Signaling mechanism for reduced functionality user equipment positioning

Abstract

Various embodiments herein provide techniques for frequency hopping for positioning using reduced capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE). For example, a RedCap UE may perform downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) measurements using frequency hopping and bandwidth stitching. Additionally or alternatively, a RedCap UE may transmit uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) measurements using frequency hopping. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 397,616, filed August 12, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 482,967, filed February 2, 2023.

[0002] Various embodiments may relate generally to the field of wireless communications. For example, some embodiments may relate to techniques for reduced functionality user equipment (UE) position determination. [Background technology]

[0003] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated, integrated communications platforms. The next-generation wireless communications system, 5G, or New Radio (NR), provides access to information and sharing of data anywhere, anytime by a variety of users and applications. NR is envisioned as a unified network / system that aims to meet vastly different and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. These diverse multi-dimensional requirements are driven by different services and applications. In general, NR evolves based on 3GPP® LTE-Advanced with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with better, simpler, and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR enables everything to be connected wirelessly, delivering high-speed, rich content and services.

[0004] NR supports highly accurate positioning in vertical and horizontal dimensions, using timing-based, angle-based, power-based, or hybrid techniques to estimate a user's location in the network. Using the wide bandwidth and beamforming capabilities of positioning signals in mmWave frequency bands, higher positioning accuracy can be achieved through RAT-dependent positioning techniques. 3GPP Release (Rel)-16 introduced downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRS) and uplink sounding reference signals (UL-SRS) for positioning to achieve target performance characteristics.

[0005] It is deemed beneficial to further facilitate a smooth transition from 3.5G and 4G technologies to 5G (NR) technologies for currently deployed bands that support a class of NR user equipment (UE) with lower levels of complexity and power consumption than 3GPP® Rel-15 NR UE, address use cases such as industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs), certain classes of wearables, and video surveillance, fill the gap between current low-power wide-area (LPWA) solutions and enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) solutions in NR, and provide relevant use cases that require relatively low-to-moderate reference (e.g., median) and peak user throughput, low device complexity, small device form factor, and relatively long battery life.

[0006] To this end, 3GPP Rel-17 introduced a class of reduced capability (RedCap) NR UEs that use the currently specified 5G NR framework with necessary adaptations and enhancements to limit device complexity and power consumption while minimizing any adverse impact on network resource utilization, system spectral efficiency, and operational efficiency. In particular, RedCap UEs typically support a maximum UE bandwidth (BW) of 20 MHz in the Frequency Range 1 (FR1) band and a maximum UE BW of 100 MHz in the Frequency Range 2 (FR2) band. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] Embodiments may be readily understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: To facilitate this description, like elements will be given like reference numerals; and Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which: [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example of subband-based frequency hopping for downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) measurements, according to various embodiments.

[0008] [Figure 2] 10 illustrates another example of subband-based frequency hopping for DL-PRS measurements, according to various embodiments.

[0009] [Figure 3] 1 illustrates an example of bandwidth part (BWP) based frequency hopping for DL-PRS, according to various embodiments.

[0010] [Figure 4] 10 illustrates another example of BWP-based frequency hopping for DL-PRS, according to various embodiments.

[0011] [Figure 5]1 illustrates an example of BWP-based frequency hopping for uplink (UL) sounding reference signals (SRS) for positioning, according to various embodiments.

[0012] [Figure 6] 10 illustrates another example of BWP-based frequency hopping for UL SRS for positioning, according to various embodiments.

[0013] [Figure 7] 1 illustrates an example of frequency hopping for reception of DL PRS for reduced capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE) according to various embodiments.

[0014] [Figure 8] 10 shows an example of frequency hopping for SRS for RedCap UE positioning. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments.

[0015] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of components of a wireless network according to various embodiments.

[0016] [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods described herein, according to some example embodiments.

[0017] [Figure 12] 1 illustrates an example procedure for carrying out various embodiments described herein. [Figure 13] 1 illustrates an example procedure for carrying out various embodiments described herein. [Figure 14] 1 illustrates an example procedure for carrying out various embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The following detailed description refers to several accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For purposes of this document, the phrases "A or B" and "A / B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0019] As mentioned above, NR supports very precise positioning in vertical and horizontal dimensions, utilizing timing-based, angle-based, power-based, or hybrid techniques to estimate user positions in the network. For example, the following RAT-dependent positioning techniques may be used, which can meet the positioning requirements of various use cases, such as indoor, outdoor, industrial Internet of Things (IoT), etc.: Downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA); ·Uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA); Downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD); Uplink angle of arrival (UL AoA); Multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT); ·NR Enhanced Cell ID (Multi-cell round trip time: E-CID).

[0020] By utilizing the wide bandwidth and beamforming capabilities of positioning signals in the mmWave frequency band, higher positioning accuracy can be achieved by RAT-dependent positioning techniques. In Rel-16, downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRS) and uplink sounding reference signals (UL-SRS) for positioning were introduced to enable achieving target performance characteristics.

[0021] In reduced-capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE), bandwidth limitations can result in insufficient resolution in the time domain, affecting the accuracy of DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, and Multi-RTT timing-based positioning methods. Various embodiments herein may provide frequency hopping techniques for DL-PRS and / or UL-SRS to improve positioning accuracy. In some embodiments, two consecutive frequency hops may share multiple overlapping physical resource blocks (PRBs). In this case, multiple channel observations obtained using frequency hopping measurements can be processed at the receiver side to "stitch" them together to achieve a wideband channel, resulting in a reduced sample time length and a discrete Fourier size expansion. The overlapping PRBs between two frequency hops may enable the receiver to estimate and compensate for the frequency offset between the two hops, achieving the gain of consistent combining processing.

[0022] Various embodiments herein provide systems and methods for frequency hopping for positioning support for RedCap UEs. For example, aspects of various embodiments include: Frequency hopping with bandwidth stitching for DL-PRS transmissions; and / or Frequency hopping with bandwidth stitching for UL-SRS transmission for positioning; Signaling mechanism for DL-PRS transmission for RedCap UE Signaling mechanism for UL-SRS transmission for positioning of RedCap UE may include:

[0023] Frequency hopping with bandwidth stitching for DL-PRS transmission An embodiment of frequency hopping with bandwidth stitching for DL-PRS transmission is further described below.

[0024] In one embodiment, wideband DL-PRS transmissions may be configured in a RedCap UE for a DL-PRS resource, such that the wideband DL-PRS transmission BW may exceed the maximum RedCap UE BW for the corresponding frequency range (FR). Furthermore, for each DL-PRS transmission in a DL-PRS resource, multiple subbands for the DL-PRS transmission in frequency may be configured by higher layers via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the UE may be configured to perform frequency hopping across the configured subbands. In some aspects, one or more subbands may overlap in frequency, enabling consistent combination of channel observations at the receiver across multiple frequency hops.

[0025] In one option, the subband size and subband distance between two adjacent subbands in each DL-PRS transmission can be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling, in which case the UE determines the set of PRBs for positioning measurement according to the subband size and subband distance in each DL-PRS repetition.

[0026] In another option, the subband size and number of overlapping PRBs between two subbands can be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling, in which case the UE determines the set of PRBs for positioning measurement according to the subband size and number of overlapping PRBs between two subbands in each DL-PRS repetition.

[0027] In another example embodiment, a UE may not be expected to be configured with a subband size in the frequency dimension that exceeds the maximum RedCap UE BW for the corresponding FR.

[0028] In another example embodiment, repetitions of a DL-PRS may be mapped in the time domain, whereby one or more symbols or slots or specified time gaps (in absolute time units) are provisioned to correspond to any gaps required for a RedCap UE to retune from one subband to another. The symbols or slots may be defined using the numerology of the associated DL-PRS.

[0029] In another embodiment, the DL-PRS frequency hopping pattern may be predefined in a specification. In particular, the starting subband index for frequency hopping may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling. The subband index may be incremented by 1, modulo the total number of subbands for subsequent DL-PRS repetitions in the DL-PRS resource.

[0030] In this case, for the i-th DL-PRS iteration, the starting PRB can be determined as follows:

number

number

number

[0031] In another example embodiment, a UE may not be expected to be configured with a subband size in the frequency dimension that exceeds the maximum RedCap UE BW for the corresponding FR.

[0032] In another example embodiment, repetitions of a DL-PRS may be mapped in the time domain, whereby one or more symbols or slots are provisioned to accommodate any gaps required for a RedCap UE to retune from one subband to another, and the symbols or slots may be defined using the numerology of the associated DL-PRS.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows an example of subband-based frequency hopping for DL-PRS measurements. In the figure, four repetitions are configured for the DL-PRS resources. In addition, the UE performs subband-based frequency hopping for DL-PRS measurements. The subband index for each DL-PRS repetition is incremented by 1. In some aspects, adjacent subbands overlap in the frequency domain due to bandwidth stitching.

[0034] In another embodiment, the DL-PRS frequency hopping pattern may be defined according to one or more of the following parameters: a starting PRB for the first repetition, a subband index, and a DL-PRS repetition index.

[0035] In another embodiment, the UE performs subband frequency hopping for location measurements for all K groups of DL-PRS repetitions. In particular, within all K groups of DL-PRS repetitions, the same set of PRBs is used for DL-PRS measurements. In some aspects, K may be predefined in a specification or configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0036] In some aspects, two gaps between DL-PRS repetitions may be configured by higher layers, where a first gap may be configured between two repetitions within a group of all K DL-PRS repetitions, and a second gap may be configured between two groups of all K DL-PRS repetitions. In some aspects, the gaps may be defined according to a number of symbols or slots or absolute time. In the latter case, it may be determined based on the number of slots and numerology for DL-PRS transmission.

[0037] Figure 2 shows an example of subband-based frequency hopping for DL-PRS measurements. In the figure, four repetitions are configured for DL-PRS resources, and K=2. In addition, the UE performs subband-based frequency hopping for every two repetitions for DL-PRS measurements. In the two repetitions, the same set of PRBs is used for DL-PRS measurements.

[0038] In another embodiment, DL-PRS repetitions for a DL-PRS resource may be transmitted in different DL bandwidth portions (BWPs), which may be configured for RedCap UEs for frequency hopping. Furthermore, for BWP switching, a gap may be configured between two DL-PRS repetitions. In some aspects, the gap may be defined according to a number of symbols or slots or absolute time. In the latter case, it may be determined based on the number of slots and numerology for DL-PRS transmission.

[0039] In this option, the starting PRB for the DL-PRS transmission may be defined according to the starting PRB of the BWP. In some aspects, one or more DL-PRS repetitions or DL BWPs for the DL-PRS transmission may overlap in frequency to enable a consistent combination of channel observations at multiple frequency hops at the receiver.

[0040] Figure 3 shows an example of BWP-based frequency hopping for DL-PRS. In the figure, the DL-PRS completely occupies the DL BWP in the frequency domain. Furthermore, three repetitions are configured for DL-PRS transmission in the DL-PRS resource, where each DL-PRS repetition is transmitted in a separate DL BWP.

[0041] In another embodiment, all K groups of DL-PRS repetitions for a DL-PRS resource may be transmitted in different DL BWPs configured in the RedCap UE for frequency hopping. In addition, the same set of frequency resources may be used for DL-PRS repetitions in all K groups of DL-PRS repetitions. In some aspects, K may be predefined in a specification or configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0042] Furthermore, two gaps between DL-PRS repetitions may be configured by higher layers, where a first gap may be configured between two repetitions within a group of all K DL-PRS repetitions, and a second gap may be configured between two groups of all K DL-PRS repetitions. In some aspects, the gaps may be defined according to a number of symbols or slots or absolute time. In the latter case, it may be determined based on the number of slots and numerology for DL-PRS transmission.

[0043] In this option, the starting PRB for DL-PRS transmission may be defined according to the starting PRB of the BWP.

[0044] Figure 4 shows an example of BWP-based frequency hopping for DL-PRS. In the figure, DL-PRS completely occupies the DL BWP in the frequency domain. Furthermore, four repetitions are configured for DL-PRS transmission in the DL-PRS resource, and K=2. The gap between every two repetitions is 1 slot, while the gap between every set of two repetitions is 16 slots.

[0045] In another embodiment, a RedCap UE may be configured with a DL-PRS configuration whereby a DL-PRS is mapped to one of N subbands or N DL BWPs across r*N consecutive DL-PRS transmission opportunities, whereby pairs of consecutive DL-PRS opportunities may be separated by a time gap of multiple symbols or slots in absolute time, where r is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Furthermore, the set of r*N temporally consecutive DL-PRS transmission opportunities across N subbands or DL BWPs may be configured to repeat K times.

[0046] In contrast to the above embodiment that uses an "repeat (at a hop) then hop" approach, this embodiment utilizes a "hop then repeat" approach, allowing r > 1 iterations at each hop. Such a design may allow a trade-off between combining gain from combining iterations for frequency hops and accurate estimation of frequency offset between DL-PRS reception over two consecutive frequency hops for consistent combining across different frequency hops.

[0047] Frequency hopping with bandwidth stitching for UL-SRS transmission for positioning An embodiment of frequency hopping with bandwidth stitching for UL-SRS transmission is further described below.

[0048] In one embodiment, the UL SRS for positioning on the UL SRS resource is transmitted in a different UL BWP or UL subband configured in the RedCap UE for frequency hopping. Furthermore, a gap may be configured between two UL SRS transmissions for BWP switching. In some aspects, the gap may be defined according to the number of symbols or slots or absolute time. In the latter case, it may be determined based on the number of slots and numerology for the UL SRS transmission.

[0049] In an example, a UL BWP or UL subband may be configured with the same numerology, BWP, or subband size, and the same shared and control channel configuration, except for a different starting PRB.

[0050] In another example, a UL BWP or UL subband may be configured with the same numerology, but may have a different BWP or subband size, a different shared and control channel configuration, and a different starting PRB.

[0051] In this option, the starting PRB for the UL SRS transmission may be defined according to the starting PRB of the BWP or sub-band. In some aspects, one or more UL SRS repetitions or UL BWPs or sub-bands for the UL SRS transmission may overlap in frequency to enable consistent combination of channel observations at multiple frequency hops at the receiver.

[0052] Figure 5 shows an example of BWP-based frequency hopping for UL SRS for positioning. In the figure, the UL SRS for positioning completely occupies the UL BWP in the frequency domain. Furthermore, three repetitions are configured for UL SRS transmission in the SRS resource, where each SRS repetition is transmitted in a separate UL BWP.

[0053] In another embodiment, the group of K SRS repetitions for all positioning on the SRS resource is transmitted in different UL BWPs or subbands for frequency hopping. In addition, the same set of frequency resources is used for SRS repetitions in all K SRS repetition groups. In some aspects, K may be predefined in a specification or configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0054] Furthermore, two gaps between SRS repetitions may be configured by higher layers, where a first gap may be configured between two repetitions within a group of all K SRS repetitions, and a second gap may be configured between two groups of all K SRS repetitions. In some aspects, the gaps may be defined according to the number of slots or absolute time. In the latter case, it may be determined based on the number of slots and numerology for SRS transmission.

[0055] In this option, the starting PRB for SRS transmission may be defined according to the starting PRB of the BWP or subband.

[0056] Figure 6 shows an example of BWP-based frequency hopping for SRS for positioning. In the figure, the SRS for positioning completely occupies the UL BWP in the frequency domain. Furthermore, four repetitions are configured for SRS transmission in the SRS resource, and K=2. The gap between every two repetitions is 1 slot, while the gap between every set of two repetitions is 16 slots.

[0057] In another embodiment, a RedCap UE may be configured with an SRS configuration whereby the SRS is mapped to one of N UL BWPs or subbands over r*N consecutive SRS transmission opportunities, whereby pairs of consecutive SRS opportunities may be separated by a time gap of multiple symbols or slots in absolute time, where r is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Further, the set of r*N time-contiguous SRS transmission opportunities across N UL BWPs or subbands may be configured to repeat K times.

[0058] In contrast to the above embodiment that uses an "repeat (at a hop) then hop" approach, this embodiment utilizes a "hop then repeat" approach, allowing r > 1 iterations at each hop. Such a design may enable a trade-off between combining gain from combining iterations for frequency hops and accurate estimation of frequency offset between SRS receptions over two consecutive frequency hops for consistent combining across different frequency hops at the gNB receiver.

[0059] Signaling mechanism for DL-PRS transmission for RedCap UE As mentioned above, bandwidth limitations result in insufficient resolution in the time domain, which may affect the accuracy of downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) timing-based positioning methods. To improve positioning accuracy, frequency hopping with bandwidth stitching methods may be considered for transmission of DL-PRS and / or UL-SRS for positioning, where two consecutive frequency hops share multiple overlapping PRBs. In this case, multiple channel observations obtained using frequency hopping measurements can be processed at the receiver side and "stitched" together to achieve a wideband channel, resulting in a reduced sample time length and a discrete Fourier size expansion.

[0060] An embodiment of a signaling mechanism for DL-PRS transmission for RedCap UEs is further described below.

[0061] In one embodiment, the DL PRS sequence is generated according to a DL PRS positioning frequency layer configuration, which may exceed the maximum bandwidth supported by the RedCap UE. Furthermore, the DL PRS sequence may be mapped to time-frequency resources allocated for DL PRS transmission according to the DL PRS positioning frequency layer configuration. In another option, the DL PRS sequence may be mapped to time-frequency resources according to a frequency hopping pattern provided to the RedCap UE.

[0062] In another embodiment, the DL PRS sequence may be mapped to time-frequency resources allocated for DL PRS transmission according to the DL PRS positioning frequency tier configuration; however, the RedCap UE may assume that the DL PRS sequence is transmitted in time-frequency resources that are restricted to frequency subbands according to the frequency hopping pattern provided to the RedCap UE. In this case, the assumption of DL PRS transmission by the RedCap UE may be decoupled from the actual transmission of the DL PRS, as long as the DL PRS transmission includes frequency subbands according to the frequency hopping pattern indicated to the RedCap UE. This allows the gNB to transparently select between the option of transmitting a single common DL PRS that can be received by RedCap and non-RedCap UEs, and the option of transmitting DL PRS for RedCap UEs separately from non-RedCap UEs.

[0063] In some aspects, multiple subbands for DL-PRS transmission in frequency may be configured by higher layers via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the UE may be configured to perform frequency hopping across the configured subbands.

[0064] In some aspects, one or more subbands may overlap in frequency, enabling a receiver to consistently combine channel observations at multiple frequency hops. Furthermore, the subband size and subband distance between two adjacent subbands in each DL-PRS repetition may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling. In this case, the UE determines the set of PRBs for location measurement according to the subband size and subband distance in each DL-PRS repetition.

[0065] 7 shows an example of frequency hopping for receiving DL PRS for RedCap UEs. In the figure, DL PRS sequences are transmitted in time-frequency resources within a frequency subband or BWP based on a frequency hopping pattern. In some aspects, the gNB may transmit a single common DL PRS that can be received by both RedCap UEs and non-RedCap UEs, or the gNB may transmit only DL PRS for RedCap UEs based on the frequency hopping pattern, while not transmitting DL PRS in the remaining resources outside the frequency hopping pattern.

[0066] In some aspects, whether a DL PRS sequence is mapped to resources allocated for DL PRS transmission or to resources according to a frequency hopping pattern may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0067] In another embodiment, the starting PRB of different hops may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling. In addition, the reference point for indicating the starting PRB may be defined as point A corresponding to the lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB), or as the starting PRB of a DL PRS transmission according to the configuration of a DL PRS positioning frequency layer, a DL PRS resource set, or a DL PRS resource.

[0068] In another option, the starting PRB reference point may be defined as the starting PRB of the configured BWP for the RedCap UE or the starting PRB of the subband defined above.

[0069] Signaling mechanism for UL-SRS transmission for positioning of RedCap UE An embodiment of a signaling mechanism for UL-SRS transmission for positioning for RedCap UEs is further described below.

[0070] In one embodiment, the association between the SRS resource set in the first UL BWP or subband and the SRS resource set in the second UL BWP or subband may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling, in which case, for periodic SRS transmission with frequency hopping, when the SRS resource set in the first UL BWP or subband is configured, the SRS is also transmitted using the SRS resource set in the second UL BWP or subband according to the association.

[0071] In semi-persistent SRS transmission with frequency hopping, when an SRS resource set in a first UL BWP or subband is activated or deactivated, an SRS resource set in a second UL BWP or subband is also activated or deactivated according to the association. In aperiodic SRS transmission with frequency hopping, when an SRS resource set in a first UL BWP or subband is triggered, an SRS resource set in a second UL BWP or subband is also triggered according to the association.

[0072] In an example embodiment, the association between an SRS resource set in a first UL BWP or subband and an SRS resource set in a second UL BWP or subband may be defined via a schedule for SRS transmission on one or more SRS resources within each SRS resource set based on a frequency resource hopping pattern defined as a function of time resources (symbols and / or slots).

[0073] In another option, the association between periodic / semi-persistent SRS resource sets and BWPs or subbands may be updated by the MAC-CE.

[0074] 8 shows an example of frequency hopping for SRS for positioning of a RedCap UE. In the figure, SRS resource set A in BWP#0 is associated with SRS resource set B in BWP#1 and SRS resource set C in BWP#2. When SRS resource set A in BWP#0 is activated or triggered, SRS resource set B in BWP#1 and SRS resource set C in BWP#2 are also activated or triggered, respectively.

[0075] In another embodiment, the association between the SRS resources in the first UL BWP or subband and the SRS resources in the second UL BWP or subband may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling, in which case, for periodic SRS transmission with frequency hopping, when an SRS resource set including the SRS resources in the first UL BWP or subband is configured, the SRS is also transmitted using the SRS resources in the second BWP or subband according to the association.

[0076] In semi-persistent SRS transmission with frequency hopping, when an SRS resource set including SRS resources in a first UL BWP or subband is activated or deactivated, SRS resources in a second UL BWP or subband are also activated or deactivated according to the association. In aperiodic SRS transmission with frequency hopping, when an SRS resource set including SRS resources in a first UL BWP or subband is triggered, SRS resources in a second UL BWP or subband are also triggered according to the association.

[0077] In an example embodiment, the association between SRS resources in a first UL BWP or subband and SRS resources in a second UL BWP or subband may be defined via configuration of a transmission schedule (e.g., order / sequence of SRS transmissions) for SRS transmissions on the SRS resources based on a frequency resource hopping pattern defined as a function of time resources (symbols and / or slots).

[0078] In another embodiment, for semi-persistent SRS for positioning with frequency hopping for RedCap UEs, more than one SRS resource or resource set in different UL BWPs or subbands in a carrier can be activated or deactivated via the Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE). Additionally, a new extended logical channel ID (eLCID) can be defined for semi-persistent SRS for positioning with frequency hopping for RedCap UEs.

[0079] In one option, a set of UL BWPs or subbands in a carrier may be included in the activated / deactivated MAC-CE. Additionally, the activated or deactivated SRS resource set in each BWP or subband may be included in the MAC-CE.

[0080] In another embodiment, for aperiodic SRS for positioning with frequency hopping for RedCap UEs, more than one SRS resource set in different BWPs or subbands in a carrier may be triggered via DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2 and / or DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2 for multi-cell scheduling. In particular, a joint SRS request field may indicate a table row for SRS requests in more than one BWP in a carrier configured by RRC signaling.

[0081] In one option, more than one set of UL BWPs or subbands on a carrier can be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling. One UL BWP or subband set can include one BWP / subband or multiple BWPs / subbands, and one BWP / subband can belong to one BWP / subband set or multiple BWP sets. A codepoint of the SRS Request field in the DCI can be used to indicate that one of the associated one or more sets of UL BWPs or subbands will be used for SRS transmission for positioning with frequency hopping for RedCap UEs.

[0082] In some aspects, a one-bit field may be included in DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2 and / or a DCI format for multi-cell scheduling to distinguish between SRS requests for positioning with frequency hopping and SRS requests for other purposes. In one example, bit '1' may be used to indicate that the SRS request is used for SRS for positioning with frequency hopping, while bit '0' may be used to indicate that the SRS request is not used for SRS for positioning with frequency hopping for RedCap UEs.

[0083] In another option, to distinguish between SRS requests for positioning with frequency hopping and SRS requests for other purposes, some unused states or fields may be reused to indicate SRS requests for positioning with frequency hopping.

[0084] In another option, to distinguish between SRS requests for positioning with frequency hopping and SRS requests for other purposes, a separate search space set may be configured to monitor DCI formats that include SRS requests for positioning with frequency hopping.

[0085] In another option, to distinguish between SRS requests for positioning with frequency hopping and SRS requests for other purposes, a separate search space set may be configured to monitor DCI formats that include SRS requests for positioning with frequency hopping.

[0086] In another embodiment, a group-common DCI may be defined to trigger SRS transmission for positioning with frequency hopping in different BWPs or subbands for RedCap UEs.

[0087] In one option, the existing DCI format 2_3 may be extended to support triggering of SRS transmission for positioning with frequency hopping in different BWPs or subbands. In this case, a new configuration field, e.g., Type C, may be configured to indicate that DCI format 2_3 is used to trigger SRS transmission for positioning with frequency hopping. In some aspects, the TPC command field may not be present in DCI format 2_3 of Type C configuration. In another option, the presence / absence of the TPC command field in DCI format 2_3 of Type C configuration may be configured via RRC signaling. Furthermore, the above embodiment for triggering SRS transmission using an SRS request via a UE-specific DCI format may be applied for group-common DCI.

[0088] In another option, a new group-common DCI format may be defined to support triggering of SRS transmission for positioning with frequency hopping in different BWPs. In this case, a new Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) may be configured in the UE to monitor the new group-common DCI format. Furthermore, the above embodiments for triggering SRS transmission using an SRS request via a UE-specific DCI format may be applied for the group-common DCI.

[0089] In another embodiment, for SRS transmission for positioning with frequency hopping, the starting PRB of different hops can be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling. In addition, the reference point of the starting PRB can be defined as point A corresponding to the lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB), or as the starting PRB of the SRS transmission according to the configuration of an SRS resource set or SRS resources.

[0090] In another option, the starting PRB reference point may be defined as the starting PRB of a configured UL BWP or subband for a RedCap UE, or the starting PRB of said subband.

[0091] It should be noted that, for simplicity, the concepts in the above embodiments and examples are described for cases involving two SRS resource sets or SRS resources or UL BWPs or sub-bands (if applicable) where frequency hopping is applied. It should be apparent that the disclosed techniques may be applied to cases involving more than two SRS resource sets or SRS resources or UL BWPs or sub-bands (if applicable) according to various embodiments herein.

[0092] System and Implementation 9-11 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

[0093] 9 illustrates a network 900 according to various embodiments. Network 900 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP® technical specifications for LTE or 5G / NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that would benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP® systems.

[0094] The network 900 may include a UE 902, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with the RAN 904 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 902 may be communicatively coupled to the RAN 904 by a Uu interface. The UE 902 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment, an in-vehicle entertainment device, an instrument cluster, a head-up display device, an in-vehicle diagnostic device, a dash-top mobile device, a mobile data terminal, an electronic engine management system, an electronic / engine control unit, an electronic / engine control module, an embedded system, a sensor, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system, a networked appliance, a machine-type communication device, an M2M or D2D device, an IoT device, etc.

[0095] In some embodiments, the network 900 may include multiple UEs directly coupled to each other via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M / D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels, such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.

[0096] In some embodiments, the UE 902 may further communicate with an AP 906 via an over-the-air connection. The AP 906 may manage the WLAN connection and function to offload some / all network traffic from the RAN 904. The connection between the UE 902 and the AP 906 may be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where the AP 906 may be a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) router. In some embodiments, the UE 902, the RAN 904, and the AP 906 may utilize cellular WLAN aggregation (e.g., LWA / LWIP). Cellular WLAN aggregation may involve the UE 902 being configured by the RAN 904 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0097] The RAN 904 may include one or more access nodes, such as the AN 908. The AN 908 may terminate the air interface protocols of the UE 902 by providing access stratum protocols, including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN 908 may enable data / voice connectivity between the CN 920 and the UE 902. In some embodiments, the AN 908 may be implemented in a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as, for example, a CRAN or a virtual baseband unit pool. The AN 908 may be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. The AN 908 may be a macrocell base station or a low-power base station for providing a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0098] In embodiments where the RAN 904 includes multiple ANs, they may be coupled to each other via an X2 interface (if the RAN 904 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 904 is a 5G RAN). The X2 / Xn interface, which in some embodiments may be separated into a control / user plane interface, may allow the ANs to communicate information related to handover, data / context transfer, mobility, load management, interference control, etc.

[0099] Each AN of the RAN 904 may manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc., to provide the UE 902 with an air interface for network access. The UE 902 may be simultaneously connected to multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 904. For example, the UE 902 and the RAN 904 may use carrier aggregation to enable the UE 902 to connect to multiple component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or an Scell. In a dual connectivity scenario, the first AN may be a master node providing an MCG, and the second AN may be a secondary node providing an SCG. The first / second ANs may be any combination of eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, etc.

[0100] The RAN 904 may provide an air interface over licensed or unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, a node may use LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms based on CA techniques using a PCell / Scell. Before accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the node may perform a medium / carrier sensing operation, for example, based on a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol.

[0101] In a V2X scenario, the UE 902 or AN 908 may be or operate as an RSU, which may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a static (or relatively static) UE. An RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU”; an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU”; an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU”; etc. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled to radio frequency circuits located on the roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicular UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry that stores intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low-latency communications required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular / WLAN communication services. The RSU components may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or backhaul network.

[0102] In some embodiments, the RAN 904 may be an LTE RAN 910 including an eNB, such as eNB 912. The LTE RAN 910 may provide the following features to the LTE air interface: a 15 kHz SCS; a CP-OFDM waveform for DL and an SC-FDMA waveform for UL; turbo codes for data and TBCC for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on the CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; the PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH / PDCCH demodulation; and the CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation / detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate in sub-6 GHz bands.

[0103] In some embodiments, the RAN 904 may be an NG-RAN 914 having a gNB, e.g., gNB 916, or an ng-eNB, e.g., ng-eNB 918. The gNB 916 may connect to a 5G-capable UE using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 916 may connect to a 5G core through an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 918 may also connect to the 5G core through the NG interface, but may connect to the UE over an LTE air interface. The gNB 916 and the ng-eNB 918 may connect to each other via an Xn interface.

[0104] In some embodiments, the NG interface may be divided into two parts: an NG User Plane (NG-U) interface (e.g., N3 interface), which carries traffic data between nodes in the NG-RAN 914 and the UPF 948, and an NG Control Plane (NG-C) interface (e.g., N2 interface), which is the signaling interface between nodes in the NG-RAN 914 and the AMF 944.

[0105] The NG-RAN 914 may provide the 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polar, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control, and LDPC for data. The 5G NR air interface, like the LTE air interface, may rely on CSI-RS and PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS. The 5G NR air interface may not use CRS, but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation, PTRS for PDSCH phase tracking, and tracking reference signals for time tracking. The 5G NR air interface may operate in the FR1 band, which includes sub-6 GHz bands, or the FR2 band, which includes the 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz band. The 5G NR air interface may include SSB, which is an area of the downlink resource grid that includes PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0106] In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWPs for various purposes. For example, BWPs may be used for dynamic SCS adaptation. For example, a UE 902 may be configured with multiple BWPs, each BWP configuration having a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 902, the SCS of the transmission is also changed. Another use case example of a BWP relates to power saving. In particular, a UE 902 may be configured with multiple BWPs with different amounts of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic load scenarios. A BWP including fewer PRBs may be used for data transmissions with a light traffic load, while enabling power savings at the UE 902 and, in some cases, at the gNB 916. A BWP including a larger number of PRBs may be used in scenarios with higher traffic loads. The RAN 904 is communicatively coupled to a CN 920, which includes network elements that provide various functions to support data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of the UE 902). The components of CN920 may be implemented on a single physical node or on separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the functions provided by the network elements of CN920 onto physical compute / storage resources in servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of CN920 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of CN920 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.

[0107] In some embodiments, the CN 920 may be an LTE CN 922, which may also be referred to as an EPC. The LTE CN 922 may include an MME 924, an SGW 926, an SGSN 928, an HSS 930, a PGW 932, and a PCRF 934 coupled to each other via interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functionality of the elements of the LTE CN 922 may be briefly introduced below.

[0108] The MME 924 may implement mobility management functions that track the current location of the UE 902 and facilitate paging, bearer activation / deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, etc.

[0109] The SGW 926 may terminate the S1 interface towards the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN 922. The SGW 926 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other roles may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0110] The SGSN 928 may track the location of the UE 902 and perform security functions and access control. Additionally, the SGSN 928 may perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by the MME 924; MME selection for handover; etc. The S3 reference point between the MME 924 and the SGSN 928 may enable the exchange of user and bearer information for mobility between 3GPP access networks in idle / active state.

[0111] The HSS 930 may include a database for network users, including subscription-related information, to support processing of communication sessions by network entities. The HSS 930 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, name / address resolution, location dependency, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 930 and the MME 924 may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data to authenticate / authorize user access to the LTE CN 920.

[0112] The PGW 932 may terminate the SGi interface toward a data network (DN) 936, which may include an application / content server 938. The PGW 932 may route data packets between the LTE CN 922 and the data network 936. The PGW 932 may be coupled to the SGW 926 by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 932 may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (e.g., a PCEF). In addition, the SGi reference point between the PGW 932 and the data network 936 may be a public, private PDN, or intra-operator packet data network external to the operator, for example, for provisioning of IMS services. The PGW 932 may be coupled to a PCRF 934 via a Gx reference point. The PCRF 934 is the policy and charging control element of the LTE CN 922. The PCRF 934 may be communicatively coupled to the app / content server 938 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for service flows. The PCRF 932 can provision the relevant rules to the PCEF (via the Gx reference point) using the appropriate TFT and QCI.

[0113] In some embodiments, the CN 920 may be a 5GC 940. The 5GC 940 may include an AUSF 942, an AMF 944, an SMF 946, a UPF 948, an NSSF 950, an NEF 952, an NRF 954, a PCF 956, a UDM 958, and an AF 960 coupled to each other via interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functionality of the elements of the 5GC 940 may be briefly introduced as follows: The AUSF 942 may store data for authentication of the UE 902 and handle authentication-related functions. The AUSF 942 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 940 via reference points as shown, the AUSF 942 may expose a Nausf service-based interface.

[0114] The AMF 944 may enable other functions of the 5GC 940, such as communicating with the UE 902 and the RAN 904 and subscribing to notifications about mobility events related to the UE 902. The AMF 944 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., UE 902 registration), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 944 may provide transport of SM messages between the UE 902 and the SMF 946 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 944 may also provide transport of SMS messages between the UE 902 and the SMSF. The AMF 944 may interact with the AUSF 942 and the UE 902 to perform various security anchor and context management functions. Additionally, the AMF 944 may be the termination point of the RAN CP interface, which may include or be the N2 reference point between the RAN 904 and the AMF 944; the AMF 944 may be the termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and may perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. The AMF 944 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 902 over the N3 IWF interface.

[0115] The SMF 946 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between the UPF 948 and the AN 908); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 948 to route traffic to the appropriate destination; termination of the interface to the policy control function; control of policy enforcement, charging, and parts of QoS, lawful intercept (of SM events and the interface to the LI system); termination of the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiation of AN-specific SM information sent through the AMF 944 to the AN 908 through the N2; and determination of the SSC mode of the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 902 and the data network 936.

[0116] The UPF 948 may operate as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point for interconnection to the data network 936, and a branching point for supporting multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 948 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane portion of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handling for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic validation (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), perform transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering, and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 948 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to the data network.

[0117] The NSSF 950 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 902. The NSSF 950 may also determine the allowed NSSAIs and, if necessary, their mapping to subscribed S-NSSAIs. The NSSF 950 may also determine an AMF set, or a list of candidate AMFs, to be used to serve the UE 902 based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 954. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 902 may be triggered by the AMF 944 to which the UE 902 is registered by interacting with the NSSF 950, which may result in an AMF change. The NSSF 950 may interact with the AMF 944 via the N22 reference point; it may communicate with another NSSF in a visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown). Additionally, the NSSF 950 may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface.

[0118] The NEF 952 may securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP® network functions for third parties, internal publication / republication, AFs (e.g., AF 960), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, the NEF 952 may authenticate, authorize, or throttle AFs. The NEF 952 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 960 and with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 952 may translate between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. The NEF 952 may also receive information from other NFs based on the other NFs' published capabilities. This information may be stored as structured data in the NEF 952 or may be stored in a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be exposed by the NEF 952 to other NFs and AFs, or may be used for other purposes, such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF 952 may expose an Nnef service-based interface.

[0119] The NRF 954 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information about discovered NF instances to NF instances. The NRF 954 also maintains information about available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, terms such as "instantiate," "instantiation," and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and an "instance" may refer to a specific occurrence of an object, such as may occur during the execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 954 may expose an Nnrf service-based interface.

[0120] The PCF 956 may provide policy rules to control plane functions for their enforcement and may support a unified policy framework for governing network behavior. The PCF 956 may also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDRs of the UDM 958. In addition to communicating with functions through reference points as shown, the PCF 956 exposes an Npcf service-based interface.

[0121] The UDM 958 may process subscription-related information to support processing of communication sessions by network entities and may store subscription data for UEs 902. For example, subscription data may be communicated between the UDM 958 and the AMF 944 via the N8 reference point. The UDM 958 may include two parts: an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 958 and the PCF 956, and / or structured data and application data for publication to the NEF 952 (including PFDs for application discovery, application request information for multiple UEs 902). A Nudr service-based interface may be exposed by the UDR 221 to allow the UDM 958, the PCF 956, and the NEF 952 to access, read, update (e.g., add, modify), and delete specific sets of stored data, and to subscribe to notifications of associated data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE responsible for handling credential, location management, subscription management, etc. Multiple different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs over reference points as shown, the UDM 958 may expose a Nudm service-based interface.

[0122] The AF 960 provides application influence over traffic routing, provides access to the NEF, and can interact with the policy framework for policy control.

[0123] In some embodiments, the 5GC 940 may enable edge computing by selecting an operator / third-party service to be geographically close to the point where the UE 902 connects to the network. This may reduce latency and load on the network. To provide an edge computing implementation, the 5GC 940 may select a UPF 948 close to the UE 902 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 948 to the data network 936 via the N6 interface. This may be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 960. In this way, the AF 960 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on the operator's deployment, when the AF 960 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator may allow the AF 960 to interact directly with associated NFs. Additionally, the AF 960 may exhibit a NAF service-based interface.

[0124] Data network 936 may represent various network operator services, internet access, or third party services, which may be provided by one or more servers, including, for example, application / content server 938 .

[0125] 10 schematically illustrates a wireless network 1000 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 1000 may include a UE 1002 in wireless communication with an AN 1004. The UE 1002 and the AN 1004 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, similarly named components described elsewhere herein.

[0126] The UE 1002 may be communicatively coupled to the AN 1004 via a connection 1006. The connection 1006 is shown as an air interface for enabling the communicative coupling and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.

[0127] The UE 1002 may include a host platform 1008 coupled to a modem platform 1010. The host platform 1008 may include an application processing circuit 1012 that may be coupled to a protocol processing circuit 1014 of the modem platform 1010. The application processing circuit 1012 may execute various applications for the UE 1002 to source / sink application data. The application processing circuit 1012 may further implement one or more layer operations for transmitting / receiving application data to / from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and internet (e.g., IP) operations.

[0128] The protocol processing circuit 1014 may implement one or more of the layer operations to facilitate sending or receiving data over the connection 1006. The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuit 1014 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0129] The modem platform 1010 may further include digital baseband circuitry 1016 that may implement one or more layer operations that are "below" layer operations in a network protocol stack performed by the protocol processing circuitry 1014. These operations may include PHY operations including, for example, one or more of HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding / decoding that may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency, or spatial coding, reference signal generation / detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation / detection, blind decoding of control channel signals, and other related functions.

[0130] The modem platform 1010 may further include transmit circuitry 1018, receive circuitry 1020, RF circuitry 1022, and an RF front end (RFFE) 1024 (which may include or be connected to one or more antenna panels 1026). Briefly, the transmit circuitry 1018 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry 1020 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry 1022 may include low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, power tracking components, etc.; the RFFE 1024 may include filters (e.g., surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (e.g., phased array antenna components), etc. The selection and configuration of the transmit circuitry 1018, receive circuitry 1020, RF circuitry 1022, RFFE 1024, and antenna panel 1026 components (commonly referred to as "transmit / receive components") may be specific to the details of a particular implementation, for example, whether communications are TDM or FDM, mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit / receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit / receive chains, may be located on the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0131] In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuit 1014 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) for providing control functions to the transmit / receive components.

[0132] UE reception may be established by and through the antenna panel 1026, RFFE 1024, RF circuitry 1022, receive circuitry 1020, digital baseband circuitry 1016, and protocol processing circuitry 1014. In some embodiments, the antenna panel 1026 may receive transmissions from the AN 1004 by receive beamforming signals received by multiple antennas / antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 1026.

[0133] UE transmissions may be established by and through the protocol processing circuitry 1014, the digital baseband circuitry 1016, the transmit circuitry 1018, the RF circuitry 1022, the RFFE 1024, and the antenna panel 1026. In some embodiments, the transmit components of the UE 1004 may apply spatial filters to the data to be transmitted to form transmit beams that are radiated by the antenna elements of the antenna panel 1026.

[0134] Similar to the UE 1002, the AN 1004 may include a host platform 1028 coupled to a modem platform 1030. The host platform 1028 may include an application processing circuit 1032 coupled to the protocol processing circuit 1034 of the modem platform 1030. The modem platform may further include a digital baseband circuit 1036, a transmit circuit 1038, a receive circuit 1040, an RF circuit 1042, an RFFE circuit 1044, and an antenna panel 1046. The components of the AN 1004 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, similarly named components of the UE 1002. In addition to performing data transmission / reception as described above, the components of the AN 1008 may perform various logical functions, including RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and scheduling of data packets.

[0135] 11 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods described herein, according to some demonstrative embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 11 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1100 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1110, one or more memory / storage devices 1120, and one or more communication resources 1130, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1140 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1102 may execute to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1100.

[0136] Processors 1110 may include, for example, processor 1112 and processor 1114. Processor 1110 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those described herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0137] The memory / storage device 1120 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1120 may include any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0138] Communications resources 1130 may include interconnect or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 1104, or one or more databases 1106, or other network elements over network 1108. For example, communications resources 1130 may include wired communications components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communications components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communications components.

[0139] The instructions 1150 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code for causing at least one of the processors 1110 to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein. The instructions 1150 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 1110 (e.g., in a processor's cache memory), the memory / storage device 1120, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 1150 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1100 from any combination of the peripheral device 1104 or the database 1106. Thus, the memory of the processor 1110, the memory / storage device 1120, the peripheral device 1104, and the database 1106 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0140] Exemplary Procedure In some embodiments, an electronic device, network, system, chip, or component of FIGS. 9-11 or some other figures herein, or a portion or implementation thereof, may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods, or portions thereof, as described herein. One such process 1200 is shown in FIG. 12. In some embodiments, process 1200 may be performed by a UE, e.g., a RedCap UE, or a portion thereof. At 1202, process 1200 may include receiving configuration information for downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources, where the DL-PRS resources have a frequency bandwidth wider than a maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE. At 1204, process 1200 may further include performing DL-PRS measurements on each subband of the DL-PRS resources using frequency hopping, where the subbands have a bandwidth equal to or less than the maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE. At 1206, process 1200 may further include generating a wideband position measurement based on the DL-PRS measurements on each subband.

[0141] FIG. 13 shows another example process 1300 according to various embodiments. In some embodiments, process 1300 may be performed by a gNB or portion thereof. At 1302, process 1300 may include transmitting configuration information for downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources to a reduced capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE), where the DL-PRS resources have a frequency bandwidth wider than a maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE, and where the configuration information indicates subbands of the DL-PRS resources on which the RedCap UE performs DL-PRS measurements using frequency hopping, where the subbands have a bandwidth equal to or less than the maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE. At 1304, process 1300 may further include transmitting DL-PRS on the respective subbands. At 1306, the process may further include receiving wideband position measurements from the RedCap UE based on the DL-PRS measurements on the respective subbands.

[0142] 14 shows another example process 1400 according to various embodiments. Process 1400 may be performed by a UE (e.g., a RedCap UE) or portion thereof. At 1402, process 1400 may include receiving configuration information for multiple bandwidth portions (BWPs) or subbands used for transmission of an uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) with frequency hopping. At 1404, process 1400 may further include encoding the UL-SRS for transmission with frequency hopping in the multiple BWPs or subbands based on the configuration information.

[0143] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components depicted in one or more of the above-mentioned drawings may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the above-mentioned drawings may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc. described above in connection with one or more of the above-mentioned drawings may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described in the Examples section below.

[0144] example Example A1 is an apparatus implemented in a reduced functionality (RedCap) user equipment (UE), comprising: The apparatus may include processor circuitry for: a memory for storing configuration information for downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources, where the DL-PRS resources have a frequency bandwidth wider than a maximum bandwidth for a RedCap UE; and a procedure for performing DL-PRS measurements on each subband of the DL-PRS resources using frequency hopping, where the subbands have a bandwidth equal to or less than the maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE; and a procedure for generating wideband position measurements based on the DL-PRS measurements on each subband.

[0145] Example A2 may include the apparatus of example A1 or some other example herein, where measurements on each subband are separated in the time domain by a respective gap.

[0146] Example A3 may include the apparatus of examples A1-A2 or some other example herein, where two or more of the subbands partially overlap in the frequency domain.

[0147] Example A4 may include the apparatus of Examples A1-A3 or some other example herein, where the processor circuitry receives the configuration information via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0148] Example A5 may include the apparatus of Examples A1-A4 or some other example herein, where the configuration information indicates a frequency hopping pattern for DL-PRS measurements.

[0149] Example A6 may include the apparatus of example A5 or some other example herein, where the configuration information further indicates a starting physical resource block (PRB) for the different frequency hops.

[0150] Example A7 may include the apparatus of Example A6 or some other example herein, where the processor circuitry further identifies a reference point for indicating a starting PRB, where the reference point corresponds to: lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB); a starting PRB of a DL-PRS transmission according to a configuration of a DL-PRS positioning frequency layer, a DL-PRS resource set, or a DL-PRS resource; or a starting PRB of a configured bandwidth portion (BWP) or subband of a RedCap UE.

[0151] Example A8 may include the apparatus of any one of Examples A1-A7 or some other examples herein, where the processor circuitry reports wideband position measurements to a next generation Node B (gNB).

[0152] Example A9 may include an apparatus implemented in a reduced functionality (RedCap) user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory for storing configuration information for a plurality of bandwidth portions (BWPs) or sub-bands used for transmission of an uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) with frequency hopping; and a processor circuit for encoding the UL-SRS for transmission with frequency hopping in the plurality of BWPs or sub-bands based on the configuration information.

[0153] Example A10 may include the apparatus of example A9 or some other example herein, where the UL-SRS is transmitted with a gap between each frequency hop.

[0154] Example A11 may include the apparatus of example A10 or some other example herein, where the gap is defined as a number of symbols or slots.

[0155] Example A12 may include the apparatus of example A11 or some other example herein, where the number of symbols or slots is based on the numerology of the UL-SRS.

[0156] Example A13 may include the apparatus of Examples A9-A12 or some other example herein, where an individual BWP or subband has a bandwidth that is less than or equal to a maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE, and where multiple BWPs or subbands collectively have a bandwidth that is greater than the maximum bandwidth.

[0157] Example A14 may include the apparatus of Examples A9-A13 or some other example herein, where the configuration information indicates an association between a first SRS resource or resource set in a first BWP or subband of the BWPs or subbands and a second SRS resource or resource set in a second BWP or subband of the BWPs or subbands.

[0158] Example A15 may include the apparatus of Example A14 or some other example herein, where the processor circuitry further: receives an indication that a first SRS resource or resource set is activated or deactivated; and determines, based on the association, that a second SRS resource set or resource is activated or deactivated.

[0159] Example A16 may include the device of any one of Examples A9-A15 or some other example herein, where the SRS is a semi-permanent SRS.

[0160] Example A17 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (NTCRM) storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a next generation Node B (gNB), configure the gNB to: send configuration information about downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources to a reduced capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE), where the DL-PRS resources have a frequency bandwidth wider than a maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE, where the configuration information indicates subbands of the DL-PRS resources on which the RedCap UE performs DL-PRS measurements using frequency hopping, where the subbands have a bandwidth equal to or less than the maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE; transmit the DL-PRS on each subband; and receive wideband position measurements from the RedCap UE based on the DL-PRS measurements on each subband.

[0161] Example A18 may include one or more NTCRMs of example A17 or some other example herein, where DL-PRS transmissions on respective subbands are separated in the time domain by respective gaps.

[0162] Example A19 may include one or more NTCRMs of examples A17-A18 or some other examples herein, where two or more of the subbands partially overlap in the frequency domain.

[0163] Example A20 may include one or more NTCRMs of any one of Examples A17-A19 or some other examples herein, where the configuration information indicates a frequency hopping pattern for DL-PRS measurements.

[0164] Example B1 may include a method of wireless communication in a wireless cellular network, the method may include:

[0165] Configuring, by the gNB, one or more downlink (DL) bandwidth portions (BWPs) or sub-bands for DL positioning reference signals (DL-PRS) or sounding reference signals (SRS) for positioning with frequency hopping; and Configuring, by the gNB, one or more gaps between DL-PRS and SRS for positioning with frequency hopping.

[0166] Example B2 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the DL PRS sequence is generated according to a DL PRS positioning frequency layer configuration that may exceed a maximum bandwidth supported by the RedCap UE; and where the DL PRS sequence may be mapped to time-frequency resources allocated for DL PRS transmission according to the DL PRS positioning frequency layer configuration.

[0167] Example B3 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the RedCap UE may assume that the DL PRS sequence is transmitted in time-frequency resources that are restricted to frequency subbands according to a frequency hopping pattern provided to the RedCap UE.

[0168] Example B4 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the starting PRBs of different hops may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0169] Example B5 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the reference point for indicating the starting PRB may be defined as point A corresponding to the lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB) or as the starting PRB of a DL PRS transmission according to a DL PRS positioning frequency layer, a DL PRS resource set, or a configuration of DL PRS resources.

[0170] Example B6 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the starting PRB reference point may be defined as the starting PRB of the configured BWP for the RedCap UE or the starting PRB of the subband.

[0171] Example B7 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the association between the SRS resource set in the first UL BWP and the SRS resource set in the second UL BWP may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0172] Example B8 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where, in semi-persistent SRS transmission with frequency hopping, when an SRS resource set in a first UL BWP is activated or deactivated, an SRS resource set in a second UL BWP is also activated or deactivated according to the association.

[0173] Example B9 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where, for aperiodic SRS transmission with frequency hopping, when an SRS resource set in a first UL BWP is triggered, an SRS resource set in a second UL BWP is also triggered according to the association.

[0174] Example B10 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the association between the SRS resources in the first UL BWP and the SRS resources in the second UL BWP may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0175] Example B11 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where, for semi-persistent SRS for positioning with frequency hopping for a RedCap UE, more than one SRS resource set in different UL BWPs on a carrier may be activated or deactivated via a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE).

[0176] Example B12 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where for aperiodic SRS for positioning with frequency hopping for a RedCap UE, more than one SRS resource set in different BWPs on a carrier may be triggered via DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2, and / or DCI formats for multi-cell scheduling.

[0177] Example B13 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where a group-common DCI may be defined to trigger SRS transmission for positioning with frequency hopping at different BWPs for RedCap UEs.

[0178] Example B14 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where in SRS transmission for positioning with frequency hopping, the starting PRB of different hops may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0179] Example B15 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the reference point of the starting PRB may be defined as point A corresponding to the lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB) or as the starting PRB of an SRS transmission according to an SRS resource set or SRS resource configuration.

[0180] Example B16 may include the method of Example B1 or some other example herein, where the starting PRB reference point may be defined as the starting PRB of the configured UL BWP for the RedCap UE or the starting PRB of the subband.

[0181] Example B17 may include a method for a reduced capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information indicating one or more downlink (DL) bandwidth portions (BWPs) or subbands for a DL positioning reference signal (DL PRS) or a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning with frequency hopping, where the configuration information further includes one or more gaps between frequency hops of the DL PRS or SRS; and receiving the DL-PRS or transmitting the SRS based on the configuration information.

[0182] Example B18 may include the method of Example B17 or some other example herein, where a DL PRS sequence for the DL PRS is generated according to a DL PRS positioning frequency layer configuration, and where the DL PRS sequence is mapped to time-frequency resources allocated to DL PRS transmission according to the DL PRS positioning frequency layer configuration.

[0183] Example B19 may include the method of example B18 or some other example herein, where the DL PRS positioning frequency tier configuration exceeds the maximum bandwidth supported by the RedCap UE.

[0184] Example B20 may include the method of Examples B17-19 or some other example herein, where the configuration information indicates a frequency hopping pattern for the DL PRS, where the DL PRS is received based on an assumption that the DL PRS sequence is transmitted in time-frequency resources that are restricted to frequency subbands according to the frequency hopping pattern.

[0185] Example B21 may include the method of Examples B17-20 or some other example herein, where the configuration information further indicates a starting PRB for a different frequency hop.

[0186] Example B22 may include the method of Examples B17-21 or some other example herein, further comprising identifying a reference point indicating a starting PRB of a DL PRS according to a DL PRS positioning frequency layer, a DL PRS resource set, or a DL PRS resource configuration, where the reference point corresponds to lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB) or a starting PRB of a DL PRS transmission.

[0187] Example B23 may include the method of Examples B17-22 or some other example herein, further comprising identifying a reference point indicating a starting PRB of the DL PRS, where the reference point is defined as a starting PRB of a subband or a starting PRB of a configured BWP for the RedCap UE.Example B24 may include the method of Examples B17-23 or some other example herein, where the configuration information for the SRS indicates an association between a first SRS resource set in a first UL BWP and a second SRS resource set in a second UL BWP.

[0188] Example B25 may include the method of Example B24 or some other example herein, further comprising receiving an indication that the first SRS resource set is activated or deactivated, and determining, based on the association, that the second SRS resource set is activated or deactivated.

[0189] Example B26 may include the method of Examples B17-26 or any other example herein, where the SRS is a semi-permanent SRS.

[0190] Example B27 may include the method of Examples B17-26 or some other example herein, further comprising receiving a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) for activating multiple SRS resource sets in different UL BWPs in the carrier for the SRS.

[0191] Example B28 may include the method of Example B24 or some other example herein, where the SRS is an aperiodic SRS, and where the method further includes receiving an indication that the first SRS resource set is triggered and determining, based on the association, that the second SRS resource set is also triggered.

[0192] Example B29 may include the method of Examples B17-23, 28, or some other example herein, further comprising receiving downlink control information (DCI) for triggering multiple SRS resource sets in different UL BWPs on a carrier.

[0193] Example B30 may include the method of example B29 or some other example herein, where the DCI has DCI format 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2 and / or a DCI format for multi-cell scheduling.

[0194] Example B31 may include the method of Examples B17-30 or some other example herein, further comprising receiving a group-common DCI for triggering SRS transmission in different BWPs.

[0195] Example B32 may include the method of Examples B17-32 or some other example herein, where the configuration information indicates a starting PRB for a different frequency hop of the SRS.

[0196] Example B33 may include the method of Examples B17-32 or any other example herein, further comprising identifying a reference point indicating a starting PRB of the SRS, where the reference point corresponds to lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB) or a starting PRB of an SRS transmission according to an SRS resource set or SRS resource configuration.

[0197] Example B34 may include the method of Examples B17-32 or some other example herein, further comprising identifying a reference point indicating a starting PRB of the SRS, where the reference point is defined as a starting PRB of the configured UL BWP for the RedCap UE or a starting PRB of the respective subband.

[0198] Example B35 may include a method for a next generation Node B (gNB), the method comprising: encoding configuration information indicating one or more downlink (DL) bandwidth portions (BWPs) or subbands for a DL positioning reference signal (DL PRS) or a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning with frequency hopping for transmission to a reduced capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE), where the configuration information further includes one or more gaps between frequency hops of the DL PRS or SRS; and transmitting the DL-PRS or receiving the SRS based on the configuration information.

[0199] Example B36 may include the method of Example B35 or some other example herein, further comprising generating a DL PRS sequence according to a DL PRS positioning frequency layer configuration, where the DL PRS sequence is mapped to time-frequency resources allocated for DL PRS transmission according to the DL PRS positioning frequency layer configuration.

[0200] Example B37 may include the method of example B36 or some other example herein, where the DL PRS positioning frequency tier configuration exceeds the maximum bandwidth supported by the RedCap UE.

[0201] Example B38 may include the method of Examples B35-37 or some other example herein, where the configuration information indicates a frequency hopping pattern for the DL PRS, and where the UE receives the DL PRS based on an assumption that the DL PRS sequence is transmitted in time-frequency resources that are restricted to frequency subbands according to the frequency hopping pattern.

[0202] Example B39 may include the method of Examples B35-38 or some other example herein, where the configuration information further indicates a starting PRB for a different frequency hop.

[0203] Example B40 may include the method of Examples B35-39 or any other example herein, where the reference point indicating the starting PRB of the DL PRS corresponds to the lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB) or the starting PRB of the DL PRS transmission according to the DL PRS positioning frequency layer, the DL PRS resource set, or the DL PRS resource configuration.

[0204] Example B41 may include the method of Examples B35-40 or some other example herein, where the reference point indicating the starting PRB of the DL PRS is defined as the starting PRB of the configured BWP for the RedCap UE or the starting PRB of the subband. Example B42 may include the method of Examples B35-41 or some other example herein, where the configuration information for the SRS indicates an association between a first SRS resource set in a first UL BWP and a second SRS resource set in a second UL BWP.

[0205] Example B43 may include the method of Example B42 or some other example herein, further comprising sending an indication that the first SRS resource set is activated or deactivated, where the indication also activates or deactivates the second SRS resource set based on the association.

[0206] Example B44 may include the method of Examples B35-43 or any other example herein, where the SRS is a semi-permanent SRS.

[0207] Example B45 may include the method of Examples B35-44 or some other example herein, further comprising transmitting a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) to the UE for activating multiple SRS resource sets in different UL BWPs on the carrier for the SRS.

[0208] Example B46 may include the method of Example B42 or some other example herein, where the SRS is aperiodic SRS, and where the method further comprises sending an indication to the UE that the first SRS resource set is triggered, where the indication also triggers a second SRS resource set based on the association.

[0209] Example B47 may include the method of Examples B35-46 or some other example herein, further comprising transmitting downlink control information (DCI) to the UE to trigger multiple SRS resource sets in different UL BWPs on the carrier.

[0210] Example B48 may include the method of example B47 or some other example herein, where the DCI has DCI format 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2 and / or a DCI format for multi-cell scheduling.

[0211] Example B49 may include the method of Examples B35-48 or some other examples herein, further comprising transmitting a group common DCI to a plurality of UEs, including the UE, for triggering SRS transmissions in different BWPs.

[0212] Example B50 may include the method of Examples B35-49 or some other example herein, where the configuration information indicates a starting PRB for a different frequency hop of the SRS.

[0213] Example B51 may include the method of Examples B35-50 or any other example herein, further comprising identifying a reference point indicating a starting PRB of the SRS, where the reference point corresponds to lowest subcarrier 0 of a common resource block (CRB) or a starting PRB of an SRS transmission according to an SRS resource set or SRS resource configuration.

[0214] Example B52 may include the method of Examples B35-51 or some other example herein, further comprising identifying a reference point indicating a starting PRB of the SRS, where the reference point is defined as a starting PRB of the configured UL BWP for the RedCap UE or a starting PRB of the respective subband.

[0215] Example C1 may include a method of wireless communication for a fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, the method may include:

[0216] Configuring, by the gNB, one or more downlink (DL) bandwidth portions (BWPs) for DL positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) repetitions; and Configuring one or more gaps between DL-PRS repeats by gNB.

[0217] Example C2 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where wideband DL-PRS transmission may be configured to a RedCap UE for DL-PRS resources, such that the wideband DL-PRS transmission BW may exceed the maximum RedCap UE BW for the corresponding frequency range (FR).

[0218] Example C3 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where multiple subbands for DL-PRS transmission in frequency may be configured by higher layers via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0219] Example C4 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where the subband size in each DL-PRS repetition and the subband distance between two adjacent subbands may be configured by a higher layer via RRC signaling.

[0220] Example C5 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where the subband size and the number of overlapping PRBs between two subbands may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0221] Example C6 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where the starting subband index for frequency hopping may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling; where the subband index may be incremented by 1 and may be modulo the total number of subbands for subsequent DL-PRS repetitions in the DL-PRS resource.

[0222] Example C7 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where the DL-PRS frequency hopping pattern may be defined according to one or more of the following parameters: a starting PRB for the first repetition, a subband index, and a DL-PRS repetition index.

[0223] Example C8 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where the UE performs subband frequency hopping for position measurements for all K groups of DL-PRS repetitions; and where in all K groups of DL-PRS repetitions, the same set of PRBs is used for DL-PRS measurements.

[0224] Example C9 may include the method of Example C8 or some other example herein, where two gaps between DL-PRS repeats may be configured by an upper layer, where a first gap may be configured between two repeats in a group of all K DL-PRS repeats; and a second gap may be configured between two groups of all K DL-PRS repeats.

[0225] Example C10 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where DL-PRS repetitions for a DL-PRS resource may be transmitted in different DL bandwidth portions (BWPs) that may be configured in the RedCap UE for frequency hopping.

[0226] Example C11 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where a gap may be configured between two DL-PRS repetitions for BWP switching; where the gap may be defined according to a number of symbols or slots or an absolute time.

[0227] Example C12 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where the group of all K DL-PRS repetitions for a DL-PRS resource may be transmitted in different DL BWPs configured in the RedCap UE for frequency hopping.

[0228] Example C13 may include the method of Example C12 or some other example herein, where two gaps between DL-PRS repeats may be configured by an upper layer, where a first gap may be configured between two repeats in a group of all K DL-PRS repeats; and a second gap may be configured between two groups of all K DL-PRS repeats.

[0229] Example C14 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where the RedCap UE may be configured with a DL-PRS configuration whereby the DL-PRS is mapped to one of N subbands or N DL BWPs across r*N consecutive DL-PRS transmission opportunities, whereby pairs of consecutive DL-PRS opportunities may be separated by a time gap of a number of symbols or slots in absolute time, where r is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0230] Example C15 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where UL SRS repetitions for positioning on UL SRS resources are transmitted in different UL BWPs configured for the RedCap UE for frequency hopping.

[0231] Example C16 may include the method of Example C15 or some other example herein, where a gap may be configured between two UL SRS repetitions for BWP switching; where the gap may be defined according to a number of symbols or slots or an absolute time.

[0232] Example C17 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where all K groups of SRS repetitions for positioning on SRS resources are transmitted in different UL BWPs for frequency hopping; and where the same set of frequency resources is used for SRS repetitions in all K groups of SRS repetitions.

[0233] Example C18 may include the method of Example C17 or some other example herein, where two gaps between SRS repetitions may be configured by an upper layer, where a first gap may be configured between two repetitions in a group of all K SRS repetitions; and a second gap may be configured between two groups of all K SRS repetitions.

[0234] Example C19 may include the method of Example C1 or some other example herein, where the RedCap UE may be configured with an SRS configuration whereby the SRS is mapped to one of N UL BWPs over r*N consecutive SRS transmission opportunities, whereby pairs of consecutive SRS opportunities may be separated by a time gap of a number of symbols or slots in absolute time, where r is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0235] Example C20 may include a method for a reduced capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information for downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources, where the DL-PRS resources have a frequency bandwidth wider than a maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE; and performing one or more DL-PRS measurements on each subband of the DL-PRS resources using frequency hopping, where the subbands have a bandwidth equal to or less than the maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE.

[0236] Example C21 may include the method of example C20 or some other example herein, where the configuration information is configured for a subband.

[0237] Example C22 may include the method of Examples C20-21 or some other example herein, where measurements on separate subbands are separated in the time domain by one or more respective gaps.

[0238] Example C23 can include the method of Examples C20-22 or any other example herein, where the configuration information further configures one or more gaps.

[0239] Example C24 may include the method of Examples C20-23 or some other example herein, further comprising stitching together measurements for multiple subbands to generate a wideband measurement.

[0240] Example C25 may include the method of Example C24 or some other example herein, further comprising reporting the wideband measurements to the gNB.

[0241] Example Z01 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or any other method or process described herein.

[0242] Example Z02 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or any other method or process described herein.

[0243] Example Z03 may include an apparatus having logic, modules, or circuitry for performing one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or any other method or process described herein.

[0244] Example Z04 may include any method, technique, or process described in or relating to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or any portion or part thereof.

[0245] Example Z05 may include an apparatus with one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or portions thereof.

[0246] Example Z06 may include signals described in or relating to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or portions or parts thereof.

[0247] Example Z07 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message described in or relating to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or any portion or part thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0248] Example Z08 may include a signal encoded with data described in or relating to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or any portion or part thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0249] Example Z09 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message described in or relating to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or any portion or part thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0250] Example Z10 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, where execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or portions thereof.

[0251] Example Z11 may include a computer program including instructions, where execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any of Examples A1-A20, B1-B52, C1-C25, or portions thereof.

[0252] Example Z12 may include signals in a wireless network, such as those shown and described herein.

[0253] Example Z13 may include a method of communication in a wireless network, as shown and described herein.

[0254] Example Z14 may include a system for providing wireless communication, as shown and described herein.

[0255] Example Z15 may include a device for providing wireless communication, as shown and described herein.

[0256] Any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples) unless expressly stated otherwise. The above description of one or more implementations has been provided for illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0257] Abbreviation Unless used differently herein, the terms, definitions, and abbreviations may be consistent with those defined in 3GPP® TR21.905 v16.0.0(2019-06). For purposes of this document, the following abbreviations may apply to the examples and embodiments discussed herein: 3GPP (registered trademark): 3rd Generation Partnership Project 4G: Fourth Generation 5G: Fifth Generation 5GC: 5G Core Network AC: Application Client ACR: Application Context Relocation ACK: Acknowledgement ACID: Application Client Identification ADRF: Analytical Data Repository Facility AF: Application Features AM: Acknowledgement Mode AMBR: Aggregate Maximum Bitrate AMF: Access and Mobility Management Function AN: Access Network AnLF: Analytic Logic Facility ANR: Automatic Neighbor Relations AOA: Angle of arrival AP: Application protocol, antenna port, access point API: Application Programming Interface APN: Access Point Name ARP: Allocation and Retention Priority ARQ: Automatic Repeat Request AS: Access Layer ASP: Application Service Provider ASN.1: Abstract Syntax Notation 1 AUSF: Authentication Server Function AWGN: Additive White Gaussian Noise BAP: Backhaul Adaptation Protocol BCH: Broadcast Channel BER: Bit Error Ratio BFD: Beam Fault Detection BLER: Block Error Rate BPSK: Binary Phase Shift Keying BRAS: Broadband Remote Access Server BSS: Business Support System BS: Base station BSR: Buffer Status Report BW: Bandwidth BWP: Bandwidth part C-RNTI: Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity CA: Carrier Aggregation, Certification Authority CAPEX: Capital expenditure CBD: Candidate Beam Detection CBRA: Contention-Based Random Access CC: Component Carrier, Country Code, Cryptographic Checksum CCA: Clear Channel Assessment CCE: Control Channel Element CCCH: Common Control Channel CE: Coverage Extension CDM: Content Delivery Network CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access CDR: Billing Data Request CDR: Charging Data Response CFRA: Contention-Free Random Access CG: Cell Group CGF: Charging Gateway Function CHF: Billing function CI: Cell Identity CID: Cell ID (e.g., positioning method) CIM: Common Information Model CIR: Carrier-Interference Ratio CK: Encryption Key CM: Connection Management, Conditional Obligations CMAS: Commercial Mobile Alarm Service CMD: Command CMS: Cloud Management System CO: Conditional Optional CoMP: Coordinated Multipoint CORESET: Control resource set COTS: Commercial Off-the-Shelf CP: Control Plane, Cyclic Prefix, Connection Point CPD: Connection Point Descriptor CPE: Customer Premises Equipment CPICH: Common Pilot Channel CQI: Channel Quality Indicator CPU: CSI processing unit, central processing unit C / R: Command / Response field bit CRAN: Cloud Radio Access Network, Cloud RAN CRB: Common Resource Block CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check CRI: Channel State Information Resource Indicator, CSI-RS Resource Indicator C-RNTI: Cell RNTI CS: Circuit replacement CSCF: Call Session Control Function CSAR: Cloud Services Archive CSI: Channel State Information CSI-IM:CSI interference measurement CSI-RS:CSI reference signal CSI-RSRP: CSI reference signal received power CSI-RSRQ: CSI reference signal reception quality CSI-SINR: CSI signal-to-noise and interference ratio CSMA: Carrier Sense Multiple Access CSMA / CA: CSMA with collision avoidance CSS: Common search space, cell-specific search space CTF: Charge trigger function CTS: Permit to send CW: Codeword CWS: Contention Window Size D2D: Device to Device DC: Dual connectivity, direct current DCI: Downlink Control Information DF: Expanded Flavor DL: Downlink DMTF: Distributed Management Task Force DPDK: Data Plane Development Kit DM-RS, DMRS: Demodulation Reference Signal DN: Data Network DNN: Data Network Name DNAI: Data Network Access Identifier DRB: Data Radio Bearer DRS: Discovery Reference Signal DRX: Intermittent Reception DSL: Domain Specific Language. Digital Subscriber Line DSLAM: DSL access multiplexer DwPTS: Downlink Pilot Time Slot E-LAN: Ethernet local area network E2E: End-to-End EAS: Edge Application Server ECCA: Enhanced Clear Channel Assessment, Enhanced CCA ECCE: Extended Control Channel Element, Extended CCE ED: Energy detection EDGE: Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution EAS: Edge Application Server EASID: Edge Application Server Identification ECS: Edge Configuration Server ECSP: Edge Computing Service Provider EDN: Edge Data Network EEC: Edge Enabler Client EECID: Edge Enabler Client Identification EES: Edge Enabler Server EESID: Edge Enabler Server Identification EHE: Edge Host Environment EGMF: Public Governance Management Facility EGPRS: Enhanced GPRS EIR: Equipment Identity Register eLAA: Extended Authorization Assisted Access, extended LAA EM: Element Manager eMBB: Enhanced Mobile Broadband EMS: Element Management System eNB: evolved NodeB, E-UTRAN NodeB EN-DC: E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity EPC: Evolved Packet Core EPDCCH: Enhanced PDCCH, Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel EPRE: Energy per resource element EPS: Evolutionary Packet System EREG: Extended REG, Extended Resource Element Group ETSI: European Telecommunications Standards Institute ETWS: Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System eUICC: Embedded UICC, Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card E-UTRA: Advanced UTRA E-UTRAN: Evolved UTRAN EV2X: Enhanced V2X F1AP: F1 Application Protocol F1-C: F1 control plane interface F1-U: F1 user plane interface FACCH: Fast Associated Control Channel FACCH / F: Fast Associated Control Channel / Full Rate FACCH / H: Fast Associated Control Channel / Half Rate FACH: Forward Access Channel FAUSCH: High-Speed Uplink Signaling Channel FB: Function Block FBI: Feedback Information FCC: Federal Communications Commission FCCH: Frequency Correction Channel FDD: Frequency Division Duplex FDM: Frequency Division Multiplex FDMA: Frequency Division Multiple Access FE: Front end FEC: Forward Error Correction FFS: For further research FFT: Fast Fourier Transform feLAA: Further Enhanced Authorization Assisted Access, Further Enhanced LAA FN: Frame number FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array FR: Frequency Range FQDN: Fully Qualified Domain Name G-RNTI: GERAN Radio Network Temporary Identity GERAN: GSM Edge RAN, GSM Edge Radio Access Network GGSN: Gateway GPRS Support Node GLONASS: Global Positioning System gNB: Next generation NodeB gNB-CU: gNB centralized unit, next generation NodeB centralized unit gNB-DU: gNB distributed unit, next generation NodeB distributed unit GNSS: Global Positioning System GPRS General Packet Radio Service GPSI: General Public Subscriber Identifier GSM (registered trademark): Global System for Mobile Communications, Groupe Special Mobile GTP: GPRS Tunneling Protocol GTP-U: GPRS Tunneling Protocol for the User Plane GTS: Go-to-sleep signal (related to WUS) GUMMEI: Globally Unique MME Identifier GUTI: Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity HARQ: Hybrid ARQ, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HANDO: Handover HFN: Hyperframe Number HHO: Hard Handover HLR: Home Location Register HN: Home Network HO: Handover HPLMN: Home Public Land Mobile Network HSDPA: High Speed Downlink Packet Access HSN: Hopping sequence number HSPA: High Speed Packet Access HSS: Home Subscriber Server HSUPA: High Speed Uplink Packet Access HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTPS: Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https is http / 1.1 over SSL, i.e. port 443) I-Block: Information Block ICCID: Integrated Circuit Card Identification IAB: Integrated Access and Backhaul ICIC: Inter-cell interference coordination ID: Identity, Identifier IDFT: Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform IE: Information Element IBE: In-band emission IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEI: Information Element Identifier IEIDL: Information element identifier data length IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force IF: Infrastructure IIOT: Industrial Internet of Things IM: Interference Measurement, Intermodulation, IP Multimedia IMC: IMS Credentials IMEI: International Mobile Equipment Identity IMGI: International Mobile Group Identity IMPI: IP Multimedia Private Identity IMPU: IP Multimedia Public Identity IMS: IP Multimedia Subsystem IMSI: International Mobile Subscriber Identity IoT: Internet of Things IP: Internet Protocol Ipsec: IP Security, Internet Protocol Security IP-CAN: IP Connectivity Access Network IP-M: IP multicast IPv4: Internet Protocol version 4 IPv6: Internet Protocol version 6 IR: Infrared IS: Synchronous IRP: Integration Reference Point ISDN (registered trademark): Integrated Services Digital Network ISIM: IM Service Identity Module ISO: International Organization for Standardization ISP: Internet Service Provider IWF: Interworking Function I-WLAN: Interworking WLAN Constraint length of superimposed code, USIM: individual key kB: kilobytes (1000 bytes) kbps: kilobits per second Kc: encryption key Ki: Individual subscriber authentication key KPI: Key Performance Indicator KQI: Key Quality Indicator KSI: Key Set Identifier ksps: kilosymbols per second KVM: Kernel Virtual Machine L1: Layer 1 (physical layer) L1-RSRP: Layer 1 reference signal received power L2: Layer 2 (data link layer) L3: Layer 3 (network layer) LAA: License Assisted Access LAN: Local Area Network LADN: Local Area Data Network LBT: Listen Before Talk LCM: Lifecycle Management LCR: Low Chip Rate LCS: Location Services LCID: Logical Channel ID LI: Layer Indicator LLC: Logical Link Control, Low Layer Compatibility LMF: Location Management Function LOS: Line of sight LPLMN: Local PLMN LPP: LTE Positioning Protocol LSB: least significant bit LTE: Long Term Evolution LWA: LTE-WLAN aggregation LWIP: LTE / WLAN Radio-Level Integration with IPsec Tunnels LTE: Long Term Evolution M2M: Machine to Machine MAC: Medium Access Control (in the context of protocol layering) MAC: Message Authentication Code (security / encryption context) MAC-A: MAC for authentication and key agreement (TSG T WG3 context) MAC-I: MAC used for data integrity of signaling messages (TSG T WG3 context) MANO: Management and organization MBMS: Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service MBSFN: Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network MCC: Mobile Country Code MCG: Master Cell Group MCOT: Maximum Channel Occupancy Time MCS: Modulation and Coding Scheme MDAF: Managed Data Analysis Facility MDAS: Managed Data Analysis Services MDT: Minimizing Drive Test ME: Mobile device MeNB: Master eNB MER: Message Error Ratio MGL: Measurement gap length MGRP: Measurement gap repetition period MIB: Master Information Block, Management Information Base MIMO: Multiple Input Multiple Output MLC: Mobile Location Center MM: Mobility Management MME: Mobility Management Entity MN: Master node MNO: Mobile Network Operator MO: Measurement Object, Mobile Originated MPBCH: MTC Physical Broadcast Channel MPDCCH: MTC Physical Downlink Control Channel MPDSCH: MTC physical downlink shared channel MPRACH: MTC Physical Random Access Channel MPUSCH: MTC Physical Uplink Shared Channel MPLS: Multiprotocol Label Switching MS: Mobile station MSB: Most significant bit MSC: Mobile Switching Center MSI: Minimum System Information, MCH Scheduling Information MSID: Mobile Station Identifier MSIN: Mobile Station Identification Number MSISDN: Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number MT: Mobile Terminated MTC: Machine Type Communications MTLF; Model Training Logical Function mMTC: Large-scale MTC, large-scale machine-type communication MU-MIMO: Multi-User MIMO MWUS: MTC wake-up signal, MTC WUS NACK: Negative Acknowledgment NAI: Network Access Identifier NAS: Non-Access Stratum, Non-Access Stratum layer NCT: Network Connectivity Topology NC-JT: Non-coherent joint transmission NEC: Network function release NE-DC: NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity NEF: Network Publishing Function NF: Network function NFP: Network Transfer Path NFPD: Network Forwarding Path Descriptor NFV: Network Functions Virtualization NFVI: NFV Infrastructure NFVO: NFV Orchestrator NG: Next Gen NGEN-DC: NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity NM: Network Manager NMS: Network Management System N-PoP: Network Point of Presence NMIB, N-MIB: Narrowband MIB NPBCH: Narrowband Physical Broadcast Channel NPDCCH: Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel NPDSCH: Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel NPRACH: Narrowband Physical Random Access Channel NPUSCH: Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel NPSS: Narrowband Primary Synchronization Signal NSSS: Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal NR: New Radio, Neighborhood Relations NRF:NF Repository Function NRS: Narrowband Reference Signal NS: Network Services NSA: Non-standalone operation mode NSD: Network Service Descriptor NSR: Network Service Record NSSAI: Network Slice Selection Assistance Information S-NNSAI Single NSSAI NSSF: Network Slice Selection Function NW: Network NWDAF: Network Data Analysis Facility NWUS: Narrowband wake-up signal, narrowband WUS NZP: Non-zero power O&M: Operation and Maintenance ODU2: Optical Channel Data Unit Type 2 OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDMA: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OOB: Out of Band OOS: Out of sync OPEX: Operating cost OSI:Other Systems Information OSS: Operation Support System OTA: Over the Air PAPR: Peak-to-Average Power Ratio PAR: Peak to Average Ratio PBCH: Physical Broadcast Channel PC: Power control, personal computer PCC: Primary Component Carrier, Primary CC P-CSCF: Proxy CSCF PCell: Primary Cell PCI: Physical Cell ID, Physical Cell Identity PCEF: Policy and Charging Enforcement Function PCF: Policy Control Function PCRF: Policy Control and Charging Rules Function PDCP: Packet Data Convergence Protocol, Packet Data Convergence Protocol Layer PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel PDCP: Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDN: Packet Data Network, Public Data Network PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel PDU: Protocol Data Unit PEI: Permanent Equipment Identifier PFD: Packet Flow Description P-GW: PDN gateway PHICH: Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel PHY: Physical layer PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network PIN: Personal Identification Number PM: Performance measurement PMI: Precoding Matrix Indicator PNF: Physical Network Function PNFD: Physical Network Function Descriptor PNFR: Physical Network Function Record POC: PTT over cellular PP, PTP: Point-to-Point PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol PRACH:Physical RACH PRB: Physical Resource Block PRG: Physical Resource Block Group ProSe: Proximity Services, Proximity-Based Services PRS: Positioning Reference Signal PRR: Packet Receive Radio PS: Packet service PSBCH: Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel PSDCH: Physical Sidelink Downlink Channel PSCCH: Physical Sidelink Control Channel PSSCH: Physical Sidelink Shared Channel PSFCH: Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel PSCell: Primary SCell PSS: Primary Synchronization Signal PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network PT-RS: Phase Tracking Reference Signal PTT: Push to Talk PUCCH: Physical uplink control channel PUSCH: Physical Uplink Shared Channel QAM: Quadrature Amplitude Modulation QCI: QoS Class of Identifier QCL: Quasi-collocation QFI: QoS flow ID, QoS flow identifier QoS: Quality of Service QPSK: Quadrature (four-phase) phase shift keying QZSS: Quasi-Zenith Satellite System RA-RNTI: Random Access RNTI RAB: Radio Access Bearer, Random Access Burst RACH: Random Access Channel RADIUS: Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service RAN: Radio Access Network RAND: Random number (used for authentication) RAR: Random Access Response RAT: Radio Access Technology RAU: Routing Area Update RB: Resource Block, Radio Bearer RBG: Resource Block Group REG: Resource Element Group Rel: Release REQ:Request RF: Radio Frequency RI: Rank Indicator RIV: Resource Indicator Value RL: Radio Link RLC: Radio Link Control, Radio Link Control Layer RLC AM: RLC acknowledged mode RLC UM: RLC unacknowledged mode RLF: Radio Link Failure RLM: Radio Link Monitoring RLM-RS: Reference signal for RLM RM: Registration Management RMC: Reference Measurement Channel RMSI Remaining MSI, Minimum Remaining System Information RN: Relay node RNC: Radio Network Controller RNL: Radio Network Layer RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifier ROHC: Robust Header Compression RRC: Radio Resource Control, Radio Resource Control Layer RRM: Radio Resource Management RS: Reference signal RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power RSRQ: Reference signal reception quality RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator RSU: Roadside Unit RSTD: Reference signal time difference RTP: Real Time Protocol RTS: Request to send RTT: Round Trip Time Rx: Reception, receiving, receiver S1AP: S1 Application Protocol S1-MME: S1 for control plane S1-U: S1 for user plane S-CSCF: Serving CSCF S-GW: Serving Gateway S-RNTI: SRNC Radio Network Temporary Identity S-TMSI:SAE Temporary Mobile Station Identifier SA: Standalone operation mode SAE: System Architecture Evolution SAP: Service Access Point SAPD: Service Access Point Descriptor SAPI: Service Access Point Identifier SCC: Secondary Component Carrier, Secondary CC SCell: Secondary cell SCEF: Service Function Exposure Function SC-FDMA: Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access SCG: Secondary Cell Group SCM: Security Context Management SCS: Subcarrier spacing SCTP: Stream Control Transmission Protocol SDAP: Service Data Adaptation Protocol, Service Data Adaptation Protocol Layer SDL: Auxiliary Downlink SDNF: Structured Data Storage Network Functions SDP: Session Description Protocol SDSF: Structured Data Storage Facility SDT: Small data transmission SDU: Service Data Unit SEAF: Security Anchor Function SeNB: Secondary eNB SEPP: Security Edge Protection Proxy SFI: Slot Format Indication SFTD: Space-Frequency Time Diversity, SFN and Frame Timing Difference SFN: System Frame Number SgNB: Secondary gNB SGSN: Serving GPRS Support Node S-GW: Serving Gateway SI: System Information SI-RNTI: System Information RNTI SIB: System Information Block SIM: Subscriber Identity Module SIP: Session Initiation Protocol SiP: System in Package SL: Side link SLA: Service Level Agreement SM: Session Management SMF: Session Management Facility SMS: Short Message Service SMSF: SMS function SMTC: SSB-based measurement timing configuration SN: Secondary node, sequence number SoC: System on Chip SON: Self-organizing network SpCell: Special cell SP-CSI-RNTI: Semi-persistent CSI RNTI SPS: Semi-persistent scheduling SQN: Sequence number SR: Scheduling Request SRB: Signaling Radio Bearer SRS: Sounding Reference Signal SS: Synchronization signal SSB: Synchronization signal block SSID: Service Set Identifier SS / PBCH Block SSBRI SS / PBCH Block Resource Indicator, Synchronization Signal Block Resource Indicator SSC: Session and Service Continuity SS-RSRP: Synchronization signal-based reference signal received power SS-RSRQ: Synchronization Signal-Based Reference Signal Reception Quality SS-SINR: Synchronization signal-based signal-to-noise and interference ratio SSS: Secondary Synchronization Signal SSSG: Search Space Set Group SSSIF: Search Space Set Indicator SST: Slice / Service Type SU-MIMO: Single User MIMO SUL: Auxiliary Uplink TA: Timing advance, tracking area TAC: Tracking Area Code TAG: Timing Advance Group TAI: Tracking Area Identity TAU: Tracking Area Update TB: Transport Block TBS: Transport Block Size TBD: undefined TCI:Transmission Configuration Indicator TCP: Transmission communication protocol TDD: Time division duplex TDM: Time division multiplexing TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access TE: Terminal equipment TEID: Tunnel Endpoint Identifier TFT: Traffic Flow Template TMSI: Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity TNL: Transport Network Layer TPC: Transmit Power Control TPMI: Transmit Precoding Matrix Indicator TR: Technical Report TRP, TRxP: Transmit / Receive Point TRS: Tracking Reference Signal TRx: Transmitter / Receiver TS: Technical specifications, technical standards TTI: Transmission Time Interval Tx: Transmission, Transmitting, Transmitter U-RNTI: UTRAN Radio Network Temporary Identity UART: Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter UCI: Uplink Control Information UE: User Equipment UDM: Unified Data Management UDP: User Datagram Protocol UDSF: Unstructured Data Storage Network Functions UICC: Universal Integrated Circuit Card UL: Uplink UM: Unauthorized Mode UML: Unified Modeling Language UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System UP: User plane UPF: User Plane Function URI: Uniform Resource Identifier URL:Uniform Resource Locator URLLC: Ultra-reliable and low latency USB: Universal Serial Bus USIM: Universal Subscriber Identity Module USS:UE specific search space UTRA: UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access UTRAN: Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network UwPTS: Uplink Pilot Time Slot V2I: Vehicle-to-Infrastructure V2P: Pedestrian-to-Vehicle V2V: Vehicle-to-vehicle distance V2X: Vehicle to Everything VIM: Virtualization Infrastructure Manager VL: Virtual Link VLAN: Virtual LAN, Virtual Local Area Network VM: Virtual Machine VNF: Virtualized Network Function VNFFG: VNF forwarding graph VNFFGD: VNF forwarding graph descriptor VNFM: VNF Manager VoIP: Voice over IP, Voice over Internet Protocol VPLMN: Visited Public Land Mobile Network VPN: Virtual Private Network VRB: Virtual Resource Block WiMAX(R): Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access WLAN: Wireless Local Area Network WMAN: Wireless Metropolitan Area Network WPAN: Wireless Personal Area Network X2-C: X2-Control Plane X2-U: X2-User Plane XML: Extensible Markup Language XRES: Expected User Response XOR: Exclusive OR ZC:Zadoff-Chu ZP: Zero Power

[0258] [term] For purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions are applicable to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.

[0259] The term "application" may refer to a complete and deployable package or environment for achieving a specific function in an operating environment. A term such as "AI / ML application" may refer to an application that includes several AI / ML models and application-level descriptions.

[0260] As used herein, the term “circuitry” refers to, is a part of, or includes hardware components configured to provide described functionality, such as, for example, electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or groups) and / or memories (shared, dedicated, or groups), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-volume PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable SoCs), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc. In some embodiments, a circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term “circuitry” may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or combinations of circuitry used in an electrical or electronic system) and program code used to perform the functions of the program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0261] As used herein, the term “processor circuitry” refers to, is a part of, or includes circuitry capable of continuously and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, and / or transmitting digital data. A processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores for executing instructions and one or more memory structures for storing program and data information. The term “processor circuitry” may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and / or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes. A processing circuitry may include more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, etc. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. The terms “application circuitry” and / or “baseband circuitry” may be considered synonymous with “processor circuitry” and may be referred to as such.

[0262] As used herein, the term "interface circuitry" refers to, is a part of, or includes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuitry" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, and / or a network interface card.

[0263] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device having wireless communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. The term "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous with and may be referred to as client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0264] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment and / or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with and / or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, etc.

[0265] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic device, computing device, or component thereof. Additionally, the terms "computer system" and / or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Additionally, the terms "computer system" and / or "system" may refer to multiple computing devices and / or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing and / or networking resources.

[0266] As used herein, terms like "appliance" or "computer appliance" refer to a computing device or system that includes program code (e.g., software or firmware) specifically designed to provide specific computing resources. A "virtual appliance" is a virtual machine image implemented by a hypervisor-equipped device that virtualizes or emulates a computing appliance or is otherwise dedicated to providing specific computing resources.

[0267] As used herein, the term “resource” refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component in a computing environment, and / or a physical or virtual component in a particular device, such as, for example, a computer device, a mechanical device, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU usage, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or usage, power, input / output operations, ports or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, network, databases and applications, and / or workload units. “Hardware resources” may refer to computational, storage, and / or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. “Virtualized resources” may refer to computational, storage, and / or network resources provided by a virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The terms “network resources” or “communication resources” may refer to resources accessible by a computer device / system via a communication network. The term “system resources” may refer to any type of shared entity for providing services and may include computing and / or network resources. A system resource may be viewed as a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services that reside on a single host or on multiple hosts and are accessible through a clearly identifiable server.

[0268] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any transmission medium, either tangible or intangible, used to communicate data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous with and / or equivalent to "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," and / or any other similar term meaning a path or medium over which data is communicated. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices through a RAT for the purpose of sending and receiving information.

[0269] As used herein, terms such as "instantiate" and "instantiation" refer to the creation of an instance. An "instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object that may arise, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0270] The terms "coupled" and "communicatively coupled," along with their derivatives, are used herein. The term "coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, that two or more elements are in indirect contact with each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and / or that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between the elements that are said to be coupled to each other. The term "directly coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with each other. The term "communicatively coupled" may mean that two or more elements may be in communication with each other, including through a wired or other interconnection and / or through a wireless communication channel or link.

[0271] The term "information element" refers to an element of a structure that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element or the data element that contains the contents.

[0272] The term "SMTC" refers to the SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by the SSB-Measurement Timing Configuration.

[0273] The term "SSB" refers to an SS / PBCH block.

[0274] The term "primary cell" refers to an MCG cell operating on a primary frequency on which a UE either performs an initial connection establishment procedure or initiates a connection re-establishment procedure.

[0275] The term "primary SCG cell" refers to the SCG cell to which the UE performs random access when performing a Reconfiguration with Sync procedure for DC operation.

[0276] The term "secondary cell" refers to a cell that provides additional radio resources over a special cell for UEs configured with CA.

[0277] The term "secondary cell group" refers to a subset of a serving cell including a PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UE configured with a DC.

[0278] The term "serving cell" refers to the primary cell for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED that is not configured with CA / DC, and there is only one serving cell, including the primary cell.

[0279] The term "serving cell" or "serving cells" refers to the set of cells including the special cell and all secondary cells for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED that is configured with CA.

[0280] The term "special cell" refers to a PCell of an MCG or a PSCell of an SCG in the case of DC operation; otherwise, the term "special cell" refers to a Pcell.

[0281] The terms "machine learning" or "ML" refer to the use of computer systems that implement algorithms and / or statistical models to perform specific tasks without explicit instructions, but instead rely on patterns and inference. ML algorithms build or infer mathematical models (e.g., referred to as "ML models") based on sample data (e.g., referred to as "training data" or "model training information") to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform such tasks. Generally, ML algorithms are computer programs that learn from experience with respect to a task and a performance measure, and ML models can be any object or data structure created after an ML algorithm is trained with one or more training datasets. After training, the ML model can be used to make predictions or create new datasets. The term "ML algorithm" refers to a different concept from the term "ML model," but as discussed herein, these terms may be used interchangeably for purposes of this disclosure.

[0282] Terms such as "machine learning model," "ML model," or the like may also refer to ML methods and concepts used by an ML-assisted solution. An "ML-assisted solution" is a solution that uses ML algorithms to address a specific use case during operation. ML models include supervised learning (e.g., linear regression, k-nearest neighbors (KNN), decision tree algorithms, support machine vectors, Bayesian algorithms, ensemble algorithms, etc.), unsupervised learning (e.g., k-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA), etc.), reinforcement learning (e.g., Q-learning, multi-armed bandit learning, deep RL, etc.), and neural networks, etc. Depending on the implementation, a particular ML model may have many submodels as components, and the ML model may train all the submodels together. Separately trained ML models may also be chained together in an ML pipeline during inference. An "ML pipeline" is a set of functionality, functions, or functional entities specific to an ML-assisted solution; an ML pipeline may include a data pipeline, a model training pipeline, a model evaluation pipeline, and one or more data sources in actors. An "actor" is an entity that hosts an ML-assisted solution using the output of ML model inference. The term "ML training host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts the training of a model. The term "ML inference host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts a model during inference mode (including both model execution and any online learning, if applicable). The ML host notifies the actor about the output of the ML algorithm, and the actor makes a decision about an action (an "action" is performed by the actor as a result of the output of the ML-assisted solution). The term "model inference information" refers to information used as input to an ML model to determine inference; although the data used to train an ML model and the data used to determine inference may overlap, "training data" and "inference data" refer to different concepts.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus implemented in a reduced functionality (RedCap) user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory for storing configuration information about downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources, where the DL-PRS resources have a frequency bandwidth wider than a maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE; and performing DL-PRS measurements on each subband of the DL-PRS resource using frequency hopping, where the subband has a bandwidth equal to or less than the maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE; and Generating wideband position measurements based on the DL-PRS measurements on each of the subbands Processor circuit for An apparatus comprising:

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the measurements on each of the subbands are separated in the time domain by a respective gap.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein two or more of the subbands partially overlap in the frequency domain.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuit receives the configuration information via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information indicates a frequency hopping pattern for the DL-PRS measurements.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the configuration information further indicates starting physical resource blocks (PRBs) for different frequency hops.

7. The processor circuit further identifies a reference point to indicate the starting PRB, the reference point being: lowest subcarrier 0 of the common resource block (CRB); a starting PRB of DL-PRS transmission according to the DL-PRS positioning frequency layer, DL-PRS resource set, or DL-PRS resource configuration; or The starting PRB of the RedCap UE's configured bandwidth portion (BWP) or subband 7. The apparatus of claim 6, corresponding to:

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuit reports the wideband position measurements to a next generation Node B (gNB).

9. 1. An apparatus implemented in a reduced functionality (RedCap) user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory for storing configuration information for a plurality of bandwidth portions (BWPs) or sub-bands used for transmitting an uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) with frequency hopping; and a processor circuit for encoding the UL-SRS for transmission with frequency hopping in the plurality of BWPs or subbands based on the configuration information; An apparatus comprising:

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the UL-SRS is transmitted with a gap between each frequency hop.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the gap is defined as a number of symbols or slots.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the number of symbols or slots is based on the numerology of the UL-SRS.

13. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein an individual BWP or subband has a bandwidth that is less than or equal to a maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE, and wherein the multiple BWPs or subbands collectively have a bandwidth that is greater than the maximum bandwidth.

14. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the configuration information indicates an association between a first SRS resource or resource set in a first BWP or subband of the BWP or subband and a second SRS resource or resource set in a second BWP or subband of the BWP or subband.

15. The processor circuitry further comprises: receiving an indication that the first SRS resource or resource set is being activated or deactivated; and determining, based on the association, that the second SRS resource or resource set is activated or deactivated; 15. The apparatus of claim 14.

16. 16. The device of claim 9, wherein the SRS is a semi-persistent SRS.

17. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media (NTCRMs) storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a next generation Node B (gNB), can: transmitting configuration information for downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources to a reduced capability (RedCap) user equipment (UE), where the DL-PRS resources have a frequency bandwidth wider than a maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE, where the configuration information indicates subbands of the DL-PRS resources on which the RedCap UE performs DL-PRS measurements using frequency hopping, where the subbands have a bandwidth equal to or less than the maximum bandwidth for the RedCap UE; Transmitting a DL-PRS on each of the subbands; and Identifying wideband position measurements received from the RedCap UE based on the DL-PRS measurements on each of the subbands. One or more NTCRMs that configure the gNB as follows.

18. 18. The one or more NTCRMs of claim 17, wherein the DL-PRS transmissions on respective subbands are separated in the time domain by respective gaps.

19. 18. The one or more NTCRMs of claim 17, wherein two or more of the subbands partially overlap in the frequency domain.

20. The one or more NTCRMs according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the configuration information indicates a frequency hopping pattern for the DL-PRS measurements.

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