Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) based positioning method

Abstract

In one aspect, a connected intelligent edge (CIE) server receives, from a first user equipment (UE), first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE (1210), receives from the first UE identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE (1220), and transmits, to the first UE, a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs (1230).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] 1. Field of Disclosure Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

[0002] 2. Description of Related Technology Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation (1G) analog wireless telephone service, second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-enabled wireless service, and fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Many different types of wireless communication systems are currently in use, including cellular systems and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS) and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc.

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, called New Radio (NR), enables higher data rates, more connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, as well as the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS processes and technology, and dense deployments for 5G, enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects disclosed herein. As such, the following summary is not intended to be an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope of any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present certain concepts of one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0005] In one aspect, a method of positioning performed by a connected intelligent edge (CIE) server includes receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE; receiving, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE; and transmitting, to the first UE, a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being of a same type as the one or more first DL RSs.

[0006] In one aspect, a method of positioning performed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server includes receiving, from a first user equipment (UE) subscribed to a first network operator, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission-reception points (TRPs) of the first network operator; and transmitting, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE) includes transmitting, to a first server, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of a first network operator; and transmitting, to a second server, second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, wherein the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of positioning performed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server includes receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), a first set of positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs); receiving, from a second UE, a second set of positioning measurements of the one or more DL RSs transmitted by the one or more TRPs; determining differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements; and determining a network synchronization error associated with the at least one or more TRPs based on the differential positioning measurements.

[0009] In one aspect, a connected intelligent edge (CIE) server includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, from a first user equipment (UE), via the at least one transceiver, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE; receive, from the first UE, via the at least one transceiver, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE; and transmit, to the first UE, via the at least one transceiver, a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being of a same type as the one or more first DL RSs.

[0010] In one aspect, a connected intelligent edge (CIE) server includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, from a first user equipment (UE) subscribed to a first network operator, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of the first network operator; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator.

[0011] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a first server, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of a first network operator; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a second server, second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, wherein the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator.

[0012] In one aspect, a connected intelligent edge (CIE) server includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, from a first user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver, a first set of positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs); receive, from a second UE via the at least one transceiver, a second set of positioning measurements of the one or more DL RSs transmitted by the one or more TRPs; determine differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements; and determine a network synchronization error associated with the at least one TRP based on the differential positioning measurements.

[0013] In one aspect, a connected intelligent edge (CIE) server includes means for receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE; means for receiving, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE; and means for transmitting, to the first UE, a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs.

[0014] In one aspect, a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server includes means for receiving, from a first user equipment (UE) subscribed to a first network operator, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of the first network operator, and means for transmitting, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator.

[0015] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for transmitting, to a first server, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of a first network operator, and means for transmitting, to a second server, second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, wherein the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator.

[0016] In one aspect, a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server includes means for receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), a first set of positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs); means for receiving, from a second UE, a second set of positioning measurements of one or more DL RSs transmitted by the one or more TRPs; means for determining differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements; and means for determining a network synchronization error associated with the at least one or more TRPs based on the differential positioning measurements.

[0017] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, causes the CIE server to receive, from a first user equipment (UE), first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE, receive from the first UE identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, and transmit, from the first UE, a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs.

[0018] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, causes the CIE server to receive, from a first user equipment (UE) subscribed to a first network operator, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of the first network operator, and to transmit, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator.

[0019] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to transmit, to a first server, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of a first network operator and to transmit, to a second server, second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, wherein the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator.

[0020] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, causes the CIE server to receive, from a first user equipment (UE), a first set of positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs), receive, from a second UE, a second set of positioning measurements of the one or more DL RSs transmitted by the one or more TRPs, determine differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements, and determine a network synchronization error associated with the at least one or more TRPs based on the differential positioning measurements.

[0021] Other objects and advantages associated with the embodiments disclosed herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

[0022] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided only to illustrate, not limit, the aspects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2C] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE) and configured to support communication as taught herein; [Figure 3B]1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a base station and configured to support communication as taught herein; [Figure 3C] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a network entity and configured to support communications as taught herein; [Figure 4] 1 illustrates examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 1 illustrates different Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) positioning techniques according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates an exemplary tracking reference signal (TRS) configuration, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 is a graph of an example channel energy response (CER) estimate according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates an exemplary CIE-based positioning procedure using a TRS, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 illustrates an exemplary CIE-based multi-operator positioning procedure, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates an example multi-UE joint location estimation procedure, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 1 illustrates an exemplary method for positioning, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 1 illustrates an exemplary method for positioning, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 1 illustrates an exemplary method for positioning, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 1 illustrates an exemplary method for positioning, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings, directed to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0025] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0026] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, desired design, corresponding technology, etc.

[0027] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. In addition, the sequence(s) of actions described herein may be considered to be embodied entirely in any form of non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or instruct the associated processor(s) of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in several different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, a form corresponding to any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described actions.

[0028] The terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station,” as used herein, are not intended to be specific to or limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer location device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at a given time) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE can be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0029] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs with which it communicates with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide only edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link over which a UE can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station can send signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) channel or a forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0030] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmission / reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the base station's cell (or several cell sectors). When the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, non-co-located physical TRPs may be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and neighboring base stations whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Because a TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0031] In some implementations that support UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may transmit reference signals to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., if it transmits signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., if it receives and measures signals from the UE).

[0032] An "RF signal" includes electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that propagate information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, the receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal transmitted over different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" when it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0033] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs if the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs if the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0034] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5G core, 5GC)) through backhaul links 122, and may interface through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server(s) 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server(s) 172 may be integrated with the base station 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 through the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150, described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between the UE 104 and the location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170), or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intervening nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagrams for clarity.

[0035] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: forwarding user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, non-access stratum (NAS) message distribution, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and alert message delivery. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0036] The base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base stations 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resources referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) to distinguish between cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and its supporting base station, depending on the context. Additionally, because a TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0037] The geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover regions), and some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be significantly overlapped by larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that significantly overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which may serve closed groups known as closed subscriber groups (CSGs).

[0038] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also called reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102, and / or downlink (DL) (also called forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0039] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 communicating with a WLAN station (STA) 152 over a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine whether a channel is available.

[0040] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. A small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum may extend coverage to and / or increase the capacity of an access network. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MultiFire.

[0041] The wireless communication system 100 may further include an mmW base station 180 that may operate at millimeter wave (mmW) and / or sub-mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz and has wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 10 millimeters. Radio waves within this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Sub-mmW may extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band ranges from 3 GHz to 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using the mmW / sub-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or quasi-mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting various aspects disclosed herein.

[0042] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and emits a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster and more powerful RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (also called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates beams of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are supplied to the individual antennas with the appropriate phase relationship so that radio waves from the separate antennas are combined to cancel and suppress radiation in undesired directions while increasing radiation in desired directions.

[0043] A transmit beam may be quasi-colocated, meaning that the transmit beam appears to a receiver (e.g., a UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antenna is physically colocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-colocation (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters for a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0044] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a particular direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is highest compared to the beam gains in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), etc.) of RF signals received from that direction.

[0045] The transmit beam and the receive beam may be spatially related. A spatial relationship means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal may be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0046] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if a base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE forms a downlink beam, it is a receive beam to receive a downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if a base station forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0047] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified using the frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is above 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as the “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and papers. Similar nomenclature issues may arise with respect to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and papers, even though it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz to 300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

[0048] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified the operating band for these mid-band frequencies as the frequency range designated FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). Frequency bands included within FR3 may inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, thus effectively extending the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as the frequency ranges designated FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands is included within the EHF band.

[0049] With the above aspects in mind, it should be understood that unless otherwise specified, terms such as "sub-6 GHz," as used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that may be below 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, it should be understood that terms such as "mmWave," as used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within the ranges of FR2, FR4, FR4-a, or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0050] In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and on the cell where the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common control channels and UE-specific control channels and may (but is not always) be a carrier among licensed frequencies. The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier among unlicensed frequencies. Since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific, the secondary carrier shall contain only the necessary signaling information and signals; for example, UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network may change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This may be done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier over which several base stations are communicating, terms such as "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" may be used interchangeably.

[0051] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz carriers aggregated in a multi-carrier system would theoretically provide a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0052] Wireless communications system 100 may further include UE 164, which may communicate with macrocell base station 102 via communications link 120 and / or with mmW base station 180 via mmW communications link 184. For example, macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for UE 164, and mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for UE 164.

[0053] In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 may be capable of sidelink communication. Sidelink-capable UEs (SL-UEs) can communicate with the base station 102 via a communication link 120 that uses the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., the UE 164, the UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 160 that uses the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). Wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that enables direct communication between two or more UEs without the communication having to go through a base station. Sidelink communications may be unicast or multicast and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) medium sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102 or may in some cases be unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, a group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each SL-UE transmits to all other SL-UEs in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between SL-UEs without the involvement of the base station 102.

[0054] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate over a target wireless communications medium, which may be shared with other vehicular and / or infrastructure access points, as well as other wireless communications between other RATs. The “medium” may consist of one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communications resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. In one aspect, the target medium may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communications systems (e.g., by government agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems, particularly those employing small cell access points, have recently extended operation to unlicensed frequency bands, such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band, used by Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies, most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as “Wi-Fi.” Exemplary systems of this type include CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and various variations thereof.

[0055] 1 illustrates only two of the UEs as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), it should be noted that any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. Additionally, while only UE 182 has been described as being beamforming capable, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE 164, may be beamforming capable. If SL-UEs are beamforming capable, they may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UE 104), toward a base station (e.g., base station 102, 180, small cell 102′, access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming over sidelink 160.

[0056] In the example of FIG. 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UEs 104 can use as independent sources of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. While typically located within the SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive the signals 124 from the SV 112 to derive geolocation information.

[0057] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 may be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, the SBAS may include augmentation system(s) that provide integrity information, error correction, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided Geo-Augmented Navigation, or the GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN). Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0058] In one aspect, the SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, the SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5G network. This element then provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In this way, the UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from the SV 112 instead of, or in addition to, communication signals from the terrestrial base station 102.

[0059] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as a UE 190, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In the example of FIG. 1, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0060] 2A illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) may be functionally considered as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, data network access, IP routing, etc.) that operate cooperatively to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect a gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0061] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE(s) 204. The location servers 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location servers 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0062] 2B illustrates another exemplary wireless network structure 240. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) may be viewed functionally as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful intercept, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 to receive intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM)-based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. AMF264 functionality also includes security context management (SCM).The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that it uses to derive access network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulated services, transport for location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, EPS bearer identifier allocation for interworking with an evolved packet system (EPS), and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0063] The functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic validation (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages over the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server such as the SLP 272.

[0064] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control of policy enforcement and parts of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0065] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260, to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, while the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 via the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) via the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as transmission control protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0066] Yet another optional aspect may include a third party server 274, which may be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third party servers 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0067] A user plane interface 263 and a control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and in particular the UPF 262 and AMF 264, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224, respectively, in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the “N2” interface, and the interface between the gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. The gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223, referred to as the “Xn-C” interface. One or more of the gNB222 and / or ng-eNB224 may communicate with one or more UE204 via a wireless interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0068] The functionality of the gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as forwarding user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and session management, except for those functions allocated exclusively to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or multiple cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0069] The deployment of a communication system, such as a 5G NR system, can be configured in multiple ways using various components or parts. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, network entity, mobility element of a network, RAN node, core network node, network element, or network equipment, such as a base station or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, can be implemented in an aggregated or separated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit / receive point (TRP), or cell) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or monolithic base station) or a separated base station.

[0070] A centralized base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A separated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (e.g., one or more centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU or alternatively geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0071] The operation or network design of a base station type can take into account the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, a separated base station can be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as the network configuration supported by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Separation can include distributing functionality across two or more units in different physical locations and virtually distributing the functionality of at least one unit, which can enable flexibility in network design. Various units of a separated base station, or a separated RAN architecture, can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0072] 2C illustrates an exemplary separated base station architecture 250 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The separated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more separated base station units (e.g., a near-real time (RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link, or a non-real time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both). The CUs 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 287 may communicate with respective UEs 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 may be served by multiple RUs 287 simultaneously.

[0073] Each of the units, i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and quasi-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255, may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the unit's communication interface, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, a unit may include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Furthermore, the units may include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive, transmit, or receive signals via a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units.

[0074] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more upper layer control functions. Such control functions may include Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP unit, when implemented in an O-RAN configuration, may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface, such as an E1 interface. The CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 as needed for network control and signaling.

[0075] The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit including one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more upper physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.), at least in part according to a functional division such as that defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, the DU 285 may further host one or more lower PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285 or with control functions hosted by the CU 280.

[0076] Lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RUs 287 controlled by the DUs 285 may correspond to logical nodes hosting RF processing functions, lower PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transforms (FFTs), inverse FFTs (iFFTs), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on a functional division, such as a lower layer functional division. In such an architecture, the RU(s) 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU(s) 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DUs 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the DU(s) 285 and CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

[0077] The SMO framework 255 can be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to support deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (e.g., an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (e.g., an open cloud (O-cloud) 269) to perform network element lifecycle management (e.g., instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (e.g., an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, the CU 280, the DU 285, the RU 287, and the quasi-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate with hardware aspects of a 4G RAN, such as the open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via an O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255.

[0078] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the quasi-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or in communication with the quasi-RT RIC 259 (e.g., via an A1 interface). The quasi-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources by data collection and action via interfaces (e.g., via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB to the quasi-RT RIC 259.

[0079] In some implementations, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server to generate the AI / ML models deployed to the quasi-RT RIC 259. Such information may be utilized by the quasi-RT RIC 259 or may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function in the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the quasi-RT RIC 259 may be configured to adjust RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may employ AI / ML models to monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and implement corrective actions through the SMO framework 255 (e.g., reconfiguration via O1) or through the creation of RAN management policies (e.g., A1 policies).

[0080] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated within a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including a location server 230 and an LMF 270, or alternatively, may be independent of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the operations described herein. It will be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices in different implementations (e.g., within an ASIC, within a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to the illustrated components to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0081] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) over one or more wireless communications networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., over at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communications medium of interest (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.) in accordance with a designated RAT. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358, respectively, and include one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0082] The UE 302 and base station 304 also each, at least in some cases, include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and may provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.) over the wireless communication medium. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.) in accordance with a designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368, respectively, and include one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, Zigbee® and / or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0083] UE 302 and base station 304 also, in at least some cases, include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide a means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Navigation Satellite System of India (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and action from other systems as appropriate and, at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively, using the obtained measurements according to any suitable satellite positioning system algorithms.

[0084] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, that provide a means for communicating (e.g., a means for transmitting, a means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, a base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, a network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links or with other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0085] A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired link or a wireless link. The transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying the transmitter and receiver circuitry within a single device), in some implementations, may comprise separate transmitter and receiver circuitry, or in other implementations may be embodied in other ways. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables the respective device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables the respective device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver circuitry may share multiple identical antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respective device can only receive or transmit at a given time, but not both at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0086] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390, in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390, in some implementations) may be generally characterized as a “transceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers generally involve signaling via wired transceivers, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) generally involve signaling via wireless transceivers.

[0087] The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with operations as disclosed herein. The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, e.g., to provide functionality related to wireless communications and to provide other processing functions. Accordingly, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may comprise processing means, such as determining means, calculating means, receiving means, transmitting means, and directing means. In one aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0088] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, the memories 340, 386, and 396 may comprise means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A illustrates possible locations of the positioning component 342, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3B shows possible locations of a positioning component 388, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.FIG. 3C shows possible locations of a positioning component 398, which may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0089] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one or more processors 332 to provide a means of sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or the satellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, the sensor(s) 344 may include multiple different types of devices, and their outputs may be combined to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0090] Additionally, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides a means for providing instructions to a user (e.g., audio and / or visual displays) and / or receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0091] Referring more particularly to the one or more processors 384, on the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with forwarding upper layer PDUs, error correction with automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0092] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of the physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), and M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with the individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0093] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives signals through its respective antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto RF carriers and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 304. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332 that implement Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functions.

[0094] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The one or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0095] Similar to the functionality described in connection with downlink transmissions by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide RRC layer functionality related to system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with forwarding upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0096] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s) 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with the individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0097] Uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives signals via its respective antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0098] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0099] For convenience, the UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that may be configured in accordance with various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the illustrated components may have different functions in different designs. In particular, various components in FIGS. 3A-3C are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, device use, or other considerations. For example, in FIG. 3A, a particular implementation of the UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor(s) 344, etc. 3B, a particular implementation of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point without cellular capability), or may omit short-range wireless transceiver(s) 360 (e.g., cellular only), or may omit satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0100] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In one aspect, the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may form or be part of communication interfaces of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306, respectively. For example, when different logical entities are embodied within the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated within the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may provide communication therebetween.

[0101] The components of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors), where each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide its functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 may be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 may be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Additionally, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390-398 may be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, it will be understood that such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by particular components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0102] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be separate from the network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., the NG RAN 220 and / or the 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0103] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OT-DOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. FIG. 4 illustrates examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of the present disclosure. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure illustrated by scenario 410, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the assistance data. The UE then measures RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, a positioning entity (e.g., the UE in the case of UE-based positioning or a location server in the case of UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the location of the UE.

[0104] For DL-AoD positioning, as illustrated by scenario 420, the positioning entity uses measurement reports from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the transmitting base station(s). The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the transmitting base station(s).

[0105] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals that are measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time (called the relative time of arrival (RTOA)) of the reference signal(s) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server), which knows the locations and relative timing of the participating base stations. Based on the reception-to-reception (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and that of each non-reference base station, the known locations of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can estimate the UE's location using TDOA.

[0106] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angle(s) of the receive beam(s) to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the base station(s). Based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the base station(s), the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0107] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and multiple round-trip-time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as "multi-cell RTT" and "multi-RTT"). In an RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) transmits a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), and the second entity transmits a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement may be performed or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest slot boundaries for the received and transmitted signals. Both entities may then send their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round-trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities from the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may send its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities may be determined from the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). In the case of multi-RTT positioning illustrated by scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) conducts RTT positioning procedures with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to allow the location of the first entity to be determined based on the distance to the second entities and the known locations of the second entities (e.g., using multilateration). As illustrated by scenario 440, RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD to improve location accuracy.

[0108] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identities, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known location of the base station(s).

[0109] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier of the base station (or cell / TRP of the base station) whose reference signal should be measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive slots containing the PRS, the periodicity of the consecutive slots containing the PRS, a muting sequence, a frequency hopping sequence, a reference signal identifier, a reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may be obtained directly from the base station itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcast overhead message, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes itself without using the assistance data.

[0110] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an uncertainty, or search window, associated with the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range for the expected RSTD may be + / - 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for the positioning measurements are in FR1, the value range for the expected RSTD uncertainty may be + / - 32 μs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for the positioning measurement(s) are in FR2, the value range for the expected RSTD uncertainty may be + / - 8 μs.

[0111] A location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, location, position, position fix, or fix. A location estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or urban and include a street address, postal address, or some other linguistic description of the location. A location estimate may also be defined relative to some other known location, or may be defined absolutely (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to lie with some specified or default level of confidence).

[0112] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example frame structure according to an aspect of the disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0113] LTE, and sometimes NR, utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. Generally, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, or the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (i.e., 180 kHz). Thus, the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0114] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), e.g., subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ=0), 30 kHz (μ=1), 60 kHz (μ=2), 120 kHz (μ=3), and 240 kHz (μ=4) or greater may be available. At each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15 kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, a slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (μs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 50 with an FFT size of 4K. For a 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.5 ms, a symbol duration of 33.3 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 100 for a 4K FFT size. For a 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.25 ms, a symbol duration of 16.7 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 200 for a 4K FFT size. For a 120 kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.125 ms, a symbol duration of 8.33 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 400 for a 4K FFT size. For a 240 kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, slot duration is 0.0625 ms, symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with an FFT size of 4K is 800.

[0115] In the example of Figure 5, a 15 kHz numerology is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, with each subframe containing one time slot. In Figure 5, time is represented horizontally (X-axis), increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (Y-axis), increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0116] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, and each time slot includes one or more time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 5, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0117] Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communications. Figure 5 shows example locations of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R").

[0118] A set of resource elements (REs) used to transmit a PRS is called a "PRS resource." A set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and "N" consecutive symbols (e.g., one or more) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0119] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size "N," a PRS is transmitted in every N subcarriers of the PRB symbol. For example, for comb 4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, an RE corresponding to every four subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb 2, comb 4, comb 6, and comb 12 are supported for DL-PRS. Figure 5 shows an example PRS resource configuration for comb 4 (spanning four symbols). That is, the location of the shaded RE (labeled "R") indicates the comb 4 PRS resource configuration.

[0120] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a staggered pattern across the frequency domain. DL-PRS resources can be configured within any higher layer configured downlink or flexible (FL) symbols of a slot. There can be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. Below are the symbol-to-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 across 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols: 2-symbol comb2: {0,1}, 4-symbol comb2: {0,1,0,1}, 6-symbol comb2: {0,1,0,1,0,1}, 12-symbol comb2: {0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1} (for the example in Figure 5), 4-symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3}, 12-symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 6-symbol comb6: {0,3,1,4,2,5}, 12-symbol comb6: {0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}, and 12-symbol comb12: {0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0121] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmitting PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, PRS resources within a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, PRS resources within a PRS resource set have the same periodicity across slots, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (e.g., "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor"). Periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from 2^μ*{4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, with μ=0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0122] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or multiple beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource" may also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this does not have any implications regarding whether the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0123] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more contiguous slots) during which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion," "PRS positioning instance," "positioning occasion," "positioning instance," "positioning repetition," or simply an "occasion," "instance," or "repetition."

[0124] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply referred to as "frequency layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters. In particular, a collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same value of downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "absolute radio-frequency channel number"), which is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of 4 PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers are defined, and up to two PRS resource sets per TRP can be configured per frequency layer.

[0125] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat similar to that of a component carrier and bandwidth parts (BWP), but differs in that a component carrier and BWP are used by one base station (or a macrocell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit a data channel, while a frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it transmits its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session. For example, the UE may indicate whether it can support one positioning frequency layer or four positioning frequency layers.

[0126] In one aspect, the reference signal carried on the RE, labeled "R" in FIG. 5, may be an SRS. The SRS transmitted by the UE may be used by the base station to obtain channel state information (CSI) for the transmitting UE. The CSI describes how the RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and accounts for the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power attenuation over distance. The system uses the SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0127] A set of REs used to transmit SRS is called an "SRS resource" and may be identified by a parameter "SRS-ResourceId." A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N consecutive symbol(s) within a slot (e.g., one or more). Within a given OFDM symbol, an SRS resource occupies one or more consecutive PRBs. An "SRS resource set" is a set of SRS resources used to transmit SRS signals and is identified by an SRS resource set ID ("SRS-ResourceSetId").

[0128] The transmission of SRS resources within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the SRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size "N," the SRS is transmitted in every N subcarriers of the PRB symbol. For example, for comb 4, for each symbol of the SRS resource configuration, an RE corresponding to every four subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the SRS of the SRS resource. In the example of FIG. 5, the illustrated SRS is comb 4 across four symbols. That is, the location of the shaded SRS RE indicates a comb 4 SRS resource configuration.

[0129] Currently, an SRS resource can span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with comb sizes Comb 2, Comb 4, or Comb 8. Below are the symbol-to-symbol frequency offsets for the currently supported SRS comb patterns: 1 symbol comb2: {0}, 2 symbol comb2: {0,1}, 2 symbol comb4: {0,2}, 4 symbol comb2: {0,1,0,1} (for the example in Figure 5), 4 symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3}, 8 symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 12 symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 4 symbol comb8: {0,4,2,6}, 8 symbol comb8: {0,4,2,6,1,5,3,7}, and 12 symbol comb8: {0,4,2,6,1,5,3,7,0,4,2,6}.

[0130] Generally, as mentioned above, a UE transmits an SRS to enable a receiving base station (either a serving base station or a neighboring base station) to measure the channel quality (i.e., CSI) between the UE and the base station. However, an SRS may also be specifically configured as an uplink positioning reference signal for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round trip time (RTT), and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). As used herein, the term "SRS" may refer to an SRS configured for channel quality measurement or an SRS configured for positioning purposes. When it is necessary to distinguish between the two types of SRS, the former may be referred to herein as a "communication SRS" and / or the latter may be referred to as a "positioning SRS" or a "positioning SRS."

[0131] Several extensions beyond the previous definition of SRS have been proposed for SRS for positioning (also called "UL-PRS"), such as a new staggered pattern in SRS resources (except for single symbol / comb2), a new comb type for SRS, a new sequence for SRS, a larger number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and a larger number of SRS resources per component carrier. In addition, the parameters "SpatialRelationInfo" and "PathLossReference" will be configured based on downlink reference signals or SSBs from neighboring TRPs. Furthermore, one SRS resource may be transmitted outside the active BWP, and one SRS resource may span multiple component carriers. Also, the SRS may be configured in the RRC connected state and may only be transmitted within the active BWP. Furthermore, there may be no frequency hopping, no repetition factor, a single antenna port, and new lengths for the SRS (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). Also, there may be open-loop power control rather than closed-loop power control, and Com8 (i.e., SRS transmitted on every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol) may be used. Finally, the UE may transmit from multiple SRS resources over the same transmit beam for UL-AoA. All of these are additional features to the current SRS framework, configured through RRC higher layer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated through the MAC control element (MAC-CE) or downlink control information (DCI)).

[0132] It should be noted that the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” can also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. Furthermore, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” can refer to downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise suggested by the context. When necessary to further distinguish between types of PRS, downlink positioning reference signals may be referred to as “DL-PRS,” uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., SRS for positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as “UL-PRS,” and sidelink positioning reference signals may be referred to as “SL-PRS.” Additionally, for signals that may be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), "DL," "UL," or "SL" may be prepended to the signal to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" is different from "DL-DMRS."

[0133] Cities, farmland, remote environments (e.g., streams), and buildings are all examples of environments where IoT technology is transforming them into smart, connected spaces. A key aspect they share is the large geographic areas they cover. In addition, these environments may also present challenges, such as limited wireless connectivity, installation in remote or difficult locations, and harsh operating conditions.

[0134] To address these issues, new technologies are being developed to extend connectivity and reduce latency. For example, edge computing allows data to be collected and processed at the source, rather than needing to be sent to a central "cloud" server for processing. This provides a significant reduction in latency, even when wireless connectivity is limited, thereby improving the user experience.

[0135] A new type of edge computing is being introduced, referred to as the "intelligent edge," "intelligence at the edge," or "connected intelligent edge" (CIE). CIE is a continuously expanding set of connected systems and devices that collect and process data closer to where the data is captured in the network. In this way, users can gain real-time insights and experiences delivered by responsive and context-aware applications.

[0136] There are various non-data services (e.g., positioning services) that can be enabled on wireless communication devices (e.g., mobile devices, IoT devices, etc.) or between the device and the network. These services include device-based services, device- and cloud-based device-assisted services, and device- and cloud-based network-assisted services. Device-based services are left to the device's implementation and are based on non-device-specific inputs. In this mode, the device performs measurements and / or calculations for the non-data service functions. No service-specific interaction is required between the device and the network to enable the service on the device. For device- and cloud-based device-assisted services, the network determines the calculation results based on device reports. In this mode, the device provides measurements to the network functions for the calculation of the non-data service functions. The network can provide configuration information to the device to enable measurement reports. For device- and cloud-based network-assisted services, the device determines the calculation results based on network assistance. In this mode, the network provides assistance data to the device for the calculation of the non-data service functions. The device performs further measurements and calculations for the non-data service functions.

[0137] Various CIE techniques exist for positioning wireless communication devices. FIG. 6 illustrates different CIE positioning techniques according to aspects of the present disclosure. Specifically, diagram 600 illustrates a CIE technique for positioning a mobile device 610 (e.g., a smartphone, a V-UE, etc.), and diagram 650 illustrates a CIE technique for positioning an IoT device 620. Referring to diagram 600, the mobile device 610 sends a request to a CIE server 670 (e.g., a third-party server, such as an over-the-top (OTT) server) including observations of the mobile device 610's Wi-Fi and / or cellular environment. These observations may be identifiers of Wi-Fi and / or cellular access points to which the mobile device 610 is connected and / or detectable by the mobile device 610. Based on these observations, the CIE server 670 sends a response to the mobile device 610 including pointers to one or more tiles for the mobile device 610 to download.

[0138] A "tile" represents the location of an access point and may be a boundary of a geographic area, a centroid corresponding to the estimated location of the access point, etc. The size of the tile is generally fixed. The location of the access point may be obtained by the CIE server 670 from a network operator associated with the access point, or may be determined based on crowdsourcing. For example, other mobile devices may report their geographic locations when reporting the identifier of the access point to the CIE server 670. Based on the location of the mobile device when connected to (or at least observing) the access point, the CIE server 670 can determine the general geographic area in which the access point is located and possibly the estimated location of the access point.

[0139] Based on the response from the CIE server 670, the mobile device 610 sends a request for the indicated tile(s) back to the CIE server 670 (or a different CIE server 670). In response, the CIE server 670 sends the requested tile(s) to the mobile device 610. The mobile device 610 can then determine its location as the location indicated by the tile.

[0140] Referring to diagram 650, IoT devices are generally defined as wireless communication devices that connect to higher capability internet-connected devices. IoT devices include any type of sensor, camera, microphone, radio frequency identifier (RFID) transmitter, etc. IoT devices generally collect data and send it to another device (e.g., a central processor) for processing. They very rarely process the data or store the data themselves for any significant period of time.

[0141] As shown in diagram 650, the IoT device 620 sends a request to the CIE server 670 including cellular observations, such as cell identifiers of detected cellular access points (e.g., cell towers), or just the identifiers of the cells to which the IoT device 620 is connected. In response, the CIE server 670 sends a response to the IoT device 620 including the location(s) of the observed cellular access point(s). The location(s) may be the tile(s) for the cellular access point(s) or (if known) the physical location(s) of the access point(s).

[0142] With both types of CIE positioning techniques mentioned above, a device only receives assistance for the access points it observes, resulting in minimal data downloads and faster fix times, even over slower connections.

[0143] In one aspect, TRS can be used for positioning purposes, such as CIE-based positioning. TRS are configured in each cell with their own time, frequency, and scrambling identifiers. It is mandatory for all UEs to support TRS reception, and all 5G networks are required to transmit TRS. However, a UE only knows the TRS configuration of its serving cell. In addition, TRS in one cell may collide with data, TRS, or CSI-RS in neighboring cells.

[0144] FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating an exemplary TRS configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the TRS is transmitted in one- or two-slot bursts with a periodicity of 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, or 80 ms. Within a slot, the position of the symbol carrying the TRS is configurable, with an inter-symbol distance of four symbols between TRS symbols. For FR1, the allowed symbol pair positions are (4,8), (5,9), and (6,10). For FR2, all symbol pair positions within a slot are allowed. In the frequency domain, there is a fixed subcarrier distance between TRS subcarriers of four subcarriers. There is also a configurable subcarrier offset within each resource block. The TRS bandwidth may be equal to the device's downlink bandwidth part (DL-BWP) (i.e., as large as 272 PRBs) or 48 PRBs.

[0145] As shown in FIG. 7, the TRS is not perfectly staggered in the frequency domain (the TRS is transmitted on the Com4 comb pattern), and therefore, four peaks are expected to be observed in the channel estimate (e.g., channel energy response (CER)) of the TRS. More specifically, the TRS is transmitted on a given symbol with gaps in the frequency domain, resulting in aliasing of the channel estimate. The aliasing is a result of converting the frequency domain to the time domain when estimating the channel estimate, and appears as multiple equally sized peaks, as shown in FIG. 8. Specifically, FIG. 8 is a graph 800 of a CER estimate for a single symbol in which the measured TRS is transmitted using the Com4 pattern. As shown in FIG. 8, the CER has four prominent peaks because the TRS is transmitted on the Com4 pattern (i.e., every four subcarriers), but only one of these peaks is the "true" peak (i.e., representing the actual ToA of the TRS in that symbol). However, since the TRS in a cell is quasi-colocated with the SSB in the cell, the SSB can also be measured to solve the time domain aliasing problem of the TRS in that cell.

[0146] This disclosure provides techniques for robust and operator-independent positioning using CIE. Specifically, this disclosure provides techniques for enabling TRS-based positioning in multi-UE / multi-operator scenarios, techniques for multi-operator operator-independent positioning, and techniques for multi-UE joint location estimation.

[0147] 9 illustrates an example CIE-based positioning procedure 900 using TRS, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The CIE-based positioning procedure 900 can be performed between a client device 904 (e.g., a mobile device, an IoT device, etc.) and a CIE server 970 (e.g., a third-party server, an OTT server, etc.).

[0148] In stage 910, the CIE server 970 sends a request to the client device 904 to report TRS configuration parameters (e.g., symbol pattern, symbol offset, frequency offset, number of slots per burst, burst periodicity, scrambling identifier, QCL relationship, PCI, etc.) for the device 904's serving cell. The request may configure the device 904 to report the TRS configuration parameters periodically or when any change is determined. The request may also configure the device 904 to report only TRS configurations for a subset of TRSs detected by the device 904 based on certain criteria. For example, the request may configure the device 904 to report only TRS configuration(s) for TRSs having signal strength above a threshold. The request may also configure the device 904 to report only TRS configurations associated with a particular component carrier, frequency band, or frequency range (e.g., FR1 and / or FR2). Furthermore, the request may configure the device 904 to transition to an RRC connected state for the purpose of collecting TRS configuration parameters from the network.

[0149] At step 920, the device 904 reports the requested TRS configuration parameters to the CIE server 970. Note that the device 904 may automatically report the TRS parameters of its serving cell without receiving a request from the CIE server 970 at step 910, such as when changing serving cells or periodically.

[0150] In stage 930, the device 904 reports the identifiers (e.g., PCIs) of any neighboring cells it has discovered, for example, through radio resource management (RRM) procedures. The device 904 may also transmit RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and / or RSSI measurements associated with the PCIs. The report may include the component carrier(s), frequency band(s), frequency range(s), slot offset(s), periodicity(s), subframe offset(s), time window(s), and / or preferred TRS configurations to be provided by the CIE server 970 (if available). These parameters may be reported in order of priority.

[0151] It should be noted that steps 920 and 930 may be a single transmission sequence or multiple transmission sequences. For example, the device 904 can transmit, and the CIE server 970 can receive, both the serving cell information (e.g., requested TRS configuration parameters) and the neighboring cell information (e.g., identifiers of any neighboring cells) in the same data transmission (i.e., steps 920 and 930 are a single transmission sequence), or the device 904 can transmit, and the CIE server 970 can receive, the serving cell information first, and then send and receive the neighboring cell information (i.e., steps 920 and 930 are separate transmissions).

[0152] At stage 940, based on the identifier of the neighboring cell, the CIE server 970 provides the device 904 with a TRS configuration for the identified neighboring cell. The response may include one or more TRS configurations associated with a particular PCI and / or associated with SSBs from that PCI. The multiple TRS configurations may be "alternatives" for the device 904 to attempt to discover. The response may also include a timestamp, validity timer, expiration timer, etc., indicating when the provided configuration is valid.

[0153] In one aspect, the CIE server 970 may have obtained TRS information for neighboring cells based on performing steps 910 and 920 with multiple other devices, thereby creating a crowdsourced database of TRS parameters for multiple cells. In some cases, if the CIE server 970 does not have TRS information for a neighboring cell indicated in step 940, it can send a request to another device 904 that is known to have that neighboring cell as its serving cell, as in step 910. The CIE server 970 can thereby obtain TRS configuration parameters for that cell from the other device 904, as in step 920.

[0154] At stage 950, the device 904 reports location information to the CIE server 970. In the case of UE-based positioning, the location information may be the estimated location of the device 904 determined from measurements of TRSs transmitted by the serving cell and neighboring cells from which the device 904 received TRS configuration information. Alternatively or additionally, the location information may be raw measurements of the TRSs and (for UE-assisted positioning) timestamps at which those measurements were taken. The device 904 may also report which TRSs were successfully detected or which were not. That is, the device 904 can report the identities of neighboring cells that detected or failed to detect the indicated TRSs.

[0155] It will be appreciated that although the above describes using TRS for positioning, the CIE-based positioning procedure 900 may alternatively be performed using CSI-RS or any other downlink reference signal specific to the serving cell.

[0156] 10 illustrates an exemplary CIE-based multi-operator positioning procedure 1000 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The CIE-based multi-operator positioning procedure 1000 may be performed between a client device 1004 (e.g., a mobile device, an IoT device, etc.) and a CIE server 1070 (e.g., a third-party server, an OTT server, etc.). The CIE-based multi-operator positioning procedure 1000 is applicable when different client devices 1004 subscribe to different network operators but are all connected to the CIE server 1070.

[0157] At step 1010, the device 1004 reports downlink reference signal (DL RS) configuration parameters and / or assistance data received from its subscribing network operator to the CIE server 1080. The configuration information and / or assistance data may include DL RS configurations for different DL RSs transmitted by different cells within its area of the subscribing operator's network. The report may include or be treated as a request for DL RS configuration parameters and / or assistance data for other network operators within the area.

[0158] At step 1020, the CIE server 1070 responds with DL RS configuration parameters and / or assistance data for other network operators in the region. The configuration information and / or assistance data may include DL RS configurations for different DL RSs transmitted by different cells in the region of each operator's network. DL RSs may include TRS, PRS, CSI-RS, etc.

[0159] At step 1030, the device 1004 reports location information to the CIE server 1070. The location information may include an estimate of the location of the device 1004 determined from measurements of DL RSs transmitted by cells in its serving network as well as cells in other networks in the area (for UE-based positioning). Alternatively or additionally, the location information may be raw measurements of the DL RSs and timestamps at which those measurements were taken (for UE-assisted positioning). The device 1004 may also report which DL RSs were successfully detected and which were not detected. For example, the device 1004 may report identifiers of the detected or undetected DL RSs.

[0160] In one aspect, the device 1004 may be a multi-subscriber identity module (SIM) UE. In that case, the UE is connected or capable of connecting to at least two different networks and two different location servers (e.g., LMF 270). In the case of UE-assisted positioning procedures in both SIM networks, the UE may include measurements derived in the other SIM network along with PCI and / or NR CGI (NCGI) information of the involved cells in each UE-assisted report in step 1030. On the server side, each location server is responsible for determining base station almanac (BSA) information for the involved cells if this information is not included in the assistance data.

[0161] In the case of a UE-assisted positioning procedure in one SIM network and a UE-based positioning procedure in the other SIM network, the UE may include measurements derived in the other SIM network plus BSA information for the measured cells in the UE-assisted report in step 1030. In this way, the location server for the first SIM network does not need to access the BSA of the second SIM network.

[0162] If there is a single location server for multiple network operators, the location server can determine that the UE has multiple SIMs. In this case, there should be some association between a single UE location and multiple SIM identifiers. Based on this information, the location server can request the UE to send two separate measurement reports, and the location server hybridizes (combines) the reports.

[0163] Referring to SRS transmission for enabling UL-based and / or downlink- and uplink-based positioning with multiple network operators, as a first option, the location server can request the gNB of a first network operator to which the multi-SIM UE subscribes to configure the UE to transmit on a frequency band of a second network operator to which the UE subscribes, since the SRS for positioning is configured outside the UE's BWP and needs to be associated with a band. As a second option, the location server can request the gNB of a first network operator to which the multi-SIM UE subscribes to retune its receiver to receive the SRS transmitted by the UE on a different band.

[0164] FIG. 11 illustrates an example multi-UE joint location estimation procedure 1100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In the multi-UE joint location estimation procedure 1100, at a high level, a set of UEs with unknown locations perform positioning measurements on the same frequency, at the same (or approximately the same) time, and on the same set of TRPs. The positioning measurements may be RSTD measurements (for DL-TDOA), UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements (for RTT), and / or path RSRP (for DL-AoD). The measurements are provided to a CIE server, and "differential" versions of legacy techniques (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, etc.) are employed while UE locations are jointly estimated to make the measurements more robust to network synchronization and group delay uncertainties. The multi-UE joint location estimation thereby improves robustness to network uncertainties (e.g., network synchronization and group delay uncertainties).

[0165] 11 , a first UE 1104-1 (labeled “UE1”) is configured to perform cellular positioning (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, etc.) involving at least a first TRP 1102-1 and a second TRP 1102-2 (collectively, TRPs 1102). Thus, in stage 1, the UE 1104-1 notifies the CIE server 1170 of the need to perform cellular positioning and any measurements already performed or planned to be performed in the future. The UE 1104-1 should notify the CIE server 1170 of the type of positioning procedure (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, etc.), the configuration of PRS resources that have been measured or are to be measured, and the TRPs 1102 that have been measured or are to be measured (which may be part of the PRS configuration).

[0166] In stage 2, the CIE server 1170 instructs one or more other devices (e.g., a second UE 1104-2 labeled "UE2"), optionally with unknown locations, to obtain specific measurements and report them to the CIE server 1170. The measurements should be of the same type as measurements already performed or planned to be performed by the UE 1104-1. The measurements should also be performed on the same PRS resources transmitted by the same TRP 1102. Thus, the instructions from the CIE server 1170 to the other devices may include the configuration of the PRS resources measured or to be measured by the first UE 1104-1. Alternatively, the instructions may be for obtaining PRS configuration information for the identified TRP 1102 from the location server(s) of the other devices. After performing / obtaining the requested measurements, the other devices report the measurements to the CIE server 1170.

[0167] In stage 3, the CIE server 1170 performs joint positioning of the first UE 1104-1 and the second UE 1104-2 and transmits the location estimate determined for the UE 1104-1 to the UE 1104-1. The CIE server 1170 may also transmit the location estimate for the UE 1104-2 to the UE 1104-2.

[0168] To perform joint positioning, the CIE server 1170 may need multiple devices that are relatively close to each other measuring the same PRS resource from the same TRP. For example, the devices may be IoT devices that are "clustered together" (e.g., in the same room or factory) because they are measuring the same TRP.

[0169] In the example of Figure 11, for the DL-TDOA positioning procedure, each UE 1104 measures the ToA of the PRS resource from each TRP 1102 (e.g., TRP 1102-1 is the reference TRP and TRP 1102-2 is the non-reference TRP), resulting in a total of four ToA measurements and two RSTD measurements. A single differential RSTD constraint can be derived from the four ToA measurements. The network synchronization error can then be substantially removed by the differential calculation. Although there may be some residual amount of network synchronization error, the remainder may be tolerable depending on the positioning accuracy requirements.

[0170] The following is an example of calculating the differential RSTD with reference to Figure 11. First, TRP i and UE j The estimated ToA between can be expressed as follows:

[0171]

number

[0172] In the above formula,

[0173]

number

[0174]

number

[0175]

number

[0176]

number

[0177] The first UE 1104-1 is a true

[0178]

number

[0179]

number

[0180]

number

[0181]

number

[0182]

number

[0183]

number

[0184] Similarly, UE 1104-2 is a true

[0185]

number

[0186]

number

[0187]

number

[0188]

number

[0189]

number

[0190]

number

[0191] The CIE server 1170 calculates the differential RSTD measurements (i.e.,

[0192]

number

[0193]

number

[0194] In the above formula,

[0195]

number

[0196]

number

[0197]

number

[0198]

number

[0199] Therefore, {UE i ,UE j ,TRP k ,TRP l For any cluster in}, a single constraint is derived.

[0200]

number

[0201] Assuming a two-dimensional location estimate, a minimum of four such equations are required to jointly solve for four unknowns.

[0202] 12 illustrates an exemplary method 1200 of positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the method 1200 can be performed by a CIE server (e.g., the CIE server 970).

[0203] At 1210, the CIE server receives, from a first UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein), first configuration information for one or more first DL RSs transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE, as in step 920 of Figure 9. In one aspect, operation 1210 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0204] At 1220, the CIE server receives, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighbor cells of the first UE, as in step 930 of Figure 9. In one aspect, operation 1220 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0205] At 1230, the CIE server transmits a response to the first UE including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, such as in step 940 of Figure 9, where the one or more second DL RSs are of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs. In one aspect, operation 1230 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0206] It should be noted that the CIE server can receive the serving cell information (e.g., first configuration information for one or more first DL RSs transmitted on the serving cell of the first UE) and the neighbor cell information (e.g., identifiers of one or more neighbor cells of the first UE) in a single transmission sequence or multiple transmission sequences. For example, the UE can transmit and the CIE server can receive both the serving cell information and the neighbor cell information in the same data transmission (i.e., operations 1210 and 1220 are reception of a single transmission), or the UE can transmit and the CIE server can receive the serving cell information first, and then send and receive the neighbor cell information (i.e., operations 1210 and 1220 are separate receptions of separate transmissions).

[0207] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1200 is that it enables TRS-based (or other cell-specific reference signal) positioning across multiple cells.

[0208] 13 illustrates an exemplary method 1300 of positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the method 1300 can be performed by a CIE server (e.g., the CIE server 1070).

[0209] At 1310, the CIE server receives first configuration information for one or more first DL RSs transmitted by one or more first TRPs of the first network operator from a first UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) that subscribes to the first network operator, as in step 1010 of Figure 10. In one aspect, operation 1310 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0210] At 1320, the CIE server transmits, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator, as in step 1020 of Figure 10. In one aspect, operation 1320 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0211] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1300 is that it enables multi-network operator positioning.

[0212] 14 illustrates an example method 1400 for wireless positioning according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the method 1400 may be performed by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0213] At 1410, the UE transmits first location information to a first server (e.g., a CIE server or a location server), where the first location information is based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first DL RSs transmitted by one or more first TRPs of a first network operator. In one aspect, operation 1410 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memories 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0214] At 1420, the UE transmits second location information to a second server (the same or different from the first server), where the second location information is based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, and where the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator (i.e., the UE is a multi-SIM UE). In one aspect, operation 1420 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which can be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0215] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 1400 is that it enables multi-network operator positioning for multi-SIM UEs.

[0216] 15 illustrates an exemplary method 1500 of positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the method 1500 can be performed by a CIE server (e.g., any of the CIE servers described herein).

[0217] At 1510, the CIE server receives a first set of positioning measurements for one or more DL RSs transmitted by one or more TRPs from a first UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein). In one aspect, operation 1510 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0218] At 1520, the CIE server receives a second set of positioning measurements for one or more DL RSs transmitted by one or more TRPs from a second UE (e.g., any other UE described herein). In one aspect, operation 1520 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0219] At 1530, the CIE server determines differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements. In one aspect, operation 1530 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0220] At 1540, the CIE server determines a network synchronization error associated with at least one or more TRPs based on the differential positioning measurements. In one aspect, operation 1540 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0221] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 1500 is that it enables multi-UE joint location estimation.

[0222] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the exemplary clauses have more features than are expressly stated in each clause. Rather, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer than all features of each disclosed exemplary clause. Accordingly, the following clauses should be considered incorporated into the description, and each clause may stand alone as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses within that clause, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are not limited to that specific combination. It will be understood that other exemplary clauses may also include combinations of the aspect(s) of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or any combination of features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include specific combinations (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor) unless such combinations are expressly expressed or can be readily inferred. It is further contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0223] Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0224] Clause 1. A method of positioning performed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, the method comprising: receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE; receiving, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE; and transmitting, to the first UE, a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs.

[0225] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, further comprising sending, to the first UE, a request for first configuration information for one or more first DL RSs.

[0226] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the request configures the first UE to report the first configuration information periodically, based on determined changes to the first configuration information, or any combination thereof.

[0227] Clause 4. The method of clause 2 or 3, wherein the one or more first DL RSs are a subset of the plurality of DL RSs transmitted on the serving cell, the plurality of DL RSs are DL RSs of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs, and the request configures the first UE to report first configuration information for only the one or more first DL RSs based on one or more criteria associated with the one or more first DL RSs.

[0228] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the one or more criteria include: a signal strength of the one or more first DL RSs is greater than a signal strength of the remaining DL RSs of the plurality of DL RSs; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted on a designated component carrier; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted in a designated frequency band; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted in a designated frequency range, or any combination thereof.

[0229] Clause 6. The method of any one of clauses 2 to 5, wherein the request triggers the first UE to transition to a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Connected state to obtain the first configuration information.

[0230] Clause 7. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 6, wherein identifiers of one or more neighboring cells are received in a request for second configuration information.

[0231] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the request for second configuration information includes signal strength measurements associated with one or more neighboring cells, preferred configuration parameters for one or more second DL RSs, preferred component carriers for one or more second DL RSs, preferred frequency bands for one or more second DL RSs, preferred frequency ranges for one or more second DL RSs, or any combination thereof.

[0232] Clause 9. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the response indicates that one or more second DL RSs are associated with one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) transmitted on one or more neighboring cells, the response includes one or more timers indicating a period for which the second configuration information is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0233] Clause 10. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 9, further comprising receiving, from the first UE, a location estimate of the first UE determined based on first measurements of one or more first DL RSs based on the first configuration information and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs based on the second configuration information, or receiving, from the first UE, the first measurements of one or more first DL RSs and the second measurements of one or more second DL RSs.

[0234] Clause 11. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 10, further comprising receiving, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more first DL RSs and one or more second DL RSs that have been measured by the first UE, receiving, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells from which one or more second DL RSs have been measured by the first UE, or any combination thereof.

[0235] Clause 12. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs are tracking reference signals (TRSs) or channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs).

[0236] Clause 13. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 12, further comprising: sending a request for at least a portion of second configuration information to a second UE served by at least one of the one or more neighbor cells of the first UE; and receiving at least a portion of the second configuration information from the second UE, wherein a response is sent to the first UE in response to receiving at least a portion of the second configuration information.

[0237] Clause 14. A method of positioning performed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, the method comprising: receiving, from a first user equipment (UE) subscribed to a first network operator, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of the first network operator; and transmitting, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator.

[0238] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, further comprising receiving second configuration information from a second UE subscribed to a second network operator.

[0239] Clause 16. The method of clause 14 or 15, further comprising receiving, from the first UE, a request for configuration information for the DL RS sent by a TRP of a network operator different from the first network operator, wherein the second configuration information is sent in response to the request.

[0240] Clause 17. The method of any one of clauses 14 to 16, further comprising receiving, from the first UE, a location estimate of the first UE determined based on first measurements of one or more first DL RSs based on the first configuration information and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs based on the second configuration information, or receiving, from the first UE, the first measurements of one or more first DL RSs and the second measurements of one or more second DL RSs.

[0241] Clause 18. The method of any one of clauses 14 to 17, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs comprise positioning reference signals (PRSs), tracking reference signals (TRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), or any combination thereof.

[0242] Clause 19. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting, to a first server, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of a first network operator; and transmitting, to a second server, second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, wherein the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator.

[0243] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein the first server and the second server are different servers, and the first set of positioning measurements includes one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements, the second set of positioning measurements includes one or more measurements of the first set of positioning measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0244] Clause 21. The method of clause 20, wherein a first set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a first UE-assisted positioning procedure, a second set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a second UE-assisted positioning procedure, the first location information includes an identifier of a TRP from one or more second TRPs from which one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements were obtained, and the second location information includes an identifier of a TRP from one or more first TRPs from which one or more measurements of the first set of positioning measurements were obtained.

[0245] Clause 22. The method of clause 20 or 21, wherein a first set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a UE-assisted positioning procedure, a second set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a UE-based positioning procedure, and the first location information includes first base station almanac (BSA) information for a TRP of one or more second TRPs from which one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements were obtained.

[0246] Clause 23. A method according to any one of clauses 19 to 22, wherein the first server and the second server are the same server, and the method further comprises receiving a request from the first server to report the first location information and the second location information.

[0247] Clause 24. The method of any one of clauses 19 to 23, further comprising receiving, from a serving TRP of the UE operated by a first network operator, a configuration for transmitting one or more sounding reference signals (SRS) on a frequency band of a second network operator.

[0248] Clause 25. The method of any one of clauses 19 to 24, wherein the first location information comprises a first set of positioning measurements, a first location estimate of the UE determined based on at least the first set of positioning measurements, or both; and the second location information comprises a second set of positioning measurements, a second location estimate of the UE determined based on at least the second set of positioning measurements, or both, or any combination thereof.

[0249] Clause 26. The method of any one of clauses 19 to 25, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs are positioning reference signals (PRSs), tracking reference signals (TRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), or any combination thereof.

[0250] Clause 27. A method of positioning performed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, the method comprising: receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), a first set of positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs); receiving, from a second UE, a second set of positioning measurements of the one or more DL RSs transmitted by the one or more TRPs; determining differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements; and determining a network synchronization error associated with at least one or more TRPs based on the differential positioning measurements.

[0251] Clause 28. The method of clause 27, wherein the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements are obtained within a threshold time period of each other.

[0252] Clause 29. The method of clause 27 or 28, further comprising: determining a location estimate for the first UE based on at least a first set of positioning measurements, locations of one or more TRPs, and a network synchronization error; determining a location estimate for the second UE based on at least a second set of positioning measurements, locations of one or more TRPs, and a network synchronization error; or any combination thereof.

[0253] Clause 30. The method of any one of clauses 27 to 29, wherein the one or more DL RSs are positioning reference signals (PRSs), tracking reference signals (TRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), or any combination thereof.

[0254] Clause 31. A Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, from a first user equipment (UE), via the at least one transceiver, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE; receive, from the first UE, via the at least one transceiver, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE; and transmit, to the first UE, via the at least one transceiver, a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs.

[0255] Clause 32. The CIE server of clause 31, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send, via the at least one transceiver, to the first UE, a request for first configuration information for the one or more first DL RSs.

[0256] Clause 33. The CIE server of clause 32, wherein the request configures the first UE to report the first configuration information periodically, based on determined changes to the first configuration information, or any combination thereof.

[0257] Clause 34. The CIE server of clause 32 or 33, wherein the one or more first DL RSs are a subset of the plurality of DL RSs transmitted on the serving cell, the plurality of DL RSs are DL RSs of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs, and the request configures the first UE to report first configuration information for only the one or more first DL RSs based on one or more criteria associated with the one or more first DL RSs.

[0258] Clause 35. The CIE server of clause 34, wherein the one or more criteria include: a signal strength of the one or more first DL RSs is greater than a signal strength of the remaining DL RSs of the plurality of DL RSs; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted on a designated component carrier; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted in a designated frequency band; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted in a designated frequency range; or any combination thereof.

[0259] Clause 36. The CIE server of any one of clauses 32 to 35, wherein the request triggers the first UE to transition to a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state to obtain the first configuration information.

[0260] Clause 37. A CIE server according to any one of clauses 31 to 36, wherein the identifiers of one or more neighbouring cells are received in a request for second configuration information.

[0261] Clause 38. The CIE server of clause 37, wherein the request for second configuration information includes signal strength measurements associated with one or more neighboring cells, preferred configuration parameters for one or more second DL RSs, preferred component carriers for one or more second DL RSs, preferred frequency bands for one or more second DL RSs, preferred frequency ranges for one or more second DL RSs, or any combination thereof.

[0262] Clause 39. The CIE server of any one of clauses 31 to 38, wherein the response indicates that the one or more second DL RSs are associated with one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) transmitted on one or more neighboring cells, the response includes one or more timers indicating a period for which the second configuration information is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0263] Clause 40. The CIE server of any one of clauses 31 to 39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the first UE, a location estimate of the first UE determined based on first measurements of one or more first DL RSs based on the first configuration information and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs based on the second configuration information; or receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the first UE, the first measurements of one or more first DL RSs and the second measurements of one or more second DL RSs.

[0264] Clause 41. The CIE server of any one of clauses 31 to 40, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more first DL RSs and one or more second DL RSs that have been measured by the first UE; receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells for which one or more second DL RSs have been measured by the first UE; or any combination thereof.

[0265] Clause 42. A CIE server according to any one of clauses 31 to 41, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs are Track Reference Signals (TRSs) or Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RSs).

[0266] Clause 43. The CIE server of any one of clauses 31 to 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send, via the at least one transceiver, a request for at least a portion of the second configuration information to a second UE served by at least one of the one or more neighbor cells of the first UE; and receive, via the at least one transceiver, the at least a portion of the second configuration information from the second UE; and a response is sent to the first UE in response to receiving the at least a portion of the second configuration information.

[0267] Clause 44. A Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, from a first user equipment (UE) subscribed to a first network operator, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of the first network operator; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator.

[0268] Clause 45. The CIE server of clause 44, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, second configuration information from a second UE subscribed to a second network operator.

[0269] Clause 46. The CIE server of clause 44 or 45, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the first UE, a request for configuration information for the DL RS sent by a TRP of a network operator different from the first network operator, and wherein the second configuration information is sent in response to the request.

[0270] Clause 47. The CIE server of any one of clauses 44 to 46, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the first UE, a location estimate of the first UE determined based on first measurements of one or more first DL RSs based on the first configuration information and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs based on the second configuration information, or to receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the first UE, the first measurements of one or more first DL RSs and the second measurements of one or more second DL RSs.

[0271] Clause 48. The CIE server of any one of clauses 44 to 47, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs comprise positioning reference signals (PRSs), track reference signals (TRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), or any combination thereof.

[0272] Clause 49. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a first server, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of a first network operator; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a second server, second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, wherein the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator.

[0273] Clause 50. The UE of clause 49, wherein the first server and the second server are different servers, the first set of positioning measurements includes one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements, the second set of positioning measurements includes one or more measurements of the first set of positioning measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0274] Clause 51. A UE as described in Clause 50, wherein a first set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a first UE-assisted positioning procedure, a second set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a second UE-assisted positioning procedure, the first location information includes an identifier of a TRP from one or more second TRPs from which one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements were obtained, and the second location information includes an identifier of a TRP from one or more first TRPs from which one or more measurements of the first set of positioning measurements were obtained.

[0275] Clause 52. A UE as described in clause 50 or 51, wherein a first set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a UE-assisted positioning procedure, a second set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a UE-based positioning procedure, and the first location information includes first base station almanac (BSA) information for a TRP of one or more second TRPs from which one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements were obtained.

[0276] Clause 53. A UE described in any one of clauses 49 to 52, wherein the first server and the second server are the same server, and the method further includes receiving a request from the first server to report the first location information and the second location information.

[0277] Clause 54. The UE of any one of clauses 49 to 53, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration from a serving TRP of the UE operated by the first network operator for transmitting one or more sounding reference signals (SRS) on a frequency band of a second network operator.

[0278] Clause 55. A UE as described in any one of clauses 49 to 54, wherein the first location information comprises a first set of positioning measurements, a first location estimate of the UE determined based on at least the first set of positioning measurements, or both, and the second location information comprises a second set of positioning measurements, a second location estimate of the UE determined based on at least the second set of positioning measurements, or both, or any combination thereof.

[0279] Clause 56. The UE of any one of clauses 49 to 55, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs are positioning reference signals (PRSs), track reference signals (TRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), or any combination thereof.

[0280] Clause 57. A Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, from a first user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver, a first set of positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs); receive, from a second UE via the at least one transceiver, a second set of positioning measurements of the one or more DL RSs transmitted by the one or more TRPs; determine differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements; and determine a network synchronization error associated with the at least one TRP based on the differential positioning measurements.

[0281] Clause 58. The CIE server of clause 57, wherein the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements are obtained within a threshold time period of each other.

[0282] Clause 59. The CIE server of clause 57 or 58, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: determine a location estimate for the first UE based on at least a first set of positioning measurements, locations of one or more TRPs, and a network synchronization error; determine a location estimate for the second UE based on at least a second set of positioning measurements, locations of one or more TRPs, and a network synchronization error; or any combination thereof.

[0283] Clause 60. A CIE server according to any one of clauses 57 to 59, wherein the one or more DL RSs are positioning reference signals (PRS), track reference signals (TRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), or any combination thereof.

[0284] Clause 61. A Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, comprising: means for receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE; means for receiving, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE; and means for transmitting, to the first UE, a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being DL RSs of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs.

[0285] Clause 62. The CIE server of clause 61, further comprising: means for sending a request for first configuration information for one or more first DL RSs to the first UE.

[0286] Clause 63. The CIE server of clause 62, wherein the request configures the first UE to report the first configuration information periodically, based on determined changes to the first configuration information, or any combination thereof.

[0287] Clause 64. The CIE server of clause 62 or 63, wherein the one or more first DL RSs are a subset of the plurality of DL RSs transmitted on the serving cell, the plurality of DL RSs are DL RSs of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs, and the request configures the first UE to report first configuration information for only the one or more first DL RSs based on one or more criteria associated with the one or more first DL RSs.

[0288] Clause 65. The CIE server of Clause 64, wherein the one or more criteria include: a signal strength of the one or more first DL RSs is greater than a signal strength of the remaining DL RSs of the plurality of DL RSs; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted on a designated component carrier; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted in a designated frequency band; the one or more first DL RSs are transmitted in a designated frequency range; or any combination thereof.

[0289] Clause 66. The CIE server of any one of clauses 62 to 65, wherein the request triggers the first UE to transition to a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state to obtain the first configuration information.

[0290] Clause 67. A CIE server according to any one of clauses 61 to 66, wherein the identifiers of one or more neighbouring cells are received in a request for second configuration information.

[0291] Clause 68. The CIE server of clause 67, wherein the request for second configuration information includes means for signaling strength measurements associated with one or more neighboring cells, means for prioritizing configuration parameters for one or more second DL RSs, preferred component carriers for one or more second DL RSs, preferred frequency bands for one or more second DL RSs, preferred frequency ranges for one or more second DL RSs, or any combination thereof.

[0292] Clause 69. The CIE server of any one of clauses 61 to 68, wherein the response indicates that the one or more second DL RSs are associated with one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) transmitted on one or more neighboring cells, the response includes one or more timers indicating a period for which the second configuration information is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0293] Clause 70. The CIE server of any one of clauses 61 to 69, further comprising: means for receiving, from the first UE, a location estimate of the first UE determined based on first measurements of one or more first DL RSs based on the first configuration information and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs based on the second configuration information; or means for receiving, from the first UE, the first measurements of one or more first DL RSs and the second measurements of one or more second DL RSs.

[0294] Clause 71. The CIE server of any one of clauses 61 to 70, further comprising: means for receiving, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more first DL RSs and one or more second DL RSs that have been measured by the first UE; means for receiving, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells from which one or more second DL RSs have been measured by the first UE; or any combination thereof.

[0295] Clause 72. A CIE server according to any one of clauses 61 to 71, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs are means of tracking reference signals (TRS) or means of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS).

[0296] Clause 73. The CIE server of any one of clauses 61 to 72, further comprising: means for sending a request for at least a portion of the second configuration information to a second UE served by at least one of the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE; and means for receiving at least a portion of the second configuration information from the second UE, wherein a response is sent to the first UE in response to receiving at least a portion of the second configuration information.

[0297] Clause 74. A Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, comprising: means for receiving, from a first user equipment (UE) subscribed to a first network operator, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of the first network operator; and means for transmitting, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator.

[0298] Clause 75. The CIE server of clause 74, further comprising means for receiving second configuration information from a second UE subscribed to a second network operator.

[0299] Clause 76. The CIE server according to clause 74 or 75, further comprising means for receiving from a first UE a request for configuration information for a DL RS sent by a TRP of a network operator different from the first network operator, wherein second configuration information is sent in response to the request.

[0300] Clause 77. The CIE server of any one of clauses 74 to 76, further comprising: means for receiving, from the first UE, a location estimate of the first UE determined based on first measurements of one or more first DL RSs based on first configuration information and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs based on second configuration information; or means for receiving, from the first UE, the first measurements of one or more first DL RSs and the second measurements of one or more second DL RSs.

[0301] Clause 78. The CIE server of any one of clauses 74 to 77, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS) means, a tracking reference signal (TRS) means, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) means, or any combination thereof.

[0302] Clause 79. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for transmitting, to a first server, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of a first network operator; and means for transmitting, to a second server, second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, wherein the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator.

[0303] Clause 80. The UE of clause 79, wherein the first server and the second server are different servers, the first set of positioning measurements includes one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements, the second set of positioning measurements includes one or more measurements of the first set of positioning measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0304] Clause 81. A UE as described in Clause 80, wherein a first set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a first UE-assisted positioning procedure, a second set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a second UE-assisted positioning procedure, the first location information includes an identifier of a TRP from one or more second TRPs from which one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements were obtained, and the second location information includes an identifier of a TRP from one or more first TRPs from which one or more measurements of the first set of positioning measurements were obtained.

[0305] Clause 82. A UE as described in clause 80 or 81, wherein a first set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a UE-assisted positioning procedure, a second set of positioning measurements has been obtained as part of a UE-based positioning procedure, and the first location information includes first base station almanac (BSA) information for a TRP of one or more second TRPs from which one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements were obtained.

[0306] Clause 83. A UE as described in any one of clauses 79 to 82, wherein the first server and the second server are the same server, and the method further includes receiving a request from the first server to report the first location information and the second location information.

[0307] Clause 84. The UE of any one of clauses 79 to 83, further comprising means for receiving, from a serving TRP of the UE operated by a first network operator, a configuration for transmitting one or more sounding reference signals (SRS) on a frequency band of a second network operator.

[0308] Clause 85. A UE as described in any one of clauses 79 to 84, wherein the first location information comprises a first set of positioning measurements, a first location estimate of the UE determined based on at least the first set of positioning measurements, or both; and the second location information comprises a second set of positioning measurements, a second location estimate of the UE determined based on at least the second set of positioning measurements, or both, or any combination thereof.

[0309] Clause 86. The UE of any one of clauses 79 to 85, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs are positioning reference signal (PRS) means, tracking reference signal (TRS) means, channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) means, or any combination thereof.

[0310] Clause 87. A Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, comprising: means for receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), a first set of positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs); means for receiving, from a second UE, a second set of positioning measurements of one or more DL RSs transmitted by the one or more TRPs; means for determining differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements; and means for determining a network synchronization error associated with at least one or more TRPs based on the differential positioning measurements.

[0311] Clause 88. The CIE server of clause 87, wherein the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements are obtained within a threshold time period of each other.

[0312] Clause 89. The CIE server of clause 87 or 88, further comprising: means for determining a location estimate for the first UE based on at least a first set of positioning measurements, the location of one or more TRPs, and a network synchronization error; means for determining a location estimate for the second UE based on at least a second set of positioning measurements, the location of one or more TRPs, and a network synchronization error; or any combination thereof.

[0313] Clause 90. A CIE server according to any one of clauses 87 to 89, wherein the one or more DL RSs are Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) means, Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) means, Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) means, or any combination thereof.

[0314] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, cause the CIE server to receive, from a first user equipment (UE), first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted on a serving cell of the first UE, cause the CIE server to receive, from the first UE, identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, and cause the first UE to transmit a response including second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted on one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, the second DL RSs being of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs.

[0315] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 91, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the CIE server, cause the CIE server to send a request for first configuration information for one or more first DL RSs to the first UE.

[0316] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 92, wherein the request configures the first UE to report the first configuration information periodically, based on determined changes to the first configuration information, or any combination thereof.

[0317] Clause 94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 92 or 93, wherein the one or more first DL RSs are a subset of the plurality of DL RSs transmitted on the serving cell, the plurality of DL RSs are DL RSs of the same type as the one or more first DL RSs, and the request configures the first UE to report first configuration information for only the one or more first DL RSs based on one or more criteria associated with the one or more first DL RSs.

[0318] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 94, wherein the one or more criteria include: a signal strength of the one or more first DL RSs being greater than a signal strength of the remaining DL RSs of the plurality of DL RSs; the one or more first DL RSs being transmitted on a designated component carrier; the one or more first DL RSs being transmitted in a designated frequency band; the one or more first DL RSs being transmitted in a designated frequency range; or any combination thereof.

[0319] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 92 to 95, wherein the request triggers the first UE to transition to a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Connected state to obtain the first configuration information.

[0320] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 91 to 96, wherein identifiers of one or more neighboring cells are received in a request for second configuration information.

[0321] Clause 98. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 97, wherein the request for second configuration information includes signal strength measurements associated with one or more neighboring cells, preferred configuration parameters for one or more second DL RSs, preferred component carriers for one or more second DL RSs, preferred frequency bands for one or more second DL RSs, preferred frequency ranges for one or more second DL RSs, or any combination thereof.

[0322] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 91 to 98, wherein the response indicates that the one or more second DL RSs are associated with one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) transmitted on one or more neighboring cells, the response includes one or more timers indicating a period of time during which the second configuration information is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0323] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 91 to 99, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the CIE server, cause the CIE server to receive from the first UE a location estimate of the first UE determined based on first measurements of one or more first DL RSs based on first configuration information and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs based on second configuration information, or to receive from the first UE first measurements of one or more first DL RSs and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs.

[0324] Clause 101. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 91 to 100, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the CIE server, cause the CIE server to receive from the first UE identifiers of one or more first DL RSs and one or more second DL RSs that have been measured by the first UE, receive from the first UE identifiers of one or more neighboring cells for which one or more second DL RSs have been measured by the first UE, or any combination thereof.

[0325] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 91 to 101, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs are track reference signals (TRSs) or channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs).

[0326] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 91 to 102, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a CIE server, cause the CIE server to send a request for at least a portion of the second configuration information to a second UE served by at least one of the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, and receive at least a portion of the second configuration information from the second UE, and a response being sent to the first UE in response to receiving at least a portion of the second configuration information.

[0327] Clause 104. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, cause the CIE server to receive, from a first user equipment (UE) subscribed to a first network operator, first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of the first network operator, and cause the first UE to transmit, to the first UE, second configuration information for one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator.

[0328] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 104, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the CIE server, cause the CIE server to receive second configuration information from a second UE subscribed to a second network operator.

[0329] Clause 106. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 104 or 105, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the CIE server, cause the CIE server to receive, from a first UE, a request for configuration information for a DL RS sent by a TRP of a network operator different from the first network operator, and wherein second configuration information is sent in response to the request.

[0330] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 104 to 106, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the CIE server, cause the CIE server to receive from the first UE a location estimate of the first UE determined based on first measurements of one or more first DL RSs based on first configuration information and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs based on second configuration information, or to receive from the first UE first measurements of one or more first DL RSs and second measurements of one or more second DL RSs.

[0331] Clause 108. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 104 to 107, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS), a track reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or any combination thereof.

[0332] Clause 109. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to send, to a first server, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more first transmission / reception points (TRPs) of a first network operator, and to send, to a second server, second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RSs transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, wherein the first UE is subscribed to both the first network operator and the second network operator.

[0333] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 109, wherein the first server and the second server are different servers, and the first set of positioning measurements includes one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements, the second set of positioning measurements includes one or more measurements of the first set of positioning measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0334] Clause 111. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 110, wherein a first set of positioning measurements is obtained as part of a first UE-assisted positioning procedure, a second set of positioning measurements is obtained as part of a second UE-assisted positioning procedure, the first location information includes an identifier of a TRP among one or more second TRPs from which one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements were obtained, and the second location information includes an identifier of a TRP among one or more first TRPs from which one or more measurements of the first set of positioning measurements were obtained.

[0335] Clause 112. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 110 or 111, wherein the first set of positioning measurements is obtained as part of a UE-assisted positioning procedure, the second set of positioning measurements is obtained as part of a UE-based positioning procedure, and the first location information includes first base station almanac (BSA) information for a TRP of one or more second TRPs from which one or more measurements of the second set of positioning measurements were obtained.

[0336] Clause 113. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 109 to 112, wherein the first server and the second server are the same server, and the method further includes receiving a request from the first server to report the first location information and the second location information.

[0337] Clause 114. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 109 to 113, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a UE, cause the UE to receive, from a serving TRP of the UE operated by a first network operator, a configuration for transmitting one or more sounding reference signals (SRS) on a frequency band of a second network operator.

[0338] Clause 115. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 109 to 114, wherein the first location information includes a first set of positioning measurements, a first location estimate of the UE determined based on at least the first set of positioning measurements, or both; the second location information includes a second set of positioning measurements, a second location estimate of the UE determined based on at least the second set of positioning measurements, or both, or any combination thereof.

[0339] Clause 116. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 109 to 115, wherein the one or more first DL RSs and the one or more second DL RSs are positioning reference signals (PRSs), track reference signals (TRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), or any combination thereof.

[0340] Clause 117. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, cause the CIE server to receive, from a first user equipment (UE), a first set of positioning measurements of one or more downlink reference signals (DL RSs) transmitted by one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs), receive, from a second UE, a second set of positioning measurements of the one or more DL RSs transmitted by the one or more TRPs, determine differential positioning measurements based on the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements, and determine a network synchronization error associated with the at least one or more TRPs based on the differential positioning measurements.

[0341] Clause 118. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 117, wherein the first set of positioning measurements and the second set of positioning measurements are obtained within a threshold time period of each other.

[0342] Clause 119. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 117 or 118, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the CIE server, cause the CIE server to determine a location estimate for the first UE based on at least a first set of positioning measurements, the locations of one or more TRPs, and a network synchronization error, determine a location estimate for the second UE based on at least a second set of positioning measurements, the locations of one or more TRPs, and a network synchronization error, or any combination thereof.

[0343] Clause 120. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 117 to 119, wherein the one or more DL RSs are a positioning reference signal (PRS), a track reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or any combination thereof.

[0344] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0345] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0346] The various example logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0347] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0348] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of media. As used herein, disk and disc include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0349] While the above disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, which is defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

Claims

1. A positioning method performed by a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server, Receiving first configuration information for one or more first downlink reference signals (DLRS) transmitted from a first user device (UE) on the serving cell of the first UE, Receiving identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE from the first UE, Transmitting to the first UE a response containing second configuration information for one or more second DLRS transmitted on one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, wherein the one or more second DLRS is of the same type as the one or more first DLRS, Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting a request for the first configuration information for the one or more first DL RSs to the first UE.

3. The aforementioned requirement is, Periodically, Based on the determination of a change to the first configuration information, or In any combination of those, The first UE is configured to report the first configuration information. The method according to claim 2.

4. The one or more first DLRSs are a subset of the multiple DLRSs transmitted on the serving cell, and the multiple DLRSs are DLRSs of the same type as the one or more first DLRSs. The request configures the first UE to report the first configuration information for only the one or more first DLRS based on one or more criteria associated with the one or more first DLRS, The aforementioned one or more criteria, The signal strength of one or more of the first DLRS is greater than the signal strength of the remaining DLRS among the plurality of DLRS. The one or more of the first DL RSs are transmitted on a designated component carrier. The one or more of the first DLRSs are transmitted in a specified frequency band. The one or more of the aforementioned first DLRS are transmitted within a specified frequency range, or Any combination of them including, The method according to claim 2.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the request triggers the first UE to transition to a wireless resource control (RRC) connection state in order to obtain the first configuration information.

6. The identifiers of one or more neighboring cells are received in the request for the second configuration information. The above request for the second configuration information is, The signal intensity measurement values ​​associated with one or more neighboring cells, Preferred configuration parameters for one or more second DLRSs, Preferred component carrier for one or more second DL RSs, Preferred frequency bands for the one or more second DL RSs, The preferred frequency range for one or more second DL RSs, or Any combination of them including, The method according to claim 1.

7. The response indicates that the one or more second DL RSs are associated with one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) transmitted on the one or more neighboring cells. The response includes one or more timers indicating the period during which the second configuration information is valid, or Any combination of those, The method according to claim 1.

8. Receiving a location estimate of the first UE determined from the first UE based on a first measurement value of one or more first DLRSs and a second measurement value of one or more second DLRSs, wherein the first measurement value is based on the first configuration information and the second measurement value is based on the second configuration information, or Receiving the first measurement value of the one or more first DLRS and the second measurement value of the one or more second DLRS from the first UE, The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

9. Receiving identifiers of one or more first DLRS and one or more second DLRS measured by the first UE from the first UE, From the first UE, the one or more second DL RSs receive the identifiers of the one or more neighboring cells that were measured by the first UE, or Any combination of them This also includes, The method according to claim 1.

10. The one or more first DLRS and the one or more second DLRS are Tracking reference signal (TRS), or Channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), That is, The method according to claim 1.

11. Sending a request for at least a portion of the second configuration information to a second UE which is serviced by at least one of the one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, Receiving at least a portion of the second configuration information from the second UE, The further includes the response being transmitted to the first UE in response to the receipt of at least the portion of the second configuration information. The method according to claim 1.

12. The first UE is subscribed to a first network operator, and the plurality of first downlink reference signals (DLRS) are transmitted by one or more first transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the first network operator. The one or more second DLRSs are transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator different from the first network operator. The method according to claim 1.

13. Receiving a first set of one or more DL RS positioning measurements transmitted from the first UE by one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs), Receiving a second set of positioning measurements of the one or more DL RS transmitted by the one or more TRPs from the second UE, The differential positioning measurement value is determined based on the first set of positioning measurement values ​​and the second set of positioning measurement values. Based on the differential positioning measurement values, determine the network synchronization error associated with at least one or more TRPs, including, The method according to claim 1.

14. A wireless positioning method performed by a user device (UE), Transmitting to a first server first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DLRS) transmitted by one or more first transmit / receive points (TRPs) of a first network operator, Transmitting to a second server second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DL RS transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, This includes the fact that the UE is a subscriber to both the first network operator and the second network operator. method.

15. A connected intelligent edge (CIE) server, Memory and At least one transceiver, A memory and at least one transceiver, and at least one processor, Receiving first configuration information from a first user equipment (UE) via at least one transceiver for one or more first downlink reference signals (DLRS) transmitted on the serving cell of the first UE, Receiving identifiers of one or more neighboring cells of the first UE from the first UE via the at least one transceiver, Transmitting to the first UE via at least one transceiver a response containing second configuration information for one or more second DLRS transmitted on one or more neighboring cells of the first UE, wherein the one or more second DLRS is of the same type as the one or more first DLRS, A CIE configured to perform the following actions.

16. The CIE according to claim 15, further configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 2 to 13.

17. User equipment (UE), Memory and At least one transceiver, A memory and at least one transceiver, and at least one processor, Transmitting to a first server, via at least one transceiver, first location information based on a first set of positioning measurements of one or more first downlink reference signals (DLRS) transmitted by one or more first transmit / receive points (TRPs) of a first network operator, Transmitting to a second server, via at least one transceiver, a second location information based on a second set of positioning measurements of one or more second DLRS transmitted by one or more second TRPs of a second network operator, It is configured to perform such a function, and the UE is a subscriber to both the first network operator and the second network operator. UE.

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