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell based on at least one CSI-RS resource. · For at least one SSB-based layer 1 SINR (L1-SINR) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. · For at least one layer 1 SINR (L1-SINR) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell based on at least one CSI-RS resource. · Channel quality indicator (CQI) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in the CSI resource configuration, · Precoding matrix indicator (PMI) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration, · CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration, · SS / PBCH block resource indicator (SSBRI) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration, · Layer indicator (LI) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration, · Rank indicator (RI) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration may include one or more of the above.

[0071] In some embodiments, the CSI measurement configuration may include (or be associated with) criteria and / or conditions for triggering the reporting of CSI measurements, sometimes referred to as "reporting configuration". In some embodiments, the reporting configuration may · Configuration of physical UL channels (e.g., PUCCH and / or PUSCH) on which the UE transmits CSI reports, · Configuration of one or more quantities and / or metrics (e.g., RI, CQI, SSBRI, CRI, L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR) to be measured based on one or more SSBs and / or one or more CSI-RS resources of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and to be included in the CSI report may also include one or more of the above.

[0072] FIG. 7 shows a signaling diagram of procedures between a UE (710), a serving DU (730), a candidate DU (740), and a CU (720) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. This figure is used as a context for the following description.

[0073] In some embodiments, for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, a CSI resource configuration (e.g., a list of SSB and / or CSI-RS resources) including at least one set of RSs that can be beamformed and transmitted in different spatial directions is configured for the UE by the network. Each configured RS (or set) can be measured by the UE (e.g., as listed above) and reported to the network according to a reporting configuration associated with the CSI measurement configuration. For example, the reporting can include the UE deriving a CSI report to be sent to the network based on the measurements performed.

[0074] The RSs configured to be measured are associated with L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell information by a cell identifier (e.g., physical cell identification information - PCI) and / or frequency information (e.g., RS frequency, SS frequency, SSB frequency, CSI-RS initial frequency resource, and bandwidth, etc.).

[0075] In some embodiments, the UE transmits a CSI report to the network based on reporting criteria (e.g., periodic, aperiodic, semi-persistent) included in the reporting configuration. The reporting configuration can refer to and / or indicate the RSs to be measured, either directly or indirectly. Based on the CSI report, the network can determine to trigger L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility for that UE. In such a case, the network transmits lower layer signaling instructing the UE to switch its serving cell and / or beam (e.g., TCI state).

[0076] In some embodiments, the CSI resource configuration is generated by a candidate DU that provides L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells. The candidate DU generates the (one or more) CSI resource configurations in response to a request by the CU to configure L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidates for the UE. The candidate DU also transmits a set of RSs to be measured by the UE according to the CSI resource configuration.

[0077] In various embodiments, the candidate DU receives from the CU a message (e.g., a UE context modification request on F1AP) that includes a request to configure L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility for the UE. In response, the candidate DU generates a CSI resource configuration that indicates, for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell provided by the candidate DU, a set of RSs to be measured by the UE. The candidate DU includes the CSI resource configuration in a response message sent to the CU (e.g., a UE context modification response).

[0078] In some embodiments, the candidate DU can be the serving DU of the UE, i.e., the DU that provides the UE's current special cell (SpCell), the primary cell (PCell) in the case of the master cell group (MCG), or the secondary cell (PSCell) in the case of the secondary cell group (SCG). In other embodiments, the candidate DU can be a neighboring DU, i.e., a DU that does not provide the UE's current special cell (SpCell), the primary cell (PCell) in the case of the master cell group (MCG), or the secondary cell (PSCell) in the case of the secondary cell group (SCG).

[0079] FIG. 8 shows a signaling diagram of procedures between a UE (710), a serving DU (730), a candidate DU (740), and a CU (720) according to an embodiment in which the candidate DU is a neighboring DU. Although the operations in FIG. 8 are given numerical labels, this is not intended to require or imply a particular sequential order, unless otherwise specified, and is intended to facilitate the following description.

[0080] In operation 1, the CU determines to set at least one L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate for a UE connected to the CU and capable of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility. In some embodiments, the CU may determine one or more candidate cells and, in this case, the associated DUs that are neighboring DUs. The CU sends a request (e.g., a UE context setup request message on F1AP) for the neighboring DU to set at least one L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell for the UE. In response to that message, the neighboring DU generates a CSI resource configuration for a set of RSs to be measured and reported by the UE to support network-based L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility determination for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell.

[0081] In some embodiments, the CSI resource configuration may include a plurality of IE CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility(k,n), where k is the index of the resource configuration for the nth L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell provided by the neighboring DU. In various embodiments, each instance of the IE · A resource configuration identifier (e.g., a resource config Id, CSI-ResourceConfigId, sometimes encoded as an integer), · One or more SSs and / or groups / sets of SSs, e.g., SSB index-1, SSB index-2,..., SSB index-64,..., SSB index-Z. In one option, a list of SSB sets is configured for the UE, each set having a set identifier, and each SSB within the set being indicated by an SSB index, e.g., SSB set id=1 with SSB index-1, SSB index-2, SSB index-3, and SSB set id=7 with SSB index-1, SSB index-4, SSB index-5, SSB index-7. · One or more groups / sets of RSs, such as CSI-RS. In one option, a list of CSI-RS resource sets is configured for the UE, each set having a set identifier, and each CSI-RS within the set being indicated by a CSI-RS resource index. In this case, further configuration for each CSI-RS is also indicated to the UE, such as the CSI-RS initial frequency (e.g., the initial physical resource block (PRB) with respect to an absolute frequency, such as point A defined in 3GPP TS38.331 in some cases), the bandwidth (e.g., the number of PRBs from the initial frequency), the subcarrier spacing, etc. · Bandwidth part (BWP) identifier, · A resource type indication (e.g., periodic, aperiodic, semi-persistent) that indicates to the UE how the configured resources are being transmitted by the candidate DU. · An indication of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidates associated with the configured resources, such as cell identifier, candidate cell identifier index, etc. including one or more of the above.

[0082] In operation 2, the neighboring DU transmits a message (e.g., UE context setup response on F1AP) including the CSI resource configuration prepared for the UE to the CU.

[0083] In some embodiments, after operation 2, the CU transmits a message (e.g., UE context modification request) to the serving DU of the UE, and receives a response (e.g., UE context modification response) including CSI reporting configuration for one of the UE's configured serving cells (e.g., PCell or SCell), for example, for reporting CSI on the UL channel of that serving cell. The CSI reporting configuration is associated with the resource configuration of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility target candidate, and thus the UE measures the configured resources of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate (e.g., SSB-x of candidate cell A) and reports CSI on the UL channel of the serving cell.

[0084] In some embodiments (between step 2 and step 3), the CU generates a CSI reporting configuration that includes (one or more) resource configurations from neighboring DUs. In some embodiments, a CSI measurement configuration including a resource configuration for (one or more) L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells and a reporting configuration for one of the UE's configured serving cells (e.g., for reporting CSI measurements on one of their UL channels) is set by the CU and included in the RRCReconfiguration message sent to the UE in operation 4 (below). For example, the CSI measurement configuration for (one or more) L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells is set outside of the cell group configuration (e.g., MCG configuration). In some embodiments, the CSI measurement configuration may be within the RRC MeasConfig IE, which includes measurement configurations for RRC measurement and RRC measurement reporting.

[0085] In some embodiments, the CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility IE for the k-th resource configuration of the n-th L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell can be the k-th element of a list of resource configurations defined for each candidate cell (e.g., an AddMod list). For example, the list can be a sequence (size (1..Z)) of CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility in ASN.1 encoding. It can simplify how each candidate DU generates the resource configuration for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and how the CU combines different resource configurations from different candidate DUs when generating the RRCReconfiguration to be provided to the UE.

[0086] In the example shown in FIG. 8, there are n CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility IEs corresponding to n candidate cells of neighboring DUs, and each candidate cell has only one resource configuration (k = 1). In the case where each candidate cell has a list, i.e., multiple resource configurations for each candidate cell, the entire set of configurations for multiple candidates can be a list of N elements, where each element (the nth element) refers to a target candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility, and within each element, there can be a list of resource configurations associated with the nth cell. For example, this can be structured in vector form as CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility(1,n), CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility(2,n)... CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility(K n ,n).

[0087] In some embodiments, the CSI resource configuration for each candidate cell is provided by the candidate DU to the CU in an RRC container within a response message (e.g., a UE context setup response or a UE context modification response). In one example, the RRC container can be part of the "DU-CU (DU to CU) RRC information" that contains RRC information sent from the DU to the CU over F1AP.

[0088] In some embodiments, the CU includes RRC containers from neighboring DUs (e.g., in IEs) in the RRCReconfiguration message without the need to contact the serving DU before generating the RRCReconfiguration message for the UE. If the CU requests L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility to two or more neighboring DUs, the CU may include RRC containers for all candidate DUs in the same RRCReconfiguration message to the UE. In one example, these RRC containers would be outside of the CellGroupConfig IE (for the UE's current serving cell), such as part of the CSI configuration outside of the CSI-MeasConfig IE. As an example, the CU may also generate CSI reporting configurations associated with resource configurations for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, which may be included in the RRCReconfiguration message separately from the RRC containers received from the candidate DUs. Reduced latency is one benefit of this approach, since it is not necessary to send it from the CU to the serving DU, back to the CU, and then include it in the RRCReconfiguration sent to the UE via the serving DU.

[0089] In some embodiments, the CU instructs, in a message (e.g., a UE context modification request on F1AP), the RRC container from the neighboring DU to the serving DU. Upon reception, the serving DU generates CSI measurement configuration (e.g., an updated version of the current CSI-MeasConfig IE within CellGroupConfig, or another CSI-MeasConfig-L1-L2-Mobility IE defined for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility) including the configuration of resources of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells to be measured by the UE. The serving DU sends the CSI measurement configuration to the CU in a response message (e.g., a UE context modification response on F1AP). Further, the serving DU includes, in the CSI measurement configuration, an association between the resources (or resource set) configured by the candidate DU for the candidate cells and the (one or more) reporting configurations determined by the serving DU, indicating how the CSI associated with the configured resources should be reported (e.g., via PUSCH and / or PUCCH, periodically / aperiodically / semi-persistently, etc.). Upon reception, the CU generates an RRCReconfiguration message including the updated version of the CSI measurement configuration provided by the serving DU, and transmits the RRCReconfiguration message to the UE via the serving DU.

[0090] In some embodiments, the CSI resource configuration including the CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility IE for each resource configuration of each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell is not provided to the CU in the RRC container so as to be directly provided to the UE. In these embodiments, the IE is first processed by the serving DU, and the serving DU generates an updated version of the UE's current CSI-MeasConfig IE including the resources to be measured from the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. When receiving the CSI resource configuration from a neighboring DU, the CU transmits the received CSI resource configuration to the serving DU (e.g., in a UE context modification request message). The serving DU generates an updated version of the CSI measurement configuration (e.g., the IE CSI-MeasConfig) and transmits that version to the CU in a response message (e.g., a UE context modification response). The CU generates an RRCReconfiguration message including the updated CSI measurement configuration (e.g., in the CellGroupConfig IE) and transmits that RRCReconfiguration message to the UE via the serving DU (e.g., DL RRC message transfer).

[0091] In some embodiments, the content within the CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility IE for each resource configuration of each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell is provided to the CU in the IE of a message from a neighboring DU, for example, as one or more IEs within a UE context setup response message. In that case, for example, the CU may generate a CSI measurement resource configuration for the UE including the setting of the set of RSs to be measured and reported by the UE for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell outside or within the UE's cell group setting.

[0092] In operation 3, the CU transmits a message (e.g., DL RRC message transfer on F1AP) containing an RRCReconfiguration message targeted at the UE, which includes the setting of the set of RSs for which CSI is to be measured and reported by the UE for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, to the serving DU. As described above with respect to operation 2, the CU may perform another procedure to obtain the settings from the serving DU that should be included in the RRCReconfiguration message for the UE, which sets for the UE the resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and the (one or more) associated CSI reporting settings, and then transmit that message to the serving DU.

[0093] In operation 4, the UE receives an RRCReconfiguration message CSI resource setting for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate, which includes the setting of the RSs for which CSI is to be measured and reported by the UE. Within the various IE(s), field(s), and / or parameter(s) of the RRCReconfiguration message, the UE obtains the setting of each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell that should be applied (or switched) when the UE receives lower layer signaling (e.g., MAC CE or DCI) indicating that the UE should switch to the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and / or the TCI state of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell.

[0094] The relevant IE(s), field(s), and / or parameter(s) included in the RRCReconfiguration message may be generated by the CU and / or the serving DU in the various ways described above, and the UE may be configured in a corresponding manner to extract the relevant information from the IE(s), field(s), and / or parameter(s) of the RRCReconfiguration message. Some examples of alternative signaling forms are · Resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate, received together with the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell settings, · Resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate received at the same level as the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell settings, · Resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate within an updated version of the UE's CSI measurement settings for the serving cell, e.g., the PCell are included.

[0095] In some embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message includes CSI resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate outside of both the current cell group settings (e.g., CellGroupConfig IE) and the current serving cell settings (e.g., ServingCellConfig IE).

[0096] In some embodiments, the CSI resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell are received by the UE together with the L1 / L2 inter-cell candidate cell settings. For example, assume that in order to configure each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the UE receives an L1-Mobility-candidateToAddMod IE in RRCReconfiguration that includes an identifier for the candidate configuration (e.g., candidateConfigId) and the RRC settings to be applied by the UE upon receipt of lower layer signaling indicating L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility execution. In the L1-Mobility-candidateToAddMod IE, together with the settings to be applied at execution time, the UE also receives the CSI resource settings associated with that L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. For example, this can be carried in the resourceConfigToAddModList defined as a sequence of CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility as described above.

[0097] In some embodiments, the CSI resource configuration for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell is received by the UE outside of the UE's CellGroupConfig in the IE octet string (which includes ResourceConfigToAddModList), which indicates that this IE was generated by the neighboring DU but the CU added the CSI resource configuration for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell in the RRC reconfiguration message. FIG. 9 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure according to these embodiments.

[0098] In this example, the per-candidate settings to be applied by the UE during L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility are modeled as cell group settings (e.g., CellGroupConfig IE) that include cell settings (e.g., ServingCellConfig IE). In other words, when the UE receives lower layer signaling (e.g., MAC CE or DCI) indicating that the UE should switch to an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and / or the TCI state of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the UE changes from its currently active CellGroupConfig to the CellGroupConfig of the indicated L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell by applying the CellGroupConfig of the indicated L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell.

[0099] These embodiments are not limiting, and thus, serving cell settings or TCI state settings may be used instead of cell group settings. In that case, when the UE receives lower layer signaling (e.g., MAC CE or DCI) indicating that the UE should switch to an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and / or the TCI state of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the UE changes from its currently active serving cell settings to the serving cell settings of the indicated L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell (including applying dedicated serving cell settings and cell-specific / common serving cell settings).

[0100] Figure 10 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the configuration of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells, where in some cases the configuration for one or more candidates in the list is outside the CellGroupConfig IE. Figure 11 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the configuration of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells, where in some cases the configuration for one or more candidates in the list (e.g., L1-Mobility-candidateToAddModList) is outside the serving cell configuration but within the CellGroupConfig IE.

[0101] The L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell can be a serving cell, such as a primary cell, a special cell, and / or a secondary cell. The configured resources can be associated with one or more of the serving cells configured as candidate cells for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility.

[0102] An example of the nested structure for signaling is shown below. The CSI resource configuration for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell is provided to the UE together with the configuration to be used when switching to that candidate in the execution of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility, but not within that candidate configuration. In particular, the configuration is outside both the cell group configuration and the serving cell configuration. · RRC reconfiguration · Cell group configuration, for example, for the master cell group · List of target candidate cell configurations for that cell group · Configuration for each target candidate cell (1) of IE L1-Mobility-CandidateToAddMod ·... · Configuration for each target candidate cell (n) of IE L1-Mobility-CandidateToAddMod ·... · Settings for each target candidate cell (N) IE L1-Mobility-CandidateToAddMod · SpCell settings · List of (one or more) Scell settings · Settings for the target candidate cell (n) · Target candidate setting identifier · Settings that should be applied or switched during L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility execution, such as candidate CellGroupConfig or candidate ServingCellConfig · (One or more) resource settings for CSI measurement of candidate cells

[0103] In some embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message includes CSI resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate, which are outside the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell settings but are associated with the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell settings in some manner. This can be done, for example, by including the identifier of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell in the CSI resource settings, so that the UE knows which candidate cell to measure for a given CSI resource setting.

[0104] For example, assume that in order to configure each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the UE receives an L1-Mobility-candidateToAddMod IE in RRCReconfiguration that includes an identifier of the candidate setting (e.g., candidateConfigId) to be applied by the UE upon receiving lower layer signaling instructing L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility execution. In the same message, but outside the L1-Mobility-candidateToAddMod IE, the UE also receives the CSI resource settings associated with that L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. For example, this can be carried in the resourceConfigToAddModList defined as a sequence of CSI-ResourceConfig-L1-Mobility as described above.

[0105] For each candidate cell outside the cell group Config, the location of the CSI resource setting may indicate that the setting was generated by the CU and / or by a neighboring DU rather than by the serving DU. This may not prevent serving DU involvement, such as for providing CSI reporting settings (in the serving cell) for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility measurements set by CSI resource settings from a neighboring DU.

[0106] Figure 12 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the configuration of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells according to these embodiments. An example of a nested structure for signaling is shown below. The CSI resource setting for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell is provided to the UE at the same level as the setting that should be used when switching to that candidate in the execution of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. · RRC reconfiguration · Cell group configuration, for example, for the master cell group · SpCell configuration · List of (one or more) Scell configurations · List of target candidate cell configurations for that cell group · Configuration for each target candidate cell (1) of IE L1-Mobility-CandidateToAddMod ·... · Configuration for each target candidate cell (n) of IE L1-Mobility-CandidateToAddMod ·... · Configuration for each target candidate cell (N) of IE L1-Mobility-CandidateToAddMod · (One or more) resource settings for CSI measurement of candidate cells

[0107] In some embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message includes CSI resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate within both the current cell group configuration (e.g., CellGroupConfig) and the current serving cell configuration (e.g., ServingCellConfig IE).

[0108] In some embodiments, the CSI resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate are within the CSI measurement settings for the current serving cell, e.g., within CSI-MeasConfig for each serving cell configuration (e.g., within ServingCellConfig). To configure each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, the UE receives in the RRCReconfiguration message a ServingCellConfig IE for the current serving cell (e.g., PCell) that includes a CSI measurement setting IE for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility measurement, and a CellGroupConfig IE for the current active cell group (e.g., MCG or SCG). That information includes CSI resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell (e.g., generated by a neighboring DU).

[0109] In some embodiments, the UE receiving the CSI measurement setting IE for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility measurement within the CellGroupConfig of the UE's current active cell group indicates that it was generated by the serving DU. In one embodiment, the CU receives the per-candidate CSI resource setting from a neighboring DU (e.g., during UE context setup response), sends a UE context modification request including the per-candidate CSI resource setting from the neighboring DU to the serving DU, and in response, the CU receives a UE context modification response including the cell group setting for the UE's current active cell group (e.g., the current MCG) from the serving DU, and within the CellGroupConfig, there is a serving cell setting (e.g., for the PCell) and CSI measurement settings therein, and the CSI measurement settings include the CSI resource setting generated by the neighboring DU.

[0110] In some embodiments, the per-candidate CSI resource setting for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility is received by the UE within a CSI-MeasConfig IE that also includes the CSI measurement setting for intra-cell mobility / beam management. FIG. 13 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the setting of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells according to these embodiments.

[0111] In other embodiments, the per-candidate CSI resource setting for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility is received by the UE in an IE at the same level as the CSI-MeasConfig IE. In other words, the CSI resource setting is included within the serving cell setting and can be specified, in particular, for CSI measurement for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells. FIG. 14 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the setting of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells according to these embodiments.

[0112] In other embodiments, the CSI resource configuration for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate is received by the UE within the CellGroupConfig IE for the current UE cell group (e.g., MCG), but since these refer to the candidate configuration(s), they are received outside the serving cell configuration within that IE. The reporting configuration needs to indicate to which cell the report is intended to be sent. This requires that the serving DU that generates the serving cell configuration be notified by the CU of which resources are configured by neighboring DUs to be measured for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility. FIG. 15 shows an exemplary ASN.1 data structure for the configuration of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells according to these embodiments.

[0113] In some embodiments, the CSI resource configuration for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate received by the UE is associated with a CSI reporting configuration (e.g., CSI-ReportConfig IE or CSI-ReportConfig-L1-L2-Mobility IE). The association can be expressed in different ways, such as in a CSI reporting configuration that includes an indication of the resource configuration for the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate (e.g., the SSB or set of SSBs of the candidate cell).

[0114] In some embodiments, the reporting configuration is used to configure a CSI report that includes CSI information based on one or more RSs (e.g., SSB and / or CSI-RS resources) identified within the CSI resource configuration for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. The CSI report can be configured as a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic report on PUCCH, PUSCH, or any other UL channel on the cell where the reporting configuration is included therein. Alternatively, the CSI report can be configured as semi-persistent or aperiodic and sent on PUSCH or any other UL channel triggered by lower layer signaling (e.g., DCI or MAC CE) received on the cell where the reporting configuration is included therein.

[0115] In some embodiments, the reporting configuration received by the UE for one of the configured serving cells (e.g., PCell or PSCell) during the serving cell configuration within the current cell group Config of the UE refers to the configured L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells (cell identification information or candidate cell identification information, or candidate setting identification information), for example, by including CSI reporting configuration, identifiers and / or indices of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells. In this way, the UE knows that a given CSI reporting configuration is associated with the CSI resource configuration for a specific L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. Since there may be multiple resource configurations for a given L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate, the CSI reporting configuration may also include a resource configuration identifier.

[0116] In some embodiments, the UE receives the CSI resource configuration for each L1 / L2 mobility candidate cell and the associated CSI reporting configuration, performs one or more CSI measurements (e.g., L1-RSRP, L1-SINR for the SS and / or RS configured for the candidate), and transmits a CSI report including the (one or more) CSI measurements on the serving cell.

[0117] In Operations 5 - 6, after receiving and applying the RRCReconfiguration message, the UE transmits an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the CU via the serving DU. In some embodiments, the message is transmitted when / after the UE verifies that the CSI resource configuration for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell complies, such as that the configured measurements do not exceed the UE capabilities. In Operation 6, the serving DU forwards the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the CU in a UL RRC message transfer message on F1AP.

[0118] In some embodiments, the CU receives, from the serving DU, a message indicating that the UE has received the (one or more) CSI resource settings for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell configured by a neighboring DU. In response, the CU transmits, to the neighboring DU, a message indicating that. In response, the neighboring DU may start transmitting on the configured resources for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell using that indication. This may be relevant mainly in the case of dedicated RSs configured for that purpose, e.g., CSI-RS resources.

[0119] Some of the embodiments described above involve the serving DU generating the configurations to be provided to the UE, including the CSI resource configurations for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. FIGS. 16A - 16B show signaling diagrams of procedures between a UE (710), a serving DU (730), a neighboring (candidate) DU (740), and a CU (720) according to these embodiments.

[0120] In particular, FIG. 16B shows a command (a "command to activate resources, e.g., CSI-RS") sent from the CU to the neighboring DU after the CU has received an RRCReconfigurationComplete message from the UE. This command indicates that the UE has received the CSI resource configurations for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. Upon receiving that command, the neighboring DU may start transmitting the CSI resources that the command has configured the UE to measure, as shown in FIG. 16B.

[0121] In other embodiments, the candidate DU can be the serving DU that provides the UE's current SpCell, PCell, or PSCell. In that case, the serving DU receives from the CU a request (e.g., a UE context modification request message on F1AP) for setting up L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility for the UE. In response, the serving DU generates CSI resource configurations for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and includes those CSI resource configurations in a response message (e.g., a UE context modification response message) sent to the CU.

[0122] FIG. 17 shows a signaling diagram of procedures among a UE (710), a serving (candidate) DU (730), and a CU (720) according to these embodiments. Generally, the operations shown in FIG. 17 are substantially the same as those described above with respect to FIG. 8 and include various embodiments, variations, and options. Two notable differences include the following. · In operation 1, the message sent from the CU to the serving DU on F1AP is a UE context modification request message instead of a UE context setup request message. This is because the serving DU has previously set up a context for the UE. · In operation 2, the message sent from the serving DU to the CU on F1AP is a UE context modification response message instead of a UE context setup response message. However, generally, these messages can include any of the contents of various embodiments of the messages for operations 1 - 2 described above with respect to FIG. 8. Similarly, the RRCReconfiguration message sent by the CU in operation 3 can include CSI resource configurations for each L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell and other information (e.g., an RRC container, etc.) configured in any of the ways described above with respect to FIG. 8.

[0123] In other embodiments, there may be multiple candidate DUs, including one or more neighboring DUs of the serving DU of the UE as described above. FIGS. 18A-18B show signaling diagrams of procedures between a UE (710), a serving (candidate) DU (730), first and second neighboring (candidate) DUs (740, 750), and a CU (720) according to these embodiments. Generally, the operations shown in FIG. 17 are substantially the same as those described above with respect to FIGS. 8 and 17, including various embodiments, variations, and options.

[0124] In particular, Operations 1-2 performed by the CU with each neighboring DU are the same as Operations 1-2 in FIG. 8. Similarly, Operations 2a-2b performed by the CU with the serving DU are the same as Operations 2-3 in FIG. 17.

[0125] In some embodiments, the UE context modification request message received in Operation 2b also includes one or more of the CSI resource settings received from one or more neighboring DUs, for example, when the serving DU is responsible for including it during cell group configuration.

[0126] In some embodiments, when the CU determines to configure the UE with L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells from the serving DU and at least one neighboring DU, the CU requests the setting from the neighboring DU and obtains it from the neighboring DU before requesting the setting from the serving DU. This ordering enables the CU to send the CSI resource setting for the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate of the neighboring DU during a request (e.g., UE context modification request) for the serving DU to configure the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate.

[0127] In response to the request in operation 2a, the serving DU generates CSI resource settings for each of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells provided by the serving DU, and includes the CSI resource settings in the response of the serving DU for operation 2b. In some embodiments, the response also includes CSI resource settings for each of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells provided by neighboring DUs, according to the various embodiments described above.

[0128] The embodiments described above may be further illustrated with reference to FIGS. 19-22, which show exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for a UE, a CU, a first DU, and a second DU, respectively. In other words, the various features of the operations described below correspond to the various embodiments described above. The exemplary methods shown in FIGS. 10-12 may be used collaboratively to provide the benefits, advantages, and / or solutions to problems described herein. The exemplary methods are shown in FIGS. 10-12 by specific blocks in a specific order, but the operations corresponding to the blocks may be performed in a different order than shown, combined with and / or divided into blocks and / or operations having different functions than shown. Optional blocks or operations are indicated by dashed lines.

[0129] More specifically, FIG. 19 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a UE configured to communicate with a RAN node comprising a CU and a DU, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method shown in FIG. 19 may be performed by a UE (e.g., a wireless device) as described elsewhere herein.

[0130] The exemplary method can include the operation of block 1920, where a UE can receive from a CU via a DU an RRCReconfiguration message including channel state information (CSI) resource configurations associated with each of at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility. The at least one candidate cell is provided by one or more neighboring DUs. In some embodiments, the one or more neighboring DUs are associated with the CU and / or are part of the RAN nodes.

[0131] The exemplary method can also include the operation of block 1940, where the UE can perform CSI measurements on at least one candidate cell according to respective CSI resource configurations. The exemplary method can also include the operation of block 1950, where the UE can send one or more CSI reports based on the CSI measurements performed on at least one candidate cell to the DU via the serving cell.

[0132] In some embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message also includes settings associated with at least one candidate cell, and the exemplary method includes the following operations, labeled with corresponding block numbers, namely, · receiving from the DU a lower layer signaling message instructing that the UE should change the UE's serving cell to a first candidate cell identified in the RRCReconfiguration message (1960); · performing an L1 / L2 mobility procedure to the first candidate cell and communicating in the first candidate cell according to the settings associated with the first candidate cell (1970) and also includes.

[0133] In some of these embodiments, one or more of the following apply: the lower layer signaling is in a protocol layer below the RRC protocol layer, and the lower layer signaling includes one of MAC CE or PHY downlink control information (DCI).

[0134] In some of these embodiments, in block 1970, communicating in the first candidate cell according to the above settings is the following operation, labeled with the corresponding sub-block number, namely · Monitoring the control channel of the first candidate cell in the spatial direction corresponding to the transmission configuration information (TCI) state setting included in the above settings (1971); · Performing a contention-free or contention-based RA procedure in the first candidate cell according to the random access (RA) setting included in the above settings (1972) including one or more of the above.

[0135] In some embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message includes one or more reporting settings associated with each CSI resource setting, and the CSI report is sent based on one or more reporting settings. In some of these embodiments, each reporting setting · The setting of the physical channel used to send the CSI report; · The indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported; · One or more conditions that trigger sending the CSI report including one or more of the above.

[0136] In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 1930, where the UE can send an RRCReconfigurationComplete message in response to the RRCReconfiguration message to the CU via the DU. In some embodiments, each CSI resource setting · A resource configuration identifier, and · Identification of one or more reference signals (RSs) to be transmitted by a candidate cell and measured by a UE, and · An identifier of a bandwidth part in which the identified RS is to be transmitted, and · A type associated with the identified RS, and · An indication of a candidate cell associated with the identified RS includes one or more of the above.

[0137] In some of these embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message · includes a plurality of sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell, and · a plurality of candidate cells associated with each single set of CSI resources, and · a plurality of candidate cells associated with each plurality of sets of CSI resources and includes a plurality of CSI resource configurations configured according to one or more of the above. In some of these embodiments, the RS is identified by an index of a beam transmitted in a different spatial direction.

[0138] In some embodiments, a first set of conditions or a second set of conditions is applied to the RRCReconfiguration message. The first set of conditions · the RRCReconfiguration message is received during the UE's initial access to the serving DU, and · the RRCReconfiguration message is an initial RRCReconfiguration message received after security is activated during the UE's initial access, includes one or more of the above. Also, the second set of conditions · the RRCReconfiguration message is received when the UE is in the RRC_CONNECTED state with the RAN, and · The RRCReconfiguration message is received in response to an RRC measurement report sent by the UE, and includes one or more of the following.

[0139] In some embodiments, the exemplary method may also include the operation of block 1910, where the UE can send an indication to the CU that one or more of L1 / L2 inter - base - station mobility and L1 / L2 inter - DU mobility is possible.

[0140] Further, FIG. 20 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for the CU of a RAN node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method shown in FIG. 20 can be implemented by the CU as described elsewhere herein.

[0141] The exemplary method includes the operation of block 2030, where the CU can send a request to the second DU of the RAN node to configure the UE for L1 / L2 inter - base - station mobility from the serving cell provided by the first DU of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU. The exemplary method also includes the operation of block 2040, where the CU can receive a response from the second DU that includes CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU. The exemplary method also includes the operation of block 2070, where the CU can send an RRCReconfiguration message including CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU to the first DU for transmission to the UE via the serving cell.

[0142] In some embodiments, the above - mentioned response also includes settings associated with each of the at least one candidate cell, and the RRCReconfiguration message also includes settings associated with each of the at least one candidate cell.

[0143] In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2080 where the CU can receive, from a first DU, an RRCReconfigurationComplete transmitted by a UE in response to an RRCReconfiguration message.

[0144] In some embodiments, a second DU is associated with the CU and / or is part of a RAN node. In some of these embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message is sent to the first DU in a DL RRC message transfer message.

[0145] In some embodiments, the second DU is a neighboring DU that does not provide the serving cell of the UE, the request for configuring the UE is a UE context setup request message or is included in a UE context setup request message, and the response is a UE context setup response message or is included in a UE context setup response message. In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2080 where the CU can receive, from a first DU, an RRCReconfigurationComplete transmitted by a UE in response to an RRCReconfiguration message in a UL RRC message transfer message. Also, the RRCReconfiguration message is sent to the first DU in a DL RRC message transfer message at block 2070.

[0146] In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2020 where the CU can receive, from a first DU, a message including an RRC measurement report transmitted by the UE. The request for configuring the UE for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility is sent in response to a message including the RRC measurement report (e.g., at block 2030).

[0147] In some of these embodiments, the RRC measurement report includes one or more UE measurements of at least one candidate cell provided by a second DU. In some variations of these embodiments, the at least one candidate cell includes a plurality of candidate cells, and an exemplary method also includes the operation of block 2025 where the CU can select a plurality of candidate cells based on UE measurements. In such a case, the request sent to the second DU at block 2030 includes the identifier of each of the plurality of candidate cells.

[0148] In some embodiments, each CSI resource configuration includes · a resource configuration identifier, and · the identification of one or more RSs to be transmitted by a candidate cell and measured by a UE, and · the identifier of the bandwidth part in which the identified RSs are to be transmitted, and · the type associated with the identified RS, and · an indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS including one or more of.

[0149] In some embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message includes · a plurality of sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell, · a plurality of candidate cells associated with each single set of CSI resources, · a plurality of candidate cells associated with each plurality of sets of CSI resources including a plurality of CSI resource configurations configured according to one or more of.

[0150] In some embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message includes one or more reporting configurations associated with each CSI resource configuration for a candidate cell, each reporting configuration including · the configuration of the physical channel used to send the CSI report, and · an indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported, · One or more conditions that trigger sending a CSI report and include one or more of them.

[0151] In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2050, where the CU can receive from a first DU a message including a configuration for a cell group including the serving cell of the UE. In such embodiments, one or more reporting configurations are separated from the configuration for the cell group and are received in that message.

[0152] In other ones of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2060, where the CU can generate one or more reporting configurations. In such embodiments, one or more reporting configurations are separated from the configuration for a cell group including the serving cell of the UE and are included in an RRCReconfiguration message.

[0153] In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2010, where the CU can receive from the UE an indication that one or more of L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility and L1 / L2-based inter-DU inter-cell mobility are possible for the UE. In such embodiments, sending a request to configure the UE (e.g., at block 2030) is based on the indication received from the UE.

[0154] Further, FIG. 21 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a first DU of a RAN node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method shown in FIG. 21 can be implemented by a serving DU as described elsewhere herein.

[0155] An exemplary method can include the operation of block 2120, in which a first DU can receive, from a CU of a RAN node, a request to configure, for a UE, a reporting configuration for a serving cell provided by the first DU, in connection with configuring L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility for the UE. The exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2120, in which the first DU can send a response to the CU, including a reporting configuration identifying a physical channel of the serving cell to be used for sending CSI reports related to candidate cells for L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility.

[0156] In some embodiments, the reporting configuration includes · a configuration of a physical channel to be used for sending CSI reports, and · an indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported, and · one or more conditions to trigger sending of the CSI reports including one or more of the foregoing.

[0157] In some embodiments, the response further includes a CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility, and the at least one candidate cell is provided by the first DU. In some of these embodiments, each CSI resource configuration includes · a resource configuration identifier, and · an identification of one or more RSs to be transmitted by the candidate cell and measured by the UE, and · an identifier of a bandwidth part in which the identified RSs are to be transmitted, and · a type associated with the identified RS, and · an indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS including one or more of the foregoing.

[0158] In some of these embodiments, the response includes a configuration for a cell group including the serving cell of the UE. · The reporting configuration is included within the configuration for the cell group, or · The reporting configuration is separated from the configuration for the cell group and included in the above response, and one of the above applies.

[0159] In some embodiments, the exemplary method is the following operations labeled with corresponding block numbers, namely, · Receiving, from the CU, an RRCReconfiguration message for the UE that includes a reporting configuration and a CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility (2130), wherein the at least one candidate cell is provided by one or more neighboring DUs, and receiving the RRCReconfiguration message (2130); · Sending the RRCReconfiguration message to the UE via the serving cell (2140) can also be included.

[0160] In some of these embodiments, the RRCReconfiguration message is received from the CU in a DL RRC message transfer message, and the exemplary method is the following operations labeled with corresponding block numbers, namely, · Receiving, from the UE, an RRCReconfigurationComplete message in response to the RRCReconfiguration message (2150); · Sending the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the CU in an UL RRC message transfer message (2160) is also included.

[0161] Further, FIG. 22 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a second DU of a RAN node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method shown in FIG. 22 can be performed by a candidate (e.g., neighboring or serving) DU as described elsewhere herein.

[0162] The exemplary method can include the operation of block 2210, where the second DU can receive from the CU of the RAN node a request for configuring a UE for L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility of the UE from a serving cell provided by a first DU of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU. The exemplary method can include the operation of block 2220, where the second DU can send to the CU a response including a CSI resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility.

[0163] In some embodiments, the above response can also include settings associated with each of the at least one candidate cell, and the exemplary method can include the operation of block 2250, where the second DU can perform an L1 / L2 mobility procedure with the UE in a first candidate cell among the candidate cells and communicate with the UE in the first candidate cell according to the settings associated with the first candidate cell. In some of these embodiments, in block 2250, communicating with the UE in the first candidate cell according to the above settings can include one or more of: · transmitting a control channel of the first candidate cell in a spatial direction corresponding to a TCI state setting included in the above settings (2251); and · performing a contention-free or contention-based RA procedure with the UE in the first candidate cell according to an RA setting included in the above settings (2252).

[0164] ​In some of these embodiments, the second DU is a neighboring DU that does not provide the serving cell of the UE, and the request for configuring the UE is a UE context setup request message or is included in the UE context setup request message, and the response is a UE context setup response message or is included in the UE context setup response message.

[0165] In some embodiments, each CSI resource configuration includes · a resource configuration identifier, and · the identification of one or more RSs to be transmitted by the candidate cell and measured by the UE, and · the identifier of the bandwidth part in which the identified RS will be transmitted, and · the type associated with the identified RS, and · the indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS including one or more of them. In some of these embodiments, the response includes · multiple sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell, · multiple candidate cells associated with each single set of CSI resources, · multiple candidate cells associated with each multiple sets of CSI resources including multiple CSI resource configurations constructed according to one or more of them. In some of these embodiments, the RS is identified by the index of the beam transmitted in different spatial directions.

[0166] In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2240, where a second DU can transmit a RS in at least one candidate cell according to respective CSI resource configurations. In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operation of block 2230, where the second DU can receive an indication from the CU that the CSI resource configuration has been applied by the UE. In such a case, transmitting the RS in block 2240 is in response to the above indication.

[0167] Although various embodiments have been described above with respect to methods, techniques, and / or procedures, those skilled in the art will readily understand that such methods, techniques, and / or procedures can be implemented by various combinations of hardware and software in various systems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, computer program products, and the like.

[0168] FIG. 23 shows an example of a communication system 2300 according to some embodiments. In this example, the communication system 2300 includes a communication network 2302 that includes an access network 2304 (e.g., RAN) and a core network 2306 that includes one or more core network nodes 2308. The access network 2304 includes one or more access network nodes such as network nodes 2310a - b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as network node 2310), or any other similar 3GPP access node or non-3GPP access point. The network node 2310 facilitates direct or indirect connection of UEs 2312a - d (one or more of which may generally be referred to as UE 2312) to the core network 2306, such as by connecting the UEs to the core network 2306 over one or more radio connections.

[0169] Exemplary wireless communication over a wireless connection involves transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without using wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 2300 can include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether via a wired connection or a wireless connection. The communication system 2300 can include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, wireless network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0170] UE 2312 can be any of a variety of communication devices, including a wireless device configured, set, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 2310 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 2310 can communicate directly or indirectly with UE 2312 and / or with other network nodes or devices in communication network 2302 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in communication network 2302, and is configured, enabled, and / or operable to do so.

[0171] In the illustrated example, the core network 2306 connects network nodes 2310 to one or more hosts such as host 2316. These connections can be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, a network node can be directly coupled to a host. The core network 2306 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., 2308) structured with hardware and software components. The characteristics of these components can be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UE, network nodes, and / or hosts, and thus, those descriptions generally apply to the corresponding components of the core network node 2308. Exemplary core network nodes include one or more functions of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or User Plane Function (UPF).

[0172] Host 2316 can be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of access network 2304 and / or communication network 2302, and can be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Host 2316 can host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include data collection services, analytical functions, social media, functions for controlling or in some cases interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and surveillance centers, or any other such functions implemented by a server, such as extracting and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by multiple UEs, live and pre-recorded audio / video content.

[0173] Overall, communication system 2300 of FIG. 23 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, including but not limited to specific standards such as GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., 6G), wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi), and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low power wide area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0174] In some examples, the communication network 2302 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Thus, the communication network 2302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the communication network 2302. For example, the communication network 2302 may provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs and / or providing massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to yet further UEs.

[0175] In some examples, the UE 2312 is configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to send information to the access network 2304 at a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the access network 2304. Further, the UE may be configured to operate in single or multi-RAT or multi-standard modes. For example, the UE may operate in any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., be configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0176] In this example, the hub 2314 communicates with the access network 2304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 2312c and / or 2312d) and a network node (e.g., network node 2310b). In some examples, the hub 2314 can be any of a controller, router, content source and content analysis, or other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 2314 can be a broadband router that enables access to the core network 2306 for the UE. As another example, the hub 2314 can be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The commands or instructions can be received from the UE, the network node 2310, or can be due to executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions at the hub 2314. As another example, the hub 2314 can be a data collector that serves as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, can perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 2314 can be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 2314 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via the network node and provide this to the UE either directly after performing local processing and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 2314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE, particularly when one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.

[0177] The hub 2314 may have a constant / permanent or intermittent connection to the network node 2310b. The hub 2314 may also enable different communication methods and / or schedules between the hub 2314 and the UEs (e.g., UE2312c and / or 2312d), and between the hub 2314 and the core network 2306. In other examples, the hub 2314 is connected to the core network 2306 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 2314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider on the access network 2304 and / or to another UE on a direct connection. In some scenarios, the UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 2310 while still being connected via a wired or wireless connection through the hub 2314. In some embodiments, the hub 2314 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose main function is to route communications from the UE to the network node 2310b / from the network node 2810b to the UE. In other embodiments, the hub 2314 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device that can operate to route communications between the UE and the network node 2310b, but can further operate as a communication start point and / or end point for some data channels.

[0178] FIG. 24 shows a UE2400 according to some embodiments. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptop computers, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle-embedded / integrated wireless devices, and the like. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communication (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0179] The UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, dedicated short range communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, the UE does not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, the UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user but may not be associated with a particular human user or may not initially be associated with a particular human user. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart power meter) that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user but may be associated with a user or may be operated for the benefit of a user.

[0180] UE 2400 includes processing circuitry 2402 operably coupled via bus 2404 to input / output interface 2406, power supply 2408, memory 2410, communication interface 2412, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. Some UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 24. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. Further, some UEs may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0181] Processing circuitry 2402 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored in memory 2410 as a machine-readable computer program. Processing circuitry 2402 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (such as in discrete logic, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), programmable logic in conjunction with appropriate firmware, a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) in conjunction with appropriate software, one or more stored computer programs, a general purpose processor, or any combination of the above. For example, processing circuitry 2402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0182] In this example, the input / output interface 2406 can be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, emitters, smart cards, another output device, or any combination thereof. The input device can enable a user to capture information to the UE 2400. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional pads, trackpads, scroll wheels, smart cards, etc. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor for detecting input from a user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, gyroscope, tilt sensor, force sensor, magnetometer, optical sensor, proximity sensor, biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. The output device can use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port can be used to provide the input device and the output device.

[0183] In some embodiments, the power supply 2408 is structured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies can be used, such as an external power supply (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The power supply 2408 can further include a power circuit for distributing power from the power supply 2408 itself and / or an external power supply to various parts of the UE 2400 via an input circuit or an interface such as a power cable. Distributing power can be, for example, for charging the power supply 2408. The power circuit can perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification to the power from the power supply 2408 so that it is suitable for each component of the UE 2400 to which the power is supplied.

[0184] The memory 2410 can be set to be a memory, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge, a flash drive, etc., or to include a memory. In one example, the memory 2410 includes one or more application programs 2414, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other applications, and corresponding data 2416. The memory 2410 can store any of a variety of operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 2400.

[0185] Memory 2410 can be configured to include several physical drive units, such as redundant arrays of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drives, external hard disk drives, thumb drives, pen drives, key drives, high density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drives, internal hard disk drives, Blu-Ray optical disc drives, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drives, external mini dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs) such as USIM and / or ISIM, smart card memory such as an anti-tampering module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), other memories, or any combination thereof. The UICC can be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly known as a "SIM card". Memory 2410 can enable the UE2400 to access instructions, application programs, etc. stored in a temporary or non-temporary memory medium, offload data, or upload data. A manufactured product, such as a manufactured product that utilizes a communication system, can be embodied as Memory 2410 or tangibly embodied within Memory 2410, and Memory 2410 can be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0186] The processing circuit 2402 can be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 2412. The communication interface 2412 can include one or more communication subsystems, can include the antenna 2422, or can be communicatively coupled to the antenna 2422. The communication interface 2412 can include one or more transceivers used for communication, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or network node in an access network). Each transceiver can include a transmitter 2418 and / or a receiver 2420 suitable for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). Moreover, the transmitter 2418 and the receiver 2420 can be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., 2422), can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, can be implemented separately.

[0187] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication interface 2412 can include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for determining location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. The communication can be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0188] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide the output of data captured by the UE's sensors to a network node via a wireless connection through the UE's communication interface 2412. Data captured by the UE's sensors may be communicated to a network node via another UE through a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes when reporting the detected temperature), in response to a triggering event (e.g., an alarm is sent when humidity is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), random (e.g., to even out the load from reports from several sensors), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0189] As another example, the UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive a wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input, or a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0190] When in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, the UE can be a device for use in one or more application domains, which include, but are not limited to, urban wearable technologies, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting devices, electricity meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / humidity sensors, electric door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smartwatches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearables for tactile augmentation or perception enhancement, water sprinklers, animal or merchandise tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any kind of medical device such as a heart rate monitor or a remotely controlled surgical robot, or a device embedded therein. The UE in the form of an IoT device comprises circuitry and / or software according to the intended application of the IoT device, in addition to the other components described with respect to the UE2400 shown in FIG. 24.

[0191] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, the UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or network node. The UE may, in this case, be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in a 3GPP context. As one specific example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane, or other device capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operating status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0192] In practice, for a single use case, any number of UEs may be used together. For example, a first UE, which is a drone or integrated within a drone, may provide drone speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller that operates the drone. When the user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first and / or second UE may also include two or more of the functions described above. For example, the UE may be equipped with sensors and actuators and handle the communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0193] FIG. 25 shows a network node 2500 according to some embodiments. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (e.g., wireless access points) and base stations (e.g., radio base stations, Node B, eNB, and gNB).

[0194] A base station can be categorized based on the amount of coverage provided by the base station (or, put differently, the transmission power level of the base station), and thus may be referred to as a femto base station, pico base station, micro base station, or macro base station depending on the amount of coverage provided. The base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. The network node can also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU) that may be referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. The parts of the distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0195] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission points (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, MSR devices such as multi-standard radio (MSR) BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), operation and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operation support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or minimization of drive test (MDT).

[0196] The network node 2500 includes a processing circuit 2502, a memory 2504, a communication interface 2506, and a power supply 2508. The network node 2500 can be assembled from a plurality of physically distinct components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own respective components. In some scenarios where the network node 2500 comprises a plurality of distinct components (e.g., a BTS component and a BSC component), one or more of the distinct components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple Node Bs. In such scenarios, in some cases, each unique pair of Node B and RNC can be regarded as a single distinct network node. In some embodiments, the network node 2500 can be configured to support a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be replicated (e.g., separate memories 2504 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 2510 can be shared by different RATs). The network node 2500 may also include a plurality of sets of various shown components for different radio technologies integrated into the network node 2500, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Bluetooth radio technology. These radio technologies can be integrated into the same or different chips or sets of chips, and other components within the network node 2500.

[0197] The processing circuit 2502 can be a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, one or a combination of multiple resources, or a combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide the network node 2500 function either alone or in combination with other network node 2500 components such as the memory 2504.

[0198] In some embodiments, the processing circuit 2502 includes a system-on-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit 2502 includes a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 2512 and / or a baseband processing circuit 2514. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit 2512 and the baseband processing circuit 2514 can be on separate chips (or a set of chips), boards, or units such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 2512 and the baseband processing circuit 2514 can be on the same chip or a set of chips, board, or unit.

[0199] Memory 2504 may include, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD)), any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that can store information, data, and / or instructions used by processing circuit 2502. Memory 2504 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including one or more of a computer program, software, logic, rules, code, tables, applications, and / or other instructions (collectively shown as computer program 2504a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) that can be executed by processing circuit 2502 and utilized by network node 2500. Memory 2504 may be used to store calculations performed by processing circuit 2502 and / or data received via communication interface 2506. In some embodiments, processing circuit 2502 and memory 2504 are integrated.

[0200] The communication interface 2506 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 2506 comprises (one or more) ports / (one or more) terminals 2516 for sending and receiving data to and from a network, for example, over a wired connection. The communication interface 2506 also includes a radio front-end circuit 2518 that is coupled to the antenna 2510 or, in some embodiments, can be part of the antenna 2510. The radio front-end circuit 2518 comprises a filter 2520 and an amplifier 2522. The radio front-end circuit 2518 can be connected to the antenna 2510 and the processing circuit 2502. The radio front-end circuit 2518 can be configured to condition the signals communicated between the antenna 2510 and the processing circuit 2502. The radio front-end circuit 2518 can receive digital data to be transmitted to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 2518 can convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filter 2520 and / or the amplifier 2522. The radio signal can then be transmitted via the antenna 2510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 2510 can collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuit 2518. The digital data can be passed to the processing circuit 2502. In other embodiments, the communication interface can comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0201] In some alternative embodiments, the network node 2500 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit 2518. Instead, the processing circuit 2502 includes a radio front-end circuit and is connected to the antenna 2510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or part of the RF transceiver circuit 2512 is part of the communication interface 2506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 2506 includes one or more ports or terminals 2516, a radio front-end circuit 2518, and an RF transceiver circuit 2512 as part of a wireless unit (not shown), and the communication interface 2506 communicates with a baseband processing circuit 2514 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0202] The antenna 2510 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 2510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuit 2518 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, the antenna 2510 is separate from the network node 2500 and can be connected to the network node 2500 through an interface or port.

[0203] The antenna 2510, the communication interface 2506, and / or the processing circuit 2502 may be configured to perform any reception operations and / or some acquisition operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, the antenna 2510, the communication interface 2506, and / or the processing circuit 2502 may be configured to perform any transmission operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0204] Power supply 2508 provides power to the various components of network node 2500 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required for each respective component). The power supply 2508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, a power management circuit for supplying power to the components of network node 2500 for implementing the functions described herein. For example, network node 2500 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit of power supply 2508. As a further example, power supply 2508 may comprise a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to, or integrated in, the power circuit. The battery may provide backup power in the event of a loss of external power.

[0205] Embodiments of network node 2500 may include additional components other than those shown in FIG. 25 for providing some aspects of the functionality of a network node, including any of the functions described herein and / or any functions necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 2500 may include user interface devices for enabling input of information to network node 2500 and for enabling output of information from network node 2500. This may enable a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 2500.

[0206] FIG. 26 is a block diagram of a host 2600 that can be an embodiment of the host 2316 of FIG. 23 according to various aspects described herein. The host 2600 used herein can be various combinations of hardware and / or software, including a stand-alone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or processing resources in a server farm, or can comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software. The host 2600 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0207] The host 2600 includes a processing circuit 2602 operably coupled to an input / output interface 2606, a network interface 2608, a power supply 2610, and a memory 2612 via a bus 2604. In other embodiments, other components may be included. The characteristics of these components can be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices in previous figures, such as FIGS. 24 and 25, and thus, those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 2600.

[0208] Memory 2612 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 2614 and data 2616, and the data 2616 may include user data, for example, data generated by the UE for the host 2600, or data generated by the host 2600 for the UE. Embodiments of the host 2600 may utilize only or all of a subset of the shown components. The host application program 2614 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711) including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of the UE (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). The host application program 2614 may also provide user authentication and license checking and may periodically report health, route, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in the core network or a device at the edge of the core network. Thus, the host 2600 may select and / or direct different hosts for over-the-top services for the UE. The host application program 2614 may support various protocols such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH).

[0209] FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a virtualization environment 2700 in which functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualizing means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include virtualizing the hardware platform, memory devices, and networking resources. The virtualization used herein can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to implementations in which at least a portion of the functions are implemented as one or more virtual components. One or more virtual machines (VMs) running in one or more virtual environments 2700 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes, such as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a hardware computing device operating as a host, may implement one or more of the functions described herein as virtual components. Further, in embodiments where the virtual node does not require wireless connectivity (e.g., a core network node or a host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0210] (Alternatively, sometimes called a software instance, virtual appliance, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) Application 2702 runs in the virtualization environment 2700 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0211] Hardware 2704 includes a processing circuit, a memory that stores software and / or instructions (collectively shown as computer program 2704a, which may be in the form of a computer program product), and / or other hardware devices described herein, such as a network interface, an input / output interface, etc. The software is executed by the processing circuit to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 2706 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), provide VMs 2708a - b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as VM 2708), and / or implement any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described for some of the embodiments herein. The virtualization layer 2706 may present a virtual operating platform to the VMs 2708 that appears as networking hardware.

[0212] The VMs 2708 include virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be operated by the corresponding virtualization layer 2706. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual appliance 2702 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 2708, and the implementation may be done in different ways. The virtualization of hardware is, in some contexts, referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network device types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that may be located within data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0213] In the context of NFV, each VM 2708 can be a software implementation of a physical machine on which programs run as if they were running on a non-virtualized physical machine. Each VM 2708, whether it is dedicated hardware for that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with other VMs among the VMs, forms a separate virtual network element with that part of the hardware 2704 that executes that VM. Further, in the context of NFV, the virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions running on one or more VMs 2708 on the hardware 2704 and corresponds to the application 2702.

[0214] The hardware 2704 can be implemented in a stand-alone network node with general or specific components. The hardware 2704 can implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 2704 can be part of a larger class of hardware (such as in the case of a data center or CPE) that is managed via a management and orchestration 2710 where multiple hardware nodes cooperate and in particular oversee the life cycle management of the application 2702. In some embodiments, the hardware 2704 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers, which can be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units can communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and can be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node with wireless capabilities, such as a wireless access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided using a control system 2712 that can alternatively be used for communication between the hardware node and the radio unit.

[0215] Figure 28 shows a communication diagram of a host 2802 communicating with a UE 2806 via a network node 2804 over a partial wireless connection, according to some embodiments. Next, exemplary implementations according to various embodiments of a UE (such as UE 2312a of FIG. 23 and / or UE 2400 of FIG. 24), a network node (such as network node 2310a of FIG. 23 and / or network node 2500 of FIG. 25), and a host (such as host 2316 of FIG. 23 and / or host 2600 of FIG. 26) are described with reference to FIG. 28.

[0216] Similar to host 2600, embodiments of host 2802 include hardware such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and a memory. Host 2802 also includes software that is stored in or accessible by host 2802 and executable by the processing circuit. The software may include a host application that is operable to provide services to remote users such as UE 2806 that connects via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 2850 that extends between UE 2806 and host 2802. When providing services to a remote user, the host application may provide user data transmitted using OTT connection 2850.

[0217] Network node 2804 includes hardware that enables network node 2804 to communicate with host 2802 and UE 2806. Connection 2860 may be direct or may pass through one or more other intermediate networks such as a core network (such as core network 2306 of FIG. 23) and / or one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0218] UE2806 includes hardware and software that is stored in or accessible by UE2806 and executable by the processing circuitry of the UE. The software can include client applications, such as a web browser or an operator-specific "app" that can be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via UE2806 with the support of host 2802. At host 2802, the running host application can communicate with the running client application via OTT connection 2850 that terminates at UE2806 and host 2802. When providing services to the user, the client application of the UE can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 2850 can transfer both request data and user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate the user data that the client application of the UE provides to the host application through OTT connection 2850.

[0219] OTT connection 2850 can extend via connection 2860 between host 2802 and network node 2804 and via wireless connection 2870 between network node 2804 and UE2806 to provide a connection between host 2802 and UE2806. The connection 2860 and wireless connection 2870 through which OTT connection 2850 can be provided are abstractly depicted to show communication between host 2802 and UE2806 through network node 2804 without explicit mention of intermediate devices and the exact routing of messages through these devices.

[0220] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 2850, in step 2808, the host 2802 provides user data, which may be implemented by running a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user who interacts with the UE 2806. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with the UE 2806 that shares data with the host 2802 without explicit human interaction. In step 2810, the host 2802 initiates a transmission to convey the user data to the UE 2806. The host 2802 may initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by the UE 2806. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 2806 or by the operation of a client application running on the UE 2806. The transmission may proceed via the network node 2804 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Thus, in step 2812, the network node 2804 transmits the user data conveyed in the transmission initiated by the host 2802 to the UE 2806 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2814, the UE 2806 receives the user data conveyed in the transmission, which may be implemented by a client application running on the UE 2806 associated with the host application executed by the host 2802.

[0221] In some examples, UE 2806 executes a client application that provides user data to host 2802. The user data may be provided in response or reaction to data received from host 2802. Thus, at step 2816, UE 2806 may provide user data, which may be implemented by executing the client application. When providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via the input / output interface of UE 2806. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, at step 2818, UE 2806 initiates transmission of the user data to host 2802 via network node 2804. At step 2820, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, network node 2804 receives the user data from UE 2806 and initiates transmission of the received user data to host 2802. At step 2822, host 2802 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 2806.

[0222] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 2806 using the OTT connection 2850 where the wireless connection 2870 forms the last segment. For example, an embodiment can facilitate the UE setting CSI measurement resources for one or more L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells associated with a neighboring DU, where the UE can perform mobility measurements thereon and report the measurements to the network. These CSI reports facilitate L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility decisions by the network that enable the UE to move further within the network's coverage area. This promotes more efficient signaling, reduced processing, and reduced interruption time compared to L3 (e.g., RRC) handovers. Embodiments also maintain L1 / L2 mobility interoperability between the UE, the serving DU / CU, and neighboring DUs without ambiguity. By thus improving the operation of the UE and the RAN, embodiments increase the value of OTT services delivered to / from the UE via the RAN.

[0223] In an exemplary scenario, factory status information can be collected and analyzed by host 2802. As another example, host 2802 can process audio and video data that may be retrieved from a UE for use in creating a map. As another example, host 2802 can collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic signals). As another example, host 2802 can store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, host 2802 can store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR, or AR, that host 2802 can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to a UE. As other examples, host 2802 can be used for energy price setting, remote control of non-time-constrained electrical loads for balancing power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling figures from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0224] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve. There may further be optional network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2850 between the host computer 2802 and the UE 2806 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of the host 2802 and / or the UE 2806. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or related to other devices through which the OTT connection 2850 passes, and the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 2850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not directly change the operation of the network node 2804. Such procedures and functions are known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling by the host 2802 to facilitate measurement of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurement may be implemented in that software causes messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, to be transmitted using the OTT connection 2850 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0225] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the present disclosure. Various modifications and variations of the described embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the teachings herein. Accordingly, it should be understood that numerous systems, configurations, and procedures that embody the principles of the present disclosure and thus may be within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, but are not explicitly shown or described herein, may be devised by those skilled in the art. As should be understood by those skilled in the art, various embodiments may be used together and interchangeably with one another.

[0226] As used herein, the term unit can have its ordinary meaning in the fields of electronics, electrical devices, and / or electronic devices, and can include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solids, and / or individual devices, computer programs or instructions, etc. for performing respective tasks, procedures, calculations, outputs, and / or display functions such as those described herein.

[0227] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein can be implemented through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device can comprise several of these functional units. These functional units can be implemented via a processing circuit that can include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, and other digital hardware that can include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuit can be configured to execute program code stored in a memory that can include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more communication and / or data communication protocols, as well as instructions for performing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuit can be used to cause each functional unit to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0228] As described herein, a device and / or apparatus may be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such a chip or chipset, but this does not exclude the possibility that the functionality of the device or apparatus may be implemented as a software module, such as a computer program or a computer program product, comprising a portion of executable software code for execution on or running on a processor, instead of being hardware-implemented. Further, the functionality of the device or apparatus may be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. The device or apparatus may also be regarded as an assembly of multiple devices and / or apparatuses, whether they function in cooperation with each other or are independent of each other. Moreover, the device and apparatus may be implemented distributively throughout the system as long as the functionality of the device or apparatus is retained. Such and similar principles are considered to be known to those skilled in the art.

[0229] Further, the functionality described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices and / or network nodes. In other words, the functionality of the network nodes and wireless devices described herein is not limited to implementation by a single physical device and may actually be distributed among several physical devices.

[0230] Furthermore, some of the terms used in this disclosure, including but not limited to, for example, data and information, may be used synonymously in some cases. It should be understood that these words and / or other words that may be synonymous with each other may be used synonymously herein, but there may be cases where it is intended that such words are not used synonymously. Further, unless the knowledge of the prior art is explicitly incorporated herein by reference above, the knowledge of the prior art is not incorporated herein in its entirety by explicit reference. All publications referred to are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0231] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The terms used herein shall be construed to have a meaning that conforms to their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art, and it should be further understood that they are not to be construed in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0232] Furthermore, some of the terms used in this disclosure, including the specification and drawings, may be used synonymously in some instances (e.g., "data" and "information"). It should be understood that while these terms (and / or other terms that may be synonymous with each other) may be used synonymously herein, there may be instances where such words are not intended to be used synonymously.

[0233] The techniques and apparatuses described herein include, without limitation, the following enumerated examples.

[0234] A1. A method for a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) via a serving cell, the method comprising: receiving, via the DU from the CU, an RRCReconfiguration message comprising channel state information (CSI) resource configurations associated with each of at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 base cell mobility from the serving cell; performing CSI measurements on the candidate cells according to each CSI resource configuration; and sending, via the serving cell to the DU, one or more CSI reports based on the CSI measurements performed on the candidate cells. A method comprising the above.

[0235] The method according to embodiment A1, wherein the RRCReconfiguration message also includes settings associated with each of at least one candidate cell.

[0236] A2a. Receiving, from the DU, a lower layer signaling message instructing that the UE should change its serving cell to a first candidate cell identified in the RRCReconfiguration message; Performing an L1 / L2 mobility procedure towards the first candidate cell and communicating in the first candidate cell according to the stored settings associated with the first candidate cell The method according to embodiment A2, further comprising:

[0237] A2b. Communicating in the first candidate cell according to the stored settings includes: Monitoring the control channel of the first candidate cell in a spatial direction corresponding to a transmit configuration information (TCI) state setting included in the above settings; Performing a contention-free or contention-based random access (RA) procedure in the first candidate cell according to the random access (RA) settings included in the above settings The method according to embodiment A2a, including one or more of:

[0238] A2c. The lower layer signaling is in a protocol layer below the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer, and The lower layer signaling includes one of a MAC control element (MAC CE) or PHY downlink control information (DCI). One or more of the above are applicable to the method according to any one of embodiments A2 to A2b.

[0239] A3. The method according to any one of embodiments A1 to A2b, wherein the candidate cell is provided by one or more of the DU and one or more neighboring DUs.

[0240] The method according to embodiment A3, wherein one or more neighboring DUs are associated with the CU and / or are part of the RAN node.

[0241] A4. The RRCReconfiguration message includes one or more reporting settings associated with each CSI resource configuration, and the CSI report is sent based on the one or more reporting settings. The method according to any one of embodiments A1 to A3a.

[0242] A5. Each reporting setting includes one or more of: a setting of a physical channel used to send the CSI report, an indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported, and one or more conditions for triggering the sending of the CSI report. The method according to embodiment A4.

[0243] A6. The method according to any one of embodiments A1 to A5, further comprising sending, in response to the RRCReconfiguration message, an RRCReconfigurationComplete message from the DU to the CU.

[0244] A7. Each CSI resource configuration includes one or more of: a resource configuration identifier, an identification of one or more reference signals (RSs) to be transmitted by a candidate cell and measured by the UE, an identifier of a bandwidth part in which the identified RS will be transmitted, a type associated with the identified RS, and an indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS. The method according to any one of embodiments A1 to A6.

[0245] A7a. RRCReconfiguration message multiple sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell; a plurality of candidate cells associated with a respective single set of CSI resources; A plurality of candidate cells associated with respective sets of CSI resources. The method of embodiment A7, including a plurality of CSI resource configurations configured according to one or more of:

[0246] A7b. The method of embodiment A7 or A7a, wherein the RSs are identified by indices of beams transmitted in different spatial directions.

[0247] A8. The UE receives an RRCReconfiguration message during the UE's initial access to the serving DU; and the RRCReconfiguration message is an initial RRCReconfiguration message received after security is activated during initial access of the UE; The method of any one of embodiments A1 to A7b, wherein one or more of:

[0248] A9. The UE receives an RRCReconfiguration message when the UE is in an RRC_CONNECTED state with the RAN; and the UE receiving a radio resource control (RRC) Reconfiguration message in response to an RRC measurement report sent by the UE; The method of any one of embodiments A1 to A7b, wherein one or more of:

[0249] The method according to any one of Embodiments A1 to A9, further comprising sending, by the UE to the CU, an indication that one or more of L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility and L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility between DUs are possible.

[0250] B1. A method for a central unit (CU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a plurality of distributed units (DUs) of the RAN node, the method comprising: sending, to a second DU, a request for configuring a user equipment (UE) for L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; receiving, from the second DU, a response including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with each of the at least one candidate cell L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility provided by the second DU; sending, to the first DU for transmission to the UE via the serving cell, an RRCReconfiguration message including a CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU comprising the method.

[0251] B2. wherein the response also includes a configuration associated with each of the at least one candidate cell, and the RRCReconfiguration message also includes a configuration associated with each of the at least one candidate cell, The method according to Embodiment B1.

[0252] B3. The method according to Embodiment B1 or B2, further comprising receiving, from the first DU, an RRCReconfigurationComplete transmitted by the UE in response to the RRCReconfiguration message.

[0253] Method according to any one of embodiments B1 to B3, wherein a second DU is associated with the CU and / or is part of a RAN node.

[0254] B4a. The second DU is a neighboring DU that does not provide the serving cell of the UE, The request for configuring the UE is a UE context setup request message or is included in the UE context setup request message, The above response is a UE context setup response message or is included in the UE context setup response message, Method according to embodiment B4.

[0255] B4b. The second DU is a first DU that provides the serving cell of the UE, The request for configuring the UE is a UE context modification request message or is included in the UE context modification request message, The above response is a UE context modification response message or is included in the UE context modification response message, Method according to embodiment B4.

[0256] B4c. Method according to any one of embodiments B4 to B4b, wherein the RRCReconfiguration message is sent to the first DU in the DL RRC message transfer message.

[0257] B5. Further comprising receiving, from a first DU, a message including a radio resource control (RRC) measurement report sent by a UE, wherein the request for configuring the UE for L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility is sent in response to the message including the RRC measurement report, method according to any one of embodiments B1 to B4c.

[0258] The method according to embodiment B5, wherein the RRC measurement report includes one or more UE measurements of at least one candidate cell provided by a second DU.

[0259] B5b. wherein the at least one candidate cell includes a plurality of candidate cells, the method further comprising selecting a plurality of candidate cells based on UE measurements, the request sent to the second DU includes identifiers of each of the plurality of candidate cells, The method according to embodiment B5a.

[0260] B6. Each CSI resource configuration a resource configuration identifier, the identification of one or more reference signals (RSs) to be transmitted by a candidate cell and measured by a UE, the identifier of the bandwidth part in which the identified RS is to be transmitted, the type associated with the identified RS, and an indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS The method according to any one of embodiments B1 to B5b, comprising one or more of the following.

[0261] B6a. The RRCReconfiguration message a plurality of sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell, a plurality of candidate cells associated with each single set of CSI resources, a plurality of candidate cells associated with each plurality of sets of CSI resources The method according to embodiment B6, comprising a plurality of CSI resource configurations configured according to one or more of the following.

[0262] B7. The RRCReconfiguration message includes one or more reporting configurations associated with each CSI resource configuration for a candidate cell, each reporting configuration The configuration of the physical channel used to send the CSI report, and the indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported, and one or more conditions for triggering the sending of the CSI report including one or more of The method according to any one of Embodiments B1 to B6a.

[0263] B7a. The method according to Embodiment B7, wherein each reporting configuration identifies the physical channel to be used to send the CSI report via the serving cell.

[0264] B7b. The method according to Embodiment B7 or B7a, further comprising receiving, from a first DU, a message including a configuration for a cell group including the serving cell of the UE.

[0265] B7c. The method according to Embodiment B7b, wherein one or more reporting configurations are received in a message from the first DU, separated from the configuration for the cell group.

[0266] B7c. The method according to Embodiment B7 or B7a, further comprising generating one or more reporting configurations, wherein one or more configurations are separated from the configuration for the cell group and included in an RRCReconfiguration message.

[0267] B8. The method further comprises receiving, from the UE, an indication that the UE is capable of one or more of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility and L1 / L2 inter-DU inter-cell mobility, and sending a request for configuring the UE based on the indication received from the UE. The method according to any one of Embodiments B1 to B7c.

[0268] A method for a first distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a central unit (CU) of the RAN node, the method comprising: Receiving, from the CU, a request for setting a reporting configuration for a serving cell provided by the first DU, in relation to setting L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility for a user equipment (UE); Sending, to the CU, a response including a reporting configuration identifying a physical channel of the serving cell to be used for sending channel state information (CSI) reports related to L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells; The method comprising.

[0269] C2. The reporting configuration includes A setting of a physical channel to be used for sending CSI reports, An indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported, One or more conditions for triggering the sending of CSI reports The method according to embodiment C1, further including one or more of the above.

[0270] C3. The method according to embodiment C1 or C2, wherein the response further includes a CSI resource configuration associated with each of at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility provided by the first DU.

[0271] C4. Each CSI resource configuration includes A resource configuration identifier, An identification of one or more reference signals (RSs) to be transmitted by the candidate cell and measured by the UE, An identifier of a bandwidth part in which the identified RS is to be transmitted, A type associated with the identified RS, An indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS The method according to embodiment C3, further including one or more of the above.

[0272] C5. The method according to embodiment C3 or C4, wherein the response includes settings for a cell group including the serving cell of the UE, and one of the following applies: the reporting settings are included within the settings for the cell group, or the reporting settings are separated from the settings for the cell group and included in the response.

[0273] C6. Receiving, from the CU, an RRCReconfiguration message for the UE, the RRCReconfiguration message including reporting settings and CSI resource settings associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility Sending the RRCReconfiguration message to the UE via the serving cell The method according to any one of embodiments C1 to C5, further comprising:

[0274] C7. Receiving, from the UE, an RRCReconfigurationComplete message in response to the RRCReconfiguration message Sending the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the CU The method according to embodiment C6, further comprising:

[0275] C8. The RRCReconfiguration message is received from the CU in a DL RRC message transfer message The RRCReconfigurationComplete message is sent to the CU in a UL RRC message transfer message The method according to embodiment C7.

[0276] D1. A method for a second distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node, coupled to a central unit (CU) of the RAN node, the method comprising: Receiving, from a CU, a request for configuring a user equipment (UE) for L1 / L2 base cell - to - base cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU to at least one candidate cell provided by a second DU Sending, to the CU, a response including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with each of the at least one candidate cell L1 / L2 base cell mobilities provided by the second DU A method comprising the above

[0277] D2. The method according to embodiment D1, wherein the response further includes a configuration associated with each of the at least one candidate cells

[0278] D3. The method according to embodiment D2, further comprising performing an L1 / L2 mobility procedure with the UE in a first candidate cell among the candidate cells and communicating with the UE in the first candidate cell according to the configuration associated with the first candidate cell

[0279] D4. Communicating with the UE in the first candidate cell according to the above configuration includes Transmitting a control channel of the first candidate cell in a spatial direction corresponding to a transmission configuration information (TCI) state configuration included in the above configuration; and Performing a contention - free or contention - based random access (RA) procedure with the UE in the first candidate cell according to a random access (RA) configuration included in the above configuration The method according to embodiment D3, including one or more of the above

[0280] D5. The method according to any one of embodiments D1 to D4, wherein the first DU and the second DU are associated with the CU and / or are part of a radio access network (RAN) node

[0281] D5a. The second DU is a neighboring DU that does not provide a serving cell for the UE The request for configuring the UE is the UE context setup request message or is included in the UE context setup request message, the above response is the UE context setup response message or is included in the UE context setup response message, the method according to Embodiment D5.

[0282] D5b. The second DU is the first DU that provides the serving cell of the UE, the request for configuring the UE is the UE context modification request message or is included in the UE context modification request message, the above response is the UE context modification response message or is included in the UE context modification response message, the method according to Embodiment D5.

[0283] D6. Each CSI resource configuration includes a resource configuration identifier, the identification of one or more reference signals (RSs) to be transmitted by the candidate cell and measured by the UE, the identifier of the bandwidth part in which the identified RSs will be transmitted, the type associated with the identified RSs, and the indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RSs and is the method according to any one of Embodiments D1 to D53b including one or more of the above.

[0284] D7. The above response includes a plurality of sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell, a plurality of candidate cells associated with each single set of CSI resources, a plurality of candidate cells associated with each plurality of sets of CSI resources and is the method according to Embodiment D6 including a plurality of CSI resource configurations configured according to one or more of the above.

[0285] D8. The method according to any one of embodiments D1 to D7, further comprising transmitting a reference signal (RS) in each of at least one candidate cell according to each CSI resource setting.

[0286] D9. The method according to embodiment D8, further comprising receiving, from the CU, an indication that the CSI resource setting has been applied by the UE, wherein transmitting the RS is in response to the indication.

[0287] E1. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) via a serving cell, the UE comprising: a communication interface circuit configured to communicate with the CU and at least the DU; a processing circuit operably coupled to the communication interface circuit, the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of embodiments A1 to A10; and a user equipment (UE).

[0288] E2. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) via a serving cell, the UE being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of embodiments A1 to A10.

[0289] E3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of embodiments A1 to A10 when executed by a processing circuit of a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) via a serving cell.

[0290] E4. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that configure a user equipment (UE) to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of Embodiments A1 to A10 when executed by a processing circuit of the UE configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) via a serving cell.

[0291] F1. A central unit (CU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a plurality of distributed units (DUs) of the RAN node, the CU comprising: a communication interface circuit configured to communicate with the DUs and communicate with one or more UEs via cells provided by the DUs; and a processing circuit operably coupled to the communication interface circuit, whereby the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of Embodiments B1 to B8. A central unit (CU).

[0292] F2. A central unit (CU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a plurality of distributed units (DUs) of the RAN node, the CU being configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of Embodiments B1 to B8.

[0293] F3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that configure a central unit (CU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a plurality of distributed units (DUs) of the RAN node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of Embodiments B1 to B8 when executed by a processing circuit of the CU.

[0294] A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit of a central unit (CU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a plurality of distributed units (DUs) of the RAN node, configure the CU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of Embodiments B1 to B8.

[0295] G1. A first distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a centralized unit (CU) of the RAN node, wherein the first DU communicates with the CU and is configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) via one or more cells provided by the first DU, and a communication interface circuit a processing circuit operably coupled to the communication interface circuit, whereby the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of Embodiments C1 to C8 A first distributed unit (DU) comprising:

[0296] G2. A first distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a centralized unit (CU) of the RAN node, wherein the first DU is configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of Embodiments C1 to C8.

[0297] G3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit of a first distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a centralized unit (CU) of the RAN node, configure the first DU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of Embodiments C1 to C8.

[0298] A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions for configuring a first distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node to perform operations corresponding to any one of the methods according to any one of Embodiments C1 to C8 when executed by a processing circuit of the first DU coupled to a central unit (CU) of the RAN node.

[0299] H1. A second distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a central unit (CU) of the RAN node, the second DU comprising: a communication interface circuit configured to communicate with the CU and communicate with a user equipment (UE) via one or more cells provided by the second DU; and a processing circuit operably coupled to the communication interface circuit, whereby the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit are configured to perform operations corresponding to any one of the methods according to any one of Embodiments D1 to D9. A second distributed unit (DU).

[0300] H2. A second distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node coupled to a central unit (CU) of the RAN node, the second DU being configured to perform operations corresponding to any one of the methods according to any one of Embodiments D1 to D9.

[0301] H3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for configuring a second distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node to perform operations corresponding to any one of the methods according to any one of Embodiments D1 to D9 when executed by a processing circuit of the second DU coupled to a central unit (CU) of the RAN node.

[0302] A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions for configuring a second distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods according to any one of Embodiments D1 to D9 when executed by a processing circuit of the second DU coupled to a central unit (CU) of the RAN node.

Claims

1. A method for a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) via a serving cell, the method comprising: Receiving (1920), via the DU, an RRC Reconfiguration message from the CU, the RRC Reconfiguration message including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 based cell mobility, wherein the at least one candidate cell is provided by one or more neighboring DUs, receiving the RRC Reconfiguration message (1920); Performing (1940) CSI measurements on the at least one candidate cell according to each of the CSI resource configurations; Sending (1950), via the serving cell, to the DU one or more CSI reports based on the CSI measurements performed on the at least one candidate cell; A method comprising the above.

2. The RRC Reconfiguration message further includes each configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell, The method comprising: Receiving (1960), from the DU, a lower layer signaling message instructing that the UE should change its serving cell to a first candidate cell identified in the RRC Reconfiguration message; Performing an L1 / L2 mobility procedure towards the first candidate cell and communicating in the first candidate cell according to the configuration associated with the first candidate cell (1970); Further comprising the above, The method according to claim 1.

3. Communicating (1970) in the first candidate cell according to the stored configuration comprises: Monitoring (1971) a control channel of the first candidate cell in a spatial direction corresponding to a transmit configuration information (TCI) state configuration included in the configuration; Performing (1972), in the first candidate cell, a contention-free or contention-based RA procedure according to a random access (RA) configuration included in the configuration; The method according to claim 2, comprising one or more of the above.

4. the lower layer signaling message is in a protocol layer below the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer, and the lower layer signaling includes one of media access control (MAC) control element (CE) or physical layer downlink control information (DCI), wherein one or more of the above are applied, the method according to claim 2 or 3.

5. the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the one or more neighboring DUs are associated with the CU and / or are part of the RAN node.

6. the RRCReconfiguration message includes one or more reporting settings associated with each of the CSI resource settings, the CSI report is sent based on the one or more reporting settings, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. each reporting setting is the setting of the physical channel used to send the CSI report, the indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported, one or more conditions for triggering the sending of the CSI report wherein one or more of the above are included, the method according to claim 6.

8. the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message in response to the RRCReconfiguration message from the DU to the CU (1930).

9. each CSI resource setting includes a resource setting identifier, the identification of one or more reference signals (RS) to be transmitted by the candidate cell and measured by the UE, the identifier of the bandwidth part in which the identified RS will be transmitted, the type associated with the identified RS, the indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS wherein one or more of the above are included, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. the RRCReconfiguration message is a plurality of sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell, a plurality of candidate cells associated with each single set of CSI resources, a plurality of candidate cells associated with each plurality of sets of CSI resources wherein the method according to claim 9 includes a plurality of CSI resource settings configured according to one or more of the above.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the RS is identified by an index of a beam transmitted in different spatial directions.

12. A first set of conditions or a second set of conditions is applied to the RRC Reconfiguration message, The first set of conditions is the RRC Reconfiguration message is received during the initial access of the UE to the serving DU, and the RRC Reconfiguration message is an initial RRC Reconfiguration message received after security is activated during the initial access of the UE, including one or more of The second set of conditions is the RRC Reconfiguration message is received when the UE is in the RRC_CONNECTED state with the RAN, and the RRC Reconfiguration message is received in response to a radio resource control (RRC) measurement report sent by the UE, including one or more of The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further including sending (1910) an indication to the CU that the UE is capable of one or more of L1 / L2 inter-base station mobility and L1 / L2 inter-DU inter-base station mobility.

14. A method for a central unit (CU) of a radio access network (RAN) node, the method comprising: sending (2030) a request to a second distributed unit (DU) of the RAN node to configure a user equipment (UE) for L1 / L2 inter-base station mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; receiving (2040) from the second DU a response including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; and sending (2070) to the first DU for transmission to the UE via the serving cell an RRC Reconfiguration message including the CSI resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU A method comprising

15. wherein the response also includes each setting associated with the at least one candidate cell, and the RRC Reconfiguration message also includes each setting associated with the at least one candidate cell, The method according to claim 14.

16. wherein the second DU is a neighboring DU that does not provide the serving cell of the UE, the request for configuring the UE is a UE context setup request message or is included in the UE context setup request message, and the response is a UE context setup response message or is included in the UE context setup response message, The method according to claim 14 or 15.

17. further comprising receiving (2080) at the first DU, in a UL RRC message transfer message, an RRCC Reconfiguration Complete transmitted by the UE in response to the RRC Reconfiguration message, wherein the RRC Reconfiguration message is sent to the first DU in a DL RRC message transfer message, The method according to claim 16.

18. further comprising receiving (2020) at the first DU a message including a radio resource control (RRC) measurement report sent by the UE, wherein the request for configuring the UE for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility is sent in response to the message including the RRC measurement report, The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the RRC measurement report includes one or more UE measurements of the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU.

20. wherein the at least one candidate cell includes a plurality of candidate cells, the method further comprising selecting (2025) the plurality of candidate cells based on the UE measurements, and the request sent to the second DU includes identifiers of each of the plurality of candidate cells, The method according to claim 19.

21. Each CSI resource configuration includes a resource configuration identifier and the identification of one or more reference signals (RSs) to be transmitted by the candidate cell and measured by the UE, An identifier of a bandwidth part to which the identified RS is to be transmitted, A type associated with the identified RS, An indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, comprising one or more of the above. **Claim 22** The RRC Reconfiguration message, A plurality of sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell, A plurality of candidate cells associated with each single set of CSI resources, A plurality of candidate cells associated with each plurality of sets of CSI resources The method according to claim 21, comprising a plurality of CSI resource configurations configured according to one or more of the above. **Claim 23** The RRC Reconfiguration message includes one or more reporting configurations associated with each of the CSI resource configurations for the candidate cell, Each reporting configuration, A configuration of a physical channel used to send a CSI report, An indication of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported, One or more conditions that trigger sending a CSI report including one or more of the above, The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22. **Claim 24** Further comprising receiving (2050) from the first DU a message including settings for a cell group including the serving cell of the UE, wherein the one or more reporting configurations are separated from the settings for the cell group and received in the message, the method according to claim 23. **Claim 25** Further comprising generating (2060) the one or more reporting configurations, wherein the one or more reporting configurations are separated from the settings for a cell group including the serving cell of the UE and included in the RRC Reconfiguration message, the method according to claim 23. **Claim 26** The method further comprises receiving (2010) from the UE an indication that the UE is capable of one or more of L1 / L2 base cell mobility and L1 / L2 base cell mobility between DUs, Sending (2030) the request for configuring the UE is based on the indication received from the UE, The method according to any one of claims 14 to 25. **Claim 27** A method for a first distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node, the method comprising: Receiving, from a central unit (CU) of the RAN node, a request for setting a reporting setting for a serving cell provided by the first DU to a user equipment (UE) in connection with setting L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility for the UE (2110); Sending a response to the CU, the response including a reporting setting for identifying a physical channel of the serving cell to be used for sending channel state information (CSI) reports related to candidate cells for L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility (2120); A method comprising the above. **Claim 28** The reporting setting includes: Settings of physical channels to be used for sending CSI reports; Indications of one or more quantities or metrics to be reported; One or more conditions for triggering the sending of CSI reports. The method according to claim 27, further including one or more of the above. **Claim 29** The response further includes a CSI resource setting associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility, the at least one candidate cell being provided by the first DU. The method according to claim 27 or 28. **Claim 30** Each CSI resource setting includes: A resource setting identifier; Identifications of one or more reference signals (RSs) to be transmitted by the candidate cell and measured by the UE; An identifier of a bandwidth part in which the identified RS is to be transmitted; A type associated with the identified RS; An indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS. The method according to claim 29, further including one or more of the above. **Claim 31** The response includes settings for a cell group including the serving cell of the UE; The reporting setting is included within the settings for the cell group; or The reporting setting is separated from the settings for the cell group and included in the response. The method according to claim 29 or 30, wherein one of the above is applicable. **Claim 32** Receiving, from the CU, an RRC Reconfiguration message for the UE, including the reporting configuration and the CSI resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell for mobility between L1 / L2 base cells (2130), wherein the at least one candidate cell is provided by one or more neighboring DUs, receiving the RRC Reconfiguration message (2130); Sending the RRC Reconfiguration message to the UE via the serving cell (2140); The method according to any one of claims 27 to 31, further comprising.

33. The RRC Reconfiguration message is received from the CU in a DL RRC message transfer message, and the method Receiving, from the UE, an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message in response to the RRC Reconfiguration message (2150); Sending the RRC Reconfiguration Complete message to the CU in a UL RRC message transfer message (2160); The method according to claim 32, further comprising.

34. A method for a second distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node, the method comprising: Receiving, from a central unit (CU) of the RAN node, a request for configuring a user equipment (UE) for L1 / L2 base cell-to-base cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU (2210); Sending, to the CU, a response including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 base cell-to-base cell mobility (2220); A method comprising.

35. The response also includes settings associated with the at least one candidate cell, The method further comprises performing an L1 / L2 mobility procedure with the UE in a first candidate cell among the candidate cells and communicating with the UE in the first candidate cell according to the settings associated with the first candidate cell (2250). The method according to claim 34.

36. communicating with the UE in the first candidate cell according to the setting (2250) comprises transmitting a control channel of the first candidate cell in a spatial direction corresponding to a transmission setting information (TCI) state setting included in the setting (2251); performing a contention-free or contention-based RA procedure with the UE in the first candidate cell according to a random access (RA) setting included in the setting (2252); The method according to claim 35, comprising one or more of the above. **Claim 37** wherein the second DU is a neighboring DU that does not provide the serving cell of the UE; wherein the request for configuring the UE is a UE context setup request message or is included in the UE context setup request message; wherein the response is a UE context setup response message or is included in the UE context setup response message; The method according to any one of claims 34 to 36. **Claim 38** each CSI resource setting comprises a resource setting identifier; identification of one or more reference signals (RSs) to be transmitted by the candidate cell and measured by the UE; an identifier of a bandwidth part in which the identified RS is to be transmitted; a type associated with the identified RS; an indication of the candidate cell associated with the identified RS; The method according to any one of claims 34 to 37, comprising one or more of the above. **Claim 39** the response comprises a plurality of sets of CSI resources associated with a single candidate cell; a plurality of candidate cells associated with each single set of CSI resources; a plurality of candidate cells associated with each plurality of sets of CSI resources; The method according to claim 38, comprising a plurality of CSI resource settings configured according to one or more of the above. **Claim 40** The method according to any one of claims 34 to 39, further comprising transmitting a reference signal (RS) in the at least one candidate cell according to each of the CSI resource settings (2240). **Claim 41** The method according to claim 40, further comprising receiving, from the CU, an indication that the CSI resource setting has been applied by the UE (2230), wherein transmitting the RS (2240) is in response to the indication. **Claim 42** A user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804) comprising a central unit (CU) (110, 720) and a distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) via a serving cell, wherein the UE a communication interface circuit (2412) configured to communicate with the CU and at least the DU; a processing circuit (2402) operatively coupled to the communication interface circuit comprising, wherein the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit receiving, via the DU, an RRCReconfiguration message from the CU including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility, wherein the at least one candidate cell is provided by one or more neighboring DUs, the RRCReconfiguration message; performing CSI measurements on the at least one candidate cell according to each of the CSI resource configurations; sending, via the serving cell to the DU, one or more CSI reports based on the CSI measurements performed on the at least one candidate cell a user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) further configured to perform.

43. The UE according to claim 42, wherein the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 2 to 13.

44. A user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804) comprising a central unit (CU) (110, 720) and a distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) via a serving cell, wherein the UE Receiving, via the DU, from the CU, an RRC Reconfiguration message including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2 base cell mobility, wherein the at least one candidate cell is provided by one or more neighboring DUs, and receiving the RRC Reconfiguration message; Performing CSI measurements on the at least one candidate cell according to each of the CSI resource configurations; Sending, via the serving cell, to the DU, one or more CSI reports based on the CSI measurements performed on the at least one candidate cell A user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) further configured to perform the above.

45. The UE according to claim 44, further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 2 to 13.

46. A non-transitory computer-readable medium (2410) storing computer-executable instructions for configuring the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 1 to 13 when executed by a processing circuit (2402) of a user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804) comprising a central unit (CU) (110, 720) and a distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) via a serving cell.

47. A computer program product (2414) comprising computer-executable instructions for configuring the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 1 to 13 when executed by a processing circuit (2402) of a user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804) comprising a central unit (CU) (110, 720) and a distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) via a serving cell.

48. A central unit (CU) (110, 720) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804), wherein the CU is configured to communicate with a plurality of distributed units (DUs) (120, 130, 730, 740, 750) of the RAN node and communicate with one or more user equipment (UEs) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) via cells provided by the DUs through a communication interface circuit (2506, 2704); a processing circuit (2502, 2704) operably coupled to the communication interface circuit and thereby, the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit send a request to a second DU of the RAN node to configure a UE for L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; receive, from the second DU, a response including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; send, to the first DU for transmission to the UE via the serving cell, an RRC Reconfiguration message including the CSI resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU configured central unit (CU) (110, 720). **Claim 49** The CU according to claim 48, wherein the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 15 to 26. **Claim 50** A central unit (CU) (110, 720) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804), wherein the CU is configured to send a request to a second distributed unit (DU) (130, 740) of the RAN node to configure a user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) for L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU (120, 730) of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; Receiving, from the second DU, a response including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; Sending, to the first DU for transmission to the UE via the serving cell, an RRC Reconfiguration message including the CSI resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU A central unit (CU) (110, 720) configured to perform. **Claim 51** The CU according to claim 50, further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 15 to 26. **Claim 52** A non-transitory computer-readable medium (2504, 2704) storing computer-executable instructions for configuring the CU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 14 to 26 when executed by a processing circuit (2502, 2704) of a central unit (CU) (110, 720) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804). **Claim 53** A computer program product (2504a, 2704a) comprising computer-executable instructions for configuring the CU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 14 to 26 when executed by a processing circuit (2502, 2704) of a central unit (CU) (110, 720) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804). **Claim 54** A first distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804), wherein the first DU communicates with a central unit (CU) (110, 720) of the RAN node and is configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) via one or more cells provided by the first DU, a communication interface circuit (2506, 2704); a processing circuit (2502, 2704) operably coupled to the communication interface circuit; and thereby, the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit In connection with setting L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility for a UE from the CU, receiving, at the UE, a request for setting a reporting configuration for a serving cell provided by the first DU; sending, to the CU, a response including a reporting configuration identifying a physical channel of the serving cell to be used for sending channel state information (CSI) reports related to candidate cells for L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility; A first distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) configured to perform the above. **Claim 55** The first DU according to claim 54, wherein the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 28 to 33. **Claim 56** A first distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804), wherein the first DU: In connection with setting L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility for a user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) from a central unit (CU) (110, 720) of the RAN node, receiving, at the UE, a request for setting a reporting configuration for a serving cell provided by the first DU; sending, to the CU, a response including a reporting configuration identifying a physical channel of the serving cell to be used for sending channel state information (CSI) reports related to candidate cells for L1 / L2 inter-base-cell mobility; A first distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) configured to perform the above. **Claim 57** The first DU according to claim 56, wherein the first DU is further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 28 to 33. **Claim 58** A non-transitory computer-readable medium (2504, 2704) storing computer-executable instructions for configuring the first DU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 27 to 33 when executed by a processing circuit (2502, 2704) of the first distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804). **Claim 59** A computer program product (2504a, 2704a) comprising computer-executable instructions for configuring the first distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods according to any one of claims 27 to 33 when executed by a processing circuit (2502, 2704) of the first distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804).

60. A second distributed unit (DU) (130, 740) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804), wherein the second DU A communication interface circuit (2506, 2704) configured to communicate with a central unit (CU) (110, 720) of the RAN node and communicate with a user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) via one or more cells provided by the second DU A processing circuit (2502, 2704) operably coupled to the communication interface circuit Comprising, whereby the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit Receiving, from the CU, a request for configuring a UE for L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first distributed unit (DU) (120, 730) of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU Sending a response to the CU including a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration associated with the at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility A second distributed unit (DU) (130, 740) configured to perform the above operations

61. The second DU according to claim 60, wherein the processing circuit and the communication interface circuit are further configured to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods according to any one of claims 35 to 41

62. A second distributed unit (DU) (130, 740) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804), wherein the second DU Receiving, from a central unit (CU) (110, 720) of the RAN node, a request for setting a user equipment (UE) (210, 710, 2312, 2400, 2806) for L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU (120, 730) of the RAN node to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; Sending, to the CU, a response including a channel state information (CSI) resource setting associated with the at least one candidate cell for L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility; A second distributed unit (DU) (130, 740) configured to perform the above.

63. The second DU according to claim 62, further configured to perform an operation corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 35 to 41.

64. A non-transitory computer-readable medium (2504, 2704) storing computer-executable instructions for setting the second DU to perform an operation corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 34 to 41 when executed by a processing circuit (2502, 2704) of the second distributed unit (DU) (130, 740) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804).

65. A computer program product (2504a, 2704a) comprising computer-executable instructions for setting the second DU to perform an operation corresponding to any of the methods according to any one of claims 34 to 41 when executed by a processing circuit (2502, 2704) of the second distributed unit (DU) (130, 740) of a radio access network (RAN) node (100, 2310, 2500, 2804).

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